Pounce

Solitaire lovers rejoice!  Now there’s a game that incorporates everything you love about Solitaire minus the monotony and boredom.  Pounce, created by Double Apps Inc., is an interactive and fast-paced spin on traditional Solitaire.  The object of the game is similar in the sense that the ultimate goal is to get rid of all 52 of your cards, but the main differences being that you earn points and you can play with as many as four opponents simultaneously (computer or live people).  The game-play is a super intense strategic free for all that demands your constant attention and an innate ability to constantly be one step ahead of your opponents.  The first player to shell out all their cards and declare “POUNCE” wins!

If you’ve played Solitaire then Pounce will come very naturally to you.  It essentially requires all of the same skills (attention to detail, strategy, a little bit of luck), only magnified to the nth degree.  The most important area in the game is the center field area.  That’s where all of your cards ultimately need to reside.  In traditional solitaire there are four discard piles that you’re trying to create (one for each suit).  In Pounce there can be as many as 20 discard piles of which all are fair game to everyone involved.  Any player can lay cards on any pile at any time as long as it’s in the right order and suit.  This puts a premium on each players ability to keep track of everything that’s going on in the game.  A swiftly placed card can render opponents helpless in a matter of seconds.

Whether you’re playing against the computer or with friends over Bluetooth, Pounce is the type of game that keeps you fully engaged from beginning to end.  Because of the frantic and fast paced nature of the game you end up feeling a rollercoaster of emotions as you play.  One minute you feel unstoppable and another minute you feel completely helpless.  Sometimes all the stars seem to align and every card you flip over happens to play and other times you can’t seem to get a brake and are competely stuck.  One thing that’s great about having multiple players is that if you do get stuck you’re typically not stuck for long.  Occassionally everybody can get stuck, which in those instances whoever earned the most points (placed more cards in center field) is the victor.  But for the most part if you’re playing with more than 3 players the chances of everybody getting stuck is pretty slim.

Key Features of Pounce:

• Ability to play single player or multiplayer modes (up to 4 opponents)
• Ability to play others over Bluetooth
• Ability to change card back and playing field designs
• Can be configured for both left handed and right handed players
• Multiple playing styles (Pounce pile up or down, and bonus or penalty scoring modes)

Overall I found Pounce to be a fun and challenging game, and one that card game junkies and Solitaire lovers will enjoy.  The interface is fairly simple to follow and the tutorial is extremely thorough.  Playing with friends live over Bluetooth is without a doubt my favorite way to play.  There’s something about playing real people face-to-face that’s hard to beat.  Ideally though, I’d love to see a couple additional features added to the game in the future.  The ability to play people over the Internet and the ability to play iPod music from within the app would be excellent additions.

Pros:

• Multiplayer game-play is engaging and fast paced
• Tutorial is very thorough and leaves no doubt on how to play the game
• Is much more interesting than standard Solitaire
• In-person multiplayer Bluetooth mode works perfectly

Cons:

• Unable to play others over the Internet
• No in app integration with iPod

Version Reviewed: 1.1

Requirements: iPhone or iPod Touch; iPhone OS 3.0 or later

Related Posts B

1. Free iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad Promocodes for Pounce Fast Paced Card Game App!
2. Free iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad Promo Codes For Pounce Game App!
3. iPhone Game Pounce Sponsors Week long Contest and Giveaway
4. Double Apps Inc announces new versions of Pounce iPhone and iPad app
5. Free iPad Promo Codes For PounceHD Game App!

Posted by Ryan Johnson
on 04 1, 2010
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