Age of Solitaire

Age of Solitaire is a strategy card game that blends classic Klondike solitaire with civilization-building mechanics, set across various historical eras. Players complete solitaire challenges to construct and expand their civilizations, aided by helpful items like undo, hint, and magic to navigate increasingly difficult gameplay.

Age of Solitaire: A Critical Deconstruction of a Cosmetic Civilization

1. Introduction: The Solitaire Gambit

In the crowded ecosystem of mobile gaming, where the timeless appeal of solitaire is perpetually repackaged, Age of Solitaire (2017) presents a bold, if fundamentally disingenuous, proposition. Its title and marketing promise a fusion of two monumental gaming pillars: the deep, sweeping historical progression of Sid Meier’s Civilization series and the accessible, meditative cardplay of Klondike solitaire. This review argues that Age of Solitaire is not the grand hybrid it claims to be, but rather a competent, aesthetically pleasing solitaire game wrapped in a profoundly shallow and ultimately meaningless “civilization-building” veneer. Its legacy is not one of innovative design, but a stark case study in the mobile “gamification” of classic mechanics—prioritizing cosmetic progression and freemium monetization over substantive thematic or mechanical integration.

2. Development History & Context: The Rise of the Solitaire Specialists

Age of Solitaire was developed and published by Sticky Hands Inc. (also credited as Eggtart Inc.), a studio that, based on its portfolio and the MobyGames “Studio Portfolio” entry, has carved a niche in the casual and mobile market specializing in digital solitaire and card game adaptations. The studio’s history is not one of ambitious AAA development but of iterative refinement within a specific, profitable genre. The game was built in Unity, a standard engine for mobile projects, highlighting its design for broad platform compatibility—initially launching on Android (June 30, 2017) before seeing ports to iOS (July 24, 2017), Windows/Mac (2022), and Xbox consoles (2023).

The game emerged during the zenith of the “hyper-casual” and “casual+” mobile era, a period defined by simple, replayable core loops augmented by progression systems (often cosmetic) and supported by ads and in-app purchases (IAP). Age of Solitaire exemplifies this model. Its vision, as per the Steam store description, was to leverage the “proven fun” of classic solitaire and layer onto it “the excitement of constructing various civilizations.” However, the technological and design constraints of the mobile freemium market—where player retention and monetization are paramount—appear to have neutered any deeper integration. The “civilization” is not a system but a reward track, a visual payout for winning rounds of cards.

3. Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: The Illusion of History

Age of Solitaire possesses no narrative, characters, dialogue, or coherent plot. The concept of “building a civilization” is an abstract, context-less theme presented through a series of epochs (Stone Age, etc.). There is no story of a people, no leaders, no historical or mythological events. The theme is purely cosmetic and functional: winning a game of solitaire funds the construction of a generic, anachronistic structure (a fire, a village, a Ferris wheel) on a minimalist, top-down landscape.

This represents a thematic failure of immense proportions. The game’s title and the related “Far Kingdoms” series moniker (as noted in the Steam community) evoke a sense of epic historical or fantasy saga. Instead, the player is offered a completely ahistorical and a-narrative experience. Unlike genuine historical strategy games—from the Civilization series to Total War titles, which engage with specific eras, technologies, and figures—Age of Solitaire uses “civilization” as a bland synonym for “unlockable visual asset.” There is no engagement with the complexities, conflicts, or achievements of human history. The theme is a hollow shell, a marketing veneer that makes the solitaire gameplay feel less like a pastime and more like a menial task for abstract visual rewards, with the promised “story” of humanity reduced to a passive screensaver.

4. Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: Solitaire with a Side of Superficiality

The core gameplay is unambiguously classic Klondike Solitaire. As documented by 148Apps and the official description, the rules are standard: seven tableau rows, descending alternating color stacks, drawing three cards from the stock. The only mechanical deviations are three consumable “power-ups”:
* Undo: Revert the last move.
* Hint: Highlight a possible move.
* Magic: A vague term, likely for a more significant board manipulation.

These are not innovative integrations but standard quality-of-life features found in countless digital solitaire games, here gated behind a freemium monetization model. The primary “progression” system is a timer-based scoring mechanic. A clock runs during each game, and the score (presumably based on speed and efficiency) is converted into “civilization points” used to automatically place the next structure on the map.

The critical flaw is that this civilization-building is completely passive and non-interactive. As Campbell Bird of 148Apps brutally notes: “You don’t get to choose what you build, tapping on your structures doesn’t do anything, and you don’t seem to get any additional bonuses for the structures you have already built.” There is no strategic layer. The civilization does not provide resources, bonuses, or new challenges. It is a static Trophy Room that reacts to your solitaire wins. This divorces the theme from the gameplay entirely. You are not governing a civilization; you are merely decorating a backdrop for your solitaire victories. The “builder phase,” as Games.cz critic calls it, “doesn’t mean anything.”

