Latest Reviews
1 and half Stars
Down on your luck, alone and broke, you can always turn to the one place that can change your luck from downtrodden poverty to stinking rich in a matter of minutes - a casino!
Once Upon a Time in Chicago is a rags-to-riches mini-game collection set in prohibition era Chicago. It sounds like it has the makings of a grand adventure, but this is one casino story we're not betting on.
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Posted on Sep 21, 2009, 9:03am
3 and half Stars
Scrabble may be universally loved, but it hasn't really offered anything new to spice up crossword formula since the game debuted in 1938. That's more than 70 years with nary a tweak to the rule book. Previous releases like 2006's
Scrabble Deluxe have done a tremendous job of perfecting Scrabble's board game to video game transition, so what's left to tackle? If you're behind the recently release
Scrabble Plus, the answer is "a lot."
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Posted on Jul 2, 2009, 8:40am
3 and half Stars
When most people think of property ownership board games, they think of
Monopoly. My heart goes out to those people. If their thoughts first go to
Monopoly, chances are they have never had the chance to enjoy sublime tabletop experiences like
Carcassone or
Settlers of Catan.
Room Boom Suburbia is an all new property-owning experience that has far more in common with the latter than the former, even if its virtual nature means there's not actual board involved.
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Posted on Jun 30, 2009, 9:22am
4 Stars
Some modern solitaire experiences ruin the basic pleasure of the game - which comes from organizing cards into groups based on a simple set of rules - by adding too many complicated power-ups and contrived game-changing variables. Happily, that's not the case with
Faerie Solitaire, a dead simple solitaire experience that sprinkles just the right amount of fun twists and tweaks to keep the game interesting without making it too convoluted.
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Posted on Jun 12, 2009, 7:54pm
3 and half Stars
Notable for the way in which it elegantly combines playing cards with puzzle-solving, the
Jewel Quest Solitaire series has long been a favorite of casual game fans. While it's more of a natural expansion for the series than sweeping revamp, the same holds true for
Jewel Quest Solitaire 3. Marrying simple match-three action with classic tabletop fun, it’s a surprisingly deep, yet approachable title that won’t leave veterans wowed, but makes for an engaging time nonetheless.
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Posted on Mar 12, 2009, 9:11am
2 and half Stars
Solitaire mah jong, also known as
Taipei and
Shanghai, has kept people busy for decades, especially since the 1990s when Microsoft released
Taipei in its Windows Entertainment Pack. Since then, the game has spawned many variations that offer tile designs ranging from sports teams and cartoon characters to flags and holiday themes.
Hexagon Mahjongg attempts to introduce something different with hexagon-shaped (six-sided) tiles.
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Posted on Feb 12, 2009, 7:50am
4 Stars
Ah, Solitaire. How many times have I wiled away the hours with you when I should have been working? I'm sure I'm not the only one with this illustrious past with the old Windows standby. But
Solitaire for Dummies shows that there are many different ways to play the game.
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Posted on Jan 18, 2009, 10:38am
3 and half Stars
The tile-matching pastime mah jong originated in China, but according to
Mahjong: Mysteries of the Past the game is timeless. As you travel through five historical eras searching for pieces of a missing artifact (more on that later), the inhabitants you meet all have two things in common: one, they all conveniently speak modern English, and two, they're always up for a few rounds of mah jong.
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Posted on Jan 8, 2009, 9:55am
3 and half Stars
Successfully blending mah jong with
Zuma and bingo, offbeat puzzler
Liong: The Dragon's Dance was nothing if not ambitious when it launched several months back. Sequel
Liong: The Lost Amulets takes an equally innovative approach, mixing hidden object play with typical tile-matching challenges, albeit not always to best effect.
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Posted on Dec 30, 2008, 9:56am
3 and half Stars
You don't generally expect to find stories of domestic violence or promiscuity in casual games, and you definitely don't expect to find them in solitaire! When I first started playing
Heartwild Solitaire, I was very surprised to see the direction the story was taking. Still, as uncomfortable as it was, I found it very hard to stop playing because I wanted to see where the story went.
