Burgle Bros 4+

I used to be more of a hardcore gamer - even developed video games for a few years. Nowadays I’m mostly into board games and tabletop simulators. Most board game adaptations have tons of glitzy animations and sound that I find detracts from the game play. I had played this game on Tabletop Simulator so decided to give it a try here. There are definitely some rough edges from a development standpoint. But the gameplay isn’t interfered with by a bunch of animation sideshows. I haven’t hit some of the gameplay issues I’ve seen mentioned, and hopefully there will be updates to fix those at some point. But for a casual game I can sit and play while watching TV or other multitasking, I’m pleased with this for the cost.

I’m a fan of the fantastic tabletop board game, and I think the app is a fantastic conversion, but it only took me a couple of plays to notice that the guards completely ignore at least a couple of the event cards that have rules affecting them. For instance, cards that are supposed to generate a new destination for a guard don’t (he just keeps going to his original destination and THEN picks a new destination), and the card that moves guards on other floors but isn’t supposed to have ANY effect on guards that haven’t been revealed reveals and moves them anyway(coulda had something to do with my having already peeked up the stairwell and revealed a tile on the second floor). These are unforgivable glitches as, if anybody should be following the rules, it should be the AI opponent. It’s too bad the developers didn’t make a way to draw whatever card they wanted so they could test if they all worked during play. Camel Up! was another game that was well-received by the board game community where the app had a problem following the rules that was never (to my knowledge) addressed, so the sales went nowhere. Take the lesson and not the page here. I will be DELETING this until it is fixed, at which point I will redownload, return and write a glowing review. Meantime, I have a cardboard version that does everything right.

First of all, this is an exceptionally excellent game. For all those saying this is too hard, try all the options before you complain. There are about a dozen ways you can make it easier including giving each burglar more stealth, choosing the level, setting the difficulty of each level and selecting the size of your team. My favorite is Fort Knox on normal difficulty with only Juicer and Hawk on my team. Developers, a big well done. Complainers, try engaging your brain and testing the game properly before engaging your mouth. EDIT- Having just completed Fort Knox on “Hard”, I cannot recommend this game highly enough! If you like a game that you click a couple of dozen times and can then say you’ve won, this is not for you! If however you like a challenge and want to use every ounce of your brain, you will love this game. Think a chess game against a very very good player, and you have an idea of the complexity and level of challenge, My favorite game of 2017 (and I fully expect 2018 also) Again, Well Done Developers!

EDIT AGAIN:

Still playing and still a great game. My favorite game of 2021! :)