GAMES

*** GAMES LIST -- a text file, arranged by unexpanded (5K) and expanded RAM games, also sorted by language.

BATTLESHIP – The classic naval battle game -- all that's missing is your brother throwing ship pieces at you when he loses! The game, with ANSI terminal escape codes, runs under KIM-1 BASIC. The ZIP file contains a MOS papertape file, a BASIC listing, and instructions plus remarks.

BORG ATTACK! -- UPDATED! (Now also for VTL-02 with SOUND!) ‘A ‘STAR TREK'-like game on an unexpanded 5K PAL-1? In Tiny BASIC??!?’ you ask. ‘How can you do that in just 2.2K?’ Well, you can't, really, but I wanted to try something anyway, and this one should prove 'interesting,' at least. Possibly 'fascinating.' Fly around the quadrant hunting the Borg cube in your souped-up shuttlecraft to defend the Chandrans. You’ll also need the machine language program to run the game. Instructions and documentation here, as well. An original game.

GRENADE LOBBER – UPDATED! Now three games for the price of one...which is still free. One version uses the serial TTY interface, another plays on the PAL-1's keypad and LEDs, while the third version has SOUND! Written entirely in 6502 assembly, this is my first little game to tackle machine language. And believe it or not, it has animation, running on a computer with no video memory, and the TTY version doesn’t rely on ANSI escape sequences. The faster you can run your terminal emulator, the better the game will play; e.g., 4800 baud or better. Also, an underscore for a cursor is recommended to reduce 'flicker.' 508 bytes of code (not counting the 363 bytes of text data). PTPs and source code for versions 1 and 2 are bundled into a ZIP file, link in the title.

NUKEWAR – Relive the anxiety of your youth with this Cold War simulation! From Microcomputer Games (the PC division of the famous Avalon Hill Game Co.), this 1980 gem was named the #135th Best Game of All Time by Computer Gaming World in 1996. Your opinion may vary... Anyway, a cleaned-up game manual with art by Nils A is available, too. The game, with ANSI terminal escape codes, runs under KIM-1 BASIC.

MAC-PACK – SIX Mac Oglesby classics from the 1970s, all bundled up into one, convenient archive: Motie, Frogs, Capture, Dodgem, Sinners, and a version of Rescue. All run under KIM-1 BASIC 9 (with a VTL-02 version of Rescue thrown in...you're welcome!). UPDATE - now Mac's original RESCUE is also available!

DODGEM and SINNERS – Two old gems from Mac Oglesby, as they appeared in the People's Computer Co. newspaper in the mid '70s. Dodgem was invented by Colin Vout in 1972, and the game was described in the June '75 issue of Scientific American. In it, the player tries to get her pieces across the playing field before the computer does. Sinners is based on a Haar Hoolim game called "Three Musketeers" described in Sid Sackson's A Gamut of Games in 1968. Another spacial puzzle, your job is to lure demons into a line to defeat them before they can capture all of your souls. Both games run under KIM-1 BASIC 9.

RESCUE – A multi-level game of "find-the-spaceships-and-rescue-the-people" from Damian Gareth Walker, written as a demo program for his microcontroller Tiny BASIC Interpreter and Compiler Project in 2019. RESCUE is based on a 1975 Dartmouth BASIC program by Mac Oglesby that appeared in the PCC Newspaper in January 1976 (see archive.org for this seminal magazine). I translated Damian's structured code into line-oriented code for the Tom Pittman version of TB we know and love on the PAL-1 and microKIM. The game starts out simply and easily enough, but quickly gets difficult -- I spent half an hour stuck on Level 98 ... just one away from victory! Maybe you'll do better. The ZIP file in the title contains three versions: Damian's original (lots of REMs and comments), then BASIC listing versions that will upload to PAL-1s with TB at either $0200 (unexpanded, 2.4K) or somewhere in expanded RAM, (3.2K, at $7200 in this case), which has nicer instructions and REMs. There's a version for VTL-02, too. (tutu!)

MINI-TREK – Rescued out of the back of the original Altair VTL-2 manual, it's Frank McCoy's Mini-Trek. In just 1.9 K of RAM, you too can play an albeit "mini" version of this classic program under VTL-02C on your 6502 computer. Frank, who was the co-creator of VTL for the Altair 680b, included the game instructions at the end of the listing, as he was (presumably) out of room in a 2K machine to put them in the program.

