Splitting your attention between the cards and the amount of wine in the glass is surprisingly difficult, and we often found ourselves second-guessing whether we actually saw what we thought we did in the opponent’s hand.Īs the game continues, there are increasingly more difficult minigames to complete, requiring more steps and more specific information to keep in your memory.
You have about three seconds to pour the wine-too much or too little will draw attention-but you also need to remember things like how many cards they had in a particular suit or what their highest card was. What makes this so thrilling is the fact that you’re constantly under pressure as you’re doing so, often because you have to commit lots of information to memory in a very short period of time.įor example, when you’re pouring wine for someone, the screen usually splits in two to also show you the cards in their hand. Each level tasks you with completing relatively simple tricks like shuffling a deck, flipping a coin, or pouring wine, and these are accomplished with Quick Time Event-like prompts. Gameplay in Card Shark could be most closely described as a take on the minigame frenzy of a WarioWare entry. All the while, you slowly begin to realize that the Comte is tangled up in a bigger conspiracy concerning the French royalty. Impressed by your con-artist skills and preying upon your newfound homelessness, the Comte thus takes you under his wing and the two of you set out on an adventure to fleece all manner of high society nobles across France. Unfortunately, your opponent eventually gets wise to what you’re up to and your patron gets fatally shot in the ensuing struggle. While waiting on a boisterous noble calling himself the Comte de Saint-Germain (who actually existed) at the behest of your patron, you get roped into helping the rascal cheat in a game of cards in exchange for some of the winnings. Published by Devolver Digital, it’s the kind of game that’ll stick with you long after the credits have rolled, and if you’re even remotely interested, we’d very much encourage you to give it a go.Ĭard Shark takes place in 18th century France and places you in the role of a mute servant boy. The act of pulling off the con is shockingly simple, but maintaining one’s composure to ensure that everything goes according to plan is shockingly not simple. However please note that in American English “shark” is informally considered to be the more positive term, while “sharp” retained its negative meaning to a larger extent.They say cheaters never prosper, but clearly they’ve never played Card Shark, a wonderfully tense, goofy little game that’s all about keeping your cool under tremendous pressure as you basically rob people blind. The positive connotations of “expert” and “professional player” did arise later on. The term had extremely negative connotations – calling someone a sharp was an equivalent to accusing him of cheating.
“Never trust a card sharp, those people will always find a way of taking your chips and making you look stupid.” TriviaĪs a synonym of the term “shark,” the term “sharp” used to refer to people who prey upon others and is derived from German “Schorke” or “Schurke” (rogue, rascal). “Because Lisa spent many hours studying every football game and always bet on the right team, she was considered one of the sharps by her friends.”Ģ.
However, please note that in American English, the term “card sharp” has some negative connotations and might be used to indicate cheating or other forms of foul play. In sports gambling, the term “sharp” is used to refer to intelligent and astute bettors.Ī card shark is expert player who is capable of taking advantage of less skilled opponents.