Game 2: YachtC (1985)

YachtC in all its spartan glory.

United States
Released 1985
Genre: Board Game
Developer: Sheldon Leemon
Date Started: 21 June 2025
Date Ended: 21 June 2025
Total Hours: 1
Difficulty: Moderate (2.5/5)
Final Rating: 12

The second game on my list is another board game adaptation, or rather a dice game, called YachtC, which is a variant of the classic Yahtzee, in some regions known as Yacht. The added "C" here refers to the programming language C, which the the Author, Sheldon Leemon, used to write the game. As here write in the source file which came with the release, this was actually the first game he wrote for the Amiga. Compared with Monopoly from my first post, which was pretty much a commercial-grade product, even while being written in BASIC, YachtC is a much more spartan affair.

Upon starting the game, we are presented with a spreadsheet-like interface table that’s aesthetically not far removed from your typical C64 or DOS game of that era. Only the images of dice on the right side of the screen make it clear this is not just using text mode-style graphics. We also have the typical AmigaOS menu bar with a few options to start a new game with up to 4 players, or to open the in-game instructions.

As you might already know (or not), Yacht is a dice game where you roll five dice and try to get certain combinations. The in-game instructions read as follows (yeah, I’m being just a bit lazy here):

To start game, select 1-4 Player game from the Project menu. Each player gets up to 3 rolls of the dice to make the best hand possible. Click on the dice you wish to change, then click on the button below the dice to roll. If you are satisfied with your hand, and wish to score, click on the button without blanking any dice. All possible scores will appear in blue on the scorepad. Click on the one you want.

And that’s just about it. The game is simple, the interface is decent for what it is but there’s just nothing more to say about it, not interesting lore this time to find anywhere.

Programming:
Does it’s job and at least is a bit of a contrast to last time’s BASIC implementation. The source code is also very well documented which is a plus, and is a nice demonstration of C GUI programming on the Amiga. 5/10

Controls:
Does what it needs to do, but is not particularly inspired. 5/10

Vibe:
About as atmospheric as a spreadsheet can get. 0/10

Graphics:
Almost non-existent. 1/10

Story:
None. 0/10

Audio:
None. 0/10

Fun:
While I had some decent fun with Monopoly, this one is just too simple to be enjoyable, at least for me. I was tempted to add a bonus point for being a multiplayer game, but at the same time, there is not AI that fills the opponents' roles. 1/10

Final Rating: 12

Overall:
Apart from being the first freely distributed game of this type on the Amiga, there's not much else to say about this. It migth be more interesting to study its source than to actually play it. On to the next one.