PICTIONARY: THE COMPUTER EDITION

 Chances are, if you haven't actually played the popular party game, PICTIONARY,
you've probably seen it being played, or have learned something about the rules.
Briefly, it's a team-oriented game in which two groups of players compete to
guess as quickly as possible the word or phrase that the "artist" players are
trying to draw.

 PICTIONARY: THE COMPUTER EDITION is an attractive, enjoyable translation of the
game to the computer screen. A repackaged version of the original team game,
this edition allows you to play solitaire, or with up to four human players
competing. The former option pits you against the computer as the artist (you
don't get a chance to draw); the latter allows the players to take turns
drawing, or to allow the computer to do the work. (This review is based on the
IBM-PC version of the game).

 Not surprisingly, the game is best when played like the original party game,
using teams. For the human artist, PICTIONARY comes with a convenient set of
tools that allow quick drawing of straight lines, curves, boxes, circles, and
triangles; freehand drawing is also supported. You can also change drawing
colors and perform quick-filling of closed figures with a variety of patterns or
colors. There is a practice mode to allow players to become familiar with the
tools. Drawings can be made with a mouse, joystick, or keyboard, although a
mouse or joystick is required for the greatest enjoyment and control.

 The card deck that assigns the next word to be depicted in the original version
has been replaced in this edition by a set of four laminated cards, one for each
competing team. The computer assigns a row and column from this card within the
category; the category is determined by the location of that team's playing
piece on the simulated game board. The artist looks up the word or phrase at
that position, and then is given one, two, or three minutes (depending on game
level) to represent that word in a drawing. One category ("All Play") allows the
opposing team to also try to guess the word, and take over control of the
computer "easel."

 On the game screen, there are drawing toolboxes in columns on the left and
right sides of the screen; the main drawing area is in the center. At the bottom
of the screen is an information box indicating whose turn it is, along with
instructions for taking a stab at the answer. Also, there's a countdown timer:
When the time runs out, the answer is displayed, and play continues with the
last person who correctly answered. Across the top of the screen is a pull-down
menu bar, with options for game type (solitaire, challenge, or team), time
limits (1, 2, or 3 minutes), and drawing practice.

 The solitaire and multiplayer versions of the game are not quite as successful
as the team version, although the computer is probably the better artist. This
is because the computer often draws an elaborately detailed object and adds an
arrow or other detail at the last moment to indicate which part of the object is
being referred to. (Clever human artists add the arrow early in the drawing.)
This rewards conservative play, tends to peeve daring players, and somewhat
diminishes the excitement of the game.

 If anyone enters a "quick guess" before the time is up (to try to get a time
bonus added to their score), the computer stops drawing and displays the answer,
thereby preventing the other players from guessing. Although it's a slightly
harder programming problem to "keep the clock running" in this situation, it is
feasible, and it would have added to the enjoyment of the game.

 PICTIONARY comes dual-packed with two 5-1/4" and one 3-1/2" diskette. Graphic
support includes EGA, VGA, CGA, Tandy 16-color, and Hercules monochrome. The
graphics, however, are EGA at best: colorful, but not VGA quality on a VGA
monitor.

 There are no sound effects or music cards supported. There's also no copy
protection, either on disk or off: You can make working copies of the diskette,
and either install it on your hard drive or play it from a floppy.

 I found PICTIONARY: THE COMPUTER EDITION fun to play -- especially with a small
group of computer-literate people; I'm not certain I can envision a large group
clustered around the machine at a party. Additionally, young children may find
the drawing tools a little difficult to control, limiting family play somewhat.
Even so, PICTIONARY is a nicely done translation, and worthy of consideration as
an addition to your family's software library.

 PICTIONARY: THE COMPUTER EDITION is published by Domark, Ltd. and distributed
by Broderbund Software.

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