Want to love it… but can

So, this has been up on the "cant-wait" list for as long as its been announced, so it was a must-purchase. Ive been a huge overall fan of the iOS port (easy controls, decent layout, etc) and figured this would be more of the same, at least once it was flipped to whats being called "genuine board game mode" to avoid the 3d graphics/animations. That has not been the case.

My biggest issue with this port is not the lack of multiplayer (its explicit about that right now), nor my minor gripe about not allowing for the 6-player expansion variant, nor anything else minor: its simply that the game is so difficult to play because of the constant forced 3d perspective, even in the "board game mode". It makes it tedious to pay attention to the "far" side of the board, and adds exactly nothing to play. Additionally, and this is more of a nit-pick, its bizarre how when you do switch to the classic tiles, that the new, weird "line" ports stay the same, as well as how progress cards/development cards/improvements are represented. There is already a good model YOU developed out there for these things!

Honestly, I was looking forward to being able to have another avenue to play Catan on, but after buying this (expensive) version, Im hugely disappointed, and will continue to play on iOS and in person, while this sits unlaunched in my Applications folder. I rarely review apps unless they are either stellar, or awful; I was hoping to review this as great but instead Im writing for the opposite reason. The second star is simply because I have to give points for giving a way to play Catan to folks without an iPad, etc… but its a grudging star and Id suggest they just try to go find some friends and go cardboard.

ETA: Seriously, if the game looked like the Szenario (sic) Editor quasi-app, Id probably add 1-2 stars right there without any other usability/UI improvements. Dear lord, the 3d is unnecessary!

Applecyclist about Catan