Tag: Cards »

Poker has kind of taken the country by storm over the past several years. It’s made its way into all manner of media, obviously including video games. So what makes this particular digital rendition of card-based gambling worth checking out? Quite a lot, it turns out.

All of the expected options are available in World Series of Poker, such as Texas Hold ‘Em and even Omaha Poker, but there’s a slew of more social-oriented features that are actually pretty awesome. Every player has an account that automatically tracks virtually every aspect of their games; thus helping them to better understand their own play style through statistics as well as allowing them to show off their skills with a number of different trophies such as special tournament rings.

It’s easy to tell what a player needs to work on (i.e. too much folding, not enough folding, etc.) at a glance, but what’s also cool is that really good players can gain access to a special league of games that are only available to others that have earned the same honor. In other words, seriously good poker players won’t have to worry about finding themselves in a game full of casual players. It’s also easy to find, invite, and join games that are already in progress. Each game is represented with a table, and players have only to tap an open seat to invite a buddy or two. And it’s just as easy to join a game.

I wasn’t able to procure any pricing information, but World Series of Poker will be available on the App Store “soon.”

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.

Doubtless most people these days carry around one or two club cards. Virtually every single retail and grocery store in existence uses them and they’re a great way to save some money with (typically) no initial cost. The only problem is having to dig out a given card at the register. I myself sometimes get annoyed with flipping through all the little tags on my keyring to find the right one. 1Card exists specifically for this sort of thing.

The app lets users to store and organize a number of different membership cards in one non-physical place. Even better, it can accommodate virtually any card because it allows for barcode scanning/copying with the iPhone’s camera. Assuming the company in question doesn’t already have a listing on the app in the first place. But the handiness doesn’t stop there. 1Card also displays promotions and coupons associated with a selected card with the push of a button, and another push or two can bring up a store’s phone number or even location on a GPS map (via the tracknose website).

1Card is already sitting in the App Store, just waiting to be used by disgruntled card-carriers. And much like the memberships cards most of us have no doubt accumulated, it doesn’t cost a thing.

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.

A good number of people are familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist, whether they've actually watched it or not. As far as anime goes, it's kind of a big-name series. And unlike other popular series (*cough* Dragon Ball Z *cough*) it's actually good. The story of the Elric brothers has seen a number of adaptations and spin-offs, so it was only a matter of time before one of those spin-offs got its own game.

FMA Battle is a relatively new collectible card game based on the "less old" Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series. Calling it a spin-off, however, isn't entirely accurate. The original show followed the manga (a.k.a the source material) up until about the halfway mark, then went off and did its own thing. Brotherhood sticks to the script, so to speak. So technically, the original anime series was actually a spin-off. Confusing, no?

Getting away from semantics and back to the game at-hand, FMA Battle is a free-to-play CCG set in the FMA universe. Players will construct their deck and customize a team of three alchemists while continually dueling with others online. Cards/characters will gain experience as they're used, earning new abilities as they get incrementally stronger. Of course, this is a freemium game, so deck expansion is limited unless players are willing to pony up some actual cash to buy new cards.

Free online multiplayer. Collectible cards. Fullmetal Alchemist. I think it's safe to assume this will find its niche pretty fast. If it sounds interesting, then why not check it out? It's currently on the App Store, and as I've previously stated (repeatedly) it's free.

We've seen greetings card services from apps such as Oh Greetings and ThankYouPen, but clearly Apple decided to get in on the act with their latest iOS5 included app: Cards.

Cards lets users create and mail some pretty special looking cards personalized with their own text and photos, all from their iOS device. As is synonymous with the Apple way of doing things, it takes a mere couple of taps and swipes to take a snapshot and send a card to anywhere in the world.

21 designs are available encompassing everything from birthdays to simply 'wish you were here' messages. All cards are then saved automatically so they can always be sent to more than one person. There's even the option of adding GPS data to the card so that the recipient can see the current location of the sender.

Payment is conducted via Apple IDs with cards and postage costing $2.99 within the U.S and $4.99 for anywhere else in the world, excluding relevant sales tax. U.S. sent cards even get a delivery notification and an Apple-designed postage mark.

It's out now for iOS5 users.

Single-player card games and portable devices, especially phones, have always seemed to be a perfect match. There's just something inherently right about shuffling cards around on a phone (or something of relatively similar dimensions) during the morning commute. And honestly, a game doesn't get much more accessible than solitaire, right?

Of course, there isn't just one kind of solitaire. At least, not anymore. Sprightly Software has provided App Store users with their own rendition of a variant called Golf Solitaire, in which players have nine rounds in which to clear a field of 35 cards. This is done by drawing a card from the bottom deck, then taking cards from the field that are one number higher or lower (i.e. 3-4-3-2-3-4-5-etc...).

The new 1.2 update has added a few Game Center achievements and a single hole mode for an even quicker on-the-go experience. Just in case this quirky little solo card game with golf-styled sound effects sounds appealing, it's available right now on the App Store for $1.99.