Continents and Countries (Geography Knowledge Games for one or two players)
Compatibility: 48K Apple II series
Requirements: One disk drive

by Jeff Hurlburt


     How many times have you opened an almanac to locate some minor fact and wound up spending an extra half hour or so perusing charts comparing nation areas, income, and other statistics? Well, CBS has parlayed this curious fascination with seemingly dry geographical information into a software package targeted for almanac freaks and students of all ages.

    "Continents and Countries" is a set of four activities built around a 140-country data base. In "Nation Combination" players compete to match countries in randomly dealt 'hands' with those presented by the computer for same continent, language, government, or religion. "Geo 21" is a blackjack-type game based on country areas. Each country dealt increases the value of your hand proportional to the country's area. The object is to get as close to '21' as possible without 'going bust'. "Flag Frenzy" tests your coordination and knowledge of which countries are in which continents. As continent names are flashed and flags are raised on six poles, you aim to jump your man to a pole with the flag of a country located in the continent. Successful jumps score points but misses end a turn. After five turns, high scorer wins.

     The fourth and most impressive activity is not a game but rather a system to allow flexible access to "C&C's" data base. With "Country Computer" you can sort countries according to area, population, and per capita income. Sort limits are adjustable; and you can always select the "Tell Me More" option for more detailed information (language, capital, government, etc.) on any given country.

     Featuring colorful graphics and full-sized keyboard overlays (for II+ and IIe), "Continents and Countries" is an attractive, easy to use learning and information resource. Typical of CBS's attention to the little 'extras' which instill pride of ownership, the package includes a detailed manual; and everything fits in a rugged, handsome plastic case. While activities are unlikely to supplant state of the art games for pure entertainment; "Continents and Countries" is ideal for adding a touch of high-tech pizzazz to anyone's geography studies.


Available from CBS Software: One Fawcett Pl., Greenwich, CT 06836. (203) 622-2614. $49.95


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