142 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
142 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
|
||
|
||
|
||
CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING
|
||
|
||
Card game simulations have been steadily gaining in popularity and
|
||
sophistication. There's an enigma here, since many card games can be
|
||
played with a 49-cent deck of cards as easily as with a $2000
|
||
computer. Yet the computer offers would-be cardsharps a handy
|
||
opponent (or a whole table full), keeps score, and will even help
|
||
you learn the game from the ground up. Software Toolworks's CRIBBAGE
|
||
KING/GIN KING is the latest entry in computer card gaming, and it's
|
||
one of the very best: heavily featured, instructive, and graphically
|
||
excellent. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version of the
|
||
game.)
|
||
|
||
CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING is two programs packaged together. Upon
|
||
running it, you're asked to select which of the two games you want
|
||
to play. Once you select your game, you cannot switch to the other
|
||
game without first exiting the program.
|
||
|
||
Both games come with seven computerized players, all of whom have
|
||
their own style and depth of play. There's Alfie, who basically
|
||
knows the rules of the game and how to count his points. But his
|
||
plays, though always legal, are also random and entirely
|
||
non-strategic. He's the one to play against when you feel like
|
||
grinding your opponent into the dirt. Then (in ascending order of
|
||
difficulty) you have Chesley, Lady Ames, Lord Ainsley, Reggie, Mrs.
|
||
Bass, and Shark.
|
||
|
||
These players are used in two ways: as opponents, and/or as
|
||
tutors. Some of them have the upper hand because they're able to
|
||
keep track of all cards played, and constantly recalculate
|
||
probabilities. Using the characters as tutors can also help you
|
||
learn to increase the depth of your own analysis. Since Shark -- the
|
||
smartest opponent -- takes everything into account, he's _very_
|
||
difficult to beat. And when he tutors, his advice is the best
|
||
(although sometimes tough to fathom).
|
||
|
||
Note that when I say all opponents have their own style, I'm not
|
||
referring to charisma. The characters do not have cute graphics or
|
||
conversational speech. This is a no-nonsense card table, thank you,
|
||
and the gameplay is dry, straightforward, and non-intuitive. The
|
||
only comic relief is provided by Alfie's responses and the
|
||
euphemisms the game uses for the word "analyzing" whenever you ask
|
||
for advice (i.e., "Shark is cogitating...").
|
||
|
||
Each of the two games has a healthy set of parameters, some of
|
||
which can be altered in the middle of the game. CRIBBAGE KING lets
|
||
you play two-handed, four-handed, or five-card (two-player variant)
|
||
Cribbage. You can toggle the Muggins option on or off, and here's
|
||
one of my niggling criticisms: Muggins is inadequately represented,
|
||
because the computer opponent _never_ makes mistakes -- not even
|
||
Alfie. If Muggins is turned on, the computer can catch _you_ in a
|
||
mistake and reap the benefit, but it never works the other way
|
||
around. Turning Muggins off tells the computer to count your cards
|
||
as well as its own, giving you the same unfair advantage. In any
|
||
event, a significant element of the game -- learning to Muggins your
|
||
opponent -- is omitted.
|
||
|
||
Also note that the four-handed version of Cribbage involves one
|
||
human and three computerized opponents (or four computer opponents
|
||
in auto mode). The program does not support more than one human
|
||
player in any mode. However, Software Toolworks has thoughtfully
|
||
included in the CK/GK package a miniature deck of Bicycle Playing
|
||
Cards (with classic "Rider" backs) as well as a hand little wooden
|
||
cribbage board and pegs, so you're covered for human or computer
|
||
opponents. Added to this are separate manuals for Cribbage and Gin,
|
||
each of which gives thorough instructions, terminology, complete
|
||
indexes (a major help!), and some history. In the case of Cribbage,
|
||
an in-depth analysis of the odds and tactics is included. The Gin
|
||
booklet is cursory in this area, but then again, Gin is a far
|
||
simpler game.
|
||
|
||
There are scores of other options: tournament mode, duplicate
|
||
mode, changing dealers, compiling statistics, saving your favorite
|
||
game settings, printing, demo modes, and so on. An on-screen
|
||
recreation of the cribbage board lets you keep track of the score.
|
||
You can view the computer's hand if you want to follow its strategy
|
||
more closely. You can set up your own hands and have the computer
|
||
help formulate a strategy. All told, there are more game options
|
||
than you're likely to need.
|
||
|
||
Most of these options apply to GIN KING as well as to CRIBBAGE
|
||
KING. In GIN KING, there are two variants: regular gin (knock card
|
||
is 10), and Oklahoma Gin (knock card is determined by the first card
|
||
turned up after the deal). I only found one missing feature here:
|
||
the ability to make Aces either high or low. There's no way to
|
||
select this option in GIN KING; the Ace is always low.
|
||
|
||
I tested the MS-DOS version of CK/GK, in all four of its graphic
|
||
modes: VGA, EGA, CGA, and Hercules. The VGA (viewed with an Orchid
|
||
Pro Designer Plus) is absolutely superb: The programmer(s) did a
|
||
phenomenal job of duplicating those famous Bicycle Rider backs, and
|
||
the faces are likewise picture-perfect. EGA is nearly as good,
|
||
offering 16 colors and 640x350 resolution. Even CGA was excellent,
|
||
and Hercules was almost as good as EGA/VGA -- less colorful,
|
||
obviously, but the resolution was extremely high, and the cards
|
||
looked crisp, clear, and fully formed. This is one of the few games
|
||
I've played in CGA and monochrome that impressed me with its
|
||
graphics.
|
||
|
||
There was a snafu, however, with EGA. While installing the program
|
||
on a computer with an Everex EGA card, the computer correctly
|
||
detected the presence of the Everex; thus, it installed the game for
|
||
EGA graphics. But when I ran the program, for some reason, it failed
|
||
to detect the presence of the EGA, and refused to operate. I had to
|
||
reinstall the program for CGA before I could play it.
|
||
|
||
Speaking of installation, the protection scheme -- similar to
|
||
Software Toolworks's CHESSMASTER 2100 -- deserves praise. The
|
||
original disks (you get both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" formats) are
|
||
copy-protected and cannot be duplicated. However, when you use the
|
||
masters to install the program on hard or floppy disks, the
|
||
installed game doesn't require a key disk or a document check of any
|
||
sort: It's completely unprotected. The only constraint is if you
|
||
change your hardware, you'll probably need to reinstall the
|
||
program, since the installation procedure memorizes your setup.
|
||
Fortunately, it's simple and fast; it also saves disk space by
|
||
leaving out the graphic drivers you don't need.
|
||
|
||
Requirements in general: an IBM-PC/XT/AT or PS/2, Tandy or other PC
|
||
compatibles; VGA, EGA, CGA, or Hercules; 384K and DOS 2.0 or
|
||
higher; an optional mouse. In this case, the keypad is just as easy
|
||
to use as the mouse.
|
||
|
||
Overall, I was very impressed with CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING. Software
|
||
Toolworks's thorough treatment of the games reminds me of
|
||
MicroIllusions's BLACKJACK ACADEMY. It offers the excellent graphics
|
||
of Spectrum HoloByte's SOLITAIRE ROYALE, and its wide selection of
|
||
computer opponents outclasses Accolade's CARD SHARKS. Appropriate
|
||
for both the casual player and the serious statistician, CRIBBAGE
|
||
KING/GIN KING is a most enjoyable program that sets a new standard
|
||
for card game software.
|
||
|
||
CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING is published by The Software Toolworks and
|
||
distributed by Electronic Arts.
|
||
|
||
*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
|
||
|
||
|
||
|