Solitaire without the cards! (Solitaire)

Member Name: kiwiii85

Product:	Solitaire
Date:	04/01/09 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: develops skill, Change of difficulty levels

Disadvantages: Can be boring, too easy

I have always loved playing board games and i think real life interaction playing these is far better than the so called interaction you get through computer games, whether you play against a computer or real people. When i was younger, i would nag and nag my family to play board games with me. My dad showed me this game in order to get some peace and quiet and it really did keep me quiet for hours!

This game can be as simple or as difficult as you want it to be, so it is suitable for a variety of ages. There are 32 pegs placed onto a board that is shaped in a cross. The pegs go into little holes so they are easily moveable (in fact that's that object of the game). You will start with an open hole in the middle of the board and a peg must be moved into this hole by jumping over another peg to start the game. Everytime you jump over a peg, that peg is removed from the board and you have more open holes and therefore more decisions about where you will move to. The aim of the game? To end up with one peg left in the middle of the board (the space that was open to start with).

This sounds very easy and when you know the solution to this method, it is. I'm not sure if all boards come with many setups, but ours did. There are instructions for setting up the pegs in different orders in order to get more enjoyment from the game. The problem with this is, the instructions also show the solutions so it can be very tempting for children to just sneak a peek at the solution and bam the whole idea of the game is gone.

It is a one player game so anyone with a tendency to get lonely or bored will easily tire of this game. On the other hand, if you have a child that loves spending time by themselves and loves doing puzzles then this is definitely one for them.

There aren't many twists you can do to make it more interesting though, so make sure you hide the solutions or it will be easily memorised and your moments of peace will be gone.

Children from around 8 would probably suit this game well as the pieces are quite small and you really do need to think about what it is you're doing. If you're trying to drag your children away from a computer game, however, then this probably isn't the game for them.

Overall? I would recommend this game but it does get boring very easily once you have found the solution. It kept me occupied when i was little because i was never very good at it and my dad would promise me a game of something else if i solved it! Very frustrating when you make the same mistake everytime!

Summary: Try it but don't cheat or it will turn out to be a complete waste of money