Have you ever asked yourself what the TV show Bridgerton would be like if it were a card game? No? Me either, but it turns out, that it’s a pretty engaging concept and somewhat shockingly addicting. If you like a little story with your solitaire, Regency Solitaire II will not disappoint.
Plot Ahoy!
Apparently, this game picks up right where the original Regency Solitaire left off. Your main character is Bella, who has married Lord Worthington and must now establish herself both as the lady of the manor and an important social force. Her primary obstacles are her mother-in-law, who is a doozy, and an empty garden that she must decorate in order to further her position in this society and eventually be able to host the best party of the season.
Meanwhile, her brother-in-law, Horatio, rake extraordinaire, has returned to Edgerton to meet his new sister-in-law and brings with him a somewhat shady reputation. However, his past transgressions do not mean that eligible young ladies aren’t pursuing him in marriage, but who is the mysterious friend that he played with as a child? Can a lord love an orphan foundling? Can she discover her true heritage?
These are the questions you’ll be answering in Regency Solitaire II.
Review Notes
At its most basic level, Regency Solitaire II is a point and click solitaire game. You play against an array of beautifully arranged cards as you attempt to eliminate all of the cards before you yourself run out of cards. If you’ve never played, you do that by placing cards from the board onto cards in your hand, which you can only do if the card you’re placing is either one greater than or one less than the card in your hand. Ergo, if you have a six in your hand, you need to play either a seven or a five. The goal is to create combos, which increase the amount of gold you earn and the point multiplier.
Regency Solitaire II offers additional challenges by introducing lock and key cards. If you pick up the key, you can play it on the lock card. The other variations on this range from putting flowers in a vase to trimming ivy with clippers and are as charming as they can be annoying. The title also offers a wild card dynamic in that jokers may be played at any time while other wild cards have numbers that you must play. If you have a wild card with a 5 on it, you can put it into your hand, but you’ll need to have a four or a six in the card array.
As you win, a shop screen appears containing either garments or elements that Bella may use to arrange her garden. These items afford you various buffs that can pull you out of a tight spot, but be warned, they’re on pretty slow cooldown timers. Regency Solitaire II does allow you to restart the hand without penalty, but if you’ve used a buff or a wild card, that effect will remain static. You will not begin your new hand with it.
As far as the story goes, you’ll play a set number of hands, finding necessary items along the way, and once you complete a level, you’ll click through a suitably ridiculous dialogue that contributes to the overall story. The characters are well painted, and the visuals are both appropriate and pleasant. This goes for both the characters as well as the cards. I loved the fun layouts. The music is suitably charming, I suppose, though I found myself trying to tune it out after a while. The title runs smoothly on my aging desktop, and I found no bugs or glitches. What I did find is that I knew what time I’d started, but when I looked down, it was some two hours later. Apparently, Regency Solitaire II opens a time warp, so be warned.
TLDR
Regency Solitaire II is a charming twist on a basic solitaire game for fans of Regency period dramas. As such, it’s wholesome and diverting, and it does draw in the player.
Regency Solitaire II retails for $11.99 on Steam right now.
Stray Thoughts From Behind the Keyboard
- Seriously, I loved the card layouts. I honestly enjoyed the solitaire more than I did the story, but I’m not exactly a fan of Jane Austen or Bridgerton. Make of that what you will.
- I’m serious about time fading away from me as I played. I was all like, I’ve got one more hand before I change levels!
- Don’t be afraid to restart a hand. The RNG gods aren’t kind to some of us.