We're rapidly approaching the time of the year when boardgames and Disney films will be as much a part of the menu as overcooked turkey and cheap sherry. Sitting down to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, followed by a round of Connect 4 has become as traditional as gaudily decorated pine trees.
Still, the thought of combining the two and applying them to your mobile phone, as Disney Board Games Master does, is a slightly curious one. It's hard to see, for example, how the three classic board games on offer - checkers, Reversi (Othello) and 4-in-a-row (Connect 4) - could possibly be enhanced by the Disney connection.
Guess what? They're not.
What we have here is three relatively no-nonsense versions, with surprisingly little in the way of Disney embellishment. The checker pieces, for example, haven't been made to resemble the playing-card armies of Alice in Wonderland (more's the pity) and nor has the game board been set in a lush valley teaming with birds and butterflies. It's just, well, checkers.
Of course, such games have become classics on the strength of their ingenious rule sets, and as such they play as well as you'd expect. In each case you click where you want your playing piece to move and it moves. Simple. So simple, in fact, that we feel they could have squeezed a couple more games into the package. But there are still hours of gaming to be had here regardless.
There are also Deluxe versions of each game, where power-ups are introduced to liven things up. These include such devices as mines, which allow you to blow up an opponent's playing piece, or one that permits you to take two consecutive turns.
While these add a new dimension to each game, they're not particularly well implemented or entirely welcome. Don't mess with the classics, and all that.
Rather more successful is the range of scenarios that make up each game's Puzzles mode. Here you're presented with a selection of pre-arranged board set-ups and asked to find a way to victory. It's simple and fun, and perfect for gaming on the go.
Campaign mode tasks you with obtaining bronze, silver and gold medals, but all that really amounts to is playing through each game in succession in a kind of classic game medley. The medals merely represent the difficulty level of each game.
The presentation here is surprisingly functional for a Disney game, with a muted colour palette and, as touched upon earlier, a curious lack of characters (and hence character).
The most noticeable use of the Disney license is in the between-level screens, which feature a famous Disney character outlined as a kind of star constellation. It's all rather restrained, which we never thought we'd say about a Disney title.
Ultimately, Disney Board Games Master is the most un-Disney Disney game I've ever played. It's a curious, some might say cynical use of the license, with precious few nods to Disney lore. There's no denying the timeless qualities of each of the games on offer here, but the rather half-hearted attempts at updating each game fall a little flat.
If you're particularly fond of each of the games on offer here, you won't go far wrong with a purchase. Disney fans, however, need not apply.
Disney Board Games Master
Disney Board Games Master features competent renderings of three classic board games, but its attempts to update the formulas are unsuccessful and the Disney element is curiously underplayed
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.