Audyssey; Computer Games Accessible to the Blind Edited by Michael Feir Issue 3: November/December, 1996 + Welcome Season's greetings to all of my readers, both new and old. Welcome to a very special issue of Audyssey. This is the Holiday Special edition, geared towards making your vacation time just a bit more enjoyable. If you think material in this issue may prove useful or interesting to someone, feel free to give this magazine to them in any format. Post it to any bulletin board system, mailing list, or internet site whose members might appreciate it. This magazine is published on a bi-monthly basis. Because of serious time constraints, I am hereby revoking the deadline of the fifteenth of the month as the day on which the magazine will be published. College is proving harder than I expected, and I can no longer guarantee that the magazine will be ready on a given date. My education must come first. Issues will never appear before the fifteenth of the month, so anyone who wants to write articles or letters has at least that long to submit them. Remember that just because I didn't publish your letter or article in one issue doesn't mean that I never will. Any submissions of articles, games, or letters should be made to the appropriate address. You'll find my e-mail address and my home address at the end of this issue. + Contents: From the Editor Letters What's on My Screen: A Tutorial on Screen-oriented RPGs Adam, the Immortal Gamer New Developments at PCS Fifty Games for Gifts Contacting Me + From the Editor: Hello, everyone. this issue marks the half-year point for this magazine. Despite the severe time-crunch I have experienced while writing this issue, I have enjoyed doing it thoroughly. Unfortunately, this issue might be one of the last to appear at all. It is certainly the last issue that I have made with goals set out at the end of the previous issue. Don't worry, readers. You aren't losing your sense of hearing, sight, or touch that you might be using to read this. There really isn't a Coming Soon section this time. I have no clue what to write about for the next issue. I've exhausted my ready store of ideas. I don't want this magazine to become nothing more than a simple listing of new games. Unless I get lot more than the single article I've received from PCS Inc, that's what the next issue might turn out to be like. I have received many more letters expressing interest in my magazine, and asking the odd question or two, but have received no articles or reviews except the one mentioned above. the reason I started this magazine was to form a community of people who were interested in games accessible to the blind. Communities are made of members who interact with and support each other. I've certainly attracted a lot of readers, but you're not interacting yet. I've been the sole author of nearly every article and review in this magazine. I already know what I think about games. I want to know what you think. What you think can do more than influence me. It can influence other readers. What kinds of games do you want to have made? One of the places my magazine goes to is a company which makes games for the blind. You might influence what they create. I know that at least one of my readers is a programmer interested in making games. the only problem is that he doesn't know what kind of games people want. Let him know what you want, and it might actually be made. A lot of you have expressed your willingness to search for games. That's great. there is bound to be lots of them out there hidden away, but if nobody has any idea what to look for, we'll never find anything. This magazine is supposed to be about *our* reactions to what's out there in the universe of games, not just my own. What issues concern you? What games impress or annoy you, and why? What difficulties are you having with particular games? Chances are that either I, or someone else, will be able to help you. I've run myself dry of ideas for articles now. It's entirely up to you to keep this magazine going. I can probably think of one or two articles per issue without too much trouble, but I've been doing three or four, and I can't keep that up. This magazine should remain insightful and thought-provoking. that's what games are to me, and I have a hard time believing that I'm the only person who views games as more than just entertainment. I was going to have two episodes of Adam, the Immortal Gamer in this issue, but feel compelled to save one of them for the next one in case neither I nor you think up any ideas for him. That's rather a grim beginning for what is supposed to be a holiday issue, but it is necessary. Now that that pill has been swallowed, it's time to get on with the good news. Compuserve has proven to be a rather unreliable platform from which to launch my magazine. Happily, a man by the name of J. J. Meddaug has kindly agreed to take over the responsibility of distributing my magazine over the internet. He is in charge of the mailing list now, and any of my readers who want to receive future issues directly should send him a request to subscribe to the Audyssey distribution list. His e- mail address is as follows: jmeddaug@cris.com The last two months have been very dull as far as new games are concerned. The best of the finds I've made are in the list of fifty games which replaces the Latest Finds and Game Reviews sections this issue. It looks like the 1996 If competition is drawing to a close. Entries are beginning to appear on ftp.gmd.de in the if- archive. Some of you expressed a concern about Xyzzynews, the excellent magazine concerning interactive fiction