The single-player game contains three modes: Free Play, Stamp Mode, and Mission Mode. Free Play lets you play any of the games at your leisure, while the Stamp and Mission modes are structured challenges that allow you to unlock goodies like new avatars and games. In Stamp mode you'll play through all 42 games, one by one, and earning stamps that let you advance to the next game. It's a nice way to introduce yourself to games you may not have tried on your own. In Mission mode you're challenged to achieve certain goals, such as winning a game of poker with a royal flush. Naturally, some of the goals are frustrating, but they'll keep you busy with that ever present urge to unlock things.
Chess suffers slightly from the small screen-the cartoonishly rendered pieces are a little muddled, and the top screen just displays a list of previous moves, but might have been better put to use as an iconic diagram of the board.
Some of the single player games go a little slow, and it's definitely boring to wait for your AI opponents to finish their turns before yours comes around again. Despite the slowness, the AI's are excellent considering the number of games in the collection. The easy AI won't frustrate beginners, while the hard AI is enough to challenge seasoned veterans. They aren't perfect, but that's what the comprehensive online mode is for.
