We’re back! Consider this a “lost episode”. Originally recorded back in Fall of 2024, Jerry McGahagin from Tabletop Worldwide joins us as our guest judge. With the theme of spies, will Ric or Ryan sneak their way into winning over our judge?
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In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off with some discussion about AR/VR devices like Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s recently revealed Orion AR glasses. Also, whatever did happen to that whole Metaverse thing Zuck was so obsessed with? We then take a wild turn and talk about the “Piss Bandit” that has been (allegedly) terrorizing folks in Pasadena, and hit on other current events like the Epic vs. Google ruling and the insane stuff happening with Roblox. We wrap things up with some listener emails and an update on how things are going with our new Patreon content strategy.
Don’t forget to shoot us emails with any questions, feedback, or anything else relevant or irrelevant to [email protected]. We read ’em all, and love decoding messages written entirely in emoji. As always, you can listen to us with the links below… And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and/or drop us a review in iTunes. Much appreciated!
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!!! Before reading the post, I’m not talking about Dots and Boxes, but Dots (a paper-based game).
I’ve been playing the game for some time and to become better at it, I started to search for different strategies for the game, but as this game is not so fame/popular there is only one (wikipedia) article to it. Can you share some different experience you’ve had with the game? Eventually how would you place more and more dots?
This game is pretty similar to go, the only difference is, that you don’t have living points (I guess they’re called breathing points?), but the only thing that counts is to circle the enemy. You start in a position where in 2×2 dots the opposite corners are of one player, and the other two dots are from the other.
Can I just assign Go-strategies here? Because it looks like I can’t use them.
PS. Add ‘dots’, ‘paper-based’ tags for the forum, if possible. (Or if this forum is strictly for board games, are paper-based games board-games?)
Satisfactory from Coffee Stain has been one of the standout games of recent years. The factory/automation simulation has absorbed so many player hours since it first came out in Early Access five years ago that we could almost have built our own off-world factory.
Within the last year or so, it was finally released properly and has now moved to version 1.1 more recently with a whole host of changes that make the game even greater.
To celebrate, Coffee Stain and merch partner Heroic Miniatures have teamed up once more to bring a new Kickstarter to the table, which will put some more Satusfactory merchandise out in the wild.
There are two options in the main, the Satisfactory Big Box bundle and the Satisfactory remote control Factory Cart, which you get to make yourself out of little bricks.
The big box is very cool and resembles the big box games of yesteryear. However, only this one comes with merchandise, including a cloth map, posable figures, a mouse or desk mat, and a baseball cap, plus more bits and bobs.
Interestingly, considering it mimics a game box, you don’t receive a copy of the game. Coffee Stain explains that they want to reward existing players rather than use it as a tool to sell the game, which I suppose is fair enough.
There is a lot of cool stuff here, and the project has already been back very quickly, so it will definitely go ahead with rewards set to arrive before the end of the year. There’s even a festive jumper add-on that should land just in time for Ficsmas.
At the time of writing, there are still 27 days left in the campaign, and it has already raised nearly three times the target amount with just under 800 backers. This number is set to rise considerably by the time it closes.
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While you can painstakingly recreate your favorite videogame, comic, or movie character yourself in Minecraft, sometimes you just want the convenience of grabbing a skin pack from the marketplace. If you’re lucky, you may even find some freebies, and in celebration of the new Superman movie, Minecraft has just released yet another free skin pack for you to take advantage of. Containing five skins depicting core characters from the movie, including Superman himself, it’s available to grab right now.
With iconic Warhammer 40k player – I mean, actor – Henry Cavill stepping away from the Superman suit, it’s time for David Corenswet to take up the mantle. Releasing this weekend, the new Superman movie will, ironically, be going toe to toe with A Minecraft Movie to be one of this year’s biggest new releases. Despite the competition, Mojang is down to celebrate the return of Superman on the big screen with some new Minecraft skins.
Conveniently called the ‘Superman Skin Pack,’ it contains incredibly detailed skins for Superman, Lois Lane, Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and the Green Lantern, with the designs based on their appearance in the new film. Put together by the prolific team at Oreville Studios, the titular hero himself is definitely the highlight, but if you’re a particular fan of these other DC characters then you’re in for a treat as well.
The Superman Skin Pack is available to claim for free from the Minecraft marketplace right now. Head here if you want to grab it.
