While not a major gambler myself, I do enjoy the various games (save
a few which seem to be the bane of my existance) that the 2 local casinos
provide. And if I can play the games, and not lose any real money -
that’s even better (although, the draw of "nothing from something"
kicks in every few months and I go make my voluntary tax payment). All
Mobile Casino from Binary
Fish may just allow me to carry around an instant fix for those
days that I’m feeling lucky.

"Gambling:
The sure way of getting nothing from something." – Wilson Mizner

   
Binary Fish
seems to be a fairly new player in the PPC game industry (at least from
the list of software on their website). Read on for the complete review.

WHAT’S
HOT

"Depend
on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the
rabbit." – R. E. Shay

  
All Mobile Casino provides a massive amount of casino games. We’ll go
over the full list later in the review, but at this revision of the
software, there are 17 ways to get your gambling-groove on.

SETUP

   The install routine is normal (they even provide
just the .cab files on their website).
This review was done on my iPaq 2215 running XCPUScalar, using my 512Mb
CF card.

PROGRAM
FEATURES

    First, let’s review the list of features
and casino games (copied verbatim) that Binary
Fish has on their website:

Realistic
casino games with clear graphics and simple controls.
Keyboard
control.

Task switching to other programs possible.

Statistics for each game and for each player.

Extensive help for each game.

Practice mode.

Casino
Games:

6:5
Blackjack Single deck blackjack with libel rules. Practice
mode allows you to change the Black rules.

American
Roulette Play just like in a real land Casino, minimum inside
and outside bet rules. Features the "surrender"
rule increasing you edge over the casino.

Baccarat
Blackjack
Six deck multi-hand blackjack, play up to three hands. Practice mode
allows you to change the Black rules.
Caribbean
Poker
Casino
War Play up to three hands.
European
Roulette With Announce and Call bets, EnPrision and Surrender rules
available in practice mode.
Pai
Gow Poker Use the House Rules with just a click of a button, great
way to learn Pai Gow Poker.
Sic
Bo A popular Chinese dice game available in many Asian casinos.
Slots

"A
dollar picked up in the road is more satisfaction to us than the 99
which we had to work for, and the money won at Faro or in the stock
market snuggles into our hearts in the same way." – Mark
Twain

  
When starting All Mobile Casino, there is a small delay (about 4 seconds)
before the intro page appears. This could be due to the fact that
I have the game installed on my PPC, but my other CF-installed programs
do not experience this delay. Once at the intro page, you have to
sign in before you can do anything else (you aren’t really signing
into anything but the game itself, creating a name and bankroll).

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Once at the lobby, you can either reset your existing player’s bankroll
and statistics, delete an existing player, or create a new player
from scratch. Note that the maximum bankroll allowed during character
creation is $2000. You can type in a higher number, but it will
reset back to 2000 once you click Add. The Delete/Reset option is
available via tapping and holding on the player you wish to delete/reset.
You can return the lobby at any time to perform the reset via the
Game menu.

&nbsp

   
We’ll come back to the Game menu in the Let’s Play section. So onto
the Tools menu. The first choice under Tools is Options (which should
really be labelled, "Option", as there is only 1). Unchecking
the Voices box eliminates the "You Win" and "It’s
Coming Out" game sounds.

   
Next on the list is statistics. Which, when chosen, will allow you
to view the various statistics for the existing payers. These statistics
can be reset by resetting the player at the lobby (see above). But
tapping on the left or right arrows, you can cycle through the various
games.

   
The About All Mobile Casino menu shows the standard about information.
And the Help option brings up help pertinenant to both the game
in general, but also specific help for whichever game you are currently
playing.

 

LET’S
PLAY!

"The
majority of casino players leave to much to chance when playing
in a casino. To put it bluntly, they don’t have a clue as to how
to play." – Henry Tamburin

   
I won’t attempt to claim that I understand the sutle nuances of
each of the following games. My favorite games happen to be craps
and blackjack, and even my knowledge is iffy at best with even those
(if one was to look at my winnings vs losings anyway). The next
screenshots will show the various games (in order on the menu),
with a couple of example play shots. To make a bet, you choose the
chip denomination that you wish, and then tap on the screen (in
the appropriate place based apon the game). To remove some of the
chips, tap the denomination and the eraser-looking tool, and then
tap on the chips you wish to remove from the board. To remove an
entire pile of chips, you click the red X and then tap the pile
of chips. The chips, once on the board are no longer noted by color.
If you want to know how much you have in a pile, you have to tap
and hold on the pile (and the number will appear in the blank spot
just above the chips toolbar. With any game that you start, you
have to choose the table limits for said game.

