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Hoyle Card Games (Jewel Case)

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 Location:  Home » Software » Encore Software » Hoyle Card Games (Jewel Case)November 18, 2008  
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Hoyle Card Games (Jewel Case)
Hoyle Card Games (Jewel Case)

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From: Encore Software
Category: Video Games

List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $0.71
You Save: $9.28 (93%)



New (13) Used (5) from $0.71

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 15 reviews
Sales Rank: 1424

Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows Xp
ESRB: Everyone
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Jewel Case
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.

MPN: 10025
Model: 10025
UPC: 705381100256
EAN: 0705381100256
ASIN: B0009SUW4W

Release Date: July 12, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New! CD-rom Only. Low Shipping Charge. Fast Shipping.

Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
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1 out of 5 stars cant use   September 30, 2008
I have tried 4 times. Deleted then put on my computer. When start to play I get a message not compatible with my computer and then shuts down. I have several games and never had this problem. Very upset and unhappy about the product.


5 out of 5 stars really pleased   August 30, 2008
i was very happy with hoyle card cd and would order again from amazon.com
sincerely, cmedrano



3 out of 5 stars The Deck Is Stacked   June 21, 2008
This is a neat tool to hone your skills but does not duplicate playing conditions.

Luck and skill are main ingredients to any card game. The problem the software makers had was that, unlike in chess software, the computer card player in this software is not smarter than the average human player. So, the software creates an "equal" playing field by stacking the deck in favor of the computer opponent(s). In the case of partner playing, the human partner's computer partner plays a notch or two under the skill level of the computer opponents. So, the software "levels the playing field" by giving the opposing team better cards and a less skillful computer opponent.

I used this software primarily to play Canasta. What I found was that at the highest opening meld level (120 points), the computer team had little or no problem coming up with the opening meld 50% or more of the time. In contrast, the human-computer team came in easily about 10% of the time. So, based on the luck of the initial deal the computer team had a 5 to 1 advantage.

Also, as the game progresses the human led team gets far fewer wildcards (about 20% vs. 80% for the computer team). At the end of each hand the computer team rarely had wildcards left in their hand, the human players' computer partner often did and thus did not play as "smart" as the other computer players.

The bottom line is:

1. This is a fine tool to hone your thinking/strategy skills because you play with the deck stacked against you (especially as the hands proceed toward the end of each game).

2. It does not duplicate real playing conditions. If you would get frustrated by the luck of the draw being mostly against you and having a computer partner who plays dumber than the computer opponents, you might want to think twice about getting this software.




2 out of 5 stars this game won't work on all PC's   June 16, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I bought 2 copies of this game. It installed and runs fine on my brother's Dell desktop running Windows Vista. It installed and runs fine on my Toshiba laptop running Windows XP. It will not install or run on my HP Pavilion desktop running Windows XP. Previous versions of this game and other Hoyle games installed and work fine but not this one.
I would not recommend purchasing this product if you have an HP computer and don't have a laptop or desktop of another brand to play it on.



4 out of 5 stars Using it to learn Bridge - pretty good!   May 1, 2008
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I am taking a bridge class at a local bridge studio. All the information can be very overwhelming and for a variety of reasons, I am unable to attend the supplemental practice sessions. So I wanted a piece of software that I could practice with.

I had read a lot of poor reviews of lots of different brands of Bridge software along the lines of "the robot players make stupid mistakes" etc etc. I already had [...]multiple experiences like this at free online game sites (the robot partners at pogo site Bridge game NEVER EVER bid, no matter what cards they hold!).

So, long story short, I didn't have high hopes. But this disc was priced right so I decided to give it a whirl. So far I can tell that the robots are for the most part conforming their behavior to what we are learning in class so it's been very very good practice. I played with the computer players muted so I didn't have to endure the silly comments.

As another reviewer mentioned, it is rather annoying to have to have the disc in your drive whenever you want to play. I realized the reason is copyright protection and I suppose that's fair enough. Installation was a tiny bit counter-intuitive but nothing horrible.

FYI I am running XP.


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