Solitaire FunPak is a collection of 12 card games released for the Game Boy.
This bundle includes Poker, Klondike, Scorpion, Golf, Aces Up, Stone Wall, TriPeaks, Pyramid, Cruel, Canfield, Florentine, and FreeCell.

Technical Information

Developer: Beam Software
Publisher: Interplay Entertainment
Release Date: 1994

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the Game as a Whole

Graphics and UI

All right, I have to admit, the art team pulled off a miracle here. The Game Boy’s screen is tiny, yet it’s surprisingly easy to read the card numbers and suits.
I’m not saying that makes the game enjoyable, but it does make it perfectly playable.
The monochrome graphics, however, make the experience extremely tiring on the eyes. In that regard, I definitely prefer Super Solitaire!

The interface is intuitive. It’s very easy to start a game, return to the main menu, switch between game modes, and so on.
This version doesn’t include instructions explaining how to play each game (I assume they’re in the manual), so if you’re unfamiliar with any of them, you’ll need to learn the rules beforehand.

Before each game, an illustration inspired by its name is displayed. They’re different from the ones in the SNES version, and I thought they were a really nice touch!

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

There are only two music tracks, and they’re nothing special. To be honest, they become pretty boring after a few hours of gameplay.

Gameplay

I love card games, so of course I had to give this collection a try. 😀
This version is simpler than the SNES release, but that’s completely understandable, after all, it’s a Game Boy game.

I decided to earn every RetroAchievements achievement, but I have to admit, this challenge isn’t for everyone! Hahahaha
Some of these games took me hours and hours to beat. Aces Up was by far the toughest one.

I also noticed that some of the games have slightly different rules. For example, in Florentine, you can go through the deck multiple times, whereas in Super Solitaire you can only do it once. In Aces Up, you can’t redeal the same game after losing. To do that, you have to redeal before making your final move.

I’m not sure why the developers changed these details, but I don’t really mind. In the end, it feels like a more forgiving version of the game.

Replayability and Game Retention

Honestly, I can’t recommend this game. And it’s not because it’s a bad game, the problem is that the visuals just aren’t very user-friendly. There’s simply too much information squeezed into a monochrome screen with such a small resolution.
If this were the only game I had to play, I’m sure I’d have a great time with it. But nowadays there are much better alternatives (hellooo, SNES and Game Gear versions!).

The only reason I mastered it is because I genuinely love card games. It took me 41 hours… and I have no intention of doing it again! Haha