I once saw a GameFAQs top 10 list that was
called the Top 10 reasons play video games, and the games that represent them.
That list struck a chord with me since number 1 was habit and had the PC game
of solitaire to rep it. And that’s pretty hard to deny considering how often people
used to load it up on their PC when bored or had other simple games ready when
the internet is down. As a matter of fact, there’s almost a whole market for
people who play games on the toilet. But the one series of games that I think
of when reflecting on all of this is the Best of Entertainment pack that used
to come on Windows. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent on the different
games just cause they were there. And that’s why for this August, I’m reviewing
them all! Yup, it’s Best of Entertain-Month for Level Up! I am reviewing a
bundle of 13 games one by one (so don’t be surprised if I don’t go in detail
with all of them). Let’s cut a huge chunk out right away by looking at the card
games.
I didn’t play some of these games as much
since I found some of them boring and others I didn’t know how to play. Golf
was one of them. I played this game so rarely, I had to look up a version of
the game to find out how to play for this review. Turns you goal is to remove
cards by selecting ones one number off on the one on top of your deck (for
example, if you have a 6, you can take off a 5 or 7), but keep in mind that
whichever card you take will replace that number. While you can plan out an
order, it’s harder than it sounds, as sometimes finding the right one to pick
off your cards is not always evident.
Another game I didn’t play much is Dr.
Black Jack. I actually did understand how to play Black Jack (closest to 21
without going over wins), but playing it on a computer just wasn’t appealing.
To me, it kind of compared to “guess the number”. There are only so times I can
press my luck with certain cards before it just feels the same.
One “gambling” game that I did enjoy was
Tripeaks. This game was composed of 3 “pyramids” of cards face down, with the bottom
row face up. Otherwise, it plays in the similar “one number off” way as golf. You
flipped over a face down card once both the face up ones in front of it were
removed. This makes the game that was alright in golf a lot harder, since
you’re partially blind.
Speaking of having to figure out the
correct order to do things, Freecell is another game that was included in Best
of Entertainment. If you’re on a Windows OS, you can probably check this out
for yourself, as its since become a default program. Much like regular
solitaire, your goal is get all the suits in order from ace to king. The catch
is that you can only move one card at a time. However, you have 4 “free cells”
to store cards. You can either use these to move more cards at a time, or store
a card that’s blocking you from getting one you want. When you free up a
column, you can also use it to put cards aside, so it’s all about managing your
resources.
The last game is another one I haven’t
played much, Tuts Tomb. This one I had no idea how to play and its harder to
figure out than Golf. Turns out, your goal is to remove cards in pairs that add
up to 13 (with the exception of the king, who is a 13 on his own). Naturally,
since this is called TUT’s tomb, the cards are laid out in a face up pyramid,
and like Tripeaks, you can only access a card once the ones covering it have
been removed. Like Tripeaks and Golf, figuring out the best pattern is
essential, but a little more frustrating here, as you can’t always chain stuff.
Quite frankly, this one is my least favorite card game in the pack.
So that’s the card games of Best of
Entertainment, a decent start to show us what it was really for: a distraction
and cure for boredom. All the card games had similar graphics, which are very
flat looking cards on a green background (though, you had a variety of decks to
pick from). Nothing too exciting to start off, but we’ll get to more
interesting games as the month continues.
