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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Faerie Solitaire
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:All of the progress you make, down to the last card you played, is saved when you quit the adventure or exit the game. For a more temporary break, you can pause the game by pressing ESC. Time needed per session:This game can be picked up and played whenever you have some free time, so don't worry about fitting it into your schedule.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians While this game is filled with magical creatures - mostly faeries, as the title suggests - this mainly serves as a backdrop or theme for the actual game, and therefore isn't something to worry about. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/faerie_solitaire_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/faerie_solitaire_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/faerie_solitaire_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Faerie Solitaire is exactly what its name suggests: it's a solitaire card game themed around faeries and other magical creatures. In this game, the player takes on the role of a young boy who find himself charged with saving the faerie population from a tragic fate. However, the gameplay is very divorced from the story; completing hands simply unlocks the next part of the story. You won't be actively taking part in any of the heroics.
Like a lot of these story-based card games, the gameplay itself is just a fancier version of the classic "Golf" card game. The main goal of each hand is to clear as many cards from the playfield as possible, and you'll do this by discarding them one at a time. You can only remove a card from the playfield if it's face up and one step higher or lower than the card in your hand, which seems simple enough. In order to really make progress, you'll need to learn to make "combos". This is a fancy way of saying that you'll need to clear many cards in rapid succession before dealing another card from the deck; it's also much easier to do than it sounds.
But that's only the start. As you clear cards from the playfield, you'll earn some gold and some energy. Gathering energy is your primary goal in this game; in order to save a faerie, you'll need to fill the stage's energy bar. In addition, stages also have a list of other goals for you to complete. These can include making combos of a specific length, earning gold by clearing entire piles, or completely clearing a given number of hands (known as a "perfect"). Early on, these are fairly easy to meet, but eventually you'll start encountering special obstacles like thorns and ice that block portions of the playfield. You'll need to locate powerups on the board to clear these obstacles and continue making matches.
Now, the original Faerie Solitaire came out in 2010 and has a handful of problems that definitely rub completionists the wrong way. The good news is that a new version of the game, known as Faerie Solitaire Remastered, came out in 2017. This version addresses these complaints, and is probably the better option for new fans. Oddly, both versions are still available for purchase, so you could theoretically play them both.
Personally, I found these titles to be some good clean fun, though I prefer the remastered edition.
Like a lot of these story-based card games, the gameplay itself is just a fancier version of the classic "Golf" card game. The main goal of each hand is to clear as many cards from the playfield as possible, and you'll do this by discarding them one at a time. You can only remove a card from the playfield if it's face up and one step higher or lower than the card in your hand, which seems simple enough. In order to really make progress, you'll need to learn to make "combos". This is a fancy way of saying that you'll need to clear many cards in rapid succession before dealing another card from the deck; it's also much easier to do than it sounds.
But that's only the start. As you clear cards from the playfield, you'll earn some gold and some energy. Gathering energy is your primary goal in this game; in order to save a faerie, you'll need to fill the stage's energy bar. In addition, stages also have a list of other goals for you to complete. These can include making combos of a specific length, earning gold by clearing entire piles, or completely clearing a given number of hands (known as a "perfect"). Early on, these are fairly easy to meet, but eventually you'll start encountering special obstacles like thorns and ice that block portions of the playfield. You'll need to locate powerups on the board to clear these obstacles and continue making matches.
Now, the original Faerie Solitaire came out in 2010 and has a handful of problems that definitely rub completionists the wrong way. The good news is that a new version of the game, known as Faerie Solitaire Remastered, came out in 2017. This version addresses these complaints, and is probably the better option for new fans. Oddly, both versions are still available for purchase, so you could theoretically play them both.
Personally, I found these titles to be some good clean fun, though I prefer the remastered edition.
Points of Interest
Huge number of levels
There are 8 Stages to work your way through. This might not sound like much at first, but each Stage has 5 levels and each level has 9 rounds, for a grand total of 360 different layouts to clear. This might take you a while!
Find and raise pets
A side quest of sorts is finding all of the creature eggs, hatching them, and raising the baby monsters to adulthood. You'll find the supplies you need and the eggs themselves behind stacks of cards, so you should have most of them by the time you finish the adventure. After that, it's a reason to replay your favorite levels.
Additional game modes
Aside from the adventure, there are two additional modes that can be fun to play. The first is a Challenge mode that has extremely hard stages for you to beat, while the second is the Quick Play mode. This second mode allows you to replay any level you've already cleared during your adventure.
In the original version, these alternative modes are especially useful for farming wild cards and gold outside of the adventure. Wild cards are handled differently in the Remastered edition, so it's less important to seek them out.
In the original version, these alternative modes are especially useful for farming wild cards and gold outside of the adventure. Wild cards are handled differently in the Remastered edition, so it's less important to seek them out.
Steam community features
Both editions feature 30 achievements and a set of Steam trading cards to collect. Many of these are earned by simply playing the game for long enough, so a dedicated player can earn them all fairly easily - unless you're playing the original edition, which has some bugs that turn one of the achievements into a test of endurance.
Egg drop algorithm is busted
By far the biggest complaint about the original game is that it's nearly impossible to find all of the eggs. This renders the last two achievements equally impossible to earn, and a lot of players just burn out in the attempt. This is fixed in the Remastered edition. Why the developers opted for a new game instead of just patching the original is beyond me.
Story ends on a cliffhanger
Bit of a spoiler here: the game ends with the player being sucked into a magical book, his fate left uncertain. The painful part is that the book is entitled "Faerie Solitaire II" (or "To be continued" in the remaster), implying that the story will be concluded in a sequel that has never arrived. Adding insult to injury, there are several Faerie Solitaire games as of 2022, and none of the others continues this protagonist's storyline.
Concerns and Issues
Very mild violence
The story is presented much like a fairy tale (which is rather appropriate, given the nature of the game). During the story, the protagonist will wield a magic sword that defeats his enemies by acting on its own. In one instance it uses two swift strikes to dispatch the enemy, but the scene is bloodless. The other major fight has the sword fire a beam of light to banish the villain.
Some areas depict monsters in the background
Each stage has its own background, and in a few places there's a magical creature or two wandering around back there. The Undead Army stage is the most unsettling example, as a host of shadowy figures watches the player's cards with glowing red eyes.
Fairies and magic
This is sort of obvious, but there are faeries, wizards and other fairy tale trappings in this game. Although the hero wields a magical staff and a magical sword during the story, he's not really a magic user himself. The remainder of the magical portions of the game are in Faerieland, where special buildings fuel your powerups and house your pets. Speaking of the pets, there are unicorns, dragons, elementals and even robots in their ranks. If any of this bothers you, then it might be better to try another game.