Ahh....the allure of drinking games. The ability to pass off getting smashed by blaming some external force or third party.
"I didn't want to drink, I had to because those were the rules!"
Well, I am past the drinking game stage of my life, but I remember engaging in a few of them in college. Depending on the game, they can range from mildy amusing and entertaining to simply a blatant attempt to get drunk as fast as possible. Personally, I always prefered the ones that focused more on the "game" than the "drinking" (a Simpson's drinking game comes to mind).
Anyway, King's Cup take the drinking game and brings it to the iPhone. I had never heard of King's Cup until I saw this iPhone version, but from what I hear it is fairly popular. What the iPhone does is simply take the guesswork out of the game.
Kings Cup works by using a deck of cards. Each cards has a specific action/response associated with it, which designate a specific person (or people) to drink, and how much they need to drink. People sit around, picking cards, and getting drunk.
A quick note, I am not sure if I would want my iPhone around in an area with liquids and people who are getting more and more likely to spill those liquids...but maybe that is just me.
From what I have seen, there are a number of variants on the game, and I don't really know which variant this version uses. I read online that the normal number cards are just supposed to be a specific number of drinks...but I never turned up a "normal" number card in the game, so perhaps those have been removed. There is no ability to change or modify the rules to create a new variant.
The game doesn't offer any sort of rules or instructions. You just start the game and start drinking. It would be nice to explain how to set the game up (for example, at one point, the cards indicates that the designated "king" has to drink - but who is the king? How do you designate one?)
The animation is very smooth for the game. It isn't anything fancy - you can scroll through the decks of cards (seeing the back of cards) and when you choose one, it is slowly flipped over to reveal the instructions. If you aren't sure what to do with any given card, you can tap the information button in the corner for a few more detailed instructions (although in some cases as I mentioned above, it is lacking needed details). The animation seems a little slow, but that might be intentional to try to build the excitement.
On another side note, neither myself, any members of the iPhone Blog, or any members of the forum encourage people to drink to excess. We agree that people should drink responsibly and only to their limits. And responsibility also includes not drinking after drinking.
Pros: Nice animation, could be a fun party game
Cons: Limited instructions, no ability to change rules or variants, missing some cards(?)
All in all, if you are looking for a fun drinking party game, this might be your ticket (if you are willing to risk having beer spilled on your iPhone). The game is clean and for the most part, pretty straight forward. There are some confusing aspects that could be explained more clearly. For $1.99, I was expecting more, so the price seems a little high for what it delivers. Three and a half out of five stars.
In the interest of full disclosure, I receved a promo code to review this app.
Rating scale:
* = No redeeming qualities or features, probably not worth it even if it is free
** = Few redeeming qualities, or is simply isn't worth the price
*** = Some good features but also some clear flaws.
**** = A solid app, worth the money if interested, a few flaws or problems or slightly overpriced
***** = Top of the line app, no problems or drawbacks.
Price is factored into the ratings. Ratings are lowered if I feel the price of the app outweighs the benefits/enjoyment/features it provides. Likewise, an app that is a good value for the money will have a higher rating.
"I didn't want to drink, I had to because those were the rules!"
Well, I am past the drinking game stage of my life, but I remember engaging in a few of them in college. Depending on the game, they can range from mildy amusing and entertaining to simply a blatant attempt to get drunk as fast as possible. Personally, I always prefered the ones that focused more on the "game" than the "drinking" (a Simpson's drinking game comes to mind).
Anyway, King's Cup take the drinking game and brings it to the iPhone. I had never heard of King's Cup until I saw this iPhone version, but from what I hear it is fairly popular. What the iPhone does is simply take the guesswork out of the game.
Kings Cup works by using a deck of cards. Each cards has a specific action/response associated with it, which designate a specific person (or people) to drink, and how much they need to drink. People sit around, picking cards, and getting drunk.
A quick note, I am not sure if I would want my iPhone around in an area with liquids and people who are getting more and more likely to spill those liquids...but maybe that is just me.
From what I have seen, there are a number of variants on the game, and I don't really know which variant this version uses. I read online that the normal number cards are just supposed to be a specific number of drinks...but I never turned up a "normal" number card in the game, so perhaps those have been removed. There is no ability to change or modify the rules to create a new variant.
The game doesn't offer any sort of rules or instructions. You just start the game and start drinking. It would be nice to explain how to set the game up (for example, at one point, the cards indicates that the designated "king" has to drink - but who is the king? How do you designate one?)
The animation is very smooth for the game. It isn't anything fancy - you can scroll through the decks of cards (seeing the back of cards) and when you choose one, it is slowly flipped over to reveal the instructions. If you aren't sure what to do with any given card, you can tap the information button in the corner for a few more detailed instructions (although in some cases as I mentioned above, it is lacking needed details). The animation seems a little slow, but that might be intentional to try to build the excitement.
On another side note, neither myself, any members of the iPhone Blog, or any members of the forum encourage people to drink to excess. We agree that people should drink responsibly and only to their limits. And responsibility also includes not drinking after drinking.
Pros: Nice animation, could be a fun party game
Cons: Limited instructions, no ability to change rules or variants, missing some cards(?)
All in all, if you are looking for a fun drinking party game, this might be your ticket (if you are willing to risk having beer spilled on your iPhone). The game is clean and for the most part, pretty straight forward. There are some confusing aspects that could be explained more clearly. For $1.99, I was expecting more, so the price seems a little high for what it delivers. Three and a half out of five stars.
In the interest of full disclosure, I receved a promo code to review this app.
Rating scale:
* = No redeeming qualities or features, probably not worth it even if it is free
** = Few redeeming qualities, or is simply isn't worth the price
*** = Some good features but also some clear flaws.
**** = A solid app, worth the money if interested, a few flaws or problems or slightly overpriced
***** = Top of the line app, no problems or drawbacks.
Price is factored into the ratings. Ratings are lowered if I feel the price of the app outweighs the benefits/enjoyment/features it provides. Likewise, an app that is a good value for the money will have a higher rating.
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