App Review: Battle Map lets you create huge worlds in small doses

The essence of a role playing game is, well, … playing a role. Theoretically, you can play a tabletop RPG with not much more than your thoughts, a rule book or two, and some dice. In practice, though, an entire industry is engaged in releasing products to make imagining and inhabiting fantastical worlds a multimedia experience. Maps, adventures, miniatures, special dice, decks of item cards, and so much more are readily available. The latest entry is a full-featured iPad and iPhone app called Battle Map [US$29.99], which is now available on your iPad or iPhone as a Universal app.

At 30 bucks, Battle Map is not cheap compared to most App Store offerings, but look at it against the similar Mac (or PC) program Dundjinni, which costs $39.99, or the PC-only map program called ProFantasy, which tops out at $605 for the whole shebang. Of course, these programs can do a lot more than Battle Map can, but they’ve also been around for many years. Perhaps in 2015, Battle Map will be as full-featured. In any case, other reviewers have called Battle Map “geek heaven” and a “must have,” so read on to see if these words of praise apply to you.

Gallery: Battle Map App