What are the strategies involved in the success of a virtual version of a board game
With the emergence of digital gadgets and platforms, we have seen a lot of developments in various industries. Shops are turned online, movies have turned digital, and music has become easy to access through different platforms.
And just like that, we have seen that what was before available on CDs is now available on mobile phones and consoles through Android and Apple Play stores. Many of the yesteryears board games have been turned into virtual versions by the game developer.
It is the most challenging task because once you make a digital version of a popular board game, you need to brainstorm to make it more popular. This is also why many online versions of board games have yet to make their space in popular video games.
When it comes to making online versions of board games, few have understood the dynamics involved in developing and success of well-rounded games. One such company is LAN Games LTD.
LAN Games LTD
LAN – GAMES LTD was founded on February 3th, 2012. And since then, the company has had over ten-year history. The small EU-based company has an office located in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Throughout the ten years that the company existed, they published 17 board and dice games, including Rento, Farm Builder (Farmassone), Mystic Miracles (7 Wonders), Happy Words, Backgammon, Bridge-Belote, Quiz Town (Bulgarian game only), 3D Chess, Draw It, Ludo, Nine Men’s Morris, Poker (Texas Holdem), Sergeant Major 3-5-8, Sixty Six (66), Sheep War, Among Thieves (partnership) and Tic Tac Toc
All these games can be played on their website,Board Games Online, but most require Flash Player, which is only supported in UC Browser, and the mobile versions can be downloaded from Google Play or Apple Store.
Strategies for producing good quality successful games
- The two critical working process
- The key focus of the working process is to provide players with a solid gameplay experience, which includes frequent game updates, feature additions, bug fixes, new extras, and new platform supports. Games like Rento Fortune monopoly requires weekly updates (especially to Android and iOS platforms) to guarantee maximum device compatibility and gaming experience. As new mobile devices come to the global market each month, LAN GAMES ensures that all the existing board games work perfectly on each device.
- The second key focus is the development of new games, which is a second priority; as usual, developing and distributing new games is much more complex and expensive than extending/improving existing games with the existing player base
- Making a community of players
They have created a big community where players can chat with each other, build their rankings, play together and even upload pictures of game progress and achievements. Also, every Sunday, they schedule mass tournaments in which the top 5 winners get different prizes, such as their printed game Rento Fortune or credits/coins and VIP account membership for their portal website.
- Cross Platform Multiplayer
The unique advantage that Lan-Games has over its competitors is the cross-platform multiplayer. Rento game can support up to 8 player playing from different platforms (one on Android, another on iOS, third on PS4, fourth on Steam, fifth on WEB, and so on..).
Accomplishments they have because of their strategies
One of the most significant accomplishments achieved by LAN – GAMES is stepping into the Chinese market with the Rento game. China is a vast market with tons of potential for bringing millions of new players. But that is never an easy task. With all of the country restrictions and especially the China firewall, it is challenging to host a gaming server in China if the legal entity does not have a local presence there.
Another significant milestone for the company is stepping on each possible major mobile and console platform today. As announced in the company’s newsletter, the latest platform supported is the Steam Deck. As of the summer of 2022, two games support the Steam Deck platform: Rento and Happy Words. The next milestone is adding a few other games to the Deck platform.