If you know someone who is a little intimidated by board games, we think that we've checked out a game be a good way to get them into the genre.
Leaping Lemmings is a cute game that is far less complex than many of the other board games that get ported to iOS.
Leaping Lemmings has an adorable art style that is just about as unintimidating as you can get. It is played on a long, hexagonal grid that is divided into two halves. The left side is the field, the right side is the cliff, and dividing the two is the ominously named "Line of Bones."
The objective of the game should be fairly obvious, provided you know anything about lemmings: get your lemmings to jump off the cliff on the right of the screen, over the Line of Bones as far as possible. Doing this requires a combination of dice rolls, card draws, and avoiding eagles that will attempt to feast on your lemmings whenever they get too close. If you manage to walk through (or land on) a tile with pellets, you'll get additional points. Action cards can be used during the game, or like many other board games, hoarded for victory points at the end. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
The tutorial in the game is what we'd call a bit on the lighter side, so we recommend playing several matches against the AI set on "easy" before you begin playing anything harder, to get a handle for strategy and mechanics, If you plan on bringing this game to a party or sit down and play it with a friend, you'll be able to explain it after a few run-throughs, which should severely save on "setup" time.
If you're down for it,
Leaping Lemmings might be a good way to get new friends into board games, or even a good way to introduce younger players to the scene. In a standard two-player, human-on-human game, we found that most games could be completed in under 30 minutes, and the AI games move a little faster, depending on how long you take to play out your turns.
Leaping Lemmings has AI, can play up to six players, has a multiplayer in pass-and-play, and is an iPad exclusive that costs $4.
Who could lead the pack in Leaping Lemmings:
If you like quick-play board games, or you're looking for an easy game to get your friends or kids into, this is absolutely fantastic.
Who should avoid Leaping Lemmings
If you are looking for a game that is extremely robust, like
Dominant Species, pass on this one. It's pretty light as far as board games go.
-- Amber Neely (
@SurferAmber)
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