It’s been one hectic year for Mac gaming, but luckily before the year's end, here's one game that's an encouraging sign that life is good. Big Deck Solitaire is classic solitaire that most everyone is familiar with. This version has been simplified for easy access to the game. There are no bells or whistles to distract your concentration and relaxation, which is a welcome relief to some card gamers. It is your basic bare bones solitaire game with a few choices, stats and clear explanations to teach new players. Veteran gamers can review rules if necessary. So, be prepared to loosen your collar, get into your sweats and unwind your head full of noise.

There are six different games to choose from: Klondike, which is probably the solitaire game practically everyone plays, (two variations of Klondike are included), Free Cell, Spider (one suit), Spider (two suits), and Spider (four suits). The Klondike game has seven tableau piles with the top card only facing up. There are foundation piles at the top where you will place your cards starting from an ace to a king all in the same suit. Once you remove your face card the next card will flip over automatically. You can move your face cards to other foundation piles as long as it is in descending order and every other card must be a different color. For example you can place a red queen on a black king and then the jack will need to be red. You can also move blocks of cards as long as they are in order. In order to advance in the game you may need to play the stockpile at the top left of the screen. In one deal Klondike only one card from the stockpile will reveal at a time. In the three card deal Klondike, three cards will reveal at a time but you can use only the top card. After depleting the stockpile, you can replay the used cards by clicking on the curved arrow at the bottom of the deck. To win this game all the cards must be on the foundation piles.

In Free Cell all the cards are faced up on eight tableau rows. There are four foundation slots at the top left and on the right there are four reserve spaces. Any card can be moved to an empty reserve space or tableau pile. Cards can be placed on the foundation pile by starting from the ace in ascending order (A, 2, 3, 4, etc.).

The Spider games are played the same whether you play one, two or four suits. The open cards can be moved to other open cards in descending order (5, 4, 3, etc.). You build your sequence of cards from King to Ace and can be moved to the foundation at the top of the screen. When you click on the stockpile, it will distribute cards across the board on each tableau column. You can only move a group of cards from the foundation when they are in order with every other card a different color. To win in all the games, you must clear the foundation.

Big Deck Solitaire will display a sideboard with rules or statistics to view readily. The stats will show games played, victories, losses, streaks, number of moves, average times, etc. Once you are good at the games, you can challenge yourself by beating your stats. If you do not need the sidebar, click on the arrows at the top right to get rid of it. In addition you can zoom in or out making the cards smaller or larger. Big Deck will even size to cinema displays without losing graphic resolution, which means you can have a truly clear BIG deck on your BIG computer display! Another one of our favorite features of this game is the autoplay button; when you know you have won, hit autoplay to finish the game for you. This will avoid the obvious clicking of the few remaining cards.

Play Big Deck Solitaire to relax and entertain yourself or challenge yourself by timing your play or using the least number of cards to win. There are six different solitaire games to keep you interested, and you will not get distracted with a storyline or background scenes. Like Zen Stones you can om your way through the day in one soothing game play. All of us at macgames.org are happy to bring you Big Deck Solitaire, and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we enjoyed developing it. So, sit back, launch the game, relax and focus on the mantra: now's the time for big fun...

Features: 1) Klondike (one card deal), Klondike (three card deal), Free Cell, Spider (one suit), Spider (two suits), Spider (four suits); 2) Statistics; 3) Customizeable background color; 4) Choose from two kinds of card decks; 5) Fits and sizes to screen / Mac display sizes small and large.

Three Musketeers is a classic novel and now a RPG Mac game. The play starts with d’ Artagnan leaving home to pursue a life as a Musketeer. He travels to Paris to begin his training. He has a letter of introduction to Monsieur de Treville but it is taken from him during a scuttle with a rogue.

The game is to follow the yellow footprints for d’ Artagnan’s quests. You can veer off the yellow prints to search barrels and crates for loot and mana for health. The story is moved along in conversations and cartoon strips. You duel with just about everyone who challenges you. The main thing to remember when dueling is to wait to see your opponent sweat and then take them down. D’ Artagnan’s father had told him to never sell the horse he gave him, but to get money and avoid embarrassment (the horse is a different color than most horses) d’Artagnan sells it right away. Other methods of earning money is to take on quests that will pay you and sell your loot to the blacksmith. Some of the loot can be coins, peasant shirts, berets with or without feathers, collars and more. The blacksmith also will repair things, and he can sell you firearms. It’s important to collect the health potions in case you get injured in a fight.

