Video Checkers v. Checkers

[StanJr]

Now that I have both, I decided to sit down and actually play them for a minute (I am a glutton for punishment). And in playing, I noticed something odd. Both games FORCE you to make a jump if you can. ALL other moves are locked out, save for the jump. Is this a Checkers rule I do not know about?

 

Secondly, I noticed that both games play EXTREMELY similar. So I was wondering, how similar are the codes for these games? Obvious graphic differences aside, are the sections of code governing the gameplay and AI nearly identical, or do they both take different paths to arrive at the same destination?

 

Oh, and I am determined to beat the computer at BOTH of them. Stella is NOT better than me!

[moycon]

I always wondered why there needed to be 2 versions of Checkers for the Atari 2600. Did they both get worked on in unison and one or the other was hoping to get theirs to the market first?

[sku_u]

I'm not sure, but both games suck.

[keilbaca]

Yes it is a rule, you must jump if you are able to.

[NovaXpress]

I think that both games came out at right about the same time.

 

Neither game is fun, but at least Allan Miller was able to squeeze it into 2K.

[FireTiger]

tourny checkers forces jumps...home rules may or may not.

[NE146]

Yeah I think official Checkers rules say jumps are mandatory. However kids playing it play however they want which of course is fine

 

I wonder if pitted in a tournament who would win.. Activision vs. Atari Checkers.. Battle of the champions! Do either game allow you to choose black or white?

[NovaXpress]

Activision's looks cooler, I refuse to play either game enough to decide which one has the better "feel." I doubt that it makes a difference.

[tiggerthehun]

It's my checkers, and I'll jump if I want to - jump if I want to - jump if I want to - you would jump too if the computer made you.

[JB]

Yeah I think official Checkers rules say jumps are mandatory. However kids playing it play however they want which of course is fine

Not if you were me. I had rules made up for up to 4 crowns on a piece.

[rockman_x_2002]

Now that I have both, I decided to sit down and actually play them for a minute (I am a glutton for punishment).  And in playing, I noticed something odd.  Both games FORCE you to make a jump if you can.  ALL other moves are locked out, save for the jump.  Is this a Checkers rule I do not know about?

 

The official rules as stated by the back of my checkers board say that if you have a move resulting in a jump, then you must take the jump. If you fail to take a jump and your opponent catches you, then your opponent has the option of removing the offending checker from the board, called a "blow."

 

Of course since the computer knows if you have a jump or not, then such an illegal move is impossible to make anyhow, so that throws the whole "blow" rule out the window unless you program it into the computer to allow illegal rules (and a random decision 80/20 as to whether or not to penalize for it).

[JB]

Now that I have both, I decided to sit down and actually play them for a minute (I am a glutton for punishment).  And in playing, I noticed something odd.  Both games FORCE you to make a jump if you can.  ALL other moves are locked out, save for the jump.  Is this a Checkers rule I do not know about?

 

The official rules as stated by the back of my checkers board say that if you have a move resulting in a jump, then you must take the jump. If you fail to take a jump and your opponent catches you, then your opponent has the option of removing the offending checker from the board, called a "blow."

 

Of course since the computer knows if you have a jump or not, then such an illegal move is impossible to make anyhow, so that throws the whole "blow" rule out the window unless you program it into the computer to allow illegal rules (and a random decision 80/20 as to whether or not to penalize for it).

Yeah. They should code it as a sacrifice option.

You CAN ignore the jump, but you'll lose hte piece that didn't jump.

 

An option that can be to your advantage sometimes.

[StanJr]

wow, I guess I learned something about Checkers today! Thanks, folks! As kids we never forced jumps, so this seemed odd to me.

 

Thanks for all the info!

 

@tigger, very cute, sir, very cute.

[Robert M]

Stan,

 

If you have 2 consoles you could pit the 2 game versions against each other. Head to head. Find out which one is king. Probably need to do a best of 7 series to be fair and alternate which one goes first.

 

Cheers!

[rockman_x_2002]

Stan,  

 

If you have 2 consoles you could pit the 2 game versions against each other.  Head to head.   Find out which one is king.   Probably need to do a best of 7 series to be fair and alternate which one goes first.    

 

Cheers!

 

Or you could use an emulator for one game and then play the other on the actual console. Make the same moves on both versions of the game and see if any different strategies are used in the game's logic. If not, then I would presume that both games would make exactly the same moves.

[Susuwatari]

Maybe someone here could hack one of the Checker and disable the forced jump to allow "home rule". I used to play a lot on Commodore PET and that version didn't have forced jump and didn't complain if I missed a potional jump. Useful for blocking your oppoment. My favorite is to leave 4 pieces all on the back row so your oppoment can't get crowned.

[Tempest]

From what I understand, they were working on the games at the same time without knowing it.

 

http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/v...deocheckers.htm

 

Tempest

[cvga]

Stan,  

 

If you have 2 consoles you could pit the 2 game versions against each other.  Head to head.   Find out which one is king.   Probably need to do a best of 7 series to be fair and alternate which one goes first.    

 

Cheers!

 

I've thought about doing this before. You could include Intellivision checkers also. Any other checker games out there?

[StanJr]

Well, I FINALLY beat the both of them. And I can tell you, an aggressive strategy can completely shut down the AI in both games. They appear to play slightly differently, but they can be pretty easily defeated. I used the "take to the sides" strategy v. the Video Checkers AI and the "clear the middle" strategy on the Activision AI. I'm going to try switching strategies and see if that makes any difference.

 

Why am I playing these games so much?

 

To be honest, though, they aren't THAT bad if you just want to sit down to a game of checkers!

[Lauren Tyler]

One interesting thing is Carol Shaw designed Video Checkers before going to Activision, while Alan Miller, one of the founders of Activision, did Checkers. So you could say they were both done by Activision programmers.