Gobblet By Blue Orange Games Will Gobble Your Wallet
Gobblet by Blue Orange Games™ - App (Free) by Jonathan Hager takes an established strategy board game and brings it to iOS. Similar to a blend of chess and tic-tac-toe, the objective is to get four of your “gobblet” game pieces in a row.
The pieces are different sizes, meaning the larger ones can “gobble” up the smaller ones like a Russian nesting doll.
While the game looks fun and challenging, the only problem is that you don’t get to experience the whole thing without paying for it. A lot.
In perhaps the worst pricing plan I have ever seen in an app, three different modes are available at different prices. As a free download you get access to playing online via Game Center. Playing in a turn-based setup, you get the joy of moving a piece, only to have to wait for your opponent to do the same.
Just like Outwitters, waiting for your opponent can be a matter of minutes, or days. Without even providing a tutorial, I wasn’t even sure what move I had done before my turn ended (I have yet to have another turn). A movie is shown to illustrate what the game could look like if you get a chance to actually play from start to finish.
You’ll need to pay if you want to experience anything past that. The other two modes available are playing locally against a friend or against the computer. Each new mode costs $3.99, though you can supposedly be a thrifty consumer by buying the bundle for $5.99.
It’s a shame that playing against the computer isn’t the free option because then you would experience a full game to determine whether or not you want to go further with it.
This looks like a fun game, but its pricing plan is fundamentally flawed. I don’t believe in paying more than $0.99 for an app (unless if it’s a “blockbuster” by a known developer, such as The Dark Knight Rises).
Asking $5.99 for the whole thing? That’s not a strategic move on the developer’s part. Just looking at the comments left in the App Store show that others think the same.
It’s a shame because this game looks like fun.
