[{"TitleName":"First Past the Post","Publisher":"Cult Games","Author":"Adam Parker, John Parker, William Parker","YearOfRelease":"1988","ZxDbId":"0001785","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 55, Aug 1988","Price":"£1.25","ReleaseDate":"1988-07-28","Editor":"Dominic Handy","TotalPages":124,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Dominic Handy\r\nAssistant Editor: Katharina Hamza\r\nProduction Editor: Barnaby Page\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Philip King, Lloyd Mangram, Nick Roberts\r\nEditorial Assistants: Frances Mable, Glenys Powell\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson (Assistant)\r\nContributors: Jon Bates, Raffaele Cecco, Paul Evans, Simon N Goodwin, Ian Philipson, Philippa Irving, Brendon Kavanagh, Paul Sumner, Stuart Wynne\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nArt Director: Mark Kendrick\r\nAssistant Art Director: Wayne Allen\r\nProduction Team: Ian Chubb, Melvin Fisher, Robert Millichamp, Yvonne Priest, Matthew Uffindell\r\n\r\nEditorial Director: Roger Kean\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Roger Bennett\r\nSales Executives: Andrew Smales, Sarah Chapman\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group. Distribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop Frances Mable a line at the [redacted] address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\nTotal: 96,590\r\nUK/EIRE: 90,822\r\n\r\n©CRASH Ltd, 1988\r\n\r\nCover Design & Illustration by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Cult\r\nAuthor: Adam Parker, John and William Parker\r\nPrice: £2.99\r\n\r\nI rubbed my hands in glee when I took a first look at First Past The Post... No complex wargame this: just another example of that rare but persistent breed - the text-based strategy game.\r\n\r\nThe player is in competition with three other trainers whose performance records can be called up. You are already in possession of a stable of race worthy horses.\r\n\r\nEach meeting runs three races: the one mile, the two mile and the three mile. Before the race starts, there is an opportunity to see the odds placed on each horse by the bookies and to place one bet. The odds assigned may follow a logic internal to the computer, but to me they seemed completely random.\r\n\r\nThe race itself is run in glorious dual-pixel animation, with your own horses highlighted in white and those of the rival trainers an anonymous black. They gallop at leisurely speed along a practically featureless course, generating a boredom that is almost unbearable. In the end, I resorted to reading a book while the race was on.\r\n\r\nIf a white horse has been frozen mid-gallop at the finishing post, then it's one of yours and you've won. Unrealistically, no credit is given for second or third place. If you happened to back the winner, you get the appropriate pay out. If one of your horses won, you get some prize money. Then it's onto the next race.\r\n\r\nAt the end of the day, a league table of trainers is shown. Points are awarded on the basis of an unexplained system. Next, the player has the opportunity to sell a horse from the stable. A single horse is also offered for sale, with a price tag attached. Little judgement is called for; the animal is an unknown quantity, with no history.\r\n\r\nThe horses carry their records on into subsequent meetings which is when the game first calls for a degree of strategic thought The logic is basic - keep entering horses for the races they've shown they can do well at.\r\n\r\nMaybe something interesting happens at the end of the season and perhaps variety and humour pop up unexpectedly if you persevere for long enough. After an interminable game, however, I got the impression that it was like this all the way through. It certainly failed to inspire any spark of interest or curiosity in me. The absence of incentive to play First Past The Post for more than an hour leaves it with nothing to recommend itself, even at a budget price.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"68","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Philippa Irving","Score":"32","ScoreSuffix":"%"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"60%","Text":"Onscreen presentation is smooth and attractive, but there is a complete lack of written material."},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"55%","Text":"Few graphics to consider, but the animated race not exactly high art."},{"Header":"Rules","Score":"20%","Text":"Completely inadequate - no explanation of the principles of horse racing and stable management, and barely enough information on how to play the game."},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"40%","Text":"Easy enough to play, but the race sequence holds things up."},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"32%","Text":"A non-starter."}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]