You will eventually come across Athos (aura of mystery), Aramis (true calling is the priesthood), and Pothos (great strength). They will help you along the way. They like to party and play games so be ready for the side games. Tennis anyone? Cards and dice are also favorites of the musketeers. You will meet the evil cardinal and you will pursue the man in the purple outfit who stole your letter.

Your quests will take you all over France and England and back again helping good people and fighting the bad. You will encounter civilians and soldiers.

This RPG play follows the novel in a close adaptation. The artwork is simple and flat but works for this type of play. The game is easy enough for new and casual players without being frustrating like some other more difficult and violent RPGs. I never advocate not reading a book, but this game makes it very tempting not to read the original novel. Find out what happens to d’ Artagnan and his fellow musketeers. All for one and one for all.

Features of Three Musketeers:
-17th Century France and England
-Thwart Cardinal Richelieu
-Defend Queen Anne

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Broken Hearts: A Soldier’s Duty is a very dramatic title for an equally gripping tale. It is a hidden object Mac game with solitaire card games to unlock.

The story begins with recently married couple, Maria and David Fox. They are experiencing discontent and growing apart from each other and are at odds with each other for unknown reasons. Further obstacle to perpetuate this unfortunate relationship is David going off to war. The life of an army wife is too much for an already unhappy marriage and what happens to Maria is the story that follows her once blissful life.

The main play is the hidden object games that take you back to happier times and places for Maria. You have a choice of 3 modes to choose from: Normal, Hard and Insane. In Hard you must find the Normal objects and harder objects and Insane you do not get hints in addition to the other modes. These plays are different from other HOGs. Instead of listing the objects they give you the type of objects to search for in each location. At the wedding reception you need to find drinks and desserts to earn hearts. I liked this kind of search since you do not have to keep looking back at the list of objects, and the items are pertinent to the subject matter. However, it is not as easy as you may think because near the end of your search, it becomes harder to identify the items. This is where the 2 types of hints come in handy. You can click on the Name hint and it will give you the name of the item like tart or pudding. If after receiving the name and you still cannot find the object, you can click on the Outline hint to see what it looks like. Surprisingly these 2 hints helps a lot, but unfortunately, using them will lower the number of hearts you have accumulated. You can also zoom into a section of the screen. Just remember not to click too many wrong items or your cursor will freeze for a few seconds.

The hearts will unlock the solitaire card games that Maria likes to play when she is depressed. There are 5 types of games: Klondike, Prisoners, Free Cell, Golf and Pyramid. How to play each of these games will be outlined at the top of the screen. If you are not a card fan, you can return to the HOGs easily.

Broken Hearts: A Soldier’s Duty is a melodramatic story about romance, love, tragedy and more. If you are into romance novels, you’ll enjoy this tale, but if you are like me, you’ll think the story is a little depressing. If you can handle being down, try this HOG for a fun time. If not, just play the original and well thought out games, both HOGs and cards. The music is soothing and appropriate for each section, and the artwork is good. The only negative may be the repetitiveness of the objects and scenes but to be fair, most HOGs are like that. I give it a 3.5 for the plays.

Features of Broken Hearts: A Soldier’s Duty:
-Romance Tale
-Original HOG Plays
-Unlock Solitaire Games

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

If you like solitaire, cowboys and Indians, and funny cartoons, you’ll like Mac card game Gunslinger Solitaire. The cursor is a gun and your click shoots the weapon. Bang!

The object is to clear the screen of all the cards by shooting a card 1 lower or 1 higher than the card below. If the deck card faced up is a 4, then you look for a 3 or a 5 card on the game board. If you do not have either card, then click or shoot the deck faced down to deal another card. Making multiple matches will give you more points. Some of the cards will have bonus games like shoot the bags of money, aim your bow and shoot the target and more to break up your basic solitaire game. Some of the games will have you reloading your gun when you run out of bullets. Just click on the red reload button to continue on your game. These games will gain you more money to use at the country store for helps like the undo knife.

Gunslinger Solitaire is a basic solitaire game with just matching the card higher or lower, but in many instances if you plan your attack with some strategy, you can make the most matches. You’ll get stats on your cash, bonus, time and more. There are goldmines and treasures to find. The artwork is a cute, colorful cartoon and done well. The music is an easy strumming guitar appropriate for the western theme. If you like this type of card game (a similar one is Fairway Solitaire), you’ll enjoy this one with its sound effects of guns shooting and arrow sailing. This game is not difficult and makes for a relaxing time. Get your trigger finger ready and shoot away. I give it a 3 out of 5 for one great shootout.

