Why buy one casino game from the Ovi Store when you can pick up Astraware Casino with eleven different games all in one handy package?

Bringing together a collection of small games to make an attractive bundle for players is a strategy used by Astraware in the past – and it works here just as well as in their board game collections. What I like about this package is that it plays by the same rules as the Casinos in the real world. There's no compromise to give everyone a chance to win lots of money, the odds are still stacked in favour of “the house”.

From the main screen you can choose your game, and then you're taken to the table – if it's your first time then you'll get a quick explanation of the rules, and then you're left alone to do your worst. Each table has a minimum and maximum bet, and the more you play the more you can gamble on each turn. Your cash wallet is available to every game, just as it would be in a real casino. Money gambled on each game comes out of this single source of cash.

Packaged inside the title are most of the games you would expect to find in a Casino. This includes:

• Video Derby
  Place a bet on one of six horses, if it comes first or second you're in the money. This is little more than a random pick, even though there are variable odds on each horse on display.

• Craps
  Probably one of the most complicated games to bet on, this is the dice rolling game where you try to predict a number that will be rolled before seven comes up again – but it's far more complicated than that. Luckily Astraware offer the full range of betting options, but you should read up on what you can and can't do.

• Blackjack
  The casino version of pontoon or 21 plays well for a single player, although I would have liked to see the option to play multiple hands against one dealer hand

• Limit Hold Em Poker and No Limit Hold Em Poker
  Both variants of poker are here, the former helping you preserve your money, and the latter allowing the big bets. This is one of the few games that requires a strong computer opponent (rather than one following strict rules) and while it's not as polished as standalone poker titles, this is a good diversion.

• Slots
  In the American style of trying to get lines out of five spinning fruit reels, rather than a UK lights, bells and whistles version. I never saw the appeal of these more basic machines, but it works well.

• Roulette
  A mix of the randomness of video derby and the money management and betting opportunities of Craps. Well implemented and easy to make multiple bets on the playing field.

• Video Poker
  I'd choose this over the slot machines, it's pretty random but there are just enough options in what cards to hold (you get one exchange) to make it interesting.

• Video Keno
  Choose five numbers from 1-100, and then twenty are chosen at random. You'll win a certain amount depending on how many of your five are in the chosen twenty.

• Bacarat
  Yes, the one James Bond plays – a more civilised and European version of Blackjack where you have to be the closest to a score of nine. Has the twist that you can bet that you or the dealer will win.

• Three Card Poker
  The faster paced solo version of Poker, mixing up regular Poker betting rounds and cards being dealt a là Texas Hold 'Em Poker.

The main screen also has two more icons, one for the bank and one for your trophies. It's very easy to run out of money at any casino, and Astraware's is no different. Every review of a casino game adds the line “if only it was real money I could retire” but this isn't something you could say about Astraware's, for two reasons. The first, as already mentioned, is that it plays to proper casino rules so the odds are not in your favour. The second is that whenever you top up your money, an “overdraft” counter keeps track of what you've been given. So by all means feel flush with the $5000 in your pocket, just don't look at the $25,000 overdraft you spent to get it!

The second icon, the Souvenir Suitcase, holds your prizes, and is one of the reasons for the longevity of the title. As you play through the games, you'll be rewarded with various trinkets for completing each task; a shot glass for winning three baccarat hands in a row, a showgirl's hat for playing eight different games, and so on. Click on the gaps and you'll see what you need to do.

Adding in these challenges alongside the natural measurement of your winnings gives Casino a shot in the arm and keeps you playing. It's a simple touch, but one they've used again and again.

If you're looking for a bundle of small games that are all linked together with both the shared wallet and these challenges, then Astraware Casino is a good investment. The varying nature of the games means you can easily move from games of almost pure chance to those that are heavily dependent on skill. So there should be something available no matter your mood.

Betting £1.50 that Astraware have made a good game is as sure a thing as possible. If the lure of the casino is for you, yet you understand probability, then this is the perfect game to confirm your suspicions. For everyone else, it's a bundle of fun as you practice and watch your winnings go up while ignoring the overdraft.

-- Ewan Spence, May 2010.