Sierra Games

Hoyle Puzzle and Board Games 2011

Last updated: October 9, 2026

Overview

Hoyle Puzzle and Board Games 2011 is a compilation of classic board, card, word and puzzle games released by Encore Software for Windows and Macintosh.123 Despite its “2011” branding, it was released in August 2010 in North America and November 2010 in PAL regions.24 The collection features 30 varieties of games along with a bonus match-3 game called Boonka with over 60 levels; the box copy promised “more games than ever!”45

The Hoyle series traces its roots back to Sierra On-Line’s 1989 release of Hoyle’s Official Book of Games, which was named after the 18th century playing card expert Edmond Hoyle.6 Some titles in the series used trademarks and designs from the Hoyle brand of playing cards under license from Brown & Bigelow.6 Encore Software took over publishing the series from 2005 to 2016, during a period of yearly releases.6 The 2011 edition advertises that all games are “designed with rules according to HOYLE, the Official Name in Gaming.”47

The game features the HOYLE Face Creator, allowing players to design their own avatars to play against computer opponents or other players on the same computer.48 Players earn HOYLE Bucks, an in-game currency that the ESRB describes as buying “items such as costumes, ornaments, and trinkets,” and can customize card backs and characters.43 Retail copy groups the games as word games, strategy games, card games, board games, family favorites, brain teasers and memory games.7

Games Included

Board Games

The collection includes classic board games for solo play against the computer or for several players on one computer.4 Traditional offerings include Backgammon, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Chess, Dominoes, Pachisi and Reversi.8 Board games have been part of the Hoyle series since its third volume in 1991.6

Strategy, Puzzle and Word Games

The full game list also includes Battling Ships, Bump ‘em, Crazy Contraptions, a set of tile games (Edge, Gravity, Mahjong, Memory and Slide Tiles), Master Match, Maze Racer, Maze Raider, Panic, Placer Racer, Rays, Rummy Squares, Star Collector, Time Breaker, Yacht and Zilch.8 The word games are Anagrams, Crosswords, Hangman, Word Searches, Word Yacht and Wordox, and the Big Bang games are Echo, Fallacy, NovaSweeper, Reaction, Sudoku and Remembrance.8 Retail copy highlights Chess, Mahjongg, Chinese Checkers, Hangman, Battling Ships and Sudoku.75

Card Games

The Solitaire Arcade covers 3 Towers, Best 21, Fast 21, Pick 2 and Sum 11.8 Metacritic’s summary also advertises “the all new Heartwild Solitaire from Sandlot Games.”2 The series’ card-game history dates back to the original 1989 volume, which had sold over 250,000 copies by 1990.6

Bonus Content

Boonka is a match-3 bonus game with “over 60 fast-paced levels, 15 powerful, level-changing power-ups and bonuses, 3 unique game modes.”45 According to a retailer listing, it launches separately through its own “Play Boonka” shortcut.8

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Players pick games from a menu, create an avatar with the HOYLE Face Creator, and customize card backs and characters.48 One buyer who compared the 2011 and 2012 editions preferred 2011 for “easier (for me) navigation from game to game,” noting that its main menu “is a list of all of the games.” The same buyer found that rules and how-to information were mostly in the PDF guides rather than in the game itself.10

Structure and Progression

Players earn HOYLE Bucks by playing and spend them in a catalog of extras.103 The same buyer called the catalog “pretty much just a bunch of silly stuff,” such as hats, decorations and food for the player’s character, and said it was not needed for play.10

Multiplayer Options

Players can “Challenge your friends and family on one computer or play against the witty and personable HOYLE characters.”48 The early Sierra volumes of the series had instead featured humorous computer opponents drawn from other Sierra series.6

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Mainstream gaming publications gave the game little attention. Metacritic lists the title but has no critic reviews aggregated, and it has no user reviews.211 The ESRB rated it E for Everyone, with descriptors for Comic Mischief and Tobacco Reference.3

