Home Computing Weekly


Uncle Groucho
By Automata
Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Home Computing Weekly #45

Another Hidden Prize fun game from the Pimania people. You follow Groucho and the PiMan across the USA, trying to guess which film star Groucho is pretending to be at the moment.

Guess correctly and you get one of the 22 clues to the Mystery Star, whose name wins the prize. Mum or gran are essential because the stars are mainly 1940 vintage.

Currency is cigars - 200 to start - and an amusing horserace and Casino offer opportunities to make more.

Groucho

PiMan does his famous give/take routine and there are the usual unconnected interruptions and really appalling "I say, I say" jokes.

Graphics are excellent - an example of how to use even letters to great effect.

After a few plays, the constant beeping of "There's No Business Like Showbusiness" and the delays while the program sorts data, began to become irritating.

Interruptions are not as inspired as the Pimania ones, happen too often, and your horse wins at Evens - presumably an Outsizer.

And to make it impossible to get the 22 clues in one go (the program goes into an end routine at 18, even if you have cigars in hand) is cheating, particularly as you have to re-load to try again. A good try but can do better.

D.C.

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