Hello! Welcome back to a new regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few weeks. This time: cards, Final Fantasy, and art galleries.
The disappointment of last year's The Solitaire Conspiracy drove me back into the arms of Grey Alien's Jake Birkett, undisputed master of my favourite ultra-niche genre, the solitaire campaign game. For one reason and another I had never given his most recent release, Ancient Enemy, that much time – and its pensive, soothing rhythm has been a perfect way to take quick mental breaks during wintry lockdown work days.
Honestly, I think Birkett's earlier games in this genre – casual gaming masterpiece Regency Solitaire and its prequel Shadowhand, which prototyped Ancient Enemy's more involved solitaire-RPG gameplay – have more character. Their bodice-ripping historical whimsy, slightly gauche art and strong local flavour of southwestern England (Birkett is based in Dorset) make for more distinctive video games than Ancient Enemy's doomy apocalyptic fantasy setting.