"Fuel For Gamers!"
Zillions of Games (PC)
Developed and published by Zillions Development Corporation
In My Humble Opinion
by Ed Hurta
Puzzle and board games are the favorite pastimes for millions of gamers. And when it comes to a software offering such games, young and old alike will be absolutely astounded at the sheer number of games available with this title. Zillions of Games presents a UI that is easy to understand and use right out of the box. The menu bar of each game has a "Select Game" button that returns you to the main menu, allowing you to select another game to play. If you enjoy strategy games (read chess, checkers, and son on), then you are in for a treat with this game collection. If the number or types of games included are not challenging enough for you, then a quick trip to the publishing company’s website will reward you with the opportunity to download additional games (some are free!). This is really cool!
Begin play by selecting a game. The main menu boasts a point–and–click UI that lets you see all of the available games simultaneously. You can limit the number of games shown (enabled) in the UI by selecting Introductory, Skilled or Pro from the Variant pull–down menu; the default option is All Games. The name of each game appears as a mouse–over title. Once you have selected the game you wish to play, you can access the game’s description, as well as recommended strategy tips under that game’s Help menu. The selection of games includes many variants of chess, as well as checkers variants. Puzzle games, including the time–honored, sliding number block puzzle (re–arrange the number tiles so that they are in proper numerical order!), are all represented. The collection also includes a version of "Connect Four", a recent, popular board game that combines checkers and tic–tac–toe.
During gameplay, you have the option of playing against the computer or against a real opponent via the Internet. The computer opponent is configurable and can be quite formidable. If you enjoy a challenge, then set–up the computer opponent’s strength as an expert and assign its variety trait as "large." The computer’s "thinking time" per move is also adjustable, matching your own set time or to an average that you want. Playing a real opponent is as simple as clicking on the Join/Host Session from the Net menu. I did not find an option that would allow two real opponents to play on the same machine; in my opinion, such an option would be well received.
Zillions of Games will definitely entertain you for many hours. As some of the games were not familiar to me (many of which are well–known in other regions or to other generations), patience during the learning curve to acquire playing knowledge of these titles was rewarded with a new collection of challenging games. Zillions will assist in passing down such time–honored puzzle and strategy games to future generations of gamers!
Overall Game Rating: B+
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