Smartphone Inc.

I underestimated it at first. The unfamiliar designers and the theme made me think of Franchise, a perfectly decent light network-building game that already occupied that slot on my shelf. Smartphone Inc. is not merely another version of that idea.

The rules are straightforward and never swamp the table, yet there is much more game beneath that clean surface. Each round asks you to read what everyone else is preparing, get ahead of their intentions, and avoid being beaten to the same move yourself. That is where the cutting begins.

The interaction is not decorative; it is the whole point. You watch an opponent, decide what they want, take it away, then wonder whether you have just read the room completely wrong. Grudges, drama, tiny acts of revenge across the table. With 1.1. and its three-player map, it works comfortably at every player count, while bots and retailers give the package still more to get your hands into.

The production is excellent, and the game is far more compelling than it first appears. The expansion is effectively essential, so the complete package does cost a bit; but for a game that keeps your brain alert and your friends’ plans exposed, it is quietly excellent.