Pub Games
Amstrad CPC

Pub games is a themed compilation of seven games that have been popular in public houses (drinking establishments) in the United Kingdom for decades. This package is aimed at young teens with the inlay card containing words like ‘Here’s your chance to find out what it’s like in those smoke-filled haunts of adulthood’. All the games are two player games of the ‘hot seat’ variety – with the exception of Table Football where both players have their own action keys The games can be played either as a ‘Full Pub Games Run’ – which takes the player(s) through all the games and will take around two hours to complete, or a practice mode which allows the player(s) to select and games in any order.

Scoring in each game is self explanatory but in the ‘Full Pub Games Run’ players win £1 per game so the winner at the end of the run is the one with the most money.

The games are split on both sides of the cassette Side 1 – Menu, Darts, Bar Billiards, and Dominoes Side 2 – Table Football, Pontoon, Poker, and Skittles

The Menu.
You must go through this at the start of the game to enter the players names and choose which mode is being used, ‘full run’ or practice mode.

Darts
This is played as the best of three games starting at either 501 or 301 and finishing on a double. In the pub run the winner of each game gets £1. There’s a choice of colours for the dart board. Predefined keys are used to position the cursor over the board to make the shot, however the cursor does not stay in one place, it circles erratically, so the skill is in pressing the ‘fire’ key as it passes over the desired target. Every dart will hit the board though it is possible not to score by either missing the scoring segments or hitting the wire. When a shot is made there’s a little animation on the left of the screen showing a man throwing a dart. No option for lady players though.

Bar Billiards
This game is played with eight balls (7 white and one red). The object is to pot any ball down any of the nine holes in the table. The red ball starts on the table and any score made with it in any break is doubled. Any foul shot, a ball returning to baulk, failing to hit another ball in play, or knocking down a skittle, ends and zero’s the break. As in the ‘real’ game, for the first ten minutes balls potted are returned. After that the balls are not returned and the game continues until all balls have been potted. An on-screen timer is provided. To play this game predefined keys are used to position the cue ball, and the cue, and to set the power of the shot. Only one game is played in the ‘pub run’ and the winner gets £1.

Dominoes
Both players are dealt a set of dominoes. These are displayed face down so that they cannot be seen. As each player takes their turn they reveal their remaining dominoes, select one, and position it on the board using predefined keys. This is played as the best of three games and the winner of each game gets £1.

Table Football
This is the only game that requires two players to use the keyboard at the same time. This isn’t really a pub game, this is the game that’s in fun-fairs, arcades, student common rooms and the break room of some enlightened work places around the world. It’s the game with players on metal rods that slide and twist to block and shoot the ball past a keeper into a net. Players have one key each action up/down/back/kick but they have three lines of ‘men’ to maneuver. The game gets round this by only applying the action key to the line of men nearest to the ball. Once the ball is kicked it keeps on moving until it is either kicked again or a goal is scored. No getting stuck in the corners here! In the ‘Pub Run’ this game is played as ‘best of three’ games with nine balls per game and the winner of each game gets £1, the practice mode is best of three games.

Pontoon
Otherwise known as Blackjack. Each player starts with a £10 stake and you can bet between £1 and £5 per hand.Bets are placed and after the second card is dealt players can twist, stick or buy. No sticking is allowed below 16. The game is played as ten consecutive hands for each player and in the ‘Pub Run, the final kitty is added to your score, so this is one game where one player can leap ahead of their opponent.

Poker
Here the player is again given a £10 stake and is dealt a series of ten consecutive hands. Players do not compete against each other, they gamble on the hand they can make. The game pays out 2-1 for a pair, 4-1 for 2 pairs, 6-1 for a flush, 8-1 for a prial (three of a kind), 10-1 for a run, full house, or four of a kind, and 20-1 for a running flush. Again in the ‘Pub Run, the final kitty is added to your score which means a good win here with a high value hand could be all a player needs to win the match. For each hand of cards dealt the player chooses which cards to reject. The entire hand can be re-dealt if necessary.

Skittles
In the ‘pub run’ this is played as the best of five games with ten balls per game. Players get £1 per win or per draw The practice game is played as five games with two balls per player per game. A lane is drawn on screen and six skittles are set at the end of it. The ball to be bowled moves back and forth at the end of the lane ‘nearest’ to the player. A target moves back and forth at the end of the lane behind the skittles – but at a different speed. When the two are positioned to give the perfect bowling line the player hits a key, launches the ball and watches the results. It’s very hard not to hit something, and equally hard to knock them all down. Each player bowls all their balls consecutively. Ten points are awarded per skittle knocked down. All skittles are reset for each ball bowled.

Platforms

• Amstrad CPC

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