Cards:

6:5
Blackjack:

 

18
is a great hand, and I win!

 

The
ReBet feature automatically bets the same amount as the last hand…which
doesn’t help if the dealer get’s Blackjack…

Baccarat:

 

Blackjack:

Essentially
the same as 6:5 except multiple decks are used.

Caribbean
Poker:

 

Casino
War:

 

Pai
Gow Poker:

 

Table:

American
Roulette:

 

The
wheel spin, ball movement, and sounds are great!

Craps
(My favorite game – so extra shots here):

 

The
dice, when rolled, fly across the table in a realistic fashion.

 

Yes!
Hit the mark. And then NOOOO! Sevens out.

Betting
my entire bankroll on a single roll of the dice – and winning!

A
strange item to note: I won $208.33 – but the game doesn’t seem
to track change (the .33).

European
Roulette:

Similar
to American roulette, but with called bets, and other bizarre (but
fun) European betting options.

Sic
Bo

Similar
to craps, but uses 3 die. And as you can see from the screenshots,
I’m not very good at it, yet…

Slots
(The bane of my gambling existance):

Fruit
Slots:

 

Lucky
Sevens:

 

Sporting
Chance:

 

Video
Poker:

Deuces
Wild:

 

Jacks
or Better:

 

The
infamous Game Over

Joker
Poker:

Tens
or Better:

   
Practice mode allows you to choose any one of the various games
available, modify the rules used, adjust your bankroll (to a temporary
amount), and play just to practice various sorts of games. I did
run into a fatal error with the practice mode, and submitted it
to Binary Fish. They have since fixed said bug and all should be
well in version 1.4 (apparently to be released on 12-08-2003).

HELP
SUPPORT

"My
last piece of advice to the degenerate slot player who thinks he
can beat the one-armed bandit consists of four little words: "It
can’t be done." – John Scarne

   
There is an in-game help file and as of now, the Binary
Fish webpage has a support section (that you must have a regisitered
username to be able to access). As I mentioned above, I did run
into a fatal error and was able to contact Binary’s support team
about it. They responded within 24 hours, and were very helpful.
As of 12-03-2003, Gavin (the support person I was working with),
informed me that version 1.04 would be released on 12-08-03, containing
the fix for this.

SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS

    According to Handango,
the game requires Pocket PC 2003, 2002, or 2000, 1.9 MB of Available
RAM, and the .NET Compact Framework (for 2000/2002 devices). See
Handango
for the full list of compatible devices.

BUGS
AND WISHES

    Other than the fatal error mentioned
above, I found no other bugs. My wish list is short.

Add
Texas Hold ‘Em (with computer players).

Additional
options such as volume control for tvoice and in-game.

Optimize
load time.

Chips
noted by amount on the board via different colors.

Increase
maximum beginning bankroll

Add
the option of playing with the computer in games such as Craps
and Roulette

Either
give me my change, or don’t show me that I won it *wink*

Add
Texas Hold ‘Em (with computer players).

PURCHASING

    You can buy
this software directly from Binary
Fish or from Handango.
The price shown is $14.95.

PROS

Lots
of gameplay (17 different games)

Graphics
are well done

Sounds
are realistic (even down the the click of the dice).

Can
track multiple players and their statistics

Quick
support

CONS

Slow
load time

Chip
interface could use a little work

OVERALL
IMPRESSION

"If
you ain’t just a little scared when you enter a casino, you are
either very rich or you haven’t studied the games enough."
- VP Pappy

  
Binary Fish
has done an awesome job of bringing a whole mess of casino games
together in a great little package. And considering that the price
is only $14.95 (for 17 games), I would say you can’t really make
a better bet. The excellent sound, and graphics make up for a
slightly clunky chip interface (which I’m sure will improve over
time). And the realistic gameplay only enhances the overall experience.
Rather than leave you with a weak gambling pun, I send you with
one last quote/tip and wish you luck:

"The
safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put
it in your pocket." – Kin Hubbard

Have
you played All Mobile Casino? See something that isn’t quite right?
Tell us what you think! Click on the Discussion Link below.