LOCUS POKER

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.

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 ga…