HOUSE OF CARDS

 HOUSE OF CARDS from Virgin Mastertronic is another popular card game entry in
an ever-increasing line of these collections. This offering comes with six card
games -- Bridge, Hearts, Spades, Cribbage, Pinochle, and Gin Rummy -- all of
which you play solo against the computer. This review is based on the IBM-PC
version.

 After starting HOUSE, you're given the option of using the keyboard, joystick,
or mouse. Using the mouse is an exercise in frustration because control isn't
easy, especially when trying to rearrange your hand. I'm not sure whether the
joystick option is any better, but keyboard control is much easier, and the
expected action is executed properly.

 Now that you have your control option out of the way, you're presented with a
menu of the available card games. Selecting the one to play is done by entering
its corresponding number. The next menu is the Play Options menu, where you
decide how many points the game will be played to, whether or not you want the
rules made available during play, and the speed at which the messages are
displayed. Other selections on the Options Menu will change, depending on the
game you've decided to play.

 If you decide to select the Practice Mode from the Options Menu, you'll be able
to play through as many hands as you wish until you understand the game. During
the Practice Mode, the computer's hand will always be displayed.

 Another option available is the Demo Mode. If you select this, you can watch
the computer play against itself to get an idea of how the game is played.

 As for the games themselves, they've been faithfully programmed to reflect the
real thing. So far, the only complaint I have about how the rules have been
interpreted is in Pinochle. If the bid is dumped on you (by the computer), no
matter how many of one suit you have, you cannot select that suit to be trump
unless it has some meld (points) in it. I had a hand of eight clubs (double
aces, double tens, double kings, and double jacks); however, the computer
wouldn't allow me to make clubs the trump. I had to make hearts the trump,
because I had a marriage (king and queen) in it. Needless to say, I was "set"
(didn't make the bid), and the computer won the game.

 The graphics are okay, but nothing fancy. I played HOUSE on a PS/2 with VGA
graphics; at best, the graphics were EGA, although I was given the MCGA option.
The graphics might be smoother on a PC with more RAM (I only have 512K). There
is no music or sound card support. The sound effects include shuffling, "buzzes"
for incorrect card handling, and high-pitched "beeps" for trick-taking and game
wins. All sound is through the PC's internal speaker.

 HOUSE comes on one 5-1/4" floppy diskette; a 3-1/2" diskette is not supplied or
offered, but one is probably available, since the box states plainly that a
5-1/4" disk is enclosed. The diskette, however, is not copy-protected, so it's
easy to copy the game to the proper disk format, if you have that capability. In
fact, there is no copy-protection method used anywhere in the game.

 Graphic displays supported include CGA, EGA, VGA, and Tandy, and 256K RAM is
required. Because of the lack of copy protection, HOUSE can be installed on a
hard disk.

 The documentation is sparse, comprising seven 4" x 2" pages. Apparently, all
the documentation about how the games are played is on the diskette, and getting
to that information is done via the Options Menu. What's interesting about the
documentation, however, is the brief history given for each of the games.

 HOUSE OF CARDS, while not graphically dramatic, is fun nonetheless, and you'll
find yourself returning to it time and again.

 HOUSE OF CARDS is published and distributed by Virgin Mastertronics.

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