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Posted on Dec 15, 2008, 9:50am
2 and half Stars
In Las Vegas, the gambling mecca of the world, there are tons of ways to lose your money, or risk it all for that big win. On a recent trip there, I noticed that one of the more popular methods t lose your cash is video poker. I saw people sitting in front of those blinking machines for hours on end at all times of the day, hoping for the computer to generate a winning hand. If this activity sounds appealing, then
Piddlepup Pirate Poker is for you. If not, then you may want to think twice before downloading.
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Posted on Nov 2, 2008, 9:56am
3 Stars
On the tail of
UNO Undercover comes
SKIP-BO Castaway Caper, a casual game remake of another of Mattel's card games. If you haven't heard of it, Skip-BO is similar to UNO, but while UNO is often compared to Crazy 8s, Skip-BO more closely resembles Spit, or the traditional card game sometimes known as Cat and Mouse or Spite and Malice.
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Posted on Sep 23, 2008, 9:31am
3 Stars
Looking for a new card game?
Magic Aces adds some fresh spins to classic poker, creating an original card game variant that's both challenging for veterans and still accessible to casual poker players.
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Posted on Sep 1, 2008, 9:42am
4 Stars
Hey, Seven Card Stud, wanna go to Omaha for some Texas Hold'em? Bad pun. Players have the opportunity to learn how to play those three games in
Poker for Dummies without cracking a book. Instead, learn the basics, rules, and vocabulary with an interactive tutorial and quizzes covering the basics of poker and simulations that dig deeper into how to play to win.
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Posted on Aug 26, 2008, 9:30am
4 Stars
Howdy pardner! Y'all love poker, I'm sure, and a new spin on the classic card game has moseyed its way to the casual game space. Yee haw!
Governor of Poker folds in a Wild West theme along with a real estate spin, as you can earn enough money to buy buildings in order to become a Texas tycoon.
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Posted on Jul 31, 2008, 8:10am
2 Stars
Step through the saloon doors into the Wild West, where you'll try to find the gold mine at the end of the treasure map with your six-shooter in one hand and a deck of cards in the other.
Gunslinger Solitaire puts a unique cowboy spin on the old solitaire card game that's fun for a while but ultimately has its fair share of tumbleweeds.
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Posted on Jul 30, 2008, 9:26am
3 and half Stars
Do you love card games but are tired of playing the same old poker and solitaire? What about a game of UNO instead?
UNO - Undercover takes the classic UNO card game and gives it a complete facelift, with a bunch of interesting new game elements wrapped in a quirky and amusing adventure.
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Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 8:57am
3 and half Stars
If it looks like solitaire and plays like solitaire, it must be... a '40s-style serial adventure? Unexpected perhaps, but that's precisely the case in new epic, globetrotting head-scratcher
Tri-Peaks 2: Quest for the Ruby Ring. Taken as a whole, the number-crunching game - which fuses a simple card-counting play mechanic with attractive animations and classic tomb-raiding elements - happily far exceeds the sum of its individual parts.
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Posted on Jul 20, 2008, 9:26am
3 and half Stars
Ahh... Tropico Island... home to the most beautiful butterflies the world has ever seen. In
Tropico Jong: Butterfly Expedition, you get to experience first-hand these colorful creatures as you embark on a journey of discovery through this butterfly-scouting mahjong game.
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Posted on Jun 27, 2008, 9:15am
3 and half Stars
Mahjong solitaire may be played with mahjong tiles, but it's very different from the traditional four-person game played in Asia. Instead, mahjong solitaire is reportedy based off of an Ancient Chinese matching game called "the Turtle."
Mah Jong Quest III follows in these age-old footsteps, with a bunch of new challenges for players seeking a serious mahjong experience.