Features of Gunslinger Solitaire:
-Western Solitaire
-Mini Action Shooter Games
-Colorful and Quirky Cartoon Characters

Similar game: Fairway Solitaire

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I found the premise to be a little creepy in Mac hidden object game Faded Reality, but I think that was the main objective so it was effective. The story is about Monica who wakes up from a cornea transplant. Something that is routine from donors who have died. The weird thing about Monica’s transplant is that she starts seeing things when she closes her eyes. Things and places she has never been to or seen before. Somehow she knows it is connected to the donor’s environment. She goes in search of these places…..

Each location in this hidden object game has another location to search for many objects and letters. You cannot click on an object if the word is not complete. You search for the letters (A, B, C, etc.) to complete the word. Once the word is completed that object will be removed from the scene revealing another object you are searching for. The list of the objects is at the bottom of the screen. You cannot click on items or letters unless they are listed. This is a little frustrating since you see letters and objects you know will be on the list later when you find the present listed things.

In addition, you may have to go back and forth from one location to another. When you reach a house, you will search outside and inside for objects. Another thing I found annoying was when I took the cursor over an object, sometimes the incomplete word of the item would appear and get in your way. The letters are important to this game because the letters will help Monica recall the words.

A side game is to unscramble the found letters to send you to a location for more things. Other mini games are the solitaire plays, matching 2 halves of torn playing cards and logic puzzles like shining lights in the correct direction to unveil a scene.

I give Faded Reality credit for an original story and creative hidden object play with letters. Sometimes the words of an object will obstruct your search because I like to take the cursor across the screen looking for the items and the pop-ups kept getting in the way. The music was appropriate and the artwork good. The story did keep you interested in going on in the game. I give it a 3 out 5 for all of the above.

Features of Faded Reality:
-Engaging Story
-Lots of Mini Games
-Hidden Object Play with a Twist

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Mac Global Warning is a different type of game. It’s difficult to identify what kind of genre it is. It’s easier saying what it is not rather than what it is. It is not a HOG or match play, and it is definitely not an action game. It is an original environmental rpg/sim/card game for anyone who is involved in saving the planet from, well, yourself. In order to avoid a landfill from being developed next to your home, you make choices in your life to help improve your outcome. I guess it is a realistic game of life for the environmentally conscious and those who want to learn more about being green.

It seems that picking your hero is an important and possibly critical choice to win this game. So I looked at the choices carefully. There’s Jerry the travel agent. He’s not in a very green business. The scientist is fresh out of college…..think toxic frat house. The kindergarten teacher is too frazzled to be conscious at the end of the day to think about cleaning up the earth. So I chose the museum curator the oldest and hopefully the wisest character and may know a thing or two about being environmentally sound. As in most rpgs you’ll find the details of each person: knowledge, compassion, naivete, charisma, health, finances, morale. You need to keep an eye on the upper left corner to make sure morale, health and finances do not fall. In addition, the environmental impact is listed on the upper right of the screen for waste, chemical, energy, co2, self-sufficiency, water and overall.

Each round is a week in the life of your hero. You choose the actions of your person from the work space, and with increased experience you will get to choose more cards. The outcome of your actions will be displayed on the left of the game board. Also helpful green tips are given at the middle top of the screen to live a better life. There are 104 rounds to complete your game. Each week will bring about new data about how your hero is doing. Press the arrow next round button to continue your play. There are encouraging comments about the choices you make and not so happy words for your mistakes.

The play gets engaging as you go from round to round or week to week because you get concerned about the choices you made the week before and how it will affect you. There’s a lot to read but most of it is information you can use to live a healthy and good life. The game itself is challenging and difficult to beat. I guess I had a lot to learn so I tried the game with another hero. The demo will let you try each hero for 20 rounds. The more I played, the more I liked it so give it a try and make an important impact on this green planet of ours. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for a totally awesome and original game.

Features of Global Warning:
-104 Rounds
-Environmental Data
-Get Rid of the Toxic Dumpsite.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

If you like to play poker or if you don’t even know how to play, Pirate Poker will engage you in its addictive play whatever your level of expertise. However, be forewarned, ye mateys, for this is an habit forming play once you get started. Without losing your shirt or walking the plank, this game is easily playable for an enjoyable time.

