SirRick wrote:I skimmed over the topic, but I am still confused as to what the companion app does. Can you play it like a game while on your lunch break at work, or do you need the whole game set up before you? Do you roll dice yourself and input the results, or does the app have a virtual dice roller? How is movement handled?
I am very curious but I don't have any suitable devices to try it out myself.
Basically the app replaces the Evil Wizard player but you must own a copy of the board game box, at least minimum you need the cards and dice and somewhere to take notes. Knowing the game rules I think is also a requirement to use well the app, especially dealing with traps.
The app user must roll all the dice the heroes have to roll during the game and say the app the rolled results. Moreover, the app user must draw the Treasure cards from the real deck of cards and apply the effects of the card by himself. If a wandering monster card is drawn, the app will say the user which type of monster is. The app user must track the spells, gold, equipment, artifacts, etc. that own each hero at each moment, some basic tools are included in the app to aid the tracking of the Body and Mind points that have each hero.
When a monster attacks a hero, the app only rolls the attack dice of the monster, the hero defence ones must be rolled by the user who applies the effects of the combat. If a monster is attacked, the monster defence ones must be rolled by the app user but the app says how many defence dice have the monster. Body points lost by a monster must be informed to the app by the user.
The app decides which spells are casted by evil characters and their target but user player has to apply their effects. The app tracks which spells have already cast the evil characters but it does not track the ones casted by heroes, so user must track them.
The app user says the app where the heroes move after rolling their movement dice and the app will say the user if the heroes step in a trap or not and the app shows what areas of the board discovers the hero, showing the doors, furniture, etc., when applicable. The user must say the app if a hero opens a door, etc.
Some special events and attacks in my opinion are so well introduced. For example if a hero wants to attack the Witch Lord with a different weapon than the Spirit Blade the app will say him that he cannot make the attack, and details like that are introduced in the app.
In my opinion, despite bugs, limitations or time consuming, I think the idea is quite useful for solo play or groups of players whose nobody want to be the Evil Wizard. Of course the mind of a human Evil Wizard is not replaced at all, but it tries to... Hasbro will probably improve the app with new aids in future versions.
= white skull, one "hit"
= black skull, one "hit"
= shield, cancels out one "hit"
