DR. DRAGO'S MADCAP CHASE

"DR. DRAGO'S MADCAP CHASE" is a unique game concept for the PC! It's wacky and it's totally addictive. Experience a game full of excitement and surprises together with your friends. Up to five players can take part in a race through Europe.

The object of the game is to reach various destinations first and make as much money as you can on the way. The winner is the one with the healthiest bank balance at the end. There are various routes which you can take, some riskier and some less risky. Just when you think you are in front, everything can change. New, unpredictable events can make life difficult. Chance cards and the effects these have can enable you to make tremendous progress or let you experience devastating set-backs.

The trick is to be in the right place at the right time to make the most of your chance cards and snap up the best properties. Put as many obstacles as you can in the way of the other players and make you way to the top. It's all part of the fun!

But watch out - don't let Dr. Drago catch up with you! He will gamble your money away, sell your properties, tear up your chance cards and waste your hard-earned money on flashy cars for himself. If things are going bad for you, he can make it even worse.

Just like in real life, you'll need careful planning and a bit of luck to get ahead and maximise your profits.

• Interactive Multiplayer Game for up to five players.
• Easy controls for players of all ages.
• Lots of "Cartoon" characters, each with different characteristics and specialisations.
• Digitised speech.
• Length of game can be chosen as desired.

~ from the back of the box.

Board games may have made something of a comeback over the last decade or so, but their digital counterparts have long been a thing in the world of computer gaming. Some don't even need a real-world counterpart to base their concept off of. Take Blue Byte Software's 1996 game Dr. Drago's Madcap Chase; a completely unique board game that can only be played on the PC.

Taking cues from the likes of Cannonball Run or It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World, an eccentric billionaire has set up a chase around Europe. The first to get to the designated city will earn $100,000 before another location is chosen at random. There can be multiple races in a game, especially if you set the maximum round number of 300 which I'm sure will take days of continuous play to finish (10 rounds take long enough, let alone the default of 99). Prize money is more than just a number; it can be spent buying up local businesses that could earn you even more. At the end of however many rounds you've decided upon, the winner is the one with the most money, including business assets, and the final tally can vary wildly.

The world map will give you an overall view of the game board, as well as the quickest route (left).
Land on a small red space to learn a little titbit about the current location (right).

We begin in London where Player 1 will first spin the slot machine. This is essentially a roll of a dice revealing a number between 1 and 6. From here, we can move our player however many spaces along the pre-ordained roads, waterways and sky paths choosing the best spot to land on. A blue spot will win you some money while a red one will take some away. Yellow and Purple spaces are all about cards; the former giving you a free random one while the latter allows you to buy and sell ones of your choice.

Called 'Feature Cards', they play a very important tactical role in the game, though you'd have to read the manual to find out exactly what each of them do. The most obvious allow you to forgo spinning the slot machine to move a specific number of spaces; perfect if you're the exact amount away from your destination. Some disrupt other players in various ways, while others prevent you from getting disrupted. There are over 40 cards available but without any in-game hint as to what they do, I can't say I thought to use many of them.

If you're the furthest away when another player wins a race, Dr. Drago will follow you around
on his Penny Farthing stealing your money for his own personal means.

The final two spaces relate to towns, cities and points of interest. If you land of a grey spot, you have the option to buy a property there. The same goes for cities which add diagonal stripes to differentiate them and could also potentially be the finish line of the race. As for the smaller red circles, they don't count as a space. Instead, you can read up a little blurb on the area adding a minor educational side to the game.

There is one final cog in the wheel we need to talk about; Dr. Drago. He's the Dick Dastardly of the bunch and will attach himself to the furthest player from the finish line once someone's won a race. Every turn her will sabotage that player potentially draining his net worth well into the red. He could steal your money to buy a car, pay off his gambling debts or share the wealth with the other players. Sometimes $50,000 could disappear in a single round. He has such a negative impact you could move from top of the leader board to bottom place in a single round. You have to get rid of him! Thankfully, there are a few ways with which you can do so. The 'Push Off' card will set him packing in an instant but just passing by another player will transfer the curse onto them. Alternatively win the race, or be closer than at least one other when another player wins and he'll go bother someone else instead.

Randomly occurring natural disasters and hazards will block off routes and may affect property earnings (left).
You can buy property if you land on a town or city. The icon next to them represents how risky they might be (right).

Unfairness is the name of the game to the point where I believe the computer AI must cheat. How else can you explain them getting multiple 6s in a row while you're stuck with 1s? They also just so happen to roll a number that will land on a nice spot, while for you all paths will lead to red. In this respect, it is a game that rewards long plays. The longer you play, the more 'madcap' it will be as the bad fortune has a chance to spread itself evenly. However, in order to get there, you have to go through a lot of samey, repetitive gameplay. Hours' worth, potentially. You can save your game and play it over multiple sittings, but I can't image why anyone would want to.

Dr. Drago's Madcap Chase is a game best suited for short bursts but designed with a long game in mind. As ambitious as it is to create such a board game in digital form, it means that any enjoyment you get out of it is determined by specifically fortuitous circumstances. Multiple 1s in a row mean you're unlikely to land on the good spots and will most definitely attract the wrath of Dr. Drago. This was my introduction to the game the first three times I played making me think it was by design rather than luck (though I am unnaturally cursed in dice rolling in the real world, so that could be it too). With this in mind, I can only tepidly recommend the game. It has its moments, but outside of them it can be a chore.
 

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox running Microsoft Windows 3.1 to bring the game to modern systems. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 96.2 Mb.  Install Size: 194 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download


Dr. Drago's Madcap Chase is © Blue Byte Software
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

Like this? Try These...