The Wrapp - Neopets, Warhammer, SNAP and more

Hey there, welcome to our latest edition of The Wrapp.

This is a chance for you to see what the various members of the Pocket Gamer team are planning to play over this weekend and will, hopefully, give you an idea of some of the weird and wonderful things we get up to when we’re not keeping you up to speed with the latest news and tips. Heck, you might even find a new game to play.

For once I’m able to confirm that I’ll be playing something actually new this week! Or trying to at least, and that’s because after my little convo with Will on the latest Pocket Gamer Podcast, I’ve decided to have a go at Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus thanks to his reappraisal of the game.

I've been a massive fan of Warhammer since I was a kid, so the opportunity to play a proper strategy game (sorry, Warpforge) on my phone based around it is certainly enticing. I’ll just have to see how well it holds up, but with some of my favourite factions already appearing, if it is good I’ll probably find it hard to put down.

Shaun Walton

Staff Writer

I thought that I would be done after last week, and I am beginning to feel like a broken record, but I will be playing Honkai: Star Rail once more! The recent kit leak for Fugue sounds like she would be a fantastic addition to my Firefly break team. I am unsure right now whether she will outclass Ruan Mei as a support, but I much prefer a more offensive support.

Beyond that, I have been getting the urge to get back into Potion Permit. It is a fun little RPG where you can gather resources and craft all kinds of alchemical goodness. Also, you have a dog companion which I named Alchemutt, and that amuses me to no end. Simple pleasures.

Dann Sullivan

Editor in Chief

My Balatro-when-I’m-sat-still-for-five-minutes quest continues. I’ve got completions on five decks now and only have one more blind to complete to have done the lot.

Aside from that I’ve got a couple of games that have been on the backburner that I want to get back to, although that might not be possible what with the combined triple-threat of judging for the IGF, the Yakuza (Like a Dragon) TV series kicking off over on Prime, Dragon Age Veilguard and a games expo. Phew. 

Stephen Gregson-Wood

Deputy & Special Projects Editor

This weekend, I plan to set aside some time to try Outerdawn's recently released Grimguard Tactics. It's one I've been looking forward to for a while now. I enjoy a good turn-based RPG, particularly on mobile. Anything real-time runs the risk of my thumbs mashing the wrong virtual button. I also adore Grimguard Tactics' art style. I've always preferred dark and macabre to sunshine and rainbows in my games.

Meanwhile, I've continued to enjoy both Pocket Necromancer and Phobies. The latter is now part of my daily rotation. Working through the numerous matches I have going at once provides a constant source of brainteasers, which I'm enjoying. Now, say it quietly, but I think I'm getting better. The ratio of wins to losses hasn't tipped in my favour yet, though it's getting closer.

Jupiter Hadley

Staff Writer

Well, it’s another weekend, and guess what that means?! Pokemon Go events. This time, they’ve got a bunch of Gigantamax Battles that can have up to forty players within each battle. I am going to host a bunch of events around these battles in my town. Along with that, I hope to finish up all of the in-game unlocks for Neopets: Faerie Fragment, so that I have all of the items for my Neopets account. One of the unlocks needs 500 levels to be completed, so that’s a bit of a long trek of playing through the game. 

Cristina Mesesan

Staff Writer

I have a new task for this weekend, and that is to become an emperor. Well, not literally, in Age of Empires Mobile. I probably wouldn’t call myself an emperor, but rather an almighty god. I wouldn’t be too far off, right?

I believe everyone has played or at least heard of Age of Empires, and my personal favourite was AoE II. Now I’m excited to dive a little deeper into the mobile version, because I’ve only had time to play past the tutorial. 

In conclusion, this weekend’s wrap(p) for me is playing Age of Empires Mobile and doing my usual dailies in Cookie Run Kingdom. 

Will Quick

Freelance Writer

After some time playing long-form idle and in-game purchases games, I'm trying to see if I can find a similar style of games that actually lets you play and make progress without forcing you to buy. Mob Control was a pleasant surprise and having revisited Warhammer 40K: Tacticus, I was pleasantly surprised there too. The game has more to do, and more freedom to progress on your merit than other games and I'm curious to see how far I can go before feeling blocked.

I think a contender for the fastest paywall may go to Plants Vs. Zombies 2. They knew how excited we were to get this game and then let us down with how quickly it made winning impossible—however, Plants Vs. Zombies 3 which was released earlier in a few select countries and that's annoying. Unless I can get access some way, I'll see if 2 is still causing problems.

Catherine Dellosa

Reviews Editor

is recovering from an outpatient procedure for lateral epicondylitis, which sounds fancy but actually just means she’s been button-mashing too much.

Mihail Katsoris

Staff Writer

is likely taking a rest after hitting masters in TFT last week.

Dave Bradley

COO at Steel Media

I’ve been addicted to Marvel SNAP for well over a year now. I have dropped some money on it, but in reference to Will’s comment, I love how you can make progress without having to buy cards. I’m also a huge geek and have a soft spot for comic characters, and so building a deck with my favourite superheroes is a little thrill. 

After spending months favouring a “destroy” deck archetype (using Deadpool, Wolverine, Carnage, Death and so on, with Arnim Zola in there for extra spice) I finally worked out the strength of Silver Surfer. Oh my days, it’s so powerful. As long as you play some 3-power cards early in the game (Brood is a good choice because you get 3 for 1), Silver Surfer coupled with Wong and Mystique just buffs and buffs those locations. 

For the last few weeks, the High Voltage event has been running in-game, which I adored. It condensed the core rules of Marvel SNAP into a three-round, high-energy, rapid-fire experience. It meant I couldn’t play my Magik card because the format prevented anything which extended the endgame, but I replaced her with Bishop so – if I could play him early – I was racking up points as I played the rest. Unfortunately, the High Voltage event ended on Thursday along with the October balance update, so it’s back to standard play for me this weekend. But I’m still addicted to that, so it’s all good, and I can’t wait to unleash my latest Silver Surfer configuration on the main game.

If I set up an Alliance, does anybody want to join?

Got thoughts on what we're playing, or want to share what your plans are? Drop us a message in the comments below or message us on social media.