There are 6 video poker plays in this game: Deuces Wild, Jack or Better, 2 Pairs or Better, Joker Poker, Aces and Faces and Tens or Better. Deuces Wild, as the name implies, is a play that makes the 4 deuces in a deck wild so do not discard any of the 2s. Jacks or Better, Tens or Better and 2 Pairs or better is just that. Anything better than the title suggests will win you the hand. Joker Poker is when the one joker acts as a wild card so do not discard it. Aces and Faces wins when you have a pair of jacks or higher so do not discard any face cards or aces. As you play, you will get used to what the winning hand is, and your play will move faster. To begin your play you decide how many hands you like to play at a time. It can be from 1, 3, 5 or 10 hands. If you are a novice, you might want to start out with 1 hand until you get your sea legs. After making your bet, click on the deal button to view your hand. Depending upon which mode you choose, click on the cards you wish to keep or hold. Hit the deal button again to receive new cards. The computer will automatically show your winnings or losses on the right side bar. That’s basically all there is to it except you can change the card deck from your standard cards to the pirate theme to any other decks available.

The only side game is when the computer flashes the bonus button for you to win double or nothing. It is the coin under the cup game. The 3 cups will rotate around quickly to trick you, and you must decide which cup has the coin under it. Not a difficult game if you keep your eyes on the cup. This mini game will help you get back some of your money.

Pirate Poker is a relaxing, fun, addictive card game for experienced players as well as the uninitiated. Play this game in search of buried pirate treasure by winning as many hands as possible.

Features of Pirate Poker:
-Six Video Pokers
-Color Graphics
-6 Decks

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Heartwild Solitaire Book 2 like the first version is beautifully drawn and displayed. The storyline continues the romantic tale of an artist and his lover (this game is for mature audiences like the first). In this second story the current lover becomes jealous over the artist’s search for a perfect model to help inspire him.

The play is similar to mahjong solitaire where you match 2 identical cards to clear the board. At the bottom or side there is the draw pile and you must match cards that are higher or lower. If the draw card is an Ace, you can match a King or a 2 to clear the cards. The joker is wild and can be used with any card. There are other wild cards you can take over to the next level. The level is over when there are no more moves. Each card left on the board will be deducted points. If the total score is 0 or better, you go on to the next level. If the score is negative, you must retry the level.

The Bonus meter fills up when you remove cards. The faster you remove, more points you garner. The Long Sequence meter fills when you remove cards in a sequence. When filled, you’ll get extra points for each card. Restore cards helps you when you are stuck by restoring some of the cards back on the deck. Powerup cards will appear with special labels, remove them as usual to receive powerups such as undo, bonus fill, reveal, restore, and wildcard.

The bonus games will help increase your score. Once such game is to memorize the card pattern, it will scramble and you need to restore the original pattern. It’s timed but there’s plenty of time to restore by clicking on 2 cards to move their positions.

Heartwild Solitaire Book 2 is a relaxing and enjoyable game to play. The storyline is not as engaging as Book 1, but the tale is not intrusive since you only come across it every 10 levels or so. The memory game starts out easy, but does get harder in higher levels. This break in the solitaire play is nice since there are 280 levels and at times gets repetitive. The artwork is stunning with its intense color and background. The music is appropriate for the time period and conducive for a delightful play. If you enjoyed the first Heartwild Solitaire, you may like the sequel to that game. Try it out for a pleasant time playing cards.

Features of Heartwild Solitaire Book 2:
-280 Levels
-Powerups and Mini Games
-Romantic Story

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Classic Solitaire by dogMellon is a well thought out, fully developed solitaire card games according to the developers. They said they play the games over and over to find any quirks, etc. They are telling the truth. After a few sessions of the over 50 different types of solitaire play, I believe everything they wrote in their promo.

You do not need to know how to play solitaire. Of course, it couldn’t hurt, but the help in this game is quite good. They not only explain the skill level, how successful you’ll be and step-by-step instructions, they also show you screenshots as well. The explanations are easy to understand and follow. The cards themselves are beautifully done and simple. The simplicity of the cards and gorgeous backgrounds help your eyes and relax you as you try to conquer each level of play. The large size of the cards is also helpful like the game Big Deck. If you are nearsighted, getting up in your years or just like the large numbers, you’ll enjoy the look of these cards. The face cards are very close to regular type of playing cards instead of having themed pictures like Fairway Solitaire with it’s golfers.

