Hoyle wrote the book on card games, so it should come as no surprise that it's also the authority for card games on the PC. Sierra's latest Hoyle card game is as well executed as its predecessors, but it isn't much different from them. Fans of the series won't be let down by the gameplay, but they may be disappointed by the lack of anything new in this installment besides the games of canasta and pitch. Still, card sharks and novices alike will find hours of the same addictive gameplay inside.
Hoyle Card Games includes 16 card games of varying degrees of difficulty. Many popular games are included, from complex bidding games like bridge to fun favorites like gin rummy and crazy eights to simple no-brainers such as war and concentration. If you're new to some of these games, you can set the difficulty to accommodate your learning curve. Since it's a Hoyle product, the box comes with an exhaustive manual that not only includes rules and strategies, but also the background history of each game. An in-game manual is also included.
The assorted games are played entirely with the mouse. The interface is kept as simple as possible, so the pace of the game goes about as quickly as you can make decisions. Games can be saved at any point, which makes it easier to pause during more involved games like bridge. The only problem is that the cards themselves could stand to be a little larger. Because it's a mouse-intensive game, you'll sometimes find that clicking on the card you're aiming for is tricky, especially when you try to click on a card that is beneath another card. As it is, there is no option to increase the size of the cards.
However, you can change the appearance of your cards. There are 23 different card backs, which range from classic Hoyle designs to abstract patterns and classic cars. There are also four different card faces to choose from, but you'll probably just want to stick with the default face. Several colorful backgrounds have also been included, and you can swap them in or out at any point during a game.
Hoyle Card Games also lets you custom-pick your opponents. Sierra has added an offbeat dimension to the games with its cast of ten different selectable players, each with individual animations and commentary. If Ethel - a game-hungry grandma - is too boring for you, you can always replace her with Roswell, a witty extraterrestrial card shark. When the opponents are idle, they blink, shift around, and sometimes do outlandish things. This invariably makes up for some of the starkness of the original card games, though the commentary can get repetitive and even awkward at times. Fortunately, you can adjust the speech meter from "serious" to "talkative," depending upon how quickly you want the game to move along.
Your player can also be personalized with the game's patented "facemaker." This part of the game is actually pretty fun to play with. There are hundreds of eyes, noses, heads, hair colors and hairstyles, and body combinations - there's even a "randomize" button that can generate a random combination of traits.
Sierra has included a free Internet play feature, which shows that the company understands that cards are a social game at heart. If you decide to challenge living players from around the world, you can access an Internet game browser from the game.
Hoyle Card Games is a solid product that includes games the entire family can enjoy. The only main drawback is that this edition is markedly similar to the last one - almost to the point that they seem identical. It would be nice to see Sierra and the Hoyle franchise bring more innovative graphics and more inventive sounds to their card and casino games. But the trump card is already in the gameplay. If you're a fan of playing cards, Hoyle Card Games will inevitably keep you occupied for hours on end.
