Tom's Verdict
💜 Solitaire Kingdom In Chains turned out to be a lovely surprise. At its heart this is still Solitaire, so if you've played plenty of card games you'll immediately understand the basic idea, but there's enough built around those familiar mechanics to make working through the kingdom feel like much more than simply playing one disconnected hand after another.
🃏 I particularly enjoyed the way the difficulty develops. The first ten levels are fairly straightforward and give you plenty of opportunity to understand how everything works. Levels 11 through 14 then start asking a little more from you, and I found myself having to properly consider which cards I removed and when I should use the upgrades available to me.
The storyline was another pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to become particularly interested in what was happening behind a Solitaire game, but having characters, a kingdom to travel through and an ongoing reason for completing the levels gave the whole experience considerably more personality.
🎵 It helps that Solitaire Kingdom In Chains is also a very pleasant game to sit and play. I really like the appearance of the decks and the overall presentation, while the relaxing background music suits the slower pace wonderfully. It's the sort of game I can imagine opening when I'm in the mood to quietly work through a few levels without wanting something demanding all of my attention.
There are a couple of areas where some of the UI can be difficult to read because the transparency is a little too strong, and I've already passed that feedback on to the developer. It didn't stop me enjoying the game, but making those elements a little clearer would certainly improve the presentation.
😈 Then I reached Level 15.
I'd already encountered and beaten the earlier mini-bosses, so I understood what the game wanted from me. Level 15 was simply on another level altogether. I must have attempted that particular encounter somewhere around twenty times and I never really felt as though I got close to beating it.
That exposed the one part of the experience I found frustrating. Solitaire naturally contains an element of luck and I have absolutely no problem with that, but during this boss encounter it sometimes felt as though whether I had a realistic chance of winning was being decided by the cards I was given rather than the decisions I made.
I don't mind losing because I've made a mistake or failed to spot the right move. In fact, figuring out what I did wrong is part of the fun. It's considerably more frustrating when I feel as though there wasn't much I could have done differently.
🧠 Importantly, though, Level 15 hasn't made me want to stop playing Solitaire Kingdom In Chains. Quite the opposite. I eventually ended the session because twenty attempts was enough for one sitting, but the game is staying in my library and I fully intend to return to it.
At some point the cards will fall my way, I'll work out whatever I've been missing, or some combination of the two will finally happen.
And when it does, that boss and I have unfinished business.
🃏 What I'm left with overall is an attractive and relaxing Solitaire game with plenty of levels, enjoyable progression, useful upgrades and considerably more personality than I initially expected. The difficulty can spike and the inherent randomness becomes more noticeable during the tougher encounters, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the journey so far.
Most importantly, I want to carry on.
💜 For me, Solitaire Kingdom In Chains earns a Tom Recommends.
Game Screenshots
Watch My Gameplay
Prefer to see Solitaire: Kingdom in Chains in action? Watch my gameplay video to see how the game plays before reading my full verdict.
Why I Liked This Game
- ✅ 🃏 Familiar Solitaire with more to it — The core card game is immediately accessible, while upgrades, progression, bosses and the wider adventure give me plenty of reasons to keep playing.
- ✅ 🎵 Lovely relaxing atmosphere — The gentle background music works wonderfully with the slower pace and makes this an easy game to settle down with for a quiet session.
- ✅ 🎨 Attractive presentation — I really like the appearance of the cards, decks and backgrounds, with plenty of visual variety to unlock as I progress.
- ✅ 📖 An enjoyable little storyline — Having characters and an adventure developing alongside the Solitaire gives the individual levels more purpose and personality than I expected.
- ✅ 📈 Well-paced early progression — The first ten levels ease me comfortably into the game before levels 11–14 begin asking me to think more carefully about my moves.
- ✅ ✨ Useful upgrades and abilities — Having additional tools available introduces another layer of decision-making beyond simply playing whichever card happens to be available.
- ✅ 🗺️ Plenty to work through — With lots of levels, bosses and unlockables ahead, there's enough here to keep me returning whenever I'm in the mood for some Solitaire.
- ✅ 💜 It makes me want to come back — Even after being thoroughly defeated by Level 15, my reaction wasn't to uninstall the game. It was to start wondering how I'm eventually going to beat the bloody thing.
What I Didn't Like In This Game
- ❌ 🎲 Boss encounters can become too dependent on luck — Solitaire will always involve luck of the draw, but Level 15 sometimes left me feeling that I simply hadn't been given a realistic opportunity to win, regardless of the decisions I made.
- ❌ 👁️ Some UI elements are difficult to read — A little too much transparency in a few areas can make information harder to see than it needs to be. I've already passed this feedback on to the developer.
