Cowboy Casino Interactive Poker

• Title — Cowboy Casino Interactive Poker • Developer — IntelliPlay • Publisher — Intellimedia Sports • Platforms — 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Macintosh, Windows • Released — 1994 • Genre — Card game • Modes — Single-player

Cowboy Casino Interactive Poker is a game designed to teach players the fundamentals of poker. Set in an Old West saloon, the player can challenge five computer-controlled opponents: a cowboy, a gambler, a dude, a bandito, and a miner. The player can choose between four rule sets including five-card draw, five-card stud, seven-card stud, and Texas hold 'em. The game comes with an educational booklet, The Basics of Winning Poker by J. Edward Allen, which details the ways poker is played in casinos.

Cowboy Casino was developed by IntelliPlay, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Intellimedia Sports. Founded in 1991, the company was an exclusive licensee to ESPN titles for a time and focused on producing instructional and sports coaching games. In August 1994, Intellimedia announced a line of such products ahead of the autumn launch of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, a CD-ROM-based console which aimed to revolutionize the home gaming experience. The 3DO Company president Trip Hawkins spoke of the Intellimedia series as one that used "animation, sound and full-motion video to provide a captivating and constantly changing environment that players will want to experience again and again." Cowboy Casino was one for the few non-sports games in the line, opting to teach poker with real-life actors whose reactions differ depending on the player's choices. Intellimedia head Ben J. Dyer explained, "Responses are always unexpected, so each time a hand is played it results in a new and humorous adventure." The game was slated for release on the 3DO in April or May of 1994. Versions followed for Macintosh and Windows via Multimedia PC (MPC).