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Crazy Nick’s Software Picks: King Graham’s Board Game Challenge

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

Crazy Nick’s Software Picks: King Graham’s Board Game Challenge is a compilation of classic board games released by Sierra On-Line in 19921. The game features traditional board games including Checkers and Backgammon, played against King Graham from the King’s Quest adventure game series2. As part of the Crazy Nick’s Software Picks series, it represents Sierra’s venture into budget gaming compilations that repurposed content from their larger adventure and Hoyle game collections3.

The game was developed using Sierra’s Creative Interpreter (SCI) engine4 and designed by Bridget McKenna and Marti McKenna5. After making award-winning adventure games for years, Sierra wanted to do something different, such as their overlooked Crazy Nick series1. In the summer of 1992, Sierra combined mini arcade sequences, casino and board games that were originally included in various adventure and Hoyle games, and released these mini compilations as budget releases in blister cards6.

Story Summary

The game features King Graham from the King’s Quest adventure game series as the primary opponent for both board games2. Players engage with the familiar character in a more casual gaming context, removed from the narrative adventures of the main King’s Quest series. The game maintains the character’s royal persona, with one screenshot caption noting “You are entitled to droit de seigneur, after all, in Backgammon as in many things”8.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The game utilizes mouse controls for gameplay interaction7. The games take up the full screen and feature persistent scoring to track player progress9. The interface represents a significant improvement over earlier entries in the Crazy Nick’s series, with one reviewer noting that “Maybe Crazy Nick realised that Nine Men’s Morris was the only game in the first set that was actually a game and not a broken mess, so he set his Sierra buddies onto making a set of proper, colourful games”9.

Structure and Progression

King Graham’s Board Game Challenge focuses on two classic tabletop games: Checkers and Backgammon2. The game supports 2 players7 and allows for strategic gameplay against the AI-controlled King Graham. In Backgammon, players can double their bets, and the turns progress quickly enough to maintain engagement9. The game is designed as a faithful recreation of these traditional board games for authentic strategy and fun10.

Puzzles and Mechanics

Rather than adventure game puzzles, the title focuses on the strategic mechanics inherent to Checkers and Backgammon. The game is essentially “a cut-down version of Hoyle 3”1, repurposing the board game implementations from Sierra’s larger Hoyle game collections. The mechanics stay true to the traditional rules of both featured board games.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

PublicationScoreNotes
MobyGames4.4/5Reviewer: Katakis, described as “cut-down version of Hoyle 3”1
MyAbandonware4.38/5Described as “a really nice simulation game”11

Modern Assessment

The game has maintained a positive reception among retro gaming enthusiasts, with modern reviewers appreciating its straightforward approach to classic board games10. One contemporary blog reviewer noted: “The games take up the full screen this time around, and there’s persistent scoring to boot. You can double in Backgammon and the turns progress quickly enough. If you want to play a couple of board games in DOS, this is certainly one way to do it”9.

However, some reviewers expressed skepticism about the “Crazy Nick” branding, with one stating: “I’m starting to doubt Crazy Nick’s taste in games. These games don’t sound particularly crazy to me”9.

Development

Origins

The Crazy Nick’s Software Picks series emerged from Sierra’s desire to create budget gaming options using existing content from their adventure game and Hoyle collections6. The series consisted of 5 mini-game compilations released in 1992, based on previous Sierra adventure game franchises12.

Production

The game was developed by Sierra On-Line and designed by Bridget McKenna and Marti McKenna5. Music composition was handled by Robert Atesalp13. The development team focused on creating proper, colorful games that would represent an improvement over earlier entries in the Crazy Nick’s series9.

Technical Achievements

The game runs on Sierra’s Creative Interpreter (SCI) engine, specifically SCI1.14. The technical specifications include a file size of 776 KB and distribution on 3.5” floppy disk7. Screenshots were captured at 320x200 resolution, typical for DOS games of the era8. The game has been preserved and made compatible with modern systems through ScummVM3.

Legacy

King Graham’s Board Game Challenge represents part of Sierra’s experimentation with budget gaming during the early 1990s. While the Crazy Nick’s series was described as “overlooked”1, it demonstrated Sierra’s willingness to repurpose their existing content for different market segments. The game has been preserved through abandonware sites and remains playable on modern systems through emulation11.

The series as a whole provided an accessible entry point to Sierra’s characters and universes outside of their main adventure game lines. Modern preservation efforts have ensured that these budget compilations remain available for historical gaming research and casual play.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

Download / Preservation

Series Continuity

  • Series: Part of the 5-game Crazy Nick’s Software Picks compilation series released in 199212
  • Related: Based on board games from Sierra’s Hoyle series1

References

Footnotes

  1. MobyGames Game Database – - Basic game information and metadata ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. IGN Game Database – - Game summary and description ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. CDRomance ScummVM Archive – - Series overview and compilation details ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. PC Gaming Wiki - Crazy Nick’s Series – - Technical specifications and engine information ↩ ↩2

  5. Gamesdb LaunchBox – - Development credits and metadata ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Sierra Chest Archive – - Historical context about series development ↩ ↩2

  7. PC Gaming Wiki Game Page – - Platform compatibility information ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. MobyGames Screenshot – - Screenshot caption ↩ ↩2

  9. Super Adventures in Gaming Blog – - Contemporary blog review assessment ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  10. Retro Replay Database – - Modern retrospective description ↩ ↩2

  11. MyAbandonware Game Page – - Preservation site description and user comments ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. MyAbandonware Search – - Series context and background ↩ ↩2

  13. KH Insider Soundtracks – - Composer credit ↩

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