The variety of the different types of play is amazing and probably the right amount (50 plus) to fit any mood you may be in to play. Some are very familiar and easy, and others are quite challenging. They range from Aces Up all the way to Yukon. In between you’ll see games you readily recognize like Klondike Draw 1 and 3, Spider with 1, 2, 4 Suits, Tripeaks and more.

In the Help section you will get explicit instructions plus they will let you know how challenging the game will be and how to win the game. This is good for beginners to start out in games they will be successful in and enjoy. It will also help the ones who are looking for a more challenging play.

Other great pluses this game has are the save feature when you exit the game, full statistics, and the undo/redo button. The developers’ attention to all these details and more are what makes Classic Solitaire good.

The games are varied and not overwhelming. I think 50 or so is a good number to have more than enough to find the game that will not only challenge but entertain you at the same time. I tried the ones I know and some I’ve never tried before. I enjoyed the familiar ones and was surprised to find I liked the others as well. I am not a big solitaire player but I do like to challenge myself every now and then. I give this game a 4 out of 5 for a lot of solid solitaire games for your money.

Features of Classic Solitaire:
-55 Challenging Levels
-Clear Instructions
-Variety of Solitaire Games

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ancient Tri-Peaks II is the equally fun and sequel to the original Ancient Tri-Peaks, but this time there is a change in the story. Instead of the original ancient societies of South America, the creators have decided to focus this game on Ancient Greece. Learn mythology along the way, as you try to find your way across the ancient Mediterranean Sea toward the capital of Athens.

Like most Tri-peaks games, the object is to remove all the cards from the board in the allotted time. The catch is that you can only remove a card that is either higher or lower than the one currently in "your pile." This means that it takes some quick thinking and strategy to remove all the cards without using up the reserve cards that are available to reset what is on top of "your pile." That being said, the only way to lose the game is to use up all the reserve cards and still have other cards left on the board.

Ancient-Tri Peaks II does have an objective besides the game. While you play, you reach certain roadstops that allow you to continue to build a marble statue of your subject (you learn about Greek myths like Helen of Troy, Paris and the Trojan War, etc.). Once you complete these tasks, the statue is complete and you can move on to learning about the next story. There are 16 different types of boards to choose from, ranging from fairly easy and straightforward to very complected and difficult. The catch is it is easier to sculpt your statue on these harder levels, as the harder the skill level, the more points come.

This game was fun, but it lacked something for me, in the end. I guess I couldn't necessarily pinpoint what was off, but I definitely did not enjoy the repetitive music and revolving help-questionmarks. Other than that, the game was fun and played exactly the way one of these games should. All in all, I would give Ancient Tri-Peaks II three out of five stars.

Features of Ancient Tripeaks 2
-16 Tripeaks Games
-Original or Power-up Modes
-Unlockable Levels, Card Backs
-Combo-based Scoring

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The mystery behind the woman shooting her husband and escaping on horseback is hidden deep within the 80 levels in Mac game Heartwild Solitaire. The objective of the story is to complete each level to reveal the answers to the many moods of Anna the woman scorned.

The play is relatively easy but is it? Classic solitaire moves often have twists to the play and is not always straightforward. You must match 2 cards to clear the entire game board. If you run out of matches, you have extra cards to flip at the bottom of the board, the retry button, undo button and other helps. There are bonuses for matching in ascending or descending order. Other bonuses are rewarded for speed and matching identical cards. There are also power-ups for extra deals and shuffles.

Heartwild Solitaire is not for children even though the play is easy to learn, the storyline is for mature audiences only. It reads a bit like a romance novel. The artwork in the background of the game board and the deck of cards itself are beautifully executed. The play is relaxing and addictive and the story a little dramatic is interesting enough to keep your attention. Even if the melodrama is not your thing, the solitaire play is always fun and enjoyable.

Features of Heartwild Solitaire:
-80 Levels
-Engaging Storyline
-Create Own Levels
-Challenging Bonus Games

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I don’t come across golf related Mac games too often so Fairway Solitaire was a pleasant surprise. The last golf game I played was GL Golf and that was a straight sports game. Fairway Solitaire is both golf and card game combined to entertain golf and card players.

