I profess I tend to spend a decent amount of time playing virtual solitaire these days, mostly thanks to some ridiculously early commutes. So it’s a game I’m quite familiar with, although I haven’t come anywhere close to mastering it. Why is this significant? Because Popcap is bringing their popular Facebook adaptation, Solitaire Blitz to iOS and I’m expecting to have a grand old time with it.

The rules of Solitaire Blitz are both familiar and totally new. Players still have to empty their cards into piles by following a particular sequence, but suits and linear progression don’t matter anymore. A King can be tossed on a Queen, to be followed by another Queen, then a Jack. Or it could go 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, Ace. But while this might sound like the challenge has been sucked out of the classic solo card game, the fact of the matter is it still makes for an intense game. Mostly thanks to the never pausing 60-second time limit and slots (up to four) for placing cards that have to be unlocked.

It makes for some rather frantic card shuffling as you attempt to spot anything and everything that can get tossed on a pile, attempt to plan ahead to avoid getting stuck, and search out any cards featuring a key icon that will unlock those essential extra card slots. All of this while the clock keeps ticking down. No specifics have been given regarding price yet but we can all look forward to one of the most intense games of solitaire ever this November.

Back when I first reviewed Rage of Bahamut, I knew that I really liked it. I just had no idea how many other people would be every bit as enamored with it. Turns out a whole lot of people think it’s awesome, because the free-to-play CCG with the ingenious approach to duplicates has hit Number One. Number One on Google Play and the App Store grossing charts.

It’s a well-deserved honor as far as I’m concerned. The browser-based card game gone portable for mobile platforms offers a wealth of cards to gather (700+) and almost constant special events to keep the community engrossed and involved. Holy Wars have just wrapped up (my Order ranked in the mid-3000’s, which isn’t too bad), leaving lots of players with a bounty of rare cards. And of course, those that aren’t rare can be used to upgrade those that are.

Reaching the top spot in the App Store as well as keeping said spot for six consecutive weeks on Google Play is no simple feat. It implies that a lot of people are playing. And if that many people are having such a grand old time collecting, trading, and evolving some gorgeous (and powerful) cards on their mobile devices, it stands to reason that it just might be a game worth checking out. And if someone were to check it out, I wouldn’t take offense if they were to use my referral code (lhs90348) at the end of the tutorial to get some extra cash and a special rare card. Just a thought.

FREE!

Rage of Bahamut

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-14 :: Category: Games

It feels like it wasn’t all that long ago when Samurai Bloodshow (the rest of the title is too confusing so I’m leaving it off) managed to take me completely by surprise. The combination of strategy, card collecting, and over-the-top arterial spray brought a huge smile to my face. And now Sega is poised to do the same thing to me all over again. Albeit without the surprise since I know what’s coming this time around.

Alexandria Bloodshow is the official sequel to that other fantastic genre mash-up. This time players can take control of two separate armies – the Egyptians and the Greeks – as they attempt to collect, cut-up, and conquer. With the requisite art styles (Greek pottery, Egyptian hieroglyphics) to match of course. All the engrossing card gathering and deck building is still on offer, now with a whole new set of units to strategize with. Over 120 in all, actually. And with the two selectable armies, five difficulties, and seventeen stages it makes for a total of 170 campaign levels to conquer. And that’s not even taking the two player versus mode (via WiFi or Bluetooth) into account.

Alexandria Bloodshow is available on the App Store now, and it’s only $0.99. Okay, it’s actually free to download but it’s $0.99 to unlock the full game. Not a bad deal.

FREE!

Alexandria Bloodshow　

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-06-06 :: Category: Games

Now, I’ve never been a huge card game enthusiast. That is to say, the kind of card games that use playing cards. Because of this, I have absolutely no idea how to play Hearts. I am a fan of turn-based multiplayer iOS games, however. Seeing as there are a good deal of iOS users who have similar tastes in their multiplayer, and a good deal of people who actually do know how to play Hearts, this seems like a kind of natural progression.

Hearts Tournament from Trivial Technology was designed to juggle multiple games simultaneously. Up to 30 in fact. Best of all, players can mess around with their own single player games while waiting for their friends or random opponents to take their own turns. Along with all the card-slinging goodness are leaderboards to dominate and challenges to complete in order to earn special items, achievements, and more.

Hearts Tournament is available on the App Store now for $0.99. Hearts fans should feel free to dive right in and start juggling dozens of games immediately.

$1.99

Hearts Tournament

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-10 :: Category: Games