Faerie Solitaire, opinions

addictive, played for 27 hours

Played a few minutes. Boring.

It takes longer get all pets than finishing story. Oh and there is something hidden in this post.

It's a good game, I've had a lot of fun with it. Although the drop system of eggs is pretty exhaustive :(

If there is one way to scare hardcore gamers away its putting faeries in your game and even proclaiming it in the title. Then for added measure base the whole concept of the game around solitaire just to make sure. These two factors alone should have been enough to make me give this game a wide berth but the low price and Steam achievements lured me in and before I knew it I was hooked.

Faerie Solitaire is as the name suggests a casual Indie cardgame with faeries. Instead of merely making the card deck faerie themed and calling it a day Subsoap actually put a lot of effort into their creation. The result is a game that is casual entertainment through and through but with enough depth and added elements to draw in a wider audience. The story which is illustrated through some nice hand-painted cut-scenes is quite strange and sees the young hero travelling through the world of Avalon trying to discover why all the faeries seem to be in pain. While mildly interesting and certainly worth seeing through to the end its not what will keep you glued to your screen.

The gameplay which is firmly rooted in Solitaire sees you trying to clear out levels using the rules that most casual gamers will be familiar with. Instead of trying to form perfect stacks of cards however you just need to remove cards one at a time from the playing field by making sure that the card you are selecting is either one value higher or lower than what you have at the bottom of your screen. Obviously this isn't always possible which means you'll have to draw a new card which continues until the screen is cleared or your drawing deck is depleted. With some luck and skill you can start using combos which is the removal of large amounts of cards in a sequence without drawing a new one. While it isn't always required to get a "perfect" (the removal of all cards) you will have various level goals like achieving a certain combo length or making a required sum of money. These start out easy enough but towards the end can get a bit hectic. The game is quite easy however and doesn't have much of a frustration factor.

A neat twist is that while playing you'll uncover eggs which can be hatched and the little critter born will earn experience depending on how well you are doing. Get enough experience and they'll even evolve into a "adult" form. You'll need money and resources which is also uncovered while playing. The pet element can pretty much be ignored but it does add some unique elements to the game and finding all the critters not to mention evolving them all will take a long time. Cash can also be spent on power-ups that will allow actions like extra "undo's" and the ability to peek at the next card in your draw stack. For those that finish the story mode, five extra challenge levels await with a nice achievement if you can crack them.

Faerie Solitaire exceeded my expectations and offered a well crafted and addictive playing experience. The difficulty can be adjusted if you prefer more of a challenge but sadly the rather low resolution can't. Some sort of multi-player would also have been cool but Solitaire, as the name implies, is pretty much a one man affair. If you are looking for a simple yet addictive casual game and don't mind playing with creatures that has names like "Teeny Tadpole" then Faerie Solitaire is just the thing. Hopefully there will be some updates in the future.

-Gameramble

This is the best form of solitaire I've come across designed for speed playing. It doesn't require as much study as, say, Yukon and it's not even necessary to remove every card (called a 'perfect' in this game) every time. Meanwhile, choosing which set of cards to play next can be crucial and the undo count is dear. The game is divided into turns, which are in turn divided into nine hands. Each turn has certain requirements (such as a number of 'perfects', earning some amount of money, etc.) as well as a health bar that fills through the turn that lets you release a fairy at the end of the turn.

Along the way, there are resources and eggs to collect; the eggs hatch into pets and the resources 'evolve' them. There are also a few powerups you can buy in "Faerie Land" that change the gameplay a bit. And, completing the modern casual game triffecta, it has an achievement system. I consider all three a bit of a pointless distraction, to be honest, but the pet thing is cute, at least.

The first part of a game is an adventure wherein some faeries are in trouble and you must save them and whatnot. It's fairly standard stuff and a child can enjoy the game, as well, though depending on the temperament of your child and how much they love faeries, they might or might not be disturbed when 'Ted' Theodore Logan describes them as "crying in pain" and such.

That brings me to one my two major grievances with this game. Of all the thespians the voice actor could channel, why Keanu Reeves? I kept expecting the voiceover to say, "No way, Bill!" The fault of something like that usually lies at the feet of the voiceover director, to be fair. The second thing is the background music, which is very repetitive over time, but it gets better when you turn the music volume down. The rest of the sound is very good.

A final word: I use openSUSE Linux 11.4 and the game runs without any problems (beyond a problem with fullscreen that's typical when using TwinView and easily solved).

-Desura

Faerie Solitaire by Subsoap is a version of a linear adventure style card game similar to Fairway Solitaire. The story goes that a bunch of faeries from all the areas of Faerie Land have been captured by an evil wizard. Surprisingly, playing solitaire rescues them. To be honest the story didn’t rope me in and at times I wished I could skip some of it to play the cards. Now playing the game was another story. I was simply addicted to the gameplay, graphics and innovative additions to a classic card game. I found myself returning to the game night after night until I completed it.
There are three different gameplay modes to Faerie Solitaire: the adventure mode, a free play mode, and a challenge mode. In the adventure mode, each level presents you with objectives that must be completed before continuing to the next stage. Each level lays out a number of cards arranged in different patterns. Your ultimate goal is to clear the screen and receive a perfect score. Card combos and meeting level objectives result in ridiculous amounts of money and power-ups.

he gameplay is similar to Solitaire in that the usual suit of cards are provided and you have to clear the card arrangements by flipping cards from your “stock” pile and pull cards from the “tableau” either one above or one below the target. The suit of the card doesn’t matter, just the number (be it higher or lower). Each stage is broken into nine hands or levels and each level has its own objective (i.e.- number of perfects, combo size or amount of cash). Sounds simple, right?
The beauty is that clever variables are slowly introduced. I’ll admit I was denied more than a few perfect completions by frozen cards (unlocked by a fire card) and cards ensnared by vines (accessed by a rose card). The variables tend to alter how a player approaches a hand. I found myself almost obsessing over unlocking these cards and foregoing larger combos. If the player doesn’t meet all the required stage objectives, they are sent back to repeat the entire stage.
During the progression of the game, the player collects eggs and other resources. The players can then hatch and evolve these eggs with the resources collected. It’s a fun feature, but doesn’t drastically affect the gameplay. They do add to the achievements that can be unlocked by the player, of which there are many.
The free mode allows players to return to different parts of the story and replay levels. It definitely adds to replay value that cards are randomly generated each time the level is started. However, both the adventure mode and free mode weren’t the most difficult to play. The challenge mode addressed definitely addresses the lack of difficulty in the other more casual modes. Some of the level objectives are down right insidious (I still can’t complete a level in under a minute).

Faerie Solitaire has solid graphics. The game is beautifully designed and each level is well incorporated into the overarching theme of the game. For a low budget game the hand-drawn backgrounds and cut-to storyboards really dress to impress. Card animations, lighting effects and particle effects were used without being overwhelming. I was especially impressed with the thought that went into all aspects of the game. For example, there were different graphics for all the different pets, faerie land and the un-lockable content. It’s not the top of the line in the graphics department, but it is a fantastic experience.
The Subsoap guys did a good job coming up with a full voiceover for the storyline segments of the game. I admit I wasn’t enthralled by the storyline and the cliffhanger ending but the voiceovers added a little something to the storytelling experience. The levels had some great ambient music in background (I can still hear it) and the card sound effects were good. I love the fireball sound.

Story aside, Faerie Solitaire has lasting appeal going for it. The simplicity and strangely addictive
qualities found in the game provide for hours of entertainment. Insidious objectives in the challenge mode and the randomness found in the hands dealt, provide for quality replay value. I’ll admit I didn’t discover the Faerie Land feature until I played the game full through to completion. Having said that, I wish I had. During the adventure mode, the player collects money on each level. I enjoyed watching my cash add up, but had I known, I would have been banking that money in Faerie Land on upgrades
Between the levels, the player has the opportunity to visit Faerie Land and purchase buildings that grant power-ups, such as: multiple undos, additional time and cards being playable at the start of the hand. I’ve since built up my Faerie Land and returned to the challenge mode. I had a significant advantage in my favor after the upgrades.
The ever random card tableaus along with smooth gameplay and challenging objectives keep the lasting appeal fresh and endlessly (almost frightfully) addictive. It just goes to show that a little magic can be created without all the hype of a major production studio.

-Indie Game Magazine