ReactGames let us know that they had submitted Archon Classic to the App Store. Archon Classic is an official licensed game based on the original Archon from 1983.
This version (1.0) plays really well, which we’re really excited about! The combat is fast and fun, the characters are more evenly matched and the Phoenix KICKS BUTT! The Easy setting is VERY easy so everyone can get used to the controls on the iPhone (if you’re not yet) and win a few battles fairly easily. The Hard setting is pretty challenging, even for the veteran player. There is a ranking system that works nicely and in subsequent versions, we’ll be able to upload to a server for global scores and global rankings…it keeps track of your total game time, fastest combat time, how many pieces you’re won/loss, etc. In combat, you can control the characters by using the Dpad (which works excellent) or the Accelerometer.
They've also posted this first gameplay video from the iPhone version. The video starts off with scenes from the original 1983 version and then later shows the iPhone gameplay:
If you haven't played Archon before, it plays like chess but the characters actually do battle to determine who wins each square.
The original 1.0 release of the game was quickly pulled due to the presence of a major bug affecting gameplay. The game has since been updated and re-released as a 1.1 version that addresses the issue.
Amongst other awards, the original board game won Australian game of the year in 2007. Zooloretto. places the player in a colorful, cartoony zoo setting and challenges them to use small, large, wild, and exotic animals and their young to try and attact as many visitors as possible to the zoo. The game involves strategy and planning, as there's only room for so many animals in the zoo.
EA has released their iPhone version of Trivial Pursuit [App Store]. The popular board game involves players testing their knowledge of trivia questions across a number of different topics.
Knowledge meets fun in this stylish version of the classic! With over 3,500 text and picture questions, you’ll never run out of answers! Stunning 3D graphics and rich sound effects immerse you in the game. Feeling nostalgic? Play a round in Classic Mode. In the mood for something new? Test your wit in Pursuit Mode.
EA lists the following features in the iPhone version:
Over 3,500 questions including 2,900 text and 600 picture questions
WiFi MP for up to four (4) players
Pass & Play MP for up to six (6) players
Simple and intuitive touchscreen controls
Exciting 3D visuals and sound effects
Features and Game Modes enhance replayability and depth
Some first impressions and a description of "Pursuit Mode" by forum user sizzlakalonji:
I got it, and enjoy it. So far I've played one game against AI on medium mode, and won. I've also played part of one game of Pursuit mode, which is an interesting twist on the classic. Basically, you are rewarded for the speed of your answer by getting to move your token more spaces toward the "finish line". The things I like: The visual style is nice, but not distracting with unnecessary animation (something I think is a problem with Monopoly). The questions seem of a good relative difficulty. I like that when it's the AI's turn, you don't see the question, only if they got it right or not (this would be wasted questions you could potentially be asked later). Probably my favorite part are the picture based questions. Photos have been incorporated into some questions which add a nice degree of change from strictly text based trivia. The only negative so far is something that I can't see how they could avoid, namely the questions having to be multiple choice. This is obviously different from traditional TP, but I noticed that in settings you could choose the amount of time a person has to answer the question.
Meanwhile, for those who missed it the first time, EA has re-released Lemonade Tycoon as a free ad-supported download. EA had briefly released the game last week but it had been pulled for unclear reasons.
Javaground's turn-based stategy game UniWar has been released to the app store at an introductory price of $0.99 [App Store]. We exclusively previewed this game at GDC 2009.
The game is a turn-based strategy game which offers what appears to be remarkably deep level of gameplay as well as unlimited online replayability.
The game is centered around grid-based maps in which your goal is to take control of the enemy bases. For each base you control, you earn more resources per turn. These resources can be used to buy additional units. Units vary in a number of statistics and special abilities.
Different capabilities include mobility, attack strength (ground, aerial, aquatic), defense strength, ability to capture bases, ability to attack after move and more. An example of one of the special units is the "Engineer" which can not attack or defend but can re-program enemy mechas to join your army.
The game lists the following features:
3 races, each with varied units
50+ maps to choose from with up to 8 players
Play up to 20 games at once
Team play allows 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4
Campaign mode with 21 missions
Play modes: Multiplayer online, VS the phone A.I., VS friend on same device (hot seat) and campaign mode
Worldwide Global Ladder
Email notifications when it is your turn
Cross-platform game. Play your friends even if they have another phone model.
One big strength seems to be the offering of multiple types of gameplay options that will prevent you from getting bored:
Campaign mode acts as a tutorial to start and walks you through 21 different missions to complete very specific tasks. Early tasks show you how to move, attack and build and you progress from there.
Solo mode allows you to pick a map (most are locked to start) and simply play head-to-head against the iPhone's AI. The gameplay alternates moves between you and the iPhone until a winner emerges (bases captured).
Multiplayer Online is what adds unlimited replayability to the game. As a turn-based game, the online play is designed to be done asynchronously. That is, you can have up to 20 games running simultaneously and you can simply check-in at your convenience to make your next move. Your move is uploaded to Javaground's servers and transmitted to your opponents when they check-in on their side.
