Fool’s Pub Review: A Unique Card Game for Xbox

When I see any game involving cards, I tend to gravitate towards them. As someone who loves playing Poker, Blackjack and anything that involves a deck of cards, I’m all over it. That said, there haven’t been many memorable experiences since the masterpiece that is Balatro. Fool’s Pub from Nostra Games Ltd is now available on Xbox Series X/S and features Xbox Play Anywhere capability, meaning you’ll be able to play on handheld and PC devices. This isn’t your standard card game, its about being the last one alive on the table to take all the cash. It’s a game about outsmarting opponents and taking in a little bit of luck where possible.

Fool’s Pub isn’t like a game of Poker where you’re striving to keep winning hands. Here it is a blend of strategy and risk and reward gameplay. You are constantly gauging whether your opponents are telling the truth or bluffing. Cards are dealt around the table and you can bet, call, raise, bluff or fold. The premise is to outlast your opponents and calling someone a liar when they are telling the truth means you putting a gun to your head russian roulette style. It’s all about making concious decisions and reading the cards on the table. Unfortunately there isn’t a tutorial, so I kind of hand to learn the game as I went, so I’d urge you to do the same as explaining it in detail would take a lot of reading. The winner will be the last player on the table with all the others dead, it becomes a lot more tense when you get to play against real players as AI become predictable over time.

The presentation of Fools Pub leans well into that dingy and dark backroom setting. It creates the atmosphere of playing cards after hours and focuses on dark shadows, dull lighting and smoky effects. Character models are animals who are cleverly created so that they have a face you can’t trust. UI is very minimal and that might not click with players of card games with a lot more context, but it works well for this game. During my time on Xbox Series X, I didn’t suffer any issues with the performance.

Sound effects are as you’d expect from a card game, the flutter of cards and the sound of cards being taken from the hand and laid. With some wild western music through in to set the tone, it suits the atmosphere. There is some voicing throughout, mainly characters voicing what cards they have to hand along with some other lines.

Fool’s Pub is a simplistic yet surprisingly addictive card game that can be a great laugh. Having cross-platform online multiplayer and Xbox Play Anywhere functionality really extends the lifespan of the game. This should ensure that there is a healthy number of players coming through to the online side of the game. At the reasonably low cost of £5.79 on Xbox Series X/S it is an absolute steal if you’re a fan of playing card games where you look to bluff other players or even play it safe and pounce at the right moments. The intensity of trying to survive is really engaging and tense throughout.

That said, there are some improvements I’d like to see to extend the longevity further. Adding more meat to the online multiplayer would make it a much better game. Having no ranked modes or much reason to play on other than the satisfaction of winning wears thin quite quickly. But going back to the price point, its still worth a punt. If you fancy picking up a copy of the game on Xbox Series X/S, you can do so HERE.

Pros

• Speedy and tense gameplay loop that is fantastic fun
• Performs well on Xbox Series X/S
• Cross-platform multiplayer and Xbox Play Anywhere functionality is a great bonus
• Intriguing and interesting AI opponents

Cons

• AI can become a little predictable if you’re not interested in playing online
• Card variety is quite limited
• Could do with more progression incentives
• Online multiplayer could do with some better features like rankings, tournaments etc…