Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!elroy!cit-vax!ucla-cs!wales From: wales@CS.UCLA.EDU Newsgroups: rec.games.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Backgammon game wanted Message-ID: <9398@shemp.UCLA.EDU> Date: Tue, 24-Nov-87 02:25:10 EST Article-I.D.: shemp.9398 Posted: Tue Nov 24 02:25:10 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Nov-87 00:20:57 EST References: <118@telesoft.UUCP> Sender: root@CS.UCLA.EDU Reply-To: wales@CS.UCLA.EDU (Rich Wales) Organization: UCLA CS Department, Los Angeles Lines: 43 Keywords: Backgammon IBM-PC Xref: mnetor rec.games.misc:1200 comp.sys.ibm.pc:10484 In article <118@telesoft.UUCP> bruceb@telesoft.UUCP (Bruce Bergman @spot) writes: > I'm looking for a good Backgammon game for the PC. I might even be > willing to pay for something (if reasonable). Does anyone have any > suggestions? As an alternate, a MacIntosh or Sun version would be > acceptable. Any pointers would be appreciated! I bought a PC backgammon game by Spinnaker for about $15 at Crown Books a while back. It requires graphics, but will work on either color or monochrome (there are two versions on the floppy). The floppy is not copy-protected, so the program can be installed on a hard disk. The Spinnaker backgammon program lets you see the "pip count" any time you want. It also gives you advice on request (though said advice is frequently questionable). One minor nit in the Spinnaker game is that it does *not* implement the rule that requires you to use the higher number in situations where you could use one or the other number of the throw, but not both. Other than that, though, I've never seen the program make an illegal move, let the player get away with an illegal move, or refuse to accept a player's legal move. My main gripe with the Spinnaker game is that the default options cannot be "saved away" and must be reset each time you play. Also -- though I might just be crying "sour grapes" and can't be sure -- it's seemed to me that the program often "cheats" by biasing critical dice throws in its own favor (e.g., miraculous come-from-behind wins in the end game by rolling two or three doubles in a row). But even if this is in fact what is happening, I still think the program is pretty good. If I were designing a PC backgammon game, I'd include a mouse interface (to let you point at the piece you wanted to move, and either drag it to its new location, or else use the left button at the starting point and the right button at the destination). Also, a display mode which would show where the pieces affected by the current move came from (e.g., by displaying "phantoms" at the original locations) would be very nice -- especially for the computer's moves. -- Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department // +1 (213) 825-5683 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, California 90024-1596 // USA wales@CS.UCLA.EDU ...!(ucbvax,rutgers)!ucla-cs!wales "Sir, there is a multilegged creature crawling on your shoulder."