User Reviews (1 - 11 of 15)

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Buggy and Difficult Install - But Fun

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 23 / 30
Date: November 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First, the install is counter-intuitive. When you run the install CD you have to figure out to click the "Hoyle" Banner running across the screen instead of "Install". Also had issues with this thing eating CPU cycles and overheating a P4 Dell. I suspect a memory leak. The support is pretty weak too. But the game looks nice while it is running. Turns you computer into a lovely space heater.

inaccurate information

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is not for Windows ME as is listed in the description. Not what I was looking for. I want to play a card game and am not interested in characters comments.

Beware

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Does not work well with Vista. "Clunky". If you are running Vista, make sure game(s)you buy/use are compatable. Another lesson learned

this game won't work on all PC's

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought 2 copies of this game. It installed and runs fine on my brother's Dell desktop running Windows Vista. It installed and runs fine on my Toshiba laptop running Windows XP. It will not install or run on my HP Pavilion desktop running Windows XP. Previous versions of this game and other Hoyle games installed and work fine but not this one.
I would not recommend purchasing this product if you have an HP computer and don't have a laptop or desktop of another brand to play it on.

The Deck Is Stacked

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a neat tool to hone your skills but does not duplicate playing conditions.

Luck and skill are main ingredients to any card game. The problem the software makers had was that, unlike in chess software, the computer card player in this software is not smarter than the average human player. So, the software creates an "equal" playing field by stacking the deck in favor of the computer opponent(s). In the case of partner playing, the human partner's computer partner plays a notch or two under the skill level of the computer opponents. So, the software "levels the playing field" by giving the opposing team better cards and a less skillful computer opponent.

I used this software primarily to play Canasta. What I found was that at the highest opening meld level (120 points), the computer team had little or no problem coming up with the opening meld 50% or more of the time. In contrast, the human-computer team came in easily about 10% of the time. So, based on the luck of the initial deal the computer team had a 5 to 1 advantage.

Also, as the game progresses the human led team gets far fewer wildcards (about 20% vs. 80% for the computer team). At the end of each hand the computer team rarely had wildcards left in their hand, the human players' computer partner often did and thus did not play as "smart" as the other computer players.

The bottom line is:

1. This is a fine tool to hone your thinking/strategy skills because you play with the deck stacked against you (especially as the hands proceed toward the end of each game).

2. It does not duplicate real playing conditions. If you would get frustrated by the luck of the draw being mostly against you and having a computer partner who plays dumber than the computer opponents, you might want to think twice about getting this software.

Cards Sharks on your PC

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: March 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Adults with disabilities often love this if they like cards at all. This is a very popular CD game here!

card game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: March 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Nice software, fun to play with, but what's not very practicle is that you have to load the CD in it before playing everytime you want to play.Some games have the tutorial options some don't, and reading the card game rules is not very pleasant.

Using it to learn Bridge - pretty good!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: May 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am taking a bridge class at a local bridge studio. All the information can be very overwhelming and for a variety of reasons, I am unable to attend the supplemental practice sessions. So I wanted a piece of software that I could practice with.

I had read a lot of poor reviews of lots of different brands of Bridge software along the lines of "the robot players make stupid mistakes" etc etc. I already had [...]multiple experiences like this at free online game sites (the robot partners at pogo site Bridge game NEVER EVER bid, no matter what cards they hold!).

So, long story short, I didn't have high hopes. But this disc was priced right so I decided to give it a whirl. So far I can tell that the robots are for the most part conforming their behavior to what we are learning in class so it's been very very good practice. I played with the computer players muted so I didn't have to endure the silly comments.

As another reviewer mentioned, it is rather annoying to have to have the disc in your drive whenever you want to play. I realized the reason is copyright protection and I suppose that's fair enough. Installation was a tiny bit counter-intuitive but nothing horrible.

FYI I am running XP.

GREAT Product

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is a really FUN bunch of games. The characters in each game really make the play interesting. The graphics are excellent. There are plenty of games to keep one occupied for a long time.

My computer is fun now.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This software is great. Microsoft only gives you one version of Solitaire. I now have 50 versions, plus many other card games. I am afraid I have become addicted to playing the games. Hours pass without notice. I definitely recommend this product.

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