FreeCell Quest on PC

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a riveting game of Solitaire and wondered what it would be like if the play were framed with RPG elements? If so, I’ve got some great news – FreeCell Quest, by Legend Studio, has the answer. An expansive world, spells, armor, and levelling up await you in this ponderous title that seeks to fill a gap that I’m pretty sure nobody knew existed.

Gameplay in FreeCell Quest is, essentially, FreeCell. If you’re not familiar, this is a variant of Solitaire played with a deck of cards and structured very similar to the ‘standard’ Klondike style that’s been a Windows staple since 1990. The aim is to place all of the cards within the deck in sequence from ace through king, sorted by suit. Players can move cards onto any opposite-colored card of one value higher than the card to be moved, such as placing a three of hearts onto a four of clubs.

What FreeCell Quest brings in to mix up the action is a variety of RPG elements that players will have to acclimate to during play. With both health and mana to keep an eye on, players attempt to liberate cities, towns, monasteries, and so on by completing hands of the classic game. Along the way, cards will deal damage to players who idle, and an interesting mix of spells, purchased at liberated monasteries, can give players an edge in a number of ways.

The spells are probably FreeCell Quest’s strongest point in the originality column. For instance, players may shuffle a single “stack” of cards on the field, giving them a chance at an otherwise-inaccessible card needed to complete a set. Other spells include the shuffling of an entire color around the board, sending a random or selected card directly to the “goal” position, and healing spells to keep yourself in the game as things get tougher.

What really strikes me about FreeCell Quest, though, is the map. Broken into a number of “greater” and “lesser” territories, the map is absolutely massive, with over 500 unique locations to liberate along the way. Early play keeps things simple with easier card sorting and by keeping the cards limited to two suits, but as players progress, the shuffling becomes more difficult to overcome, and up to eight full suits of cards may be in play for a single ‘battle’.

Ultimately, FreeCell Quest is an enormous and very interesting take on a game that’s synonymous with wasting time on the PC. By adding in the RPG-style frame, it puts a whole new spin that changes the way any given play is approached, and the variety of spells and strategies makes it wholly unique. With a $4.99 price tag on Steam, it presents a better deal than the current $10/year Microsoft’s own Solitaire Collection requires for ad-free play. While Microsoft may include more varieties of the classic single-player card game, FreeCell Quest refines the one that it focuses on and adds a new, great depth.

Score: 4/5