| ★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ COLOSSUS 4 BRIDGE (c) CDS SOFTWARE ★ |
| JOYSTICK HEBDO | AMMAG | Popular Computing Weekly |
Bridging the card games gap "Its greatest strength is the sheer range of practice and cheat options . . . these make Colossus the best bridge practice program yet" With Colossus Chess going from strength to strength in all its versions, CDS has decided to spread its wings a bit with Colossus Bridge. Bearing in mind that contract bridge often evokes (not very accurate) images of golf clubs and baize tables, CDS has gone to town with the packaging. The box includes the excellent book Begin Bridge by G C H Fox. which together with the sample hands demonstrated on the reverse of the tape, makes this a suitable program for beginners, an order form for Systema chess, bridge and backgammon electronic games, and a subscription offer for International Popular Bridge Monthly Of course, the program itself. which, claims the accompanying literature, plays 'at good club player level' , is in there too. Colossus follows the format of previous bridge simulations you play one hand, the computer the other three , through the bidding and the play.
Probably its greatest strength is the sheer range of practice and 'cheat' options, rebidding, resetting your original speed and distribution parameters, inputting your own hand, replaying a hand, asking the computer to play a card, claiming some or all of the remaining tricks, getting the computer to play the entire hand. All these make Colossus probably the best bridge practice program yet. Some of the options, in fact, are almost too detailed. You can set the computer's response rate at any number between one and 28 - and I found anything below 16 too fast! For the bidding, the program follows the principles of Acol, using a weak opening no trump, and Stayman. Baron and Blackwood conventions. Generally it is sound, with occasional eyebrow-raising bids—nothing too dissimilar to real life in fact. As for Colossus's card play, it follows the generally understood opening lead conventions and from there on plays fairly solidly and predictably It finesses - sometimes - draws its trumps and doesn't throw away winners. Programmed by the team which developed CP s latest Bridge Player for the PCW 8256/8512. Colossus is similar in format with a number of improvements. There is now a full score sheet, for example, and the computer will initiate conversions such as Blackwood. Altogether, Colossus measures up extremely well to most bridge simulations. It has a range of options to beat them all, and plays well enough to satisfy most people. CDS hopes it will attract the attention of non-bridge players who want to learn. The accompanying book and sample hands will certainly help in this respect, if you are determined to go it alone. At least, when learning this way, no-one is going to shout at you, but it can still be a lonely and frustrating business. Christina Erskine , Popular Computing Weekly |
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