14.1.2009

Somewhat surprisingly, given that the DS is naturally suited to such games, Solitaire DS is the first card game collection on the DS (at least that I am aware of). It's hard to review 'solitaire' given that there are hundreds of different variants, so lets's just say that if you're a fan of card games then you'll probably find something that you'll enjoy. If solitaire bores you, then of course there's no point buying this game.101 games sounds like quite a lot, but when you consider that Solsuite 2009 on the pc has around 500 variants, it suddenly doesn't look like quite so many. I would've thought that more games could've been fitted onto a DS cartridge.The games are divided into categoriesof games that share similar rules and play structures: Klondike (which the classic windows game belongs to), Freecell, Spider, Baker's Dozen, Beleaguered Castle, Forty Thieves, Canfield, Four Seasons, Fan, and Other. For example, there are 16 different types of Klondike game, some of which depend more on skill than luck or vice versa.I like to play solitaire games that depend mostly on skill, not luck. Happily, 43 of the 101 games are classified as being 'Mostly Skill. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you have a high statistical chance of winning them. There are 30 games where skill and luck are balanced, and 28 games that are mostly chance.So, you'll have to decide whether this mixture of games is what you're looking for. It's not to say that the chance only games aren't fun, but they pretty much play themselves and you may only try them once or twice.Written instructions are included for all games. You'll need to understand a few solitaire terms such as tableau, cell, stack, and foundation. It shouldn't take you more than a couple of minutes to understand how to play most games. However, it certainly would've been better if animated tutorials had been included to explain the rules.Ok, so let's look at the interface and general design. Some games, such as Freecell, are easy to play and look good on screen - you can see everything that you need to see at a glance. Cards are rather small, so you may struggle if you have eyesight problems. I really cannot overstate that cards are small and some people may struggle. The stylus generally works well and makes games easy to play.Games such as Yukon, in which you often create columns containing lots of cards, don't work quite so well. If a card stack gets too long/wide it will be truncated and you'll only be able to see the top card at a glance, which interrupts your thinking and the flow of the game - to see the hidden ones you need to tap with the stylus.Much more use could have been made of the top screen - it's only used for showing game stats and some button instructions. I would've preferred if both screens could have been used to accommodate the cards on games that require more physical space.You can customise a few things: background colour, font size, music and sfx (which you're better turning off as it quickly becomes annoying), card backs (which makes little difference as they're so small). Available languages are: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.The game tracks some statistics but only in a very basic way, counting the number of games played and your number of games won. I was hoping for so much more here: number of games won/lost in a row, high score lists, maybe some graphs and charts to show performance over time etc etc.While this feature isn't essential and doesn't affect gameplay, it's just interesting to know. Because solitaire is such a basic game, it really requires as much as possible in the way of extra features, modes, and added value. You can download a single card game to another DS (e.g. send Klondike to a friend's DS) but it's not really enough.And that's just the thing about Solitaire DS. Overall, the design is perfectly adequate and it plays solitaire just fine. There are just a few rough edges and things that feel a little bit fussy. I wish that the designers could've put more thought into some features (e.g. using both screens more effectively) and pushed the boat out a little and included far more options.Essentially, what you're getting here is Solitaire DS Basic, when really what you were hoping for Solitaire DS Premium. But, at the end of the day it's solitaire and it's fun and I suppose that's all that matters. Let's hope that the next version contains far more games and lots of extra features.

11.5.2010

I have to admit I love playing the various types of solitaire, but there are hundreds of variations and I don't know them all, so when I saw this I thought it would be my chance to learn new versions as well as playing old favourites.This DS cartridge contains 101 variations on solitaire divided into 10 categories. These are:klondike (16 games),freecell (13),spider (8),bakers dozen (4),bel castle (6),forty thieves (22),canfield (7),four seasons (4),fan (7) andothers (14).The "others" categories has: 3 pairing games, 4 maths games, 4 yukon games and 3 miscellaneous games.The are a number of "options" available - change language, changes font, reset score (thank goodness), reset stats (another very handy one),

27.7.2008

I love playing the 'spider' game on the PC, so I thought this game package would be fairly suitable for me. Now, you DO have to like plain, good old fashioned, card games - you can change the patten on the card back, but that's as flash as it gets! No animation - none of the 'blood and gore' that princelet seems to like in his games (thank goodness!), just plain old cards doing - well - card stuff.There are over 100 - yes 100 - patience card games - and you don't have to spend hours dealing them out (yipee!). You will heard of some of the games- but with this many - very few. Lots of them are similar - that's the nature solitaire - but there are big differences between some of the 'families'

16.4.2008

As a solo card player, I pre-ordered this game (and saved a penny!) but I think it could have been a lot better.The menu options on card back, fonts etc are very limited - the 2 fonts seem particularly pointless to me, but the Double Screen the 'DS' stands for is wasted on a static statistics panel and some needless landscape-type wallpapers. All game play is on the lower screen only, and so the DS can't be oriented well against lighting changes.The games are arranged in families according to type of game play, with a card layout pattern as a clue to the 95 other types of Solitaire you've never heard of, but the instructions are repetitively samey, to the extent that you hardly take in any info at all.

