18 Hole Miniature Golf

18 Hole Miniature Golf is an interesting twist on your average miniature golf. Its courses have features that you would never find at a real mini golf place, such as bubbling acid pits that burn up your ball on contact, moving holes (those things are tricky little buggers), trick holes (on a real course, various holes may redirect your ball into unfavorable areas, but if I remember correctly, some of the trick holes in this game will actually make your ball disappear or will even move location) hidden fans to blow your golf ball off course, ball teleporters (for detached courses), etc.

Of course, there are also things that you'd be likely to find in a regular mini golf course, such as oddly shaped courses and "goose bumps" rising out of the Astroturf (an area of bumps in the course for your ball to somehow navigate...I remember I really hated that particular course) Game-play is simple; you click the ball and drag the cursor. A line extending from the ball allows you to gauge the strength and angle of your putt, much like in other computer mini golf games. The computer keeps track of how many putts it takes for you to actually get your ball into the hole, though after a certain number of putts (I think it was 5 or 6 putts, it's been a while since I've played the game), you're forced to move onto the next hole.

I remember that I used to be really good at this game, but that was mostly out of playing it a lot...you eventually learn the best angles putt the ball at and the right surfaces to bounce it off of so it'll go where you want it to go. I think you had a choice of playing the number courses (each course was shaped like the number hole you were on) or...something else. I seem to be recalling some courses shaped like numbers and some of them that were not. Like in regular golf, you're trying to get the lowest score possible, though even if you really stink at the game there is still a limit as to how big your score can get because the game kicks you off a course if you take too many putts. It was also kind of neat how there were sound effects for when your ball hit a wall or fell into an acid pit (there was a sizzling sound for that). And they would have a neat little banner and congratulatory music if you made a hole in one.