Customer Reviews

HOYLE Card Games (2010) [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(56)

 

 

We have the Hoyle card game 2004 edition and we love it. So we were excited to buy the 2010 edition to update. We were so disappointed when we started to play it. The characters hardly talk at all, the cards are hard to see, and in Seven Card Stud poker game the words "check" or "call" are written right over the cards so you can't see the cards. You cannot see the pegs in the cribbage game, and the action can only be set as too slow or too fast in all the games with no medium speed. The game is only available in DvD, so unless you have a Dvd reader on your computer, don't buy it. It doesn't come in a CD. It is an absolute shame what Encore has done with such an incredible game as Hoyle.

This will probably be the last time I purchase a card game product from Hoyle unless the company makes some much needed changes. Hoyle needs to revert to the old 2008 format and give us different animated characters every year instead of the same ones year after year. Why does Hoyle insist its characters be so annoying? Jasper tells you that you had better sleep with one eye open if you challenge his remarks. Harley the bear tells you that you may wind up with a fish head in your bed. When you play Gin, even the usually supportive Chloe is obnoxious. If you challenge her comments, she might tell you, "Oh yeah! I hope you get shin splints!" A game like this should be light hearted, not so heavy handed. Sometimes, the characters say things that make no sense. What does Roswell the alien mean when he says, "Goodbye, Mr. Spalding"?

When you play Oklahoma Gin, it's important to remember the first upcard because that card determines the number of deadwood points you need to knock to end the hand. In the 2008 version of HCG, the first upcard is displayed prominently in the upper left hand corner, easy to read. In the 2010 version, the first upcard is displayed in the lower right hand corner but is virtually impossible to read. At the end of each hand in the 2010 version, you can see what cards your opponent had but you can't see what cards you had because the scoreboard covers them up. In the 2008 version, you can see your cards and your opponent's cards at the end of each hand without the scoreboard covering them up. In Oklahoma Gin it's traditional for the game to end after someone scores 150 points. Since spade hands signify double points, points accumulate more quickly than in regular Gin. In HCG, a game of Oklahoma Gin ends after only 100 points are scored, the same as in regular Gin.

When you play Hearts, it's important to try to play the Queen of Spades (13 points against your opponent) on the player with the lowest score. As in golf, the player with the lowest score in Hearts wins the game. The animated characters, however, are programmed to play the Queen at the first opportunity regardless of score. As a result, they often play the Queen on the player with the highest score. That makes no sense. The game should be fixed so that the characters can target the player with the lowest score.

The Hearts settings allow you to use alternate passing so that you pass three cards to a different player at the start of each new hand but there is also a no pass play where you don't pass to anyone. When I played hearts online at the now defunct Hoyle Sierra website, everyone I played with hated the "no pass" rule. I suggest Hoyle add an option that allows you to pass to a different player at the start of every hand. Yes, I know there is an option that allows you to always pass left but that means you are always passing to the same character. The 2008 version let you know in advance if you were passing to the right, left or across. In the 2010 version of HCG, unless you recall who you passed to in the previous hand, you have to pass blindly.

In Hearts, if you shoot the moon (capture the Queen of spades and all thirteen hearts), you score 26 points against the other players. Since the game ends once someone accumulates 100 points, that doesn't help if your score is 75, an opponent's is 90 and the low score is 42. I prefer an option that allows you to either add 26 points to your three opponent's score or else take 26 points off your own score. In earlier editions of this game, the characters would congratulate you if you shot the moon. Robin the forest ranger from Hoyle Games 5 could always be relied on for a shoot the moon comment. In the 2010, 2009,2008 and 2007 edition of HCG, the characters say nothing when you shoot the moon.

If you are more interested in playing cards online with real people rather than playing with animated characters, do not buy HCG 2010. It will not allow you to access the online card-playing site called Hoyle Royal Suite. HCG 2009 originally allowed you to access Royal Suite. Unfortunately, there were virtually no players on this website and Hoyle discontinued Royal Suite on September 30, 2010. Now you can't access it anymore even if you have HCG 2009. The site was pathetic in comparison to the wonderful five star Hoyle Sierra website that was discontinued in early 2009. When I asked Hoyle Online Customer Support why the website was dismantled, I was told, "The rights to use the gaming software and the underlying servers have expired and Activision has declined to renew these licenses." Funny how Activision didn't renew these licenses the very year Hoyle came out with its own card playing website.

