Microsoft brings a dozen board games to Windows in their new Classic Board Games collection, including such familiar pastimes as checkers, chess, backgammon, Chinese checkers, four-in-a-line, reversi, and dominoes. The game choices can also be as exotic as Chinese chess, Taipei, shogi, go, and gomoku; some of these will be unfamiliar to many gamers.

Choose among these twelve games in Microsoft Classic Board Games.

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The graphical presentation of these games is sleek and attractive. With the background music sometimes leaning toward a new age/spacey kind of sound, it presents a pleasant environment for some laid-back board gaming. There’s no high-end graphics engine at work here, so the required CPU horsepower for running Classic Board Games can be as low as 90 Mhz.

Each game can be played against the computer, or with two players at the same computer in "hot seat" fashion—taking turns with the mouse. Some of the games have links to their on-line counterparts on the Zone.

Game options in Classic Board Games.

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If you choose to play against the computer, its level of artificial intelligence can be adjusted, which affects how long the computer may "think" about its move. Be warned that the AI level also apparently alters the intelligence behind the "hint" feature, so if you’re playing a game on its "Easy" setting, you’re likely to get ridiculously bad hints. And a game that lacks any real challenge. Just kick up the AI a notch.

The most troubling aspect of Classic Board Games is its lack of professional finish. While the boards, pieces, and music are appealing, the control icons look like old Windows 3.0 artifacts. At times, whole words are replaced by underlines in window title bars and dialog boxes. There were some dialog boxes where I just guessed at the intent by entering a Y or an N. This didn’t turn up in testing?

Eh? What’s that?

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Documentation for Classic Board Games seemed bargain basement. There’s no book in the box, and the on-line help is a textual Windows help file. I was hoping for a more modern and attractive help system. It’s pointing out a missed opportunity, not really a gripe, but some animation or video would have gone a long way toward teaching us the game rules.

I had to wonder at Microsoft’s choice of name for this product, since at least two other mainstream commercial games—a Hoyle collection from Sierra, and a Milton Bradley collection from Hasbro Interactive—also sport the name "Classic Board Games". Surely there were some worries about market confusion over this shared name? At least the Hasbro and Sierra "Classic Board Games" are not currently-promoted releases.

Attractive but rough-edged, Microsoft Classic Board Games does a reasonable job of presenting these diversions. While I’m having enough fun playing the individual games, I wish a little more effort had been put into the finishing touches. Grade: C+.

Microsoft Classic Board Games won’t scatter its pieces if your PC meets the following minimum requirements: Multimedia PC with a Pentium 90 (Pentium 166 recommended); Windows 95, 98, Millennium ("Me"), or 2000; 70 MB hard drive space (plus 50 MB for swap space); 16 MB of RAM for Windows 95 or 98, 32 MB for Windows Me, or 64 MB RAM for Windows 2000; a double-speed (2X) CD-ROM drive; a super VGA, 16-bit color display; headphones or speakers; a Windows 95 compatible sound card; a keyboard; and a mouse or other pointing device. There are a few additional requirements for Internet multiplayer gaming; see the bottom of the box for details.
Microsoft Classic Board Games
[street: $32]
Microsoft/Oxford Softworks
ESRB rating: Everyone ("E")

Lighter Blue: Mini-Reviews

A Brief Look at Train Town Deluxe
Sierra Attractions has released a "Deluxe" edition of 3-D Ultra Lionel Train Town, sprucing up the nooks and crannies, in particular adding four or five new "worlds" (environments) and improving the track layout editor. In 3-D Ultra Lionel Train Town Deluxe, you’ll find a pleasing cross between a puzzle game and the joys of running a miniature train set.

TrainTown Deluxe retains the intricate graphics of the original.

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The graphics of this Deluxe version are exactly as in the original Train Town, filled with crystal-clear little animations that bring the environments to life, but not so taxing as to require anything heartier than a 120 Mhz Pentium. The interface is clever and clear, especially after playing through the provided tutorial levels. The puzzles themselves range from easy to tricky, with some ineffective diversions thrown in. But it’s a wonderful little train playset, and sometimes just the non-puzzle free-form mode is plenty of fun, all on its own. Grade: B.
3-D Ultra Lionel TrainTown Deluxe
[street: $30]
Sierra Attractions
ESRB rating: Everyone ("E")

A Brief Look at Racing Madness
Three of the most playful racing games ever zapped onto a PC CD-ROM are now available in one bargain-priced package, Racing Madness, from Microsoft. Monster Truck Madness 2 gives you the sensation of sliding on giant balloons through mud, Motocross Madness will have you yelping in sympathy each time the law of gravity is enforced, and Midtown Madness plunks your vehicle right into the busy streets of downtown Chicago.

Catching up with the opposition in Monster Truck Madness 2 (part of Racing Madness).

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Despite the sophisticated calculations undoubtedly crunching behind the scenes, this trio of driving experiences is tuned more for fun than for serious simulation. Maybe monster trucks really do slide around as shown, but to ride in Motocross Madness is an experiment in (very fun) low-gravity. And don’t even think your rocket-fueled jaunts through Chicago are anything other than fantasy. These games were a kick when they were released; now they’re a bargain too. Grade: A.
Racing Madness
[street: $30]
Microsoft
ESRB rating: Everyone ("E")