Best Blackjack for the Atari 8bit?

[Tin_Lunchbox]

I would like a Blackjack that, firstly, plays realistically with the full set of choices: hit, stand, double, split, and insurance. Secondly I would like good graphics and big cards.

 

Atari's original Blackjack has big cards, it looks great, and it sounds good too, but shocker I tried it and I didn't seem to be able to split. Plus, it's OSB only from what I've been able to tell, however I found a modified version that seems to run on XL: http://gury.atari8.info/details_games/5785.htm.

 

I tried Keypunch Software's Blackjack but it apparently won't let one double! It looks okay graphically, but has one of those stylized computerish fonts that is incongruous for Blackjack.

 

I haven't played Manhattan Software's Blackjack yet but from the screenshot (http://www.atarimania.com/8bit/screens/casino_blackjack_counter_4.gif) it looks to have all the choices, though the graphics are sparse.

 

Ken Uston's Professional Blackjack no doubt has all the choices, but I haven't located the download yet.

 

Any ideas for a decent Blackjack simulation? It's really too bad about the original Atari one's limited play capability, because it looks and sounds so good.

[bandit]

Ken Uston's Professional Blackjack no doubt has all the choices, but I haven't located the download yet.

 

I think Ken Uston's is the best. here is the download link.

 

http://atari.fandal....p?files_id=4128

[Tin_Lunchbox]

Ken Uston's is the most advanced. You can play different casinos and set up computer players at your table. It seems so far very smooth and bug-free. It's a great trainer, honks at you when you make a decision against the odds and accepted gambling wisdom. I'd say yes it's the best, but it would have been so nice to have some colorful cards with all that technical greatness.

[+MrFish]

I'd say yes it's the best, but it would have been so nice to have some colorful cards with all that technical greatness.

 

I agree that nice graphics are one thing that's missing from most card games on the Atari. I'd planned on righting that some time back when I started working on a variation of standard Blackjack that's played here in California. I was also interested in doing standard Blackjack and a few other favorite cards games of mine, such as Cribbage, Gin, etc.

 

I've coded a basic engine for displaying the cards already, using P/Ms underlays for extra color. All the graphics are finished, including variations for card backs and suit graphics. Maybe I'll get some time this year to get back at it again. Here's some mockups of what I had planned:

 

 

[+Stephen]

Do I smell solitaire for the GUI?

[Tin_Lunchbox]

MrFish, those cards are magnificent, certainly the best I've seen on the 8bit. The casino chips look nice, but it could be awkward to implement those. I mean the game is not going to be mouse-based, so how exactly do you propose to implement the chips. I was pondering whether your cards leave enough space to split an hand, and I noticed that the design of your cards make it easy to overlap them. Looks really super!

[+MrFish]

Do I smell solitaire for the GUI?

 

Actually, not. It's just a coincidence that some of the graphics look that way. They're all character graphics and it's something I haven't touched since 2006.

 

Once I dug out the graphics, I was thinking the same thing about having a GUI version though. Even in all black and white hi-res, you can put a lot of detail in to make up for the lack of color. GUI game programming should be well suited to games like this where lots of options can be set using menus, and for saving games, etc.

[+MrFish]

MrFish, those cards are magnificent, certainly the best I've seen on the 8bit. The casino chips look nice, but it could be awkward to implement those. I mean the game is not going to be mouse-based, so how exactly do you propose to implement the chips. I was pondering whether your cards leave enough space to split an hand, and I noticed that the design of your cards make it easy to overlap them. Looks really super!

 

Thanks, I appreciate the compliments. My idea was that the chips would only be for the current bet. So, once you punched in your bet value, they'd appear. Either that or I was going to have them appear dynamically as you increased or decreased your current bet. I was planning it for joystick operation, and optionally keyboard too.

 

There's room for splitting. I've already done graphics to allow card overlap. I forget exactly how many cards can overlap and still be readable, but it's a lot.

[+MrFish]

I forgot about Video Vegas. It has a pretty good game of Blackjack, with insurance, splits, doubling-down, option for number of decks, and nice looking playing cards.

 

The only thing I don't really like is that the table limit is $20, which is pretty unrealistic.

 

 

 

[+therealbountybob]

There is one on Zeppelin's Las Vegas Casino

not sure if it has all the features you want

I liked the little BASIC one on Atari Computing Tapes

 

[+MrFish]

There is one on Zeppelin's Las Vegas Casino

 

not sure if it has all the features you want

 

I just noticed the OP hasn't been on AA since Dec. 2013. So it looks like we're just talking amongst ourselves at the moment.

 

I played Las Vegas Casino recently. You can't double-down, split, or get insurance. Not sure why the player's hand needs to be red either.