Casino Game Pack

• Release Date: 1995
• Genre: Traditional
• Style: Gambling
• Similar Games: Hoyle Casino (IBM PC Compatible), Hoyle Casino [1998] (Hybrid PC/Mac)

Game Description

The Casino Game Pack is a compilation of six different computer games, composed of five separate gambling games: Blackjack, Roulette, Slots, Keno and two different types of poker, Draw Poker and Video Poker.

The manual includes full instructions for each game and players can only switch between games by quitting one and starting another. The manual also includes a glossary of terms for some of the games with options and variations for each.

The object of the game is simply to make money. If and when the computer opponent runs out of money because he, she or they have lost it all to you, the computer gives them additional money (up to another one or two thousand) to play with, allowing the game to continue indefinitely

Roots & Influences

Gambling has been a part of mankind's culture for centuries past. Casino Game Pack is a collection of six popular gambling games. The computer gaming industry has a rich and varied history of gambling card and casino games that indirectly influence nearly any new gambling game on the market.

Review: Overall

Early casino-type games had a minimum of graphics and gameplay, forcing you to play against a faceless computer rather than a computer-generated opponent. Additionally, the early games were all in black and white, no color here.

Casino Game Pack, by Varcon and Mac Soft, is a step beyond that, albeit not a very big one. Sure, the games now have color and sound but you're still playing against a faceless computer rather than an opponent with a face and recognizable mannerisms. Most games start with the player having either 200, 250 or 1000 dollars in their bankroll. If you lose it all, you can get a loan from the house equal to the value of your starting stake.

Blackjack is played at a green baize table with seven possible opponents for the dealer. You can play any of the opponents against the dealer in any combination but you control all the bettors. What's the fun in that? I would have liked to see the option for computer-run players but there is none. This game also has a human voice that asks players to make bets.

Roulette involves making bets on a board, gambling that the number you select will come up on the wheel. The manual explains how to bet and how much each type of bet pays if you win. The computer runs the wheel and tells you when you've won.

Slots is a typical slot machine with three wheels and one pay line. You make your bet, pull the handle and the computer tells you how much you have won. Players may bet from one to three dollars on each pull of the one-armed bandit and the payoff amount is multiplied by the number of dollars bet.

Keno is a betting game that reminds me a lot of Bingo. Players choose up to 15 numbers from those given on the screen. The computer draws 20 numbers randomly and players are paid off based on how many numbers they successfully chose.

Video Poker has the player being dealt five cards by the computer. A decision is made on which cards to keep and which to discard and the player is then dealt enough cards to bring him or her up to five again. To win, players must have at least a pair of jacks or better and are paid off based on the strength of their hand.

Draw Poker is a bit harder. Players face off against a computer opponent and both are dealt five cards. Bets are then placed based on what they have in their hand (passing is an option here). The computer opponents will then either pass as well, call your bet or raise. If the computer raises, the player has a chance to call as well. As in Video Poker, players then discard cards they do not wish to keep and are dealt cards to replenish their hand. Finally, players bet again, pass again or fold, depending on the strength of the five cards, and have the option to raise and call once again. The player with the best hand (or highest card or series of cards if they have less than a pair) wins.

These games are good as far as they go but the lack of real opponents (besides the computer) and the general sameness of most of the games, makes for a play experience you should only try if you are feeling desperate. Draw Poker is the best game of the lot but is not a reason to spend your hard-earned money on this game.

Review: Enjoyment

If you have nothing else to do, Draw Poker is the best of the pack.

Review: Graphics

Pedestrian and nothing more.

Review: Sound

Sounds are okay,and the human voice doesn't even sound very human.

Review: Replay Value

Only if you are very, very, very bored.

Review: Documentation

Explains all the games and many of the terms associated with them.

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