Price: $1.99

Publisher: Double Apps

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Pounce in iPhone/iPod Touch card game that is tough for me to describe.  Mostly because the rules of the game are a little complex and describing card games has never been my forte, even in person.  Nevertheless, I’ll do my best and tell you that first off, the game is a mix of speed and solitaire.  It also might be worth mentioning that the general guidelines of the game are extremely similar to other card games with different names including Nertz, Stits, Nerts, Nerks, Dooker, Canfield, Crunch, Nirts, Nerf, Gluck, “Blitz”, Maxcards, Peanuts, Popeye, Snerds, Solitaire Frenzy, Scrub, Stop, Squeal, Squeak, Squid, Squinch, Swish, Racing Demon, Race Horse Rummy, Lucky Thirty, Grouch, Hell, Hallelujah, Hoorah, Mertz, Moofles, Flip Flip, Knertz, Nuts, Nutz, Nutsy, Double Dutch Bus, Snatch, and Nerds (this is according to Wikipedia).

A single player game begins with you choosing how many computer opponents you would like to play against.  You can add up to 4 opponents and for each one choose a separate difficulty setting.  The more computers you add, the more complex the game will be so if this is the first time playing, I recommend you start with only one.  Better yet, try out the built in tutorial which gives you a pretty good idea of the actual rules of the game.  The game also offers multiplayer mode which allows you to play with friends in the same room as you via Bluetooth.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try this out.

The actual game itself is very intense.  The actual setup of your cards involves you having 6 piles.  Four piles are face up and each of those piles has a single card.  These are the four piles you are trying to get rid of.  On the left of those four piles is a draw deck.  If you are able to play one of the cards in your four piles in the middle, you use the draw deck and put the new card you draw back into the pile you just emptied.  If you are able to completely use all of the cards in the draw deck you can shout POUNCE and the round is over.  You receive a ton of points for getting a POUNCE and you also receive points for playing individual cards in the middle.  The final pile of cards in on the right side of you.  This pile allows you to flip through the leftover cards one at a time to see if you can move the game along.  You can play these cards off of the four piles of cards in front of you or in the middle if possible.  If all of this sounds incredibly complicated, it is.  The truth is that this game takes a bit of playing before you will get the hang of it.

If you really like games where you need to make split second reactions and enjoy playing against some fairly good competition, Pounce is a good choice.  The rules do eventually make sense but don’t go in expecting to just be able to pick it up and go unless you have played the game before on a real card table.

Overall Value for it’s $1.99 price point

Overall Value: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Graphics: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Sound: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Controls: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Price: $1.99

Publisher: Kuyi Mobile

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Card Drop is a playing card based game where the object is to stack your cards (the five cards at the bottom of your screen) onto four different moving cards. For example, you can either stack a 2 or a King on an Ace, or a 7 or a 9 on an 8.  You get points for the amount of cards you have added to the moving card, and get a multiplier bonus when that stack moves off the bottom of the screen.

Like most excellent iPhone and iPod Touch games, the idea is fairly simple; it’s the execution that makes the game worth playing.  In this case, it is the motion of the bottom card that adds to the difficulty.  The gameplay revolves around touching and dragging one of your five cards to the column with the appropriate bottom card. As the game goes on the bottom cards move faster, giving you less time to stack on new cards. If your card doesn’t stack, you will hear a BUZZ sound and the card will return to the bottom. If the card does stack you will hear a BING noise and a new card will replace the card you just stacked. You keep stacking cards until time runs out.

The graphics are minimal but effective for this type of game. On the other hand, the audio is kind of a letdown. The sound effects are nice, but the background music becomes annoying after a few minutes. As we often say in these reviews, it would be nice to have the option of using your iPhone or iPod Touch music catalog during the game.

There are a few unlockable achievements within the game. Some are pretty difficult, for example, “Get 30,000 points in a single game.” In my play time, I was lucky to get 7,600 points as a high score but I’m sure you will do much better. I probably just need some practice. Overall, Card Drop is a fun game with a simple objective and uncomplicated controls. The replay value is directly proportional to the type of gamer you are. I can see some people really liking the fast action of Card Drop, while others may get bored with its repetitious gameplay. Overall, I believe this game will be successful for the same reason Solitaire has stood the test of time.  It’s a good time waster at a good price with a fun gameplay mechanic.

Overall Value for it’s $1.99 price point

Overall Value: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Graphics: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Sound: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Controls: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars