Gamehouse Solitaire Vol. 1 Review

DFG Exclusive Review Summary

Read Full Gamehouse Solitaire1 Review

Game Description

Gamehouse Solitaire Vol. 1 includes 10 solitaire games you are probably most familiar with.

Klondike is the game that almost everyone has played and a version is included with every Windows operating system. Addiction has you line up cards by suit starting with the deuce and ending with the King. Vegas Solitaire is similar to Klondike but now you are playing for money and each card counts!

Included games in this volume:

• Klondike - classic solitaire and a time honored favorite
• Golf - try to move all cards from columns to one pile
• Addiction - create a row for each suit, careful planning needed
• Vegas - Klondike but each move takes away from prize money
• Pyramid - clear pairs that add up to 13
• Turbo - move from columns to a pile regardless of suit
• Crescent - make 8 piles from the crescent formation
• Yukon - similar to Klondike but with no draw pile
• FreeCell - also made popular by the Windows version
• Tri-Peaks - quickly becoming a classic

Gamehouse Solitaire Vol. 1 Review

Gamehouse Solitaire is a nicely put together collection of solitaire games for the solitaire fanatic. With ten unique solitaire games to choose from, interesting animations and graphics, and a well-done How-to-Play feature, Gamehouse Solitaire is sure to capture your attention and keep you playing for hours.

10 Solitaire Variations

Gamehouse Solitaire offers ten different versions of solitaire for the both solitaire enthusiast and the beginning player: Klondike (the version that comes with every Windows operating system), Golf, Addiction, TriPeaks, Free Cell, Pyramid, Turbo, Crescent, Yukon and Vegas. Each has different rules and strategies, but for the most part the goal is the same. Generally, you must clear all the cards in the tableau (piles of cards you need to get rid of) by stacking them in some way.

For Klondike, the method is to stack the cards chronologically from Ace up to King, alternating color as you go. For TriPeaks, you must clear all the cards by clicking on cards that either directly above or below the starter card in value, regardless of suit or color. This means that if the starter card is a Jack, you can either clear a 10 or a Queen, and so on.

Some Unique Solitaire Versions You May Not Have Played

Most players will not have encountered many solitaire games beyond the typical Klondike version. Gamehouse Solitaire does a good job of providing a How-to-Play feature that instructs you in fairly easy to understand language how to play each game. It explains your goal, the rules, and how to win. The How-to-Play window pops up every time you begin a game you have never played before, and is accessible at any time from the game screen should you forget some of the rules or require further help. This is a great feature and very helpful, especially for newer players.

Designed For Solitaire Lovers

Unfortunately, the audience of Gamehouse Solitaire is still pretty limited because of the nature of the game. It isn't something younger players would be able to grasp easily or even be entertained by, because there is little that is very visually or aurally stimulating. The graphics are fairly well done, and are relatively sharp and clear.

Basic Graphics and Sound

While they are better than most solitaire collections, the graphics will not blow you away by any means. There are no animations other than the cards moving around the screen and a dealer's hands dealing the cards at the beginning of each hand. There is accompanying music and sound effects. The sounds effects don't add anything to the game but don't detract much from gameplay either. The music is pretty entertaining, but nothing exceptional.

Does the Basics

The gameplay is somewhat addicting for the solitaire enthusiast, but casual players will likely find it repetitive and potentially boring. The different games all end up feeling pretty similar, and there are no rewards or incentives to do particularly well, so playing can feel somewhat pointless unless you enjoy solitaire for itself. This limits the audience and means that most player will not want to play for very long at a time.

Conclusion - A Good Collection of Unique Solitaire Types

In general, Gamehouse Solitaire is a fairly good collection of solitaire games that are fun to play. While the audience is limited by the rules of gameplay, lack of audio-visual stimulation, and repetitive nature of the game of solitaire, the collection itself is fairly well done and will provide hours of fun to the solitaire fanatic. While not the best card game out there, Gamehouse Solitaire is one of the better solitaire collections to play. If you love solitaire, give it a try.

Player Reviews