It sounds like this is just the beginning for Mojang’s support of the Superman movie. “Stay tuned for the Superman DLC coming soon!” the developer teases in an announcement post. While this will likely involve splurging some Minecoins, rather than getting everything for free, this will no doubt be of interest to all you DC fans out there.
This is all coming off the back of a rather momentous occasion for Minecraft – the debut of copper golems. Once a Mob Vote loser, these cute little bots are now one of the most helpful additions the game has seen to date. Plus, copper is now a gear tier for armor, tools, and weapons, giving newer players more options when it comes to enhancing their items.
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Few rivalries run as deep as the one between the common house cat and the garden cucumber. It was only a matter of time before these two enemies showed up in board game form. Cats vs Cucumbers is a press-your-luck dice game from Melanie and Ammon Anderson (Gnome Hollow).
A Dicey Rivalry
Players are collecting points over a series of rounds while trying not to bust. On your turn you’ll roll six dice and lock in any cucumbers that are rolled. You can re-roll all non-cucumber dice up to two times before finalizing your dice. If you roll three or more cucumbers on a turn you’ll bust and take a cucumber token from the supply.
Players control three cat meeples that will advance into boxes with higher point values in the center of the table. You can also collect treats that increase in value with the more you collect. Each of the die faces do something different, but you’ll need to collect at least three of each dice face to take the action.
Cat icons (white/black) – Collecting three cats of any color allow you to move your cat meeple forward into the next box. You can move one more box for each cat icon beyond the three.
Cat treats – You’ll collect a treat for rolling three treat icons, collecting an additional treat for each matching die face. A single treat token is worth one point, two are worth three points and three are worth five points.
Toys – Collecting toy icons will give you tokens that have a mystery benefit that can be gained immediately or saved for later. You’ll need three toy icons to earn a token, earning an additional token for each matching icon.
Swipes – With three swipe icons, you can push another player backward into a less valuable box. Move your opponents back even more with additional matching swipe icons.
Nine Lives
The game timer for Cats vs Cucumbers is a deck of cards representing a cats nine lives. Each time a player busts by rolling three or more cucumbers, one life card will be removed from the deck. The game ends when the players collectively lose nine lives.
Cucumbers aren’t all bad. Each time you bust, you’ll collect a cucumber token that can help offset any time you bust OR they can be collected to earn one victory point per token at the end of the game. Cats vs Cucumbers uses a simple Yahtzee mechanic that most players are familiar with.
There are two additional dice combos that players want to keep an eye out for. A “Purr-fect” combo is when a player rolls all six different icons. The “Meow-za” combo is when you roll three unique pairs of dice. When you get either of these combos, you’ll take the reward for one of the die faces. With the “Purr-fect” combo, you’ll also earn a cucumber token. Both of these combos will earn you another full turn before passing the dice.
Final Thoughts
We love a good press-your-luck game in our house. Cats vs Cucumbers has a really cute style and easy to learn mechanics. There are a couple of ways to earn points, so being able to pivot when you’ve had a bad roll isn’t too difficult.
The cats and all the components in the game are really fun and colorful. This is a game that is easy to throw in a bag and take on the go. The nine lives deck of cards is a great way to handle the game timer. The more times players bust, the quicker the game ends. There’s even some strategy in whether you spend a cucumber token to keep from busting when you roll three or more cucumbers.
Cats vs Cucumbers is an easy game to recommend to anyone who enjoys a well themed press-your-luck game. Cats and cucumbers may never find common ground, but at least their rivalry can lend to a fun time around the game table.
A prototype of the game was provided for this coverage. Components and rules covered in this preview are not finalized. Read more about our preview policies at One Board Family.
For the initial meld with the pile frozen, what are the rules for picking up the discard pile? If the minimum meld is 120, is the meld plus two naturals needed to pick up the pile, or just two naturals and a wild card and be able to use this as part of my meld. I have always played that in order to pick up the pile I need the meld plus a natural pair in order to pick up a frozen pile, but just lately I’ve seen it where the person was able to pick up the frozen pile with 2 naturals plus wild card while the pile is frozen. Which version is correct?
A new monitor is one of those purchases most people tend to make when their old one either packs in or they finally decide they want a bigger one.
Over the years, I have had double-monitor and triple-monitor setups. I’ve toyed with portable monitors as a second screen and even projectors. Much of this has been led by my penchant for driving and flight simulations, where extra screen real estate can be beneficial. But the problem is, with working at the same desk as well, it also has to fit right for my writing needs, so that means dangling stuff at weird angles doesn’t always work for me.
