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Freeverse Deluxe Board GamesReviewed By: Erica Marceau Review Computer: 400MHz G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) with 768MB RAM, ATI Rage Pro 128, Mac OS X (v10.2.4) Review Date: June 9, 2003
Once the game starts, the chatting doesn't have to stop. Not only can you make the chat area bigger or smaller, but you can use Emotidolls to send emotions by simply clicking on the little smiley in each of the games. The little stick figure actually moves, so you can stick out your tongue to your opponent without having to remember a command to type. Since the most fun part of playing board games is talking to your opponent, I'm glad to see Freeverse including so many chat options.
You can play your own mp3 songs either by adding them to a playlist or playing them individually. This is a nice touch, although it's hampered by the music stopping if you hold down your mouse for too long as well as if there are sound effects playing; sound effects which I can't turn off even if I turn them off in the Settings menu, so they do tend to disturb the music. I recommend not using the built-in music, instead using iTunes or another music source if you're okay with hearing music along with sound effects. If you enjoy playing board games and want an easy way to play against other people or a computer player, then Freeverse Board Games include all of the fun without the hassle of losing game pieces, having to clean up afterwards, or begging your younger brothers to play with you.  [an error occurred while processing this directive]
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Cool Mac Gear• iPod 1G-2G • iPod 3G • iPod 4G • iPod Mini • PowerBook-iBook • Keyboard Skins • Garageband
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When I was a girl, I wanted to play board games with my brothers. Since they were active boys and would rather be playing with their friends, the games would remain untouched. Freeverse has stepped in to satisfy the needs of abandoned gamers with its collection of eight board games including 4-in-a-Row, Tic Tac Toe, Reversi, Mancala, Go, Draughts (checkers), Chess, and 7th Fleet (battleship). With Internet, LAN, and solo play against computer players of adjustable intelligence, has Freeverse taken board games to the next level?
When you start any of the board games, you are given the option of playing a solo game or connecting to Gamesmith (a free service created by Freeverse to allow people to meet to play or chat online). If you decide to play a solo game, you can select the intelligence of the computer; from Poopy Baby (Poor) to Kid Sarcastic (Fair) to Sophomore Year Dropout (Good) to Basque Poet (Best). When you want to change to a different game, simply select the one you want from the File menu and you are presented again with the options of playing a solo game or connecting to Gamesmith. I only wish changing the computer intelligence was as easy, since you have to change the setting, then switch to the window which has the two starting options, and then select the Play Solo button which opens up another window with the game in the new difficulty. Once you do this, you can just switch between the windows to play games with the different difficulties or even play multiple games with the same difficulty. This isn't a difficult process, but I do think it's less intuitive than it could be.
If you want to play online with other people, then select the Gamesmith option and you're taken to the main screen as you can see in the screenshot to the right. The players in the room are listed in the left frame, and the games are listed in the right frame. You can join any of the open games, host your own, or chat with the players in the same room as you.
Aside from selecting the background pattern, there aren't many ways to adjust how the games look. It would have been a nice touch if there were more selections of background patterns or the ability to use your own patterns or pictures. It would also have been nice to be able to change the look of the chess and draught pieces, or even to have the ability to play as the opposite color.