Editors’ Choice Games

May 2020

Undersea Solitaire Tripeaks

Review by Angie Kibiloski

Undersea Solitaire Tripeaks, by Plarium, is a fun new town-building card game.  You’ll need to win hands of Tripeaks style Solitaire, to earn currency and help Alfred the Crab rebuild his underwater town of Rocky Bottom, recently destroyed by a sea storm.  This title takes the same environment customization model of your typical mansion, garden, or cafe builder, but pairs it with strategic Solitaire hands, with varying goals and challenges, instead of mindless Match-3 levels.  I’d much prefer to spend time thoughtfully playing hands of cards than staring at endless grids of jewels or candies.  Add to that the cute sea creatures that need help, and this game is a hit.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tripeaks Solitaire, it’s a very simple game to play.  Simply choose face up cards in the playing field that are either one number up, or one number down, from the face-up card in your draw pile.  So, if your draw card is a 3, you’ll need to find either a 2 or a 4 on the field to pick up.  Once there’s no more ascending or descending cards to pick, you’ll draw a new card from the pile.  The goal is to clear the playing field before you run out of draw cards.  This app adds some obstacles, bonuses, and boosters to the action, to make the game a bit more challenging, and have some variety from level to level.  Some of the obstacles you’ll see are cards that need to be picked up before they explode, or cards that are trapped under a net and need to be freed with an extra match, or whole sections of cards hidden underneath a lock, which needs a special key card to clear.  Examples of bonuses and boosters are Joker cards that can stand-in for any card, whirlwinds that will sweep multiple cards from the board, and a lightening strike that will clear all traps as the appear on the field.  You’ll also win bonus cards when you play a run of 5 or more cards without having to draw, and you can exchange in-game currency for extra moves or to undo a move you made by mistake.

As you win each hand, you’ll earn gold and crystals.  The gold can be used during the hands, but the crystals are just for your city renovations.  Alfred the Crab will ask you to exchange one of more crystals to complete each task, which could be clearing debris or garbage from the sea floor, helping one of the other fishy residents of Rocky Bottom with a problem, or choosing which color or style a new piece of renovation or decoration will be.  The colors and style of the seascape are fun, and the characters are adorable.  Often with this genre of games, I find the remodeling to be the least exciting part, but I find myself not only enjoying decorating my watery town, but taking the time to read the dialogue between my new aquatic friends too.

Undersea Solitaire Tripeaks just came out last month, so there’s sure to be even more fun to come in future updates, like limited time events and holiday decorations.  If you like playing cards, and you enjoy arranging customized little towns, you’re sure to have fun spending some time in Rocky Bottom with Alfred and his pals.  Plus, since many of us are spending a lot of time inside these days, a virtual trip under the animated sea might be just the thing to brighten your day.  It’s free, so why not check it out for Android or iOS right now?