Grounds for Divorce -- not really

Solitaire was a game that I played on the computer at work. Kind of boring, but something to pass the time. But when my husband underwent a lengthy surgery at the beginning of 2004 I knew I needed something to keep me occupied for several hours. I knew a book wouldn't be able to hold my attention so I bought SOLITAIRE MASTER 4 and fired up the laptop.
The surgery went fine, but I couldn't stop playing. This game is totally addictive.

This game is widely available in Department stores. I paid less than $10.00, but prices vary.

THE GAME:

SOLITAIRE MASTER 4 comes on an, easy to install, computer disc. Just pop the disc into your computer and follow the easy instructions. The entire game took about three minutes to load. Then you are ready to play.

Most of you might be familiar with the basic rules of solitaire. Just in case you are not, here are the ground rules:

As the name implies, Solitaire is a one-player game. The premise of the game is to move one deck (or more)of cards into some kind of order on the playing field. There are several basic types of solitaire games, so the order in which the cards can be moved varies by type. In the 40-thieves type of solitaire for instance a certain number of cards out of the deck are dealt open onto the field. The rest of the cards remains hidden and are dealt, one at a time, to the "waste pile". If you can use the cards go ahead, if not just flip over another card until the deck is done. You are supposed to sort the cards starting with the Ace, working your way up to the king into the appropriate spaces. Sounds easy? Well it's not.

Once SOLITAIRE MASTER 4 is installed, you can begin to play. You will be asked to register your game, but there is an "opt-out" option if you don't feel like it. I've had the game for a year and still haven't registerd. You can also have an icon for the game itself, or an icon for the game and one for the manufacturer (e-games) installed on your desktop, but that is not necessary to play the game, just an option.

You will then be required to come up with a player name. Even if you are the only person using the disk, you have to enter something. This is great if more than one person uses the game, because you can also make a list of your favorite games and don't have to look through the entire game list for the one you want to play.

After the player name screen you will be directed to the main screen. Here you will find a list of all the games. As you click on a name game the screen will show you a picture of the basic layout and give some hints of how to play this game.

SOLITAIRE MASTER 4 offers about 400 different solitaire games on the disk. I have not yet played them all and I had the game for about a year. You can find single deck games, two-deck games and games for three and four decks. There is also a column for large table games and harder games and a "Wizard" where you can create your own games. I've created two games with the wizard, but seldom play them, because I have so much fun playing the other ones.

Within each game, you have thousands of options when it comes to your deals. That means you probably won't be playing the same game twice for a long time. Each game that you play gets recorded and you can find out your statistics (how many games won or lost, how many points for each game etc.). This is great if more than one person plays the same game and you want to find out who is better. The only thing I don't like about the statistics is that, if you clear it, you have to clear out all the games, not just one or two.

If you are not sure how to play a game, switch to the "help" screen, it tells you exactly how to play the game and gives helpful hints. With some games you also will find a short history about the game.

You can change the backs of the cards, but not the skin of the table. You can also change the face of the card. There are quite a few options to choose from, so your game will never get boring.

Other options include a cheat mode. If you are not sure if you can place a particular card where you want it, you can find out by clicking on an icon. The computer will then move the card if it is possible or show you other possible moves.

The best feature: The "undo" button. If you have screwed up your game, just press this one and you can undo any move throughout the entire deck. If it get's real bad, just press the "play over" button and you can play the game again from the beginning.

With so many different solitaire games to choose from, this is great entertainment for everyone. I definitely have my favorites, like "60 thieves" (a three deck game that is extremely hard ( odds are < 1% on winning), but fun to play. Another favorite is called "Grounds for Divorce", it gets you totally hooked.

I recommend this game for children ages 8 and up. It will help with counting and organizing skills and it's great to play.