SCRIPTURE SOLITAIRE

Genre: Christian
Christian Rating: 5 of 5
   (nothing offensive)
Gameplay: 4 of 5
   (good)
Violence: 5 of 5
   (none)
Adult Content: 5 of 5
   (none)

Like most things in life, it's very typical for gamers to develop preferences much as we do with foods, music and movies. You have those that like sports games, those that like shooters, role-playing, strategy, sims, etc. My wife is one of those gamers with an adamant taste. She is one of those wild, uncontrollable solitaire players. She finds little else useful with a computer but does love her solitaire. The high point of her computing life was when I purchased a hand-held Windows CE device. She can now take her solitaire anywhere, and usually does. It's a before bed, in the car, during the commercials, in the bathroom “pastime”. I never shared or understood her interest in this sedate, simple game until now!

“Scripture Solitaire” (SS) is a unique set of variations of the single player favorite designed for the PC from the folks at Inspired Idea. Instead of using numbered cards, the cards in SS are labeled with sections of bible verses; hence the title. The game comes with seven types of solitaire games. Each of the games requires the player to stack cards up in sequence to complete the verse in some challenging fashion.

There is the classic Klondike with seven cards across and a “flip the top card from the deck” form of play. There is the newer FreeCell, the toughest game in the bunch, requiring lots of concentration and skill at manipulating the cards in the order that will allow you to complete the verses. My personal favorite is Checkerboard, a concentration style game where you have piles of cards with half up and half down and you have to alternate moving cards around and flipping them over to make your matches. In addition, there are several other fun games such as Noah's Ark where the cards are laid out in the shape of Noah's boat and you can “store” your cards in the hold for use as you need and His Yoke is Easy which is, well, easy but a very effective way to work on memorizing verses.

The many options that come with SS make it all the more valuable and fun. While it comes with several sets of verses, you have the ability to create more of your own. While it could be bible verses you are working on, it could just as well be any other group of facts or figures you are trying to commit to memory. You simply have to create a plain ASCII, *.txt file (I used Notepad) with the phrase or facts broken down into 13 elements or sections and save it to the SS verses folder. Each line of the file is treated as a different set of cards and you can work your way through them, memorizing as you play. You can select the verse collection (the file), current verse you want displayed (each line), and how you want to rotate through each one (same one, random). This is one of the neat and most useful features of the game. I plan to work on birthdays and anniversaries myself in the near future!

Other features that are fun include the card and screen backgrounds you can choose, the hint system and the sounds that can accompany your game play. All these elements make this much more than a regular solitaire game, but a rich and customizable experience that can help teach as well as entertain.

Now as the salesman might say, "But, that's not all folks!" “SS” also contains an impressive set of “extras” on the CD that really make this a valuable addition to your Christian PC library. Included on the CD is "The Sword Project". I had not heard of this freeware bible study tool but it is becoming one of my favorites. Packed with seven bibles, eleven references, and a powerful yet easy to use search engine, it's a terrific reference for all those interested in studying God's word. Also included are several MP3 music files that are nice to listen to as you play the game, and the art used on the cards that can be placed on your desktop as your background. I especially like the sheep that look comical and always elicit a comment. It's a nice opportunity to witness.

Year of Release—2000

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