''Hoyle's Official Book of Games'' (later Hoyle Classic, Hoyle Card Games, or the Hoyle Series) is a series of

computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

s released from 1989 to 2016 that was initially developed and published by

Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game ge ...

. The series focuses primarily on

playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a Pap ...

, but has also included board games, puzzles, dice, and dominos. It spawned a spin-off series dedicated to casino table games and machines called

Hoyle Casino ''Hoyle Casino'' is a virtual casino video game series released from 1996 to 2016 as a spin-off of the ''Hoyle's Official Book of Games'' series developed and published by Sierra Entertainment. After 2005, publication of the series moved to Encore ...

in 1996. The series is named after 18th century playing card expert

Edmond Hoyle Edmond Hoyle (167229 August 1769) was an English writer best known for his works on the rules and play of card games. The phrase "according to Hoyle" (meaning "strictly according to the rules") came into the language as a reflection of his broa ...

, but some titles in the series also used trademarks and designs from the Hoyle brand of playing cards under license from

Brown & Bigelow Brown & Bigelow is a company based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that sells branded apparel and promotional merchandise. History The company was founded in 1896 by Herbert Huse Bigelow and Hiram Brown. On June 24, 1924, Bigelow was convicted fo ...

. Early titles had a volume numbering and included humorous computer opponents drawn from other Sierra video game series. Later titles saw yearly releases or specialized in particular types of games.

Encore Software Encore Software, LLC ("Encore") is a Delaware limited liability company focused on software sales, distribution and software development. In November 2008, Encore announced an expanded license with Riverdeep. Under the terms of the agreement, Enc ...

took over publishing the series from 2005 to 2016, leading to the development of their own Encore Classic Games series in 2020.

Volume 1

Hoyle's Official Book of Games: Volume 1 was the first card game simulator in the series, and a spiritual sequel to Sierra's '' Hi-Res Cribbage'' (1981). It included five multi-player card games and the Klondike variant of

Solitaire Solitaire may refer to: Film and television *'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film * ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film *''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa *"Solit ...

(Patience). The Hoyle trademark and facecards were used under license from

Brown & Bigelow Inc Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

Games

The games included are:

Crazy Eights Crazy Eights is a Card game#Shedding games, shedding-type card game for two to seven players and the best known American member of the Eights Group which also includes Pig (card game), Pig and Spoons (card game), Spoons. The object of the game i ...

Old Maid Spinster or old maid is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term origin ...

, Hearts,

Gin Rummy Gin Rummy, or simply Gin, is a two-player card game variant of Rummy. It has enjoyed widespread popularity as both a social and a gambling game, especially during the mid twentieth century, and remains today one of the most widely played two-pla ...

Cribbage Cribbage, or crib, is a card game, traditionally for two players, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. It can be adapted for three or four players. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbage ...

, and Klondike.

Characters

For all games, except the last, the player could choose opponents, each having their own AI and manner of playing. These opponents included historical figures, members of Sierra staff, and characters from Sierra games. When the player took too long making a decision, the characters started having dialogues, each according to his background. For example, Leisure Suit Larry begins to comment about women, while Roger Wilco wants to escape the game to save the universe again. * Sonny Bonds *Bulldog *Cassie *Christina *Devin *Diane * Colonel Henri Dijon * King Graham *The Kid *

Larry Laffer Larry Laffer is a player character and protagonist in the ''Leisure Suit Larry'' series of adventure video games, created by Al Lowe and Mark Crowe for '' Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards'' in 1987 and later voiced by Jan Rab ...

*Shelly LeBlanc *Lenny *Jerry Moore *

Princess Rosella ''King's Quest'' is a graphic adventure game series, released between 1980 and 2016 and created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following t ...

* Warren Schwader * Sol Silverman *Thelma * Roger Wilco

Development

The original concept was submitted to Ken Williams (CEO/Founder of

) by Warren Schwader. Once the project was greenlit, Warren acted as the

Lead Programmer In software development, a lead programmer is responsible for providing technical guidance and mentorship to a team of software developers. Alternative titles include ''development lead'', ''technical lead'', ''lead programmer'', or ''lead applica ...

as well as the

Game Designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

. The games were programmed using Sierra On-line's proprietary scripting language: Sierra Creative Interpreter (SCI). SCI was originally created to aid in the development of Sierra's core line of adventure games. Working with SCI to implement card games and to code artificial intelligence for the characters proved challenging. Warren Schwader continued as the Lead Programmer and Game Designer for the next two games in the series. Rob Atesalp was the composer and sound designer for the original and next two games.