The UI and technical execution are noted as problematic. Steam community discussions mention issues with the full-screen button requiring a reload, indicating a lack of polish. The interface is point-and-select, appropriate for the genre, but cluttered with persistent ads in the free version.

5. World-Building, Art & Sound: A Pretty Facade

Visually, Age of Solitaire is its strongest suit. The game features detailed, painted backgrounds for each “era” and attractively rendered card sets. The top-down civilization map is clean and colorful, with structures that, while generic, are visually distinct per epoch. This aesthetic polish is frequently praised, even in negative reviews (148Apps calls it a “pretty game”).

However, this art serves a empty purpose. The world is not a place to explore or interact with; it is a static diorama. The atmosphere is one of quiet solitude, fitting for solitaire, but completely at odds with the dynamic, epic connotations of “building a civilization.” There is no sense of growth, struggle, or history.

The sound design is minimal, primarily consisting of generic card sounds and pleasant, atmospheric background music. The Games.cz review specifically highlights the “amazing music,” suggesting it is a notable positive in an otherwise deficient package. Yet, without gameplay or narrative to support it, the music merely underscores the disconnect—a grand, peaceful score playing over a shallow mechanical diversion.

6. Reception & Legacy: Critical Consensus and Commercial Ambivalence

Age of Solitaire received overwhelmingly negative critical reception upon launch and maintains a poor standing. On Metacritic, it holds a Metascore of 40 based on two critic reviews (both from 148Apps and Games.cz). The consensus is firm: the game is a visually appealing solitaire variant fundamentally marred by its meaningless civilization wrapper and aggressive freemium monetization.

• 148Apps: “A version of Solitaire that is muddied with ads, consumable in-app purchases, and a relatively lifeless civilization-building visual layer… really hard game to recommend.”
• Games.cz: “A mobile solitaire proudly presents its builder phase. Not only this doesn’t mean anything, it is accompanied with a few more fundamental failures.”

User reception appears negligible, with no user reviews on Metacritic and only a handful of sparse Steam community discussions. The MobyGames entry notes it is “Collected By 2 players,” indicating extremely low visibility among enthusiasts.

Commercially, as a mobile free-to-play title, its performance is opaque. It likely found a modest audience among solitaire fans lured by the “civilization” hook, a classic mobile storefront tactic. However, its reputation within the core solitaire community seems poor, and it is not cited as influential. Its place in the broader gaming landscape is as a footnote in the “casual+” genre—a derivative product that exemplifies the trend of grafting shallow progression systems onto classic games primarily to create ad impressions and IAP opportunities.

It shares DNA with other “Far Kingdoms” solitaire titles (like The Far Kingdoms: Age of Solitaire from 2015, listed on MobyGames as a related game), suggesting it is part of a small, niche series of similarly themed card games. Its legacy is one of missed potential, reinforcing skepticism toward games that use grand historical or strategic terminology for what is essentially a simple card game with a UI skin.

7. Conclusion: A Civilization of One

Age of Solitaire is a paradox: a game whose title evokes the grandest strategy epics, but whose_content is exclusively about the solitary player’s relationship with a deck of cards. Technically, it succeeds as a functional, pleasant-looking implementation of Klondike solitaire. Thematically and mechanically, it fails catastrophically to deliver on its central promise. The “civilization-building” is not a game; it is a reward animation—aesthetic confetti for completing a card puzzle.

In the pantheon of video games that use history as a theme, Age of Solitaire resides at the very bottom. Unlike titles that simulate, romanticize, or critique historical processes (Civilization, Total War, Assassin’s Creed), it engages with the concept of civilization with the depth of a child’s sticker chart. It takes the profound, millennia-spanning story of human societal development and reduces it to a linear unlock tree triggered by card-matching.

Its final verdict in video game history is that of a curio and a cautionary tale. It is a curio for those studying the mobile gaming boom’s tendency to apply Skinner-box progression to any conceivable core loop. It is a cautionary tale about the dilution of meaningful theme in pursuit of a monetizable niche. For the solitaire purist, it is an acceptable, if ad-infested, way to play a classic game. For anyone expecting even a faint echo of the strategic depth or narrative sweep its name suggests, it is a profound disappointment. Age of Solitaire builds nothing of substance; it merely arranges cards on a table, then paints a picture of a kingdom next to them and calls it history.