A couple of years ago, when the Samsung G9 came out, I really wanted one but simply couldn’t justify the cost – you can buy a first car for a teenager for that price – trust me, you can. As tech moves forward, though, we see a lot of prices coming down, especially in the TV and monitor spaces. The speed at which new panels are developed is pretty astounding. All this means that tech that was out of the price range of the masses not that long ago is now more than in reach.
So, in this growing landscape of ultrawide monitors, the INNOCN 49Q1R stands out immediately — and not just because of its size. This is a 49-inch monitor aimed directly at users who want a huge, immersive workspace or gaming setup without the eye-watering price tag of some better-known brands. It’s still not exactly cheap, but compared to rivals like Samsung’s Odyssey G9 series, it’s priced pretty well at a good level. The big question is whether it delivers enough quality and performance to make it a worthwhile investment. The answer, after a couple of months of use for me, is a resounding yes, with a few caveats.
Design and Build
Unboxing the 49Q1R – and it is huge when it arrives. It’s not that it is heavy per se, but with the box and secure packing inside, a second pair of hands is useful to get it to its final resting spot. It’s hard not to be impressed, and possibly a little intimidated, by its sheer footprint.
This is a 32:9 aspect ratio display with a resolution of 5120×1440, essentially two 27-inch 1440p monitors fused together by magic with no bezel gap. The curve (1800R) helps make that size manageable on a desk, though it still demands a fair amount of space — you’ll want a deep desk to get the full benefit without craning your neck. I have it on my Flexispot, and I dispensed with the previous monitor arm I was using and went with the included stand for ease – mainly because I couldn’t find an Allen key. This takes up a bit of desk real estate but is decent and allows height and swivel adjustment, and I had no problems getting it exactly where I wanted it.
The build quality is solid enough. It’s not flashy — mostly matte plastic with minimal Innocn branding (while I’m on the subject, doesn’t it need an extra vowel – what do I know?) — but nothing feels cheap or flimsy.
Ports are generous. You’ve got two HDMI 2.1 inputs, one DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C with 90W PD, and several USB-A ports for peripherals. The USB-C charging is a nice touch for laptop users, and it’s good to see full-fat HDMI 2.1 support for console gamers. They, like most monitors, are not the easiest to get to, and with the sense of this thing reaching around the back, it is not as simple as I would love it to be. A little breakout box would be a fabulous addition. I pre-empted future issues by attaching all the cables I might ever need before finishing the setup, but if I ever need to change it, it will be a pain, I know it will.
As you can see in the image below, the screen is also backlit with some ambient lighting. This doesn’t change with what’s on screen and in practice, somewhat weirdly, even in a dark room, I don’t even notice it is on. I discovered it by accident when I was messing around the back a few weeks into this review. I don’t really understand how they are that dim.
Image Quality
This is where things get interesting. The 49Q1R is a low-cost OLED panel, and it delivers the sort of deep contrast you’d expect to pay a lot more for. Blacks are genuinely dark, and there’s decent colour pop out of the box. INNOCN rates it at 95% DCI-P3 coverage, and while we didn’t run lab-grade tests because nobody but the dorks really cares, it looks stunning in games that truly support the 32:9 aspect ratio on offer here.
The amazing Blade-Runner-esque city builder Distopika, which you haven’t heard of but you need to buy on Steam immediately, is mind-blowingly beautiful spread across all 49 inches of screen.
Having said that, I’ll be honest, the HDR setting didn’t do it for me. It seemed to wash things out, and I much preferred the 49Q1R’s normal settings. Still, HDR support is there, and in practice, it makes a subtle difference in well-lit scenes and games — just don’t expect OLED-style contrast or blooming-free highlights because you won’t get them. Corners have had to be cut somewhere for the price, and this is an example of that, perhaps.
Productivity and Workflow
For work, this monitor is a dream. The pixel density is the same as a 27-inch 1440p monitor, so text remains crisp, and you’ve got acres of horizontal space for multiple windows. Whether you’re video editing, coding, or juggling multiple browser tabs, the workflow advantage is immediate. I have Windows tracking analytics, Google Docs, Discord, and Plexamp up and running with plenty of space to spare. Windows 11 is much better equipped for snapping your windows into place where you want them these days, so fiddly resizing is a thing of the past.