Reception

The game sold over 250,000 copies by 1990.

Volume 2

Hoyle's Official Book of Games: Volume 2 is the next volume in the Hoyle

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

s simulator series by

Sierra Entertainment Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is ...

. This time, the pack offered 28 games, as opposed to the first volume's six. The other main difference between the two was that all the games were

solitaire Solitaire may refer to: Film and television *'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film * ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film *''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa *"Solit ...

variants, so there was no option for choosing opponents. Consequently, the game did not feature any Sierra characters for co-players. The 28 solitaire games offered are:

Calculation A calculation is a deliberate mathematical process that transforms a plurality of inputs into a singular or plurality of outputs, known also as a result or results. The term is used in a variety of senses, from the very definite arithmetical ...

Strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...

Eagle Wing Eagle Wing (otherwise known as Thirteen Down) is a Patience (game), Patience game which is played with a deck of 52 playing cards. The game takes its name from the tableau which depicts an eagle-like bird spreading its wings in flight. It is so ...

, Beleaguered Castle, Klondike, Canfield,

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

Flower Garden A flower garden or floral garden is any garden or part of a garden where plants that flower are grown and displayed. This normally refers mostly to herbaceous plants, rather than flowering woody plants, which dominate in the shrubbery and w ...

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

Spiderette Spider is a type of patience game, and is one of the more popular two-deck solitaire games. The game originated in 1949, and its name comes from a spider's eight legs, referencing the eight foundation piles that must be filled in order to win. ...

La Belle Lucie La Belle Lucie is a patience (game), patience or card solitaire where the object is to build the cards into the foundations. It is considered to be representative of the "fan" family of solitaire card games, and has a pleasing layout. While ...

Fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Baker's Dozen A dozen (commonly abbreviated doz or dz) is a grouping of twelve. The dozen may be one of the earliest primitive integer groupings, perhaps because there are approximately a dozen cycles of the Moon, or months, in a cycle of the Sun, or year ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Eight Off Eight Off is a patience or solitaire card game, named after its employment of eight cells, played with one deck of playing cards. The object of the game is to move all the cards into the foundations. It served as a partial inspiration for and is ...

Shamrocks Shamrocks is a solitaire game akin to La Belle Lucie. The object is the same as the latter: move the cards into the foundations. Rules The game is laid out as in La Belle Lucie: seventeen piles of three cards are placed on the table with one car ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, Eliminator, Slide, Bowling, Nestor,

Aces Up Aces Up is a quick and simple, one-pack, patience (game), patience or Solitaire (game), solitaire card game. One advantage of Aces Up is its minimal use of space: it requires only four piles of cards, and a place to discard cards to. Winning ...

, Gaps,

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

, Triplets, and Poker Square.

Volume 3

''Hoyle's Official Book of Games: Volume 3'' was the third volume in

's series of

computer games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

based on the officially licensed Hoyle rules and trademark. Unlike the two previous games, this one was made with Sierra's new improved VGA engine, and focused on

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

s, where the previous entries in the series had featured

s. Games featured were

Backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammo ...

Checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), is a group of Abstract strategy game, strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game ...

Dominoes Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called ''Pip (counting), pips ...

Yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

(the original ancestor of the trademarked game

Yahtzee Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro). It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlie ...

Pachisi Pachisi ( , ) is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India. It is described in the ancient text ''Mahabharata'' under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A player's pieces move aro ...

, and

Snakes and Ladders Snakes and ladders is a board game for two or more Player (game), players regarded today as a worldwide classic. The game Traditional games of India, originated in ancient India as ''Moksha Patam'', and was brought to the United Kingdom in the ...

