Producer: Lotus Soft
Memory Required: 48K
Recommended Retail Price: £4.50
Language: basic
Author: Derek Jones

If you're fed up of zapping harmless aliens, escaping from claustrophobic car parks or roaring round race tracks, why not retire to the peace and quiet of an English bowling green? This sport simulation program offers two players the services of the computer as mediator rather than player.

The rules for playing are exactly as in the real game except it's the computer that 'throws' the jack. For those who never watch Crown Green Bowling on telly, a jack is the black ball which is first thrown by one player before the two players catch it up by throwing their playing bowls to get as close to the jack as possible. The cursor keys 5 and 8 are used to move a base of screen pointer in the direction you want your bowl to go. The strength of throw is determined by the weight of bowl, a heavier ball going further than a light one. The computer then does the rest. You may cut to a diagrammatic close up which shows in magnified form how close to the jack the bowl has come to rest. Each player has tour throws, and the program allows for setting the number of games.

COMMENTS

Keyboard positions: sensible, 5/8 left/right and B for bowl
Keyboard play: responsive
Use of colour: straightforward
Graphics: reasonable
Sound: average to poor

This was only a review copy I saw, so I've no idea what the actual packaging will be like, but the instructions presented on screen were brilliant. The use of colour couldn't have been better - green! And the simple graphics were okay. There are some good tunes and it's generally a good simulation of the game, but it gets boring after a bit.

Nice screen after a short load with the instructions in the program. The keyboard positions are well laid out and the graphics are reasonable although limited because of the BASIC. The green appears to be 'crown' (ie raised at the centre) because the bowls tend to curve out and move back in on the jack. The game is not bad at all and at £4.50 it's one of the cheapest games on the market. But with excellent games available at about a pound more I would probably save my money. However it does make a nice change from saving the universe.

I would have to say that while this is a very good game and a good simulation, it tends to suffer with the usual inactivity of armchair sports which divests the game of much of its excitement. However I would recommend it to anyone who happens to be interested in these types of game.

Producer:Lotus-Soft, 48K
£4.50 (1)
Author: Derek Jones

If you're fed up with zapping aliens or roaring round the race track, why not retire to the peace and quiet of an English bowling green? This game offers the services of the computer as a mediator rather than player between two opponents. The computer throws the 'jack' and then each player has 4 alternative turns to bowl, the object being to get your bowl as close to the 'jack' as possible. Cursor keys 5 and 8 are used to determine direction of throw, and the strength is determined by choosing the weight of ball, a heavier ball going further. There is a feature which diagramatically shows how close the bowls are to the jack after each throw. The game is neatly executed but suffers the common fault of sports simulations - the lack of ultimate reality undermines the skills required to play it. However, it is good value for money and will doubtless appeal to many. Overall CRASH rating 57%, good if you like the idea. BASIC.

Producer:Lotus-Soft, 48K
£4.50 (1)
Author: Derek Jones

If you're fed up with zapping aliens or roaring round the race track, why not retire to the peace and quiet of an English bowling green? This game offers the services of the computer as a mediator rather than player between two opponents. The computer throws the 'jack' and then each player has 4 alternative turns to bowl, the object being to get your bowl as close to the 'jack' as possible. Cursor keys 5 and 8 are used to determine direction of throw, and the strength is determined by choosing the weight of ball, a heavier ball going further. There is a feature which diagramatically shows how close the bowls are to the jack after each throw. The game is neatly executed but suffers the common fault of sports simulations - the lack of ultimate reality undermines the skills required to play it. However, it is good value for money and will doubtless appeal to many. Overall CRASH rating 57%, good if you like the idea. BASIC.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
JOYSTICK: No
CATEGORY: Simulation
SUPPLIER: Lotus Soft
PRICE: N/A

The release of this program raises the interesting question: are there any Spectrum owners who are actually interested in bowls?

I suppose there must be one or two, but I doubt whether even they will he all that interested in this program.

The trouble is the graphics. You're presented with a picture of the green with the Jack marked on it. Using this you set a pointer to indicate the direction of your shot, and a number to set the strength of it.

But then comes the disappointment. Instead of a lovely depiction of your bowl gently curving toward its final destination, its path is simply indicated by a dotted line.

And once more than a couple of bowls are in position it's impossible to make out whose bowls are where.

You do then get close-up views showing the positions more clearly. But you have to take the computer's word for it that all the collisions have been properly worked out - you don't get a chance to actually see these happening.

It's a two-player game, and after each 'end', the program announces which colour is the winner. This is just as well because, even the close-up view doesn't show the position of the bowls precisely, and after all that effort it would be a shame not to know. But this is a basic simulation written in Basic; and basically, I don't recommend it.