The New Solitaire

I've been looking for a very specific type of game for a while now and i've finally found it. I had been searching for the next Solitaire and no, I wasn't looking for another card game. Basically, I was after something that I could pick up and put down and also have a relaxing experience at the same time.

It's like, when you've had a long, hard day at work and you can't bring yourself to load up Call Of Duty for a frag fest and you don't have the motivation to continue that long Fallout 3 quest line you've been working on. All you want to do is collapse in your big comfortable chair and just play something without having to concentrate too hard or increase your heart rate.

At first I thought it could be Spore but, despite its appearance, it's too involved and isn't really designed for 20-30 minute play sessions, although I will be returning to it, of course.

Ladies and Gentleman, the new Solitare is... A Kingdom For Keflings.

It may seem like a strange claim but hear me out. A Kingdom For Keflings is a city building game in which you take on the role of a giant who construct's buildings for a race of little people called Keflings. Think Bob The Builder meets the Lilliputians from Gulliver's Travels. This XBLA title is 800 Microsoft Points (£6.50) and is only around 70Mb in size.

The gameplay involves assembling houses according to a blueprint. Each blue print specifies the number of different pieces you need and in which configuration they need to be placed. Each piece is made up of a certain number of resources i.e. Rock, Wood, Gems, Wool etc. However, you don't need to do all of the hard work yourself as you can get the Keflings to do almost everything for you. Simply pick up a Kefling and place them on the resource, then pick them up again and place them on the location you want the resource delivered.

This leaves you to choose which buildings you want to construct and selecting the relevant pieces from the workshops. You then pick up each piece as they are made and place them together according to the blueprint.



The graphics are simple without being overly childish and by far the coolest feature is the ability to use your Xbox Live Avatar as the giant. It's extremely funny to see my avatar, wearing a metal t-shirt and Converse, orchestrating little people in a medieval world. The music consists of a nice, folksy number which comes across as light hearted and isn't overly intrusive.

All-in-all its a great casual game and perfect for when you're not up to playing one of the many triple A titles that are available at the moment. Be careful though, as it's simple game mechanics and charming visuals can become somewhat addictive.

If you're unsure on whether this game is for you, a demo is available on Xbox Live Marketplace.