Card Games See CASINO for video poker. See SOLITAIR for solitaire games. Contents -----Bridge -----Hearts -----Spades -----Pinochle -----Poker -----Cribbage -----Gin -----Blackjack -----Other Card Games =========== -----Bridge [BRDG_CAL] Bridge Calendar System (Progressive Software; $15) allows you to store and play back bridge hands, including bidding and comments for each bid or play, for later review. The single-step playback design along with the comments make this good for setting up tutorials for others. It also keeps track of bridge events, event locations, partners, and bidding system information. A mouse is optional, but makes use of the program much easier. Requires EGA or VGA. [BRDG_PAL] Bridge Pal (WR Software ASP; $10) lets you play bridge against the computer. [BRIDGE] Bridge (Passera, Gerard D.; $20) This is a good version of the card game Bridge. You bid and play one hand, the computer bids and plays the other three. It is assumed that you already know how to play the game. [BRIDGDD] Duplicate Bridge Scoring Program (Donald, Dick; $15) is for setting up and scoring a duplicate bridge game. Intended for home use, it is limited to four tables (8 pairs). It shows board movements, calculates match point or IMP results, prints the results and can save results to disk for later recall. If you give bridge parties, but have never tried duplicate because you didn't know how to do it, try this disk. -----Hearts [BHEARTS] Baker's Hearts 1.6 (Baker Technical Software, Inc.; $20) is a good Hearts game. Options include viewing the opponents' hands. [HRT66] Hearts 6.6 (Crouch, R. J. ASP; $15-$20) is the best overall Hearts game for DOS. -----Spades [SPADES1] Spades 0.24 (Seyer, Larry; $0) is the card game Spades. The computer plays your partner's and two opponent's hands. You can adjust the "intelligence" of the computerized players to a certain extent by specifying how well each one remembers the cards that have been played; however, you can't do anything about the strategic "intelligence". Nevertheless, the play is good enough to be interesting and entertaining. [SPADES2] Spades ($0) is the game of spades in which the computer will play the other three hands against you. The computer's play isn't very brilliant, but it's still fun to play. -----Pinochle [DBL_PINO] Doubles Pinochle 1.01 (Smith, Sean; $12) lets you play double-pack pinochle against the computer. You pick a partner and opponents from nine computer players. Your record versus each computer player is saved. Rules can be modified. Six different cardbacks are included. Requires VGA and 510K of RAM. [DDPINOC] Double-Deck Pinochle (Daugherty, Ralph; $0) lets you play one hand of double-deck Pinochle while the computer plays the other three hands. The documentation explains the scoring and play and the program has a "learner's mode". [DDAPNCL] Double Deck Action Pinochle 1.0 (Nicholas, Larry W.; $20) matches you and a computer partner against another computer partnership in Pinochle. You will learn how to bid, meld, and win tricks. Great graphics. Requires EGA/VGA, color monitor, and a mouse. (Don't try running the game under Windows or DesqView.) [PINOCHL] Pinochle (Nippert, C.R.; $15) lets you play against the computer in four-handed Pinochle. User selectable options include auction or on-shot bidding and different playing strengths. On-line help can teach you the rules, and you can elect to let the computer play while you watch. [PINOC_MB] Pinocle Games 1.2 (Bruckner, Michael G.; $15) offers three varieties of the classic game: the standard game ("Basic") in which you play with the cards that are dealt to you, a version in which the highest bidder places the four cards from a kitty into his hand and discards four, and Pass, in which the highest bidder calls trump and then swaps four cards with his partner. -----Poker [DRWPOK] Poker 5.7 (Gellman, Robert; $0) lets you play five-card draw poker against the computer. It allows you to open with anything and to check and raise; however, the only weakness we found is that you can normally buy a lot of antes by betting high after the computer has checked; its play is not influenced by the fact that you did the same thing 50 times before. The author has attempted to thwart this strategy after we reported it; however, Robert says: "General pattern recognition in betting is extremely complex and would require a major revision." Nevertheless, we think this is an excellent poker game and recommend it highly. [FNPOKR1, FNPOKR2] Friday Night Poker (Hyperware Software; $10) is a hilarious animated game of 5- or 7-Card Stud. Choose your opponents from among the shifty gents named Gramps, Achmed, Geno, Nasty, and Tex, or the lovely ladies Linn, Marna, or Luu. If you're feeling really brave, you can read a little biography on each player. The players' thoughts (sometimes off-color) can be displayed during play, and there are many other speed and display options available. The graphics and playability of this game are excellent. 