Paragon SWP

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Paragon is the name given to Games Warehouse Limited's interactive SWP machine found in pubs across Great Britain. Currently in its third incarnation, Paragon offers pubgoers entertainment and the chance to win modest cash prizes (between £1 and £40) for an initial stake of 50p. The payout percentage which the machine operators hope to maintain is typically 30%. Newer Paragon cabinets have a choice of twelve playable games which are selected from a database of around 30 games of which the rest are idle but can be activated at the discretion of the landlord and/or engineer or remotely. Thus, unlike the market leader itbox, each Paragon machine may have an entirely different selection of games available. Most games are based on the Q&A format although recently the terminal has embraced other forms of SWP including Hangman style games, visual puzzles and word games.

[edit] Games

Many of the popular and profitable (for operating companies) games appear across the board of SWP cabinets. Examples of these available to Paragon are: Bullseye, Word Up and Pub Quiz. However unique Paragon games are recognised for slick graphics and hidden features or Easter Eggs which players familiar with the games can exploit to their advantage. For the latter reason there is a growing brand loyalty amongst the public. Such games currently include:

Pints make Prizes. A hangman style game where players must complete one of three generated words or phrases in specified categories, each third of the screen (represented as a pint glass) is self-contained although bonuses may be won which expedite the filling of each glass. Prizes are awarded in a sequence of progressive accrual.

Cops & Robbers. A cartoon-style pursuit game reliant on speed and knowledge. Prizes are awarded to players who can collect enough icons from the streetscape. This game has been panned across the spectrum of SWP players for being over too quickly and rarely offering any prize over £1. However, the game has remained for a relatively long period proving it must be generating revenue as a polpular game amongst the selection.

Space Quest. A kind of planetary snooker in that a series of ricochets can be both beneficial and disastrous. Space Quest has accelerating 'gravity' and each ball maintains its own mathematical path until colliding with another when both diverge along the relevant planes. Questions must be answered after each shot to add the appropriate points towards a predetermined target.

South Park. Another Q&A game in which players chooose from a selection of categories with the aim of reaching a predetermined points target and a simple endgame. As a licensed South Park product there are many related themes within the graphics, questions and gameplay.

[edit] Paragon and other SWP cabinets

Many regular and occasional SWP players consider this termianl to be the least homogenous of the rival cabinets see also itbox, Gamesnet, ind:e and Fatbox. This may be due in part to the essentially simple interface and accessibility of gameplay in typical Paragon games. However, criticism of the Paragon cabinet include the screen's propensity to be askew and the over-simple, even childish nature of some games. While there is considerable crossover of games between rival platforms, each has some exclusive content.