One has to question why with 800+ games I have not yet played, I decided to buy a game based around Solitaire, and then played it for 20+ hours straight. What can I say? It was in the Summer Sale. Either I have some serious problems or this is a pretty decent card game. Actually, I guess it could be both!


If you're into this genre, you've probably played a ton of near identical games. I don't usually play many card games at the PC as there are a million more distractions there, but this one intrigued me enough to pull it out of the pack. The core gameplay is basic spider - you get a deck of cards, you get a board, and you clear the board by matching the cards +1 up or down in as long a sequence as you can muster. There is an added RPG/Strategy element which makes the game a lot more unique than the other card games I've played lately. Each card has a bonus magic associated with it (four magics + gold cards), and that magic can be used to cast spells. You can take five spells into a game with you, and additionally equip four bonus items. Instead of simply playing to clear the board; you're playing to clear the board before dying. You have health, and each game pits you not only against a board but against an enemy. The enemy draws damage/ability/special effect cards each turn and plays them against you, and you need to adjust to play around that. A lot of the abilities are interesting and unique, and do actually make you play differently, whilst others are just a standard "hit you for x health" deal. Strong abilities have a cooldown timer, so you know to prepare.


It's described as a "roguelite", which these days basically means "some sort of progression that unlocks even if you lose hey please buy our game we've added a buzz word", and I guess I can't deny that it has a roguelike element, although in rogue terms it's extremely shallow. As you play you unlock coins and gems, which allow you to customize spells, items, upgrade and purchase new decks. You get a run of 18 boards (fights) to get to the boss, each with a different mob type with some random elements thrown in. If you die, you lose the run, and you can upgrade your decks and then start at fight 1 again. So to win, you need to successfully complete all 18 fights in sequence - and then you can do that with each of the five classes (decks). On the whole, I'm a bit fed up of every game having the term rogue attached to it, but the unlockable system does give some motivation to keep going even whilst losing, or to repeat levels and adds a secondary layer of progression to unlock the different decks.


The game starts off incredibly easy and quickly gets pretty difficult. It is very RNG - it has not only the RNG of the board to begin with (you can be on fight 17 and flip over 10 cards you can't use and you are guaranteed to die, but that is solitaire for you), but it also has the RNG of the bosses and the RNG of the spells they use and the RNG of the spells/items available in the shop, and hey, in case RNG for breakfast, lunch and dinner wasn't enough - it's even RNG how many gems seem to pop up on a level. If easily frustrated by RNG then this may bother you. For me, it's fine, honestly, it's a card game, it's going to have incredible amounts of RNG. I am an expert at dying in every type of game, so why not add card games in there too!


I sink a lot of spare hours into Fairway Solitaire, which is probably the pinnacle of mobile card-gaming when it comes to popularity and users. Does this game compare with the big league? Actually - it really does. It's fun to play! It has more depth and more strategy, and has a real sense of progression and customization as you play. On the downside, it's not as polished, the animations are a bit slow and clunky, which someone who likes fast-paced play (spoilers - me!) may find a little frustrating. Some of the time I feel I could have completed the level in the time it takes the animations to turn over two cards. Do you know what you don't want in a card game? Blank time sitting staring at the screen waiting for a card to flip over. This has been slightly addressed with a "Fast Animation" tick box in the options; so obviously a known bone of contention, but even with fast play on it plays considerably slower than the iPad card games I'm so used to.


It can get grindy and repetitive - but that shouldn't be a big problem for people who enjoy solitaire style games, as the card decks are randomized so no two games are identical and if you like this genre it won’t get boring. It's a game that would work perfectly on mobile and honestly feels like that's the intention, but it would not fetch this price there, so whether you feel like this is worth a purchase on the PC is up to you. Content wise, with 20 hours in it, I could easily see it taking me another 20 hours just to complete the campaign on all the decks, but once that is done and I have all the achievements, I don’t think I would keep playing it on the PC. If I was on mobile, I could easily see myself picking this up when I had 15 minutes of downtime to kill.

