|
| |
| |
TRIPLE CROWN
written by Gerry Genson
Do your family get togethers lack excitement? Are you
tired of playing scherades? Has password lost it's appeall?
Do you know all the answers to Trivial Pursuit? Well if you
answer yes to any of the questions above then this is the
program for you.
Triple Crown is a horse racing party game for up to ten
players and an infinite amout of spectators (or at least as
many as your computer room can hold). The game features
twenty five former Triple crown contestants, many of the
worlds greatest horses. Each horse is brought to life in a
large 48x32 pixel image. fifteen of the horses will run once
in the three races that make up the shareware version of
Triple Crown game. Five horses in each race. At the end of
the three races, the horses are shuffled and another three
races are run. There are approximately fifty thousand
different race combinations.
Registered owners will recieve version 1.7 of Triple
Crown which includes fifty former triple crown contestants
(over 2 million race combinations) and also allows you to add
your own horses to the database. Version 1.7 features ten
races instead of the three in version 1.5, which is the
shareware version.
MANAGER'S OFFICE
Your day at the track begins in the track managers
office, where you will have to open an account for each of
the players in your group. The account numbers will be needed
to place any wagers at the track so be sure to remember them.
The amount to be deposited in the accounts was left to the
disgression of the players in case any adventurous souls
wanted to play for real money.
When all the players have opened an account and made
their initial deposits, click on the DONE button. You will be
returned to the manager's office after every three races (ten
in the case of version 1.7). This will enable you to
replenish your account if you've had a particularly bad day
at the track.
After pressing DONE, the dialog box for the betting
windows will appear on the screen. Enter your account number
by clicking on the button that corresponds to it. The balance
in your account will be show at the bottom of the dialog box.
Click on the OK button and another larger dialog box will
appear.
PLACE YOUR BETS
The dialog box before you contains the names of the five
horses in the next race, the results of their last three
races and the current betting odds. Please note that these
odds are not the odds of a horse winning the race.
To place a wager, first select the horse you wish to bet
on by clicking on the horses name. Next you will have to
decide what type of wager you'd like. There are three options
available, WIN, PLACE, or SHOW. Betting a horse to win will
result in the greatest return for your money, but the horse
you select must win the race in order for you to collect
anything. A place bet will payoff if your horse finishes
either first or second, while a show bet will payoff if your
horse finishes first, second or third. You may bet any or all
of these options by selecting an amount in the row of buttons
beside the wager types. Notice that you can only select one
of the buttons in any row.
In addition to these wagers, you also have the option to
place an exacta wager, which is a bet on the exact order of
finish for the first and second place horses in any race. If
you would like to bet the exacta, simple press the EXACTA
button at any time before you press the DONE button. The
button will stay selected until you either press it again or
conclude your wagering by pressing DONE. If the EXACTA button
was hi-lighted another dialog box will appear. Select the
horses you think will come in first and second and press the
appropriate finish button, 1ST if you think the horse will
come in first and 2ND if you think the horse will come in
second. Remember the order you select has to be exactly right
in order for you to win. You can change your selections until
you press the RECORD button. When you have concluded your
exacta wagering press DONE.
After everyone in your party has placed their wagers,
press the DONE button in the 'Enter your account' dialog box.
Your track party will be transported to the clubhouse to
watch the race.
THE RACE
Here's where the fun begins. Where a modern day
Secretariat can battle to the finish (finish line that is)
with a long dead War Admiral. Where your dear old Aunt Millie
becomes unglued and uses words you didn't think anyone her
age knew. This is the heart of Triple Crown. The race.
The race screen features the five horses that will run in
the race, numbered from top to bottom, one to five. A
scrolling fence gives the illusion of movement as a realtime
clock ticks away the seconds until the first horse crosses
the finish line.
The horses in the race are handicapped according to how
well their real life counterparts did in their own historic
races. That is, a triple crown winner like Secretariat will
have a better chance of winning the race then a horse who
only placed in one of the three races. Longshots can not be
ruled out entirely however.
Each horse has a unique horse and jockey color. After
playing the game for a while you will be able to tell them
apart just from the colors.
PAYOFF BOARD
After the race the results will be displayed, showing the
first three horses to finish the race. In the case of a tied
race the computer will randomly select a winner and print
**Photo Finish** at the top of the screen. All amounts shown
are the returns on a two dollar bet.
The amounts are calculated using a paramutual payoff
scheme. All monies wagered on horses to win are divided among
those who bet on the first place horse. The monies wagered on
horses to place are split into two parts. The first part is
divided among those who bet on the horse who came in first to
place. The second part of the place money is divided among
those who bet on the second place horse to place. Show monies
are divided into thirds and then divided by the bets to show
for each of the first three horses to cross the finish line.
All winnings are automatically added to the player accounts.
By clicking the mouse button you can start the next race.
I hope you enjoy this game as
much as I enjoyed writting it
Gerry Genson |
| | | | |