Best new board game apps of 2020

Welcome to Ars Cardboard, our weekend look at tabletop games! Check out our complete board gaming coverage at cardboard.arstechnica.com.

The 2020 global pandemic might seem like an ideal time for new board game app releases, but the increasing development time for more complex games means we're going longer between initial announcements and final releases than we have before. Below, I've ranked my nine best new board game apps of 2020 based on app quality, play experience, and purchase price. I'll give a quick honorable mention to Lorenzo il Magnifico, which I tested out a year ago when it was still in beta on Steam and of which I thought highly-but which I haven't gotten to try in its newest version.

9. Viticulture (Digidiced)

Placing workers in the spring to plant vines and build buildings, but sadly no grape-stomping.

The first game from designer Jamey Stegmaier (Scythe, Charterstone) gets the app treatment from Digidiced, whose apps all have the same general look and feel. You're running a vineyard and placing workers in spring or in winter to plant vines, build up your farm, and run tours for money. It's a relatively complex economic game at heart, and the app works well, but the tutorial here isn't detailed enough; it might be better if you have some familiarity with the physical game.

Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments