Lapland Solitaire


I LOVE solitaire.  And since this is the Christmas season and this is a winter/holiday theme-inspired game, I was hoping to enjoy at least the scenery. Sigh.

The graphics are good, as long as you're not expecting the marvelous HD graphics of today's games. The music was operatic ... and, IMO, not holiday-themed at all. The sound effects could also have been better.

There is an Advent Calendar that counts from 1 - 25. As you complete each "day" of game play, a new window opens, which I "think" is supposed to add that picture to your card face. You can also go back to that "day" by clicking on the appropriate window: Day 1, click on the number 1.

The gist of the game is the typical high/low solitaire game. As you complete a hand (4 hands for the "morning" of each "day" and 4 for each "evening"), you earn gold chocolate coins which you can then use to purchase a building in the North Pole. There are bonuses earned with each building purchased such as "turn over top cards", "joker", etc. There are also hindrances in game play, such as frozen cards and cards covered in mistletoe/holly.  If you DO NOT pass the hand with NO cards left, you do not get a gold star for that hand.

 I definitely had some "hmmm" moments. It was announced at one point that I had "unlocked a gold star". Where? What did this gold star do? Never found out. There was the ever-present message to "try to remove all the cards by the completion of each day". Ok. But, if I CAN'T, how do I replay THAT particular hand???

 The sad fact is that you CANNOT replay just a "losing" hand. You CAN replay an ENTIRE day, however, all the progress you earned on that day will be lost - gone - bye bye! Meaning any gold stars you earned are also gone and you MUST REPLAY the entire day, not just a particular hand and you do not earn any gold chocolate coins if you DO replay a day.  So ... what's the point?

 I have to admit, these things took a lot of the fun of the game play away for me. The first hand is a rather poor excuse for a tutorial. I don't believe a beginner would quite understand all the ins and outs of this particular solitaire game. I think experts would not find it enjoyable at all. For those "in the middle", try it for yourselves.....it could go either way - lol.


Unfortunately for me, this will NOT be a purchase. I recommend everyone give it a try because these are MY issues and, of course, MY issues will probably not be your own.

 The best part of this game was buying the buildings and setting up the North Pole. But, if I purchased Santa's House early on ...... what was left? THAT purchase should have been on Day 24 or 25.  Of course, maybe something more magical is going to happen on those days.

 Merry Christmas!
 

Runefell

BEST BEST BEST BEST ..... VERY BEST Match 3 game EVER!

Uh.  Do I like this game??? NO!   I LOVE IT!  lol


The storyline is exquisite!  Not just .... oh, here is a kingdom that was prosperous and went bad.  More .... so much more ..... so involved in what happened NOT just to Rivermoor.

The graphics are .... absolutely LOVELY!  I almost wish I were living in that beautiful little glade myself!  The music and sound effects were also ..... perfect!  The narrator .... OMGosh!  What CAN'T I say about the narrator.   A villager himself who speaks with true voice inflections and feeling.  Not too fast and not too slow .... he totally immerses you in the story.


There is a relaxed mode which I recommend to get the MOST out of the game play.  You get to choose among 3 cursors.  There is a tutorial during the game that is perfect as this is a "different" type of match 3 ... but in no way is it intrusive.


The game itself?  Where do I even begin?  Yes, it IS a   match 3 game .... but OH SO MUCH MORE!  It's a game board that moves as you play.  Make a match to the right, your game board will move with you.  Difficult to explain but oh so fun to play!

Make matches in the "grassy" areas to find things like a pickaxe so you can "use" it on the "rocky" area to take to yet another area.  Several areas have walls to knock down by making matches and breaking boxes to get to artifacts, runes, etc.  Then, find the exit????  


But, wait, there's MORE!   The matches you make earns you materials.  At the end of each level, use what you've earned in materials to help rebuild the little "Keep/Village".

Oh, there's MORE!  Make matches of 3 or more to gain bonuses and power ups!  Yes, a story, a building game, a type of hidden object game AND all built into a match 3 game!  Who could ever have dreamed this up!


I love match 3 games but it's hard to find one that's truly entertaining.  THIS game is not only entertaining but amusing and it keeps you engrossed in what's going to happen NEXT in the story ..... which YOU are a part of!


I had the opportunity to play this on another gaming site and couldn't WAIT for it to be released on BFG so I could purchase it.  NOW I CAN!!!!  I recommend this for everyone from beginners to experts.

Come join me in Rivermoor and Hollow's Keep and have fun rebuilding the town with amusing game play!

ENJOY!

Overal Impression:  BUY BUY BUY~!!!!!!