Playfirst has recently published a new game called Poker Pop World Tour (download free trial here). Combining elements of poker with the gameplay style of a Mahjong tile game, it's a good example of how game companies (Say Design, Inc.) can create innovative new types of gameplay while still keeping the game small in size, simple to play, and attractive to the existing casual game audience.
Poker Pop is a tile matching game where the goal is to match neighboring cards to create poker hands (3 of a kind, flush, etc.) which score increasing points as the hand becomes more rare (5 of a kind is the hardest). The player needs to know only the very basics of poker hands, and there is a help section to give reminders about what the various terms are, but it's pretty simple. As one would expect, power ups begin to appear in later rounds (e.g. re-order the cards by suit to make flushes easier), and "peril" cards also show up, forcing the player to be creative about eliminating those cards before they cause problems, but the difficulty increases gradually, so there is a good learning curve.
There are 3 types of games, with the Tour option being the most relaxed one since there is no time limit, and the more advanced Challenge and Arcade modes introducing a timing element. The overall motif is a travel one, with 50 cities in 5 countries to visit, and as you create the set of required poker hands in each city, an attractive post card is unlocked, with a little information about the city on the back. The music matches the different countries, and the graphical look changes as well, creating colorful and interesting experience. In addition, achieving rare hands gives the player souvenirs from each country for the trophy case.
Verdict: Nicely done in so many ways with a new twist on gameplay, Poker Pop is absolutely worth trying.
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