640K, EGA/VGA, a mouse, and 1.5 meg of disk space are required. [HE_V11] HE 1.1 (Bryant, Austin E.; $40) is a computerized version of Texas Hold 'Em. It does not have graphics as fancy as some games, but it is an excellent program for training to play in the real world. [HOLDEM] Holdem (Perez, Bob; $?) is a simulation of the world's fastest growing poker game played in the annual World Series of Poker. With this program you can set up many scenarios and deal out thousands of simulated hands, keeping a constant record of how the hands went, which hand won, whether it was ace-high, etc. You can configure the game to include such realistic features as blind bets, 0 to 2 jokers, and can position yourself in any seat at a table of up to 10 players. You can even pick a starting hand and see how it does over the long run. [JACKPOT2] Jackpot2 is five-card draw poker. You play one hand, the computer plays four others. BASIC required. [LOWBALL] Lowball is the game of "Lowball" poker in which the person with the low hand wins. You play your hand, the computer plays six others. [MSSTUD] Mastery Series: 7 Card Stud 3.97 (The WorkWare Company; $65) play 7 Card Stud against 1 to 7 other players (computer "AutoPlayers"). This is a very professional quality game. You can set your opponents' skills from beginner to expert, then play real poker against them. The AutoPlayers bet, raise, fold, and even bluff. You can set the betting limits, antes, maximum raises, players' stakes, etc. You can play to improve your skills or just for fun. [POKER1, POKER2] Poker Compiler (Workware Co.; $90) is a tool for serious poker players. You can use it just for playing poker against the computer, but you can take it to a new level by programming the strategy used by the computer. [POKRHRTS] PokrHrts (Small Business Software; $10) is a set of two card games, Poker and Hearts. The poker game is five-card draw played against the computer. The hearts game is two-handed against the computer. Two-handed hearts is not nearly as much fun as with three or more hands because you know where all the other cards are. [TX_HOLDM] The Poker Program 2.1 (Wilson Software; $15) lets you play Texas Hold'em against up to nine computer opponents. The program features a tutorial on poker in general and on Texas Hold'em in particular. You can select the number of opponents and their playing strength. EGA/VGA required. Texas Hold'em is the big money poker game of choice for pro's. The tutorials are a good introduction for poker beginners. Our only complaint was that to see how you stand in winnings, you have to go through several menu selections. We would like to see the remaining stakes for each hand displayed on the main screen. Otherwise, this is a very good rendition of the pro poker game. [TEXHOLD] Texas Holdem Poker 3.1 (Martin, George; $5) is based on the game Holdem as played in Las Vegas. You play your hand and the computer plays the eight other hands. [VJDRWPKR] Vegas Johnny's Draw Poker (Comeau, John; $7) is a game of the classic draw poker against computerized opponents. This is a fun, fast, and easy game to play using either the keyboard or a mouse. Features include tips for beginners and on-line odds for advanced players. House Rules are user selectable. It took us a while to find how to change the rules - start up the program by entering POKER RULES on the DOS command line. -----Cribbage [CH_CRIB] Championship Cribbage 1.0 (Goodwin, Mark D.; $5) pits you against the computer in the popular card game of Cribbage. [CRIBBAG] Cribbage is a very good version of Cribbage. BASIC is required. [CRIBBAGE] 3D-Cribbage (Juneau, Mark R.; $25) is the classic card game of cribbage. You play against the computer. It features a self-scoring cribbage board. Requires VGA. [CRIBPRTN] Cribbage Partner 3.0 (Crowther, James I. Jr.; $15) is an excellent rendition of Cribbage in which you play against the computer. For those wishing to learn the game, the rules of Cribbage are spelled out in the documentation file, and pressing R at your turn will cause the computer to recommend a play for you. Other features include mouse support, customizable playing options, scoring history, easy/hard difficulty levels, and more. -----Gin [GINRUMC] Gin Rummy Challenge 8.1 (Cody, Jim; $0) pits you against the computer in a game of Gin Rummy. You can optionally play the game with a friend over a modem. [GINRUM] GinRummy 4.2 (David Teach; $ any) lets you play Gin against the computer. Features include selectable gin, game and knock scores, optional Oklahoma rules, game difficulty, and more. [RUMTILE] RumTile is an interesting, and very challenging, variation on Gin Rummy, which is why it is classified as a Card Game even though the game uses four different colors of tiles numbered one to 13 instead of card suits. The game is more complex than the card game, but a Hint mode and thorough on-line instructions will help you learn it quickly. A mouse is required. [TOM_GIN] Tommy's Gin Rummy (Tommy's Toys; $0) lets you play gin rummy against the computer in Standard, Oklahoma or Cowboy versions. -----Blackjack [21] 21 is a blackjack game. [BLKJACK] BlkJack is a blackjack game written in BASIC. [BLACKJAC] BlackJack! 2.40d (Glencoe Computing ASP; $30) is a completely accurate simulation of the game Blackjack or 21. Also included is a thorough discussion of the rules of play, basic strategy, card counting and betting systems. This program can be used for entertainment as well as a tool for the serious player. Features include: user configurable and three predefined casinos, basic strategy drills, card counting drills, multiple players, automatic players, regular or tournament style play, and super high quality graphics. Other features include full true count support in casino play and practice drills, user defined card counting system and user defined betting progression for automated players, customize graphics and text color palettes, focus basic strategy drill on problem areas, double deal and manual deal in counting drill, status box now shows true count and aces played, ability to turn off auto hand totaling, save all configuration settings as defaults, force re-shuffle during play, support for Caribbean style play, and quick exit at any time, the ability to sit out a hand or to drop out of play without quitting a session, and warnings when incorrect plays are made. All 4 casinos can be edited, and millions of fully automated hands can be played. Austrailian style play is also supported. A Realistic Mode accurately simulates the flow of play in an actual casino setting. Player's cards are retrieved, and bets settled in the order of play. Bust and surrendered hands are immediately removed from the table before play progresses to the next player. Requires EGA, VGA or Hercules compatible mono-graphics. [BJ_DEM] BlackJack (Mirus, Richard; $0) is a blackjack game for EGA/VGA systems with a hard disk. The hard disk is required to hold the 1.5 meg of picture files used by the program to depict the cards in hi-res, multi-colored graphics. It's worth it for the face cards, which look as much like real cards as you are likely to find on a PC. To get instructions, run the program and press F1 when asked to bet. [PONTOON] Pontoon (PC Projects; $7) is a 70K pop-up card game similar to Blackjack, but with a few differences. [TMBJACK] TM-Bjack is an excellent blackjack game with lots of options. [TOMMYS21] Tommy's Twenty-One (Tommy's Toys; $0) is a good version of a wise-cracking, blackjack playing program. Also included are the games known as seven and one-half (Flapjack) and nine (Macao) and the British version of the game known as Pontoon. No graphics required. [ULTIMA21] Ultima 21 Deluxe (Falconer, Jay J.; $20) is a blackjack game. Features include decision help, the option to set the casino options\rules, number of decks selection, game statistics, set table betting limits, card count statistics, set game speed, set dealer cards on\off, game save option, and memory statistics. Playing options include hit or take another card, stay or stand, double down, split the pair, surrender the hand, peek at next few cards, and request to shuffle the deck. The cards are drawn with ASCII characters, so the game will work on any video, yet the screens and cards are attractively done. [ULTIMABJ] Ultimate Blackjack 1.2 (Accicental Software; $13) is an intriguing game of blackjack you can play with several comical computerized players. The program features excellent graphics with colorful animated characters. Up to six decks can be used, and many of the rules can be changed to suit your personal tastes. Other features include two card-counting systems, an auto-play option, running game statistics, play suggestions, and much more. Requires 640K, 256K EGA or better, and a hard disk. [VPBLKJAK] Vegas Pro BlackJack (WorkWare; $33) is a blackjack game for serious players. It features