I've made it abundantly clear in the past
that I love board games.
While video games are obviously a passion
of mine, their roots are embedded deeply in
the social past-time of gathering around a
table and vying for supremacy via cards, dice,
tokens or just your mind.
Scotland Yard is almost 30 years old now and
a true classic, but also one that may have
left many a child frustrated by its obvious
weaknesses as a board game, so how does it
shape up as a video game?
The game supports between 2-6 players, with
one player being dubbed "Mr. X" and the rest
taking up the role of a series of Detectives.
Your task is seemingly simple: Catch "Mr.
X".
However as with all games there's a twist
- you can't see him on the board.
What you can see, though, is the series of
'tickets' he has used to move around the city
either via taxi, bus, or subway around the
London cityscape.
As Detectives you'll need to work together
to decipher where "Mr. X" is in order to surround
or capture him.
Thanks to a slick tutorial system explaining
the basics and each of the major roles you'll
be playing against AI opponents and friends
alike via local pass and play, Wifi/Bluetooth,
or over Game Center straight away.
Online games also have the benefit of being
able to use voice chat or text messages to
coordinate your moves - a pivotal feature
of out-witting "Mr. X".
Unfortunately there are no secrets and "Mr.
X" will be aware of these communiques.
Sadly Scotland Yard doesn't come unscathed
in its transition and features two rather
damning problems.
First is the weak AI that can be easily out-maneuvered,
making it a poor opponent if you're playing
as Mr. X or expecting help as a fellow Detective.
Secondly, though the interface may be slick,
the extremely small text and buttons can make
it an eyestrain on the iPad, let alone on
smaller iPhone screens.
Thankfully an update is on the way to solve
this issue.
Despite these problems, Scotland Yard remains
a treat to play if you can scratch up two
to five other people willing to play with
you locally or online.
It's far from a perfect transition to the
touch screen, but it remains just as fun given
the right circumstances.
