Games published by Softie, Inc.
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Jeopardy! 2nd Edition
Jeopardy! is one of the longest-running game shows in existence today and has attracted millions of loyal fans around the world. The show's charismatic host, Alex Trebek, has become one of - if not THE - most recognizable TV game show host of all time. It is therefore not surprising that numerous computer versions of this popular game have emerged.
For anyone who has never seen the TV show, here's a super-brief version of the rules. Jeopardy! is basically a quiz show, in which three contestants compete to win the most money, which is earned by giving the correct answers. The twist is that the contestant's answer must be phrased as a question. For example, the question (called a 'clue' in the program) might be 'was the first man on the moon', to which the correct answer is 'who is Neil Armstrong?'
The first round questions (chosen from 6 categories) are worth between $100 and $500 each, while the second round questions are worth twice as much. In the final round, only one category is available. Contestants will place a bet in secret, after which they have 30 seconds to write down the question when the clue is revealed. The person with the most money after the final round wins the game.
Softie, which later became GameTek, was one of the first companies to license the program, and used it quite effectively. Between 1987 and 1991, Softie
Jeopardy! 3rd Edition
Jeopardy! is one of the longest-running game shows in existence today and has attracted millions of loyal fans around the world. The show's charismatic host, Alex Trebek, has become one of - if not THE - most recognizable TV game show host of all time. It is therefore not surprising that numerous computer versions of this popular game have emerged.
For anyone who has never seen the TV show, here's a super-brief version of the rules. Jeopardy! is basically a quiz show, in which three contestants compete to win the most money, which is earned by giving the correct answers. The twist is that the contestant's answer must be phrased as a question. For example, the question (called a 'clue' in the program) might be 'was the first man on the moon', to which the correct answer is 'who is Neil Armstrong?'
The first round questions (chosen from 6 categories) are worth between $100 and $500 each, while the second round questions are worth twice as much. In the final round, only one category is available. Contestants will place a bet in secret, after which they have 30 seconds to write down the question when the clue is revealed. The person with the most money after the final round wins the game.
Softie, which later became GameTek, was one of the first companies to license the program, and used it quite effectively. Between 1987 and 1991, Softie
Jeopardy! 4th Edition
Jeopardy! is one of the longest-running game shows in existence today and has attracted millions of loyal fans around the world. The show's charismatic host, Alex Trebek, has become one of - if not THE - most recognizable TV game show host of all time. It is therefore not surprising that numerous computer versions of this popular game have emerged.
For anyone who has never seen the TV show, here's a super-brief version of the rules. Jeopardy! is basically a quiz show, in which three contestants compete to win the most money, which is earned by giving the correct answers. The twist is that the contestant's answer must be phrased as a question. For example, the question (called a 'clue' in the program) might be 'was the first man on the moon', to which the correct answer is 'who is Neil Armstrong?'
The first round questions (chosen from 6 categories) are worth between $100 and $500 each, while the second round questions are worth twice as much. In the final round, only one category is available. Contestants will place a bet in secret, after which they have 30 seconds to write down the question when the clue is revealed. The person with the most money after the final round wins the game.
Softie, which later became GameTek, was one of the first companies to license the program, and used it quite effectively. Between 1987 and 1991, Softie/GameTek released no less than 6 Jeopardy! games for PC, each one better than the last. The first four versions, i.e. those from 1987 to 1990, feature identical CGA-style graphics and the same contestant faces. Each game has hundreds of questions, including fun features such as the Daily Double (in which the contestant who chooses that clue is the only one who gets a chance to answer, via a wager similar to that of the final round).
The company even produced computer versions of the various Jeopardy! variants that proliferated at the time; for example, Jeopardy! Junior Edition, released in 1989, is similar to the first four editions, except that the questions are designed for children ages 7 to 12, with an appropriate set of contestant graphics. In 1991, Super Jeopardy! was based on the short-lived version of the show, Super Jeopardy! in which the dollar value was replaced by points, and was a sort of 'grandmaster tournament' in which the best players on the show compete in a 13-week marathon to determine the champion of champions.
The game features VGA graphics and very difficult questions, similar to those on the show. Given that Softie/GameTek virtually monopolized the license until Hasbro took it over in the late 1990s, it's hard to say whether these PC games are as good as they can be. I'd say they all stand the test of time well, as the questions are all original to the program itself, and the series progresses quite well from CGA to VGA to Windows and beyond.
Features like Audio Daily Doubles and Video Daily Doubles were added gradually as technology became available (e.g., sound cards), so fans of the TV originals have a lot to like. While the early CGA versions don't stand the test of time well due to the blocky graphics and squeaky PC speaker sounds, the VGA versions like Super Jeopardy! are still a lot of fun to play even today.
Wheel of Fortune 3rd Edition
Wheel of Fortune, one of the most successful game shows in history, is a wildly popular television program that catapulted Vanna White to stardom as one of the most recognizable television celebrities.
For those who have never seen the show, WOF is a language game that requires both luck and skill. The object is to solve a mystery puzzle similar to a hangman's puzzle. Three contestants compete, taking turns spinning a huge wheel divided into sections containing various dollar amounts, as well as spaces such as 'BANKRUPT', 'LOSE A TURN' and 'FREE SPIN'. If a contestant achieved a dollar amount, they could guess a consonant to receive that dollar amount for each time that consonant appeared in the puzzle. If a wrong guess was made or the roulette wheel was spun to one of the penalty spaces, control passed to the next contestant. At any time during a player's turn, he or she may choose to spin the roulette wheel; ask to 'buy a vowel' of his or her choice, in which case $250 is deducted from his or her score; or solve the puzzle. The player with the most winnings at the end of the program is proclaimed champion and gains access to a bonus puzzle, which he had 15 seconds to solve after guessing five consonants and a vowel to discover.
Softie, which later became GameTek, obtained an exclusive license to produce the computer version of this popular game show after securing the license from Jeopardy! The game milked the license relentlessly, releasing approximately one WOF PC game each year between 1987 and 1994. New features were added as technologies advanced, from CGA to VGA and digitized voices of Vanna White in the 1991 deluxe edition. Each new version includes more questions than the last, although, disappointingly, they border on the easy side and tend to be in a few categories (e.g., names of people, common nouns).
Still, fans of the TV series will no doubt enjoy these computer versions, which are fairly faithful to the originals. Don't expect a difficult challenge, but do expect Vanna White's trademark smirk and flipping of the white cards:)
