I’ve always said that I’m not a fan of computer games. Well, that’s kind of a half-truth, although I am against the majority of the computer games out there. However, I’m a little more favorable towards some of the games out there that help you unwind and actually take advantage of that big glob in your head called your brain. I’ve already reviewed one or two of these this past month, and today will throw out one more.
I may not be a big fan of Windows, but I do know that it comes with a pretty nice Solitaire game built-in. Chess was all that Apple seemed to be able to muster up for Mac OS X, which is why before I went to Los Angeles this past weekend, I decided to see if I could Google up a good and free solitaire application for Mac OS X. My result was a nifty little app called Solitaire XL.
Solitaire XL is the same Klondike game you’re used to on Windows and many other Solitaire applications, and it doesn’t come with any other solitaire games to play. Still, it’s a pretty nice game to play. It has some nice 3D OpenGL-based effects during game play, and the way those cards flip really gives a nice, real feeling to the game. The application itself only has one brushed metal window which is where the deck/discard pile sits–the rest of the cards float above whatever is behind it. However, the window is the way that you can reposition the game on the screen, and if Solitaire XL is not your foremost application, the rest of the game will hide itself until you bring Solitaire XL to the front again.
However, Solitaire XL does have some available options, such as allowing you to choose between two animation styles (it calls them “Stretch” and “Cut”), change the backside design of the card, set a background to the game if you want, set the animation speed, and even turn on a variation of the game that only turns over one card in the discard pile, instead of the traditional three.
Solitaire XL also can keep score of the game. I didn’t know there was any kind of “score” for Klondike, but the way Solitaire XL keeps score is it adds nine points any time you add a card to the set of suits up at the top (anyone know a name for those stacks?), and subtracts one point each time you draw from the deck. It can then send your scores to its online high-score database, although it has had some difficulty loading properly for me. The only slight detraction from the app is the small unobtrusive ad that pops up when you quit the game, but again, this is freeware.
All in all, if you’re looking for a decent Klondike Solitaire game for Mac OS X, Solitaire XL is a pretty good OS X adaptation of the classic card game available for download at no cost. Now if only someone could figure out a way to help me win it more often. 
Final Rating: 
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