Fans of tabletop gaming are quite familiar with Fantasy Flights Games. While tabletop is their bread and butter, they’ve also dabbled in software, releasing digital adaptations of boardgames like Elder Sign: Omens, as well as companion apps for their boards games, like the Star Wars Dice app to go along with their X-Wing boardgame.
FFG has announced that they are releasing another boardgame, arriving sometime in the 4th quarter of this year, for the XCOM series. What makes this different is that it is the first time that FFG has released a game that *requires* a companion app. Unlike the dice app (which they charge $4.99 for), this one will be free, and does much more than simply roll dice for players.
First, FFG states on their site that the “app’s primary function is to coordinate the escalating alien invasion, randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans”. It will also manage all the tasks that players must perform within the game, some in real-time, and then the app will react based upon the results when launching the next round of strikes against Earth. FFG also plans to use the app as a tutorial for how the game works, track the progress of the game, and includes settings for difficulty levels a well.
I’ve had some experience with using an app to assist in tabletop gaming; in my case it was the companion app for Sentinels of the Multiverse (great game, BTW). The app is quite handy in keeping track of all of the “moving parts” within a game like that, so I am both very excited to see what FFG has up their sleeve in executing this app, as well as for more games to include them in the future.
Official Website: Fantasy Fighting Games
Website Referenced: PocketGamer
