Card & Board Games | Casualicious

Gunslinger Solitaire

Posted by Ruff on August 4th, 2008

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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In the Wild West, there’s always the good, the bad and the ugly. But in the Gunslinger Solitaire game from Indie Gaming and The Revills Games, there’s just the good, the bad and the drunk (according to the introduction) as you step into a cowboy-themed solitaire Card game involving lots of guns, bullets and money.

After you step into the saloon, you find yourself bearing a map indicating some hidden gold mine at the end of a very long path. Your objective in this game, therefore, is to try and get to that promised gold mine by playing solitaire games along the way. The path is divided into 10 stages with each stage having 10 levels each. Clear all the stages to get to the gold mine and you’re finished, but of course, you have to contend with some surprises during your adventure too.

Much like Tri-Peaks, the mechanics of Gunslinger Solitaire is for you to attempt to remove all the cards in the screen by clicking on the card one number higher or lower than the faced-up card on the bottom stack. This faced-up card will be replaced by your most recently clicked card and if there are no more matches available for you, you can click on the deck to draw 1 card from the pile. Your game ends after you have drawn all the cards in the pile or if you managed to remove all the cards on the board, and the acquired money can be used to buy shop items from the General Store accessed from the main menu.

Anyway, you really don’t have to traverse all 100 levels of the game to finish it. This is because each stage of the game has its own specific objective to reach before it is already considered done. For example, on the first stage, you have a target profit to reach before you can already move on the next stage. Other stages doesn’t follow the same trend though, because sometimes, you just have to achieve a certain number of card combos called Trigger Happy combos, or clear a certain level of all cards and you can just skip the remaining levels for that stage. And after a specific stage becomes unlocked, a shop item becomes available for you to purchase too, giving you more bonuses and money to help you further in your journey.

The real highlight of Gunslinger Solitaire though is the mini-games you get to play once you find specially marked cards. While generally, most of these mini-games involve you shooting something for more points and money, the variety of these games are still quite ingenious in its own way. And they serve as good breakpoints too from all that repetitive card-matching gameplay.

With that said, even though I find the gameplay to be very much addictive, the whole solitaire game can be very tiring if you’re like me not skipping any stages. There’s not much challenge too considering that you get awarded with so much money throughout the game. And even the production values seemed to be lacking on flare and style if you compare this game to other successful solitaire games within this genre.

All in all, Gunslinger Solitaire can be a good time waster but is really worth only the free trial if you’re looking for some breakthrough card game.

Download the Gunslinger Solitaire game here.

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Governor of Poker

Posted by Ruff on August 2nd, 2008

(2 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)

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Recently, poker has already been recognized as one of the world’s favorite sport, held in official tournaments and events. And many people want to join in the fun too, but unable to because if being just too noob about this famous card game. But in the Governor of Poker game from Youda Games, you have a chance to prove that you can be one of poker’s rising stars too and still hold on to your money in the process.

In this game, you play as one of the many people in Texas who wants to claim the title of “Governor of Poker”. Armed with some money in your hand, you take on your neighbors and other townsmen (and women) for rounds and rounds of poker. Until such time when you take over other towns and cities and eventually govern the whole poker world within the palm of your hand. But first, you have to win your first tournament, right?

Anyway, the objective of the game is for you to be the best in poker within Texas. To be able to do that, you have to participate in tournaments to build your reputation within the town and of course, build more money too for yourself. Put your name up the ranks for each town you visit and possibly battle the final boss of poker in the end game.

There’s really nothing else to say about Governor of Poker’s mechanics other than it plays just your average poker game. Other than the actual game interface though, you get to explore the whole town too. Basically, this is your chance to talk to other people within the neighborhood and sometimes, get a valuable tip or two. Sometimes, people talk rubbish too, but I guess that’s just part of the whole fun you get with this game.

Building your reputation as a known poker player gives you access to special invites to play cash rounds. Cash rounds are uncontrolled poker games where you can win property too aside from the cash you collect from other players. On the other hand, if you see yourself losing, you can also opt out of a game after a round of betting, something you can never do on an actual tournament.

