Solitaire is quite possibly the most popular video game of all time, thanks to the game's inclusion in Windows in particular. Many a bored office worker, student, and grandparent has sunk hours into this classic card game. Now, with games like Card Crawl [$2.99] bringing modern roguelike influence into card games, it seems only fitting that Solitairica [$3.99] should come into existence, bringing something more closely resembling actual solitaire to the solitaire roguelike subgenre. And it promises to steal countless hours of your time, even if you're not necessarily a card game player.
The core of Solitairica is similar to solitaire, but not identical. You get rid of cards by playing a card on a lower or higher number, but you're notacking cards and then getting rid of them in stacks based on suit. Instead, playing a card then picks up the card you played it on, which you can then use to play with other cards, also picking up elemental energy along the way. Ideally, you want chains of card plays that go as long as possible, not just because you get coin bonuses for extended streaks, but also because you want to minimize the number of moves your enemy makes. The card rules are simple enough, with the ultimate goal being to clear the board before they defeat you. And the enemy will do damage to you with various abilities, but also try to make the board a bit more difficult to deal with. You earn coins as you play, and these can be spent on new items and spells for your run. ...