On the whole this is a card game in a world where there are thousands upon thousands of card games, that has managed to give itself an edge to appeal to a gamer looking for both traditional cardplay as well as interesting and unique gameplay elements.


It's not perfect, it's not going to replace my #1 card game, but it definitely kept me engaged and playing, so a strong recommendation from me.

Solitairica is a rogue-lite card game with RPG elements and a cool story thrown in there. It features procedurally generated attacking monsters and you must battle them using cards and spells yo ugain from your cards.


Graphics:

The graphics are pretty standard for a 2d card game. The art is beautifully drawn and colorful. The whole game has that spooky atmosphere. The enemy monsters are very adorable and drawn pretty good.


Sound:

The music in this game is very good and I like listening to it while playing the game. The music has that Halloween/spooky theme going on as well.

Gameplay:

The way Solitairica works is the basic concept is you have a bunch of cards on the screen and you have a deck and one card in hand. You must select a card from the top which is one number lower or higher than the card in your hand. You must do this to all the cards and finish all the cards on top. Once you finish them the level is beaten. There can be other tasks too but mostly you will see are missions which tell you to clear the cards.

So the basic card gameplay is similar to numerous card games found on Steam such as Faerie solitaire etc. but this game features RPG elements. You have elements on your cards which can give you abilities which will help you beat levels. You also have enemies in this game and every enemy does something different so you have watch out for their attacks which can do a lot of things. Every monster has a different strategy, some do more damage, others keep adding things like freezing or burning the cards You have an energy bar which when depleted you will lose the game.

Every time you lose a battle against an enemy you’ll have to start the adventure again from the start. They will give you runes though which can help you buy better decks and upgrades. Once you upgraded the decks you can have much better chance of beating the enemy in the next run. There’s a total of 18 levels and every one of them feature a different monster. The game gets pretty difficult in the later levels so you can expect to play the game a few times in order to build a better deck and to have a chance against the later monsters. This game can get pretty addicting if you’re a card games fan.

Conclusion:

A very addicting and fun solitaire/RPG/Rogue-lite game which will keep you entertained for hours. It has that “just one more game and I am off” thing but you never leave it. I recommend this game, it’s pretty fun.

NOTE: This game was given to me by the developer for review purposes. This did not influence my review in any way.

Solitairica is solitaire wrapped up in a fantasy setting, complete with magic, weird enemies, and a strange sense of humour.

There's no introduction to provide a backstory, but it seems that for some reason it's up to you to fight the armies of Stuck through 18 levels of the Blandlands, to confront some sort of sinister evil. Each level has you fighting a strange creature, many with a humorous twist, by completing a hand of solitaire.

Graphics - Graphics are functional, with some humorous touches. Each group of levels in the quest has a different static background image over which the main game is played. Your opponent for a hand is shown at the top, represented by a deck of square cards, and the normal playing cards that make up the hand are displayed at the centre of the screen. You are represented by a heart, showing your life points.

Cards and abilities are animated, and it's the abilities that shine as far as the graphics are concerned. Some of these (such as the beards) are very odd indeed, but should elicit a chuckle or two at least.

The interface between battles is big and cartoon-like, with icons that are easy to understand and use, and some nice simple animations showing your progress and your next opponent. Graphics options are minimal, only allowing resolution and windowed / full screen selection.

Sound - Sound effects are good, with various effects for magical spells and abilities, and appropriate sounds for button feedback and card movements. There are a few musical flourishes at various points in the game, such as when winning a level or losing the game, but during battles there's a notable lack of background music that leaves the game feeling a bit empty.

Gameplay - As mentioned, your job is to battle through the 18 levels of solitaire that make up The Blandlands in order to confront the evil that awaits you in the castle at the end.

The basic solitaire rules are implemented, but what makes the game interesting is the introduction of various special powers, spells, and items that reduce or improve your ability to complete the hand. As you play through you'll no doubt die (by your opponent draining your heart's life points to zero), which puts you back at the beginning again. Never fear, though: each death earns you 'wildstone' gems, which are used to improve your deck or purchase a new one for your next attempt.

Between levels you can spend coins, earned through completing levels and getting long chains of cards, on items and spells to improve your chances. There's not a whole lot of variation in items, though, with most being of the "begin with +x" in a certain value variety. Similarly with the enemies you fight: there's only a relatively small number of enemies you're likely to encounter at each stage, sometimes enhanced by one or more abilities. It's hardly the "horde of ever-changing enemies" and "wide variety of items" that are promised in the game's description.

The promised 'rogue-like' features come in when you die and return to the beginning of the game. At this point you can spend wildstone gems you've earned on upgrading your card deck (up to three upgrades per deck), or purchasing a new deck. I wouldn't really call the game 'rogue-like' based on this, but it's a nice feature nonetheless.

Pros:
+ Good sense of humour
+ Cute graphics and sound
+ Simple to learn, but fun and addictive
+ Items, spells, and deck upgrades keep you coming back for more
+ Steam Achievements

Cons:
- Crashes to desktop with 'fatal error' on occasion (but it seems to save turn by turn, so you don't lose anything)
- Repetitive, especially in the early stages of each game when you tend to encounter the same enemies with no special abilities
- Lack of background music during battles leaves the game feeling a bit empty
- Some grammar errors (e.g. "no where" instead of "nowhere")

I enjoy Faerie Solitaire, on which I've racked up 15 hours or so. Initially I thought Solitairica played a bit like a poor man's Faerie Solitaire, but after playing for a couple of hours I can see that was unfair. Solitairica takes the same basic solitaire rules and takes them in a different direction. It adds spells and enemy abilities, and wraps the whole thing up in an amusing fantasy world to produce a game that stands on its own.

Overall, Solitairica is fun and addictive. Bear in mind, though, that it can be frustrating: a moderate run of poor cards, especially against some of the more dangerous enemies, can easily lead to your demise with nothing at all that you can do about it.

I love Solitairica. I haven't felt this way about a game in I can't even remember how long. There are a dozen other games I need to get to right now, but I keep jumping back in for one more run. Before I know it I've clicked away 3 hours of my life, and I don't even care. Rogue-lite solitaire is something I've never considered, but here we are with one hell of a strategic card game that's much more compelling that it looks on the surface, and is quite possibly my favorite solitaire game ever.

I've never played a rogue-like before. The prospect of losing my progress upon every death is something I don't think I'll ever find enjoyable, not when my time is valuable. Solitairica is a rogue-lite game, however. Your journeys to defeat Emperor Stuck may end in failure, but you'll still gather gems that can be used to level up the different card decks giving you powerful bonuses and extra equipment slots for your next run. These may not sound like much, but that lucky boost when you need it most makes all the difference in the world. You can also purchase continues that allow you to pick up after failed battles. They're a bit pricey and you need to buy them before you start the encounter, but they're definitely worth it if you're far enough along and worried about bad luck taking you out.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1095639731
Make no mistake, as with any good solitaire game, luck of the draw is a big aspect of the gameplay. Finding ways to overcome it with smart ability use is incredibly enjoyable, though. Even when I fail, I'm determined to make another run because I know that with a little tweaking of my strategy, perhaps a bit of luck on items, and more favorable boss trait combos, I'll make it a step further than I did before. And if I don't, well those precious gems will never go to waste.

Being forced to play through several times allows you to experiment with different ability combinations that may not have originally occurred to you. The store's inventory is random after every battle, so you may never come across the one ability you've based your entire strategy on. While this may sound frustrating, I cannot tell you how many times I was forced to try an approach I never thought was optimal only to realize how powerful that strategy really is. There are several strategies for each deck adding flexibility and longevity to the gameplay.

