Handmark Brings Family-Friendly Holiday Fun to the Apple App Store with Launch of Astraware Board Games for iPhone and iPod Touch

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Handmark® today announced Astraware Board Games, a collection of eight classic board games including Chess, Backgammon, Ludo, Checkers, Reversi, Nine Men’s Morris, Snakes & Ladders and Tic Tac Toe, is now available for the iPhone™ and iPod® touch on the Apple App Store.

“These timeless classic games for iPhone and iPod touch are easy to learn so that everyone can join in with the fun.”

“Astraware Board Games is a perfect pastime for families getting together over the holiday season,” said Cassidy Lackey, vice president of Handmark Studios. “These timeless classic games for iPhone and iPod touch are easy to learn so that everyone can join in with the fun.”

The award-winning Astraware Board Games pack is perfect for families to enjoy together. Many of the games include customizable rules and a range of difficulty levels, but are tailored to non-expert, casual players.

Optimized for play on the iPhone and iPod touch, Astraware Board Games allows players to shake their device to shake the dice, touch and slide their piece to move it, and enjoy enhanced graphics that take advantage of the high-quality screen on the devices. In addition, players have the choice of playing against the CPU, against friends using “hotseat” multiplayer on one device, or against a friend on two separate devices using a local Wi-Fi connection.

Astraware Board Games is available for $4.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore.

More information, screenshots, and a demo video are available at http://www.astraware.com/iphone/boardgames.

About Handmark

Handmark® is a global leader in the development and distribution of mobile media, for a wide range of mobile devices, including BlackBerry®, Palm®, Symbian OS™, Android™, BREW®, and Windows Mobile® devices, as well as the Apple® iPhone™and iPod® touch. Its award-winning Pocket Express® news and information service transforms handsets into powerful business and entertainment tools. Handmark manages distribution partnerships around the world with major device manufacturers and operators. The company has offices in Kansas City (world headquarters); London, UK; San Francisco; Atlanta; Dallas; and Astraware®, the Handmark Game Studio, in the UK. For more information, visit http://www.handmark.com/.

© 2008 Handmark, Inc.; Handmark®, the Handmark® Game Studio™, and the distinctive hand design are registered trademarks of Handmark, Inc. in the U.S. and other territories. Astraware® is the registered trademark of Astraware Limited in the U.S. and other territories. All rights reserved. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.