ScuzzBlog: Diaries March 2020
Entry 19th March 2020: Post 01: The RISK of bored gaming.
The RISK of bored gaming.
Games corner today and three games to discuss. One is certainly not
boring but needs its board to make the magic happen. The second is
pure board that isn't boring but needs another to make the magic
happen. And the third that works only as a computer game and is
anything but boring and so the magic is a plentiful.
RISK:
I've mentioned a few times my enjoyment of playing RISK in the early
days. Time was gaming meant playing with others face to face and
so games like these have always been seen by me as a group activity.
Consequently I never attempted to play the computer versions of
the game. Much the same with all the classic board games like
Monopoly and Cluedo.
So today I thought I would fire up RISK and see how it played
computer wise. I have the Board Genius set and a couple of dubious
disks to test, so I should get the game working.
First up this game only wanted to work on the A500 throwing up all
kinds of errors on the 1200. So a degrader would be necessary or
as in my case and A500+ with a ROM switcher.
RISK is an easy game to understand and one which becomes ever more
complex as you progress through your campaign. It involves placing
your pieces in turn on territories and then choosing to disperse
your armies in strength in locations you see fit. Your turn is not
limited to one attack and you must choose when to call a halt to
your incursions.
Games can go on for ages and certainly whilst attitudes may be
pleasant to start with they can become a touch fractured as the
game intensifies. The game is won when one player occupies all
territories.
In respect of the computer game it was as dull as soup without
another real player. I got bored very very quickly. It really is
a little basic and suffers from the lack of human interaction.
STRATEGO:
Moving on I decided to pull a real board game to compare the
content of play. Stratego is a great game but needs good opposition
to make it come alive, much like chess. The game is set up like a
chess board but with your armed forces hidden from view. The game
is won when you capture the opposing Marshal which can only be
taken by your spy.
Each turn you simply move or attack an opponent. In doing so you
lightly tap your opponents piece and if you're higher then you win
and the piece is removed from the board. Obviously you will not
know the opponent strength till you choose to attack.
It really is a classic game and one that really needs two serious
individuals with a keen desire to play.
LODE RUNNER:
Last game I feature today is Lode Runner. This game caught my ear
when listening to Jack Tramiel's son extolling its virtues at a
recent Commodore meet. I had never really played the game before
so I fired it up. I fell in love immediately and found myself
hooked on the game.
The game plays for me only on the 500. There is a weird clicking
issue to launch cus to start you have to yank the joystick to the
left and then press the fire button. Up to that point it was all
mouse driven and looks like the icon is busted.
So you run around the screen picking up your loot and try to evade
the enemies. The fun part is digging holes to trap your assailants.
It's so simple and yet it's so much fun. I can see why many gamers
fell in love with this game.
I only have a download of the game which is sad, but I hope soon
to be getting a box.
I was hopeful of getting Heart of China to review but matters sadly
at the moment are preventing that arriving. I'm sure it will arrive
in the not too distant future.
In Summary:
Computer RISK 1989 published by Virgin Publishing Ltd England.
Computer RISK was designed by Steve Clark, Ian Mathias and Tony
Smith.
RISK is registered to Parker Brothers 1959 and 1989.
Strategy board game for two to six players. Turn based game where
a player determines which territories to advance on and then dice
are used depending on the strengths of forces. The aim being to
conquer the map and occupy all territories.
The game was invented in 1957 by Albert Lamorisse a French film maker.
Stratego was first created in 1942 in the Netherlands and is the
subject of the International Stratego Federation who are the
governing body for the game and hold annual Stratego championships.
Lode Runner - Broderbund 1983. Platform game on fixed screens where
the aim is to collect gold pieces and evade chasing enemies as you
travel to the exit for the screen.
Designed by Douglas E Smith.
The RISK of bored gaming.
Stratego
Lode Runner
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