"Jockey, you require one hundred and twenty-seven!"

This Darts game, written completely in Basic, is an interesting version of what originally appeared as an Atari program.

Possible variations on the standard game are 'Clock', in which a player must score in turn one to twenty followed by 25 and a bull; and 'Shanghai' where each player aims at a certain segment, points only being scored if he or she hits that segment; each player throws three darts successively at segments one to twelve and adds up his score after thirty-six darts.

The Dart board is nicely created using MOVE, DRAW and PLOT commands in Mode 1. However, being in Basic, this routine is painfully slow and waiting can be quite tiresome.

The view of proceedings is in two sections. Firstly, a front view of the Dart board which indicates the finishing position of each dart; and secondly a cross-sectional view. As the dart travels through the air, it can be moved u or down. Its left to right position is determined by the manoeuvring of an agitating cross over the large board prior to the throwing of the dart. There are ten skill levels, the level controlling the degree of agitation of the cross.

The screen is well laid-out but graphics are rather limited; two figures are displayed on the screen, representing the players but neither of these is particularly impressive. Sound has not been utilised apart from a token thud as the dart hits the board.

The finish of the game is unspectacular and really deserves a musical tune.

Overall, this is a difficult and challenging game with a definite novelty value but it tends to become rather monotonous after a while.

Dave Reeder