YAHTZEE by Handmark
reviewed by Adrian
adrian@ppczone.net
Introduction:
YAHTZEE is a 5-die dice game that has been popular for years and is very similar in appearance and basic premise to Poker Dice. The main difference between YAHTZEE and Poker Dice is that the latter is based solely on luck and the ability to identify matching pictures. YAHTZEE takes that concept and tweaks it by making the players use judgment to identify how to best save a series of scores.
The player with the best series score wins.
Poker Dice is about winning battles, YAHTZEE is about combining those battles (even the ones that were lost) to win the war.
Handmark recently released YAHTZEE for Pocket PC handheld devices. Hasbro, Inc.’s YAHTZEE is the first official family dice game for the Pocket PC platform. Handmark describes there product line as bringing tools and toys for the mobile generation. They are a three year old company that has grown from a start-up to a position where at least one in every five dollars spent on PDA Software is on a Handmark product. Handmark products are sold in more than 8,400 retail outlets, online, as well as in device bundles from leading manufacturers….
Installation:
Installation is a breeze. Handmark’s programmers have accomplished here what all players hope for - a simple one step installation process. Simply click on the installer to initiate the installation process.
Follow the simple steps including the obligatory License Agreement and the program automatically loads. The loaded game occupies 910KB on the PPC and 2.81MB on the PC.
Interface/Use:
The interface is easy and obvious. The images are crisp and readily identifiable. There is little embellishment by Handmark’s artists though as they depict the simple dice as just that - a simple black and white unit. The backgrounds and buttons are, for the most part, clear but the occasional overlap occurs. For instance, if you try to host a game, the Blue Tooth option partially covers the cancel button. This overlap is really nothing major, just a little detail that escaped attention. These minor details in no way detract from the overall package though.
Instructions on how to play the game are included on both the PPC and the PC from which it was installed. That the help file is also on the PC is a good thing as the text on the PPC is somewhat small and may be hard to read.
There are options to play one to six players and to either host or join another multi-user game (through IR or Blue Tooth). The IR connections were tested during this review and worked flawlessly between a Dell AXIM X5 and a Toshiba e750. Office fun for all!
To play a game, simply select Play Game from the initial menu. This selection loads the basic playing screen.
Pressing the “Roll” button will start the game and get the first set of results.
Each player gets to roll the die a total of three times in each round. Each dice can be selected to be saved (by simply clicking on the dice). The saved die are indicated as being saved by color inversion (white spots on a black face). When the player then rolls, only those die that are white remain in play.
The player’s hand is set after the third roll. The player then decides how (s)he wants to bank the score. There are many ways to store the result (including not storing them). The scores and options are displayed on the screen as are the points options that they total. Five of a kind is the top score which earns the player a “YAHTZEE“. Simply storing the highest score is not always the best tactic in this game.
There are a few player options to choose from that include the ability to turn off the sound (so the boss doesn’t find out that you’re goofing off) and animation (I can’t think why you would want this option).
Improvements?
Handmark has done an excellent job in developing this family favorite for the Pocket PC user. They have remained faithful to the original and perhaps that is its only flaw. The original is not the most visually stimulating game - it is after all one played with five lumps of plastic. Handmark are successful at what they do so there is very obviously a market for their games but I hope for something more when I play digitized games. One route they could take is akin to what the developers of the old Battle Chess game managed. Take a board game and animate it in an unobvious way by turning the chess pieces into battling monsters. I’m not suggesting battling die but something different.
Conclusion:
YAHTZEE has easy rules but may take some players a while to master the score storing options (skill development). Handmark’s game functions well and is very playable. The interactive capabilities operate excellently (you need a copy of the program on each unit) and add to the overall enjoyment. However, the length that this game will hold the interest of the players will vary dramatically by individual.
Pros:
-simple and easy to use interface
-multiplayer support
Cons:
-can become repetitive quickly
Rating:
3/5
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