Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire – Collector’s Edition, developed by Suricate Software has landed on the Nintendo Switch. Published by Ocean Media, Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire – Collector’s Edition is a casual puzzle game any solitaire enthusiast will enjoy.

Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire – Collector’s Edition is a delight to play. With the goal to rebuild the realm of Atlantis and collect various fish, the main mode follows a map of tri-peak solitaire levels, where completing each stage allows you to collect green emerald gems used to build Atlantis. You can also unlock the tile game Mahjong and other solitaire variants by progressing through the map levels.

The game utilises the Nintendo Switch touch screen, allowing you to rack up combos of cards cleared quickly, or you can use the joysticks to play the game docked on a TV. I found using the joysticks to be a bit clunky, so I stuck with the hand-held touchscreen option. The only issue with this however is sometimes the game misreads where you’ve touched, wasting deck cards, or clearing cards you weren’t intending to clear yet, wasting precious limited undo’s.

Each stage and puzzle you complete awards you with gold coins which can be used to purchase extra cards for your deck, power-ups, and more undo’s, but I wouldn’t have had to buy undo’s if the touch feature were a little more optimised.

The graphics, although a little dated, form part of the relaxing ambience of the experience. When you’re playing the levels, your underwater Atlantis building is the board’s background with bubbles rising from the surrounding coral and plant life. The Collector’s Edition also unlocks new card styles and backs for you to customize the look how you see fit. The UI and map are a little overstimulating and can seem a little busy sometimes, but you quickly get past it once you’re playing a level.

The sound design completes the relaxing feel of the game. Coupled with the sounds of cards being flicked through and the card combo twinkling, the background music can only be described as ethereal. The jarring noise of missed cards however can throw you off, it’s pretty aggressive.

Despite the bugs here and there with the touch optimisation, I enjoyed my time playing Jewel Match Atlantis Solitaire – Collector’s Edition and fully expect I will play it again in the future when I just want to relax and play cards or Mahjong. The relaxing atmosphere and being able to see in real-time my progress with my Atlantis building and the fish I’ve collected to swim around it is pretty rewarding. I recommend this game to anyone looking for an easy escape from playing some simple card games or Mahjong.

Written by: Emily France