Fairway Solitaire review

Overview

Fairway Solitaire is my new favorite card game! I always enjoyed playing the pre-installed Solitaire game on my Windows computer, so I was looking for something similar to play on my Mac. But even if card games aren't usually your thing, give Fairway Solitaire a shot! My first impression after launching it was that it was very well made: the graphics have a fun, cartoonish feel, the music is relaxing, quality music, the sound effects aren't irritating, and the story doesn't feel contrived. Fairway Solitaire has a golf theme, complete with commentators; this might seem strange at first, but it works quite well and actually makes the game more interesting. In the beginning, you choose a character from a selection of 10 (5 men and 5 women of different ages and races). You will then choose a course to play on; at first only one course is available, and you will need to complete certain objectives to unlock the other courses.

Course selection screen

Here is a quick explanation of what you will find on the course selection screen. Holes: This is the number of games you will need to play to complete this course. Par: You should aim to have a sum of cards left over at the end of each hole lower than this number. Fee: The amount it costs to play the course. Purse: The amount you win if you score under par. Goal: The objective to complete to unlock the next course.

How to play

At the start of each game, a portion of the cards will be laid out face-down in a few rows, with the last card in each row turned face-up. As you progress in the game, the cards will sometimes be laid out in patterns instead of rows, and sometimes a few other cards will also be turned face-up. The remaining cards will be in a draw pile face-down at the bottom of the screen, except for one foundation card which will be face-up next to the draw pile. The aim of the game is to move as many cards as possible from the rows to the foundation card pile. This is accomplished by clicking on cards that are one number higher or lower than the foundation card at the bottom of the screen. For example, if the foundation card is an ace, you can choose either a king or a two to put on top of it, regardless of the suit. When there are no more cards to play, click on the draw pile to get a new foundation card. If you are able to move 6 or more cards in a row, you get a bonus. To undo your last move, click the Mulligan button. You start with only one Mulligan per hole. Sometimes you will find obstacle cards, like sand traps and water hazards. The sand trap cards are yellow, and can only be removed after you have found the sand wedge card. Water hazard cards are blue, and they block access to other cards. You will need to remove all the water hazard cards before you can remove the cards they block. Other cards can help you, like the iron cards and the wild shots. Click on iron cards to turn them into golf irons and add them to your bag. They can be used at any time and act as regular numbered cards. For example, if you click on a 2 iron, it will turn into a card on your foundation pile, and you can play either an ace or a 3 on it. Wild shots, on the other hand, give you a random event which could be either good or bad. You can choose not to play the wild shot if you like, but you will have to discard 2 cards from your draw pile. At the end of each game you earn money according to your score and your bonuses. Your earnings can be used to pay for playing on the later courses, which aren't free like the first few, or for buying clothes for your character. This feature isn't added just to dress up your character - each item of clothing has a specific advantage. Here are a few clothing items and their effects: Mulligan Blouse: gives you an extra mulligan (undo) on each hole Extra Long Skirt: slows down the arrow in Long Drive contests Flip Flop Golf Shoes: 25% of the face-down cards will turn face-up on each hole

Conclusion

Card games have a good longevity, and Fairway Solitaire even more so thanks to it's whopping 70 courses! The golf theme with obstacle cards and bonus cards only makes the game more interesting. I definitely recommend Fairway Solitaire to anyone who likes card games, and urge you to try the demo even if you usually don't. I'm sure you won't regret it!

Spa Mania review

Overview

Spa Mania is a time management game in which you have to manage a beauty spa. The game starts with your character, a young woman called Jade, protesting the testing of cosmetics on animals in front of Dubois Cosmentic Labs. The owner of Dubois Cosmetics pulls up in front of the building, and they have an argument. Jade then decides to learn all she can about beauty treatments and open her own nature-friendly beauty spa.

How to play

Jade’s first task will be to work in her friend’s spa. Customers will come in and you will have to move them wherever they need to go by clicking and dragging them. Each level has an amount of earnings you must meet in order to proceed - to earn as much money as possible you must work quickly and keep your customers as happy and relaxed as possible.

Each customer’s mood is represented by hearts, and if you take too long the they’ll get angry, and will pay you less when they leave. When left for too long, some customers will do things that put others in a bad mood too. For example, pregnant women start crying if left for too long, old women fall asleep and start snoring, and the hollywood twins talk incessantly and irritate everyone in the spa.

Upgrades

At first the only way to prevent upsetting your customers is to work quickly, but later you will be able to buy items which will let you improve their mood, like a tea or incense set, or a stereo to play music. You can also spend your earnings on upgrades for your equipment. The equipment upgrades can improve the mood of your customers, make them pay more, or let Jade work faster. Another way to increase Jade’s speed is to purchase training for her. As you progress through the game, you can also customize Jade’s clothes with the color and pattern swatches that become available.

Mini-games

To make some of the special treatments, you will need to play the 3 mini-games that will become available as you progress in the game. In the "Mix 'em up!" mini-game you need to mix ingredients to make the right colors, and then put the mixtures in the right spot on the turning wheels. There are only 3 colors to mix at first, but later in the game white will also be available, which will enable you to make lighter shades of the base colors.

To improve your Shiatsu massages you will need to play the meditation mini-game. This game is the easiest, as all you have to do is click on the bad dreams before they destroy the good ones. It was quite easy for me because I use a tablet and so I can move my cursor quickly, but it might be slightly more difficult for mouse users.

The "Combo Catch" mini-game is for making incense, and you will need to catch ingredients in your basket that are falling from trees. Try to only catch the ingredients shown at the bottom of the screen, or you will have to start over.

Conclusion

I would have liked more upgrades in the 2nd half of the game, so that there would have been something to work towards. I was also expecting Jade to get her own Spa in the end, and was a bit disappointed when that didn't happen. That said, Spa Mania is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time to play and are looking for a game that you don’t need in-depth instruction for. Each level can be finished in a few minutes, and if you have to suddenly stop playing, you can easily pick up where you left off later. The gameplay is the same throughout the game - as you progress to the higher levels, all you have to do is work faster and find the work method that works best for you, adapting to accommodate the more difficult customers.