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John Francome's Night at the Dogs

Moby ID: 97553

Description

John Francome's Night At The Dogs is a family DVD game based on betting on the outcome of greyhound racing.

The game comes in a box which contains a DVD in a keep case; instructions; 'Race Night' money in four denominations, a pad of betting slips; a wipe-clean bookmaker's slate and wipe-clean pen; and four pencils. The DVD contains thirty races all filmed at Swindon dog track

At the start of the game players are given £6,000 in game money to bet with, they then load the DVD and watch John Francome introduce the game from Cheltenham racecourse, John also optionally explains the game in detail for those who have not played it before

When a race is selected from the race menu the DVD shows a race sheet with the names of the runners, their odds and their form or previous race history over which John Francome's voice can be heard giving his tips for the upcoming race. The nominated bookie writes the names and the odds on the bookmaker's slate and takes bets from the players, players are allowed two bets per race. There are six runners in a greyhound race and bets are made on the first two to cross the finish line. The game allows three types of bet, betting on a dog to win, an each-way bet which bets that a dog will finish either first or second, and a forecast bet in which the player predicts the dogs that will finish first and second. When all bets have been made the DVD remote is used to press the on-screen 'Ready To Race' button and the film of the race is shown with full commentary and a replay of the last few seconds as the winner crosses the line. The game then announces the winners and, as an aid to the bookie, it states what the return of a successful £100 bet would be.

There are DVD Extras included with this game;* John's Greyhound Funnies in which John Francome tells a series of greyhound related jokes

  • Extra betting slips - there's a .pdf file on the DVD which can be printed when the betting slip pad is exhausted
  • A glossary of greyhound racing terms

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Credits (DVD Player version)

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Reviews

Players

Average score: 3.0 out of 5 (based on 1 ratings)

Good fun despite its flaws but it is a lot of work for the nominated bookmaker.

The Good
It may be old but it still plays in my DVD player and it plays well. I played with my family and ten races was enough for one session. There are thirty races and as the betting slip has room for ten races, if both sides are use, that means that this game can provide at least three sessions.

The Bad
The game is not without its flaws. At the end of the race the photo finish is shown but other than the commentary there is no confirmation of the result and sometimes none of us were sure which dog came in third.

The game has notes of specific denominations, £50, £100 and so on but sometimes the way the odds and the bets worked out a player could win £275 and there is no way to pay the £25. When we played the bookie resorted to writing IOUs on the betting slip

Whoever takes the role of the bookie has to be very patient and have a calculator. It is a lot of work and discussions about winnings can get heated - or maybe that's just us.

The Bottom Line
We played as a family foursome one afternoon and we enjoyed it. The bookie came in for a bit of stick for paying out the winnings but not returning the stake money - but not too much because we all knew we could not do any better. Having played one session we have kept the game to play again when we next get together and I will be on the lookout for any similar games.

DVD Player · by piltdown_man (247042) · 2024

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  • MobyGames ID: 97553
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Game added by piltdown_man.

Game added October 27, 2017. Last modified March 9, 2023.