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PRODUCT REVIEW
Solitaire Antics Deluxe
By Claire Pieterek
Solitaire Antics Deluxe is an ideal package for any solitaire fan, no matter what computing platforms you run -- Palm, Windows, Mac, or Windows CE. The PC version features 50 games, ten of which are played with two decks. The Palm version features 21 single-deck games. On the PC side, all of the old favorites are here -- Klondike, Pyramid, FreeCell, and Golf -- combined with more obscure games, like Ant's Solitaire and Easthaven. The Palm version does not include one of my favorites, Pyramid, although it does offer Klondike, FreeCell, and Golf.
Solitaire Antics Deluxe plays well on both platforms I tested (PC and Palm), although the PC version offers more bells and whistles, such as sound and animation (entertaining ants performing all sorts of antics). Rules are provided for each game. Games are rated on difficulty, and the win rate for an average player is provided.
The Palm version runs on almost any Palm OS version and takes up about 60K of memory, but you get a lot of entertainment value for that RAM cost. In the Palm version, cards can be moved by dragging or tapping, regardless of their location. I really liked this.
A drawback of the Palm version is the lack of a scroll bar or arrow in the interface. When you're playing games like Yukon, where long piles can be built, like that shown in Figure A, it can be hard to navigate to the bottom of the deck.
FIGURE A
When the piles get too long, they can be hard to move because there is no way to scroll down.
Even so, Solitaire Antics Deluxe -- especially the Palm version -- is great for any time you have to wait and want a choice of games, from easy to challenging.
Product availability and resources
More information about Solitaire Antics Deluxe can be found at http://www.masque.com.
Masque tells us they have recently created a magic, super-secret web page at http://www.masque.com/special.htm where PalmPower readers can save $10 on Solitaire Antics Deluxe.
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Claire Pieterek is a long-time Palm handheld user. On a mission to ditch her Franklin Planner, she bought her first--a Pilot 5000--in May, 1996. She currently owns a Japanese-language Sony Clie 650C, a Sony Clie 710C, and a Palm Zire 71, among others. She is most at home in Chicago and Kyoto, and is a student of life, the universe, and Japanese.
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