TABLETOP GALLERY serves as a compilation as of three eShop titles previously only released in the US - TOSS N GO, SHUT THE BOX and POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE. Each of these dice-rolling titles never made their way to European shores, prompting developer/publisher RCMADIAX to eventually release them as a bundled package for that market.
The first of the trio is the rather oddly titled SHUT THE BOX, features no "box" whatsoever, and is instead played with two dice and numbered tiles. Simply put - you must roll the two dice and then pick the numbered tiles that add up to the dice value, trying to clear the three rows of tiles as you go. This is as simple as "entertainment" comes and you may find yourself playing for mere minutes before losing interest altogether. You can read our full review of SHUT THE BOX's initial eShop release here.
POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE is a rather elaborate name for the game "Kismet". For those unfamiliar the game, POKER DICE SOLITAIRE is essentially a no-thrills take on the classic Poker formula, only with numbered die instead of traditional cards with a similar format to "Yahtzee". While it's likely to appease die-hard poker fans, it ultimately falls short and its futuristic aesthetic does little to mask the title's mediocrity. Our full review of POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE can be read here.
Last is TOSS N GO, possibly the most playable title of the bunch and likely to maintain a decent level of enthusiasm for at least a short amount of time. TOSS N GO requires players to go toe-to-toe against the CPU to roll (or toss) a total of 100 points from ten dice. Managing to roll ten green dice will result in you being awarded 10 points and will leave all ten die open in the field of play, free to roll again. Rolling red at any time, though, will award 0 points, and rolling only reds will end your turn. Essentially a game of risk, TOSS N GO is the most addictive of the titles and having an opponent (albeit an imaginary one) makes the experience a far more enjoyable one. You can read our previous review here.
As far as improvements or additions go - there are none to speak of. TABLETOP GALLERY simply serves as a way of receiving all three of RCMADIAX's previous dice-rolling titles in one discount package. As budget titles go, TABLETOP GALLERY offers the bare minimum. There are no visual improvements over the original three's bland (and somewhat ugly) aesthetics and with absolutely no bonus content offered. A lack of option menus, leaderboards and other fairly standard features result in the package feeling a little insubstantial and unpolished.
Conclusion
Scoring three previously released titles is somewhat tricky; each title must be reviewed on its own merits, as well as the newly collated package as a whole. Even when bundled together as part of a discount package, TABLETOP GALLERY still feels insufficient - partly down to its minimal design style, but also down to each of the trio's incredibly simplistic premise. There will be a niche market that TABLETOP GALLERY appeals to, and the titles do offer moments of distraction to those with an interest in such games - but there is very limited enjoyment to be found here for the average gamer; most will happily bypass this one altogether.
Comments 11
These aren't bad games if you take them at face value. All three are good time wasters best played on the gamepad and are decent educational games for young children for basic math, matching, etc. It is a shame that they dont have a top 10 high score board or some other basic features though as they could be competitive games in that regard
I'd finally get these if this came to NA
Board games on consoles can be fun, especially piece heavy games like Monopoly and Risk. These aren't very piece heavy though. My dad used to have a physical version of a Shut the Box like game. It was kind of fun, but I myself wouldn't go out of my way to play it on a smartphone, much less a console. Given that a physical version seems to be about $15 to $20, this isn't a terrible deal if you really want that game. Still comes across to me as the kind of game one would make to practice their coding skills.
Is PDSF the same as Yahtzee? Yahtzee is fun, but the "classic" version, whatever that means, is $8 on Amazon with the red box version available for $15. Yahtzee is a perfect mobile game though, in my opinion. I don't know if I would play it on a console though. I used to have a handheld version with a Game and Watch style screen and it was a good time waster. Toss N Go sounds like a fun smartphone app. I do miss the age of flash games where nobody expected people to pay money for these kinds of time wasters. I guess ad block helped to kill them off, as well as the obnoxious and disreputable advertisements that drove people to ad-block software in the first place. In the end, if you have kids and want board games for them, they, and therefore you will probably will get your money's worth out of the official Hasbro versions of these games.
I think this is terribly harsh. Obviously NintendoLife has suggested not identifying the reviewer as against any genre but I feel that anyone who enjoys a little kick back board game time this is an excellent, what was it? $4? Option. I've spent quite a bit of time on all three of these just shooting the breeze - I'm surprised they aren't on mobile (or 3ds) as they'd be a better fit there with the portability.
It's funny how some games are absolutely PRAISED to the point of glory for being simple while others are ripped to pieces. I find it an excellent introduction for developer RCMADIAX to the gaming world and am excited to see where it can go.
@Dodger yes PDSF is Yahtzee with a few tweeks.
If you want more poopitypoopoop - then buy this poopitypoopoop - if you want more good games - only buy good games
@RCMADIAX For some reason I thought this discounted the total price, but it doesn't. I still might pick these up
@RCMADIAX
Good job on these I think there is room always for little games like this on the e shop. Its a shame you got so much criticism as I think these are pretty fun and while they don't set the world on fire they were never intended to. I hope to see more of your games one day on Nintendo consoles and how your talent develops.
May actually get this now that it's in a bundle for the US.
@RCMADIAX Are you going to permanently discount the EU version at any point to be on par with the US version or is it about there already? Seems slightly cheaper on my side of the pond...
@RCMADIAX Fair enough. Cheers!
@RCMADIAX Awesome!
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