I don’t get to do as many reviews as I use to. But when I do, I usually tend to luck out and get a real gem. There are exceptions (Rocky and Bullwinkle anyone?). As luck would have it, I’ve stumbled into another fun game. When you first hear the premise of Lost Cities, it comes off as being a bit complicated when it’s really just a fun card game that’s easy to pick up and play. The original creator of Lost Cities, Reiner Knizia, has won multiple accolades for his board and card games in Europe. And after playing the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of his hit card game, I can see why his games are so popular.

Let’s knock out the overwhelming story to get it out of the way; especially since it’s only overwhelming on the surface. Lost Cities sends players on expeditions to one of the five lost cities. The goal is to make each expedition as profitable as possible. The lost cities are located in areas all across the globe including rain forests, deserts, volcanoes, and mountains. While it’s nice to have this seemingly deep story, it’s about as important to the actual gameplay, as the archeology story is to Jewel Quest.

As for the actual gameplay, which is why you’re reading this, each player starts with eight different cards dealt from a sixty card deck. The player then has to choose between either playing one of their cards or discarding it and choosing another each turn. The cards come in two varieties. One is the investment card. These can multiply your score if used correctly. The second is the expedition card. This card type is worth only it’s face value and is placed in descending order. The thing to remember here is that if you play the investment card, it needs to pay off. If not, you can forget about multiplying your score and start worrying about losing it all. Once all of your cards are played, it’s time to count up the score and start a new round. Think Uno. The gameplay is so ultra simple that you can actually get lulled into losing by not paying attention to what you’re doing. The only down-side to the game is the card-shark of a CPU which seemed to read my mind and have all the right cards.

Visually, Lost Cities does a great job with it’s colorful presentation and great looking backgrounds. Anyone who’s played hearts or spades on XBLA knows that developers can often forget about the appearance in a card game. Luckily that’s not the case here. You won’t be bored with blank and un-involving backdrops in Lost Cities.

While the gameplay is fun for a short period playing solo, very few people want to play a card game by themselves. Thankfully there’s online play for those of you who want to take your card expeditions to the internet. And after facing a CPU that’s brutally tough to beat, human players are a very welcome change. Playing online will open up a variety of game types ranging from free for alls to 4-player face offs. This is where Lost Cities shines. There’s practically something for everyone while playing online. You can even grab a buddy and play partners.

Lost Cities is a game you should be hearing a lot about. It’s been around for quite a while in it’s original card form and now is being introduced to a whole new group of potential fans in a great XBLA package. If you like Uno, Spades, or Hearts, you’ll have a hard time passing up this title. If you have 800 points to spend on a game, download Lost Cities. It’s not by any means perfect, but what is? The game shines online. And if you’re downloading the game, you’re online. So you’re all set to enjoy the next Uno.

+ An easy to pick up and enjoy title is always fun

+ Multiplayer is where it’s at in Lost Cities

- The CPU seems to be programmed to crush you

+ Accurate and simple controls make it accessible.

Final Score: 8.0 

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