Color Eights

Permalink: http://sarrazip.com/dev/color8.html

By Pierre Sarrazin

Color Eights is a card game derived from Crazy Eights (but slightly different) for the TRS-80 Color Computer.

The program requires a CoCo (real or emulated) with at least 32 kB of RAM for the Disk version or 16 kB for the cartridge version. The game runs in the PMODE 4 (256x192) graphics mode. It does not require a joystick. Version 0.1.12 could be run under NitrOS-9. The game should be compilable and runnable on the Dragon computer, but the orange and blue colors will not appear correctly on a PAL screen.

The current version is 0.1.13 (2023-06-27).

I can be contacted (in French or English) at sarrazip at sarrazip dot com.

Download

This program is distributed under the GNU General Public License (version 3 or later).

Current version (0.1.13)

• Floppy disk image for Disk Basic (8.6 kB)
• To run the game under Disk Basic, uncompress this file, mount the .dsk file in drive 0 and type DOS.
• Source archive (25 kB)
  • Not required to play the game.
  • Requires CMOC for compilation.
  • Requires the Cardgame library (version 0.1.11 or later).

Version 0.1.12

• Binaries for Disk Basic, cartridge and NitrOS-9 (28 kB)
• To run the game under Disk Basic, use color8-0.1.12-coco.dsk in drive 0 and type DOS.
• To run under OS-9:
  • create a 32x16 terminal with shell i=/v1
  • switch to it with the Clear key
  • mount the .dsk as /d1
  • type /d1/color8
  (I am a beginner with NitrOS-9, so improvements to this procedure are welcome.)
• To run the ROM image in the XRoar emulator:
  xroar -machine cocous -cart-autorun -cart color8-0.1.13.rom
• NOTE: As a 16 kB ROM, it may not be compatible with a CoCo 3.
• Source archive (13 kB)
  • Not required to play the game.
  • Requires CMOC for compilation.
  • Requires the Cardgame library.
  • Also requires the BControl library to compile the game for NitrOS-9.

See SHA512 signatures for these and other files.

Usage

Once the disk image has been copied to an actual floppy disk on a real CoCo's drive 0, or mounted in drive 0 under an emulator like XRoar or MESS, type this command in the Basic interpreter: RUN"COLOR8"

Another way to start the game is to type: DOS

Color Eights does not use the high speed poke.

How To Play

Left and right arrows: move the cursor over your cards. SPACE: play the current card. P: pick a card. Q: quit the program.

You cannot pick if one of your cards is playable. If the picked card is playable, it is played.

An 8 changes the requested suit. So does the joker, which also makes the opponent pass their turn and makes them pick 5 cards.

A 2 makes the opponent pass their turn and pick 2 cards (4 cards if 2 of spades).

A jack makes the opponent pass their turn.

Other resources

• CMOC, the 6809-targeting C-like cross-compiler I wrote and which is necessary to compile Color Eights.
• Color Verbiste, a partial CoCo port of my French conjugator, also written with CMOC.
• My page on emulating the CoCo on a GNU/Linux system.
• MESS (Multi Emulator Super System).
• XRoar, a Dragon/CoCo (1 and 2) emulator.
• My home page.

Last update to this page: 2023-06-27 14:17:52 EST5EDT