14.4.2008

I'm not sure why we had to wait so long for a collection like this - it's an obvious concept for the DS. Contrary to what is stated elsewhere, there are rules given for all games, often allowing variants at the player's discretion. For those who care about such things there are many card backs and backgrounds available, and a list of background music (if you have it on at all, keep it low, as most of it can be profoundly irritating). There are also stats of performance, for those who feel a need for such things. The mixture is well-chosen, although I imagine that any regular players of patience (I'm of a generation who thinks of 'solitaire' as something involving shuffling little pegs around)

5.7.2010

Before I start this review I want to make one thing clear. I neither like nor play Solitaire.I purchased this game for my wife so that she can play Solitaire on her Nintendo DS when we areaway camping and does not want to take her laptop with her.Until she had this game she would normally play the Solitaire game that ships as part of Microsoft Windows. It is obviously an addictive game if you like that kind of thing as she would sometimes play for hours! I have seen criticism of this Nintendo version for the DS simply because it does ship free with Windows and adverse comments tend to say things like,"why pay for this when you can play it for free on a PC?" I can see where this is coming from.It misses two points though!

1.7.2008

This is a terrific compendium of solitaire games, and so addictive that I have charged my DS, run it down and continued playing while it was charging in one sitting!There are a lot of games included, with a variety of options to alter some of the rules, so your favourite is bound to be here. The games do sometimes have names that I don't recognise, but there is a lot of fun to be had in going through them all and finding your favourite.Many of the games are fairly similar, but then that's solitaire! Because the cards are drawn differently every time you just never get bored!The only (very small) criticism is that on some of the large layout games, the cards can be a little small.

30.7.2008

If you enjoy solitaire then this is a great purchase. The package includes a huge variety of games including the well known "Klondike" (the version that comes with Microsoft Windows), Spider and FreeCell. All are visually well presented and easily controlled with either the touch screen or interface keys, and each game comes complete with instructions on how to play. Several customisable options are also available including a selection of good looking backgrounds and card backs.The only reason for not giving it 5 starts is that it doesn't track your highest score or completion time for each game variant, it unfortunately only tracks how many times you've won and lost each game.

26.10.2008

This is a pretty good game, with a huge selection of different varieties of patience, all customisable according to preference, e.g. number of cards turned over at once, number of times allowed to go through pack.One small flaw, however, is that it doesn't allow different user profiles to be set up, meaning that the stats for games played are based on all games played, by anybody. Also, the cards are, by necessity, pretty small on the screen, so if you need reading glasses, you'll have to wear them for this.Very intuitive to play - an older relative with no video-game experience was able to pick it up and play it with no instruction. Overall,

23.12.2008

Oh yes! Just wonderful, I am now totally addicted. I have always liked playing with cards and was reluctant at first to buy this, OH wasted days. This is great. Good fun to teach my niece as you can start with the games that almost always work out. There are so many variations and challenges this will keep me interested for a long time. I am a night shift worker and spend a lot of time on my own so this is just excellent, can be put down and picked up, and yea canna cheat.

6.9.2008

I gave this to my 76 year old mother (with a new DS) a few weeks ago, and I've not seen her since!She's addicted. (And now understands why teenage boys crowd round computer game consoles in shops!)There's a huge choice of Solitaire games, almost too many to keep track of what you've tried etc. I wish they would bring something like this out with over a 100 word games. If you like card games, you will like this - a bargain for the price.

5.6.2009

I enjoy playing solitaire and have to re-charge my machine on a daily basis as I am on it so long. I have always enjoyed the game whether it is with cards or on a computer. I am going into hospital next week and will take the nintendo with me - just because I am retired does not mean that my brain doesn't get a regular work out.

6.10.2009

An excellent variety of games that that differ in difficulty from easy to very difficult. The chances of winning are shown as a percentage so it is a good challenge to try and beat the odds. Some of the backgrounds are too fussy and it can be difficult to pick out the cards. Good to be able to save games.

12.4.2010

I always play solitaire on my phone but it was getting dull playing the same game. There are so many different types of game on here that I haven't yet found my favourite but there is so many to choose from that I've not yet played them all. Great game for fans of solitaire.

16.6.2009

I was a bit put off after ordering this by the previous reviews but both my husband and I find this game excellent. There are various types of the game to play but we play the version that we are used to via the PC. Very good value for the money paid.

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