ASTRA 2014: A Virtual Tour for the Casual Gamer: Page 7 of 9

Honorable Mentions

Next up are a few final games that for one reason or another didn't make my list of favorites but that are still worthy of a mention.

There have been several giant monster games of late, but Mega Monster City Smash by Continuum Games seems unique in that it offers remote controlled monsters who roam around the city destroying buildings. Players take turns strategically building structures around the city, then simultaneously control their monsters to crush as many of their opponent's buildings as possible. The monsters can only move forward and rotate in one direction, so it can be a little challenging to maneuver where you want to go. The best way to take down a building seems to be to move forward until you are close to it, then spin around to knock it down with your arms. Perhaps due to poor batteries, the monsters were a bit finicky — but there is potential here for a fun toy/game combo, primarily for a younger audience.

Robot Turtles is a game that is intended to teach some basic programming skills to kids. It was originally launched as a smash-hit Kickstarter campaign last fall, receiving over $600,000 in funding from nearly 14,000 backers. It was recently picked up by ThinkFun and seems like a great activity for parents and younger kids. The parent creates a maze of obstacles and the child must play various cards to guide his turtle (a.k.a. parent) to the destination. The turtle will need to move forward, turn left or right, and even melt ice blocks with a laser to make it through the obstacle course. Kids apparently love this game, particularly since they get to tell their parents what to do, for once.

Last but not least is a party game by USAOpoly that is based on the buzz word of the rising generation: "Selfie" (a photograph of oneself, which often seems accompanied by an awkward pose or expression). One player draws a caption card, then takes a selfie with a particular expression as indicated by the card. The other players then chooses a caption card from their hands that they feel best represents the selfie. The player who took the selfie chooses his favorite caption, and the player who played it gets a point. Basically, this is an Apples to Apples type game that has potential among the teenaged girl market — those who are already proficient selfie photographers.

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