The board game version of Hacienda has been out for about ten years. It's a game I have played easily well over a hundred times. A game I know the rules to well, enough so that I am comfortable with teaching it to others at public play events. It's probably up there in my top twenty-five or so favourite games.
All of which is to say Hacienda is a game I enjoy playing on a fairly regular basis, though I will say it's been hitting the table less frequently. It is also a game I normally win at. So imagine my surprise when I first tried out the app version and the A.I. kicked my butt. I was frustrated and surprised. But really, an AI that can beat me is a fantastic part of an app game. It's not fun to just win all the time. Yawn. Boring.
Flash forward a few weeks and having played the iPad version of the game quite a bit I've gotten to the point where I can beat the A.I. now... most of the time. Again, I find this frustrating but fantastic all at the same time. Playing versus the A.I. in this app actually taught me to look at the game play in new ways and upped my game. Pretty cool, right?
Other happy things to note:
The tutorial does a great job of walking you through the rules if you've never played the board game version, or are a bit rusty on the specifics.
The game also has pass-and-play functionality, something I always look for in iOS games. I love being able to pull the iPad mini out of my purse and play a game with hubby while out for coffee or dinner.
Unfortunately this one qualifies as a "lost gaming treasure" as it seems to no longer be available for download through the iTunes store, and as far as I can tell Cube Your Mind has gone out of business (their website is defunct, and I can't find any recent references).
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