Pros: Great variety of games, animated computer opponents, lots of fun!
Cons: Not a con, but I wish the computer characters had a wider range of speech.
The Bottom Line: Sierra produces quality products. You can't go wrong choosing this game CD. A game for everyone in the family, including 50 Solitaire games. I love it!
dlstewart's Full Review: Hoyle Card Games 2003 for Windows, Mac
I enjoy card games, but sometimes I’m the only one who wants to play them. That’s a disappointment when I want to play a multi-player card game such as hearts, cribbage or gin rummy. Sierra solved my dilemma with Hoyle Card Games for 2003. Interactive computerized players add fun to the games. I own many of the Hoyle family games for the computer (Hoyle Word Games, Hoyle Board Games, Hoyle Classic Games). I’ve always enjoyed the Sierra line of Hoyle games...they never disappoint.
What Comes in the Box?
All the games are on one CD, which is easy to install. A “quick start” pamphlet leads you through the installation steps. It only took a few minutes to install the program on my computer. Also included are two paperback books.
The first book is titled Hoyle Card Games. This 150-page book explains how to play the 18 games included on the CD and includes a brief history of cards. Did you know that the face cards (King, Queen, Jack) in an American deck are dressed in the style of Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty? The book is divided into chapters, explaining each game, the rules, tips for playing and includes diagrams and illustrations. It’s also fun to read how the games were invented. The book is printed on quality paper and does a good job of explaining how the games are played.
The second book is titled Hoyle’s 8 Favorite Games. This 101-page book is printed on cheaper paper and explains how to play the games backgammon, poker, spades, solitaire,
dominoes, hearts, checkers, cribbage. It includes some illustration but not as many diagrams or pictures as the first book. Note that even though it covers the games backgammon, dominoes and checkers, these games are not included on the Hoyle Card Games for 2003 CD.
Note that the CD does not have to be in the CD drive to play these games. When the CD is inserted, all the playing options are available. When the CD is not in the drive, limitations are placed on the computer character animations and sounds.
Playing for the First Time
Click the “Play Hoyle Card Games” button, and you’re ready for fun. The CD begins by showing an animated mini-movie. It’s a take-off of Indiana Jones...this time he’s stealing a jewel-encrusted playing piece and instead of a rock rolling after him, a pair of enormous stone dice are rolling at his back. This mini-movie can be bypassed by clicking on the screen, or later, choose Options from the menu and select that you don’t want the movie to play.
Next, a “New Player” prompt appears. Type in the player name you wish to use and click “OK”. Another menu appears offering choices for the animated computer characters. If you don’t wish the characters to speak during play, uncheck the box. You can also adjust the Character Attitude setting. The default setting is in the middle, but you can select the characters to act more serious...or go the other way and have them more talkative. When finished with your selections, click the “Next” button.
Another menu appears. This time select whether you want animation during game play. Animation includes the characters moving, the cards dealing, etc. If you have a slower computer, you will find the games play faster without animated characters. The menu also offers the choice of background music while you play. If you choose to have music, later in the Options menu you can select which type of music you want to play. When you have finished making your selections, click the “Done” button.
Now you can select an image for your character. This image will appear beside the gaming name you chose when you play any game. There are a variety of character images to choose from (human silhouettes, many human faces, occupational characters such as a chef, doctor or deep sea diver, fantasy figures such as a jester, knight, unicorn, elf, dragon, gargoyle, skeleton, and animals such as dogs, an alligator, rabbit and even smiling vegetables – just to name some of the choices).
Or you can use the Facemaker program to customize a character. It’s amazing how many different faces you can create with this program. Step-by-step instructions are available through the help menu. You can choose the shape of the head, skin tone, body, eyes, eyebrow shape, nose, mouth, hair and hats, clothing, eye wear and facial hair. Experiment. You can create some wild images using Facemaker. When you’ve finished creating an image, select the “Exit” button to save the current face. You can then use this face, if you wish, as your character image.
