As in FFVIII, there are many rules in Triple Triad Gold, but they are all based on the same goal: deal five battle cards, one at a time, on a 3x3 grid to overturn as many of your opponent's cards as possible (overturning changes the card to your color). When you overturn a card, it becomes yours for the duration of the game. The player with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner. The rule variants dictate when you can overturn a card. For example, under "Same" rules, when a card is placed adjacent to two or more cards, and the number values on any two sides of the other color are equal, all the cards touching the attacking card that are its opposite color are flipped. Under "Elemental" rules, if you place a card with an element symbol on a tile that's labeled with the same symbol, the values on all four sides of the card go up by one. If the element symbol does not match or if there is no symbol at all, the values will decrease by one instead. These rule variants keep the gameplay of Triple Triad Gold fresh and interesting, and you could combine a number of rules to try out different strategies.

This fanmade remake for Windows offers all the rules from FFVIII, a very polished look, all the cards with their graphics, and even a nice FFVIII-style card viewer. There are three different AI levels, although they do not offer much of a challenge. You can play against a friend in hot-seat mode, and the designer is currently working on a new version that will offer IPX and TCP/IP support. Whether or not you have played FFVIII before, you will enjoy Triple Triad Gold if you have even a passing interest in unique and fun card games. Recommended!