SUPER STAR TREK – Wanna go crazy and tackle Trek like it was played on timesharing systems in the 70s? Then this is the version for you! This is Bob Leedom's 1974 Data General expanded adaptation of Mike Mayfield's original 1972 HP Timeshare BASIC classic. I lightly tweaked it to work under KIM-1 BASIC 9. It takes up ALL of the RAM in a 32K-expanded PAL-1, which is why the instructions are separated from the main game. I strongly suggest you load these via the supplied PTP files; they may be twice as big, but they will also load at least twice as fast and without the line-dropping errors, typical even with massive character and line delays on a serial transfer. Just break out of BASIC, load the game via the monitor's 'L' command (and with minimal delays!), pop $99 into location $007A and $7F into $007B, warm start BASIC, then off you go, free to gallivant around the galaxy in search of Klingon battle cruisers!

HURKLE and LUNAR LANDER – "Hurkle? That old thing? And Lunar Lander? Really?!?" Well, yes. But mainly because these are written for 6502 Tiny PILOT. You're not supposed to do these kinds of things in Tiny PILOT -- division, less-than comparisons, variable comparison and looping -- but it's totally possible, and it was a lot of fun to figure out. Included in the ZIP file are the games, a division example program, and notes on how the programs work. Plus, there's a VTL-02C version of Hurkle, too, and a Lunar Lander for A1B.

IMPROVED LUNAR LANDER – For KIM-1 BASIC 9, this program by Stephen P. Smith was published in the Nov. 1977 issue of BYTE magazine. The lander works on two axis: horizontal and vertical in two directions each. In addition, he includes an option to select which planet or moon to land on. The article goes into some detail about improving existing simulations, and Stephen even presented ideas on how to make the game work in real-time with a joystick or paddles. Well-worth a search-n-read.

TEASER and STARSHOOTER -- Teaser appeared in the People's Computer Company's 1975 book "What To Do After You Hit Return." It's a grid-based logic puzzle that also appeared on the cover of BTYE magazine's fourth issue in 1976. It runs under Apple (1) BASIC, as Gates & Co.'s KIM-1 BASIC 9 does not handle the function NOT the same way as HP Timeshare BASIC (upon which Woz based his BASIC). Starshooter is a similar puzzle on a 5x5 grid that appeared in the appendix of the manual for the original 1977 Altair 680b version of VTL-2. It will run fine under 6502 VTL-02C.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE – A great game by Tim Hartnell from the early '80s. You have seven knights, the computer has seven knights. First to capture five of the opponent's knights wins the Earth -- no pressure! Versions for KIM-1 BASIC (KB9), Tiny BASIC, and VTL-02. If your Tiny BASIC loads somewhere other than $0200, you'll need to alter the locations of the P (PEEK) and O (POKE) variables at the top of the program...but you likely knew that already. :^) NEW! - a version for Apple I BASIC.

CAPTURE – Yet another classic from Mac Oglesby in the late '70s. I modified this one from his book PET Games and Recreations published in the early '80s. In a 40x20 grid, your mission is to capture more valid locations than the computer can. And let me tell you: the computer is ruthless - it will take the best move available, so you'd best be on your toes. I win about 1/3 of the time...will you do better? This runs under KIM-1 BASIC 9 (KB9).

SWEDISH WHIST – This is a simpler variant on the 18th century game Whist, an ancestor of Bridge, in which you and your partner 'Lars' go up against the former champs of Uppsala City, the seemingly robotic twins Karin and Kerstin in an effort to take more tricks (usually) than your opponent. Sometimes, Lars is a wonderful, insightful partner; other times, you want to kill him! I found this on a 1980 TSC FLEX 2 OS archived disk...in Swedish. With help from The Webdoktor (Nils A.), we modified and augmented this to run under both KB9 and MITS Altair 680 BASIC 1.1. The program plays a good game, and if you're unfamiliar with Whist, Wikipedia has a good, concise article on game play. Und auf Deutsch jetzt!

RACK-O – A card sequence-building game from the 1950s is presented here in as an adaptation of the original 1973 FOCAL program into both FOCAL-65 and KIM 1 BASIC 9.

HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES – A text adventure by Greg Hassett, originally for TRS-80. A "dungeon crawler," you must collect treasures and solve puzzles and mazes, then defeat the witch to be released from the cursed house. I've added the ability to save and load games to tape, so you don't have to start from scratch when the ghost or ghoul kills you (...and they will). Written in 1978 when Greg was only 12 (!!!), this 20 KB program runs under KIM-1 BASIC (KB9). A MOS papertape file, the BASIC listing, and game instructions are included in the ZIP file.