on-line help, pop-up Tutor, variable Strategies, etc. The game uses extensively cross-referenced "hypertext" Help so that you can run the program without a manual. [YANK21] Yankee-21 1.61 (Martin, George; $5) is a blackjack program. It allows one to six players, one to eight decks, and displays the true count and the running count from the popular and efficient High/Low count. You can also input your own user count and the computer will keep track of that too. Almost all rule variations are accepted including five card surrender, early and later surrender, or the surrender of any hand including split hands. You can resplit hands up to four hands, set the reshuffle point, double down option, speed of lay, and give yourself any hand you want for practice. The program keeps extensive statistics about the game in progress and can be played from the keyboard or from the numeric keypad. There is also information where a serious player may obtain books or subscribe to newsletters which tell the best and worst casinos to play in. -----Other Card Games [CANASTA] Canasta (Small Business Software; $?) is the only computerized version of canasta we have seen. It is a well-designed game with excellent documentation, but it tends to lock up. [CARDMST1, CARDMST2] CardMaster And CardMaster 2 (Progressive Software; $15) is a collection of eight different card games. CM1 has Fantan, OhHell!, Funny Game, and Durok. CM2 includes Spades, Spite & Malice, German Whist, and Exacta. VGA and a mouse is required. [CLOBBY] Tommy's Clobby 01.20.93 (Tommy's Toys; $6) is a version of the popular card game in Europe known as Klaberjass. This is a two-handed game in which you play the computer. First the players decide on a trump suit, then the cards are played. The player who names the trump suit has to win more points than his opponent or he loses his points. [COFFEE] CoffeeBreak Cards 2.1s (Duban, Derek; $0) is a pair of card games: Crazy Eights and 52-Pickup. It features a dozen card backs and classical music scores. VGA req. [CRAZY8] Crazy8 is a card game you can play against the computer. You alternate playing a card on top of a face-up card. The card you play must be the same suit or same value. If you cannot play, you must draw. An ``8'' is wild and can be played at any time. The first to play all the cards dealt to you plus those drawn wins. BASIC required. [EUCHRE] Euchre (Ryan, James V.; $15) The object of this game appears to be to try to get away with cheating as much as possible. The framework for all this cheating is that four players are dealt five cards each and you and your computer-partner attempts to take three tricks, as in bridge. [EUCH_DF] Four-Handed Euchre 3.5 (Feltz, David; $10) lets you play one hand of four-handed Euchre while the computer plays the other three hands. It can be used for learning to play, sharpening skills, or just playing for fun. [MBRIDGE] Moraff's Monster Bridge 2.0 (MoraffWare; $?) lets you play a rousing game of cards with creatures from the Moraff's World game series. Your tentacled and clawed opponents have four different playing levels, and a demo level is included to show you how the game works. As with most MoraffWare games, virtually all video modes are supported from Hercules to Super VGA. Keyboard and mouse are supported [PG_POKER] Pai Gow Poker (Buti, Raymond M.; $15) combines the ancient Chinese game Pai Gow and American Poker. It uses a deck of 52 cards and one joker, which can be used as an ace or to complete a straight, flush or straight flush. Each player is dealt seven cards. You make two poker hands, a 5-card hand and a 2-card hand. To win, you must beat the bankers 5-card hand and 2-card hand. Requires EGA/VGA. [TELECRD] TeleCards (Cutlass Software; $20) is a set of three card games including Crazy Eights, Cribbage, and Gin Rummy. You can play against the computer or with another person using two PC's that are linked by a modem or a NULL modem serial cable. Features include EGA graphics, dialing system, ability to send messages back and forth to your opponent while playing, a phone book, different card back designs and the ability to create your own, and support for COM 1-4 and baud rates up to 19200. [UNO] UNO 1.1 (Geller, Barry; $0) is computerized version of the card game Uno: you against the computer. You need to know the rules already, since none are provided. We don't know if the game cheats, but it seems impossible to beat. [UNOSCORE] UnoScore (Suzanne Spencer Software; $5) is patterned after the popular card game Uno. Up to four can play, including the computer. The object is to be the first to get rid of all your cards.