The Feature
Last week I bought a Pac-Man board game from a jumble sale for 20p. All in a good cause; some girl guides new knee socks fund. When I got it home I was not suprised to find all the little 'dots' (marble ball things) missing, rendering the game useless. Well, not quite. The Pac-Man went straight into Amandas Mini Cooper, dangling from the rear-view mirror. There have been a number of board game conversions onto home computer format, to debatable degrees of sucess. The first games I ever bought were Psions Chess and Scrabble.
My parents were quite pleased I think, this computer thing was obviously more educational than that Binatone bat and ball game. Little did they know of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy lurking in the shadows. Following mixed reviews in the magazines I bought Monopoly and Cluedo as soon as they were released. I soon realised that some things were never meant to be computer games. Nearly 20 and alot of wasted anticipation down the drain, and I still preferred the real action.
Chess games are fairly suited to transfer to a 2-D format; the computer can make a formidable opponant with the right depth of programming. One of the best I've seen is Colossus 4 Chess by CDS (if you can excuse the poor quality of the cassette tapes they consistantly use). With more options you could possibly need, and a nifty 3-D display, this surely is the definitive Speccy boffins wargame. Backgammon is also well represented; one of the earliest versions by Hewson, was given away on a Sinclair User tape some years ago. I must admit, I find Draughts a hideously boring game, but Hewson again gave you the chance to play Einstein at it! There is some real lush programming here, turning a simple boardgame into a fun experience (at least until the novelty wears off). Looking back on my childhood (which still continues after 3 cans of lager) I've seen some of my favourite boardgames never making it onto any computer. Who remembers On The Buses? You had to go round your colour coded route picking up passengers and avoiding Blakie. Ace game! And what about Haunted House, dropping a ball bearing down the chimney to set off traps to knacker your opponants bloke. I suppose it could have been the forerunner to Knight Lore. Eh, sort of... Which leads on to games that leave you wondering, why did they bother? The aforementioned Waddingtons games proved that the Spectrum has its limitations. And who has played Subbuteo on a monitor? What's the bloody point!! Games that combine the computer and tangible pieces are not common. The cost factor probably came into it when these projects were discussed. Apart from that crap Atmosphere game (who can play it without lots of giggling?) my favourite is Brian Cloughes Football Fortunes. Having the Speccy control the league table was a stroke of obvious genius. And don't forget that Space Crusade, Gremlins last (and best) for us. I havn't forgotten Trivial Pursuits, Pictionary or any other smug yuppie coffee table quiz games. Another boring feature maybe...
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