Cybergammon for Windows

[John S Mamoun]

Just got a copy of Cybergammon for Windows 3.1/95. It
comes with A $13 Softkey CD-ROM called Board Game Pack.
Got it at Staples. It combines a neural net BG program
with 5 computer levels of skill, with the Netgammon interface.
All around a great program, IMHO. Great sound effects,
interface. It also has a high-quality checker play
engine, not as good as Jellyfish or TD-Gammon but quite
strong nonetheless. It makes some silly mistakes now
and then, but in general its a pretty strong opponent.
It is a bit slow on Champion level, slower than JF level
6 but not as slow as JF level 7. My biggest complaint
would be that it has a pretty bad strategy for evaluating
whether to take or pass a double. But then again, its
fun to cash in against the program. It also evaluates
positions for winning chances, though maybe not as
correctly as the stronger bot programs. I find it to
be more addictive than Jellyfish or Td-Gammon, though,
partly due to a nicer interface, partly due to sound
effects, partly due to all-around fun play.