Once you’ve selected your character, you advance to the game selection screen. When the cursor crosses the name of a game, different tones sound. Click on a game title to play that game. When each game loads, a menu screen appears offering you the opportunity to select animated computer players, game playing options or the rules of the game. The backgrounds for most of the games randomly change each time a game is opened. Also, after selecting a game, you can adjust the game settings from the Options menu at the bottom of the playing screen. The rules for that game are available in the Help menu, viewable any time during play. Some of the games allow you to play another real person using the same computer. Each person has their own identity (choosing a player name and character image) and takes turns playing on the computer screen.
The Games
Here is a list of the games included in Hoyle Card Games for 2003 – Bridge, Canasta, Crazy 8's, Cribbage, Euchre, Gin Rummy, Go Fish, Hearts, Memory Match, Old Maid, Pinochle, Pitch, Poker, Skat, Solitaire, Spades, Tarot, War. I’ll briefly describe each game and the game options available on the CD. It would take too long to provide detailed descriptions of game play for each game.
Bridge
I have friends who have participated in week-long Bridge tournaments and love the game. It’s a complex game played with four players divided into two teams and involves bids, trumps, tricks and a dummy. Bridge is a strategy game that, depending upon the players, can become quite intense and an addiction. When one team wins two out of three games, they have won the “rubber”. The team with the most points wins the difference between their score and their opponent’s score.
Optional Settings for Bridge:
Game Type: “Rubber Bridge” or “Four-deal Bridge”
Card Sorting: Ascending or Descending
Dummy Options: Never Dummy, Can Be Dummy, or Double Dummy
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Game Options: Allow finish hand early (yes or no)
Canasta
I enjoy the challenge of Canasta. Canasta uses two decks of cards and four players are divided into two teams. The teams score points by making melds. A meld is a combination of three or more cards of the same rank (such as three 9's or four Kings). A “canasta” is a meld of seven or more cards of the same rank. A team must have at least one canasta to “go out”. Then points are tallied to determine who won that hand. The first team to reach 5000 points wins.
Optional Settings for Canasta:
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Crazy Eights
I’ve been playing Crazy Eights since middle school. It’s a fun family game. This card game can be played by two, three or four players. The card deck is colorful with a cow design on the backs of the cards. The cards are dealt, and the remaining cards are placed in a pile with the top card turned face up at the side of the pile. Players use cards from their hand, discarding either a card of the same rank (such as a 3 or a Queen) or a card of the same color (such as a Red card or a Blue card) on top of the face up card next to the discard pile. Eights are wild cards. When a player can’t discard a card from his hand, he must pick cards from the card pile until he picks a card he can play. The person who discards all his cards wins the game.
The background for this game is a cartoon-like barnyard.
Optional Settings for Crazy Eights:
Game Type: “Normal Crazy Eights” or “Very Crazy Eights”
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Draw Options: Manual or Automatic
Scoring: No Scoring, 100 Points, 200 points, 300 points or 400 points
Game Options: Reshuffle Discards (yes or no)
Cribbage
This is one of my favorite games. It’s a combination card and board game. Two players are each assigned a different colored peg to move around the game board, which resembles a racetrack. Each player is dealt a hand of six cards. Four cards remain in the hand, and two cards are dealt to a “crib”. Players take turns owning the “crib” and the points in it. Card combinations include pairs, three or more of a kind, flushes, runs (such as 10, Jack, Queen, King), and cards that total a combination of 15 (such as 10's and 5's or 8's and 7's). During each hand players can earn points to move their pegs around the board. After each hand, the computer counts each player’s cards for points. The colored pegs are automatically moved around the board depending upon the amount of points won. The first person to reach 121 points wins the game.
Optional Settings for Cribbage:
Game Options: “Muggins” or “Seven Game Match”
First Dealer: South, North or Random
Card Sorting: No Sort, Ascending or Descending
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Quick Count: Enabled (yes or no)
Euchre
Four people are divided into two teams. This game uses a regular card pack, except the cards with a face value below 9 are removed. This game also uses trumps and passing. During play, if possible, all players follow the suit of whatever card is the lead. A trick is won by the highest card of the suit led or by the highest trump card. The object of the game is to win at least three tricks.
Optional Settings for Euchre:
Game Type: “Stick the Dealer” or “Left of Dealer Always Leads”
Winning: 5 Points, 7 Points or 10 Points
Card Sorting: None, Ascending or Descending
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Gin Rummy
Another fun family game, Gin Rummy is played with two people. Each player receives ten cards and must make sets of cards (three or four cards of the same rank such as four 6's; or a sequenced run in the same suit (such as the 5, 6, 7 of Diamonds). The remainder of the cards are set face down in a pile with one card turned face up next to the pile. Taking turns, each player either takes a card from the pile, or takes the card facing up. The player then discards one of their cards face up on the pile. The first person to form sets or runs from their ten cards wins that hand, and the game ends when a player reaches 100 points.
Optional Settings for Gin Rummy:
Game Type: “Gin Rummy” or “Oklahoma Gin”
Match: 300 Points, 500 Points, 1000 Points, 3 Games, 5 Games or 7 Games
Card Sorting: Manual Sort (yes or no)
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Go Fish
An entertaining children’s game, Go Fish is a simple game for four players. The cards are colorful and feature a fish design. Each player is dealt five cards. Going in a circle, each player asks another player for a card rank (ex: ask a player if they have any 7's). If that player does not have the card, the player who asked for it must “go fish”. What makes “going fish” so much fun is that players click on moving fish in the background, and the fish turns into a playing card that moves into their hand. If the player does have the card asked for (or several cards of the rank asked for), the player gives the cards to the person who asked for them. If a player receives the card asked for, he can have another turn. The game ends when all players have emptied their hands of cards. The winner is the person who earns the most points.
The background of this game is an under-the-sea design with swimming fish.
Optional Settings for Go Fish:
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Hearts
I enjoy the challenge of this game. The entire pack of cards is dealt to four players. The object of the game is to get rid of all the cards in a hand without collecting any Hearts or the Queen of Spades. Players receive a point for each Heart they collect and 13 points if they have the Queen of Spades. If a player is brave (or lucky or talented), he can “shoot the moon” and collect the Queen of Spades and all the Heart cards. Doing this penalizes the other players with 26 points. When a player reaches 100 points the game ends, and the person with the lowest score wins.
Optional Settings for Hearts:
Leading Card: "2 of Clubs” or “Left of Dealer”
Card Sorting: Ascending or Descending
Passing: Alternates, Always Left or Never
Breaking: “Queen of Spades Breaks Hearts” or “Can Play Points in First Trick”
Game Options: “Allow Finish Hand Early” or “Jack of Diamonds = -10 Points”
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Memory Match
A one-player or two-player game, this tests memory and concentration. The cards are dealt face down in a grid layout. The object is to locate matching pairs of pictures. Click on a card to turn it over, then click on a second card. When a matching pair is found, the cards disappear from the board. If the pairs don’t match, the cards flip face down. This version is different than other matching games in that this game sometimes offers wild cards. When a wild card is picked, a pair is revealed and disappears from the board. The game is done when all the pairs are matched. The game is also timed.
Optional Settings for Memory Match:
Grid Size: 4x4, 6x4 or 6x6
Deck Difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard or Brain Strain
Deck Color: Red, Green, Blue or Yellow
Old Maid
A fun children’s game, the cards used show pictures of animals. One card with a picture of a Troll is the “old maid” card. All the cards are dealt to four players. The object is to match pairs of cards and remove them from the hand. The cards make the appropriate animal sounds when they are chosen by clicking on the card. Taking turns, players choose one card from another player’s hand. If a match is made, those cards are removed from the player’s hand. The player left with the Troll card loses the game.
The background for this game is a cartoon country scene with a barn, apple tree and country road.
Optional Settings for Old Maid:
Game Options: Tutorial Mode (yes or no)
Pinochle
A special 48-card deck of pinochle cards is used. This game can be played with two players, or four players are divided into teams of two. Each player receives 12 cards. This is another game involving bids, melds, trumps, tricks and groupings of cards. The team that reaches 1000 points first wins the game.
Optional Settings for Pinochle:
Card Sorting: Ascending or Descending
Game Options: Allow Finish Hand Early (yes or no)
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Playing with Four People: Partnership Auction Pinochle, Double-pack Pinochle, Partnership Pinochle or Four-handed Pinochle
Pitch
This game is also known as Setback or High-Low-Jack. Each of the four players is dealt six cards in this trick-taking game. The object of the game is to be the first player to reach a score of either 7, 11 or 21. This is accomplished by bidding on the value of one’s card hand. Bids are made and tricks taken to gain points.
Optional Settings for Pitch:
Card Sorting: Ascending or Descending
Winning Score: 7, 11 or 21
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Poker
Two to eight players can participate in this game. The object of the game is to achieve a higher ranking hand than the other players. Lowest ranking hands include one or two pair. The highest possible hand is five of a kind. Players bet to see who has the best hand. Players can fold their hands and leave the game for that hand being played. The winning player receives all the betting money in the pot.
Optional Settings for Poker:
Win Options: Win It All, 25 Hands or 50 Hands
Skat
Three players use a 32-card deck in this trick-taking game. Each player is dealt 10 cards and tries to win hands by taking cards of certain values. It also involves calculating your “game value”, which is done via a formula that is based on the types of cards dealt, the type of hand played, the type of contract bid and other factors.
Optional Settings for Skat:
Game Options: Allow Finish Hand Early, Allow Schenken, Allow Kontra/Re, Always Allow Announcements, Show Card/Game Value Tables, Show Card Points Taken, Show Legal Plays/Winning Cards
Game Length: 6 Hands, 12 Hands, 24 Hands, 36 Hands, 500 Points or 1000 Points
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
Card Sorting: Ascending or Descending
Ramsch Options: None, Ramsch or Schieberamsch
Skat Taken By: High Player or Last Trick Winner
Allow Shoot the Moon (yes or no)
Solitaire
There are 50 different Solitaire games available on this CD. All but one of the games are for one player, the other Solitaire game “Bowling” can be played by up to four players. The games also come in a variety of one-deck and two-deck games as well as games that are timed. Most Solitaire games involve moving the cards onto Foundations, building upward from Ace to King in suit.
When first entering the Solitaire game area, you are asked to choose one of the following: One Deck Games, Two Deck Games or Arcade Games. Click on one of the choices and a screen listing all the Solitaire games of that type appears. Click a game name and a menu appears letting you set the game playing options for that game.
One Deck Games include the following 35 games:
Aces Up, Baker’s Dozen, Baroness, Beleaguered Castle, Betsy Ross, Bowling, Bristol, Calculation, Canfield, Clock, Cribbage Square, Eagle Wing, Eight Off, Eliminator, Euchre, Flower Garden, Fortress, Four Free, Four Seasons, Gaps, Golf, Klondike, La Belle Lucie, Nestor, Penguin, Poker Square, Pyramid, Scorpion, Seahaven Towers, Shamrocks, Slide, Spiderette, Strategy, Triplets, Yukon.
Two Deck Games include the following 10 games:
Aces and Kings, Alhambra, Batsford, Colorado, Forty Thieves, Mount Olympus, Red and Black, Spider, Sultan, Terrace.
Arcade Games include the following 5 games:
3 Towers, Best 21, Fast 21, Pick 2, Sum 11.
Tarot
Another trick-playing game, this one uses a deck of 78 cards. This game is played with four players. The deck includes a 21-card trump suit with special picture cards. Players bid and take tricks.
Optional Settings for Tarot:
Game Options: Allow Finish Hand Early, Taker Always Leads First Trick, Allow Misere Declarations, Make All Declarations Before Playing, Show Points Taken, Show Card Point Values, Show Legal Plays
End of Game: 500 Points, 1000 Points, 8 Hands or 20 Hands
Card Sorting: Ascending or Descending
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate or Expert
War
Two players divide the cards in a 52-card deck. The cards are appropriately decorated camouflage green. Each player places one card face up. The highest ranking card wins, and the winning player collects the cards. If a pair is turned up at the same time (ex: two Jacks), then it’s War. Each player places three cards face down, then turns a fourth card face up. The highest ranking card wins, and the player collects the cards. If by chance the fourth cards turned up are again a pair, another three cards are placed face down with a fourth card placed face up. The highest ranking card wins, and the player collects the cards. Each player has three animated tanks on their side of the table. When a player wins a War, the winning player’s tank fires at the other player’s tank, blowing it up. Then a new tank rolls in to replace the destroyed tank. Keep playing until one player wins all the cards. The player to win all the cards, wins the war.
