Boredworkers.com

I just realised that I’ve never reviewed any card games before this. So here’s one for the album. Aloha Tripeaks from GameHouse.

The game is simple and plays much like the standard Solitaire, with a twist. Its basically a card game where cards are dealt out on the playing field in a certain arrangement. All the top cards will be placed face up. A pivot card is dealt at the bottom of the screen while the remaining cards in the deck is placed aside as your bank. The goal is to remove all the cards from the playing field before you run out of moves.

Removing a card is simple enough. A card is valid for removal if it is one point more or less than the current pivot card. For example, if your pivot card has a face value of ‘5′, either a ‘4′ or ‘6′ can be removed from the game field. Kings cycle to Aces in a loop and vice versa. This continues until you run out of moves, in which case you will draw a new pivot card from the bank. The joker plays as a wild card and can be connected to any other cards.

To help you with removing the cards, there are two special power up cards. These are the Fan card which blows a single face up card off the playing field. This is useful when you have a final few cards remaining to clear the level, or when you’re stuck and want to get under a particularly stubborn card. The second power up is the Reveal card. As the name suggests, this power card will show all the cards on the playing field face up until your next move. This is ideal for scouting the game field and strategies your approach, especially in the later levels. Power cards are limited, so use them carefully. Power cards will appear from time to time when you open a card from your bank. In order to collect the power card, you’ll have to successfully remove a card from the game field while the power card is in the pivot position.

There are over 70 different game levels and 2 different game modes. The card arrangements are different in every level. Also, the card placing are randomly generated, so you get a new game every time you replay a level. The levels are divided into stages, with each stage consisting of 5 normal levels and a challenge level. There are 12 stages in total in each game mode. The challenge level is different in that there aren’t any spare cards placed in a bank deck. Instead, you get three pivot cards placed face up. The goal is still the same, which is to clear the game field using the available pivot cards. Plan this one carefully, as one bad move might send you into a dead end.

Don’t worry, if you ever get stuck in a level. You are allowed to replay the level. However, a loss will be recorded in your progress for that particular level. Score is kept for wins and losses. Challenge yourself to get a perfect score.

As you progress through the stages, you’ll be taken through the islands of Hawaii. Each level will unfold some juicy tidbits about the islands, the volcanoes, and a bit of Hawaii’s history and attractions. Read these in the progress map and learn some interesting trivia in the process.

To get some extra play time from the game, refer to Boredworkers.com’s Game of the Week for the recommended downloads and follow the instructions below:

• Download both recommended files.
• Install Aloha Tripeaks.
• Uncompress the crack archive to the installation directory.
• Locate and run [Aloha TriPeaks 1.0.1.4 Patch.exe].
• Click [Patch] to apply the necessary updates.
• Start the game and enjoy the extra play.

Disclaimer:
The author does not condone piracy. If you find that you enjoy the game after playing it for a bit, do purchase the license. Good work should be given its due.