The main play is the solitaire card game where you select a face up card from the board that is either one higher or one lower than the face up foundation card at the bottom of the screen. Strategy and thinking is involved in order to use up all the cards on the board. And, like in golf there are sand traps to bypass by finding the sand wedge to overturn the cards. There are also water hazards to conquer. If you play 6 cards in a row, you will get a long drive. At the top of the screen you can see your progress on the golf course. The mulligan button is the undo or retry, but you get only 1 mulligan per hole.

Throughout the game you hear running commentary from 2 golf announcers regarding how you are playing. Just like watching a golf championship match on television. Polite applauds are scattered through your plays. What happened to the guy who yells out “in the hole”? Your scorecard is similar to the card you use in golf showing your pars, bogies, birdies and the eagles. In addition, you can win tournaments for extra points and shop in the pro shop for your golf needs like a polo shirt and pants to dress your golfer. The game allows you to win tournaments and big money by playing under par so you can unlock other golf courses. Another way to get more money is to have a 20 or more card run.

If you are not into golf, you will learn a lot of lingo to impress your golf playing friends next time you get together. There are a lot of golf facts you will learn in this game. I found it to be repetitive even with the mini games, but if you like this type of card play, the golf aspect gives you a little more interest to the play. So watch out for the sand traps and score a birdie.

Features of Fairway Solitaire:
-70 Courses
-Funny Running Commentary
-Golf Clothes Power-Ups

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The game designers purposely made this more than just a "poker game." In addition to playing cards, you control your character who travels from saloon to back-room poker games trying to make a reputation for yourself. As your street cred (and wallet size) grows you can play in more games with higher rollers. After amassing a substantial sum of money, you can go out into the town and start snatching up properties. These properties in turn, make a profit for you to continue your gambling habits. As the little Texas town gets too small for a big fish like yourself, you can travel to over ten other cities and try your luck wherever you choose.

The name of the game is Texas Hold-Em (I mean, what other game could it possibly be?). In Hold-Em, players are dealt two cards each. These are your pocket cards and you use them to create poker hands with the community cards that are dealt. After the first round of antes and bets, the dealer shows the flop, or the first three community cards. After another round of bets and bluffs, the dealer shows the turn card. Again there is another round of bets before the final card, the river. After all is said and done, the player with the best poker hand wins. For all you new players out there the best hand possible is a royal flush followed by a four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, flush, straight, two pair, and finally a pair. Try to bluff and luck your way past the competition to become the best poker player the Lone Star State has ever seen.

Personally, I loved this game. It combined two of my favorite genres (Poker and Sim) and created something fun with unlimited re-playability. Although many poker fans enjoy playing online sites (like Pokerstars and things like that) I find the game more fun when I don't have to worry about actually losing $1,000. Overall, this is a fun game for new and experienced poker players alike and I give this game four and a half stars out of five.

Features of Governor of Poker:
- Tournaments and Cash Poker Games
- Over 100 Different Opponents
- Challenge Artificial Poker Intelligence
- Can You Take Over the State of Texas?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Once again, a game uses epic in the title to grab some attention. Well, it was clear that the game lived up to it's definition in both gameplay and music. When one thinks of epic, one can usually conjure up images of loud, booming, orchestral scores (at least this is what I think of). Solitaire Epic delivers in this way, as well as creating three games in one package. Another epic task!

Solitaire Epic is very simple. From the minute you open up the game, you realize that there is not a lot of options and see that everything is straightforward. There are three different game modes to choose from: Matching, Tri-Peaks, and Klondike. Each is a totally unique experience that basically makes Solitaire Epic three games in one. In matching you choose two like cards to remove them from the board. There is a design on the puzzle, and as you remove cards on top, more cards below are revealed. There is also a reserve deck that can help you to find more matches. Tri-Peaks is very similar to matching except that you have to choose a card that is either higher or lower than the last card selected. Again, there is a design on the board and with each card removed, more cards can be uncovered. The final game in Solitaire Epic is Klondike, which is you basic game of solitaire with a one card draw.

Being an avid card game gamer, I thought Solitaire Epic was a very good game because it did not stray from the fundamentals of the games. All three puzzles were basic, yet classically fun. The game also provides a build your own level maker, which I thought was a good way to increase the length of the game and allow the player to be their own creative boss. In addition, the fact that there is over one hundred different levels is something that appeals to those gamers who want a game that can be played for a long time to come. Remember, no two hands of solitaire are exactly alike!

