Free Android App Review: Solitaire Deluxe

Written by Craig Will, puffkix Sunday, 26 June 2011 11:30

Solitaire is the most basic, simplistic time waster of a game. There isn't a game that is better suited for soul searching and spending time reflecting on one's life. Heck, it's a game called "Solitaire." It's not meant to be played with others. It's only fitting that the classic one person game has found it's way into every conceivable piece of technology that can be utilized for games. Seriously, every computer, console, phone, iDevice... Everything has Solitaire in one form or another on it. But some versions really outshine others.

The free app on the Amazon Appstore today is Solitaire Deluxe, a pretty looking app providing hours of solo card action. There are plenty of Solitaire variations to choose from, 16 total, including classics like Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell as well as some that Solitaire initiates wet behind the ears may not be familiar with such as Chinese Solitaire, Kings Corner, and The Harp.

Many of the games have variable settings: Klondike has variations on flips and cycles, how many suits are present in Spider, FaceDown or FaceUp in Tri-Peaks, etc. adding more variety to the offerings. Each time a new game type is played the option to go through a tutorial on it is presented. This is a great tool when playing the less familiar games.

On top of those 16 games available in the "Solitaire Arcade", there are also 15 new hands each day (across 3 games) that are guaranteed to be solvable in the "Daily Winnable Deals" mode. The games in this mode cost coins/credits/gold to play and once you've successfully solved a hand you can post your score and time to your Facebook account and your Mobile Deluxe account (should you choose to make one).

These coins are earned through winning hands in the Solitaire Arcade and can be used for more than playing the solavable hands; you can also use the coins to buy things in the Rewards Store. Things like new card designs and backgrounds. Some of them are actually kind of neat and with the ability for the developers to update and expand the store offerings it could turn out to have some really neat rewards in there someday.

$5 is a pretty steep investment for any Solitaire game (I'm looking at you XBLA Solitro Solitaire) and better come packed with features to back up the entry cost. Solitaire Deluxe may or may not be worth that much to you depending on your love of Solitaire but for free this is almost a must have if you've ever enjoyed wasting time with Solitaire while on the bus, in the car, on the train, or even sitting on the couch. Did I mention the animations are smooth as butter and the graphics/interface are slick? Yes, I just praised the graphical prowess of a Solitaire game: "Deal" with it.