One For All Solitaires Collection Review [Archive]

Kevin Remhof

01-12-2004, 06:00 PM

You can never have too many versions of Solitaire, can you? Well, read my quick review of Paragon Software's One for all Solitaires Collection and find what it's like to have have more than 200 different Solitaires. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-0.gif" /> <!> One for all Solitaires Collection is a great set of Solitaire games to keep a Solitaire die-hard busy. Overview Paragon Software's One for all Solitaires Collection is just like it sounds. It's a huge collection of Solitaire versions. There are over 200 to choose from. All you have to do is pick one from the list and get ready to play. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-1.gif" /> Figure 1: The categories of Solitaire to choose from. Each category is a unique type of Solitaire. Some of them such as Freecell and Klondike are probably familiar to most. Retinue of King and Fan might be new to you though. That's what's great about this game. The shear number of Solitaires is amazing. If you can't find a version you like, Solitaire may not be the game for you. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-2.gif" /> Figure 2: Here you can choose your favorite Solitaire type. Thankfully, you can make a list of your favorite Solitaire types. If you only like a handful of different types, you don't have to wade through 200 versions to play a quick game. I really like this since I mostly just play Spider and Freecell. Learning the Rules Solitaire is easy to play but each version has its own nuances. This program will help you to learn how to play each version. Once you've selected the type of Solitaire you'd like to play, you can find out more about that version of Solitaire by choosing Rules or Demo. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-3.gif" /> Figure 3: The Rules for Antares Solitaire. Rules gives you an overview of how to play that type of game. The Rules are fairly detailed but seem to be missing some important details. I'm a big fan of Spider Solitaire. But, I could not figure out how many decks were used for each of the various types. The only way I found was to play the games. Demo will show you with animation how to play each version of Solitaire. This is a great feature. Sometimes it's easier to watch the Demo than read the rules. Especially for a game that you've played before but can't quite remember the mechanics. Playing the Cards You're Dealt What can I say? Solitaire is easy to play. Whether with cards, PC, or Pocket PC, Solitaire is played pretty much the same. This game doesn't introduce anything new to card gameplay. But, it does give you solid Solitaire fun. You can either drag your cards or tap on them to move them automatically. The auto-move feature is nice but doesn't always do what you want. It's best to just stick with dragging the cards to make sure you know what moves you are making. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-4.gif" /> Figure 4: A nice Solitaire layout. Graphically the game looks good. The cards aren't overly fancy which I like. They are a bit small but that's due to the 240x320 screen size not the game itself. The card animations are smooth but not flashy. The sound in the game is a bit weak. The cards make sound when moving around but don't sound very "card-like". When starting a new game, that same sound is repeated for each card as it is dealt. It's very fast and sounds more like a buzz than cards being dealt. I don't consider this a major flaw in this program. Just don't expect to feel like you're in Las Vegas while playing this game. It's easy to turn the sounds and and then, problem solved. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-5.gif" /> Figure 5: Another nice Solitaire game. As with all good Solitaire games, you can pick your card backs and background. Nothing spectacular here but it does help to change your cards and background every once in a while. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/remhof-jan04-sol-6.gif" /> Figure 6: Each version of Solitaire keeps statistics for you. The statistics and splash page are a little fancier but don't detract from the game. I like that each individual game has its own stats. This really shows you if you've mastered at a particular version or not. Gotchas<li>Over 200 types of Solitaire is overwhelming; <li>Help system not detailed enough - number of decks would be helpful. Where to Buy Paragon Software's One for all Solitaires Collection can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=93431">downloaded</a> as a trial or purchased for $17.95 from Handango. [Affiliate] Specifications One for all Solitaires Collection is available for all versions of Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2002/2003 and Windows Mobile. It requires 1010K of free space and can run from a memory card. Conclusions A good game with tons of versions of Solitaire. The Rules feature is a nice touch but could be more detailed. If you are addicted to Solitaire, you should definitely check this one out. If you're a casual user, this might be a bit too much for you.