We hope this message finds you in great spirits! 


As part of our commitment to providing an unparalleled gaming experience, we are thrilled to announce that all our Android games have received exciting updates, ensuring seamless performance on the latest phones and tablets.


To take full advantage of these enhancements, simply click or tap here to visit the Google Play store


Once there, explore our diverse collection of games and choose the ones that resonate with you. Whether you’re a casual gamer or a dedicated enthusiast, we have something for everyone!


Update or install ALL your favorite games effortlessly and embark on a gaming journey like never before. Your entertainment is our priority, and we can’t wait for you to experience the thrill of our latest updates. Happy gaming!

Thanks a million for being part of our gaming journey!

Farkle Dice, WordPop! Farkle Solo

Smart Box Games Android Icons

Threeze – A Numbers Combination, Farkle Diced, Farkle Dice DLX

Smart Box Games Android Icons

One more thing, we need your help.


Your support fuels our growth, and we’re incredibly grateful. Today, we’re asking you to be a true game-changer by sharing the joy of our games with your family and friends.


Your recommendation is invaluable, a key to expanding our gaming family. Ready to make a difference? Share the excitement now. Your word of mouth is our most powerful asset, helping us craft unforgettable gaming experiences.


Thanks for being a crucial part of our journey!

Introduction

Embracing asynchronous work can be a game-changer for distributed teams, enabling increased productivity and efficiency. What truly brings this concept to life are real-world examples. In this article, I’ll briefly describe one of our Smart Box Games projects to demonstrate the power of asynchronous collaboration using the simplest of tools, email.

Background

Our most popular game, Farkle Dice for Android, enjoys a global player base. Over the past two years, Google has progressively limited Android device backward compatibility for apps that use Google AdMob and other SDKs. Initially, they used the carrot approach and encouraged updates for better device performance, but then switched to the stick to enforce compliance by threatening app removal from the Google Play store.

Our team is spread across the globe: our Art Director, Jim, resides in Tokyo, our lead Android Engineer, John, is in Bozeman, Montana, and I serve as the Product Manager and QAE and I live in Bellingham, Washington. We embrace asynchronous work due to our experience and confidence in this approach.

Tools We Utilized on the Project for Asynchronous Collaboration:

  1. Email
  2. Google Docs and Sheets
  3. Bitbucket
  4. Firebase for app testing distribution
  5. Google Play Console

Our Project Goals

Our journey began with a high-level email outlining the basic requirements:

1. Update the code linking in the newest SDKs

2. Convert all HTTP links to HTTPS across all app languages

3. Allow players to opt out of Google Play login (we use Google Play for high-score sharing)

4. Modernize launcher icon

5. Integrate Firebase Crash Analytics

6. Address all issues found during testing

Progression of the Project

John took the lead by updating all relevant SDKs and then addressing all errors and warnings until he successfully built the project. He also updated the copyright information, URLs, and menus. 

During this process, John discovered Google had made significant design changes in how Google Play integrates with app, which he communicated via email, seeking input from the team. We installed the latest build from John and collectively examined the design changes to better understand the user experience. After exchanging a few emails with images we arrived at a design that John swiftly implemented.

As the day ended for John and me, it began for Jim in Japan. He researched how to create full-size launcher icons and by the time we started our day, provided us with educational YouTube links to get us up to speed. Jim then handed off new art to John. After a few iterations, the new launcher icon was integrated into Farkle Dice, and wow, it looks great.

The majority of testing was regression, validation and verification. Testing occurred on each build, with any issues found sent to John, with images and steps to repeat.

Once all issues were addressed the final chapter was distribution and user communication. Wearing both my Project Manager and Quality Assurance hats I wanted to limit risk and decided to do a gradual rollout release, starting at 10% and ramping up daily to 100%. Release notes were added to Google Play and a push notification is scheduled for next week.

Key Takeaways for Successful Asynchronous Work

Clear Communication: Effective asynchronous communication hinges on accurate descriptions with images and links to videos. I avoid abbreviations or acronyms. For example I always wrote “Firebase” and never “FB”, because in my brain “FB” = Facebook. 

Visual Aids: Enhance issue reporting by incorporating screenshots with prominent annotations (I’m a fan of using large red arrows), making it easier and faster for team members to understand and address problems.

Organization: Keep conversations focused by retiring resolved email threads and initiating new ones for fresh topics.

Encourage all team members to collaboratively edit documents for clarity within Google Docs. (I am thinking of switching to Notion or Confluence to take advantage of their comprehensive editing tools).

Time Zone Advantage: Leverage time zone differences to your advantage, if possible, by scheduling overlapping working hours for quick responses. For instance, 4:00 PM Pacific Time is 8:00 AM in Tokyo.

Trust Your Team: There were times I was tempted to send John a Slack message on an issue I found because it felt urgent. In reality, it was important but not urgent. Not dm’ing John and sending him an email instead prevented interruptions to his coding flow and allowed him to manage his time to its fullest efficiency. 

Conclusion

Our project progressed quickly without the need for any meetings. The entire software development life cycle was efficiently navigated through asynchronous collaboration. Now, we’re ready to replicate this success with our remaining five apps, with Farkle Halloween and Farkle Solo already underway. 

