| Argo Checkers Software Creations (Impulse Software), 1993 | ||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot |
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Argo Checkers is a VGA version of the ancient game known as Checkers or Draughts. Around the world, the game is played with different board sizes and capturing rules, but this version is played on an 8×8 board with the capturing rules commonly used in Britain and North America. That means that men can only capture forward, kings can capture in any direction, and men cannot continue capturing if they capture into the promotion row. Capturing is compulsory, and a piece can and must continue to capture if it is able to jump multiple pieces but, unlike some international variants, the player is not obligated to take the path that leads to the greatest number of captures. That is, if a piece can make two captures by jumping left, or three captures by jumping right, the player can choose which move to play. Black is supposed to go first, but in this game red goes first. The game is for two human players only. Registered users can play against Craniac, a powerful computer opponent. Argo Checkers v1.2 Shareware (531k) I have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Hexxagon Software Creations (Impulse Software), 1993 | ||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot |
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Hexxagon is based on the board and video game, Ataxx, which itself was based on a board game called Infection. The board and squares are now hexagonal, with three spaces missing in the center. Both players start with three pieces, and your goal is to fill the board with more pieces than your opponent. Every move, you have the option of "moving" one of your pieces one space in any direction, which causes it to replicate into the new space, or to move it two spaces, which causes it to leap to the new space without replicating. In either case, any adjacent enemy pieces are converted into friendly pieces (switch color). It's a very simple game to learn, but is as difficult to master as most other traditional board games. Users can play against another human or a computer opponent that has three difficulty levels. Registered users get Hexxagon II, which features a new board, new graphics and sounds, and a slighter harder computer opponent. Hexxagon v1.4 Shareware (608k) I have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Tubes Impulse Software, 1994 | ||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot |
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Dr. Lanny B. Brilliant had just created eight new elements (Redium, Greenium, Bluium, Cyanium, Purplium, Yellowium, Pinkium, and Flashium) which turned out to be highly unstable and scattered everywhere. At the most basic level, the game is like Columns in that the goal is to form molecules (chains) by getting three or more atoms of the same color in a row in any direction. That's where the similarities to any other puzzle game end. The atoms travel one at a time through six tubes. You have a test tube that you can move beneath the tubes to catch and hold up to five atoms at a time. If you fail to catch an atom by missing it, or trying to catch it while the test tube is full, you lose a "drop". You can dump one atom at a time into the beaker below, which can hold five atoms high in six columns. Atoms fall out of the test tube from the top, so the last atom in is the first atom out. You can manipulate the order in which atoms fall out of the tubes by speeding up one of the tubes. There are special atoms: Flashium is a wildcard that can used to create a chain of any color, Xenon won't react with any color atom, AntiMatter destroys the surrounding atoms, Bonus turns into Flashium when caught and gives you a bonus drop, Multiplier will fill your test tube with atoms, Evil Multiplier fills the test tube with Xenons, Convertor changes all of the atoms it lands on into Xenons, Blocker will fill the beaker column it lands in with Xenons, and Filler permanently reduces the number of atoms the test tube can hold by one atom (let this one drop if you can afford to). The game can be played in either Endurance Mode (play until you lose) or in Waves where you have to accomplish specific objectives. Developed by Absolute Magic, v1.0 was distributed by Software Creations, and v1.1 was distributed by its successor, Impulse Software. The registered version has 50 more waves, 5 new backgrounds, and adds the Anti-Matter and Bonus atoms. Tubes v1.1 Shareware (535k) I have found no ordering information for this game.
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