Chicago – Dice Game Review & Rules

Hello LCD! Done at last — after several attempts and interruptions, I finally found the time to keep my promise. Recent club meetings and other things took up much more time than expected. So here at last are the promised instructions for:

> C H I C A G O <

Friends of the fast rolling dice!

In Scene 8/96 you will find the game "Chicago". It is a well-crafted implementation of a classic dice game idea. Before getting into the rules, here is why I find this game so interesting:

You can play it alone or with up to six people; you can have the computer join in, where it can also replace multiple players; and it requires a mix of skill, willingness to take risks, and, last but not least, a bit of luck from Lady Fortuna.

After loading, the program asks for the number of players and then their names. If you enter "Spectrum" or "Spect" or similar, the computer chooses one of several possible computer opponents from its roster. These actually have slightly different skill levels (at least that is WoMo's and my impression). Then it decides the turn order for rolling the dice. Once this is displayed on the screen and you have waited a few seconds, the game begins.

The first roll is displayed, and you have various options on how to proceed. But first, you should know what it's all about:

1. The game ends when one or more players reach or exceed 10,000 points.
2. The player who has the highest score at the end of that final round wins. (It doesn't necessarily have to be the one who reached 10,000 first.)
3. On every roll, at least one scoring die must be set aside.
4. Once a player accumulates at least 350 points in a turn, they can choose to bank them or keep rolling. But beware — if a roll yields no scoring dice, all points gathered during that turn that haven't been banked yet are lost.
5. A single 1 is worth 100 points, and a single 5 is worth 50 points. All other individual dice count for nothing.
6. If ALL six dice show different numbers on a single roll (i.e. 1-2-3-4-5-6), that gives 1,500 points — so take all of them instead of just the 1 to keep rolling! (Speaking from personal experience :))
7. If three identical numbers appear in one roll, they are worth 100 times their face value (e.g., 4-4-4 is 400 points). However, three 1s give 1,000 points.
8. If all six dice have been set aside as scoring dice, you must roll again with all six. If those six new dice score nothing, disappointment follows!

The controls for rolling (initiated with a keypress) and the options to bank points or continue are displayed clearly. Since the Spectrum makes a respectable opponent, and you can play in a group (best gathered in a semi-circle around the TV or monitor), the idea is very well implemented. It makes a great change of pace from shoot 'em ups and platformers, whether played solo or with friends. In addition, the Spectrum comments on its moves with various funny remarks, which keeps things lively.

If the rules seem a bit confusing at first, I can only recommend just diving in and playing — it will quickly become clear.

Here is the quick rating (1–10):

• Game: Chicago (48/128K, 16K?)
• Author: Erich Czyrka, 1984
• Engine: Programmed in BASIC!
• Graphics: 6 (for a dice game)
• Sound: 3
• Speed: 6
• Concept and execution: 9

Verdict: It doesn't always have to be garish and ear-splittingly loud. Overall, highly recommended for fans of dice cups!

Tested with the help of WoMo by P. C. R., 1997.

Note by LCD: Tested Chicago on a Spectrum 16K (with a defective chip in upper RAM!) — it doesn't run. No wonder, the BASIC program alone takes about 20 KB. Since only 8 KB of RAM are free on a 16K machine, the question of running it on a Spectrum 16K is settled! As for the game itself, I played it again and agree that it's genuinely fun now that the rules are clear.