Review: Spider Solitaire Collection
At a Glance
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to Save and Pause:Your games are saved automatically. That's right: games, as in, plural. Your current game for each mode is preserved for later. There is no way to pause the game, though it's not particularly needed either. Time needed per session:As this is a solitaire card game, there's no need to worry about how it will fit into your free time.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians As this is a solitaire card game, the only potential issue is the presence of a banner ad on the left side of the window. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/spider_solitaire_collection_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/spider_solitaire_collection_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/spider_solitaire_collection_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Although it's not as popular as Klondike or Tripeaks, Spider solitaire (and its variants) are still pretty popular. Some versions of Windows came with spider solitaire in addition to Klondike and Freecell, and this is probably where a lot of people first discovered it. Spider is also one of the games available in the Microsoft Solitaire Collection, but there are plenty of alternatives out there. Spider Solitaire Collection is one of the better alternatives out there, so let's take a look at it.
To begin with, I think the title is overselling it a little. Despite calling itself a "collection", you can only choose between playing Spider or Scorpion. There are three different variations of Spider, which gives you a total of four games if you really wanted to stretch it. As an example, consider the drawing rules in Klondike. Most of the Apps that feature Klondike let you choose between drawing one or three cards. Does this option result in two games, or one game with two different rulesets?
With that out of the way, let's talk about the gameplay itself. Spider and Scorpion are related games, so they both focus on the same goal - you're to manipulate the cards around so that you create stacks of the same suit going from King down to Ace. Once such a stack is created, it's removed from play, giving you more room to continue moving cards around. The big difference between these games lies in how you move your cards.
In Spider, you can move any group of cards that are in order by suit, and you can place this stack on any card of the next higher value. For example, you could move a stack of Ten-Nine-Eight of Spades onto any Jack, as the only thing that matters is the value of the card on top of your stack (Ten). By contrast, Scorpion allows you to move any stack of face up cards, but you can only place the stack on the card that's one step higher in value and suit. This severely limits your movements, so it's a much harder game.
This App also provides three levels of difficulty for Spider. You can choose between using a single suit, two suits, or an entire four suit deck. The fewer colors and suits you use, the simpler it is to find possible moves.
Now, any solitaire program worth its salt is capable of providing a playing card game. The key difference that determines which programs are the best lies in how well they run and what other options they provide. Spider Solitaire Collection runs quite well; while there are options to add fancier features like animations or some simple drag physics, these are turned off by default. Turning them on may impact how well the game runs, so that's up to you and depends on what sort of computer you're using.
You also have a surprisingly large selection of card desgins, backgrounds, and card backs to choose between and customize your experience. To take things one step further, you can even rearrange the game's layout in several ways!
All in all, this is a perfect little game for fans of Spider and Scorpion solitaire. The only catch is that it displays a banner ad on the left hand side of the window. If you're willing to ignore that, then give this App a spin sometime!
To begin with, I think the title is overselling it a little. Despite calling itself a "collection", you can only choose between playing Spider or Scorpion. There are three different variations of Spider, which gives you a total of four games if you really wanted to stretch it. As an example, consider the drawing rules in Klondike. Most of the Apps that feature Klondike let you choose between drawing one or three cards. Does this option result in two games, or one game with two different rulesets?
With that out of the way, let's talk about the gameplay itself. Spider and Scorpion are related games, so they both focus on the same goal - you're to manipulate the cards around so that you create stacks of the same suit going from King down to Ace. Once such a stack is created, it's removed from play, giving you more room to continue moving cards around. The big difference between these games lies in how you move your cards.
In Spider, you can move any group of cards that are in order by suit, and you can place this stack on any card of the next higher value. For example, you could move a stack of Ten-Nine-Eight of Spades onto any Jack, as the only thing that matters is the value of the card on top of your stack (Ten). By contrast, Scorpion allows you to move any stack of face up cards, but you can only place the stack on the card that's one step higher in value and suit. This severely limits your movements, so it's a much harder game.
This App also provides three levels of difficulty for Spider. You can choose between using a single suit, two suits, or an entire four suit deck. The fewer colors and suits you use, the simpler it is to find possible moves.
Now, any solitaire program worth its salt is capable of providing a playing card game. The key difference that determines which programs are the best lies in how well they run and what other options they provide. Spider Solitaire Collection runs quite well; while there are options to add fancier features like animations or some simple drag physics, these are turned off by default. Turning them on may impact how well the game runs, so that's up to you and depends on what sort of computer you're using.
You also have a surprisingly large selection of card desgins, backgrounds, and card backs to choose between and customize your experience. To take things one step further, you can even rearrange the game's layout in several ways!
All in all, this is a perfect little game for fans of Spider and Scorpion solitaire. The only catch is that it displays a banner ad on the left hand side of the window. If you're willing to ignore that, then give this App a spin sometime!
Points of Interest
Unlimited hints and undos
Think you made a mistake? Just hit the undo button to take back as many moves as you want, possibly even restarting the deal if you click it enough times. The hint button is also useful if you're ever stuck - using it will highlight two cards that can be moved together. It's not always the best move, but it's better than staring until you give up.
Many customization options
There are a surprisingly large number of ways for you to tweak this game - more than you'd expect from a free game. There are a total of thirty three unique card backs, thirteen different styles for the card faces, and fifteen backgrounds for you to choose between. There's definitely something for everyone here.
But, you can even customize the game further by selecting different layout options. Do you want the draw pile on the left or right? Above the tableau or to the side? This can all be easily changed via the game's menus. I've never seen this sort of feature in a card game program before, and it's one I'd like to see it more often!
But, you can even customize the game further by selecting different layout options. Do you want the draw pile on the left or right? Above the tableau or to the side? This can all be easily changed via the game's menus. I've never seen this sort of feature in a card game program before, and it's one I'd like to see it more often!
Concerns and Issues
Ad supported
This game shows a banner ad on the left hand side of the play area. It's a small price to pay in return for a well-made game, so whether or not this is a problem is dependent on your preferences.
In-game purchases?
According to the Windows Store, it's possible to purchase something within this game using real money. However, I cannot find any offer or in-game store where this possibility exists. If there was an option to purchase something, it must have been removed at some point.