Dad Games are mostly concerned with golf, cricket or anything that involves Sudoku. While it's tempting to think that your Dad might enjoy a WWII flight sim, or something with a vaguely strategic bent to it - SimCity, maybe - it's a well-intentioned but ultimately futile gesture. As happy as he'll be to get a box with a lovely picture of a Spitfire on it, it's destined for a dusty life on the bottom shelf.
Which is where the Hoyle compilations step in. They know what your Dad wants - a bucketful of games that he already knows how to play and that will run smoothly on a five year-old computer. Really, all Hoyle Board and Puzzle Games 2007 has to do to succeed is get the heck out of the way and let the games and puzzles do the talking.
A big pile o ' fun.
HBPG 2007 is a little bit reluctant to get entirely out of the way. The colourful, sparkly front-end is neither particularly offensive or attractive, but it does pile on the wackiness a bit too much. At times it feels more geared to the under-fives than the over-50s - you get to play against bears, parrots in pirate hats and so on. Still, once you actually start playing a game, the sugary coating more or less fades into the background. A dark wood and comfy leather armchair theme wouldn't be unwelcome, though.
There are 45 different games and puzzles on offer, ranging from the time-worn classics like chess, checkers, dominos, battleships and hangman to more up-to-date fare that's firmly in downloadable Flash game territory - jewel matching, contraption building, maze racing and so on. There's also a pretty decent pool and billiards simulator. The only real question mark hanging over the compilation is that a free equivalent of most of the games are only a quick Google away. Having said that, if you (or your Dad) have a knackered old laptop sitting around and no internet access, this could come in very handy. You won't need the CDs after installation, so it's a laptop-friendly package.
Hoyle Board and Puzzle Games 2007 provides exactly what it says on the tin. There's no denying that there's a lot of good, solid gameplay here, even if it is very familiar, well-trodden ground.
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