CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING 

 Card game simulations have been steadily gaining in popularity and
sophistication. There's an enigma here, since many card games can be
played with a 49-cent deck of cards as easily as with a $2000
computer. Yet the computer offers would-be cardsharps a handy
opponent (or a whole table full), keeps score, and will even help
you learn the game from the ground up. Software Toolworks's CRIBBAGE
KING/GIN KING is the latest entry in computer card gaming, and it's
one of the very best: heavily featured, instructive, and graphically
excellent. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version of the
game.) 

 CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING is two programs packaged together. Upon
running it, you're asked to select which of the two games you want
to play. Once you select your game, you cannot switch to the other
game without first exiting the program. 

 Both games come with seven computerized players, all of whom have
their own style and depth of play. There's Alfie, who basically
knows the rules of the game and how to count his points. But his
plays, though always legal, are also random and entirely
non-strategic. He's the one to play against when you feel like
grinding your opponent into the dirt. Then (in ascending order of
difficulty) you have Chesley, Lady Ames, Lord Ainsley, Reggie, Mrs. 
Bass, and Shark. 

 These players are used in two ways: as opponents, and/or as
tutors. Some of them have the upper hand because they're able to
keep track of all cards played, and constantly recalculate
probabilities. Using the characters as tutors can also help you
learn to increase the depth of your own analysis. Since Shark -- the
smartest opponent -- takes everything into account, he's _very_ 
difficult to beat. And when he tutors, his advice is the best
(although sometimes tough to fathom). 

 Note that when I say all opponents have their own style, I'm not
referring to charisma. The characters do not have cute graphics or
conversational speech. This is a no-nonsense card table, thank you, 
and the gameplay is dry, straightforward, and non-intuitive. The
only comic relief is provided by Alfie's responses and the
euphemisms the game uses for the word "analyzing" whenever you ask
for advice (i.e., "Shark is cogitating..."). 

 Each of the two games has a healthy set of parameters, some of
which can be altered in the middle of the game. CRIBBAGE KING lets
you play two-handed, four-handed, or five-card (two-player variant) 
Cribbage. You can toggle the Muggins option on or off, and here's
one of my niggling criticisms: Muggins is inadequately represented, 
because the computer opponent _never_ makes mistakes -- not even
Alfie. If Muggins is turned on, the computer can catch _you_ in a
mistake and reap the benefit, but it never works the other way
around. Turning Muggins off tells the computer to count your cards
as well as its own, giving you the same unfair advantage. In any
event, a significant element of the game -- learning to Muggins your
opponent -- is omitted. 

 Also note that the four-handed version of Cribbage involves one
human and three computerized opponents (or four computer opponents
in auto mode). The program does not support more than one human
player in any mode. However, Software Toolworks has thoughtfully
included in the CK/GK package a miniature deck of Bicycle Playing
Cards (with classic "Rider" backs) as well as a hand little wooden
cribbage board and pegs, so you're covered for human or computer
opponents. Added to this are separate manuals for Cribbage and Gin, 
each of which gives thorough instructions, terminology, complete
indexes (a major help!), and some history. In the case of Cribbage, 
an in-depth analysis of the odds and tactics is included. The Gin
booklet is cursory in this area, but then again, Gin is a far
simpler game. 

 There are scores of other options: tournament mode, duplicate
mode, changing dealers, compiling statistics, saving your favorite
game settings, printing, demo modes, and so on. An on-screen
recreation of the cribbage board lets you keep track of the score. 
You can view the computer's hand if you want to follow its strategy
more closely. You can set up your own hands and have the computer
help formulate a strategy. All told, there are more game options
than you're likely to need. 

 Most of these options apply to GIN KING as well as to CRIBBAGE
KING. In GIN KING, there are two variants: regular gin (knock card
is 10), and Oklahoma Gin (knock card is determined by the first card
turned up after the deal). I only found one missing feature here: 
the ability to make Aces either high or low. There's no way to
select this option in GIN KING; the Ace is always low. 

 I tested the MS-DOS version of CK/GK, in all four of its graphic
modes: VGA, EGA, CGA, and Hercules. The VGA (viewed with an Orchid
Pro Designer Plus) is absolutely superb: The programmer(s) did a
phenomenal job of duplicating those famous Bicycle Rider backs, and
the faces are likewise picture-perfect. EGA is nearly as good, 
offering 16 colors and 640x350 resolution. Even CGA was excellent, 
and Hercules was almost as good as EGA/VGA -- less colorful, 
obviously, but the resolution was extremely high, and the cards
looked crisp, clear, and fully formed. This is one of the few games
I've played in CGA and monochrome that impressed me with its
graphics. 

 There was a snafu, however, with EGA. While installing the program
on a computer with an Everex EGA card, the computer correctly
detected the presence of the Everex; thus, it installed the game for
EGA graphics. But when I ran the program, for some reason, it failed
to detect the presence of the EGA, and refused to operate. I had to
reinstall the program for CGA before I could play it. 

 Speaking of installation, the protection scheme -- similar to
Software Toolworks's CHESSMASTER 2100 -- deserves praise. The
original disks (you get both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" formats) are
copy-protected and cannot be duplicated. However, when you use the
masters to install the program on hard or floppy disks, the
installed game doesn't require a key disk or a document check of any
sort: It's completely unprotected. The only constraint is if you
change your hardware, you'll probably need to reinstall the
program, since the installation procedure memorizes your setup. 
Fortunately, it's simple and fast; it also saves disk space by
leaving out the graphic drivers you don't need. 

 Requirements in general: an IBM-PC/XT/AT or PS/2, Tandy or other PC
compatibles; VGA, EGA, CGA, or Hercules; 384K and DOS 2.0 or
higher; an optional mouse. In this case, the keypad is just as easy
to use as the mouse. 

 Overall, I was very impressed with CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING. Software
Toolworks's thorough treatment of the games reminds me of
MicroIllusions's BLACKJACK ACADEMY. It offers the excellent graphics
of Spectrum HoloByte's SOLITAIRE ROYALE, and its wide selection of
computer opponents outclasses Accolade's CARD SHARKS. Appropriate
for both the casual player and the serious statistician, CRIBBAGE
KING/GIN KING is a most enjoyable program that sets a new standard
for card game software. 

 CRIBBAGE KING/GIN KING is published by The Software Toolworks and
distributed by Electronic Arts. 

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