A Trumped-Up Castle Game

Just when you hoped that maybe you had heard all you were going to hear for a while about Donald Trump, along comes an absolutely awful excuse for a computer game called “Trump Castle II.”

It comes from Capstone Entertainment Software of Miami, and it’s a simple collection of six casino gambling games wrapped up in an absurd tour of one of Donald Trump’s Atlantic City hotels.

The game is set up as if it’s going to be a multi-room adventure set at the Trump Castle. But no. It’s just a bunch of silly high-resolution promo-style postcard pictures: of the coffee shop, the disco, the pool, a high-roller’s suite, even the garage entrance where tour buses unload Trump’s legions of patsies. Most of the postcards feature fun-loving vacationers with comments along the lines of “Gambling is fun. I think I’ll try it!”

As with a real casino hotel, the goal of “Trump Castle II” is to get you to the tables. Thankfully, the games themselves are done well enough that if you are into gambling you may actually enjoy yourself. You can play by yourself or with friends.

The video poker, roulette and slots sub-programs may not do much for you, but you can practice your baccarat, blackjack and craps techniques. “Trump Castle II” does teach the basics of casino gambling. For people who watch craps tables in utter stupefaction, that says something.

But not enough. There is no excuse for a program this dumb. It makes you wish Ivana had gotten the Castle instead of the house.

TRUMP CASTLE II

Rating: *

IBM & compatibles, Tandy; 512K, 640K for VGA. List: $49.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.