Modern Assessment

Surviving buyer reviews are mixed. One buyer called it “a good batch of quick games you can play when you just want to take a 5- or 10-minute break from your work.” Another, whose anti-virus software objected to bundled extras during installation, returned it and recommended avoiding “the new version of this product.”10

Version Comparisons

The same buyer who compared the free trials of the 2011 and 2012 editions counted ten games in the 2011 version that are not in 2012, against two in 2012 that are not in 2011.10

Aggregate Scores:

  • Metacritic: No critic score available2

Development

Origins

The Hoyle series began in 1989 with Sierra On-Line’s Hoyle’s Official Book of Games Volume 1.6 That original game was designed by Warren Schwader, with music by Rob Atesalp, and used the Sierra Creative Interpreter (SCI) engine.6

Production

By 2010 the Hoyle brand was published by Encore Software, which had taken over the series in 2005.6 The Australian retailer Gamesmen lists Encore Software as developer and Mindscape as the PAL publisher, and Blu-ray.com lists Zoo Games as a publisher.49 No individual development credits for this edition were found. MobyGames credits the preceding “2010” edition, which has a near-identical game list, to Encore Software and Freeverse, Inc.12

Technical Achievements

The retail release came on a hybrid Mac/PC install disc, and the Mac version is a Universal Binary.1 The publisher supplied the manual on the disc rather than as a printed booklet.8

Technical Specifications

US retail box (Newegg listing):5

  • Windows: Windows XP (Home & Pro) SP3, Windows Vista SP1 or Windows 7; Pentium III 450 MHz (800 MHz for Vista); 128 MB RAM (512 MB for Vista and Windows 7); 1 GB hard disk space; 640x480 16-bit color; DVD-ROM drive
  • Mac: OS X 10.4.10–10.6; G3, G4, G5 or Intel processor, 867 MHz or higher; 512 MB RAM; 32 MB VRAM (ATI Rage cards not supported); 1 GB hard drive space; DVD-ROM drive

PAL retail box (Gamesmen listing):4

  • Windows: Windows XP (Home & Pro) SP3, Windows Vista SP1 or Windows 7; Pentium IV 2.4 GHz or faster; 512 MB RAM (1 GB for Vista and Windows 7); 1024x768 16-bit color, 64 MB VRAM; 3 GB hard disk space; DVD-ROM drive
  • Mac: OS X 10.4.11–10.6; Intel Core Solo, 1.5 GHz or higher; 512 MB RAM, 64 MB VRAM; 3 GB hard drive space; DVD-ROM drive

Both listings require a 33.6 Kbps modem or faster for internet features.45 Macintosh Repository lists the Mac build as running from Mac OS 10.4 up to 10.14.1

Download Version:7

  • File Size: 844,736 KB (approximately 825 MB)
  • Requirements: Pentium III 450 MHz (800 MHz for Vista), 128 MB RAM (512 MB for Vista and Windows 7), 1 GB hard disk space
  • Distributor: Arvato digital services Canada, Inc.

Technical Issues

One user who bought the download version reported that it froze a 64-bit Windows 7 PC on launch, forcing a power-off. Windows’ own compatibility troubleshooter suggested Windows XP (SP2) mode, but that did not fix it either.13

A JustAnswer question from a user of an earlier Encore edition, who asked whether “the 2011 version” had fixed the problems, described Zilch’s voices and sounds stopping on the second dice roll and returning on the third. The same user had trouble placing Pachisi tokens on circled spots, on both Windows 7 and Windows XP. That user also wrote: “I never encountered any issues with Hoyle games when they were produced by Sierra.”14 Both games were also in the preceding edition.12

One buyer found four catalog pages of blank entries offered with “Buy Now” for zero Hoyle Bucks.10 Another reported that anti-virus and malware scanners flagged the installation disc as “unwanted software.” That buyer opted out of the bundled extras offered during installation, but the anti-virus program still objected and removed parts of what was installed.10 Retail listings advise disabling antivirus and firewall software before installing.45