Hoyle Royal Suite was a pathetic website but was better than all the other online card playing websites, that is, if you could find someone to play with. MSN, Yahoo, Hardwood Hearts and Hardwood Spades are even more pathetic than Hoyle Royal Suite, which says something about the sorry state of card-playing websites now that Hoyle Sierra is gone.

I recommend buying HCG 2008 instead of 2009 or 2010. The reviews of 2011 HCG are not encouraging.

Do not buy 2010 edition (I only use it for Bridge, so I speak only for Bridge games). As other reviewers mention, the play is slow and the cards are unnecessarily small. 2010 doesn't seem to have the "Review previous trick" feature which I found useful. Also, it takes several screens now to get to the game you want. Every card does a somersault as it is plays - monotonous and it slows the play. No matter what adjustments I make, the card movement is still jerky, like a defective video. Really amateur programming. Buy the 2008 version - it is 5 star!

I haven't played many of the games but I have played cribbage and euchre, the cribbage pegs are so small you can't even see them, they put the opponents crib behind their head, I have an early version of this game on another computer and the graphics were much better, in the euchre game you could have a good game if the characters would just shut up, but they talk about every card and the game stops until they shut up, its maddening, and boring, I would not recommend this new version of Holye Card Game to anyone

Graphics for large size cards were not correct. Size was incredibly tiny. Hoyle customer service was available online only with no help for the 2010 edition. Phone help was a continuous loop with no humans available. Very disappointing compared to other editions of Hoyle card games.

After seeing the reviews, I'll stick with 2008, however, I would like to say that it's very tiresome that with all the later versions I've bought, the same characters saying the same things gets really tiresome. I do miss Bart and Ethel from the earlier versions, but at least if you're going to pay for the new versions, there should be many different characters, or at least the characters saying completely different things.

Then you have the Spades game, even on expert setting, the players make the stupidest moves imaginable, especially on the nil bids. I won't be buying any more versions until the problems are addressed, including those stupid pop ups that continually ask you if you really want to quit the game. It's just so annoying. Maybe it's just me though.

I totally enjoyed the Hoyle Card Games -2005. To me it was perfect. The 2010 is so awful. Most games the cards must be dragged around instead of being able to just click. I loved Canasta most of all but it is impossible to enjoy with 2010 version. Also when playing spades you cannot put your cards in any kind of order other than what the computer does. Hate It!!!!

new version difficult for children to follow. card faces are to small to read comfortably., even when using a 19" monitor at full screen. would not recommend!

Buy the 2008 Hoyle Card Games for good card games, don't waste your money on the 2009 or 2010 versions. I think the 2008 and previous Hoyle Card Games are excellent.

The main reason I bought the new 2010 version was, in the 2008 version, the opening card sequences in the various games seem to repeat for the various characters. (eg: in pinochle, when captain scurvy is in position 1, the opening hands are the same each playing session; if captain scury is in position 2 the opening hands are different than when he was in position 1 but are always the same for this position) This is kinda annoying when the game is played every day but not bad when it is only played periodic. This was the same reason that I bought the 2009 version but it was horrible, the worst card game ever and I figured they would improve the 2010 after all the complaints but they did not listen, so I will be content playing the 2008 version and not buy any more made by ENCORE. I would give the 2008 version 4 stars / the 2009 version 0 stars / and only 1 star for 2010.

- The cards in 2009 were extremely small and hard to see --- the 2010 version is just a hair bigger.

- In Pinochle, the melds are not calculated for everyone (as was done in 2008) you have to calculate them yourself if you want to know what each player melds. Also, the double row of cards in your hand make it harder to play than the previous single layer.

- In Rummy 500, double clicking the card you want to discard no longer works, you must drag it to the discard pile. Cards are way too small and the hot spots for playing the cards on the table are hard to find.

- Hearts is the best game that I've played yet --- cards large enough for old eyes to see --- follows the accepted rules/options for passing. Only small problem here is there is no indication of which way you're going to pass as there was in 2008.

- In Cribbage, the pegging is so small you can hardly see where the peg is.

- In Klondike the cards are too small.

- In Gin the cards are on the small side.

- In Whist the cards are not sorted in your hand

Encore seems to be more interested in making fancy graphics / game environments than they do making a basic playable game(s). I will not buy more games made by Encore until I read good reviews here at amazon.

Try Reel Deal Card Games 2011 instead of this Hoyle package. These games fixed much of what Hoyle broke. The cards are large and easy to move. There is a good selection of games. The characters are amusing and not too annoying. Everything works - no bugs found so far.