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Posted on May 19, 2008, 9:47am
4 Stars
Books, movies, television shows, DVD/VCR challenges, the odd children's novel or interactive CD... Since debuting in 1949, British board game sensation
Clue (or
Cluedo, as it's known to fans overseas) has been entertaining families across the world. Small wonder then the title's received several PC conversions, the latest being
CLUE Classic. While a faithful translation of the tabletop favorite which accurately captures the multiplayer whodunnit's excitement and atmosphere though, the outing also suffers from some of the same drawbacks as the family game night staple it's modeled on. Bummer.
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Posted on May 6, 2008, 12:41pm
4 and half Stars
On the surface, the concept of combining the ancient Chinese tile-matching pastime of mahjong with British author Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland seems as far-fetched as... well, a white rabbit in a waistcoat carrying a pocket watch. But thanks to outstanding production values, solid mahjong gameplay, and well-executed hidden object rounds that don't manage to feel tacked on,
Alice's Magical Mahjong is a thoroughly charming outing.
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Posted on Apr 25, 2008, 7:08pm
4 Stars
A journey around China in the sandals of young Kwazi is the backdrop for
Mah Jong Quest, iWin's foray into the popular Mah Jong category. iWin has taken the time tested mechanics of Mah Jong and put a story to it. You'll travel from province to province as a child hero of indeterminate gender, solving puzzles and restoring the razed remains of the landscape with the power of the Tao. On your way you'll be guided by all the animals of the Chinese zodiac, coaxing you along your
Mah Jong Quest with rhymes and riddles.
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Posted on Feb 23, 2008, 4:51pm
3 and half Stars
Casual gamers who played last year's
Hotel Solitaire might get a sense of deja vu while entering the lobby, elevator and hallways of
Hotel Mahjong, as this is the second in the series from Zylom to fuse a luxurious stay at a hotel/casino and classic solitaire games. But don't worry - the similarities end once you step into a hotel room to begin hitting the tiles.
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Posted on Oct 29, 2007, 10:23am
4 Stars
Considering that the classic game that it's based on is literally centuries of years old, at face value, you'd think it would be hard for
Mahjongg Artifacts 2 to innovate on a winning formula. Thankfully, you'd also be wrong, as the popular series strikes gold yet again in its latest installment, which offers more tile-matching, treasure-hunting fun for enthusiasts of all types.
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Posted on Oct 10, 2007, 8:31am
3 and half Stars
When you see the word "mahjong" in the title of a computer game, you know what to expect: It will challenge you to clear elaborate stacks of tiles by matching identical game pieces. And as you begin playing, you'll instinctively know that in order to select a tile for elimination, it must be free to either the left or right. What you don't know from a game's title are the twists that differentiate it from the crowd. That's how it works with
Aerial Mahjong from Enkord, a game that plays on your expectations of what a mahjong release is and then turns them upside down.
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Posted on Oct 2, 2007, 9:46am
3 and half Stars
Pop culture meets ancient puzzles in
Cafe Mahjongg, the new game from iWin and Jenkat that is sure to give a "jolt" to casual game fans.
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Posted on Sep 13, 2007, 10:43am
4 Stars
Confession is good for the soul, so here goes: I like watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS. I enjoy seeing someone's jaw drop when they learn the ratty piece of furniture they bought at a garage sale for twenty bucks is actually worth a few grand. These days, that's close to the feeling I get when I play a casual game that takes a worn-out formula and injects it with new life. Case in point:
Mahjong Roadshow from publisher PlayFirst and developer Zemnott.
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Posted on Sep 12, 2007, 7:47am
3 and half Stars
Stressful, fast-paced and super-challenging aren't three words that normally come to mind when I think about the Chinese tile-matching game of Mah jong, but it's exactly what happens when Mah Jong and Zuma collide in
Liong: The Dragon Dance.
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Posted on Jul 17, 2007, 8:13am
4 Stars
Casual gamers who want a relaxing time-waster won't find anything more therapeutic than a Mahjong game.
These ancient Chinese solitaire diversions are a perfect way to melt away the day's stressors, whether it's during the last few minutes of a coffee break at work, at the end of a hectic day at the office or on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
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Posted on Jun 26, 2007, 8:49am
3 and half Stars
Mahjongg Investigations: Under Suspicion can best be described as a combination of the ancient tile-matching game of Mahjongg (also referred to as Shanghai) and the classic whodunit board game of
Clue.
That is, not only do you need to pair up identical tiles on a 3-D board but you're playing this game at a crime scene, in the hopes to unravel enough clues to pin the charge on a suspect. This interesting fusion works -- for the most part.
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Posted on Jun 20, 2007, 7:47am
3 and half Stars
Has a casual game ever left you feeling shortchanged? Perhaps you burned through the story mode too quickly or there weren't enough extras to keep you interested after you'd completed the main part of the offering. That's not a problem with
Mah Jong Quest II from iWin, a sequel that could keep you matching pairs for weeks on end before you see everything the game has to offer.
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Posted on Jun 6, 2007, 8:10am
3 and half Stars
The first
Mahjong Escape took players on a jaunt through Ancient China, where they absorbed Chinese history and proverbs while playing the tile-matching game of Mahjong. In part two, the adventure continues in
Ancient Japan with beautifully-rendered Japanese settings and lush, authentic Japanese music.
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Posted on Dec 13, 2006, 9:03am
3 and half Stars
Small wonder South Florida's such a hotspot for hipsters, vacationers and retirees alike. According to the world of
Hoyle Miami Solitaire - set during the heyday of the city's Art Deco Jazz Age - it's a swinging place to be.
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Posted on Nov 17, 2006, 10:17am
4 Stars
Mention treasure hunters and some folks will conjure up images of Angelina Jolie from the Tomb Raider flicks. Many more, however, will likely identify with the daring archeology professor Indiana Jones or earlier contemporary Alan Quatermain.
Regardless of who you associate with, it's an innately dangerous endeavor. Thankfully,
Mahjongg Artifacts allows you to do your relic hunting from the ease and comfort of home.
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Posted on Sep 25, 2006, 3:24pm
4 Stars
Not too many games teach you about yourself, but this is precisely what
Mahjong Fortuna 2 Deluxe sets out to do - this tranquil tile-matching game separates itself from the many other Mahjong titles on the market by giving players personalized information, such as horoscope, birth stone and flower, element, and more.
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Posted on Sep 13, 2006, 2:23pm
4 Stars
Supposedly created hundreds of years ago by philosophers or debutantes in faraway China, tile-matching game mahjongg remains one of the world's most treasured pastimes.
Credit for the hobby's continued popularity is no small part due to interactive tributes such as
Mahjongg Fortuna, which cleverly update the ancient amusement for modern audiences by adding novel audiovisual enhancements.
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Posted on Sep 6, 2006, 5:30pm
4 Stars
Mahjong games make for perfect time-wasters: they're easy to learn, relaxing, and can be played for five minutes or five hours.
And so it's no surprise casual game makers are seeking to create the ultimate time-matching experience; some add new twists such as 3-D graphics, power-up tiles and a countdown timer, while others fold in themes, such as the Caribbean, deep space or ancient Chinese history.
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Posted on Jul 20, 2006, 12:09pm
4 Stars
You probably didn't know China and the Bahamas have a lot in common. But after clicking around with
Caribbean Mah Jong for a few hours, you'll quickly realize the two gel well together.
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Posted on Jun 11, 2006, 7:55am
3 and half Stars
As someone who reviewed the first Mahjong computer game in the mid-1980s, when most people had never even heard of mahjong, I never imagined I'd be reviewing another one 20 years later. Obviously, these ancient tile-matching games, also referred to as Shanghai, fares well in an electronic realm, but with the introduction of Oberon's
Mahjong Match, it's not the same old, same old.
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Posted on Jun 9, 2006, 11:23am
4 Stars
If you think "T'ang" is an orange drink and "Zhou" is where animals are put on display, you obviously aren't too familiar with Ancient China.
No worries - play a few rounds of
Mahjong Escape, and while you won't turn into Confucius overnight, you'll learn a thing or two about Chinese history and be entertained with some relaxing game-play at the same time.
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Posted on May 30, 2006, 1:06pm