Simply Solitaire HD

When stuck in a room with only a deck of cards for company, man will do one of three things: flick them one-by-one at a target, build a tottering house, or play Solitaire.

Personally speaking, the first two options are the more scintillating prospects, but a more cerebral gamer is likely to opt for the final choice.

And it's a cerebral gamer who'll enjoy Simply Solitaire HD. YoYo Games’s Android title is basic in appearance, options, and gameplay, but if you’re looking for an unremarkable way to pass the time it offers you a good free hand.

Although it claims to be “uniquely styled”, aside from a selection of quite bland backgrounds to pick from Simpy Solitaire HD is as generic a virtual card game as they come.

Following the Klondike rules of play, you have to create stacks cards from Ace to King covering all four suits. The majority of cards are laid out in the instantly recognisable vertical pattern (from King down to Ace, in alternate red or black suits), and you can add new ones to the rows from a deck at the top-right of the screen.

The aim is to bring all remaining cards into play and uncover any that are face-down in the existing rows, which generally involves swapping cards (or groups, in valid rows) across the stacks, before gradually clearing them into the Ace-led piles above.

Tapping to select cards and dragging them around is simple and intuitive, though the game is intrinsically better on large-screened phones or tablets, where individual cards become bigger targets for your digits.

What Simply Solitaire HD is missing compared to more polished paid titles like Hardwood Solitaire is a hint system to highlight moves if you get a stuck. Yes, it’s a purer experience to succeed on your own, but it’s easy to miss obvious moves on smaller screens and a gentle nudge would be welcome.

While you can compete against your own highscores, there’s precious little incentive to keep playing Simply Solitaire HD beyond a few hands.

The only variety comes from choosing between One or Three Card Draw variations, the latter of which lets you see more of the remaining pack.

Still, for no cost - beyond banner ads at the top of the screen - this is a stoic version of Solitaire that only fails to bring anything new to the table.