Javaground walks through the online play and basic mechanics of the game in our GDC video:
Even given our short time with the game, it feels solid, stable and a bargain at only $0.99. If you have any interest this sort of strategy game, it's hard to believe you'll be disappointed. Early impressions from other TouchArcade members are being recorded in this discussion thread.
App Store Link: UniWar, $0.99 (introductory price)
Here are two similarly played puzzle games that have Lite versions to try in the App Store.
Battletaire
Desired Logic has released a version of Battleship Solitaire into the App Store under the name Battletaire [App Store]. The $1.99 puzzle game is a bit of a merger of Battleship with Sudoku.
The game is based on the popular Battleship game and requires you to find out where the enemy ships are. Rather than firing on them, however, you must use the given information to deduce their locations. From Wikipedia:
The basic solving strategy for a Battleship puzzle is to add segments to incomplete ships where appropriate, draw water in squares that are known not to contain a ship segment, and to complete ships in a row or column whose number is the same as the number of unsolved squares in that row or column, respectively. More advanced strategies include looking for places where the largest ship that has not yet been located can fit into the grid, and looking for rows and columns that are almost complete and determining if there is only one way to complete them.
The basic game is quite fun and can be challenging, though this particular implementation could be more polished and the grid squares can be a little small. A free lite version, however, allows you to try it out before you buy.
Meanwhile, Arash Payan released a fun and very polished version of Shinro to the App Store back in January that we've been meaning to cover. Again, this game involves finding hidden items by piecing together the information given.
Instead of ships, however, you are looking for 12 hidden stones in each board. Special arrows point in the direction of a stone. They could be anywhere beyond the tip of the arrows. Combining this information with the given number of stones per row allows you to determine where each stone is hidden.
The game has been a particular favorite amongst our forum members and offers a excellent level of polish and style.
This is demonstrated in the developer's gameplay video:
The developer also offers a Lite version to try the game before you buy.
iPhone Clan has released an online multiplayer version of Reversi (Othello) appropriately titled Reversi Online Tournament [App Store].
Reversi Online Tournament is one of the first revolutionary online games that is designated to the iPhone/iPod Touch. Meet new people online or play against your friends. Gain points in a special online ranking system, one that rewards you for playing against stronger foes. Fight so that you can make the "Hall of Fame," a list of the top ten best players. You start off with a 1200 rating. How far will you get?
In an effort to build up their pool of players, they are offering their app for free for a limited time. The original price of the application was $2.99.
There aren't that many online players at the moment, but that should improve as more people try the app. We played a brief tournament and found the app to be well implemented and the online play worked well.
Continuing through out backlog of games, here are a collection of solid $1.99 games that may be of interest. Links to our forums are provided where applicable.
Kraut – While this is yet-another-matching game, at least it has some style. The graphics and animiation are very well done. The goal is to match in 4 or more of the same flowers by placing groups of three onto a grid. Flowers can be rotated and special "power up" insects can help you along the way. The video does a good job showing off the style of the game.
Alphabetic – Another game with a remarkably good sense of style. The object of the game is to find all the letters of the alphabet before time runs out. The catch? The letters are floating and zooming around the screen. Beautifully done.
Wordsworth – A word finding game that has generated positive reviews amongst our forum readers. Form words by selecting adjoining tiles. When a word is formed, those letters are removed and new ones fall into place. Bonus words and special tiles keep things interesting. There is also a free Lite version with the first 5 levels.
Booty Blocks – A puzzle/matching game where you must align like-blocks together in groups of five or more to be able to eliminate them. Unlike Tetris, the blocks are freely moveable just by sliding your finger. Special blocks, immovable blocks and more keep things interesting.
American Dominoes – If you wanted to play a game of dominoes on the iPhone, there weren't many options until now. American Dominoes offers three popular versions: Five-Up (Spinner), Draw and Block. You can compete against the computer or against friends (same iPhone or over Wi-Fi).
John Gruber, a fan of the Newton version, describes the iPhone release (Gruber is a bit of an interface fanatic):
To be clear, this is not a port but a complete rewrite, with the same attention to detail, graphics, simplicity, and fun that marked the Newton version. For example, Deep Green for iPhone lets you move pieces either by drag-and-drop or by tapping a piece, then tapping the square you wish to move it to. (The tapped piece jiggles while waiting for you to tap the destination square.)
Deep Green also lists some notable features for Chess fans:
Play against engine or human, or engine vs. engine
Adjustable engine strength
Concentration setting allows the engine to play more like a human
Manual board setup
Playback game (forward/backward, animated replay, drag slider)
Last we heard from iPhone developer Mach Kobayashi, he had impressed us with his simple but effective dice roller called Mach Dice [App Store].
The $0.99 dice roller provided a realistic dice simulator that allowed you to choose how many dice you want to roll and how many sides (up to 100) each die should have. It was simple but effective.
Well, Kobayashi hasn't been sitting idle. In fact, we're amazed by the dedication this developer has to his app. The latest 2.0 update offers an impressive number of new features.
ReactGames let us know that they had submitted Archon Classic to the App Store. Archon Classic is an official licensed game based on the original Archon from 1983. 
Kraut
Alphabetic
Wordsworth
Booty Blocks
American Dominoes
