Why is this game so popular? (Solitaire)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Solitaire
Date:	17/06/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fun in groups

Disadvantages: too hard

What is it about this game? It's so overrated it drives me crazy!

The aim of the game is to get rid of all the marbles except one. You can see from the pic how you start off. You have to remove marbles from the board by jumping one over them (like in Checkers). You can only jump one place, and there must be an empty space to jump into. It's as simple (or not) as that!

The first time I played this I did really well. After about ten minutes I was 'stuck' with three marbles left. I thought that was quite good, and continued to play every time I was at my friend's house, for about 3 months. However, I never did it again! I never got that close to completion.

Of course, the tactical way to win is all about mathematical progression through the places, developing a pattern and sticking to it. If you have a mathematical or analytical brain this may be fun for you, but for me I just could never get the hang of it. Sure, I thought I had it worked out, but I always fell flat.

The annoying thing about this game is it is very tough to complete. In the same line as Rubik's Cube, it's a real challenge, and one you get bored with after failing at time and time again.

It's best to play with friends, taking it in turns. You monitor each-other's tactics and figure out how to do it. It gets competitive if you aim to see who has the least amount of marbles left. On your own (and therein comes the game name), it's a bit boring.

You can pick up sets for around £5, but it's easy to lose the balls. My recommendation is that you replace lost balls with a piece of blu-tak or something similar - it still works!

All in all, a difficult and only midly entertaining game.

Summary: up to you