Brent: Digital Extras and Gaming Aids
Not too long ago I wrote a post about Infinity, and how my local gaming store cronies and I passed the first time around only to fall in love after a second look. What I didn’t mention is pretty much all the credit belongs to Aleph Toolbox.
Brent here, from STRICTLY AVERAGE. Thanks for reading, and let’s get into the article.
There’s a lot to love about Infinity, but frankly it’s hard to get a handle on just how different it is. It’s this stunning blend of quality miniatures, tactical wargaming, and, strangely, a first-person shooter.
Or a video game. Don’t ask me how, just yet – it just is.
But it took a digital supplement to cut through the noise and ease us into an understanding of the rules. The ALEPH TOOLBOX (or IA-Aleph, whatever you want to call it) is an open source army builder and reference tool, and for us at least it’s become a must have to play the game.
And it’s free. And it’s supported by CORVUS BELLI, the company behind the game. From the Aleph Tookbox main page is the following statement:
The tool has been developed as an open source project, mainly by me (with some collaborations), and it’s available for free in both binary and source format. Most images, logos and text/data, used by the tool and in this site, belongs instead to Corvus Belli, used with their permission, and will be removed on their request.
Pretty fresh change, right? But smart. I can tell you honestly without this digital aid we wouldn’t be buying up miniatures and getting excited about the range. It’s such a smart tool.
For example, from the main page you’ve got access to the army builder aspect plus information about each trooper. My favorite is the ‘To Hit’ range for each of the many weapons a model might have access to. From there, you’ve got a Wiki link that will let you easily search out rules, obviously an improvement over flipping through books; more concise and faster to find the relevant section. Hopefully, we’ll only see more of this kind of app for a range of games in the future.
So I went looking for more. I’m sure many fans of PRIVATEER PRESS already know about and use WAR ROOM, the digital supplement for Warmachine / Hordes game play. Privateer Press writes:
War Room is the first official utility app released for WARMACHINE and HORDES. The app puts an extensive library of WARMACHINE and HORDES stat cards in the palm of players’ hands and gives them access to a wealth of features intended to facilitate faster and easier gameplay. In addition, users will receive regular news and rules updates from Privateer Press straight to their mobile devices.
Advertisement
 |
| Either phone, Kindle, or iPad – a range of choices! |
 |
| On the phone is Battle Timer, a free app perfect for keeping track of Warma/Hordes games. |
Just last week I played an out-of-towner, a soldier training at the local military base, who brought his Farrow to the store for a game. As far as I know, he had his miniatures, dice, and phone, with the War Room app preloaded with his army lists.
I had a green bag with both full-sized Warmachine and Hordes books, plus the binder for cards. Using War Room on my iPad, I never had to break out the bag. Again, it’s about ease of play.
And ease of making armies! War Room makes its money by selling card sets for the range of armies PP produces. It’s about $7 per set, or a discounted rate for the whole shebang. Well worth it, considering the card packs sell for the same and aren’t nearly so handy.
Let’s contrast that with Games Workshop.
It seems the majority of products thus far offered is only available on Apple products. Frankly, it took me awhile to find what I needed, as it’s spread across the Apps Store, the Newsstand, and the Books app. Let me cut straight to it.
I liked the idea of an online version of White Dwarf. Very much, in fact, and I’ll probably buy a subscription. I’ve been impressed with the new editorial direction, so I haven’t felt my money was wasted, but it’s nice to see a discount for going digital.
I was less impressed with the other products. I’d be inclined to buy Army Books and Codices, but buying digital for the same price as the hardback book? Seriously?
I’ll refrain from offering an uneducated opinion on the other products. Feel free to discuss your take in the comments. I will say I like the idea of an app for the phone where I can download magic and psychic power cards for Warhammer and Warhammer 40K, respectively… so Games Workshop made a good creative and practical choice with that idea.
And having the Black Library available for online purchase was nice! I just bought SOUL HUNTER, from the Night Lords Trilogy, and frankly I’m ready to finish this article so I can get back to reading it – already I’m hooked.
But I’d have liked the option to purchase all of the above on my Kindle Fire.
That’s my take, so please take a few minutes to outline yours. What are you looking to see? What do you know about that I missed?
Er, yeah – I forgot to cover Army Builder, but thankfully they’re now out for Mac! It remains the premier digital helper for a reason.
So, thoughts? Comments? Digital hugs and gropings?
