Xbox 360
Taking the tried-and-tested game of poker and making it into something completely different may seem like a bit of a gamble [Oh dear - Ed], but this smart and nifty little puzzler is a welcome additon to the range of games available for your Blackberry phone. It takes a cue from the hundreds of similar block-based titles out there, yet does things slightly different.
Instead of bright-coloured blocks you have cards cascading down the screen. It's your task to stop them piling up by creating poker hands such as flushes, two pairs, three of a kind and so on. It's such a neat idea, fans of the card game will enjoy keeping their eyes peeled for possible hands.
However, if you know squat about how to play poker, fear not, all is explained in the 'how to' section and even if, after reading through and trying to digest all of the possible winning hands you are still lost, you will pick them up in time.
It's common for the non-poker player out there to start winning by accident, but you really do start to get a feel for how the cards work. If you line up five cards where two are of the same suit in order, this counts as two of a kind, for example. After you nail a few of these, it registers and you start stacking them up with relative ease.
Things can get pretty hectic once the screen is almost full though and it's easy to forget what cards make what hands. Luckily, if you spot a joker card falling down the screen, place it near a mass of cards and it will blow them up, clearing some space. This is crucial as the speed ramps up and can help you out of some very sticky situations.
There are other neat tricks in here to boost your score. Landing a three of a kind hand, for example, earns you a nice x2 score multiplier for a few seconds, with flushes earning you x3 multipliers and so on.
Visually, this is basic, but has a nice 'card table green' feel to it, with a roulette wheel thrown in for good measure. The score is also displayed as dollars, to feed the inner gambler inside of you. It may not match the look of many console block-puzzlers, but the simple, effective and most importantly, the fun qualities speak volumes here.
It may not be everone's cup of tea and the rules of poker can be downright baffling at times, but fans will appreciate what it is trying to do. This is a fun and simple title, which provides more than a few hours of cheap entertainment.
Download it for your Blackberry now here