Finally! – Skat HD Review

I finally found the perfect Skat game for the iPod. Well, almost perfect. A few small changes would make Skat for iPad a 5 star card game. I am not going to try to get into the rules for Skat as it is a rather complicated trick taking card game with many rules variations. One of the things I would appreciate seeing in the game is an explanation of the rules being used. There is an option to change some of the rules, but as far as I can tell the base rules aren't described anywhere. This is fine for people already intimately familiar with Skat, but not as good for those of us who could use a little reminder. One of the things that you will notice after a few hands is that the adorable AI mice will start speaking to you in German. I actually like this, since most of the German is translated into English in little text bubbles. However, a few times it says things which aren't translated (sometimes when I lead an Ace on the first trick, for example) and I would appreciate having everything translated. Additionally elements of the scorecard are left untranslated and there is no option to use a standard US deck with Q and J instead of D and B. I got used to it, but the option would be nice and I think it would help non-German players, although I realize this is probably not most if the publisher's target audience. Gameplay, AI, and the audiovisual effects are great. The only glitch I have found is that when the AI players are bidding against each other, the spoken words lag way behind the on screen text bubbles. Not a big deal, but detracts from the otherwise polished feel of the game. If you like Skat, there aren't many choices out there. Luckily, Skat for iPad is a winner. With a few minor fixes, it will be a champion.
Review by pbeasi on Skat HD.