Casino is a collection of card games for the Atari Video Computer System programmed by Bob Whitehead and published by Atari, Inc. in 1978.[1] Supporting up to four players, the game uses the paddle controllers.[2]
| Casino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. |
| Designer(s) | Bob Whitehead[1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release | 1978 |
| Genre(s) | Gambling |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay edit
Displayed from an overhead perspective,[2] there are three card games to choose from: blackjack, five-card stud poker, and poker solitaire. Except for poker solitaire, each game always has the computer as the dealer, and bets are made by rotating the wheel on the controller and then pressing the button.[3]
There are two blackjack games: Game 1 allows for up to two players and hand splitting, and Game 2 allows for up to four players yet there is no hand splitting. There are variations in the game depending on the setting of the difficulty switches. If the left switch is set to "A", the computer will shuffle after 34 hands, and if set to "B", the computer will shuffle after every hand. If the right switch is set to "A", the dealer will stay (not draw anymore cards) after drawing a 17, and if set to "B", the computer will stay after drawing an 18 or better. Furthermore, the player will win if he draws the maximum number of cards; in Game 1, that is three or eight hits, and in Game 2, three hits.[3]
Stud poker allows up to four players. The computer, as the dealer, issues a card to each of the players and itself. Before the first card is dealt, and after each subsequent hand, until five cards have been dealt, each player must either make a bet or fold. If the left difficulty switch is set to "A", the dealer's first card is dealt face down; otherwise, it is dealt face up; likewise for the right difficulty switch for each player.[3]
Poker solitaire is different in that no bets are made and there is no dealer; rather, the goal is to arrange cards to create the best twelve poker hands in 25 cards, with five rows, five columns, and the two diagonals. Points are scored depending on the hands created, with a pair yielding 10 points and a royal flush yielding 500 points. The highest possible score is 3340 points.
Overall, there has been a good choice of casino games for console players over the years. And the use of poker in titles like the Red Dead Redemption franchise has given us a glimpse of how they might be integrated in the future.
Legacy edit
The game was re-released in 2003 as part of the Atari - 80 Classic Games in One! collection for Microsoft Windows. It was also part of the 2004 Atari Anthology for the Xbox and PlayStation 2.
References edit
- ^ a b Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ a b "Casino (Atari)". Atari Age. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ a b c "Atari VCS Casino Manual". archive.org.
- ^ arcadeattack (September 20, 2020). "The History of Casino Games On Gaming Consoles". arcadeattack.
- ^ "Mr Bet". [Mr Bet New Zealand]. May 10, 2019.
See also edit
- List of Atari 2600 games
- Blackjack, another Atari 2600 card game
External links edit
- Casino at Atari Mania