Solitaire Pop Review

Solitaire Pop Review (by Gamezebo) 

As good a twist on the classic card game Poker Pop was, it's hardly surprising the same formula - e.g. fusing classic card game elements with several puzzling twists - has been applied to spiritual sequel Solitaire Pop.

Building upon the same time-honored concepts as its namesake, a popular diversion which revolves around assembling stacks of playing cards in alternating suits and increasing sequential order, the action's accordingly solid. However, where the title truly excels is via the way in which it borrows these basic mechanics then expands upon them in ways meant to challenge, entertain and keep players glued to the keyboard. While few would describe the turn-based outing as frantic, it's also not the sort of brainteaser you can afford to simply skim through on autopilot.

While no formal storyline's provided, the adventure - divided into two modes, Expedition and Challenge - basically sees you playing an archaeologist excavating artifacts from five exotic dig sites including Delphi, Tikal and Xi'an. Options to skim through colorful photos of each locale, browse collected objects in a trophy case-style museum and enjoy small, yet catchy animations of planes zipping around the campaign map all add personality. In truth though, you mostly just hop from one dig to the next with little fanfare, as stages themselves prove the real highlight.

Each level is essentially a grid of tiles branded with numbers, suits (i.e. clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds) and/or pictures of face cards like kings, queens and jacks. As in solitaire, you'll always attempt to create hands of increasing size by clicking on adjacent tiles of incrementally larger value, e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10, J, Q, K. Happily, you don't have to alternate suit here (but can, for extra points) and aces can be high (to pair with kings) or low (making them compatible with 2s). What's more, so long as a needed number is touching any link in the chain, it can be incorporated into the sequence, meaning you don't have to move in fixed, linear fashion as well.

Your goal on each scenario is always the same. In Expedition mode, remove all values from a series of columns on the left side of the screen that tracks which cards have been played. In Challenge mode, add values to these columns instead by playing them in proper, Solitaire-style order until the stacks are complete.

Intriguing as the basic setup sounds, your excitement will only grow upon discovery of the various amusing twists the designers have built in, including:

• Power-ups that let you shuffle the board, utilize dynamite to destroy certain tiles, change cards' coloring and remove all potential dangers from the grid.

There's no time limit to worry about - save on special tiles which freeze all others bearing similar value if not eliminated before a ticking clock runs out - making this a largely leisurely-paced, not heart-racing challenge. Ask yourself before buying: Is something a little speedier than most tabletop games, yet mostly more mellow than the standard casual outing, right for you?

Matters of personal preference aside, however, we also noticed some minor interface niggles, e.g. your inability to deselect highlighted tiles by hitting the right mouse button. Regardless, it's simply nitpicking: An inspired fusion of two complementary play styles, Solitaire Pop should keep all you lone rangers happily preoccupied for hours on end.

Solitaire Pop Review (by Gamemile) 

Solitaire Pop - Creating Solitaire Hands at Ancient Ruins

Just fancy being one of those hired by Science museum to travel over the globe and search for new artifacts for museum collection. Archaeological expedition suggests visiting 5 real-life ancient sites, such as Delphi, Tikal and Xi'an, where lost artifacts are to be excavated shard by shard. This is what Solitaire Pop offers you.

As one sets on a quest, he is challenged to create solitaire hands in order to discover an artifact shard.

Adventurous storyline is entwined with Solitaire game. At each level the playing field is divided into two parts: a grid of tiles with cards of different numbers and suits and a suit column showing you how many card are left and have to be removed from the playing field.

As in classical solitaire, the point of the game is to create hands of increasing size by clicking on adjacent tiles that form a sequential order.

It means that to create a hand, one has to click on cards of increasingly larger value, e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10, J, Q, K. Hands can include from 2 to 13 tiles. To double a value of a hand, the tiles should sequentially alternate between red and black suits. Pay attention at Aces - these cards can be used high (to pair with kings) or law (to pair 2s).

The objective of the game differs depending on its mode: in Expedition mode one has to remove all cards from the Suit Column, in Challenge mode cards are added to Suit column to complete the level.

When making hands, one is sure to come across special tiles that are randomly added to the tile grid. Here are our tips and tricks concerning these special cards:

• Joker is a card that can change suit or value which helps much in forming a hand;
• Flux is a card changing suit to red or black depending on what the game requires;
• Score multipliers - cards multiplying the value of the hand twice or tree times;

Other power-ups:

• shuffle - shuffles all cards on the tile grid;
• color-wand - changes the card suit from black to red and vice versa;
• dynamite - pops up 5 any tiles (not necessary adjacent) removing them from the grid;
• exterminator - removes all perils from the grid.

Some special tiles appear only in a definite mode. Thus, a Suit column bomb is available only in Expedition mode, while in Challenge mode Lucky charm (a bonus tile that adds cards to Suit Column) appears.

Along with a handful of power-ups and bonus tiles, the game features lots of perils.

Perils are obstacles that block cards, freeze them or even cause the level to restart (if the Smoker peril reaches the bottom).

There is also a level re-setter peril: when the timer runs out, the points collected during the current dig are lost.

As one proceeds through the game, he'll visit different dig sites and destinations. Each dig site has a Par (a definite number of tiles that is not to be exceeded before the dig is completed).

Meet or beat Tile Bar to get bonus points and unearth Bonus Artifacts. The player is challenged to unlock 4 bonus artifacts at 4 ancient sites. After each level the player is sent to archeological museum where all his findings (such as a shard of Ceramic pottery, for example) are collected.

Stunning graphics of multiple destinations and digging sites, relatively themed music and in-game museum with excavated artifacts create a unique mythology-inspired atmosphere of the game.

Two antithetical playing modes make and lots of power-ups together with obstacles make game challengingly interesting and addictive.