Each of the different playable decks have a hero theme, and it's entertaining how the game conveys the essence of these iconic RPG classes with only the flip of a few cards. The rogue deck channels the quick strikes and swift movements of the agile class, allowing you to overwhelm your opponents before they have a chance to counter. Wizards may have weak defenses but their devastating attacks can turn the tide of battle when they need it most. All of the decks are unique in how they're played which makes mastering each a challenge and a joy.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1091644277
My one and only complaint is the RNG on later boss traits. Certain traits are almost impossible to overcome when rolled together; even the best of luck won't net you a win as the disadvantage is too strong. Still, this has only happened a handful of times for me, and I've found myself with manageable combos more often than not. But it can be frustrating to have a good run ruined by something totally out of your control.

That said, I've already plugged nearly 30 hours into Solitairica and I've only cleared half of the decks. The amount of entertainment and enjoyment I've received from the $10 I've spent rivals most other games with two to three times the pricetag. If you love solitaire and enjoy a challenge, then do yourself a favor and grab this gem. Just know that it's no walk in the park. You WILL fail...A LOT, but when you succeed that feeling of accomplishment is like nothing else.

It's so infuriating I love it

Also it did crash once but when I opened it back up it started where I left off in the game

Target Audience: .Those who like spider solitaire and Roguelites.

Summary:
While the base game may not EXACTLY spider solitaire, it uses the core game concept, and adds a layer of combat and skill to it. And what does that do? It makes an addictive game that I planned to play 4 hours to get my first impressions. Instead, I ended up playing 14+. This should tell you something. Using skills to turn a defeat into a victory was always satisfying, and a game that was great to play in the background while I was watching YouTube videos. The different classes and items helped to keep the variety up, while buying news skills and changing up strategies was great to see what new combination I could put together next. The game could use a few tweaks to make it more of a streamlined experience, and the developer seems to be taking feedback after he watched the video review I produced. And I would like to see the game on the iOS/Android platform, as I think it'd work really well there. But even for what may seem like a higher price compared to other solitaire/card games out there, Solitaircia delivered in some addictive gameplay, and made my other reviews that much harder, with the time I spent on this one.

Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5sXGBBmtL8

Lists:
Positives:

• Addictive. It has that pick up and play for just one more match. And then one more match. And then one more match.
  
• The added skills do help take away some of the weaknesses of the base solitaire game. They add to the strategy of the game, and help makes things interesting.
  
• Good variety of enemy skills and status effects, which force you to change up your strategy and adapt to the new situation. Hording energy a key part of your strategy? Well have fun against an enemy who can burn those energy reserves off.
  
• Class decks force you to prioritize one or two attribute, and do play to rather interesting strengths, like the bard's want of hording energy.
  
• The items you can grab are rather effective and make coin collecting rather important.
  
• Sound design does well in giving little tone hints about certain events in the game, giving you information that you need: like when you're unnecessarily burning energy
  
• Animations and artwork are clean and rather nice to look at. Like some of the enemy designs and descriptives as well.

Negatives:

• Some of the animations after a while do get a little old, in terms of the time that it takes to execute.
  
• The music needed a little bit more variety.
  
• Wish it had hotkeys. After talking with the developer, it will be in the first patch, so that's good!

If you want more reviews/information regarding games I've reviewed, visit my curator. Dragnix Curator

Little repetitive

Turn off the sound, then it's 10/10.

When my dad first introduced this game to me a few years ago, I blew it off as boring as I always had with solitaire. Then, last year I started playing it on Ipad when I was browsing through games I had. I played, was VERY bad. But had fun. Now I've started playing on PC and in a few days already scored 3 wins on seperate classes against Emperor Stuck. Those being Wizard, Paladin and Rogue. The latter two weren't even fully upgraded when I did so.

Solitairica is very fun and has several unique traits that make it interesting. The energy system is balanced and works fine and the enemies you face range from the adorable but harmless Dirt Guppy to the poison-stalling Zorpion to the terrifying Ogger (Unless you've got the trampoline spell) It's fun, challenging and unique. I would 100% recommend this to players who are seeking a mind-challenging game.

Difficult?, Yes!
Addictive?, Yes!
Recommended?, Yes!

Childish design, but I guess it's good fun for the whole family,
I have to say I'm enjoying the game as I enjoy Diablo or something like that,

A different take on the Solitaire Genre. It's Good ;)