SORCERER'S CASTLE – Another text adventure by Greg Hassett, originally for TRS-80. In this game your job is to collect all of the sorcerer's treasures by searching his castle and its environs, and solving puzzles along the way. My version is based on a PET version by John O'Hare, and I've added the ability to save and load games to tape, so you don't have to start from scratch when The Black Knight kills you (...and he will). Written in 1979 when Greg was only 13 (and good enough that he sold it to a magazine), this 18 KB program runs under KIM-1 BASIC (KB9). A MOS papertape file, the BASIC listing, and game instructions are included in the ZIP file.

ESCAPE FROM MARS – You're stranded on Mars with a spaceship that won't fly...how will you get off the Red Planet and get home? "Escape from Mars" is a 1980 text adventure from Rodger Olsen for the OSI 500 (among others). Rodger was president of Aardvark Technical Services, which published quite a few games in the early days of 8-bit home computers. This game (ZIPed up with a BASIC listing, a PTP file, and instructions) runs under KIM-1 BASIC; a Hypertape WAV file is also available, which loads from within KIM-1 BASIC. Want to see Rodger's original dot-matrix-printed instructions and listing for the OSI?

3D TIC-TAC-TOE – Match wits with an unbeatable (?) program written in FOCAL, and adapted to FOCAL-65. Internal comments show how to modify the program to make the outcome less...certain.

DEPTH CHARGE – For VTL-02, you're tasked with hunting an enemy submarine in a given quantity of ocean with limited depth charges. Originally in the book "BASIC Computer Games," author Dana Noftle was still in high school when Creative Computing picked this up. I've included the original BASIC listing for comparison - it's a good way to see how VTL-02C works...or works-around...some BASIC conventions. OH! And don't forget the Apple I BASIC version (with a few ANSI screen codes thrown in)...

CENTO and KNIGHT'S MOVE – Two small games originally for the VIC-20, both of which are based on chess moves. Knight's Move is what you'd think: move a knight around a chess board and visit every square, but only once. I promise that there's a solution to this one. Cento, by Piero Orsoni, is somewhat similar. In it, you have a queen that must visit every space on a 10x10 grid, again only once per square. The thing is, she can only move two or three spaces at a time; thank goodness she can also make jumps. Both games run under KIM-1 BASIC.

WIPEOUT – Yes, SIX versions of this "throw-dice-and-remove-numbers" game: one each for KIM-1 BASIC 9, KIM-1 BASIC 6, Apple BASIC (ANSI/VT-100 terminal emulation needed for those three), and VTL-02, plus two versions for Tiny BASIC -- a 10-number version and the full 12-number version. All ZIPped up for your convenience. Also included in the archive is the original Commodore PET program from CURSOR #11, by Sheila Dolgowich in 1979. I "used" (borrowed? lifted?) a nifty dice-drawing routine from Larry Nelson's 1977 Apple I BASIC game "Yahtzee" for the KB and A1B versions. The KB9 version plays the most like the original PET version, unsurprisingly.

TIC-TAC-TOE – From Tom Pittman himself (or, in this case, his 1976 self), comes Tic-Tac-Toe for Tiny BASIC. Originally published in the Homebrew Computer Club's newsletter in January 1977, Tom outlines how he modified the program from earlier in the decade, when he was in high school, and I think it provides an interesting insight into a) programming thought processes, and b) just how much you can cram into a 4 KB environment...including the high-level interpreter. The ZIP file contains his article (gleaned from his Tiny BASIC website pages), plus a lightly modified version of the program that runs on an unexpanded PAL-1 (TB loaded at $0200).

HASAMI SHOGI – Shogi is "Japanese chess," and these little games are simplified versions of it: Hasami Shogi. It's analogous to checkers. For KB9, there's DAI HASAMI SHOGI, and for VTL-02Cu there's TANSEI HASAMI SHOGI. The dai hasami version plays OK, if somewhat passively, but well enough that you get the flavor of the game; I also had to limit player moves to 1 or 2 squares to even out gameplay. In the tansei hasami, or "turn-based side-capture" version, I ran out of room with VTL-02Cu to improve the computer's move/capture awareness from Mark Ramshaw's original for VIC-20 (it's pretty dense), so I made it into a "win in the fewest moves" game. Wikipedia has the complete-yet-simple rules to this game.