The panel also supports Picture-in-Picture mode, which effectively turns it into two separate displays. This is genuinely useful if you’re working across two machines, like a desktop and a laptop — you can keep both onscreen at once without any external switchers. You might think who does that, but I did and had a Raspberry Pi 5 in one window and my main PC in the other.
One minor gripe: while the on-screen display is functional, the controls (located underneath the bezel) can be fiddly to use. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s one area where more premium monitors offer a smoother experience. You are restricted to a single button, which takes you into the menu. You will mostly use it for on/off, but if you are messing around with PiP or input modes, it can occasionally frustrate.
Gaming Performance
The 49Q1R supports up to 144Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync, and gaming on this thing is undeniably immersive. The wide field of view in racing sims and FPS titles feels genuinely next-gen, and you get the smoothness benefits of high refresh, assuming your GPU can handle pushing 5120×1440 at those frame rates.
Input lag is low, and response times are decent, if not blistering. This isn’t a monitor aimed at esports pros, but for most gamers, me included, it’s plenty fast enough. There is a bit of smearing in dark transitions, but my eyes are so bad these days I barely notice — but nothing that ruins the experience.
If you’re on a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll want to double-check game support for ultrawide resolutions. Most console titles will fall back to 16:9 and leave black bars on the sides. PC gamers, meanwhile, will get the full benefit in titles that support 32:9, which not all do. When you find something that does it well, though, you will want to show off your new toy, and settings for 32:9 are becoming more readily available out of the box. This is more of a monitor you will be interested if you game on a PC though.
Verdict
The INNOCN 49Q1R gets such a lot right it still makes me smile. It offers a massive ultrawide experience with strong contrast, good colour accuracy, and solid gaming credentials — all at a price that undercuts the big names in the space by several hundred of your local dubloons. It’s also on sale at the moment in this iteration. You can pick one up for $799 or £586 directly from the manufacturer.
It’s not perfect: HDR is limited, occasional smearing is present, and the physical footprint may be a challenge for smaller desks. But for the price, it’s madness. In the arena of new screens, you shouldn’t be afraid of going with a brand you may never have heard of. You are paying a premium for certain name tags, and, if funds are more limited, or you are simply more frugal with your cash but still want a close approximation of what you get from a Samsung, the INNOCN 49Q1R is highly recommended.
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Last week’s gut-wrenching flurry of game cancellations and layoffs due to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios cuts didn’t just affect the company’s owned, first-party studios. Third-party developers, like Romero Games, were impacted too. The studio formed by Doom co-creator John Romero announced that funding for its upcoming, triple-A FPS game had been pulled, and dozens of devs announced they were being let go, with some claiming the whole studio was shutting down. However, there’s a glimmer of hope for Romero Games and its new project, as the studio has just released a new statement clarifying that the studio hasn’t fully closed and that other publishers have reached out that are “interested in helping us bring the game across the finish line.”
The Xbox cuts have been truly savage. Hundreds of developers are going to lose their jobs, and some long-awaited projects like the Perfect Dark reboot, Rare’s Everwild, and an ambitious sci-fi game from Zenimax Online Studios were all shelved. While Romero Games hasn’t explicitly confirmed that Xbox Game Studios was backing its new project, the coincidentally timed cancelation of its next game and claims from employees strongly suggested that it was affected too. While very little was known about it other than it was a first-person shooter, Romero’s reputation for helping shape games like Doom and Quake was enough to make it one of the most exciting upcoming PC games.
Despite some claims from employees (and then subsequent reports by the media) that the studio was letting all of its workforce go and would close, Romer Games has just released a statement clarifying that it has not been shuttered and that it’s currently in talks to save its project.
“Romero Games is not closed, and we are doing everything in our power to ensure that it does not come to that,” the statement says. “Any suggestion otherwise is factually incorrect. Indeed, we were in the studio today to discuss next steps with the team.
“We’ve been contacted by several publishers interested in helping us bring the game across the finish line, and we’re currently evaluating those opportunities.”
This new FPS game has been in the works since 2022, and while it’s not got to the stage where Romero Games has fully revealed it or shown off gameplay, you’d expect a decent amount of progress to have been made in that time. Romero’s reputation for creating amazing shooters, the triple-A scope, and the fact that Xbox was compelled enough to back it originally no doubt makes it an interesting prospect for these new publishers. Hopefully the right deal is struck, because it’s one that could potentially save some or all of the jobs that are set to be lost at Romero Games.
Published: Jul 8, 2025 11:00 am