Comments on: Review: Astraware Casino — A Winner You Can Bet On.

By: Handmark Announces Astraware Casino for iPhone with iTunes Library Integration | Just Another Mobile Monday

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:05:00 +0000

[...] check out Doug’s previous review of the Windows Mobile version , where he commented, “I thoroughly enjoyed all eight of the games included in this Casino [...]

By: dgoldring

dgoldring — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:32:28 +0000

You are correct, SPM, that I did not account for reading he instructions in my time trial. I did, however, linger at the suitcase and visit the bank (often as you can see from my screen shot).

Doug

By: spmwinkel

spmwinkel — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:22:32 +0000

Good to hear that.
But when I was betatesting and they introduced this new trial system, I found that if you also need to read some of the instructions, want to check out the Souvenir Suitcase and the Bank, you’ll find yourself rushing through the games. Also, this requires that you carefully plan your trial usage in advance, and not all people do that.

Anyway, I hope people read your review before installing the trial so that they can more adequately try the parts of the game they want.

By: dgoldring

dgoldring — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:13:31 +0000

SPM, I will be honest here. I tested this as part of my review. I played the game for 30 minutes. That gave me an average of just shy of 4 minutes per game. While I would have liked more, it was adequate to get a feel for them. Some games, like slots, video poker and Keno, require less then a minute, which gives you some extra time for poker, etc…

I do agree that a longer trial would have been better, but I found that 30 minutes was sufficient to try all of the games.

Doug

By: spmwinkel

spmwinkel — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:29:19 +0000

@ purchased within 24 hours – With this new trial system of Astraware (which I don’t like), you can only play 30 minutes. So no matter if you purchase withing 40 minutes, 24 hours, or 7 days, you can only have played for 30 minutes!
I think that with a gamepack like this, 30 minutes is not enough to get to know the way the games are implemented sufficiently.

By: dgoldring

dgoldring — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:23:42 +0000

Vapor03, you make a good point about the load/unload time. I don’t usually discuss this in my reviews, but this game does a fantastic job with memory manegement, which is very nice to see.

Doug

By: Vapor03

Vapor03 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:10:49 +0000

I had never planned on spending money on a game for my Blackjack. After seeing the original posting, for whatever reason, I decided to download the trial. I purchased within 24 hours.

While this game may not be the be-all-end-all of any one of the included games, it certainly does all of them well and I have enjoyed them immensely.

I love having the instructions at the begining of each game as I am still trying to learn some games like craps. Great feature! Also of note is how quickly the game loads and unloads as well as gameplay itself.