Features of Solitaire Epic:
- 3 Games In One: Matching, Tri Peaks And Klondike
- More than 110 Different Levels
- Make your own Levels

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I am not a card player, but I decided after reading the review on Macgames.info on Ancient Tri Jong to attempt Ancient Tripeaks. From Bostongamer’s explanation and the simple tutorial I figured out how to play this fun and relaxing game.

The 8 modes appeared daunting at first, but I went through them one by one and found each mode to be a little different in strategy and play. The 8 were Classic, Mirror, Double, Circle, Reverse, Turned, Stars and Single. The titles pretty much explains how the deck of cards will appear on the screen. The Classic is the traditional format, mirror the top and bottom mirrors each other, Double used 2 decks, Circle connected into a round shape, and the Turned mode all the cards were faced up. Peaks described the placement of cards to form peaks.

The play is assisted by hitting the H key to get help. This will teach you about each section of the game. You move all the cards from the peaks on the game board to the stack on the right side. The available cards must be either 1 higher or 1 lower from the visible card on the right side of the stack regardless of the suit. There is a timer so you must make your decisions quickly but smartly. If you make a mistake or change your mind you can click on the Undo button to correct the last move. If there is any time left over, you get bonus points. If time runs out, the game is not over and the play will continue, but there are no bonus points.

The Combo Multiplier increases your score every time the Combo Bar fills up. You get a multiplier (either x2, x3, x4). The Combo Meter is when each card from the play area is removed it, and it will fill up a percentage of the combo bar. However, the longer you wait between moves the bar will deplete. The Combo Counter keeps track of the numbers of cards in a row you’ve removed without hitting the Undo button or clicking on the deck. Each time you click on the deck 30 points will be deducted. A peak completed will add 100 points times the multiplier points.

I’m glad I tried this card Mac game first, because it is easy to learn, the tutorial, and the review helped me understand the play better. It is a great game to pass the time in a relaxing manner. If you are new to card games like me or just want a enjoyable game to play, try Ancient Tripeaks.

Features of Ancient Tripeaks:
-Ancient Theme
-8 Tripeaks Games
-Twists and Combo Bonuses
-Multiple Decks

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Magic Stones is a well planned and thought out RPG and card Mac game.  The mixture of this game makes it unique from straight RPG games.  It is based on Celtic mythology that in itself is captivating and intriguing.

This game is set in Avavorn, the land of many druids.  There are hidden treasures in the unlikeliest places like abandoned temples, enchanted forests, cursed islands.  These valuables can be anything from magic formulas, amulets to runes.  Each object will increase your druid’s power and experience.

To start the play you must select your druid and its own unique characteristics.  This part is important later in your dueling matches.  You will need wisdom, strategy, artifacts and magic in order to succeed in your battles.  There are many options to choose from and if you choose wisely, it can make a difference in each outcome of this game.  If you experiment a little with the features, you’ll be able to figure out the most appropriate one for your druid.  It’s to the developers’ credit they include a female druid to choose from and that she is equal to the male.

There are 3 modes of play in this Mac game.  The first is the Gather Artifacts section where you search for the artifacts in the different areas of the land:  Frozen Lands, Slimy Swamp, Green Plains and Lava Mountains.  This is the mode to build your druid’s character, experience and gather artifacts.  The second mode is the most interesting one called the Challenge Druid.  This section may be the most action-packed part of the game.  In this section the druid must fight other druids in the Black Tower to the death.  Quest the third mode is a new section.  You play a custom story with new avatars.  There is a quest released every 3-4 months for free to registered users.  A big plus and a great savings for Mac gamers.

Magic Stones is not your typical RPG game because of the card game aspect.  It changes the play somewhat from your usual role playing moves with more strategizing than movement.  However, I think diehard RPGers will be able to play this game and enjoy it.  Casual gamers will be able to pick it up from the excellent step-by-step tutorial at the beginning of the story.  I was muddling through some of the confusing parts of the card game, and the help came on to address my mistake.  The hint made a big difference in the play. 

The imaginative features of Magic Stones with its detailed artwork and the creative druids were all well done.  The sound effects and music were appropriate for the game, but some of the moans were disturbing.  I didn’t feel the story drew me into the game as some other RPGs, but that can just be me.  I’m not a big RPG or a card player.  All in all it was a good experience, and I’m glad I ventured into the world of Magic Stones and would probably try more of their games. 

Features of Magic Stones:

-3 Modes of Play

-20 Different Avatars

-17 Spells

-Over 15 Enemy Druids

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars