Copyright: Copyright® 1994 ZiffNet


Contents
Issue 14 - September, 1994

© Copyright 1994 Ziff-Davis Interactive, All Rights Reserved.

In This Issue:

 The Ziff-Davis Shareware Awards

A complete guide to the winners of the premier shareware event.

 Newest Titles

Find out what's new and exciting this month.

 Reviews

This month's feature reviews.

 Author Spotlight: Tom Rawson

Meet the man behind 4DOS

 Timothy Campbell's Shareware News

Columnist Timothy Campbell brings you the latest shareware happenings.

 About ZShare

All about the premier electronic shareware magazine.


About ZMSR
ZiffNet Monthly Shareware Review (ZShare)

The ZiffNet Monthly Shareware Review is a publication of Ziff-Davis Interactive.

© Copyright 1993,94 Ziff-Davis Interactive, All Rights Reserved.

Editor: Scott Arpajian (ZiffNet/CIS ID: 72241,1517  ZiffNet/PRODIGY: VMDH31A)
ZDI Software Library Manager: Preston Gralla

Contributing Editors: Timothy Campbell, Susan Borden, David D. Busch

Staff Reviewers: Dave Burton, Jim Edwards, Marcia Meier, Joyce Mosier, Brad Thompson


Newest Titles
The Newest Additions to Our Libraries

Below are listings of some of the newest files available for downloading on ZiffNet for CompuServe. ZiffNet for PRODIGY members can always find up-to-date lists of new titles right on the service by selecting "Newest Titles" from the ZiffNet Software menu.

Downloading from ZiffNet

ZiffNet Originals

ZIFF'S CHOOSER UTILITY (ZCHOSR.ZIP)

PBS Utilities Forum, Library 8 (Ziff Custom Utilities)

Puts full Windows screen saver control just a mouse click away.

ICON SELECTOR 1.0 (ZSELCT.ZIP)

PBS Utilities Forum, Library 8 (Ziff Custom Utilities)

Change program icons at will with this handy selection utility.

Applications

ZAP-O-COMM v1.33 (ZOC.ZIP)

PBS Applications, Library 5 (OS/2)

A complete OS/2 PM Communications program.

POWER BBS FOR WINDOWS v3.5 (PBBSW.ZIP)

PBS Applications, Library 6 (Communications)

Full-featured multi-node BBS system for Windows.

DAREBASE! v1.60 (DAREBS.ZIP)

PBS Applications, Library 4 (Windows)

Build and read Access database files from simple tables.

NEOBOOK PROFESSIONAL v2.0 (NBOOKP.ZIP)

PBS Applications, Library 3 (DOS)

Create multimedia presentations and newsletters in DOS.

Games & Entertainment

CIVIL WAR STRATEGY v1.0 (CIVILW.ZIP)

PBS Arcade, Library 7 (War & Strategy)

Recreate the Amercian Civil War on your PC.

ASTROFIRE v1.0s (ASTROF.ZIP)

PBS Arcade, Library 3 (Action Games)

A fast-moving action game with 256 color raytraced graphics.

JUMPER DUDE v1.0 (JUMPER.ZIP)

PBS Arcade, Library 3 (Action Games)

Jump obstacles in this motorcycle arcade game.

Utilities

INFOBAR v1.1 (INFOBR.ZIP)

PBS Utilities, Library 4 (Windows)

Show specifics about your Windows system.

TURBOBAT BATCH FILE COMPILER v3.23 (TBT.ZIP)

PBS Utilities, Library 3 (DOS)

Compile DOS batch files into .COM executables.

NEWSREADER v3.03 (NEWSR.ZIP)

PBS Utilities, Library 4 (Windows)

Simplified reader for Newsbytes stories.


How To Download
How To Download from ZiffNet

If you are a ZiffNet member on CompuServe or PRODIGY, you can easily download all of the programs mentioned in this publication. If you are not already a ZiffNet subscriber, you can find out how to join by selecting "Becoming a ZiffNet Subscriber" below:

Becoming a ZiffNet Subscriber

ZiffNet/CompuServe

All of the programs mentioned in the ZiffNet Monthly Shareware Review are available directly from our Software Center (GO ZNT:SOFTLIB) or in one of the Public Brand Software Forums  (GO PBS). The correct forum is indicated in each program highlight, along with the specific library in which it can be found.

ZiffNet/PRODIGY

All of the programs can also be found on the ZiffNet for PRODIGY service. Simply [JUMP]: ZiffNet and select "Software" from the menu. Then perform a Search by Title for the program you are interested in.


Become a Subscriber
Become a ZiffNet Subscriber

Anyone with a modem and communications software can discover for themselves everything ZiffNet offers. It's easy! CompuServe members can simply type GO ZIFFNET. If you are not currently a CompuServe member, just follow these easy steps:

1. Set your communications software to 7 data bits, even parity, one stop bit. Select a data transfer rate (bits per second) of 1,200, 2,400, 9,600 or 14,400 bps. Have your modem call the local ZiffNet number. (To find your local ZiffNet number: by modem, dial 800-346-3247 and at the User ID prompt type PHONES; by voice, dial 800-635-6225.)

2. Respond to the prompts by entering the information below:

When you connect: Press CTRL+C

Host Name: CIS
User ID: 177000,5555
Password: ZIFF*NET
Agreement Number: SREVIEW

3. Register your name and credit card number for billing.

You will receive your permanent User ID and temporary Password online. Write them down and use them to log on. You will receive your permanent Password within 10 days, as confirmation of your new ZiffNet membership.


Reviews

About the Ratings

Entombed

It buries the old notions of Windows gaming.

Greatest Paper Airplanes

What if the Wright Brothers had a PC?

Win Change

Switch your Windows startup logo.

Nitemare 3-D

A spooky new 3D action arcade game.

CompuShow 2000!

The premier shareware DOS image viewing program gets better.

Kith and Kin

Document your family tree

Easy Street

Angst-free portfolio tracking


Entombed Review

Entombed

Reviewed by Scott Arpajian

If you've been fortunate enough to tinker with games like The 7th Guest and Myst, then you've already got a good idea of what Entombed is all about. This devious adventure/puzzle game from Software Creations is a breathtaking example of quality game design. It features fiendishly difficult puzzles and awe-inspiring ray-traced graphics. And unlike it's shelf-ware counterparts, you don't need a CD-ROM drive to enjoy everything it has to offer.

Entombed has an eerie look and feel to it, with dark and mysterious images. Although it's a Windows program, it runs full-screen to give you the most realistic graphics possible. The shareware episode takes up a mere 2.5 megabytes of your hard drive, which is peanuts when you consider the intense 256 color graphics and animation. And Entombed does not sacrifice game play or depth to squeeze onto your hard drive. It's an enjoyable game that will keep you puzzled for hours. Or perhaps weeks.

The storyline is rich and detailed. You're an achaelogist tracing the footsteps of Dr. Henry Who, who explored the same site over 125 years before. By accident, you become trapped inside the tomb. The only way out is to work your way through the numerous traps and puzzles left behind by the tomb's builders. Although many of the puzzles are incredibly difficult, you're armed with the diary of Dr. Henry Who, which gives you hints along the way.

The only shortcoming of this game is its linear storyline. You are led from puzzle to puzzle, and you must solve them in order. This can be extremely difficult, especially if you get stuck on a particular puzzle, as it will create a bottleneck that won't open until you finally determine the puzzle's solution. But the game's challenge and execution more than make up for this. If you're up for a thinking game, it's time to uncover the mysteries ofEntombed.

You can order the full version from Software Creations for $39.95 + $2 shipping/handling. The registered version contains an amazing five episodes, which is sure to keep event the most successful puzzlemaster occupied for quite some time.

  More Info.: Entombed

  Main Reviews Page


Win Change Review

Win Change

Reviewed by Thom Foulkes

Code hackers have long known how to change the Windows startup logo to something more tasteful than Microsoft's boring trademark. But their way (see below) involved DOS-level file copying operations, cryptic file names and no preview of the new logo.

Now comes Win Change 5.0 to change all that. This slick $8.00 shareware product operates from within Windows, lets you see the image and position of your proposed logo change, and even lets you change your mind later!

That part is easy. What may not be so easy for even longtime Windows users, is creating a new logo to customize your startup. What's required is an .RLE (run length encoded) graphics image file with a maximum of 16 colors, sized at 640x480 pixels or less, stored in a 4-bit mode and no larger than 46k (give or take a couple of bytes). Such .RLE files are a bitmap, like .BMPs, but they are compressed internally.

One of the many things Microsoft did not include with Windows 3.1 is an ability for, say, PC Paintbrush to read and edit such a file. In fact, many popular commercial graphics editors -- Micrografx Designer, Corel Draw, ImagePals Enhancer, and others -- know nothing of the .RLE format. That's why you also will likely want to download a copy of WinGIF if you have no spare .RLEs lying around. A handy utility for many purposes, the widely distributed $15 WinGIF (Supersoft Software) can edit and resize .GIF, .PCX, .BMP, and .RLE files with no hassle. It's even recommended by G.L. Liadis Software, Inc., the developers of Win Change, for use with their product.

For those who like to look under the hood, here's what is involved in this file-fiddling. The stock Windows logo begins as a separate file -- VGALOGO.RLE, in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory (or a comparably-named file for CGA and EGA users). Anytime you use the Windows Setup program, it re-creates a WIN.COM file comprised of WIN.CNF (your configuration information), VGALOGO.LGO (the graphics engine starter) and VGALOGO.RLE. Setup uses whatever VGALOGO.RLE file it finds in the \SYSTEM directory.

WIN.COM (like any .COM file) cannot be larger than 64k, so that's why you must be careful to produce an .RLE small enough to fit. A 24-bit color snapshot from your vacation at Yosemite could probably be converted downward, but might wind up looking like the neighbor's back yard. Fortunately, WinChange will tell you if the file is too large or the wrong format.

In operation, Win Change is simple. Install its components by the instructions in the accompanying WCHELP.WRI file and add WCHANGE.EXE to the program group of your choice. You will also need the Visual Basic 3.0 runtime library, VBRUN300.DLL.

At this point, it's a good idea to make a copy of WIN.COM (call it OLDWIN.COM) for backup. (Win Change keeps its own backup, as well, named WINBAK.COM.) Then, bring up Win Change from its icon and use the file open menu to locate your .RLE. You can now view the file, make it your logo or revert to Microsoft's original. Click-click, and you're done. Of course, you won't see the change until you exit and restart Windows.

If you really want to know how brave stalwarts have been doing this since the days of Windows 3.0, here's the DOS-level command, issued from inside the WINDOWS directory:

COPY /B WIN.CNF+VGALOGO.LGO+<filepath>\<filename>.RLE WIN.COM.

By my survey, at least six out of ten hackers agree, Win Change is easier. Safer, too. But if G.L. Liadis wanted to make this an even better utility, they'd include an automatic re-sizing/re-scaling option for any source .RLE file. Maybe that's coming in the next version.

  More Info.: Win Change

   Main Reviews Page


Nitemare 3D Review Lockwood

Nitemare 3-D

Reviewed by Russ Lockwood

DOS-based Nitemare 3-D places you in a house haunted by monsters in a quest to save your sweetheart. The three-dimensional shoot-'em-up reminiscent of DOOM suffers from a slight case of graphics hiccups, but otherwise imparts eyeball-view action amidst a maze full of monsters.

DOOM may have captured the hearts and hard drives of many a gamer, but that doesn't stop other shareware authors from trying to outdo the acknowledged leader in three-dimensional, eyeball-view, arcade shoot-'em-ups. Gray Design Associates' Nitemare 3-D is the latest to crack the genre and comes close equalling DOOM, offering up many of the same elements, such as a plethora of monsters, secret doors, and goodies strewn about the maze.

As Hugo, you enter the haunted house of Dr. Hamerstein in search of your kidnapped sweetheart, Penelope, held somewhere among the multiple levels of the first episode. Inside, Hamerstein's collection of 1930s horror-movie monsters lay in wait.

I like these monsters. There are Frankensteins, mummies, bats, skeletons, wicked witches, demented doctors, and even an electrifying gal who looks like Elvira on a bad hair day. For all these bad boys and girls, there's but one answer: you do the monster mash.

You start with a plasma pistol, and work your way up to magic wand and other weaponry. Ammo, healing potions, keys, cards, energy for the automapping gizmo, and other goodies lie around the house. I've said it before and I'll say it again--if the bad guys were tidier, you heroes would never stand a chance.

Graphics scroll smoothly until a monster appears--then all action simply stops while the computer makes some calculations. Then it starts and stops and starts...you get the idea. I tested Nitemare on a 25MHz 486DX system with plain ISA SVGA graphics. Switching to a 66MHz 486DX2 system with PCI local bus graphics yielded a faster graphics scroll rate, but the same hiccupping occurred.

Unlike DOOM, there are a few puzzles within the maze. For example, to get the combination to a safe, you need to activate a blackboard using the space bar. The combo appears within the shifting patterns of chalk marks. Clever, that.

Another addition is a secret door finder. When you get close, the center of an eyeball brightens--certainly saves you time wandering around banging into ever wall as in DOOM. One other clever addition is an overall score, with level bonus for finding all secret doors and killing all monsters. There are three levels of difficulty--Be Gentle, I'm Tough, and Let's Party--providing enough challenge for all levels of skill.

Nitemare 3-D is a 918K download, which expands to 4.2MB on your hard drive. To get the full three episode version (7.5MB) costs you $29 plus $4 shipping.

Inevitably, Nitemare 3-D will be compared to DOOM, Blake Stone, Depth Dwellers, Ken's Labyrinth, and other eyeball-perspective, three-dimensional maze shoot-'em-ups to come. It comes close to DOOM, but never quite equals it, although I find it better than Depth Dwellers and Ken's Labyrinth and just a tad behind Blake Stone.

  More Info.: Nitemare 3D

  Main Reviews Page


CompuShow 2000 Review

CompuShow 2000!

Reviewed by J.W. Olsen

CompuShow 2000 is a $33 utility with features falling between basic graphics viewers and high-end products such as Graphics Workshop and Paint Shop Pro. If you want more than simple file viewing but not overly sophisticated file alteration and conversion, consider CompuShow 2000.

The DOS-based program ships with a batch file that makes accessing it from Microsoft Windows easy. The interface closely mimics a Windows program, which for most of us means a painless introduction to basic usage.

In many areas, CompuShow 2000 can be thought of as a good news-bad news program. For example, the good news is that it supports 13 popular file formats. The bad news is that it has trouble with some common substrains of these formats that other programs recognize.

As more good news, CompuShow 2000 offers a variety of display modes for a given image and even recommends what it thinks is the best mode. The bad news is that you needlessly face the mode-choice dialog box again after viewing a file--and it reverts to the best mode you overrode. (You can tell CompuShow 2000 to suppress the mode-selection dialog box altogether, but at times you want it.) Unlike many competitors, CompuShow 2000 understands systems configured to other than 25-line screens. The bad news is that after you've displayed your first image, the screen reverts to 25-line mode.

CompuShow 2000 remembers the last directory you accessed between sessions, properly disregarding floppy drives. The bad news is that it treats CD-ROM drives like hard drives. If you don't have a CD-ROM disk online next time, you encounter an error condition that is only resolved by inserting a CD-ROM--even if you want to access your hard disk.

You can run a simple slide show from the command line to display multiple images in sequence. The bad news is that if you enter an erroneous specification, the program aborts without offering any help.

Even more good news: You can view images full size and pan them, or automatically rescale them to your screen--something CompuShow 2000 does as well or better than its competitors. An additional zoom function focuses upon a chosen element within an image. You can conveniently adjust image brightness, and enhance red, blue and green components. Multiple images can be displayed in separate windows.

The author has removed 3 features until you register. If they don't interest you, there's no problem. Unfortunately, if you want them, you have no evaluation options before buying. One of these features is the ability to print. (How do you know if it will work with your printer?) Another is customizing screen colors. (This is a rather challenging area. How well will CompuShow 2000 perform?) Lastly, the registered version reportedly creates sophisticated slide-show scripts. (Some scripting systems are intuitive; others are not. Some are powerful; others are not. How will CompuShow 2000 compare?)

Overall, CompuShow 2000 offers a modern and inviting interface, and considerably more power than simple viewers without saddling you with complexity. It may be useful as a middle-ground alternative if you don't find the mentioned annoyances problematic. Your best bet: Try a copy and see how it fits your own needs.

  More Info.: CompuShow 2000

  Main Reviews Page


Greatest Paper Airplanes Review

Greatest Paper Airplanes

Reviewed by Ed Hoffman

Hammerhead, Marlin, Kingfisher, Condor, Hawk, Cheetah, and Puma might sound like a strange assortment of wildlife. But, not so. Rather these are just a few of the designs of paper airplanes you'll learn to construct with a Windows program called Greatest Paper Airplanes, 1.0. No matter what your level of experience, or even if you've never folded a paper airplane, be prepared for a very enjoyable and informative time with this program.

Using the metaphor of a notebook, the program is divided into several categories of information related to flying. The first section starts with a brief introduction to the history of flying. You're next introduced to the basics of aerodynamics and some of the terms, like lift and drag, associated with flying. Not only are the terms defined, but they are also illustrated with some very creative animation techniques. So, when you click on the word lift in the text of the definition, a fully animated paper airplane shows you exactly how lift is applied to the airplane.

The is text replete with animated examples and explanations of many of the important points. The next section of the program offers a description of the terms associated with airplanes and how they are applied to both real airplanes and the paper variations. As before, each term is well described and illustrated with an animated graphic. So, if you click on the word flaps, you will see the flaps move on a sample illustration. The last section in this area offers a few tips and suggestions on how and where to take your folded masterpiece soaring.

There is even a discussion of paper in this program. Here the origin and history of paper are briefly discussed. This section also includes the basics of paper folding. Here many of the basic folds as well as the techniques of properly folding paper are discussed. The final section of the program introduces you to the five basic styles of paper airplanes. These include the Darts, Gliders, Jets & Bombers, SSTs & Stealth, and the Starships. In this section each style of paper airplane is introduced and well illustrated. The basic style and flight characteristics of each style is also described here. Within each of these general categories of paper airplanes are five different variations. Each is also well described and the procedure of folding each style is well covered. The folding procedure is covered step-by step and each fold is explained and well illustrated with an impressive array of animated examples. The example may be set to show each fold individually or as a continuous series of folds. If you need to see a particular folding process more than once each fold, or a series of folds, it can be easily repeated.

This program will introduce you to a wide range of very sophisticated folded paper airplanes. The shareware version of the program only contains the five variations of the Dart style paper airplane. The registered version includes all 25 different airplane designs as well as sounds, and a host of additional features. The Greatest Paper Airplanes 1.0 is available from KittyHawk Software, Inc., P.O. Box 64189, Tucson, AZ 85728-4189, 1-800-388-9622. The registration fee is $29.95 + $5.00 S&H. The utility is also available on-line as GPA.ZIP.

The program requires:  Windows 3.1 or higher,  MS-DOS 3.1 or higher, 2MB RAM (4MB recommended), 2MB Free disk space, Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device, color monitor, and a sound card (for the registered version)

  More Info.: Greatest Paper Airplanes

  Main Reviews Page


Kith and Kin Review

Kith and Kin

Reviewed by Susan Borden

Kith and Kin 2.02 is a unique software program for documenting and storing family trees and information on family background. The program has an easy to use graphical interface with a toolbar for options and powerful editing tools. You can store the date and place of births, marriages and deaths as well as multiple marriages and aliases for each person creating a family tree with embedded details.

When you enter information into Kith and Kin it's organized into family groups. The main screen displays a tree chart that shows each family as a rectangle. Relationships between families are shown by parent lines. Using the mouse you can drag and position the family rectangles within the tree area to form a standard tree layout.

Once the tree has been built the family rectangles can be used for direct access to data by double clicking the left mouse button on the desired family. You can then explore the tree by selecting people and families from within the family and person data. This makes it very easy to follow a particular route through the tree while examining, updating or adding data.

A unique and useful feature is that pictures, maps, diagrams and sounds can be linked to a person or family through OLE (object linking and embedding) technology. For example, you can embed a sound clip of the music that was played at your grandparent's wedding into the file containing data on their marriage and children. Or you can link a map of your ancestor's birthplace into the file so that you can view it through the Windows Paint program.

Best of all, a printed book can be produced with family details, including pictures and diagrams, and you can included a complete cross-referenced index to names and families. You have control over the formatting and extent of all printed reports which also include details about individuals, tree layout, and ancestral trees.

You can conduct searches for a specific family or text string, or you can search for what the program calls people in limbo. The program will search the tree for all people who are neither parents or children in any family and therefore can't be accessed via the family rectangles in the tree area. When the search is complete, a list of people is displayed.

The preferences dialog allows you to set two options within the program. You can enable or disable the alias option for women who marry into the family. When a person is identified as the mother of a family an alias is automatically generated comprising her married surname, her first names and the date of marriage. The other preference option allows you to select not to display large objects within the program's window. The image of a large object may take a while to draw depending on the speed of your PC. Instead of running the image you can display a gray rectangle in place of the image of large objects. Changing this option does not affect the contents of the object or the way it is printed, it just helps you speed up the performance of the software.

Kith and Kin is a delightful program that is easy and fun to use. The registration fee of $40 dollars includes telephone technical support, upgrade notices and upgrade discounts.

  More Info.: Kith and Kin

  Main Reviews Page


Easy Street Review

Easy Street

Reviewed by Ron Bel Bruno

No one ever said that making money (or losing it for that matter) by investing was an easy task. Even a simple portfolio of over-the-counter stocks is subject to daily price fluctuations which require constant recalculation and revisions of analyses. Easy Street, a Windows personal portfolio manager, rids you of the angst typically associated with portfolio management.

Easy Street eschews the traditional charts and graphs found in most investment software, in favor of straightforward, bottom-line reporting features that will assist you in making buying decisions, creating what-if scenarios, and reporting profits and losses for tax purposes. It maintains an unlimited number of portfolios.

To create a portfolio, you would enter all available data about each security in your portfolio. This information includes the short name and symbol for the stock, current quote, Standard & Poor rating, and dividend information. If you have only a few securities in your portfolio, then entering these manually from the daily newspaper won't be a problem. However if you've constructed a substantial number of stocks in your portfolio, you might want to employ Easy Street's online data feature.

Easy Street's link to several CompuServe financial information areas simplifies data input and maintains up-to-the-minute accuracy of portfolio statistics--in most cases at a nominal fee. For example, a subscriber to CompuServe's Basic Services can access the Basicquotes service at no additional cost. Easy Street automatically accesses quote data for its portfolios' securities and plugs this data into the appropriate areas. The program can also access company information and historical quote data from CompuServe at additional cost.

Once you have your securities' quote data entered into the Easy Street system, it's time to record your transactions. Easy Street simplifies the process with a toolbar of Buy, Sell, Split, Dividend buttons for easy transaction recording. The program later refines this data into its Portfolio Report, which shows the number of units (shares) held, the total amount invested (excluding commissions), the current value (based on the latest quotes), and the net gain or loss amount and percentages.

The Transaction Summary report is a breakdown of your portfolio activity you'll need at tax time. To create this report, you first enter the beginning and ending dates for the report period.

On purchases, the summary shows the symbol, transaction date and serial number (used to relate sales to specific purchases), the number of units, unit price, total purchase amount, current price, number of units remaining, and the commission paid on the transaction.

Sales data includes the symbol, transaction date, price per unit at sale, total sales amount, and the commission paid on the transaction. The net gain/loss and percentage for the sales are shown as well. These statistics are based on the original purchase price and the total sale price. Dividends and splits are also noted, in addition to purchase and sale data.

Easy Street makes the tedious number-crunching involved in portfolio management a much more palatable, automated, and largely graphical process. In short, it's a blue-chip investment.

  More Info.: Easy Street

  Main Reviews Page


Win Change

Win Change is a simple desktop utility that makes changing the standard  Windows start-up logo easy. If you are tired of the Windows logo, create your own RLE file, and Win Change will modify WIN.COM to display your own personalized start-up graphic. You can view, delete, and select the RLE file you want from the easily understood Win Change dialog box. Win Change allows you to restore the default logo any time you want to reverse the change. It also makes a back up of the file being replaced each time you change your screen. Images can't be larger than 640x480 with 16 colors and 63K in size. Shareware, $8. 38,890 bytes.

CIS:	WCHNGE.ZIP; PBS Utilities, Library 4 (Windows)

PRODIGY:	Win Change


Nitemare 3D

Nitemare 3D is a scrolling adventure game that leads you through a 3D house of horrors. The game displays great graphics while you try to kill the evil scientist in an old house filled with bats, witches and vampires. Collect weapons and discover hints that can help you reach the secret room and rescue Penelope, the scientist's captive. The program supports a mouse, joystick and SoundBlaster compatible sound cards. You really must have at least 2MB of extended memory or the game is unbearably slow. When you register you receive 2 other levels, a hint book and a map viewer. Shareware, $29. 918,674 bytes.

CIS:	NITE3D.ZIP; PBS Arcade, Library 3 (Action Games)

PRODIGY:	Nitemare 3D


CompuShow 2000
CompuShow 2000!

CompuShow 2000! opens and views virtually any image file from BMP to TIFF, including GIF, RLE MacPaint, PC Paint, PC Paintbrush, ColoRIX, EGA Paint, IMG, Dr. Halo, Targa, IFF/LBM/HAM and JFIF (JPEG) graphics. The program uses any display type from CGA to VESA Super VGA and manually or automatically selects appropriate display modes. Other features include cataloging tools, color manipulation and multiple-image viewing. The registered version supports slide-show scripts and prints images. Clearly-written documentation explains program operation and eases setup for beginners. v1.05a. Shareware, $33. 185,503 bytes.

CIS:	CSHOW.ZIP; PBS Utilities, Library 4 (Windows)

PRODIGY:	CompuShow 2000!


Easy Street

Easy Street is financial software for Windows that manages data for stock and mutual fund portfolios. It records transactions, price quotes and historical data, and creates profit and loss reports and graphs. Easy Street also offers the ability to import data and link to CompuServe to retrieve current price quotes, company information and transaction updates.v1.0. Shareware, $25. 1,220,479 bytes.

CIS:	EZSTR.ZIP; PBS Professional, Library 3 (Business and Finance)

PRODIGY:	Easy Street


Kith and Kin

Kith and Kin modernizes your family tree. This genealogy database lets you add pictures, maps, diagrams and sounds to each person or family. Menu options allow you to start, add, save, import/export GEDCOM files and edit family trees and personal data. After entering the data you can print information on tree layout. Easily create family history books with a cross-referenced index and charts. Use the editing tools and design page layouts for small or large families. v2.02. Shareware, £24. 306,290 bytes.

CIS:	KITKIN.ZIP; PBS Home, Library 3 (Home & Hobby)

PRODIGY:	Kith & Kin


Entombed

In this combination adventure, puzzle-solving game, you are an archaeologist exploring a new dig when you become trapped in a cavern. Entombed is presented in 3-D ray traced 640x480, 256 color graphics. It is so realistic, you will find that many of your favorite games suffer by comparison! There is help, and you can save games. For a new experience in games, get Entombed.

CIS:	ENTOMB..ZIP; PBS Arcade, Library 5 (Fantasy Games)

PRODIGY:	Entombed


Featured Author
Tom Rawson

Co-author of 4DOS

Name

Tom Rawson

Computer System

Custom-built (by me) AMI 486/66

Favorite Shareware Program (Excluding Own)

QEdit

Programming Hours

6:30am - 7:00pm.

Favorite Vacation Spot

Family summer camp in Ontario. No electricity, no running water, no phones.

Last Non-Computer Book Read

The Moon Bamboo by Thich Naht Hanh

Other Hobbies/Interests

Flying (I'm learning to fly small airplanes), Bicycling, Carpentry and fixing up my house.

Favorite Pizza Topping

Mushrooms and Onions

Predicted Release Date of Microsoft's Chicago

March 1, 1995

I was born and grew up in New England, which I love because it has real seasons, and a sense of self-sufficiency. My Dad was a physicist who became a software engineer; I wrote my first program at his office, in 1964, on a machine that took up a whole room and had to be bootstrapped by entering a loader in octal through the front panel switches (they almost sold the machine to DEC -- it would have become the PDP-3 but the sale never went through). The program generated random morse code so I could practice for my ham radio license (I never got past Novice).

 In high school I worked in the theater doing lighting, and that led to a summer at Dartmouth repertory theater (1968). That was when Dartmouth had the philosophy that all students should have free computer time, and I spent meal breaks playing at the computer center.

 I went to college the next year near Philadelphia, where I earned money by working in the computer center. I tried engineering and physics, and finally settled on biology as my chosen field, with a focus on plant ecology. I never have worked as a biologist, but learning to be one gave me an appreciation of a much larger universe than what was visible through my more technical pursuits.

 After college I got married, and went on to graduate school in biomathematics in Seattle. After deciding a Ph.D. would narrow my career options I went to work programming 8080s to collect data for a medical research project. I also spent a lot of time hiking in the North Cascades and bicycling around the Northwest, a place where I still have many friends and fond memories.

 Since then I've moved back to Boston (originally to the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, colloquially known as JP, hence JP Software), and been divorced and remarried. I worked for a couple of years as a manufacturing test technician (to get my hands on some hardware), then started JP Software as a consulting business in 1984. Before moving into product development I worked on everything from embedded systems for industrial test equipment, to business databases.

 Since 1989 I've worked full-time on JP Software's products and business operations. I mostly enjoy the challenges of building a company and working with my staff, and it's a lot of fun to work in the shareware marketplace with its flexibility, immediate response, and low marketing overhead.

 I've always been active in political and community organizations. For example I worked for years in the Jewish community on issues like peace in the Middle East; right now I'm a member of my town meeting, local coordinator for a friend who's running for office, and an occasional small business spokesperson for a ballot initiative on the (Mass.) graduated income tax.

 I now live in Arlington, Mass. with my wife and two cats. In my spare time I enjoy working on my house, and I'm learning to fly small airplanes -- it's a great challenge.

 More Info.: 4DOS


4DOS

A replacement for COMMAND.COM, 4DOS expands the capabilities and flexibility of the familiar DOS command line and adds 200-character file descriptions, command aliases, and extensive online help. This updated version fixes bugs, adds 50 new commands and permits 255-character path statements. Use the guided tour option to decide whether you need 4DOS, and you should plan to spend some time reading 4DOS's excellent documentation files. Shareware, $69. 495,549 bytes.

CIS:	4DOS.ZIP; PBS Utilities, Library 3 (DOS)

PRODIGY:	4DOS


What is ZiffNet?
ZiffNet is the online information service all about computing. It is the first place to turn for the best in software, plus all kinds of useful information about buying, using, supporting and understanding personal computer products.

Created by Ziff Communications, publisher of the leading PC and Macintosh magazines, ZiffNet brings together the best in downloadable freeware and shareware selected for quality and reliability, discussion forums where you can talk to industry leaders and product experts, buying advice to help you make the best purchasing decisions, technical support to help you get the most from your PC and computing news to keep you up-to-date on the industry. In addition, ZiffNet gives you access to editors and writers from the major Ziff publications, including PC Magazine, PC/Computing, PC Week, MacUser, MacWEEK, Computer Shopper and Windows Sources.

The ZiffNet membership fee is just $2.50 a month. Standard CompuServe connect-time charges apply for certain services like downloading software. For more information on the rates please check on-line.

For details on how to sign up for ZiffNet, please see Downloading from ZiffNet

PRODIGY members can [JUMP]: ziffnet for full details on the ZiffNet for PRODIGY service.


About the Ratings

All of the shareware ZiffNet offers is provided through the Ziff-Davis Interactive Software Library. ZDI has the largest dedicated staff of professional reviewers in the industry, and each program is put through rigorous testing before it becomes available on-line.

Part of the review process is the assignment of a program rating. This rating is measured in stars, on a scale from 1 to 4. In addition, the best programs for a particular computer task are assigned a Trophy rating (5 stars).


This Month in Shareware

by Timothy Campbell

Timothy Campbell has been following the shareware industry for several years. A shareware author himself, Tim has published several programs, and he distributes a quarterly publication entitled Who's Who in Shareware.

Headlines & Breaking News

 ASP Investigates New Methods

The ASP (Association of Shareware Professionals) is considering new rules to make marketing easier and more effective for its members. This reporter interviewed Dick Bryant, one of the people working on the ASPAC (ASP Author's Code) project.

Dick Bryant has been writing shareware since 1991 and has produced such well-respected titles as WinUpD8R, WinFlash and WinJottr. In 1992, he joined the ASP, and found that the ASP's methods enhanced his business. Recently, however, he came to believe that the ASP's emphasis on making the software totally usable and useful to the user without need for payment had outlived its usefulness. His feelings in this matter were strongly affected by the experiments conducted by Colin Messitt (as reported in previous issues of ZShare), which showed that under some circumstances, limited or even crippled software could earn much more than software that complied with the ASP's guidelines, which forbid such tactics.

Working with seventeen other ASP authors, Mr. Bryant has drawn up the ASPAC proposals, which will be submitted to the ASP Board of Directors in October. The discussion will probably continue until early next year.

Briefly, Mr. Bryant proposes the ASP's current PoNC (Policy on No Crippling) guidelines be modified to allow various types of limiting. The limitations would be sharply defined, and users would be clearly informed of the type of limiting in the documentation. The proposed methods are:

  Unlimited - The shareware and registered versions are virtually identical

  Fully Evaluatable - All features are available, with certain limitations

  Partially Evaluatable - Some non-vital features are disabled

  Demo - Essentially a "slide show" to demonstrate what a program does.

The proposals continue to highlight the ASP's goal to treat the user with the utmost respect and keep him fully informed. This means the programs can not withhold anything vital to a normal evaluation, nor can they hide or delete data once the evaluation period is complete. Moreover, the ASPAC proposes methods whereby a user who has gone past his evaluation period could extract his data or re-enable the program by contacting the author.

Dick Bryant hastens to add that he feels that he has more than gotten his money's worth out of his ASP membership. But at the same time, he expresses the hope that the ASPAC will help him and other ASP members who wish to maximize their financial returns realize a significant improvement on thier investment in shareware.

 Contact Information

 ZShare Scoop: Catalogs On the Way Out

PC-SIG has been selling shareware diskettes by catalog virtually since the birth of shareware, and is generally considered one of the largest catalog vendors in the world. Now, however, PC-SIG is selling off assets to pay creditors.

Another major disk vendor, CWI, says it may have printed its last catalog.  A representative of CWI told this reporter that henceforth they would be concentrating on running their bulletin board system.

David Snyder of MVP Software reports that Most Significant Bits, another prominent catalog vendor, is now manufacturing CD disks exclusively.

Mr. Snyder believes that with shareware CDs selling for less than five dollars, catalog vendors have trouble convincing anybody to pay $3.00 for a single evaluation diskette. This problem is compounded by the fact that nowadays many shareware programs require several disks, which in some cases means the user would spend about as much for the evaluation disks as he would pay to register the program.

The price of producing shareware CD's has fallen drastically in recent months, and with their vast capacity, inherent reliability, and increased availability, they are attracting many users away from buying shareware diskettes.

Moreover, now that modem usage is a hot topic in the media, and with connect-time prices dropping rapidly, users are flocking to online services, BBS's and InterNet gateways for their shareware. To coin a phrase, it appears that catalog vendors are being run over by the information highway.

Mr. Snyder concludes that catalog vendors are no longer offering a competitive product. It appears that their only option is to diversify into other forms of distribution.

 Contact Information

 Update: Ratings in the USA

As reported in previous issues of this column, shareware developers formed an alliance with the SPA (Software Publishers Association) to create a rating system which would allow parents to make informed decisions when purchasing computer games. The alliance's system describes a game's content as opposed to making judgements about the content. This approach was not compatible with the system developed by the IDSA (Interactive Digital Software Association), an initiative of a dozen cartridge-game publishers, including Sega and Nintendo.

The issue came to a head in televised hearings by a government committee. Both sides gave presentations highlighting the strengths of their respective systems.  Lurking in the background was the threat that if the creators of the games were not able to design a credible system, the government would implement one.

After hearing the presentations, the government committee decided that both systems were workable.  While expressing the hope that the IDSA and the alliance could eventually produce a unified system, the government representatives did not press the issue.

Thus, in the near future, there will be two predominant ratings systems. The IDSA system will appear mostly on cartridge games, recommending the type of audience for which each game is suitable.  The alliance's system will be favoured by computer game developers and will feature simple icons, plus an explanation, to inform the buyer of the content of the game.

Although the alliance has stated that it will not support boycotts of unrated games, market pressure (plus the projected low cost of rating games using the alliances's system) may eventually encourage all shareware authors to obtain ratings for any games they develop.

 Contact Information

Product Releases & News

 The Aethra Chronicles

Michael Lawrence has been enjoying fantasy role-playing games (such as Dungeons and Dragons) for 12 years. Two years ago, Michael Lawrence teamed up with his artistically-inclined friend Phillip Mann to see just how much swashbuckling action they could pack into a game. Michael had already had some success with an earlier game, Dungeons of Kairn, but in The Aethra Chronicles he pulled out all the stops to create a game that he says features some of the best pictures you will ever see in a computer game.

The plot of the game involves a prince who has been kidnapped. Sounds like a simple rescue mission, doesn't it? But Michael reveals that there are some surprising twists that will keep you guessing until the very end.

 Program Information: The Aethra Chronicles

 Contact Information

 Keep a Watch on your LAN With When Lite

When Tron Black was put in charge of a team of programmers, he discovered that their projected completion dates rarely reflected reality. Indeed, the programmers would update the master job schedule even as they were working -- but they wouldn't necessarily tell Tron. So he created a utility that would notice when the schedule file had been changed (i.e. the time and date stamp were altered) and fire up his scheduling program so he could see what was going on.

Tron has been writing shareware for five years, so it was only natural that he create a shareware version of the file-watcher program. Thus was born When Lite. If you are on a Local Area Network, or if you have a background task that occasionally updates a file, it's helpful to have a program that notices when something changes. You could, for example, use When Lite as a primitive form of intra-LAN email: when somebody creates or changes your message file, it pops you into a text editor and calls up the file. The list of applications for a file watcher is endless.

Tron relates that his company was originally named InfoPerfect, but a certain large word processing software company wrote him a stern letter demanding that he change his company's name. He toyed with sending them back an equally stern letter demanding that THEY change. Then, remembering the high cost of lawyers, he considered another alternative: changing his company's name to Squashed Like a Grape, Inc. Eventually, however, he settled on the name WinTronix. No doubt the large word processing software company breathed a sigh of relief and sent their lawyers scurrying after other targets.

 Program Information: When Lite

 Contact Information


Contact Information: Software Ratings

Karen Crowther, Redwood Games

P.O. Box 892, Mendocino, CA, USA 95460

Voice/Fax:  707-937-3320; CompuServe 71501,3553

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman

316 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

Voice: 202-224-4041; CompuServe: Contact via CONGRESSGRAM

Senator Herbert H. Kohl

330 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

Voice: 202-224-5653; CompuServe: Contact via CONGRESSGRAM

Representative Tom Lantos

2182 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515

Voice: 202-225-3531; Fax: 202-225-3127; CompuServe: Contact via CONGRESSGRAM


Contact Information: David Snyder

David Snyder, MVP Software

1035 Dallas S.E. Grand Rapids, MI, USA 49507-1407

CompuServe: 70363,15; Voice: 616-245-8376


Contact Information: ASP

Association of Shareware Professionals

545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI, 49442-9427 (USA)

CompuServe: GO SHARE

Dick Bryant, Open Windows

 P.O. Box 49746, Colorado Springs, CO, USA 80949-9746

CompuServe: 75236,3243


Contact Information: Michael Lawrence

Michael Lawrence

P.O. Box 4203, Lexington, KY, USA 40544

CompuServe: 72133,2216


Contact Information: Wintronix

Tron Black, Wintronix, Inc.

1001 South 800 East, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 84105-1203

CompuServe: 70054,1007

Internet: wintrnx@xmission.com

Voice/Fax: 801-532-4865 or 1-800-WINTRNX


Contact Information: J.R. Haran

J.R. Haran

CompuServe: 72261,2606


Greatest Paper Airplanes

The Greatest Paper Airplanes for Windows is an extraordinary animated, 3-D paper airplane folding tutorial with step-by-step VCR style controls, folding diagrams that can be copied to the Clipboard or printer, and textbook on the history of aviation and paper. Using a notebook approach, this program presents topics through colorful cartoon animations that teach the development of aviation, the basics of paper, and how to fold and craft paper for planes. You control the speed of the animation for designing a Hammerhead, Barracuda, Manta Ray, Marlin, and Bottlenose paper planes. The instruction segment has a control panel that lets you rewind, pause, or forward while you manufacture winning planes. This program is entertaining, educational, and a fun group project. Shareware, $29.95. 716,958 bytes.

CIS:	GPA.ZIP; PBS Home, Library 4 (Education)

PRODIGY:	Greatest Paper Airplanes


Aethra Chronicles

The Aethra Chronicles is a fantasy role-playing game featuring excellent graphics and sound support. You create characters from 12 classes and five races. The object is to stay alive and  advance to various levels. The Aethra Chronicles lets you save games and supports sound boards. Unfortunately, the game does not release memory properly upon exit, forcing you to reboot in order to run Windows.

CIS:	AETHRA.ZIP; PBS Arcade, Library 5 (Fantasy Games)


When Lite

When Lite lets you monitor changes to files. It monitors the date and time stamp of the files you select and runs the associated application if it detects a change. A list of files can be set up manually or by using drag-and-drop from the File Manager. You can use this utility to check network files for changes, to check a schedule program for updates, and to notify a programmer when a file has finished compiling.

CIS:	WHNLTE.ZIP; PBS Utilities, Library 4 (Windows)

PRODIGY:	When Lite


Ziff-Davis Shareware Awards
It was DOOM's Day at the Ziff-Davis Awards

The shareware stars were shining at this year's premier shareware event: the 1994 Ziff-Davis Shareware Awards. But the brightest star of the evening was id Softwares shareware blockbuster, DOOM. The incredible 3D action game earned four awards at the event, which was co-sponsored by PC Magazine, Computer Shopper and Ziff-Davis Interactive.

The awards were presented at a special banquet held during this year's Summer Shareware Seminar at ONE BBSCON.  The Ziff-Davis Shareware Awards honored the best new and upgraded programs of the past year.

The awards were judged by two panels of editors from PC Magazine and Computer Gaming World. The panels included the editors of both magazines, Robin Raskin and Johnny Wilson. All of the finalists were thoroughly rated on originality, suitability to task, and creativity. In many categories, the decisions were especially tough, and the judges commented on the high caliber of all the entries in this year's awards.

Here's a complete list of the finalists in each category. Click on the icon next to each category to read what the judges had to say about the winning program.

 DOWNLOAD THE FINALISTS

All of these files are available for downloading in a special area of ZiffNet. Simply GO ZDAWARDS to browse through the finalists. You can also find the finalists in all six of the Public Brand Software forums on ZiffNet. GO PBS, and download the finalists from Library 14 of each forum.

Business & Finance

Winner: Money Smith (Money Smith Systems)

Runner-up: Checkmate Plus (CTech, Inc.)

Finalists:

Painless Accounting for Windows

WPRO93

Education

Winner: Hide n' Seek (Phillip Lynch)

Runner-up: WinFlash (Open Windows)

Finalists:

Animated Clock

Animated Multiplication & Division

Gradebook for Windows

Games

Winner: DOOM (id Software)

Runner-up: Raptor (Apogee)

Finalists:

Epic Pinball

MVP Bridge

Ultimate Gin

Graphics

Winner: Paint Shop Pro (JASC, Inc.)

Runner-up: ImageCommander (JASC, Inc.)

Finalists:

Envision Publisher

Graphic Workshop for Windows

Top Draw

Home & Hobby

Winner: Movies to Go! (ImagiSOFT, Inc.)

Runner-up: GeoClock (Joe Ahlgren)

Finalists:

Cross-Stitch Designer

Grocery Manager for Windows

Video Librarian

Multimedia

Winner: NeoBook Professional (NeoSoft Corp.)

Runner-up: QuickShow Lite for Windows (Alchemy Mindworks, Inc.)

Finalists:

Demo Workshop

NeoShow Professional

StoryMaker+

Personal Information Managers

Winner: Time & Chaos (iSBiSTER International)

Runner-up: Visual Calendar Planner (Bok Nan Lo)

Finalists:

Address Manager

A Project/Event Planner

Smart Address

Utilities - DOS

Winner: 4DOS (JP Software)

Runner-up: GoHome Scheduler/Automator (Added Dimension Software, Inc.)

Finalists:

Directory Maven

Integrity Master

QuikMenu

Utilities - Windows

Winner: Drag and File (Canyon Software)

Runner-up: Plug-In for Windows (Plannet Crafters, Inc.)

Finalists:

WinUpD8R

WizManager

WOPR

Program of the Year: DOOM (id Software)

Action/Adventure

Winner: DOOM (id Software)

Finalists:

Hocus Pocus

Pickle Wars

Raptor

Solar Winds

Arcade

Winner: Epic Pinball (Epic MegaGames)

Finalists:

Ant Run

Night Raid

Prairie Dog Hunt 2: Judgement Day

Cards

Winner: MVP Bridge (MVP Software)

Finalists:

Ultimate Blackjack

Ultimate Gin

Animated VGA Memory Game

Puzzle

Winner: Animated VGA Memory Game (Tom Guthery)

Finalists:

Order Out Of Chaos

Windows Word Search Mania

Strategy/War

Winner: Hexxagon (Argo Games/Software Creations)

Finalists:

Battles in a Distant Desert

Color Cross

World Empire II for Windows

Game of the Year: DOOM (id Software)


DOOM Comments
DOOM

How could we pick anything else?  DOOM has spawned an entire genre of first-person perspective action romps with 3-D technology and texture-mapped environs.  It has brought entire companies to their knees.  It has proven the desirability of network play.  It is the ultimate visceral victory of man over machine-generated villains.


Money Smith Comments
Money Smith

Money Smith provides all the power of a first rate accounting package in a user friendly Windows package.  The accounting information is presented in a worksheet format.  Accounts, categories and date periods are all accessible simply by double clicking on the appropriate title, row or column on the worksheet.  The package includes nifty graphing functions that let you visualize almost every category in a variety of graphs.  A powerful financial calculator provides a wide range of money-related calculations.  Finally, Money Smith comes with sample worksheet templates for Home, Business and Rental situations making startup a snap.


Paint Shop Pro Comments
Paint Shop Pro

Paint Shop Pro does digital image processing (filtering and enhancements and color manipulation) with sophistication.  It also makes good use of MDI when images are modified.


Movies to Go! Comments
Movies to Go!

Movies to Go! is a nice DOS program with intelligent reviews, good animated graphics and sound, and it's simple to use.  You can write short notes about each film and then use the search facility to find your notes.  Unregistered users get 1,000 films, randomly chosen.  When you register, you get a database of 7,200 films.


Hide n' Seek Comments
Hide n' Seek

Hide 'N Seek is a nice little Windows application that lets you play word searches.  There's immediate help if you get stuck, and the interface and mouse commands are all intuitive and well thought out.  The best part of the game is that you can design your own word searches by simply typing your word into an entry menu; the computer then generates the puzzle.


NeoBook Comments
NeoBook

NeoBook is a great tool to create and distribute multimedia content.  It's especially good for kiosks and electronic publications work.  Without the overhead of Windows, NeoBook relies on a runtime of GEOS to provide a graphical user interface rich with multimedia functions.


Time & Chaos Comments
Time & Chaos

Time and Chaos is clearly the most ambitious program of the bunch, and we think it clearly wins the category.  It has all the functions and breadth of the commercial PIMs, and is easier to use than most.


4DOS Comments
4DOS

What can we say?  Great program!  They've thought of everything.  It's just a shame Microsoft didn't buy these guys out about five or six years ago and incorporated their product into MS-DOS.


Drag and File Comments
Drag and File

A fast, compact file manager that works equally well with the keyboard and the mouse. Unlike Windows' File Manager, it doesn't skimp on features, and it includes built-in support for ZIP compression.  Unlike the full-featured file manager in PC Tools for Windows, it isn't overloaded with little-used features that slow it down.  It won't startle anyone with its originality, but that's one of its merits.  It does the job of file management quickly, easily, and unobtrusively, and it's one of the few Windows utilities that users will keep using after they've got tired of more dazzling programs.


Epic Pinball Comments
Epic Pinball

Our wicked side wanted to pick Prairie Dog Hunt 2: Judgment Day, but Epic Pinball's graphics were several notches above PDH2 and the long-term play value was superior.  We loved the sounds and graphics of Epic Pinball and it was the game in which our keyboards were most in danger of being damaged.


MVP Bridge Comments
MVP Bridge

We thought the quality of play was satisfying and that the registered version offers everything you could get in a deluxe traditional channel-ware version (ability to enter special hands, alternate bidding conventions, etc.) of a computer bridge game.  The entire layout was easy-to-read and use, plus it was visually attractive.


Animated VGA Memory Game Comments
Animated VGA Memory Game

The graphic resolution was tremendous, the variety of icons/animated sequences was sufficient to last through an entire evening of addictive play.  We liked the ability to change the number of squares in order to adjust the difficulty level.  In short, a very simple concept executed very elegantly.


Hexxagon Comments
Hexxagon

Hexxagon is similar to a traditional channel-ware product called SPOT that cost us a number of hours of sleep and work time a couple of years ago.  We like the graphics, the adjustable artificial opponent and the fast-moving play.  It is the most polished package of the bunch.