PokerTris is a great remake of an NES game called Super Square Deal that only saw the light of day in Japan under the title Great Deal. Actually, I am not sure whether it is a remake or not, since the author doesn't mention Super Square Deal anywhere in the game. If he did come up with the concept independently of DTMC, the company behind SSD, then I hope he accepts my sincerest apologies for being skeptical ;) So what is PokerTris? As the name suggests, it is a neat combination of Poker and Tetris. Cards drop from the top of the screen and stack up on the bottom. When you make a valid Poker hand (e.g. two pairs, flush, etc.), the cards are removed from the board. A hand will count whether it's facing horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The speed the cards drop gradually increases as you progress from level to level, and sometimes you will have to deal with a partially filled board at the start of the round. With a unique take on Tetris, pleasant graphics, and an intuitive Windows interface, PokerTris is a great coffee break game. Thumbs up! Reviewed by: Underdogs |