Slave and JubMoo (“catch the pig” in English) are the two most popular parlor card games in Thailand. The games are similar in that each player’s moves depend on the previous player’s move, and both good memory and planning skills are required to win. One reason both games are very popular is the fact that they are wonderful social games – the loser’s label of “pig” in JubMoo and “slave” in Slave (and subsequent penalty that apply to future games) provide a great opportunity to poke fun at your friends ;) Kasamsun Suwannachit coded excellent Windows-based versions of both. They are not only very faithful to the real thing, but also include help screens in English, colorful graphics, and flawless TCP/IP support to play multiplayer with faraway friends over the Internet. The multiplayer mode even allows you to play through firewalls, and easily chat with other players. Single-player support is included, although it must be triggered by an undocumented feature of dragging the cartoon head on the Settings screen to the number '1' box on the board. In single-player modes, the computer puts up a decent fight, despite seeming a bit too predictable after a while. With great gameplay, good graphics, and excellent multiplayer support, JubMoo+ and Slave are wonderful games that should help publicize two original and fun card games from my homeland. Two thumbs up, way up! Note: Although the Help screen is in English, there is no in-game rules, so make sure you download the manual too. Reviewed by: Underdogs |