Optional Settings for War:
Wars to Win: 3 Wars, 6 Wars, 9 Wars or Play Until Out of Cards
Game Option: Helicopter Animation (yes or no)
Animated Computer Characters
For each game, you are allowed to select which animated computer characters you wish to play with. There are twelve choices. Choose from several human characters, each with a personality bio. There are also other characters such as a dinosaur, parrot, bear, and alien. Each character talks with its own unique voice and expressions. The characters even move. If you play the games long enough, the characters will start to repeat themselves, which can become annoying. You can mute character speech if you wish. You can also click on a computer character in mid-speech, and they will stop talking. If there is a favorite character you wish to repeatedly play against, select that character as a “Preferred Player”. The computer characters play at the skill level you choose, and their comments are appropriate to the action happening. I enjoy playing with the computer characters. They are no substitute for human beings, but when one wants to play a game requiring four people, and no human wants to lay...the computer characters are a great convenience.
The Menu
At the bottom left of the main screen are four menu options.
File:
Sign In: Allows you or another player to sign onto the computer.
Statistics: Keeps track of how many of each of the games you play and how many games you win, also calculating the percentage of games won. (For example: Click on Canasta and see how many games you’ve played, how many games you’ve won, and the percentage of games won.)
Exit Card Games: This exits you from the computer program.
Go To
Internet Games: Click on this to go to an online gaming site where you can play the games with real people from around the world. The website URL is: http://www.uproar.com/hoyle
Facemaker: Click this to create customized characters.
Demo Mode: Shows demonstrations of the card games.
List of all the Games: Click on the game you want to play.
Options
Environment: Allows you to customize the playing environment. Choose the type of background music you wish (or select “none”). Enable or disable character speech, animations, sound effects. Select to not show the movie when the CD starts. Select character attitude and how fast the characters play the games.
Full Screen: Have the game window fill your computer screen or remain minimized.
Help
Card Game Help: Extensive help menu to explain the rules of each game or just to help you navigate through the different options on the CD.
Setup Wizard: Go through the setup process of selecting character attitudes, background music, etc.
Credits: Producer, Director, Software Engineer, Artist, Voice Actor and other names scroll like credits at the end of a movie. Click the screen to return to the playing menu.
About Card Games: Copyright information.
Playing Games on the Internet
(Update January 7, 2004) -- This CD and other Sierra Hoyle Game CDs offer internet access to a website where many of these games can be played online. However, a recent change at the website has caused all of the Hoyle games to be replaced by more generic game versions. These new game versions in no way compare to the quality and fun of the Hoyle games. Also the website that used to house the Hoyle games promotes gambling and questionable advertising for young gamers.
Summary
I thoroughly enjoy playing Hoyle Card Games for 2003. The variety of Solitaire games are wonderful, and I’ve played card games I would not have ordinarily tried. This is an excellent CD with something on it for everyone in the family, and it only cost $25.00. Children can learn colors and numbers, and the Match Game is excellent for improving the memory and concentration skills of anyone no matter their age. Play alone or with friends. I highly recommend this collection of games.
Update (January 7, 2004)
This is my favorite multi-game CD. I usually play at least one of these games a day, whether I sneak in a game of canasta before starting work or play one of the other games to unwind at the end of the day. With all the use I've given this CD, I've found no glitches in the programs. This CD makes an excellent gift, too. Happy gaming!
I hope you found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
System Requirements for Hoyle Card Games (copied from the Sierra website http://sierra.com)
Windows 95/98/00/ME/XP
Pentium PC-133 or higher, 16 MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM, 640 x 480 @ 16-bit color, 80 MB hard disk space.
Macintosh CD-ROM
PowerPC or PowerMac G3 including iMac, System 7.5.3 or higher, 16 MB RAM (with Virtual Memory on), 4x CD-ROM, 640 x 480 @ thousands of colors, 70 MB hard disk space. QuickTime 3 or later to view the intro movie.
Handheld Requirements
Palm Desktop Software properly installed. Any Palm OS device running Palm OS Version 3.1 or later, including Palm, Handspring and Sony devices. ActiveSync 3.1 properly installed. Any color Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2000, or Pocket PC 2002 device including Casio, HP and Compaq devices.
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