Review courtesy of treonauts and PocketGoddess:
Although games do not take center stage on my Treo they are nonetheless a welcome bonus during idle moments and I like to keep a collection of ‘classics’ at hand such as cards, dice, word and board games of various kinds.
After some thorough ‘idle time testing’, I recently added Eric’s Blackjack to my permanent collection.
Eric’s Blackjack ($14.95) by Sniderware is one of the most elegantly designed card games that I’ve come across with superb graphics, animation, sounds as well as customizable play features that has repeatedly had me glued (sometimes hours on end) trying to recoup my losses (as opposed to counting my winnings…).
The layout is simple and straightforward with the croupier position at the top of the screen and your own hand at the bottom while the center section will display a banner for play messages as well as statistics.
A new table opens with $1,000 in chips but you can add to this in $100 or $500 increments. Playing chips are available in $100, $25, $5 and $1 and the maximum bet is set at $500. I particularly like the ‘Casino Options’ which among others allow you to select the number of decks (between 1 and 8) as well as the ‘depth’ to shuffle (from 30% to 70%) – where various combinations make for significantly different Blackjack ‘strategies’.
Each hand provides you with the option to Double, Hit or Stand and also to Split up to two times with pairs. Accessing each of these options is made easy thanks to full 5-Way nav button support which also makes Eric’s Blackjack particularly attractive for playback on my Treo.
Probably the only feature request that I would have for Eric’s Blackjack would be the ability to add one or two ‘virtual’ players as being the only one losing repeatedly against the croupier can at times prove somewhat demoralizing even if I am only playing with virtual dollars…
On another note, I am still looking for that perfect Chess and Backgammon application so please let me know if you happen to have found one that you like.
I’ve come to have very high expectations for Eric Snider’s games, and Blackjack certainly doesn’t disappoint. The graphics are beautiful, as always, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more realistic “card shuffling” sound in any electronic game. What I like the most though are the little touches throughout that mark this incarnation of a casino favorite as a true Eric Snider original. For starters, it looks like you’re playing at an actual Vegas table, instead of staring at a generic background. You can see the cards in their holder and you tap on chips at the bottom of the screen to place your bets, instead of generic number buttons.
All of the regular options are here, just as you would expect— you can split your cards, or double your bet, or buy insurance if it looks like the dealer is going to hit Blackjack. All of your statistics show up on the middle of the screen; the game tracks everything from the number of hands played to your win/loss ratios, profit (or loss!) and the average return on each bet you place. On the Preferences menu you can set up how you want the game to look by choosing whether or not you want sound effects, animation, message bar statistics, and totals for your hand. You also have some control over the rules with the ability to set casino options regarding whether or not insurance is offered, allowing doubles after a split, the number of decks in play at one time, and the depth (which controls the number of hands played before the dealer shuffles again).
If you like blackjack, you’ll probably love Eric Snider’s Blackjack. You might also want to try some of his other games, such as Eric Snider’s Solitaire and Eric Snider’s Video Poker. The game requires 315K of space on your Palm OS handheld and works with a wide variety of devices. It’s simply stunning on my Tapwave Zodiac, and Treo owners will be glad to know that with the advanced five-way navigation they won’t even need a stylus to play! Eric Snider’s Blackjack is $14.95 and is available now from the SniderWare web site.
Although games do not take center stage on my Treo they are nonetheless a welcome bonus during idle moments and I like to keep a collection of ‘classics’ at hand such as cards, dice, word and board games of various kinds.
After some thorough ‘idle time testing’, I recently added Eric’s Blackjack to my permanent collection.
Eric’s Blackjack ($14.95) by Sniderware is one of the most elegantly designed card games that I’ve come across with superb graphics, animation, sounds as well as customizable play features that has repeatedly had me glued (sometimes hours on end) trying to recoup my losses (as opposed to counting my winnings…).
The layout is simple and straightforward with the croupier position at the top of the screen and your own hand at the bottom while the center section will display a banner for play messages as well as statistics.
A new table opens with $1,000 in chips but you can add to this in $100 or $500 increments. Playing chips are available in $100, $25, $5 and $1 and the maximum bet is set at $500. I particularly like the ‘Casino Options’ which among others allow you to select the number of decks (between 1 and 8) as well as the ‘depth’ to shuffle (from 30% to 70%) – where various combinations make for significantly different Blackjack ‘strategies’.
Each hand provides you with the option to Double, Hit or Stand and also to Split up to two times with pairs. Accessing each of these options is made easy thanks to full 5-Way nav button support which also makes Eric’s Blackjack particularly attractive for playback on my Treo.
Probably the only feature request that I would have for Eric’s Blackjack would be the ability to add one or two ‘virtual’ players as being the only one losing repeatedly against the croupier can at times prove somewhat demoralizing even if I am only playing with virtual dollars…
On another note, I am still looking for that perfect Chess and Backgammon application so please let me know if you happen to have found one that you like.
I’ve come to have very high expectations for Eric Snider’s games, and Blackjack certainly doesn’t disappoint. The graphics are beautiful, as always, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more realistic “card shuffling” sound in any electronic game. What I like the most though are the little touches throughout that mark this incarnation of a casino favorite as a true Eric Snider original. For starters, it looks like you’re playing at an actual Vegas table, instead of staring at a generic background. You can see the cards in their holder and you tap on chips at the bottom of the screen to place your bets, instead of generic number buttons.
All of the regular options are here, just as you would expect— you can split your cards, or double your bet, or buy insurance if it looks like the dealer is going to hit Blackjack. All of your statistics show up on the middle of the screen; the game tracks everything from the number of hands played to your win/loss ratios, profit (or loss!) and the average return on each bet you place. On the Preferences menu you can set up how you want the game to look by choosing whether or not you want sound effects, animation, message bar statistics, and totals for your hand. You also have some control over the rules with the ability to set casino options regarding whether or not insurance is offered, allowing doubles after a split, the number of decks in play at one time, and the depth (which controls the number of hands played before the dealer shuffles again).
If you like blackjack, you’ll probably love Eric Snider’s Blackjack. You might also want to try some of his other games, such as Eric Snider’s Solitaire and Eric Snider’s Video Poker. The game requires 315K of space on your Palm OS handheld and works with a wide variety of devices. It’s simply stunning on my Tapwave Zodiac, and Treo owners will be glad to know that with the advanced five-way navigation they won’t even need a stylus to play! Eric Snider’s Blackjack is $14.95 and is available now from the SniderWare web site.