Fairway Solitaire - Card Game - Big Fish Games, Inc

This review of Fairway Solitaire - Card Game was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 7 January 2019.

About the app

This section contains details about the app provided by an ACCM Reviewer.

ACCM review

This review of Fairway Solitaire - Card Game contains the following information:

• The level to which the game was reviewed
• App description
• Reviewers comments
• In App purchasing
• Online information
• Gambling
• Advertising and product placement
• Gender stereotypes and sexual references
• Coarse language
• Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents
• Other

The level to which the game was reviewed

Our reviewer played 5 of the 40 courses available.

App description

Fairway Solitaire Card Game is a card game played on a golf course. There are 40 available courses, each with 3, 6 or 9 holes. A selection taken from a deck of playing cards is displayed on the course with the top card facing up and the remainder facing down. A pile of all remaining cards from the deck is shown at the bottom of the screen. The player has to tap on a card sequential to the card showing on the bottom pile, either up or down. The aim is to complete the pack of cards with none remaining on the course. 

The player is given an amount of ‘golf bucks’ to start the game, which can be used to pay for numbered golf irons and ‘power ups’. The golf irons can be played when no cards are available. The player has the option to purchase more ‘golf bucks’ when the free ones are depleted. Power ups can also be purchased from the shop. These include erasers, which allow the player to replay the hole (not the course), Midas clubs (wildcards), shuffles (shuffle all the cards on the board), previews (lets the player see the next 5 cards in the pile and other hidden objects, and mulligans. The cost of these is listed in the ‘in-app’ section. The player wins stars and trophies along the way which  increase the score and give the player more golf bucks.

Reviewers comments

Fairway Solitaire Card Game is a solitaire card game with a difference. It is very easy for the player to be enticed into buying more golf bucks, to fill up their golf bag with new irons and to buy power ups in order to meet their objective of winning on the golf course. It is also very easy to buy these objects as there is no barrier or parental zone to prevent children from going directly to the app store to purchase these items. In addition, there is an element of gambling involved as buying more golf irons may or may not help them reach their goal. The game can also be played with multi- players online and on multiple devices. It is therefore not recommended for children under 16 and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 16 – 17.

In App purchasing

There is In-App purchasing available in this game, and it is easily accessible with no parental controls in place. Parents should be aware that prices are in USD and do not include VAT or sales tax. Some examples include: 

• Golf Bucks can be bought in packs from 5000 to 420,000 ranging in price from $2.00 to $159.99
• Midas Clubs range from 2 for $2.99 to 135 for $159.99
• Power ups:
  • Erasers from 3 for $2.99 to 50 for $22.99
  • Previews from 3 for 3000 golf bucks to 50 for 40,000 golf bucks
  • Shuffles from 3 for 4,500 golf bucks to 50 for 65,000 golf bucks
  • Mulligans from 3 for 2,400 golf bucks to 50 for 30,000 golf bucks
    

 

Online information

This app requires some online information and personal details to download, play and interact with the game. These include:

• Log ins (Players can log in via Facebook, email or using a Big Fish account)
• Contacts
• Connectivity with social media (Facebook)
• Receive data from the internet (Access to the shop is easy and purchasing items in the app store only requires a log in).

Gambling

There is an element of chance and risk involved in buying more 'golf bucks' which may or may not help the player win the game.

Advertising and product placement

Players have the option to watch ads in order to buy golfing irons – these are usually advertising other available apps from the developer.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

None of concern.

Coarse language

None noted

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

N/A.

Other

N/A.

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