Characters

Like the first volume, and unlike the second volume, this game offers Sierra characters as opponents in the various games. They do not interact with each other or have conversations as in the first game, but several of them have themed comments, catch phrase or accented style comments (though these are uncommon). For example, the Sheriff may refer to himself as the "Great Nottingham", or Baba Yaga who refers to her opponents as 'dearie'. Some characters are more specific than others, and some are more generic. It also depends on the game, a character might have more interesting things to say about plays in one game, but have generic comments to say in another. ;Good guys *

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

('' Mixed-Up Mother Goose'') * King Graham (''

King's Quest ''King's Quest'' is a graphic adventure game series, released between 1980 and 2016 and created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following ...

'' series) * Rosella (''

'' series) *

(''

Leisure Suit Larry ''Leisure Suit Larry'' is an adult-themed sex comedy video game series created by Al Lowe. Drawing inspiration from '' Softporn Adventure'', the ''Leisure Suit Larry'' series centers on Larry Laffer—a middle-aged man known for his balding ...

'' series) * Passionate Patti (''

'' series) * Jones (''

Jones in the Fast Lane ''Jones in the Fast Lane'' is a social simulation game for MS-DOS compatible operating systems. It was developed and published by Sierra Entertainment in 1991. Using a board game motif, the objective is to attain certain amounts of money, happin ...

'') * Sonny Bonds (''

Police Quest ''Police Quest'' (or ''SWAT'') is a series of police simulation game, simulation video games produced and published by Sierra On-Line between 1987 and 1998. The first five were adventure game, adventure simulation game, simulation games, the f ...

'' series) * Roger Wilco (''

Space Quest ''Space Quest'' is a series of six comic science fiction adventure games released between 1986 and 1995. The games follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named #Protagonist, Roger Wilco, who campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice, ...

'' series) * Laura Bow ('' The Colonel's Bequest'' and '' The Dagger of Amon Ra'') ;Evil guys * Ad Avis ('' Quest for Glory II'') *

Baba Yaga Baba Yaga is a female character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) from Slavic folklore who has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, ...

('' Quest for Glory I'') * Lillian ('' The Colonel's Bequest'') * Arnoid (''

Space Quest III ''Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon'' is a 1989 graphic adventure game by Sierra Entertainment, Sierra On-Line, and the third game in the ''Space Quest'' series. Players assume the role of Roger Wilco, a lowly space janitor, who becomes i ...

'') * Mordack ('' King's Quest V'') * Mr. Big ('' Leisure Suit Larry V'') * Lolotte ('' King's Quest IV'') * Vohaul (''

Space Quest II ''Space Quest II: Chapter II – Vohaul's Revenge'' (commonly known as ''Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge'') is a graphic adventure game released on November 14, 1987 by Sierra On-Line. It is the sequel to ''Space Quest I'', again using Sierra's ...

'') *

Sheriff of Nottingham The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, ...

('' Conquests of the Longbow'')

Hoyle Classic Card Games (Hoyle 4)

Hoyle Classic Card Games (Hoyle 4) was a remake of Volume I, released with VGA support, speech and original soundtrack. There was a set with 'Classic Characters' to play with and another with Sierra characters, some of whom returned from Volume 3. Load screens involved a silly comments made by the Classic characters, in relationship to whatever game was loading. The number of games was increased to eight, with the inclusion of

Contract Bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

and

Euchre Euchre or eucre ( ) is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are no ...

. Some digitized speech was implemented, with a total of five unique expressions in full speech (such as reactions to a play and responses to a compliment or taunt) for each character. There are a few additional text based messages in theme for each character for some of the games, but they only relate to the gameplay (characters do not have conversations with each other outside of the scope of the game). All the artwork and character sprites look like old fashioned and sepia-toned. Classic characters: * Dinky * Scout * Crazy Jack * Trudy * Josephine * Billy Joe * Chip * Winthorp * Fairbanks Sierra characters: * King Graham * Pepper * Willy Beamish * Larry Laffer * Quarky * Laura Bow * Adam * Roger Wilco * Dr. Brain

Hoyle Classic Games (Hoyle 5)

The first CD-ROM version of the game (1995), has over 30 characters to choose from including 'animated', 'icon', and 'business'.

