John Francome's Night at the Dogs

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