Tournaments are held everyday and give a set of cash prize for the winners. This is where all your poker training comes in to build you a reputation in town. Be on a lookout for the big hitters though, marked by the name of the town in their actual names, and the “steamy” players who makes mistakes often. And just play psychologically and strategically to force your opponents to bankruptcy.

The real highlight of Governor of Poker is its graphics and 3D animations. While walking your character around the town is amusing in its own way, I really loved the little gestures of the characters during the actual poker game. Other than this, the game features great voice-overs too, which effectively distinguishes each player from the other.

All in all, Governor of Poker is just plain fun and enjoyable. It’s just one game that you can play hours and hours without end until you hold the title of being the sole governor. And if that’s not enough, try to rack up on awards too as you achieve many of the game’s milestones. But really, it’s just fun playing such a card game when you’re losing no actual money in every deal. I bet you agree with me, right?

Download the Governor of Poker game here.

Tri-Peaks 2: Quest for the Ruby Ring

Posted by Ruff on July 23rd, 2008

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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Tex and Ally Carter are back again for another adventure in the Tri-Peaks 2: Quest for the Ruby Ring game coming from Pogo. In this next Card game installment, you are to travel around the world in search of more hidden treasures while still playing the solitaire game that made the original Tri-Peaks as famous as it is now.

Anyway, the story of the game starts as Tex and Ally heard about the new discovery of The Temple of Kali, a long lost ancient structure that houses the famous cursed ruby ring of fire. Ignited by their thirst for adventure, they then took off to reclaim this lost treasure for the museum before someone else gets their greedy hands on it. But first, they have to gather other artifacts along the way too, bringing you along with them as you travel across ancient areas around the world.

The objective of Tri-Peaks 2: Quest for the Ruby Ring is for you to play a solitaire game in the hopes of guiding Tex and Ally away from trouble during their adventures. You see, for every solitaire game you successfully finish, you get to advance Tex towards the treasures in his path; otherwise, he meets his doom from all the traps and obstacles blocking his way. You will earn points for every peak you finish and you beat a level once all three are cleared. Sometimes Tex will discover treasures along the way too containing point bonuses, rubies and power-ups, and at every end of his journey, an artifact waits to put on display for the museum.

Tri-Peaks is a solitaire game where you have to clear all the cards in the field by clicking on those cards a number higher or lower than the current card in the foundation pile. Removed cards will sometimes reveal top cards and you basically get points once you remove the peak cards. Removing 7 cards in a row will reward you with rubies too, and you get to use these rubies in the pachinko style mini-game where you have to guide the rubies to fall on random point baskets.

Another element of the game which can get you more points is the Multiplier Monkey. Basically, this weird animal climbs up the multiplier pole whenever you remove cards from the field and in the same way, climbs down whenever you get cards from the draw deck. All in all, your points after the level get multiplied depending on the highest level he reached.

Many times in the game, Ally gets caught in a trap and it’s up to you to save her. All you need to do is to remove a certain number of peak cards on a set time limit before she gets sent into a pit of doom. While this element certainly puts an excitement factor to the game, the annoying thing is that the countdown timer keeps ticking even when you’re waiting for all the animation to finish. What’s relieving though is even after Ally dies, scolding you in the process, she’s gonna be back later, again stuck in another trap.

Power-ups are also available in the game and they are certainly useful in those times when you’re stuck. These include the Amazonian Wild card, the Re-Deal card, the Bonus Charm card (for our monkey friend) and the Face-Up Deal card. They have their own special uses, but they are also rarely found throughout the game.

Tri-Peaks 2: Quest for the Ruby Ring is really one addictive card game and I loved its whole treasure hunting concept. The little animations are very good and much is the same about its back story. The greatest thing about the game though is how the scenery changes for every location you travel to, and believe me, each of the sceneries can take you very long to finish, making this game well worth the buy. That means that you can grow tired of the basic card game too, but luckily enough, there’s always the museum feature where you can take a break and check out all your adventure finds.

Download the Tri-Peaks 2: Quest for the Ruby Ring game here.

