General Election

Crash

Producer: Buy-Byte, 48K £6.95 Author: I Wason and D Wolff The object is to win more seats in parliament than your opposition (it's a realistic simulation anyway). There are 100 constituencies split up into five regions. In each region seats are graded as Very Safe, Safe, Marginal or Very Marginal. From the title card of Maggie shouting the game's title, it's all go. Unfortunately so much of the game is a dice-throwing board game and it's beset by piles of confusing instructions as complex as an explanation of Einstein's relativity laws. In the end, rather boring to play.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 1/10

Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 General Election is a simulation of the events leading to a poll for two to four players but not the computer. Once you have chosen your party you start on the campaign trail round the country, trying to persuade the population to vote for you. After you have visited all 100 constituencies you sit back and wait for the results. The screen layout is a 10 x 10 board on which your candidate moves, the moves being decided by the throw of a dice. That is scarcely the ideal use for a computer; some board games have been translated to a computer successfully but this is not one of them. To throw the dice the 'R' key must be pressed, as it must for almost all events. The only time it is not needed is when you have to guess the best policy - similar to letting the computer think of a number you then have to find, and about as interesting. Once you have toured the country the results of the election are displayed. That takes almost half an hour. If you have never been bored by a game, try this one. It can be obtained from Bug Byte.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Crash

Producer: Buy-Byte, 48K £6.95 Author: I Wason and D Wolff The object is to win more seats in parliament than your opposition (it's a realistic simulation anyway). There are 100 constituencies split up into five regions. In each region seats are graded as Very Safe, Safe, Marginal or Very Marginal. From the title card of Maggie shouting the game's title, it's all go. Unfortunately so much of the game is a dice-throwing board game and it's beset by piles of confusing instructions as complex as an explanation of Einstein's relativity laws. In the end, rather boring to play.

Crash

Producer: Bug-Byte, 48K £6.95 Author: I Wason and D Wolff The object is to win more seats in parliament than your opposition (it's a realistic simulation anyway), There are 100 constituencies split up into five regions. In each region seats are graded as Very Safe, Safe, Marginal or Very Marginal. From the title card of Maggie shouting the game's title, it's all go. Unfortunately so much of the game is a dice-throwing board game and it's beset by piles of confusing instructions as complex as an explanation of Einstein's relativity laws. In the end, rather boring to play.

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 3/5

Playability 4/5

Use Of Machine 4/5

Overall Value 4/5

Mike Gerrard 4/5

NAME: General Election SYSTEM: Spectrum 48K PRICE: £5.95 PUBLISHER: Bug-Byte, [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Basic OTHER VERSIONS: None OUTLETS: High street dealers BENN PARTY? The thought of a computer-styled board game based round a General Election made me feel that in my case it would prove more of a bored game, but once you've got the hang of the inevitably complicated rules there's actually plenty to be enjoyed. OBJECTIVES The aim of each of the 2-4 players is to do a Magic and ruin the country... sorry, run the country by winning a majority of the 100 seats on offer. The rules are rather daunting, taking up nearly five sides of the cassette insert, and as usual when faced with densely packed instructions I plunged into the game and picked up things as I went. It doesn't always work, but it does here. IN PLAY You first choose the number of players, and then select the party each is to represent from Conservative, Labour, Liberal and SDP. I'm afraid potential Raving Loonie candidates will have to do a substantial re-write to the program if they want to play. The board itself consists of 24 outer squares round which the players move in turn after the Spectrum throws the dice, and 100 inner squares representing 20 seats in each of five regions: Scotland, North East, North West, South East and South West. Those 20 seats range from the very safe to the very marginal. In moving round the board you might land on one of a variety of squares. An arrow indicates a particular region, and landing there effectively gives you two seats in that region, chosen at random. An 'S' gives you a 1% regional swing, with a 75% chance of increasing the swing each time you land on that square. A 'P' asks you to choose your most important policy out of five on offer, the computer having already weighted these. Although written in Basic, there is a liberal (if you'll pardon the expression) use of PEEKs and POKEs to speed up things, and the responses are generally quick enough to avoid wandering minds. As with any good game, the elements of chance and skill are combined well, and for once the minimal use of sound is welcome, as anyone who's heard a party political broadcast will agree. VERDICT If you like politics then you'll probably enjoy this, but if, like me, the announcement of a General Election has you looking up the first available holiday departures then let me assure you that this game is much more enjoyable.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

SPECTRUM GETS THE BIG VOTE Will she won't she? That's the question being debated over lunch, dinner and tea at Westminster as 635 MPs try to work out when Maggie will call the General Election. Some say June, some September, and others believe she'll hang on to the New Year. Whenever she does decide to go to the country one thing is clear. Spectrum owners will be ready for her. This latest game for the Sinclair machine enables you to experience some of the excitement of the great contest in your own home. Choose your favourite party - either Labour, Conservative, SDP, or Liberal. Communists, Ecologists, and Official Raving Loonatics need not apply. Once you have picked your party you are ready to play this computerised board game. As you move around the board you land on squares which represent key constituencies in the provinces. Depending on how you place the important issues in order of priority the seat will be won or lost - with the computer measuring your answers against the correct formula stored in its memory. To help you plan strategy the computer also has a series of opinion polls and charts which can be called up to show you your standing with the electorate. General Election runs on the 48K machine and is available from Bug Byte of Liverpool at £6.95. If taking on the Iron Lady in a tussle at the polls is not enough excitement for you then Bug Byte's other Spectrum release this month will take you to hell and back. Styx challenges you to get safely across the river of the underworld, rendevous with a mysterious monk, and get back across the river again. As you travel you will have to do battle a with monsters of land and sea. The games runs on the 16 or 48K machine and is in the shops now at £5.95. Also in the Liverpool pipeline is a new game for the Spectrum called Manic Miner, Spectrum Pool, and an original game for the BBC 32K called Sea Lord.