Characters

;Animated * Jeb * Leopold * Natasha * Stella * Luke * Sam * Capt. Barnes * Beatrice * Dorothie * Toby * Finnian ;Business * Noel * Lance * Beverly * Rose * Sharon * Roger * Jim * Heidi * Kate * Maxwell * Phillip

Other games in the series

By the mid 1990s, new versions of the game were published yearly, with some variants for particular types of games. All these releases are for PCs, unless otherwise specified. * ''

'' series (1996–2016) * ''Hoyle Children's Collection'' (1996) * ''Hoyle Classic Solitaire'' (1996, 1998) * ''Hoyle Classic Board Games'' (1997) * ''Hoyle Bridge'' (1997) * ''Hoyle Card Games'' (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) * ''Hoyle Board Games'' (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) * ''Hoyle Battling Ships & War'' (1998) * ''Hoyle Bridge & Euchre'' (1998, 1999) * ''Hoyle Hearts & Spades'' (1998, 1999) * ''Hoyle Classic Games 2'' (1999) * ''Hoyle Word Games'' (1999, 2000, 2001) * ''Hoyle Backgammon & Cribbage'' (1999) * ''Hoyle Solitaire and Mahjong Tiles'' (1999, 2000) * ''Hoyle Crosswords'' (1999) * ''Hoyle Card Games'' (Game Boy Color; 2000) * ''Hoyle Kids Games'' (2000, 2001) * ''Hoyle Mahjong Tiles'' (2000) * ''Hoyle Puzzle Games'' (2002, 2003) * ''Hoyle Table Games'' (2003) * '' Hoyle Majestic Chess'' (2003) * ''Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games'' (2004) * ''Hoyle Backgammon'' (2006) * ''Hoyle Enchanted Puzzles'' (2008) * ''Hoyle Children's Collection'' (2007) * ''Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games'' (2008, 2009) * ''Hoyle Card Games'' (2010) * ''Hoyle Card Games'' (2012); re-released as ''Encore Classic Card Games'' (2020) * ''Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games'' (2012); re-released as ''Encore Classic Puzzle & Board Games'' (2020) * ''Hoyle Classic Board Games Collection'' (2012) * ''Hoyle Classic Board Games Collection 2'' (2012) * ''Hoyle Official Card Games Collection'' (2015); re-released as ''Encore Card Games Collection'' (2019)

Collections

* ''Xplosiv'' (2001) :Board, Card, Casino * ''Hoyle Collection'' (2003) :Card, Casino * ''Hoyle Games 2003'' (2003) * ''Hoyle Classic Games Pack: Fun for the Whole Family'' (2003) :Includes Hoyle Classic Games 2, Hoyle Slots/Video Poker, and Hoyle Solitaire/Mahjong, and Hoyle Friday Night Poker. * ''Hoyle Game Collection'' (2001) :Includes Hoyle Board Games, Hoyle Card Games, Hoyle Texas Hold'Em, and Hoyle Slots, and Video Poker. * ''Hoyle Card, Puzzle & Board Games'' (2013) :Includes ''Hoyle Card Games'' (2012) and ''Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games'' (2012) * ''The Ultimate Hoyle Anniversary Collection'' (2013) :Includes ''Hoyle Card Games'' (2012), ''Hoyle Casino Games'' (2012), ''Hoyle Slots'' (2009) and ''Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games'' (2012)

Reception

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' stated that interacting with Sierra characters in ''Volume 1'' such as Leisure Suit Larry and Princess Rosella was fun, but annoying for those who preferred cards to humor. It criticized ''Volume 1'' for slow performance and cribbage's deviation from the official Hoyle's rules, and stated that the other games were "really children's games and offer no great excitement".

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite magazine , url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=67 , title=These Characters Are Real Cards / Sierra's "Hoyle's Book of Games: Volume 1" , magazine=Computer Gaming World , date=January 1990 , access-date=15 November 2013 , author=Lasky, Michael S. , pages=48 , issue=67 1989 video games 1990 video games 1991 video games Activision Blizzard franchises Amiga games Atari ST games Digital card games Classic Mac OS games DOS games Multiple-game video board games North America-exclusive video games Patience video games ScummVM-supported games Sierra Entertainment games Tile-based video games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1989 Video games developed in the United States