Developer: Lattice Software

Publisher: Lattice Software

Release Date: 1994

Price: $9.95

A Day at the Races is a unique game but one that is definitely dated compared to other games on the list that came out in the 90’s but it does contain some features that weren’t in other games at the time. The object of the game is to place wagers on one of eight colorful horses. Players can choose the same horse and winning will be divided based on how much was gambled. Up to Four players can play and betting can go from as little as $5 to $10,000. Each player has to click their name in order to proceed, next you must click on the horse you want to race which is located on the bottom of the screen. Then you have to select how much you would like to bet on the horse you have chosen by going to the left most part of the screen or clicking the Wager Icon at the top left part of the screen. The last bit is clicking on “PLACE” to secure your bet and then hitting the “RACE” button on the right side of the screen ans seeing the horses run from one end of the screen to the next.

Test your betting skills and click on an exciting animated horse racing game for up to four players. Choose one of eight horses to win, place or show, based on posted odds which influence the horses’ performances. Create your own voice overlays and hear yourself introduce the races. Also included are full online help, and the option to toggle voices on and off. This version requires Windows 95.

Now for the obvious… The HUD is in complete Plum color with Teal Lettering, this doesn’t necessarily come off as the best color I would have chosen for a betting game. The horses are all different colors and that is okay seeing as you want to see your horse race and being a different color than the rest helps. The horse animations give off an Oregon Trail feeling and the stock announcer sounds like he is holding his nose when he talks trying to give us a 1950’s vibe and it does give that to me but I would rather insert my voice in to the mix which is what you can do given the unique feature of the game using the SOUND RECORDER for Win 3.1. There are other options in the game such as setting the speed at which the horses run at ranging from “SLOW-AVERAGE-FAST”, to of course turning the sound on or off and Finishing the Race that will allow you to see stats of the horses, Show case them off and Inquiry.

This is a four-player game and in the event that only one person wants to play the game, they still have to select the four players given in the game, placing a bet and choosing a horse for each one. This is a low-end game even for the 90’s and with that being said, everything works and there aren’t any hiccups. If you had a gambling addiction to horse races maybe this is something that can help you relieve the pain.

~ Retro Mark

Reviewed: 5/24/2020