Platinum Solitaire 3

Everyone likes being rewarded for something they do well - it’s a part of human nature.

Whether it’s holding a trophy for swimming faster than everyone else, or getting a packet of crisps for cleaning your room, there’s something about that feeling of earning something that just lights up the neurons.

Nearly every game is based around some kind of reward structure - heck, RPGs are essentially one big dopamine filling parcelled up in a numerical tortilla wrap.

Games revolving around luck, however, aren’t quite so filling, thanks to their inherently random nature.

Platinum Solitaire 3 manages to overcome the genre’s pitfalls skilfully and succinctly, and as a result it's one of the best card games you can get for your mobile.

The game comes with 17 different solitaire card games, ranging from Klondike (erroneously called ‘Solitaire’ here, which I’ll let slide), my favourites Golf and Pyramid, and no-one’s favourite Spider.

If those aren’t whetting your appetite, there’s also Memory, Pathfinder, FreeCell, Black Hole, Reversi (not the real Reversi), Flower Garden, Gomoku (the bizarre playing card version), Monaco, Sultan, the horrible Baker’s Dozen, Deck, Speed, and the engaging Clock

The games on offer aren’t poor variations on Spider or Klondike, though (except Baker’s Dozen), with some using very unusual tableau layouts and placement rules that are explained, in great detail, during the many tutorials on offer.

All this would make a solid ‘7’ or even a very good ‘8’ just purely on the range and presentation of the games on offer, but where Platinum leaves its competitors in the dust is in how it structures the single-player Career mode.

Instead of merely being clearing the board in each game (that’s still the ultimate aim, mind), Platinum hands you a starting amount of cash, a few types of solitaire games, and asks you to bet on how well you’ll do, which doesn’t necessarily mean winning.

It’s a clever way of circumnavigating the issues with all the games in the pack, evading the negatives (it doesn't matter if the cards dealt are 'winnable') while still keeping an air of progression (you get more money the better you do).

Bet high and hit your target to get the most cash, which you can then spend on unlocking new locations, buying hints and undos from the shop, or just betting even greater amounts the next time you go for a round of Golf (the playing card version).

To add to this air of risk-reward, Platinum 3 also includes a side-bet feature that’s thrown out during a game at tricky make-or-break moments.

Tasks such as clearing the board from the current position, or making ten matches in under a minute will have you actually thinking about their worth, especially as it means betting a good chunk of spare change.

It’s hard to pick many faults with Platinum Solitaire 3 - the games are varied, the gameplay is excellently crafted, and the presentation is typical Gameloft in its slickness.

A normal game of solitaire feels a little empty after a few games: Platinum Solitaire 3 is far more rewarding.