TRIPLE CROWN written by Gerry Genson Do your family get togethers lack excitement? Are you tired of playing scherades? Has password lost it's appeall? Do you know all the answers to Trivial Pursuit? Well if you answer yes to any of the questions above then this is the program for you. Triple Crown is a horse racing party game for up to ten players and an infinite amout of spectators (or at least as many as your computer room can hold). The game features twenty five former Triple crown contestants, many of the worlds greatest horses. Each horse is brought to life in a large 48x32 pixel image. fifteen of the horses will run once in the three races that make up the shareware version of Triple Crown game. Five horses in each race. At the end of the three races, the horses are shuffled and another three races are run. There are approximately fifty thousand different race combinations. Registered owners will recieve version 1.7 of Triple Crown which includes fifty former triple crown contestants (over 2 million race combinations) and also allows you to add your own horses to the database. Version 1.7 features ten races instead of the three in version 1.5, which is the shareware version. MANAGER'S OFFICE Your day at the track begins in the track managers office, where you will have to open an account for each of the players in your group. The account numbers will be needed to place any wagers at the track so be sure to remember them. The amount to be deposited in the accounts was left to the disgression of the players in case any adventurous souls wanted to play for real money. When all the players have opened an account and made their initial deposits, click on the DONE button. You will be returned to the manager's office after every three races (ten in the case of version 1.7). This will enable you to replenish your account if you've had a particularly bad day at the track. After pressing DONE, the dialog box for the betting windows will appear on the screen. Enter your account number by clicking on the button that corresponds to it. The balance in your account will be show at the bottom of the dialog box. Click on the OK button and another larger dialog box will appear. PLACE YOUR BETS The dialog box before you contains the names of the five horses in the next race, the results of their last three races and the current betting odds. Please note that these odds are not the odds of a horse winning the race. To place a wager, first select the horse you wish to bet on by clicking on the horses name. Next you will have to decide what type of wager you'd like. There are three options available, WIN, PLACE, or SHOW. Betting a horse to win will result in the greatest return for your money, but the horse you select must win the race in order for you to collect anything. A place bet will payoff if your horse finishes either first or second, while a show bet will payoff if your horse finishes first, second or third. You may bet any or all of these options by selecting an amount in the row of buttons beside the wager types. Notice that you can only select one of the buttons in any row. In addition to these wagers, you also have the option to place an exacta wager, which is a bet on the exact order of finish for the first and second place horses in any race. If you would like to bet the exacta, simple press the EXACTA button at any time before you press the DONE button. The button will stay selected until you either press it again or conclude your wagering by pressing DONE. If the EXACTA button was hi-lighted another dialog box will appear. Select the horses you think will come in first and second and press the appropriate finish button, 1ST if you think the horse will come in first and 2ND if you think the horse will come in second. Remember the order you select has to be exactly right in order for you to win. You can change your selections until you press the RECORD button. When you have concluded your exacta wagering press DONE. After everyone in your party has placed their wagers, press the DONE button in the 'Enter your account' dialog box. Your track party will be transported to the clubhouse to watch the race. THE RACE Here's where the fun begins. Where a modern day Secretariat can battle to the finish (finish line that is) with a long dead War Admiral. Where your dear old Aunt Millie becomes unglued and uses words you didn't think anyone her age knew. This is the heart of Triple Crown. The race. The race screen features the five horses that will run in the race, numbered from top to bottom, one to five. A scrolling fence gives the illusion of movement as a realtime clock ticks away the seconds until the first horse crosses the finish line. The horses in the race are handicapped according to how well their real life counterparts did in their own historic races. That is, a triple crown winner like Secretariat will have a better chance of winning the race then a horse who only placed in one of the three races. Longshots can not be ruled out entirely however. Each horse has a unique horse and jockey color. After playing the game for a while you will be able to tell them apart just from the colors. PAYOFF BOARD After the race the results will be displayed, showing the first three horses to finish the race. In the case of a tied race the computer will randomly select a winner and print **Photo Finish** at the top of the screen. All amounts shown are the returns on a two dollar bet. The amounts are calculated using a paramutual payoff scheme. All monies wagered on horses to win are divided among those who bet on the first place horse. The monies wagered on horses to place are split into two parts. The first part is divided among those who bet on the horse who came in first to place. The second part of the place money is divided among those who bet on the second place horse to place. Show monies are divided into thirds and then divided by the bets to show for each of the first three horses to cross the finish line. All winnings are automatically added to the player accounts. By clicking the mouse button you can start the next race. I hope you enjoy this game as much as I enjoyed writting it Gerry Genson