Any of our long time readers know that Astraware is one of my favorite mobile game developers.  Their Astraware Sudoku was one of the first apps I reviewed, and is still among my favorite Sudoku apps of all time.  Three years ago, in June 2007, Astraware released a fantastic pack of Solitaire games, the aptly names Astraware Solitaire.  At that time, when I reviewed the Windows Mobile version on my Dell Axim, I had this to say:

Anyone can make a computer solitaire game.  Heck, people have been doing that since the early days of programming on the TRS-80 (which used magnetic tapes to store data).  Only Astraware, however, would be twisted enough to turn this simple game into a vicious competition as you scramble to complete your trophy deck,and unlock new images with which to adorn your cards.  They have turned card backs from a simple novelty into a badge of honor and accomplishment…something to brag about.  As they have done with so many other games, Astraware has taken a game with which we thought we were intimately familiar, and twisted it into something new.  Simply put, Solitaire is a shining example of Astraware at its best.

So, I had some pretty high hopes for the iPad version, which one would expect to exhibit the same awesome game play…only better since they could take full advantage of the immense high definition screen on the iPad.  As usual, Astraware far exceeded my expectations.

Right off the bat, you can tell that this is going to be a lot more than just a port of the same game we saw for Windows Mobile.  The home screen gives you instant access to twelve fantastic solitaire games.  Take a minute and enjoy the icons on the cards leading into each game.  These characters play no real role in the games, but offer a light hearted approach to the whole app. 

Tap any of the cards to enter the menu for that game.  I really liked the fact that all of these menus kept with the card game theme, dealing out four cards.  Starting with the upper left, you have a little information about the game.  Tap this one to play.  To the right of that one is your stats for the game.  Bottom left shows the rules of the game.  You can tap this one to customize the rules.  Finally, the bottom right card offers the instructions.  Tap this one for all the rules.  I do wish there had been something more akin to a tutorial.  The rules of these games can get pretty complex, and I always find a hands on tutorial is the easiest way to learn to play.

Let’s go ahead and go back to the main screen for a minute.  Across the top are your main menu items.  Here, you will find the trophy room.  Like the Windows Mobile version, which impressed me so much, your job is to win or accomplish other tasks in order to earn gold cards.  Complete the gold deck and you will unlock it for use in your games.

The other cool thing about this version of Astraware Solitaire is the fact that everything you see before you is completely customizable.  You can choose from dozens of different card backs, a myriad of table colors and styles, and even two different arrangements for the card faces…three once you unlock the full gold deck.  What is great here is that any image on your device can be turned into a card back or table image.  Which means you can have a lot of fun, like the game I created in the above image.

That brings us to the games themselves.  I thought Astraware did a fantastic job with their selection of games.  They had a pretty even mix of difficulty levels, as well as some games based on skill and others based on luck.  This balance means there will be something for everyone from traditional Klondike solitaire to extremely complex Freecell.   In other words, there is something in here for everyone.

The only thing left to look at are the games themselves.  Like some other Astraware games which have come to the iPad recently, I was a little disappointed.  There is not a lot of graphics in a solitaire game.  Pretty much just the table and card backs.  Still, I thought Astraware did a very nice job bringing the game to the big screen of the iPad.  They did a lot more than just make the game bigger to fill the screen.  The ability to use any image on your device as the background makes this a fantastic looking app.

The animation was smooth, which is important for a game like this.  The cards moved across the screen just as easily as the real thing (and considerably more accurately than playing with real cards).  The cards just glide across the screen, landing perfectly at their appointed destinations.

The first time I encountered Astraware Solitaire, back in June 2007, I felt I had found a truly unique solitaire game.  Today, over three years later, that is still exactly the description I would use.  It is not every day you find things like an entire deck of rewards, which can be combined to give you a whole new game play feature.  Card games like this rely on smooth animation and a strong AI understanding of the rules in order to immerse users in the game play experience.  With this one, Astraware nailed it in 2007, and has been improving ever since.  This is one of the few games I have played that truly felt better on my iPad than it did in real life.

Astraware Solitaire is available from the iTunes App Store for just $0.99.  The best part, however, is that this is a universal app, which means iPhone users can upgrade to the iPad version absolutely free.