By: Charlotte Heldebrecht, staff writer
Published and Created by: Big Fish Games
Rated for 4+
Released for: PC/MAC: Dec. 2007, iPhone/iPad/Android/Windows 8/Kindle: Mar. 2012
Reviewed on iPhone.
Overall Review:
Fairway Solitaire is a very addicting card game inspired by Caddyshack. The first “course” of the app is a tutorial, and has cartoons describing the schemes of a devious gopher named McDivot. After I learned how to play the game, I found myself immersed for a couple of hours. During play, there are humorous commentators that spout silly anecdotes and describe what would be going on as if you’re playing golf. There are plenty of little power-ups, obstacles, wild cards and coins to be had, to make your experience better; or sometimes worse.
This is a game that the whole family will love, and possibly cause fighting over your device to play it! I, personally, have to take turns with my husband now, it’s a lot of fun.
Family Gaming Assessment:
The commentators do have funny jokes, and occasionally pretend to censor themselves from saying “TV inappropriate” phrases. It can be a little crude, so you might want to mute it around younger players who like to repeat things.
Playability Assessment:
The game plays like a cross between Mah-Jong and Solitaire. You deal cards off of the top of your deck to make cards on the playing field vanish. You do all of this while avoiding running out of cards in your deck before you clear the board. It can be challenging once you start gaining levels. Young children may become disheartened at some point, or maybe need some help. Older children and adults should enjoy the challenge.
I would be careful though, there are a few options available where your child could spend real money on power-ups, and cost you a pretty penny if you’re not careful.
Conclusion:
If your family loves card games, then I can’t recommend this game more. Fairway Solitaire is a free download, so there really isn’t much to lose. There is a lot of content to unlock so you’ll be getting a game that will last a good while, and even if your children get bored with it, you sure won’t!
1 comment
It makes me happy to see games like this get some “airtime”. They have captivated our attention for a couple of decades and it is always refreshing to see if variations of the games get a bit spruced up.
Like you said it is a mixture of mahjong and solitaire. With them adding a couple of extra features, the commentary and then the updated graphics it is ideal to capture the imagination of a whole new generation.
I have seen many games come and go since the 1980s but solitaire games have stood the test of time. The secret I believe is in it being a straight forward game, no fancy rules with a decent challenge to keep you coming back for more. It is also never necessary to play for hours. If you have a couple of minutes to kill then it is ideal.
I have seen that sites like http://www.pyramidpatience.com have also taken the popular pyramid solitaire games for example and showcased both the older and newer versions. This way people with all preferences can enjoy playing the version they like.
I just had a look in my play store for Fairway Solitaire and at the time of writing it had over a million downloads! The rating is also a 4.3/5. Apps never get these types of ratings!!!
Just goes to show that the idea of solitaire really stands the test of time.