If you were wondering what exactly the point of the Pokemon Mini is, Zany Cards makes everything clear. The Pokemon Mini isn't some poor relation to the Game Boy; it doesn't aim to provide hours of continuous play, but instead delivers short, sharp shocks of fun to alleviate the duller moments in a day. It is in short the portable equivalent of Minesweeper and Solitaire on the PC. Pokemon Mini Zany Cards' tiny cartridge contains four separate card games: Wild Match, Special Seven, Card Duel and Four Kings. Each game is based, to some degree, on an established card game. Wild Match, for example is Rummy with additional Pokemon-themed "event" cards. Special Seven is Blackjack in all but name and Four Kings is Patience, but with a slightly odd, non-sequential order to how you place the cards. Card Duel is a more or less original concept, although somewhat reminiscent of Pontoon.
Not only are the games well presented, with some surprisingly complex animations for some of the event cards, but many of them are multiplayer. Wild Match and Special Seven can be played by up to five players, via the Pokemon Mini's infrared link, whereas Card Duel is a two-player only game. Annoying name aside, Pokemon Zany Cards is actually rather cool--feature packed and just the thing to while away a few minutes of idle free time.--David Jenkins
