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Genre: Cards

Format: CD or shareware

Developer: Freeverse

Publisher: Freeverse

Minimum System Requirements: 233MHz G3, Mac OS 8.6 or Mac OS X, 32MB RAM, 250MB hard disk space, CarbonLib 1.6, Quicktime 4.0, 28.8 KBps modem and internet access for online play

Review Computer: 867MHz G4, 640MB RAM, ATI RADEON 8500, Mac OS X v10.3.2

Network Feature: LAN and GameSmith

Price: $19.95 shareware, $24.95 retail with free Enigma

ESRB Rating: N/A

Availability: Now

Throughout my years as a Mac gamer, I've heard some pretty tall claims, some pretty arrogant boasts. Remember when pretty much every game bragged that it was "Better than Myst!" I think even some sports and RTS games made that claim just to get "Myst" on the box. And yet, none of these games were...not even the Myst sequels. Especially not the Myst sequels.

Hyperbole is the bastard child of marketing, I guess, but when Freeverse Software claimed on the box of 3D Crazy Eights that, "It's like crazy sevens...only better," I thought, "Freeverse, this time you have gone too far!"

3D Crazy Eights is the latest update to the Freeverse line-up of card games, a genre they pretty much command on the Macintosh...and maybe the PC as well. It features the traditional cast of witty Freeverse characters, with whom you play. This, of course, is what separates Freeverse from any other card game developer out there. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but these characters will become...well, not your friends, but familiar, much like the cast of The Carol Burnett Show (I'm dating myself, I know, but I just saw an extended infomercial for the DVD set) became familiar to so many viewers. Each week, you knew who were going to see, but you didn't know what they'd be doing next. In 3D Crazy Eights, you know the cast is going to be playing cards, but fans of other Freeverse card games will look forward to playing with them again.

Of course, that's not the main selling point, here. 3D Crazy Eights is compatible with Freeverse's online gaming service, GameSmith. Here, you can easily go online to find actual, living people with whom you can play. Simply log on (after creating an account, which is free), hop into a room and see if there are any others waiting for a game of 3D Crazy Eights. Crazy Eights isn't one of the more popular GameSmith games, I should point out, but it was rare that I couldn't find anyone with whom to play.

But what if you don't know how to play Crazy Eights? No problem there. Freeverse has included instructions in the manual (yes, there's a printed manual), including a couple variations supported by the game. The game also has a decent tutorial, but I found the manual to be more useful. Either way, this isn't a complicated game, so it should only be a matter of minutes before you're playing...and winning. Getting online is just as easy, so you'll be able to take on human opponents soon after you've built your skills and tweaked your strategies.

What else is there to do? Well, along with choosing your opponents, you can customize the settings in which you play. Freeverse keeps their sense of humor consistent throughout these options, so everything falls naturally into place. That's kind of what Freeverse is all about, after all: Presentation. If this were just Crazy Eights, no big deal. But it's 3D Crazy Eights from Freeverse, full of style and whimsy, some surprisingly intelligent computer opponents, and an online community that makes computer game playing a perfect social event for a quiet, weekday evening.

I suppose I should also mention Enigma, as it's included in the retail version. Remember Mastermind? I think my cousin had a copy of that. My cousin also had a lot of Playboys, but Freeverse has yet to turn them into a computer game. Burning Monkeymate of the Month just doesn't sound too tantalizing, you know?

Anyway, Enigma is a codebreaking game that could easily fit into The Price is Right. You're presented with seven colored buttons, and you must click on anywhere from three to eight of them depending upon the level of gameplay. After you select your colors (they may be used more than once), you submit them via the pull lever. The Rosetta Computer will then tell you two things: how many colors are correct and how many colors are correct and in the proper location. From this information, you then make another guess, trying to learn which colors should stay, which should move, and which should be cast out. You get ten tries at this. If you haven't cracked the code by then, you lose.

To make matters worse, Freeverse has included what they call the Defenders of the Case. These defenders will taunt you in that traditional Freeverse style, but they also throw monkey wrenches which can decrease your score, erase your current guess and hide your previous ones, or cause you to lose a guess. Luckily, for those not in MENSA, you can turn off this option.

Both games are fun little diversions. In solitary mode, they're airport games...the type that are perfect on the iBook as you kill time at the airport during a flight delay. 3D Crazy Eights steps beyond this with its GameSmith support, allowing for an enjoyable social hour with the Freeverse denizens. As with most Freeverse card games, it comes down to this. If you're a fan of Crazy Eights or a fan of the Freeverse style, 3D Crazy Eights will surely keep you entertained. Enigma? That's a different thing. It's fun in a maddening, humbling sort of way, but it's free, so it doesn't factor into the score.

The big question, though, is whether 3D Crazy Eights is actually better than crazy sevens. I don't feel I'm qualified to answer that question, but I can say this; it's "Better than Myst!" – Applelinks.com.