Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 1 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ßßÛ Ûßß Û Û Û Û Û Û Üß ßÜ Üß ßÜ ßßßßßßßßßßßßß CRYSTAL SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL Proudly presents... THE CRYSTAL SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL NEWS A Monthly Newsletter Devoted To The Discussion of Door Game Programs Copyright Crystal Systems International (c) 1992 Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 2 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Welcome to another edition of the Crystal Systems News, the newsletter dedicated to Door Game programs written by Crystal Systems International. As always, it is our hope that this approach to door game support will catch on with the SysOps of America (and elsewhere too) and that it will build better communication between us at Crystal Systems and you, the BBS SysOp. In that light, we welcome any and all comments or suggestions. Please send those comments and/or suggestions to us either through Mustang Software's Registered Support BBS, or via mail directly at: Timothy L. Rivers President Crystal Systems International P.O. Box 110651 Hialeah, Florida 33011-0651 Crystal Systems is very proud to annouce the addition of TimeSlip BBS in London, England as our newest distributorship. The SysOp, Mr. Trevor Sharples, is our sole distributor for the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. As soon as TimeSlip BBS get's its new phone number, we will pass it on to you for any of our European BBS friends. We are still looking for a distributor in the Pacific basin (Austrailia, Fiji, etc). If anyone is interested in becoming our Pacific distributor, please contact us by mail at the above address. Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 3 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ The following are brief descriptions of the door game programs we have released to date: AND THEN THERE WERE THREE... - This murder-mystery door game is loosely based on Agatha Christie's murder-mystery novel, And Then There Were None. In this game, the player is a detective at the island mansion of Dr. Robert East. A series of murders have been committed there over the weekend and only three of the original ten guests remain alive. The player has the job of finding out who is the murderer from a group of five suspects. For a twist, two of the possible murderers are on the deceased list! B-52s OVER IRAQ - At the time this game was written, America was at war with Iraq. We decided to write a door game where users could vent their anger at Saddam Hussien (and other Middle Eastern leaders) without risking any danger. To that end, the player is commanding a B-52 winging towards a number of user selectable countries, cities and targets. BARRICADE! - Block the ugly, foul-smelling Xeron (a denizen of the planet Xero) from moving on the play field through ten rounds of pure fun. The value for blocking the Xeron changes every round from 1,000 points in round one to 1,000,000 points in round ten. BBS LISTINGS - This is a pretty straightforward utility program where other SysOp's can place their BBS ads on your bulletin menu. The information displayed on the bulletin is crisp, and very easy to read. BLACKJACK FRUSTRATION - Play a three-card blackjack hand against the computer but this blackjack hand has a twist - JOKERS! If the player gets the joker, then they LOSE DOUBLE the value for that round but, if the computer gets it, the player WINS DOUBLE! Round values vary with each round. Beware, as the computer ALWAYS goes for the win (even on 20). CARD FIVES - This game is a Yahtzee-type card game where player try to get the best hands they can for 21 different items on the playing field. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN! - This game is one of luck and strategy where players have to "catch" the computer's piece on a 10 by 10 playing field in a specific number of moves. The number of moves and point values vary from 10 moves and $1,000 in Round 1 to 4 moves and $1,000,000 in Round 7. Sounds simple but it's not! COLOR WIZARD - A game similar to the old Simon game of the early seveties. Match the computer's color pattern and win but miss it and the game's over! NOTE: We have released an updated version of this game, at several SysOp's request, that is slower and a little easier to score with. DEMENTED DEALER - This game is one where the player is trying to get as many three of a kinds from the base cards and cards played, as possible. In earlier versions of this game, it only paid on three of a kinds, but in difference to many suggestions, it now pays off on pairs that are not equal to the base cards. DIAMOND CHASE - A game similar in concept to Pachisi, players try to get their token around a diamond-shaped playing board in under 25 rolls of the dice. Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 4 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ DICE ROLLERS - This game is similar in nature to the TV game show High Rollers. Players roll the dice and try to take away the numbers (from 1 to 9) from the playing board based on the dice roll. DICE-TAC-DOUGH! - A game that is a combination of a Hi-Lo dice game and the TV game show, Hollywood Squares. Pick a box to place your X in and correctly pick if the next die will be higher or lower than the one shown. If correct, X wins the spot but, if wrong, O wins the spot. Play continues through five rounds. If O wins a game, then DOUBLE the value of that round is deducted from the player's score. DICE WARS! - This game allows the player to select whether they wish to play against a computer opponent or "attack" one of the other players in the game. Players are trying to get the largest total of three dice, in three rolls of the dice, to win. A simple but very fun game! DICED POKER - Make your best poker hand with dice. Play is against the computer with the odds for each hand varying randomly between 1 to 1 up to 50 to 1. DIRE STRAIGHTS - Use skill, luck and strategy to get as many straights as possible in a fifteen card hand. Pay offs per round range from the total of all the cards on the playing field to multiples of the various round values. Round values vary from $1,000 in round 1 to $1,000,000 in round 4. EXPLOSIVE PAIRS - In this off-shoot of the popular board game and TV game show, Concentration, players try to match as many of the eight card pairs as they can each round. The diabolical twist in this game is that after four looks at the card pairs, players who do not get a match in subsequent looks, will have one of the boxes on the playing field, randomly "blown up", thus killing a possible match. Point values vary from 1,000 points in round 1 to 500,000 point in round 5. FIVE OF A KIND - Still our most popular door, this game is a clone of the board game Yahtzee. GOLD MINER - This is a game where players get to try to strike it rich mining for gold. They have a choice of any one, or all, of five randomly selected mining tunnels out of the 1,000 tunnels available in the game, each time that they play the game. Buy mining equipment and cash your gold in at the Trading Post and then laugh your way to the bank to put all that money away! The gold exchange rate also changes on a daily basis from $1 to $1,000 per pound and is updated with a simple-to-use nightly maintenance program! Selectable claimjumping is also a part of this game. Players can now choose to jump claim on another player's mine tunnel. Losing costs the player any cash or gold they are carrying as well as a fine of 20% of their bank account. Winner garners the player, the former mine owner's gold and cash carried and possession of the mine tunnel. "Lodes" of fun! GUESS THIS NUMBER - This game is the computerized version of the ages old time-passer, "guess-which-number-I'm-thinking-of" where the computer radomly picks a number between 1 and 500, and the player gets nine (9) attempts to guess the number. Each guess helps narrow it down. A simple but VERY fun game. Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 5 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ GUN SLINGER - This is a game where you are the sheriff of the town of Sleepy Gulch. Your town has been overrun with villians and it's your job, through the villian's card game, to kill all the bad guys without getting killed yourself. HUSSEINIAC - This is a game that allows the player to fight a ground war against Iraq and some of their weapons without incurring any risk to themselves. This game also allows the player to attack Saddam Hussein and possibly end the war by destroying him. KINGS OF THE HILL - A strategy card game where the player tries to get three Kings on the top row (of three rows) or ANY three of a kind on ANY row. A << Kings of the Hill >> (three Kings on the top row ONLY) is worth $1,000,000 plus the value for a three of a kind (or meld) for that round. KRAZEE TILES - A strategy game where the player tries to match three tiles of the same pattern, either horizontally or vertically, on a four by four playing field. Round values vary from $1,000 for round one to $500,000 for round six. Try to match up three tiles out of 12 possible tile patterns! MATCH-UP CHALLENGE - In this strategy game, the player is trying to get as many card pairs as possible in nine cards dealt. The player must get at least one match-up per round to get the match value for that round. Point values vary from 5,000 points in round 1 to 1,000,000 in round 6. PERHAPS...PERCHANCE - This is a variation on the hi-lo theme. Players try to get hi-lo's on BOTH cards and dice in each of four racks. Get all four racks and win a bonus! PLANETARY WARS - This door is one where players try to chart as many undiscovered planets and mine as many minerals from those planets, as they can in a monthly period. Players are also allowed to attack other player's planets to try to take them