Mac Game Review: Burning Monkey Solitaire 4

Down below the document window where I’m typing this review, nestled on the toolbar of my iMac, sits the flame shaped icon for Freeverse’s Burning Monkey Solitaire 4 – it is sitting there and mocking me.

I’m not sure how the game got under my skin, but done so it has. Sure, on the face of it the game may seem to be a harmless solitaire game filled with amusing monkey-themed animations, but I’ve seen cute solitaire games before. Unless those monkeys are going to start flinging things at me through my computer screen I’m pretty sure I can handle them.

So what is it about this game that has me giving the icon the evil eye?

Maybe it is the fact that, at least for a relative solitaire novice like myself, the darn thing is too difficult. That’s right, here and now I’m admitting that this game repeatedly kicks my ass. Out of the dozens of games that I’ve played – I’ve won one.

The way my heart jumped in my chest and the way I found myself strutting around my office while taunting the monkeys on my computer screen repeatedly with shouts of “Who’s the head primate NOW, ya furry lil’ punks?” you’d have thought I’d won the Darwin “Playing Cards” Super-bowl.

So, yeah, the game is addicting if a bit on the difficult side.

No matter which of the various variations (say THAT three times fast!) of solitaire that I chose from the thirty-one the game offers, I would lose. Adding insult to injury, when I’d click the option to select a “winnable game” from the Internet, I’d lose that, too.

Thank goodness I could at least relieve the frustration that my solitaire ineptitude brought about, by clicking on any of the monkey characters scattered about on the screen. Sure, after a while you run through all of the animations and cute sayings that are available, but some of them are worth hearing again and again and again.

Watching a monkey hang from a tree with a taco on his rump ask “Where are my tacos?” never gets old, right? That’s what I thought… monkey plus taco equals comedy gold!

Now, if you are not a monkey solitaire novice, such as myself, and actually own one of the previous incarnations of this game, this game is basically a free upgrade. That’s right, free. F.R.E.E. That goes for those of you that may have purchased it at a retail outlet, as well.

The monkeys are generous, you see.

Add to that the fact that this game utilizes the Internet in ways that no other monkey-loaded version of solitaire before it, by updating and downloading new jokes and “High-Scores” from other monkey solitaire playing fools (like me!).

Oh, and for those of you that may be wary of how difficult I say this game is, you should know that I’ve stayed far away from the very nice “cheat” feature, which drops hints faster than bananas can fall in a food-fight.

Okay, I couldn’t resist that. Sorry.

All in all, this is an excellent way to waste away the hours. Available both for Mac (including Intel-based) and Windows-based computers, there really isn’t any reason for the solitaire fans out there to avoid this release.

Heck, you can even roll up to Freeverse’s web site and download a “Try It” version of the game, which allows you to play for 15 days and decide if you like it.

Although, at only $24.95 to purchase the game or the ever awesome FREE price to upgrade a previous version of this game to the current one… how can you lose? Okay. That was another bad pun, as you now all know how easy it is for me to lose.

Stupid monkeys!