We have used asynchronous tools in the past and we are always reviewing new and interesting solutions but no matter the tool it is people who make great software. 

I encourage all teams, especially dispersed ones to embrace asynchronous processes to unlock your team’s full potential.

Farkle Solo

Earning today’s top score is just a tap away in the new Farkle Solo for Android release. We updated the app to run great on all new Android phones, including the new Nexus 6. We rewrote How to Play and we integrated Farkle Solo with Firebase from Google which allows us to improve the game through error reports.  Thank you to our players for the great suggestions and bug reports. Our goal is for you to have the best gaming experience and we couldn’t do it without you. Let us know what you think by sending us an email.

We recommend you update as soon as possible.

We rely on word-of-mouth, please let your friends and family know about Farkle Solo.

Release Details

  • How to Play – It now includes several images to clarify game play and you can now printable.  The latest version of Farkle Solo links to the improved How to Play. Scroll down to access the Print button.
  • Notifications – We want to make sure you know when new versions are available. This is an optional setting that you can turn on or off at any time.
  • Error Checking – Google’s Firebase sends us a report on how our code is doing. This report will tell us where our code is not running as efficiently as it could or if Farkle Solo had problems executing on a new CPU. Since there are thousands of different Android phones and tablets worldwide we appreciate the report. Now when you purchase a new phone Farkle Solo will still run correctly.
  • Android Studio – This is an entirely new set of tools released by Google to develop Android apps. Switching to it was a significant amount of rework of the code. But the change resulted faster and smoother game play

 

Bellingham, Washington – Smart Box Design today is pleased to announce Farkle Solo HD Free 1.1.1 for iOS, a fun, fast-paced, customizable version of a popular dice game played with six dice. The goal of this Old West themed, exciting, quick tempo dice game is to score the most points in ten rounds to be the star of the saloon. Using classic Farkle Dice rules, players try to beat their best score or outscore friends. Farkle Solo HD – Free is available in the app store under the Games: Dice category for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch as well as for Android phones and tablets.

In each round of Farkle Solo HD – Free, players roll all six dice in an effort to earn points with rolls of 1’s, 5’s, 3 of a kind, 3 pairs, or a 6 dice straight. Players pull scoring dice out of play and either pass and bank points or roll the remaining dice to earn additional points. If none of the dice rolled earn points, players get a “Farkle” and lose all unbanked points. Three “Farkles” in a row cause players to lose 1000 points. Risking multiple rolls can help players score big.

Farkle Solo HD – Free allows game setting customization enabling players to turn on and off or adjust points earned for: 4, 5 or 6 of a kind, The Break In Score – or Minimum Score accepted, Three Pairs Score, Triple Farkle, and more. A comprehensive Game Stats board allows gamers to easily access their own scores and share scores with others on Facebook, twitter, or email, via the “Brag” feature. Compete against others and compare scores via Game Center’s Leaderboard. Farkle Solo HD – Free uses 100% dice randomization to prevent cheating. Each roll uses a robust randomization engineer-created algorithm.

The Old West theme of Farkle Solo HD – Free, takes place in the High Roller Saloon and features rich graphics, smooth animation and fun music and sound effects that immerse the player in a world of high stakes dice in an old western town. The customization features and ease of game play make this the perfect game to play anytime. Players must employ risk taking and strategy to score big in Farkle Solo HD – Free. The game is featured among other dice and word strategy games offered by Smart Box Design. Farkle Solo HD – Free is perfect for that five-minute break or long commute. It can be played in just a few minutes or in a marathon session to improve skills and strategy.

Feature Highlights:
* Fast-paced fun game
* Win points for creating winning combinations with 6 dice
* Free full-featured game
* An international favorite on iOS mobile devices
* Customizable rules put players in control
* Professionally drawn graphics
* High Roller Saloon theme has professionally drawn graphics, old west music, and fun sound effects
* New Player hints feature may be turned on or off
* Track skills and scores in Stats
* Compare best roll or best game to other players in Game Center’s Leaderboards
* Earn achievements on special high-scoring rolls

“Farkle Solo HD – Free is perfect for that five-minute break or long commute,” stated Smart Box Design President, Todd Sherman. “Come down to the High Roller Saloon and get ready to test your skill. To be a high roller, sometimes you have to take that extra chance and roll again. Are you ready to risk it all?”

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
* Requires iOS 4.1 or later
* Universal app optimized for display on all iOS devices
* 16.0 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Farkle Solo HD – Free 1.1.1 is free and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. The game is also available for Android.

Smart Box Design
Farkle Solo HD – Free 1.1.1
Download from iTunes
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App Icon 

Based in Bellingham, Washington. Smart Box Games was founded in 2003 focusing on primarily high quality mobile apps development. We’ve created several popular mobile thinking games for ourselves and custom apps for clients. Our client’s apps are varied and very interesting work. We also create the occasional web site for a client. Our senior staff is comprised of seasoned multimedia developers and executives who have years of experience in the game and education industry and have the gray hairs to prove it. Copyright (C) 2003-2012 Smart Box Games. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.