''Fairway Solitaire'', alternatively titled ''Fairway'' is a
casual video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
based on the classic
card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...
solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...
and developed by
Big Fish Studios
Big Fish Games is a casual gaming company based in Seattle, with a regional office in Oakland, California, owned by Aristocrat Leisure. It is a developer and distributor of casual games for Personal computer, computers and mobile app, mobile de ...
. The game is
digitally distributed and is available from
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a casual gaming company based in Seattle, with a regional office in Oakland, California, owned by Aristocrat Leisure. It is a developer and distributor of casual games for computers and mobile devices. It has been accused of ...
.
Gameplay
Fairway Solitaire presents players with a modified type of
solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...
with a
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
theme. In the game, players use
golf clubs
A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety ...
and playing cards to clear the table. The goal in Fairway Solitaire is to play through a collection of 70 courses with each course offering a different type of challenge. Once the challenge is met, the next course is unlocked and the player advances in the tournament. Players may be awarded trophies for accomplishing various tasks. Often they are rewarded along with in-game cash or prizes. In addition to the main tournament, daily challenges are available for players to win
trophies
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
. Players' scores are recorded and ranked against all other players on the same platform. Additionally, statistics are kept for each player and trophies are awarded for predefined achievements. Adding to the challenge of the game is a gopher, known as Gutsy McDivot, who will stop at nothing to get revenge on the golfers who killed his ancestor, Bravetooth. As the player progresses, cutscenes are shown of McDivot making a contraption he dubs the "Golfinator".
Each Fairway Solitaire course offers
water hazards and sand traps. Water hazards are special water cards which must be cleared from the board before the cards to its right are revealed. Sand traps are sand cards which are not revealed until the 'sand wedge' card is uncovered. Occasionally, a player will reveal an iron card. Iron cards have a specific golf club on them and act as magic playing cards without breaking the current drive. A person may play a club at any time to continue adding to a long drive. The clubs are restricted to the 2-9 irons. During Fairway Solitaire game play, wild cards are randomly revealed. One may choose to randomly select an event or pay to skip the risk. The cost to skip is either two cards or $300. These wild cards offer varying opportunities and challenges.
The Fairway Solitaire Club House has a golf shop wherein players can purchase equipment to help them during tournament play. The equipment assists the player during actual game play or during wild card play. Items may vary depending on gender. Handicaps which improve a player's performance on a course can be purchased in the shop with Golf bucks, an in-game currency that is earned through gameplay. Golf bucks can also be used to purchase additional courses for the game.
Development
The Mac version of ''Fairway Solitaire'' omits 'Solitaire' from the title, retitling it to just ''Fairway''.
A "completely rewritten" version of the Mac version titled ''Fairway Collector’s Edition'' was also released.
A port of ''Fairway Solitaire'' was planned as a launch title for the
Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone 8 is the second generation of the Windows Phone mobile operating system from Microsoft. It was released on October 29, 2012, and, like its predecessor, it features a flat user interface based on the Metro design language. It was su ...
, but was delayed for a year, ultimately releasing in 2013.
Reception
''Fairway Solitaire'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Multiple critics noted the game as 'strategic'.
''Kotaku'' called its game design as "clever", and ''
Pocket Gamer
''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. The site launched in 2005 and is published and owned by UK company Steel Media Ltd. The site covers all major portable and mobile gaming formats, incl ...
'' described the game's combination of golf and solitare as "inventive", calling it "hugely enjoyable" due to the "surprising amount of strategic opportunity" in its gameplay.
''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' noted it as "hopelessly addict
ng, and called it "a great puzzle game with a surprising amount of depth and strategy".
''
TouchArcade
''TouchArcade'' is a mobile video game website that launched in 2008. Arnold Kim of ''MacRumors'' worked on the site and its editor-in-chief was Eli Hodapp from 2009 to 2019.
''TouchArcade'' has been recognized as one of the best mobile game ...
'' also praised it as 'addicting', stating in regards to its gameplay that "what it lacks in difficulty it makes up for in sheer mindless entertainment".
''
Inside Mac Games
''Inside Mac Games'' (''IMG'') started in 1993 as an electronic magazine about Apple Macintosh computer gaming distributed by floppy disk, eventually becoming a website.
History
In 1992, Tuncer Deniz, who was unemployed, decided to create a maga ...
'' praised the amount of content in the game, stating that the game has a "great feeling of variety", but criticized the fact that the iOS version has features not present in the Mac version, such as daily courses and additional minigames. ''IMG'' praised the game's attention to detail, as well as itscartoony graphics and "funny" cutscenes, further expressing that "everything is beautifully drawn and animated". ''IMG'' noted the game's music, sound effects, and golf commentators as highlights of the game, saying that it has "the best voice work I've ever heard in a game".
During the
16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
nominated ''Fairway Solitaire'' for "Casual Game of the Year" and "
Mobile Game of the Year".
Legacy
In 2011, Big Fish Games released a sequel titled ''Fairway Fever'', a timed version of the game
released on Facebook, which was later made unavailable by 2013, and incorporated as an additional mode in the Mac version of ''Fairway''.
A second sequel, ''Fairway Solitaire Blast'', was released on April 3, 2014 for iOS & Android devices.
References
External links
*
* {{moby game, id=/fairway-solitaire, name=''Fairway Solitaire''
2007 video games
2012 video games
Android (operating system) games
Babaroga (company) games
Big Fish Games games
Casual games
IOS games
MacOS games
Patience video games
Single-player video games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Windows Phone games