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Brad Cummings
United States
Connecticut
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The Stats:
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch (Universal)
Current Price: $2.99
Developer/Publisher: House Full of Games/ Steve Blanding
Version: 1.3/1.3
Size: 8.7 MB/ 17.5
Multiplayer: Pass and Play
AI: Yes. Varying difficulty
Itunes link: Tichu and Mu
The Good:
- Well laid out design on both ipad and smaller devices.
- Excellent translations of the card version.
The Bad:
- Mu could use a multiplayer system, both game will benefit by async (coming in iOS 5 to Game Center).
- Leader board system would also be interesting.
Summary:
Mu and, especially Tichu are well known games in the board game community. To translate them to iOS is something akin to the challenge Puerto Rico. However, Steve has managed to not only create quality games but also program AI that is both a challenge and a tutor.
Gameplay:
Mu and Tichu are trick-taking games of some of the most renown. They are played with same vigor by gamers as ladies in Boca play Bridge and Spades. They rely on knowing the value of your hand and working closely with your partner(s). Rather than give a rambling explanation, in this case I will use the summaries found on their Board Game Geek pages:
Mu: Mü is regarded by many as one of the best offerings in the trick-taking genre. Players reveal cards to declare their bids: the highest bidder becomes the Chief and the second highest bidder is the Vice. Both the Vice and Chief choose a trump (either number or suit), and then players try to capture tricks to score the most points. The Chief chooses a partner and tries to cover the bid to score bonus points, while the Vice and remaining players seek to stop the Chief from reaching his goal.
The deck consists of 60 cards in 5 different colored suits. Each suit contains cards numbered from 0 to 9, with two of each the 1 and 7 cards. Cards also have 0, 1, or 2 triangles printed on them to show the point value of that card.
Tichu: Partnership climbing card game -- object is rid yourself of your hand. The deck is a standard 52-card pack with four special cards added. When it's your turn, you may either beat the current top card combination or pass. If play passes all the way back to the player who laid the top cards, he wins the trick and can lead the next one. The card led determines the only combination of cards to be played on that trick. So if a single card is led, then only single cards are played. If a straight of seven cards is led, then only straights of seven cards, etc. The last player out gives all the cards he won to the player who exited first, and the last player's unplayed cards are handed to the opposite team. Fives, Tens and Kings are worth points, with each hand worth one hundred points (without bonuses). The first team to 1000 points wins.
As you can see both games offer a challenging amount options and combinations. Luckily, the iOS versions include excellent tutorials to help walk you through the game for as long as you need it. These apps also offer a chance to train and become better at these difficult games, and hopefully prevent your partner from yelling at your during your next play session.
Implementation:
Both Mu and Tichu offer a deeper trick-taking experience on iOS. Beyond this, they offer a higher quality experience when compared to most Spades and similar clones found on the app store.
The graphic design in both games is generally minimalistic. The game splashes directly into the main play area with a menu popping up in front of you. While Tichu does feature additional buttons for access to online play options, the majority of in game menus are of the generic built iOS fare. Though not particularly aesthetically pleasing in nature, it does seem to blend with the overall classic solitaire design choices. In-game play is clear and easy to navigate. A spotlight moves from player to player clearly showing who needs to make a move. I am very impressed by the information control in these designs. They have thought carefully about what should be shown in what situations. For example in Tichu hand size is shown as going out is a major part of the game, and in Mu the cards remaining in each player’s hands are not show as this is not a factor in the game. The game also uses the devices orientation to display different information. On the iPhone when tipping the device either left or right the score summary and the score reference sheet are shown. When playing on the iPad all of this information is constantly visible.
Both games feature completely customizable AI opponents and partners. You have the ability to set each opponent individually in both difficulty level and play style. I personally am a n00b to both of these games and so I am sufficiently challenged by the normal setting so I cannot speak to the overall challenge of the AI. However, from more experienced I have heard nothing but praise for the AI. In single player mode they offer training to increase your skill for when you play the physical game. That’s right gaming group, next time I won’t make such terrible plays in Mu.
Apart from the AI the game also features several interesting features. These include extended statistics about your play and win percentages against certain AI opponents. If you are a serious player these can be used to analyze your play patterns. Both games also feature Shake-A-Hint which will give you advice on moves when you shake your device. I find it very useful when learning or relearning the game but I do feel you have to shake the device pretty hard in order for it to be read. Another feature which I have not yet taken advantage of is the ability play local multiplayer via Bluetooth. It is nice to have the option but I have not yet seen a situation to use it. Tichu also allows you to run multiple games at once with a mix of online and local games.
As mentioned about Tichu does over online multiplayer. It seems easy to find a game in the evening hours but impossible during business hours (US time). This is probably due to the size of the community. It does give you the option of inviting friends via Game Center, so taking advantage of something like the iOS Board Game guild could provide an easier to find players. I am puzzled as to why Mu has yet to receive the multiplayer treatment (thought I am sure someone will provide the answer in the comments below). I do also believe that when iOS 5 with Async play is implemented it will be a welcome addition to both of these games.
Conclusion:
Mu and Tichu are good minimalistic implementations of popular trick-taking games. Though I enjoy the gameplay of Mu more, Tichu is the better app based on the ability to play both online and multiple games at one time.
Mu
Rating:  3/4 Good
Tichu
Rating: 3/4 Good
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The Stats:
If enough of you go out and buy Mü to justify my taking a few weeks off from work and locking myself in a room with my MacBook Pro then perhaps... And it's entirely possible that I may come back to it in a bit anyway. When iOS 5 comes out, with its built in support for ASMP, then I might very well revisit that decision.
Heh.)