YAKYUU SAIKORO – or, "Baseball Dice." This is the game I played as a kid with friends, arguing over if the infield fly rule should apply on that last roll (at 9 years old, we were not sure). I still play this on camping or other trips. Notes on the game structure and programming are included in the ZIP archive. The game is for VTL-02, and if you're using VTL from RAM on an unexpanded PAL-1, before loading it from PTP set the bottom of VTL-02's user RAM like this: &=640 before loading the game. After that, play ball!

LIL’ BASEBALL – A functional baseball game for Tiny BASIC, which will run on an unexpanded PAL-1 or microKIM. The original was likely created on a SOL-20 computer in 1977 by someone known only as 'EAGAN.' I found an adaptation of it on an archived 6800 FLEX 2 disk. In any case, I tweaked the simulation to mimic (more or less) the on-base percentage and hit distribution of the average American League player in 2023. It plays quickly, so have yourself a whole series of The Octals versus The Hexadecs! BASIC listing and instructional notes are in the linked ZIP archive.

WESTWARD HO! – This is a 'travel the trail' game, and a direct descendant of MECC's original "Oregon Trail." It's an adaptation of a CBM BASIC translation of David Ahl's 1986 IBM BASICA version. There are a couple of animated "mini games" in this program, I've added a few extras, and edited the text. CBM cursor codes changed to ANSI escape codes. This runs under KIM-1 BASIC (KB9).

KLINGON CAPTURE -- An unexpanded PAL-1 version of a PET version of an original 6800 TSC game from 1976. The Klingons have a new stealth battle cruiser, and Starfleet Command has sent YOU to capture it, without damaging it. To do that, you'll have to surround it with mines. Easy to play, difficult to win. Written for Tiny BASIC loaded at $0200, this one has three machine language routines and an array implementation. The programs, instructions, and source code are all ZIPped up for convenience.

MADISON'S DILEMMA – A Tiny PILOT "Choose Your Own Adventure"-esque script, harkening back to the books of the '80s. There's only so much you can do with about 3.5K of text, but this (at 2.5K) shows what's possible; although, that's plenty of room for a kid to make a small story and learn about comparing, testing, and branching. This particular story may contain words that offend some folks; I tend to write the way people talk, so...YMMV. PAL PILOT has 8K available for bigger creations, so check that out, as well.

VIGENERE CIPHER – A FOCAL program originally from 1973 (I've adapted it to FOCAL-65) to print out two 16th century Vigenere Cipher tables: one for encode and one for decode. The code, a "special-case polyalphabetic substitution" (according to Wikipedia), was not broken for about 300 years.

DOMINO TRAIN – Not actual dominoes, with points. All you do is try to play more tiles than the computer. There's a lot of ANSI-escape-code drawing in this one, so it's fairly slow - patience will be required, Grasshopper. This runs under KIM-1 BASIC (KB9) - two BASIC listings included.

STRONGHOLD OF THE DWARVEN LORDS – For A1B/Apple BASIC, this is a Tim Hartnell game in which you search a dark castle for the treasure of the dwarven lords, with only your handy Dwarf Gold Proximity Detector (tm, patent pending) to guide you. It's an example of implementing stored data in strings, as A1B does not have DATA and READ statements. For a great KIM-1/Microsoft BASIC translation, see my friend The Webdoktor's site.

FOCAL PROGRAMS 1 – A little collection of FOCAL-65 programs, just to whet the appetite. Included are: King of Sumeria (one of the very first FOCAL game programs, from 1968), Wipeout, Lunar Lander (the original, from 1969), Nicoma, and Depth Charge. A few example programs are thrown in, as well -- have at it!

FOCAL PROGRAMS 2 – More FOCAL games, including the original Dice Game from 1968, converted for FOCAL-65. Also in the archive: Artillery (GE version), Gunner, and from the DECUS library Stock Market, Carnival Dice, and the ever-entertaining Fran the Bartender. Some programs work better than others - just sayin'.

FOCAL PROGRAMS 3 – A few more FOCAL diversions, including a working version of the VTL-02 program "Mini-Trek," a Magic Eight Ball game, and a Mandelbrot Set plotter that only takes 46 minutes to finish. Oh, the wondrous times in which we live!