Version History

VersionDatePlatformNotes
RetailAugust 19, 2010PC/MacInitial North American release (Encore Software)25
PAL RetailNovember 4, 2010PC/MacAustralian/PAL release (Mindscape)4
DownloadUndatedWindowsDownload version labelled “version 2011”, distributed by Arvato7

Easter Eggs and Trivia

  • The entire Hoyle series is named after Edmond Hoyle, an 18th century playing card expert.6
  • The ESRB notes that one Hoyle Bucks item is a poster of a swimsuit model captioned “Rrrrrowr! This bathing beauty is making cat lovers left and right,” and that one character is depicted with a cigar in his mouth.3
  • The retail version ships on a hybrid Mac/PC disc.1
  • Despite the “2011” branding, the game was released in 2010.24
  • The retail version includes the manual on the disc rather than as a physical booklet.8

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

No sales figures for the 2011 edition have been found. The original 1989 Sierra release had sold over 250,000 copies by 1990.6

Collections and Re-releases

Wikipedia lists the next edition, Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games [2012] (released 2011), as re-released in 2020 as Encore Classic Puzzle & Board Games.6 That product went on sale on Steam on September 15, 2020, published by Encore Software and developed by webfoot.15 No source ties the re-release to this 2011-branded edition. At retail, this edition was sold through outlets including Office Depot (as a download) and the Australian retailer Gamesmen.47

Preservation Status

The Gamesmen listing now shows the product as “No Longer Available.”4

  • On-Disc Manual: The manual is supplied on the installation disc.8

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

The game is also listed in IGDB.16

See Also

References

Footnotes

  1. Macintosh Repository – Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2011 – year 2010, hybrid Mac/PC install disc, OS X Universal Binary, Mac OS 10.4 to 10.14 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Metacritic – Hoyle Puzzle and Board Games 2011 – August 19, 2010 release date, Encore Software, rated E, Heartwild Solitaire, no critic reviews ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  3. ESRB – Hoyle Puzzle and Board 2011 – E rating, Comic Mischief and Tobacco Reference descriptors, Encore Software, Mac/Windows, Hoyle Bucks items ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Gamesmen Australia – PC Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2011 – PAL release date 4 November 2010, Mindscape publisher, Encore developer, PAL system requirements, product description ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20

  5. Newegg – Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2011 – US retail system requirements, Boonka, product description, first listed August 18, 2010 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  6. Wikipedia – Hoyle’s Official Book of Games – series history, Volume 1 credits and sales, Encore era, list of editions and the 2020 re-release of the [2012] edition ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13

  7. Office Depot – Hoyle Puzzle and Board Games 2011 – download version: size, distributor, requirements, game categories, product description ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  8. PicClick – Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games – full game list, features, manual on disc (Australian retail listing) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11

  9. Blu-ray.com – Hoyle Puzzle and Board Games 2011 – publisher (Zoo Games), ESRB rating ↩ ↩2

  10. Desertcart – Encore Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2011 – product description, mirrored customer reviews (2011 vs 2012 comparison, Hoyle Bucks catalog, anti-virus complaint) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  11. Metacritic – User Reviews – no user reviews ↩

  12. MobyGames – Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games (2009) – the preceding “2010” edition: Encore/Freeverse developer credit and game list ↩ ↩2

  13. JustAnswer – Windows 7 64-bit Compatibility – one user’s Windows 7 64-bit launch freeze and troubleshooting steps ↩

  14. JustAnswer – Hoyle Puzzle Board Games Zilch Issue – a user’s question about Zilch/Pachisi bugs in an earlier Encore edition ↩

  15. Steam – Encore Classic Puzzle & Board Games – September 15, 2020 release, Encore Software LLC publisher, webfoot developer ↩ ↩2

  16. IGDB – Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2011 (2010) – database entry ↩

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