Charterstone: Digital Edition
- March 26, 2020
- Mobo Studio
- 42h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Apple Store"Charterstone: Digital Edition" is a digital adaptation of the acclaimed board game, where players construct the Eternal City over the course of a campaign with high replayability. Each game in the campaign has its own rules and objectives, with decisions carrying over and impacting the game's outcome. With no negative player interactions, the game encourages strategic planning and collaboration.
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a charming aesthetic that enhances the overall experience.
- The digital adaptation streamlines gameplay, making it faster and easier to manage than the physical board game.
- The campaign offers a variety of interesting choices and strategies, gradually increasing in complexity as players progress.
- The game suffers from poorly explained mechanics and unclear card effects, leading to frustration and confusion during gameplay.
- There are significant bugs and stability issues, particularly in online multiplayer, which can disrupt the campaign experience.
- The tutorial is inadequate, making it difficult for new players to understand the rules and mechanics without prior knowledge of the board game.
- gameplay21 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay is engaging and rewarding, featuring innovative mechanics that evolve over a 12-game campaign, allowing for strategic depth and interactive experiences. While the core mechanics are intuitive, new players may face a steep learning curve due to a lack of tutorials and occasional bugs. Overall, the game is well-received for its graphics and smooth mechanics, particularly on PC, though some users have reported issues with campaign progression and interface organization.
“Nice graphics, great implementation of the rules, loved the gameplay.”
“While the core mechanic of the game stays the same, the buildings and combos that get added to the board over the course of the 12-game campaign create a wealth of interesting choices and strategies.”
“Gameplay itself is fun, interactive, challenging, and rewarding.”
“So overall, this game is not for those who want to clearly understand mechanics based on description and rules before going into it.”
“I encountered a couple of minor gameplay bugs, but more importantly, I've tried to play through the campaign twice now and each time my campaign was corrupted and became unplayable. The game gives you no way to move forward; the main GUI elements are there, but nothing to actually play a turn or move to the next one.”
“There are almost no tutorials or help for many mechanics; it's really brutal for new players.”
- story14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The story in the game is described as simple and sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in the digital version where players may miss key narrative elements due to NPC decisions. While the storyline can feel superficial and lacks depth, it does provide a fun competitive experience that evolves as the game progresses. Overall, players appreciate the unfolding narrative in the campaign mode, especially in the physical version, but some express disappointment in the lack of connection to the story.
“Very glad I purchased this digital copy, I think I have a decent grasp on the game now, and am looking forward to seeing where the story goes.”
“Expect a very simple game at first, which will accelerate in complexity and depth as the storyline progresses, with new ways to supplement your strategy unlocking with new rules and objectives.”
“Never played the physical version and I'm really enjoying how this game's story unfolds while playing the campaign; the physical version must be a joy to play, building the board with the stickers and the rules slowly unfolding.”
“My only real criticism with the digital implementation is that you will miss the story or prompts for any ending when an NPC chooses the outcome.”
“Every time an NPC met the charter goal, I had no idea what they chose or what was going on with the story and couldn't find a way to read the story that I missed.”
“I didn't have high expectations for the end after a few games as I had no connection through the story (lack of), but even then I was disappointed and left feeling, oh well at least I have seen it and don't have to suffer further games.”
- stability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- -14 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being highly buggy, particularly in its multiplayer mode, leading to frequent freezes and disconnections. While single-player experiences are generally smooth, many users report ongoing issues with online play, suggesting that the game was released prematurely. However, subsequent patches have improved stability, indicating progress towards a more reliable experience.
“Playing a single game or a series is easy and bug-free.”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes or glitches.”
“I can rely on the game to perform consistently every time I play.”
“This implementation is very buggy for multiplayer.”
“However, this feels like it shouldn't have left the alpha stage yet; it's so buggy.”
“It is incredibly buggy on all of the games I have played through, and it gets stuck with the AI even with the latest patch.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their beauty and faithful adaptation of the original board game's artwork, contributing to an overall charming aesthetic. Reviewers appreciate the attention to detail and the clean interface, which enhance the gameplay experience. While the visuals are generally well-received, some players noted that the music can become repetitive over time.
“Follows the board game faithfully, works well, very pretty graphics.”
“Add in the lovely graphics and clean interface and this is one of the best board game adaptations I have ever played.”
“I love the attention to detail, beautiful artwork, and soothing music!”
“The graphics are as charming as the board game (which is charming), the gameplay is eclectic and lively, and the music is nice even if you'll wind up muting it soon after your first run simply because it's not varied, and you'll hear it far too much.”
“Like the actual board game, it looks like a children's game (not only visuals, but also the music and the app-like appearance of every new item).”
“Fourth campaign played all the way through with no problems (easy mode and reduced graphics).”
- music8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its soothing quality and ability to set the mood, with many reviewers appreciating the attention to detail and beautiful artwork that accompanies it. However, some players noted that the soundtrack lacks variety, leading to potential monotony after repeated play. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, it may not hold up for long-term enjoyment.
“The music is also well done and soothing.”
“The hard AI is strong, and the background music sets the mood perfectly.”
“I love the attention to detail, beautiful artwork, and soothing music!”
“Like the actual board game, it looks like a children's game (not only visuals, but also the music and the app-like appearance of every new item).”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The digital adaptation of the board game significantly enhances replayability through its campaign system, allowing players to engage in multiple campaigns with different participants. Users note that each playthrough offers a distinct experience, making it more replayable than its physical counterpart. Overall, the game is praised for its ability to provide varied gameplay in a relatively short time.
“Since it's digital, you can play multiple campaigns with different people, adding to the replayability.”
“I couldn't believe that I went through a whole campaign in just a few hours; good thing it is very different every time you play it, making it highly replayable!”
“This board game works much better and is far more replayable as an electronic version than as a physical board game.”
“Since it's digital, you can play multiple campaigns with different people, adding replayability.”
“Fairly faithful adaptation of the board game, and much more replayable.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players find the end-of-turn gating somewhat tedious, but appreciate the improvements in automated bookkeeping that prevent the game from slowing down while searching for cards. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as manageable with these enhancements.
“Automated bookkeeping is always nice, and the game not grinding to a halt while people find the right cards in the box is a huge improvement.”
“The end-of-turn gating is a bit tedious, but I'm not sure what the best workaround would have been.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game runs smoothly, indicating effective optimization and a positive gameplay experience.
“So far, everything runs smoothly, and the game is great.”
