Evolution (2016)

This is a great fully-featured adaptation of an excellent board game where you try to adapt your creatures and be the most successful by surviving. The digital version simplifies a lot of the processes and questions people might have about how traits interact so the multiplayer matches fly by and the whole thing feels very brisk and well-made. The multiplayer also is cross-platform between iOS, Android, and Steam which means it avoids the problem most digital board games have where their populations disappear immediately and you can never find a match. The campaign serves as an extended tutorial, teaching you the basics of the game and what all the traits do and then showing you different strategies opponents might use (super defensive or aggressive traits, minimal food for creatures to eat, etc.) and giving you a chance to react. That’s one of the great strengths of the design of the game overall: you always have several ways to use your cards and adapt your creatures so it always feels like you have some way you can respond to the strategies your opponents are using. I think the best thing about the game might be the presentation though: menus, icons, and the watering hole you play around all look great and the game continues to feature beautiful artwork that the physical version is known for. Sound effects and music are also great and bring a lot of life to all the creatures and to combat. It’s the gold-standard for digital board game adaptations as far as I’m concerned.