Universal Game Review: Dash Race, Plus A Chance to Win A Copy

Dash Race

$1.99

Universal (iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad)

Version: 2.1.0

Tested on: iPad 2 and iPod Touch 4G (iOS 4.3.2)

Rating: 4 of 5

10 years ago I was introduced to German Board Games by a German colleague. The board game was Carcassonne. I was mesmerized by the creativity displayed by the game design. Ever since, I fell in love with German/Euro Board Games because of how they are creatively designed to include a variety of theme, unique gameplay, strategy-heavy mechanics, the multiplayer aspect of the game, and of course the classic rules design that are simple to learn but difficult to master. One of my favorite Euro Board Games is a multiplayer racing game entitled Formula D which can support up to 8 players racing in Formula One tracks.

Dash Race reminds me a lot of Formula D, except that it's not based on dice and luck, rather it's entirely based on strategies and tactics. Different tracks require different strategies, and different turns and conditions require different tactics. This game is so good and so promising for future updates that you can easily spend hours playing the game. Dash Race is a turn-based game where each player takes turn to draw his/her move. Using a simple projection rule, you can only move in certain direction and speed.

Everyone starts with one step, but every step that you'll take after that allows you to speed up, speed down or keep the current speed. The same is true with the direction. You start with a direction, and you can keep the direction or change it slightly to the left or slightly to the right. Remember that you can only change the direction slightly not radically. You need to keep this simple rule in mind. It's so simple, yet it's quite difficult to master in your first few games.

The game becomes more interesting with more players joining the game. Not only because this is a racing game, but because the other players (or robots) can block your next move, thus forcing you to speed down, speed up or change your route. The more players involved in the game, the more challenging the race is. I really love this game. Yes, it may be difficult to master during your first few races, but after that the game becomes more and more interesting.

It's a good idea to start with one robot until you get the hang of it. But once you do, you'll start looking for more challenging races, by including all three robots and trying out different tracks. Fortunately this game also includes the option to play with other players. Racing games always work best when you play with other players. Using the Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth connection, you can easily find other players in your local network. Once you start playing with other players, the gaming experience would never be the same again.

To keep you challenged, the game includes nine different tracks which has different difficulty levels. But if you love this game like I do, you'll always want to try new tracks. Fortunately the game offers add-on tracks which you can purchase within the game. These tracks are amazing. And since this game also works beautifully on an iPad, I will leave you with screenshots from the add-on tracks taken from the gameplay on the iPad. 

Overall, I really recommend this game to anyone who loves racing or turn-based strategy games. The multiplayer feature is just awesome. And, you can always brag your achievements on your Facebook status. Hopefully, that'll challenge your friends to race you in this game. 

Now, for a very limited period of time, you have a chance to actually win one of the ten promo codes for this great racing game. And, here are the steps you need to take to get a chance to win the promo codes:

1. Follow @appenthusiast on Twitter
2. Tweet this: "Race with your friends in #Dash Race for iPhone. Get a chance to win a copy! http://bit.ly/lD6VuX via @appenthusiast" or just click the small blue Twitter share button on the bottom right of this post.
3. The contest ends on Saturday, Apr 30, 2011, 08:59 PST
4. I will choose randomly the ten winners

Make sure that you join now and get your chance to win this great product, because a new update is coming next month with Game Center achievements and leaderboards!


Check out my other iPhone app reviews here.