As many of you may be aware, the newly created Xbox LIVE Productions creation, Fable II Pub Games, was released to gamers everywhere via Gamestop & Amazon’s Fable II pre-order codes. (The game was also released on the Xbox Live Arcade, where it can be purchased in full for 800 Microsoft SpaceBux, or $10). However, the immediate response by hardcore Fable fans has been starkly polarized — some love the game while others seem to loathe it.

The game consists of three separate games, Fortune’s Tower, Keystone and Spinnerbox, all intended to replicate similar MGM Grand-like casino games. In Fortune’s Tower, the player must hedge his bets on whether or not two of the same card will appear adjacent to one another in pyramid-style columns. This game closely mirrors the likes of Blackjack, in that the player must bet based on the odds whether or not a certain card will appear. In Keystone, a game very similar to roulette, the player must bet on the rolls of the dice, and can choose to bet on different numbers, colors and suits. Spinnerbox, the third and final mini-game present in Fable II Pub Games, is a complete crap shoot — it’s a game of 18th century slots in which you can either win big or lose everything.

With so much variety (and possible fun to be had), how is it that many gamers are responding with such disdain toward this nifty, free mini-game that Peter Molyneux and his pride of lions have bestowed upon us? It seems that from the very beginning of the game, it is very difficult to win in almost all of the games. I’m not talking about it being difficult to win jackpots or anything, but rather to come out positive in any particular mini-game session. The game starts you off with $500 with which to play, almost all of which is quickly gambled away in mere minutes. This leads to massive amounts of unpayable debt (one person that I encountered was over $9000 in debt!), and lots of tears of anguish and frustration. The result is a forum full of unhappy, unwieldy gamers filled with rage about not being able to beef up their Fable II character’s bank account before the game hits.

Why even bother with Fable II Pub Games, then, if the games are near impossible to win? The mini-games present in Fable II Pub Games are very representative of real life gambling. Many gamers expect that, in the game, they’ll be able to keep feeding the games quarters and come out champions, like in many other games. However, Fable II Pub Games is not like this. In all of the games, except maybe for Spinnerbox, players must master the art of gambling — knowing when to cut your losses and cash out and when to continue for big money. While many players may brand the games as pure luck, each (except for Spinnerbox) take a considerable amount of strategy to compete in. For instance, in Fortune’s Tower, counting cards is a great strategy that will allow the player to, more times than not, have a good idea about what number card will turn up next. For instance, if there are three fours in one row, and no other fours present on the board, it would be a pretty good idea to cash out on that hand, as there is a strong possibility that at least one four will emerge in the next row. Sure, such strategy may not be easy to implement off the bat, but it is necessary in order to make a kilAs one forum-goer put it, “Fortune’s Tower [...] isn’t LUCK. It’s PROBABILITY. And you can make it work for you.”

All that I ask of these naysayers is to give the game another chance. Yes, the games may be difficult and, at times, seem unfair but Fable II Pub Games is a great compendium of three genuinely fun mini-games that, when played with attention to strategy, will provide hours of entertainment until Fable II drops in October.