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Many gamers still remember the times when Tamagotchis were the hottest thing on the block, and PlayStation 1 was revolutionising the way we look at video entertainment. Now you can grow your virtual pet on your new 5G smartphone, and PlayStation 5 is about to drop just before Xmas.
However, this doesn’t change the timeless appeal of traditional games that have now been adapted to large digital gaming platforms. Here are some of the best ones you can now fire up on your Android or iOS device.
Scrabble® GO
Playing Scrabble used to require a traditional gaming board and these lovely letter-tiles you would use to put together the most sophisticated word you could think of and get a high score. And while there’s something special about the physicality of the classic game, you can now have so much fun enjoying word games on your mobile.
Besides playing classic Scrabble with your friends, you now have a few more competitive gaming modes to choose from, and even face the best players from all around the world.
Online Chess
This classic strategic game originated in India around the 6th century A.D. It found its way to Persia, the Arab World, and then to Medieval Europe where it appeared as a curiosity brought by itinerant merchants. Chess sets can serve as a piece of art, and the most expensive among them is valued at $1,327,515. However, now you can download an app like Chess Free and enjoy all of the brain-boosting benefits of this age-old classic within a matter of seconds. You can pick among 12 difficulty levels, learn the most popular chess openings, and even try playing against a couple of opponents at once in the multiplayer mode.
Mobile Slot Games
The first slot machine was developed by Charles August Fey, a mechanic in San Francisco in 1891. These “one-armed bandits” soon evolved into sophisticated slot machines that now use random number generators (RNGs) to produce numbers between 1 and several billion every second to ensure fairness of each gaming session.
Then, with the advent of PCs and the internet, rudimentary versions of computer slots became available in the 90s, and ultimately, ingenious developers came up with dozens of online slot games based on classics like Millionaires Island which are now accessible on mobile devices. They are a source of good entertainment for many reasons: they’re easy to play, always keep you excited about a possible win, and you simply can’t ignore these flashing colors and juicy fruit symbols.
Catan Universe
The Settlers of Catan is still one of the most popular board games in the world. With over 22 million copies sold in 30 languages, it’s one of the classic “settlers” games where you need to build settlements, cities, and roads by using your precious resources.
Various mobile game developers picked up on the idea and now online marketplaces are full of settlers titles like Battle World: Kronos, Empire Online, or Rise of Civilizations. But if you still pine for the original Catan gameplay transposed into the world of mobile, you can check Catan Universe that’s available on every platform out there.
Monopoly
In the days gone by, when the average human attention span was a tiny bit longer, people used to spend hours proving their capitalistic prowess on a Monopoly board. Since the game was first developed in 1935, it went through various iterations, changing rules, and board designs.
Luckily, you can enjoy the fruits of this almost 100-year-long process on your mobile. The app costs just a couple of dollars but it’s well worth the price as it gives you all of the features of the traditional game and much more. Besides using the regular house rules and playing against your friends, it also allows you to try the quick mode, the single-player mode (where you play against artificial intelligence), or the online multiplayer mode that puts you in the winner takes all scenario with other money hungry players from around the globe.
These are just a couple of examples of fantastic traditional games that made their way into the online world. There are other ones like Mahjong, Battleship, or Go, so take a moment to look around and find your favorite.
