We've gotten so far removed from the games we played as children, in favor of a paradigm consisting of pushing buttons to skewer targets, it's hard to see how pastimes thousand of years old could capture a child's attention, isn't it? Well, actually, no. While the media make such big deals over atrocities like Mortal Kombat, America's teachers have been quietly introducing children to products like Strategy Games of the World for years. Oregon Trail, for instance, has fascinated (and, yes, scared) a generation of kids who try to find a safe way west. Likewise, the three games on this excellent CD-ROM challenge, entertain, and teach.
Of the three games, Nine Man's Morris is possibly the oldest, dating back to ancient Egypt and Troy-over 4,000 years ago! Like all great board games, it is deceptively simple to learn but naggingly difficult to master. Mancala doesn't even need a board-it can be played with stones and holes in the ground, and has been, throughout the Middle East and the South Pacific; in Africa, Mancala boards can even have religious significance. The youngest of the board games (a mere two millennia old) is Go-Moku; it is the simplest of the three, and of course the most difficult, and it embodies the culture and philosophy of its Chinese and Japanese roots.
All three games share similar electronic enhancements; each game has many levels of difficulty, as well as rule variations, and as you advance in skill, the boards, opponents, and scenery changes. Especially appealing to children are the strategy animal-coaches; the animated characters give advice along the way, and they'll even give hints if you ask them. You can also hear what real people, from doctors to athletes, have to say about strategy. And, of course, you can play against others as well as the computer.
My son had that opportunity the other day at a multicultural event at school; he was the only one who knew how to play Mancala and wound up teaching the game to others. If this CD-ROM had consisted only of the games themselves, it would be a good deal, but with the history and culture they offer, the entertaining assistance, and colorful graphics, Strategy Games of the World is a real bargain!
James Neal Webb operates his own computer graphics business in Nashville, TN.
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