over for more mining fun. One thousand (1,000) planets to choose from with five (5) randomly selected each time they play! PUB DARTS - Play a friendly game of darts on the computer, just like playing the game in a bar without the smoke. PUZZLING COLORS - The object of this strategy game is simple (but kind of hard to achieve). The player is trying to place colored blocks on one of three rows. The point being to get all three blocks of the same color on the row for that color (ie, red blocks in boxes 1, 2 and 3 only, yellow in boxes 4, 5, and 6 only, and so on). The twist to this game is, once again, jokers. If a joker comes up, then the player loses the point value for that round. Point values range from $1,000 in round 1 to $1,000,000 in round 7. ROAD RACE - This game is similar in concept to the Parker Brothers board game MillesBornes, where players are in a 700 mile road race. Players face possible hazards along the way such as running out of gas, flat tires, crashes, and getting lost. SLOT WORDS - This is a game where players try to unscramble a 5 to 8 letter word for money. The twist is that the payoff for each guess changes with each guess like a slot machine. The computer adds the value of three numbers together to form the payoff for that guess. Loads of fun for anyone who likes playing Jumble and other such word games! Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 6 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ SPY ISLAND - A new release for this month! Players infiltrate the headquart- ers of D.B.G. (Da Bad Guys) searching for a bomb and the coded arming instruc- tions. Once they have both, they can go to a computer and try to decode the instructions, arm the bomb, place the bomb (properly) and get off the island a winner. Misplacing or misarming the bomb results in death! STAR SAGA - THE ENDIRIAN ENCOUNTER - This ANSI graphics oriented game is one where players try to get a treaty signed between Star Command Central Committee and the Endirian High Council. To accomplish this, the player must choose the correct speaking posture to best deal with the Endirians. Players choose from Combative, Docile, Friendly, or Superior postures and the Endirian's posture changes daily through the use of the included maintenance program. Several different types of endings depending on the posture taken. STAR SAGA 2 - THE TECHNORON TERROR - One of our new releases! Our last door of 1991 and we feel that this one is among our best! In this sequel to The Endirian Encounter, the crew of your ship is sent to Technoron star system to rescue the crew of the Excelsior from the planet and the dreaded Technorbot Droids that protect it. Battle the Technorbot Droids (all three types of them) and rescue the crew for a bonus! Thrilling fun! TILE SHARKS - A strategy game similar to the TV game show, Card Sharks. In this game, players choose higher or lower on each tile. Play continues through three regular rounds of five tiles each round and two SuperRounds of two dice each. For a twist, in the two SuperRounds, there are Joker Tiles. If a player gets the Joker Tile, the player loses EVERYTHING! TRIPLE HI-LO DICE - A Hi-Lo dice game that has a special twist - players bet higher or lower on each of three dice shown. Amounts won depend on the amount bet and the number of correct hi-lo picks. Odds can go negative in this game if there are too many wrong guesses. Crystal Systems International Monthly Door Game Newsletter Page 7 Volume 11 - March 1992 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ In this section, we'll talk about what's new with CSI doors for this month. Spy Island is our newest door creation with beta testing being completed at the end of February. This door features some pretty good ANSI graphics screens during the game and makes players try to decode bomb arming instruct- ions or risk blowing up to get off the island. Gold Miner, Planetary Wars and Star Saga 2 have all been finalized with beta testing completed and the all-corrected versions are available at Mustang Software's HQ BBS in California. Copies of these programs may also be obtained by sending your name, address, disk size and the title of the door you wish to recieve to our mailing address and we will send you the latest version. Please remember that when you register a program with Crystal Systems, you not only help support and promote the shareware concept but you also help some very special kids at a very special time in their lives. Five dollars ($5.00 USD) of every registration goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Florida to help special wishes come true for terminally ill children! If anyone wishes to contact Make-A-Wish to verify that money is being donated, please feel free to contact them, in their Fort Lauderdale, Florida office at (305)-967-9474 and ask for Ms. Nancy Strom. She is the executive director of the South Florida chapter and has been very helpful in setting up this program.