Appreciating spoonbill's BG games series
According to a reply I saw in new releases, apparently Ian Humphries of Spoonbill games is permanently stepping back from the game development business.
Given that he's produced a grand total of 45 games over the past 20 years, all of them free, and all of them still possible to download and run on Windows 10, well it's fair enough if the guy needs a break!
So this topic is just to highlight the BG games for those who might not have played them, discuss what people's favourite BG titles are and why, and some of the strengths of the series.
First, yes, the majority of the BG titles fall into the traditional card/word/puzzle genre of games, so if people aren't interested in that style of thing, then obviously these won't appeal.
also, given that the games began development before screen readers like NVda, the main output method is microsoft Sapi, though I will say that is far less of a trial than it was back in the Xp days when these games were first released, thanks to the quality of the Windows 10 voices, oh and wow! I'm sounding like a real grumpy old git now aren't I?
anyway, enough of the bad stuff, since I can some up the good aspects of the series in one word.
Design!
When the games use grids, there are several overview methods available, when the games involve playing against a computer, there are a range of difficulty levels. The games don't have much by way of sound effects, but what there is, is always employed well.
Want to play without time limits? Oh there's an option for that?
Want different grid sizes for grid based games?
Oh, there's an option for that too.
Want to play crosswords or follow along with chess game files you get off the internet? Guess what, that's here too!
All packaged with extensive instructions which even tell you the rules of the game.
Then there is the diversity aspect, since I don't think even Jim Kitchen had quite as extensive a collection of games, indeed several I'd only heard of for the first time by playing them here, such as boxes, Alchemy and tablic solitare, which I then looked up and found have quite the history in their own right.
Now, on to my top 5.
Bare in mind, these are based not only on my opinions of the games generally, but also my game preferences.
Since I find the majority of grid based games more difficult to comprehend on a computer without a physical board in front of me, games like BG Chess challenge, BG Boggle, or BG Sudoku, not to mention several Solitaire varients won't be on this list, but that doesn't mean I think any the less of them as games.
5: BG crossword: This in fairness is on my lady's behalf rather than mine, since she's spent literally hours on this one. It says something though when most talking crosswords are both ridiculously over priced, and not able to play online crossword puzzles successfully, then Ian Humphries just bangs this one up, complete with so many ways to review the grid, put in different letters and all in all, trounce the competition, despite the lack of a whacking great price tag.
4: BG cribbage:
Always a game I have a soft spot for, since my grandma taught me to play at a very young age. Cribbage is a complex game, also a rare instance of a card game for two players which works exceptionally well. The BG version has a computer opponent which is surprisingly clever, as well as a number of ways of reviewing the rather complex rules of the game in it's different phases.
3: BG tablic solitaire: Extra points for being both a game that is entirely new to me, and a solitar game with a very unique formula. I particularly like how in this one you need to react to what you get and play accordingly.
2: BG Hearts: Anyone who remembers my old casting of the pod from way back when, will remember me plying through this game. I love trick taking card games, and Hearts is one of the most wonderfully brutal. I will say the BG Hearts Ai I did manage to bamboozle after enough time playing, but that was good practice for when I started playing human beings. Oh, and if you've not heard the BG hearts review Download it here from sendspace.
I also love BG nomination whist, but in fairness of not putting two radically similar games on this list, I decided to restrict myself to just the one trick taking card game.
1: BG Alchemy: Okay this is probably the most complex of Ian Humphries games, also a rare instance of a grid based game I found surprisingly easy to follow. Play a combination of five in a row and uno, with point scoring along the way, and a fun atmosphere and ethos. I since found out this is a classic from early windows days, and it's not hard to see why. A complex game, but one which puzzle fans should definitely have a look at.
All that being said, there are others I've played a fair amount, and still more I've dabbled with off and on.
how about other people?
any favourites?
lastly, a big thank you to Ian Humphries for such a fantastic body of work.
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