"It's free, it's fun, and you don't have to shuffle."

Windows comes with free games when you get it. Basic games, card games and minesweeper, but they can be pretty fun nonetheless. Among the card games in mine were Hearts, FreeCell, and Solitaire. Normally I wouldn't learn to play Solitaire. Where's the fun in shuffling up a deck and setting the cards up, when there's a chance you won't be able to win anyway? But with a computer, one click and you're ready to go. So why not? In a nutshell, in Solitaire the cards are shuffled into several piles. You have to flip them over, and sort them by color and number, starting with the aces and moving down. It's more complicated than that, of course, but it's pretty easy to learn. I shouldn't have to explain it anyway! ...well, onto the review.

Graphics - 8 out of 10. Hey, it's a card game. I don't expect much. The cards look like a regular deck of cards. Nothing fancy. You do get to choose the backs of the cards, and some are pretty neat. Especially my favorite, a hand holding three aces, while the fourth randomly slips up from the sleeve. You have a basic green background. There's nothing much in the way of animiation, sans the aforementioned fourth ace and a nice little sequence if you win the game. For most other games, pretty boring graphics, but well down for solitaire.

Sound - There isn't any sound. Aww. I would have liked a cheesy little tune for background music, and the sound of flipping cards. Oh well.

Story - Evil aliens from another planet have captured a brilliant scientist and are forcing him to... oh, forget it.

Control/Gameplay - 10 out of 10. Some of the easiest controls you'll ever come across. Click on the back of cards to flip them over. Click and drag to move them. Click to send them up with their family in whatever suit they're from. If you have problems with the controls, you've got a problem. As for the gameplay, it's easy to learn, and you're not going to forget how to play the game. The best thing about it is you can just open it up when you've got fifteen minutes to kill and play a few games. Not a game you need to involve yourself in very deeply.

Replay Value - 10 out of 10. As I said before, got time to kill? Play a round of Solitaire. It's a lot quicker and easier than actually using a real deck of cards. Especially if you're lazy like me. You can change the scoring method, make it a timed game, change the number of cards you can draw, etc. And there's an ''undo'' option, which is nice if you're in a rush and pass up a card you wanted to use.

Overall Score - 9 out of 10. It's the perfect game to play to kill time. It's not difficult. It doesn't take long. It's not very involving, etc. I even play it when I'm not looking to kill time once in awhile. And you don't even to have to go out and buy this game... you've probably already got it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/00, Updated 07/10/00