Pavlov's House

I would like to say I own this game and got it to the table a few times. I have limited space at home so I got this game as a means to lower my space requirements. I found this adaptation great with a few issues with the interface but the tutorial is really bad. I mean really really bad. I was able to get through a game but I must say, I got through it because I knew the game before hand. I would recommend new players to this game to watch how to play on YouTube for the board game first. With that said, I think this is a superb design from David Thompson and very easy to play and very fun. I love the tension the phases brings when you set plans and watch them get wrecked. The decision space is not too deep but tough. The game is very straight forward and allows the user to get better with more plays. I will get more play time out of this adaptation. I thought the graphics was just right on my laptop. If you are new to this type of game, please check out the board game tutorials first to see if it right for you but I would recommend this just on the design from a great board game designer.

My first review. I had to. I finally played a good implementation of a great board game, so my inspiration led me to give honor to the developer/designer team which faithfully ported the title. David Thompson designed a deeper level State-of-Siege board game back in 2018. I loved it. A SoS (State of Siege) game is a mechanic which players deal with waves of enemies rushing toward their position, ala tower defense, though not as simplistic. I was fascinated by the three layers of the battlefield intertwined with each other to form a singular defensive structure. It is a balancing act which becomes overwhelming rather quickly, yet if you keep your head, think forward, and deal with the most pressing issues (even if at the moment they don't appear to be in rough shape), you can go deep into the game. You will lose, though, most of the time and near the end. That tension is what makes it a game you will come back to many times. So close, but a few bad dice rolls or bad decisions, and you'll find yourself overrun. Not the slickest implementation, but solidly built and logical. Follow the tutorial, read the hints and instructions, and you'll soon be thinking of game related decisions without worrying about bugs, crashes, or distracted with graphics or cut scenes. A wargame worthy of adding to your digital collection.

So I looked and saw that there were precisely zero negative reviews for this game. I'm not *that* down on the game; it seems a faithful representation of the boardgame, so it's technically fine. However when I contrast it with Spirit Island (another port of a board game), I find it lacking, and the flaws need to be called out. So, hardly any special effects, and no music. Not incredibly important, and a lot of people would turn it off anyway; but it makes the game a little dry. More importantly, there is no ability to undo in many cases. Spirit Island allows you essentially to undo back to the point where something random happened and you gained information, but this doesn't always allow that. Accidentally clicked on something, or realized that your plan wasn't going to work, but you may not be able to take it back (depends on which step) even though no cards have been drawn nor dice rolled, which you could definitely do if you were playing the board game. Anyway, it's irritating and needed to be called out.

One of the best board wargame to computer wargame conversion ever.

[b]What I like:[/b] – great gameplay modes: we are getting all the boardgame set-ups: basic with no special rules, standard with Operational Support cards and two with increased difficulty – Veteran and Elite – which utilize Tactics Cards. On top of this there is a nice Tutorial for new players. – definitely the fact of detailed rules implementation, with zero errors – this I cannot stress more; so many digital adaptations were a mere resemblance of great boardgames by erroneous conversion – light & fast – this app works like a charm, it is very fast, uses minimal amount of processing power and can be played also on older machines – be it phone or PC – functional and intuitive interface. It scales pretty well on tablets and PCs, allows for easy access to icons, cards or actions. It is not too crowded and provides great experience. – in the end, it is fantastic boardgame, very challenging with possibility to increase the difficulty level; great if you cannot bring the boxed version to the table; you can actually find more in [url=https://theboardgameschronicle.com/2020/11/25/review-pavlovs-house/]my review[/url] [b]What I do not like:[/b] – There is no version for iPhone. Probably it might not be as readable due to amount of details as on iPad and PC, but still this is a pity. – It steals time which I would normally devote to my boxed version of the game 🙂 I am so happy that this great solo game by David Thompson received such a great digital port. I will be quite honest – after couple of failures with such endeavors I am approaching each new digital edition with a dose of caution. Here we have adaptation 100% true to its original, created error-free, with tons of additional materials giving the historical background. If you are wondering if those digital implementation of wargames will be to your liking and where to start – I will not hesitate – get Pavlov’s House digital adaptation as a first step. And if you played various Boardgame Apps and are fed-up of half-products or error-rich designs, this is definitely a refreshing change. Highly recommended! Full version of this review can be found on my blog: [url=https://theboardgameschronicle.com/2021/04/08/pavlovs-house-app-review/]FULL REVIEW[/url]

Faithful to the board game. Can be played to completion during a lunch hour or less. All the games individually simple game systems combine into a not so simple game to win. Recommended.

Jeu solo dont l'adaptation digitale évite beaucoup d'administration fastidieuse. A noter qu'il demande de se plonger dans les règles en PDF. Le tutoriel et les règles de l'application sont très largement insuffisantes pour acquérir les compétences nécessaires à la victoire. Je pourrai donner quelques tuyaux mais le plaisir de ce genre de jeu et de s'y casser les dents avant de trouver le rythme.

Picture the gameplay like this: You have three turns to prepare resources, three to move men and three to recover or use them against the enemy. The enemy has twelve bombing runs. Rigged garbage. Buy only if you have a humiliation kink like the author.

The game offers a fair mix of complexity with an easy interface while requiring tactical and logistical decisions affected by the randomness of card draw and dice rolls. The background material and overall arrangement are well done. Worth the cost and I will play it many hours.

Game does some of the no-choice steps for you, making it easier than the version in the box.