Pocket Card Jockey Review: The Little ‘Horsea’ That Could

When you hear the name Game Freak, you automatically think of “Pokemon,” not a Solitaire/horse racing sim, “Pocket Card Jockey.”

But thanks to an innovative gameplay system, a ton of playability and an adorable story, it’s easily the little “horsea” that could on the 3DS and one of the best games on the handheld this year.

What? That does not make any sense. A horse-racing game with a solitaire engine, is good? No, sorry. It is great. From the first cinematic and your conversation with an angel, you’ll be hooked. And although the game takes a few hours to truly get the ins and outs of, the payoff is a wonderful one. Simply put, this little downloadable title is a game you can easily squeeze 30 plus hours of gameplay on and even more if you’re one of those crazy completionist types.

The easiest way to describe “Pocket Card Jockey” is that it’s a horse-racing game that uses solitaire as means of controlling the speed, stamina and energy of your horse. Complete all of the cards on the board and you’ll be rewarded with boosts. Don’t finish and your horse will slow down, lose energy or not listen. Add in boost cards, items and unique abilities for each horse and you have a game that is not nearly as simple as it appears.

One of the reasons for the game’s difficulty is that it breaks the race into several different parts, where your start, positioning and final stretch run all come into play. Throughout the race, you must manage your energy and positioning and at the same time win your hands in Solitaire. And then there’s the luck aspect. Sometimes you’ll be in the lead and your horse will be out of position. The bad turn will cause a decrease in stamina and another horse close behind, with more stamina, sneaks in front of you and wins. At other times, though, if you manage your abilities properly, you can be the one to steal a victory.

Because of this, you can fully expect to get pissed off several times while playing “Pocket Card Jockey.” You’re going to lose, a lot. In both growth and mature mode, if you fail to win three races, you’ll lose your horse and you’ll have to get a new one. This is where the game begins to hurt, your heart. The bond you’ll form with your horses is a quick one and the departure of them is never easy. You may even get to the point where you’ll want to stop playing because of it. In the end, however, the simple gameplay and cute visuals always bring you back, allowing you to create a bond with another animal.

Luckily, there is a breeding option for your older and retired horses as well, which makes things even more sentimental. Seeing the child of your favorite horse do things his parents couldn’t do is an experience not many games can produce and it might be Pocket Card Jockey’s most redeemable quality.

All in all, with a deep gameplay system, an endearing and cute story and plenty to do, “Pocket Card Jockey” is one game you won’t want to send to the glue factory.

Pros:

Addictive: Between Breeding, Growth and Mature modes, expect to spend over 30 hours playing this game if you want to capture all of the cups.

Awesome Sound: Game Freak titles always force us to leave the sound on and “Pocket Card Jockey” is no exception. Capturing the frenetic action of a race wonderfully, you’ll find yourself moving to the music while you play.

Accessible: “Pocket Card Jockey” is easy to jump right into, but takes over a dozen hours to truly get good at. Regardless, it’s a game that you can pick up and play anywhere in short bursts, on the bus or train, or for hours at home.

Cons:

Get Used to Losing: You will lose many races. You will lose some of your favorite horses. You will piss off horse owners. It’s just a part of the game. For those that need instant gratification, “Pocket Card Jockey” is not the game for you.

No Pause During Races: Itchy nose? Sudden urge to use the bathroom? “Pocket Card Jockey” doesn’t stop for no one. It can’t stop, won’t stop. And if you think you’re slick and close your 3DS during gameplay,you’ll automatically lose the race.

Final Thoughts:

Fantastic gameplay can take you to wild places and whoever was skeptical of this game before playing it will quickly be converted. Funny, fun and frenetic, “Pocket Card Jockey” is a charmer that never lets up. Combining elements of “Pokemon,” “Monster Rancher” and Solitaire, it’s a game that will steal you away from your next generation console.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14262 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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