LOCUS POKER

Locus Poker is a unique mashup of poker, pattern-recognition, and area control. The game is rough around the edges but provides a fun experience with some caveats. In Locus Poker, two players alternate turns choosing a single card from a 6 x 6 grid dealt from a standard 52 playing card deck. A control marker is placed on the card then the best poker hand is determined based on the selected card and every card adjacent (both orthogonal and diagonal). The better the hand the higher the score. If the chosen card is adjacent to any of your previously placed control markers you receive 2 (orthogonal) or 1 (diagonal) bonus points per marker. For each selection, players may opt to turn their card face-down which converts it into a wild for that turn only (and an empty space for all future turns) to create a better poker hand. The drawback is control markers on face-down cards do not award any bonus points. Play continues back and forth until every card in the grid has been chosen and the player with the most points wins. The visuals in Locus Poker look as if they were pulled from the late 80's (and not in a cool retro way). There is no tutorial and only minimal instructions. The game is simple enough after a couple of turns you will get it. But on the flip side the game is simple enough that it would be easy to integrate a tutorial. Gamers not experienced with poker will find it more difficult to learn. However, this game is almost certainly not for those who have never played poker. The first handful of turns, especially the initial one by each player, are extremely long because you must examine the grid thoroughly to find the best poker hands. This can take several minutes. As the game continues and the number of available cards shrinks, turns become much faster. Some sections of the grid are inherently less valuable such as the edges and corners where there only 3 - 6 cards to build a poker hand per control marker. However, the random deal could leave a high scoring poker hand there even with fewer cards. Determining when it's best to jump around the grid and when it's best to work on building up your area is a math game. If you don't like calculating and comparing potential moves this isn't the game for you. Likewise, knowing when to block your opponent from building too big of a group of control markers or to take away their perfect spot is another decision based on timing. This is a game of optimization and math. Both of those take some time to work through. Even more so when your choices must be gleaned from a large grid. Therefore, I do not recommend Locus Poker as a multiplayer experience. The initial turns can be painfully slow due to analysis paralysis. Some form of a timer might make the game more approachable for multiplayer. However, this is a fun single player experience (provided you like everything above) because you will play at your own pace only waiting out your turns because AI turns are near instantaneous. The AI is very challenging. There are 7 levels of difficulty and the even the lowest level is no pushover. Locus Poker is not a game for everyone. But those in target audience will find an entertaining experience.

Has the beginning of a good game. I haven't seen the game concept before, so seems interesting too me. Alot of interesting strategy that only becomes obvious once the AI hits you over the head with it. :) The graphics are a little simple, the square cards are a little off putting. Definitely worth a look for puzzle lovers.