| HEARTS CDs AND RELATED PRODUCTS
The creation of Internet gaming sites has revived interest in many of the classic card games. Old favorites such as Hearts, Cribbage, and Spades have become fixtures on Zone.com and many other sites. CD-ROM products have also appeared, offering a player the opportunity to play "solo" against the artificial intelligence of the CD.
Many players learned Hearts because it was one of the games included with Microsoft Windows. As time passed, a few companies decided to explore the possibilities of creating multi-games discs. Hoyle-Sierra created a card-games CD in the early 1990s, and Bicycle (US Playing Card Company) followed with a series of specialty CDs (one for each card game) in the mid 1990s. The now-discontinued Bicycle CD (Expert Software) was an excellent teaching guide for the beginning player, and the large cards allowed for ease of play. A newer product called "The Microsoft Game Pack" was released during spring 2000, and includes a good Hearts game. A few companies took the concept one step further by enhancing the artificial intelligence level, and produced some highly competitive and challenging versions of Hearts and Spades.
The two most outstanding Hearts CDs I have seen are manufactured by Freeverse Software, Inc., in New York City, and Dream Quest Software in Lafayette, Colorado. The Freeverse product has absolutely gorgeous animation, a creative layout, and a highly competitive skill level. You will be very impressed with this product.
Dream Quest Software has the most advanced artificial intelligence of all the Hearts CDs I have seen. The graphics are very attractive, there are options for the variations of the game, and the "players" are very entertaining. Especially noteworthy are the multiple skill levels, and if you think you're good, then go for the "Master" level, and start out with a 20-point handicap! I was very hard-pressed to hold my own against this program. Moonshots were few and far between, and the computer seemed to count everything! The only chance was to play a basic-strategy game, and hope for some decent hands.
I was particularly impressed with the play of the computer on this hand:
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| "KEEPER" (HOLD HAND) -- NO PASS
Normally, the "guest" sits in the South seat. I have rotated the position of the hands in order to display the technique of the computer.
East made the required Deuce of Clubs opening play, and South inserted the 9, as West took the Ace (North dropped the Jack). The Jack of Spades was a normal shift, as it produced the 5, Deuce, and 3. The Spade 7 was continued, and the 9, 8, and 10 were played respectively. Without hesitation, the computer led the Queen of Spades!
This fetched the 6, my King, and the Ace! The rare occurrence of the A-K-Q on the Spades trick was a sight to behold. In my book, I call this the "Double Spear Play." (Refer to the March 2001 Column regarding the "Spear Play").
Was the computer cheating? I doubt it! With balanced shape, a "hanging" Spade Queen, and both the Ace and King of Spades still unplayed, the percentages were very high indeed that a high Spade honor would be found. West was probably leading from a safe four-card suit (only a weak program would underlead a poorly protected Ace or King). South "realized" that four rounds of Clubs or Diamonds were a vain hope, and opted for the percentage play. This is very impressive technique worthy of an advanced program.
Summary -- The CDs are fun and stimulating, but are not a substitute for a "live" game, or a game against humans on the Internet! Can HAL (the computer in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey) be programmed to play Hearts? LOL! | |
