Amstrad Computer User


Pictionary

Author: Mark Luckham
Publisher: Domark
Machine: Amstrad CPC464

 
Published in Amstrad Computer User #63

Amaze your friends and impress your neighbours with your drawing dexterity thanks to this board game conversion.

Pictionary

Do you have the skill to put Rolf Harris to shame? Is Tony Hart just a Johnny come lately? Or is your drawing reminiscent of the time you brought up that Indian curry after downing fifteen pints of John Smith's Super Strength Lager?

Well, if it is the former, then you will be a dab hand at Pictionary. If you happen to belong to the latter category, like me, you can still play but your team will certainly not be letting you do the drawing.

Pictionary is purported to be the 'in' game for yuppies, following on from Trivial Pursuit, but it is aimed at a slightly wider market - anyone who can speak can play. Brainpower is not required.

Pictionary

This is a multi-player game and a conversion of a board game, but one person can play on their own, if they happen to be so unsociable, or so physically repugnant as not to have any friends.

In teams of a minimum of two people, you must progress around the board, trying to guess what your partner is drawing. When the opposition get theirs wrong, you must try to guess that too. Cards are supplied, although somewhat miniaturised so it helps to be able to read, and these contain various colour-coded categories that denote subjects.

The colours on the board (on screen) determine what type of object the 'artist' is going to attempt to depict before the tinier runs out. Easy enough if it happens to be a dog and the artist does not suffer from Parkinson's Disease, but some of the more cunning cards will have you drawing an elephant, which will have people jabbing the space bar to indicate they know what it is, only to get it wrong as you add the arrow that points to the elephant's tusk. There are five general subjects (all play, difficult, action, object and person/place/animal) containing 2,560 individual topics in all. With the vagaries of human drawing, it will be some time before tedious repetition sets in.

Pictionary

The instructions are not particularly comprehensive, leaving the players to find their way around initially. But, as I said, you can dig up a few carrots and spuds out of the garden and play with them, so getting the hang of it does not take long.

To aid in the drawing process on screen, there is an art package, of sorts, which features fills and patterns, ellipses and boxes. The trouble is that you will not have the time to draw very decorative pieces.

Pictionary is a fun game, but what makes it fun is the human interaction. You do not get the computer chortling with laughter at your feeble attempts to draw, and even if you did, you would probably be tempted to shove the disc through the monitor.

You need at least four people to make the most of the game, and, if you have that many, you may as well play the board game.

Mark Luckham

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