They're Not Your Father's Board & Card Games; Best-Selling Hoyle Series Introduces Compelling New Board & Card Games for the PC

Business Wire, Oct 19, 1998

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 1998--Sierra Attractions takes everyone's favorite computer board and card games a step further with the launch of the two best Hoyle(R) collections yet.

Hoyle Board Games and Hoyle Card Games offer endearing new characters, more ways to play with friends, and all the interactive elements that remind players that you never outgrow fun.

The new Hoyle Board Games and Hoyle Card Games each weigh-in at a hefty 14 games per collection, ensuring that there are enough games to amuse and challenge everyone from kids to grandparents. Friends and family will enjoy playing together on the same computer for head-to-head competition. Internet-connected users can choose to play with distant friends or family at the Internet gaming site www.won.net. Free one-click connection to the site makes striking up a game as easy as pulling up a chair.

No collection would be complete without the witty and entertaining characters that Hoyle games are known for. Stand-up comedians provide the voices, humor and attitude for several of Hoyle's amusing characters. Each opponent has its own unique attitude and playing style that can be adjusted for a game that ranges from serious to sassy. Play against Marvin the friendly T-Rex, or face Roswell for a truly alien encounter. Players can select and save their favorite characters to create their own group of board- and card-playing game buddies.

Users will be amazed to see how easy it is to customize opponents, skill levels, attitudes and backgrounds to make each new game a different experience. Players can choose to relax within a rustic 3D cabin environment, with scenery that changes in accordance with the seasons, or play a thrilling match in the far reaches of outer space.

The Hoyle games have all the elements of strategy, merriment and competition that adults will remember from childhood, without the frustration of 52-card pickup or lost game pieces. The combination of amusing opponents and challenging game play make Hoyle Card Games and Hoyle Board Games two very addictive collections for the home, or for sneaking in stress-breaks at work.

Hoyle Board Games includes fourteen favorite board games from Pachisi to Chinese Checkers, offering all the fun and nostalgia of the games everyone knows and loves. New games in the collection include Reversi, Mancala, Line 'em Up, and the addicting new Placer Racer, for even more variety and board game enjoyment.

Classics like Battling Ships come alive on the screen as missiles fire away, missed shots splash in the water and fiery hits sink opponents' ships to the bottom. Naval crusades not your cup of tea? Try relieving the stress of the day by blowing marbles to bits as they advance faster and faster in the new arcade-style game Placer Racer.

Hoyle Board Games lets users play solo, in groups or online; internet play is available on eleven of the games. On thirteen of the games, friends can play against each other on one PC. Adults will rediscover timeless classics like Backgammon, Yacht and Chess while kids will delight in Snakes & Ladders, Line 'em Up and others. International pastimes like the African game Mancala introduce new challenges into the assortment.

Hoyle Card Games mixes things up with fourteen familiar games like Gin Rummy, Spades, Poker and Hearts for hours of interactive fun. New additions really shuffle the Hoyle Card Game repertoire, including Pinochle, Memory Match, Go Fish and 30 different variations of Solitaire.

Hoyle takes your favorite card games and adds a high-tech twist for extra fun. Younger players can watch the fish jump from the cards into the pond in a game of Go Fish, or witness the sure-fire action of a game of War as the tanks battle it out in accordance with the cards. Users can play cards over the Internet on seven of the games, while five games offer simultaneous play among family or friends.

For over 200 years, the rules According to Hoyle(R) has meant playing games right. That legacy continues today with Hoyle's Interactive games for the PC.

Hoyle Board Games and Hoyle Card Games is available now on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95 each. Both collections from Hoyle are available at local software retailers or by calling Sierra Direct at 800/757-7707.

Sierra Attractions brings together selected award-winning development teams from Sierra, Berkeley Systems and Dynamix to create the highest quality products for the largest segment of PC gaming, the casual entertainment user. Sierra is part of Cendant Software, one of the largest PC consumer software groups in the world, and a leader in entertainment and educational software. Cendant is the world's premier provider of consumer and business services. Cendant operates in three principal segments: Alliance Marketing, Travel and Real Estate Services. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the company has more than 40,000 employees, operates in over 100 countries and makes approximately 100 million customer contacts annually.