User Reviews (1 - 11 of 41)

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Horrendously poor gameplay -- inexplicably bad

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 25 / 38
Date: April 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was sorely disappointed by this game. One star is really too much for the game, but it's the lowest I'm allowed to give. I purchased it primarily to play double-deck pinochle, but I thought some other games might be fun, too.

I don't consider myself to be a master of cards, but the gameplay is so poor that it's almost unplayable. Your partner has no idea how to recognize a meld bid. For some mysterious reason, your partner begins bidding you up by fives (or fifties, since Hoyle multiplies all scores by ten for some reason) when it is just the two of you bidding. Leadbacks during play are pointless.

I used to have a pinochle game in which I could change the settings: how to respond to a meld bid; how to play under various circumstances, et cetera. In this case, your options are essentially "Easy" (your opponents play intentionally trying to lose); "Normal" (there's no team play, but at least no one is randomly throwing a second ace on a trick); or "Hard" (in which the primary difference seems to be that you and your partner are out-melded by roughly 200 points every hand.)

I also played some euchre. For reasons that are not clear to me, the game doesn't follow the rules! Playing the highest trump in a trick does not necessarily take the trick.

The graphics/animations/music are roughly 5-8 years from being current. I could tolerate that if the play were better. First of all, you're playing cards: how much animation do you need? Second of all, it's from Hoyle. You'd think above all else they'd have the rules and gameplay down, even if the presentation was a little dated.

Overall, this was a terrible disappointment. I paid $20. It wouldn't have been worth it in the $3.99 bin. Oh, well. I should have looked here first. Don't make the mistake I made!

Sadly, since it has Hoyle's name on it, I am sure it will sell well.

Laptops and Tables are NOT Supported

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 23 / 33
Date: January 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I travel a great deal, so I purchased this product to use while I'm sitting in airports and hotel rooms. My issue was that I don't travel with a CD player, so I couldn't load the disc as the program starts. When I called their technical support, they told me that (a) that copy protection can't be circumvented and (b) laptop and tablet devices are not supported by their product.

To quote from their support site at: http://support.encoreusa.com/product.asp?id=2091, "(2) Laptops not supported"

So for me the game is absolutely useless.

Bridge is Terrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: July 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game package so I would be able to improve my Bridge skills and I very disappointed. The bids (opening and responding) made no sense at all -- even for a novice. An example -- an opening bid of 2 NT with 10 points and a six card suit.

I would like to give the package a rating of minus 5 stars but that is not allowed. Net -- I would not buy this package again.

disappointed

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 16
Date: March 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Unfortunately, I was unable to load this cd on my desktop system because it informed me that the cd was for hand held devices. I really would like to purchase a hoyle cd like this one that I could load on my desktop computer. Any suggestions?
Thank you, Lavern Rice

Hoyle Card Games 2005

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: September 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Will not work on my computer. No help from designer. Waste of money.

Don't waste your money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Most of the people involved with programing this game seem to have been dedicated to making it as irritating, unenjoyable and predictable as possible. Solitaire seems to consist of anly a few variations; only the values of the cards dealt change. After a while you come to know which game you'll win. In poker the players do really clever things like check with a straight and raise with high card.

Hoyle Card Games 2005

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: September 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The content of the program is good - a lot of good games - easy enough to use. HOWEVER, the software has some bugs in it. The proper number of cards is not always dealt correctly to the players. The biggest problem is in the game of Spades. Consequently the game being played cannot be completed. I have used the repair function but it has not solved the problem

Lots of fun, but lots of system errors

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: October 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have owned Hoyle card games for years and I have always enjoyed them, but I have never had so many technical issues before, especially on the Cribbage game and then also on Hearts. (I saw one reviewer has had problems on Spades, but this has always worked for me.) Customer Support is of no help. They told me my system was too old (although it did have the minimum system requirements). When I got my new computer, it stil didn't work. I am so waiting for the new version to come out and hoping that the bugs will have been worked out!

Could be a lot better

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: September 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

There are several programming errors. As an example it doesn't save
the settings consistently so you will have to constantly reset it to your preferences. The game play is below average and there are not enough game specific options. For a simple card game program that Hoyle has updated for many years, it falls short in quality. I expected a much more refined product. My suggestion is to look elsewhere.

Not so good....

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The games we bought this for are Hearts, Spades, and Rummy. The first two have opponents / partners who play very poorly - we're amazed in Spades how your partner cuts you as much as your opponents and they can't play nil hands!! In Rummy the oppoenent ALWAYS gets three Kings - never lay one down.

The worst part of the game is the mouse buttons. You cannot change them and they're backwards! Also you have to drag the cards to lay out (in Rummy), not quick way to do so, and if you dont place them exactly where the box is they return to your hand.

Overall very frustrating and mildly entertaining. With a little more effort and a programmer / designer who had actually played the games this could have been good.

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