Empire of the Gods

Posted by Ruff on May 16th, 2008

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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Are you ready for some straight up, unique and challenging Card game?

The Empire of the Gods game coming from indie game developer, Lonely Troops, is actually one of the most unique card games I had ever reviewed in this blog. But before all that, I have to tell you guys all about the game’s story first.

In Empire of the Gods, you play as a Pharaoh on the journey into building a great empire starting from leading a small tribe of people. Set in the mystical world of Ancient Egypt, your task is to build towering monuments marking your place for the world to revel at. And how you do just that is by playing a card trading game never before experienced on other casual games of this type.

Yeah, I know that doesn’t make much sense, but anyway… let’s just move on to the game, shall we?

The Empire of the Gods game has one really confusing set of card rules I can’t explain well on this review. However, just to give you all an overview, the game involves 4 kinds of cards, each having their own special role to the game. Base cards are your normal trading cards, Special cards are well… cards that do special things, Bonus cards uses fame to do more… umm… special things, and making them Master cards is your primary goal for each level. Basically, you just have to trade some of these card types to acquire enough Power, Wealth, Faith and Life needed on each stage under a set amount of limited moves. And to top it all off, the cards themselves are very limited too. So I guess you guys are already thinking of how much challenging this game is, well, I say pretty much so!

One thing I liked about Empire of the Gods is how you can level up your avatar from all the fame gathered during the previous stage. It just adds this dynamic feel to the game where certain points of a character can be improved to aid you on the next stage. And coupled with the beautiful graphics and nice music, this one of a kind game just plain rocks in my point of view.

However, the steep difficulty curve can be pretty much annoying during the later levels. In fact, I found myself already stuck at about the fifth circle, unable to find my way out of the puzzle. I guess you just have to plan all your moves wisely on this game, so if you’re not really the thinking type (like me), then just play this game until the trial run and see if you can get a grasp of the challenge.

Download the Empire of the Gods game for free here.

The Great Sea Battle: The Game of Battleship

Posted by Ruff on May 8th, 2008

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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During the time when I was in grade school, my friends and I would tear up a single page everyday from our Math notebooks just to play Battleship during lunch. Yeah, we’re like the nerdy bunch during those times, but that’s not really the whole point to the story. The point is that for those who had played the Battleship game before knows how much fun this game can be when played with other people. And with The Great Sea Battle: The Game of Battleship game coming from TrioDesign Studio, it’s now our chance to relive those fun times once again, but still, let’s see how this Card game fares on our review too.

In terms of rules, mechanics and objectives, The Great Sea Battle: The Game of Battleship plays just like any ordinary Battleship game - y’know, like the ones some of you may have used to play on pen and paper. Basically, you’re given a 10 x 10 grid where you’re supposed to position your ships strategically to confuse your enemy. Take turns in bombing each other’s play area until a player wipes out all of his enemy’s ships, and I guess that’s it.

The theme of this game though takes you back to the times of the Armada, where galleys, galleons and carracks are the Navy’s main tools of trade. You get to choose also in representing either Spain, Portugal, Holland, England or France before the start of any battle. And after doing all those things, the game takes you to the actual battle scene where the turn-based bombing action takes place.

The Review

I really won’t be beating around the bush on this one so I’ll just say that The Great Sea Battle: The Game of Battleship game is really one straightforward and repetitive game. The game just lacks so many features that you’ll honestly begin to wonder why you would be spending your money for something you can do with a single pencil, a paper and a friend.

The game doesn’t even have a back story to make it considerably interesting. A good idea to incorporate into this game would be a quest system where you’re tasked to make a fleet conquer the world or something because playing only a single Battlefield exchange after every game start tends to get… well… really boring after some time.

On a positive note, I still found the 3D ship and background graphics very good and the music very engaging for this type of game. And just to clear things up, I really loved playing Battleship games, but such a stereotype luck-based casual game doesn’t cut it much to my PC gaming standards. So I guess we’ll call it a negative review, unless you guys contradict my own view by trying the game out yourselves.

Download The Great Sea Battle: The Game of Battleship game here.