Joystiq

When you play these on the PC, all the technical stuff is taken care of for you ... just like the future always promised us. Let the computer do all the work! This is especially evident in the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game, which is admittedly our favorite (you know, featuring pirates and all). In the actual version of the card game, you pop out little hard plastic pieces and build your own ships from scratch. Cool, eh? Thankfully, the computer version keeps the same gameplay, and adds in an element of sound effects, fun animation, and no more measuring out your cannon distances. Plus, they have expansion sets (included in the digital version) that feature Davy Jones, creatures and devices from the Jules Verne era, and adventure sets like the Spanish Main. It's a pirate wonderland, virtually.

In addition to the already available Star Chamber card game, Sony Online Entertainment's Denver studio just rolled out the Stargate Online Trading Card Game, which features four different starter decks, and it's as simple as drag and drop gameplay. All your favorite Stargate characters are in the game, even the traitorous Ben Browder who leapt from Farscape to Stargate in a move that sent waves through all of fandom and ... we digress.

We gave these three games a whirl recently, and were impressed with how well they handle the gameplay mechanics. Never once did we have to argue with the computer about how a certain card was played (although we did have our butts handed to us in Pirates several times). Avast me buckos, we be needin' some trainin'.

Check out the gallery of screenshots, and put your cards back in the box.