Through The Ages is Reiner Knizia’s 1998 classic game of camel placement and area control.  I haven’t actually played the original boardgame but have wanted to for some time, so the iPhone game was a great opportunity to do so.

THE GAME
During the game, players place coloured camels (which come in 5 different colours) onto the board in order to score victory points (VPs).  First, players place camels with their leaders on them (one of each camel colour), so long as they’re not too close to other leaders, water holes or oasis.  Once all leaders have been placed, players take turns adding two camels (of any colours) at a time.  Only one camel can be placed on each space and camels must be placed next to camels of the same colour so that coloured herds start to grow (herds of the same colour must not merge).

If a camel is placed on a water hole or next to an oasis, then the leader of that herd gets VPs.  Players also get VPs for any areas that a herd cordons off.  The game ends as soon as there are no more camels of any one colour.  The biggest herd of each colour scores extra VPs for the herd’s owner.

OPINION: GAMEPLAY
The main gameplay is a fun and frantic land rush.  You need to occupy point scoring locations before opponents do so, block opponents so they can’t expand their herd, and create bigger herds than the other players all at the same time.  It may be simple but the choices each turn are usually entertainingly painful which makes it exciting.  There are always lots of things you want/need to do at once (especially with 4 players which I prefer) and you’re always concerned another player has spotted your next move.  I always find these are good signs for a game.

I like that there’s no luck factor and the size of the watering holes are randomised each game to give a bit of variety.  Also, I like that scoring points during the game are important but there’s also a chance to grab points at the end too – typical of Knizia’s games.  As a result, Through The Desert delivers a solid Eurogame.

OPINION: IMPLEMENTATION
The iPhone version’s gameplay is an exact replica of the board game which is a great start.  The whole board is shown on a single screen but you can also zoom in and pan around.  Even though it’s a lot to fit onto an iPhone screen, it’s easy to see the overall situation on the board as the background of each hex is coloured to show which player controls which herd.  Also, I like that you can place new camels by clicking and dragging those already on the board – which makes sense as you’re only ever expanding an adjacent herd.

Unfortunately, whilst all the game play is present, there are many small interface issues that drag the experience down.  The constantly visible camels that can placed obscure the bottom 2 rows of the board unless you zoom in and pan down.  Also, it’s hard to see where you’re placing camels because the camel you are dragging is directly under your finger making it hard to see exactly which space you are currently over.  This is alleviated a bit by the auto-zoom feature but my finger is still in the way.  Plus, the font used throughout the game is hard to read (especially on the final scores screen) and can be tricky to click on.

As a result, the combination of these issues makes the game incredibly frustrating.  It such a shame to see a game that has obviously been carefully programmed fall flat because of such a weak interface design.  It feels like a great movie but being viewed through a dirty window so you just can’t quite enjoy it properly.

If the interface issues were sorted out then Through The Desert would be a really great iPhone game and experience.  For example, camels being dragged could be positioned next to your finger making them easier to place.  There are crowns on the leaders to show which has the largest herd but these need to be larger and knowing the relative difference in the sizes would be useful information too.  Pressing on a camel at the bottom of the screen could overlay numbers showing the size of each relevant herd (rather than having to constantly manually count up your competition).

At present, you can see the AI’s scores when it’s their turn – these should either be hidden completely or all players’ scores should be shown simultaneously down the side of the screen (and a small icon could be pressed to show what all players’ scores would be if the game ended right away).

It’s good to see there are 2 AI settings although I’m not sure how difficult the hardest is because I’ve come 1st or a close 2nd so far.  The hard AI takes up to 15 seconds to place a camel so can feel a little slow but it’s bearable, you can think about your next move during it, and it’s probably faster than playing human players.

I like the inclusion of hotseat multiplayer play (up to 4 players passing one iPhone between them) and you can mix and match human and AI players.  Fully turn-based play (non-simultaneous online like Samurai) would have been nice but would probably make the game too long.  Network play is included using Game Center although I can’t comment on how it plays (or how many players it supports – I think it’s 2 only) as I’ve not managed to match with another player yet.

Overall, I really like the iPhone version of Through The Desert but the interface issues constantly annoy me and detract from the experience.  I hope these issues get updated and the gem that is already there underneath can shine through properly.

James.

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US	Europe	For iPhone – Standard Definition (reviewed)
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