Romance Is On The Cards: Regency Solitaire
Coming to Steam tomorrow
I would like to play a game about romance and balls (this kind of ball) in Regency England. Ideally, it'd make for a pleasant holiday destination, away from the interstellar wars and fantasy fighting that make up my working life. If such a game took the form of a Solitaire-based puzzle game, I'd be as happy as the folks in "ever after".
Imagine my delight when I saw that Regency Solitaire [official site], a game I've admired from afar with a certain Darcy-like faux-disdain, is now available on Steam.
Regency comes from the same stable as Fairway Solitaire, which has since become a cornerstone of Big Fish Games' library, most recently in the form of Fairway Solitaire Blast, which appears to have, sadly, gone down the darkest of free-to-play alleys ("In-app products: £0.58 - £79.13 per item").
That's not the work of Grey Alien Games though, creators of the original Fairway and Regency Solitaire. Regency is already available direct from the developer but the Steam release will by my excuse for analysing whether it is the perfect coffee break game. Given that I'm never without a cup of electric bean water, I'm capable of stretching a session with a good coffee break game across an entire day.
Here's what to expect:
Play your cards right as you tour historic locations, from stately homes and lavish gardens to the fashionable towns of London, Brighton and Bath. Decorate the family ballroom to unlock gameplay features and improve Bella’s chances of finding true love!
Avoid the clutches of the odious Mr. Bleakley, and reclaim a lost fortune. Cupid’s arrow can’t fail to find his target - in Regency Solitaire, love is always just around the corner.
Those "fashionable towns" cover all of the RPS bases except my own home. Manchester is the Mary Bennet of this particular scenario. 180 levels in the game and there wasn't enough space to incorporate one trip to the home of a single cotton baron, controlling a growing industrial empire via the great canals of the north.
Perhaps there will be a sequel, digging deeper into the romantic entanglements of the industrial revolution.