1979 · Koninklijke Philips NV · Puzzle · Strategy

Dynasty!

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Released: 1979
Platforms: Magnavox Odyssey 2 Odyssey Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000
Genres: Puzzle Strategy
Developers: Koninklijke Philips NV
Publishers: Koninklijke Philips NV
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Country: United States

About

Dynasty!, known in Europe as Videopac 15 - Samurai, is a 1979 video game published by Magnavox and Philips for the Magnavox Odyssey², also known as the Philips Videopac G7000. It is a computer version of the board game reversi, a variant of Othello.

›Story

Dynasty! is an Othello clone. The playfield is an 8 x 8 matrix of dots and the objective is to occupy as much of it as possible. The game begins with two pieces of each color at the center of the matrix and players take turns placing new pieces in it.

The pieces must be placed near to an enemy piece, trapping it between another piece of the same color already placed. Trapped pieces will turn over to the conqueror's color.

A variation is also present, called "Directional Dynasty": players cannot trap pieces in more than one direction with the same move. When a piece is placed in such condition, the player has to choose which direction will be used to capture the enemy's pieces.

A timer can be set, from unlimited time to 99 minutes of gameplay. The game ends when there are no more possible moves or when the time runs up.

Keywords

turn-based tactics
othello

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Dynsaty! is a version of reversi which allows players to compete against a computer or another player. Players take turns filling spaces on an 8x8 board with round green or red pieces. Players can capture their opponents pieces by surrounding them on either side. The winning player is the one with the most pieces on the board by the time the board is filled.

This version also allows each player to play with different length timers, allowing one player to handicap themselves. There is also a "Directional Dynasty" in which players only capture pieces in one direction of their choice as opposed to automatically capturing pieces in all directions.

Reception

Brett Weiss writing in 2011 considered Othello for the Atari 2600 to be more of a challenge but thought the "Directional Dynasty" feature helped set it apart. In a comparison between Dynasty!, Othello for the Atari 2600, and Reversi for the Intellivision, French magazine Tilt considered all three to be too easy and saw them each as unsuitable for experienced reversi players. On the other hand, they thought the "Directional Dynasty" mode was an interesting challenge and kept players on their toes. Electronic Fun with Computers & Games thought the game had fairly good graphics and great playability.