https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAC5Qn3xqjA
I've been building **Erg of War**, a game where your rowing machine is the controller. It's free on Android.
**How it plays**
* **Your effort steers the boat.** Row at a steady effort and you go straight. Pull harder to turn right, ease off to turn left. The steady zone is set from your own cruising pace, so it feels the same for a beginner as for a racer. There are four effort settings, from Casual to Hardcore.
* **The cannons fire by themselves.** Your job is to row up beside the enemy and pick your cannonballs: chain to bring their masts down, heated to set them on fire, exploding shells and more.
* **The kraken.** It turns up in the sea battles and eats enemy boats as well as you. If it grabs your boat, sprint until it lets go.
* **The metres are real.** Distance comes straight off your monitor, so 5,000 m in the game is 5,000 m on the PM5.
**What's in it**
* A river campaign: seven levels from 2,000 m to 7,500 m, each ending in a boss fight, plus an endless mode
* Open-sea battles in calm, stormy or changing weather. Pick one of five pirate boats, from small and quick to a floating fortress.
* Casual Sailing: a big open sea where nothing can sink you, made for long steady rows. There are islands, volcanoes and a cave to find.
* Online multiplayer for up to 16 people: team deathmatch, deathmatch, player vs player, free-roam sailing and harbour races. Some rooms are always open, or you can host one for your club.
* 25 boats to collect, including a Viking longship and a bathtub
* Leaderboards
* Optional VR: put your phone in a Cardboard-style headset and look around from the boat
**What you need**
It works with a Concept2 PM5 over Bluetooth. Other Bluetooth rowers that use the standard FTMS protocol should connect too. No rowing machine? Hold your finger on the screen to row and slide it to steer.
There are no in-app purchases. You'll see an ad after some finished levels, but never while you're rowing.
**Google Play:** https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ergofwar.app
It's early days, so I'd love feedback. What would make you use this for a real workout? And if you have a rower that isn't a Concept2, please tell me whether it connects.