WESTMINSTER – A simulation of a political career in the U.K. House of Commons. Think of this as Hammurabi, but instead of crops and plague, it''s votes, favor, and scandal. This runs under KIM-1 BASIC (KB9) - BASIC listing and faster-loading PTP file included.

16 SQUARES – Remember those little plastic slide-a-tile games you could get at the dime store when you were little? This is that. For KIM-1 BASIC.

THE LAST ARENA – A computer version of a child's counting game. It took me a week to write and debug this, and that's the main reason it's included here, because it's not a very good game -- I mean, it was designed to help small children learn to count, so.... If nothing else, the ASCII art title screen and the little backstory I wrote for this might be interesting, plus the use of VT-100 ESC screen codes. This runs under KIM-1 BASIC (KB9) - BASIC listing and faster-loading (and more reliable) PTP file included: break out of BASIC, load it, put the end address in $7A and $7B, then warm start BASIC.

FOX AND HOUNDS -- You have four hounds and must trap a fox on a checkerboard field. For Tiny BASIC on an unexpanded PAL-1 or microKIM, this includes a small machine language routine to speed up printing of the board. It also shows the implementation of a two-dimensional array within Tiny BASIC. Originally for SWTPC 8K BASIC, from 1978; first ported to KIM-1 BASIC by Nils A. (aka The Webdoctor).

GUESS2 – Originally a Commodore PET game by Glen Fisher from CURSOR cassette magazine No. 2, I’ve adapted it to use ANSI ‘escape codes’ to move the cursor around the screen, instead of the analogous CBM CHR$ codes. A ‘guess-my-number’ game with an animated board that requires KIM-1 BASIC 9 (aka KB9, aka MOS TECH BASIC v1.1 by Microsoft) and at least 4K additional free RAM for the program.

CHECKERS -- This is an adaptation from David H. Ahl's "Basic Computer Games," originally by Alan Segal. I have added some ANSI cursor controls and tweaked a bit of the evaluation order and input/output, the latter to accommodate KB9. Only 4,178 bytes, but it plays reasonably well, if predictably. An improvement would be in changing how the program determines its opening move, so it'd be slightly less predictable. An instructive 'annotated' listing is available, by an unknown author, but dated 5/26/21.

QUBIC -- A 3D, 4x4x4 Tic-Tac-Toe game. And, clear after only a half dozen plays, this game is almost impossible to beat. In his collection of games, David Ahl called this one as being from "Dartmouth College." Perhaps. This version is my port of a port: from Altair BASIC to CBM BASIC v2 to KB9. The original is by Joseph Roehrig sometime in 1977, and was ported to Commodore PET in '78 by Mike Louder. I've included Roehrig's original Kilobaud magazine article that explains the program (his code is night-and-day different than the Creative Computing version), plus an addendum/correction; he includes instructions for more beatable versions. The logic/math in this game is very interesting, IMO.

LIL’ ZILCH – A dice game for Tiny BASIC in which you must reach 2,000 points in 10 turns or less. Collect 1s and 5s to score each turn, but don’t ‘zilch out.’ Written by yours truly. A version for VTL-02 is also available.

LIL’ YAWT – A familiar dice game that scores poker hands, but stripped down to run under Tiny BASIC on an unexpanded PAL-1 or microKIM. Collect 1s through 6s, plus try for a ‘Yawt’, or collect your ‘garbage throw’ into a Chance column. I’m still not happy with the scoreboard … maybe you can fix it? Another one I put together.

BOXCARS AND SNAKE EYES – A mostly original game for unexpanded PAL-1 and Tiny BASIC. I took the idea from a high school math/programming class project. The kids created C++ code, while I decided to just follow the "outline" presented by the teacher. The game is a dice game: you against the computer to 100 points. In seven-or-less rolls per turn, try to get as many points as possible without encountering "boxcars" (12) and losing your points for the turn, or "snake eyes" (2) and losing the game right then and there. To make it fit in 2.4 KB, I first cobbled the program together 'freely,' then cut and cut and cut …

GAMES ADAPTED FROM ‘101 BASIC Computer Games’ by David H. Ahl. -- Here are some classics that all run on an unexpanded PAL-1 or microKIM with Tiny BASIC loaded at $0200: Acey-Ducey, Chuck-a-Luck, Craps, Hammurabi, Hi-Lo, Lunar Lander, and Hurkle have been around forever, and are all-but obvious to play. Translated by yours truly and bundled into a ZIP file.