written by Eileen Mullin. A number of you have stated that you haven't bothered to subscribe or download issues because you're afraid he's going to stop publishing the magazine in Ascii format. Although this seems to be a common trend in the games universe, remember that most people still make interactive fiction in text. Eileen has assured me, and asked me to pass on to you that the Ascii version of his magazine is by far the most popular, and that it will always be available in Ascii. I urge all of you to give Xyzzynews a try and to subscribe to it, as I have invariably found it to be well worth reading. On that note, I'll close off my personal section, and turn you over to some letters I have received from you over the past while. I hope you enjoy the rest of this issue, and that you will become contributors to future issues. I feel like I'm standing on a thin wire which is starting to wobble. Give me the support I need to continue the audyssey into the new year, and I'll do the best I can to make certain that your thoughts are given a good forum. That is my early New Year's resolution. If you hold up your end of this bargain, I'll hold up mine. Best wishes for a happy festive season, everyone. + Letters: Hi Michael: I am Tamara Rorie and I was browsing Compuserve when I came across your new magazine. I am a visually impaired computer user. I was always interested in finding computer games but was never able to find anything that worked well with speech. The games that I did find seems simplistic and became boring within five minutes of playing. I am so glad that you decided to start a magazine. I will be passing on information about it to the computer users that I know. I would be interested in finding out about any word games or puzzles that you may have acquired or encountered. I also particularly enjoy trivia games such as jeopardy. finally, I am interested in any card games that you may no of. I do have a card game called uno that is very speech friendly. I would appreciate any information that you could send me. Good luck with the magazine and I look forward to hearing from you. Tamara Rorie P.S. I know that you stated that you would not except money, but would you be interested in receiving blank disks. This might be helpful because some of the people that contact you may not be able to send you disks. Besides, people who have something to contribute for your hard work and knowledge should be allowed to. Let me know if this would be acceptable. Well, Tamara, you've certainly raised some interesting issues here. That speech-friendly Uno game is bound to be of interest to some of my readers. When you manage to find it, please let me know. Also, if anyone knows where it can be accessed on the Internet, that information would be very much appreciated. I've already given Tamara the information I have on word-based puzzles and trivia games. Unfortunately, this information is quite limited. Aside from the games in vip611.zip and Bridgepals, (See my list of fifty games below), I haven't been able to find many card or trivia games out there. If anyone knows of speech-friendly trivia or card games, please let us all know about them. As to the question of blank disks, I'm not certain how useful they would be there. No one who has wanted to send me anything has expressed the inability to come up with the blank disks to do it. I return any disks that people send me, so they don't lose out on disks themselves. Currently, I have a fairly good supply of disks myself. As to money, I think that must remain out of the question for now. Hunting games is a hobby of mine, as is this magazine. Although I certainly feel a responsibility to my readers, I don't consider what I'm doing as a job. Money is of little interest to me as far as this magazine goes. Although I don't have enough to spend on the disk mailers, postage, etc that it would take to offer this magazine on floppy disks, there is no need for that. As things stand now, this magazine is free to all who it can reach and to all who can find it. It is completely devoid of physical media, and thanks to the internet, it is internationally accessible. I believe that this magazine should remain free from all material concerns. I'm not doing this for material gain, other than the games you readers might send my way. Besides those, your thoughts on games are all I want in compensation. Your varying perspectives will deepen and interact with my conclusions, just as my conclusions have apparently broadened your horizons to some extent. I've explored games for years on my own, and this magazine is supposed to be a means of finding companions on my journey through games. In short, send articles rather than money. I'll be ever so much more grateful. Hi. I am actually Jayson Smith, using my dad's CompuServe account. I am writing in response to the "The Eight-Bit Adventure" article which appeared in the July/August issue of Audyssey. My computer gaming fascination really came into existence when I was with my sister in our computer room about nine years ago. She put in a disk of games on our own Apple IIE, and got to the Applesoft Basic prompt, and typed in the following command RUN GREAT ESCAPE and hit the return key. I believe she had played that game before, but I'd never heard of it! I was amazed that such a big and wonderful game actually existed. During the course of that game, my sister got bitten by a puppy dog, and had to find the first aid kit within 100 moves or die. Unfortunately, she didn't make it. Later that night she was playing it, and I just knew I had to play that game! And so I did! I spent hours upon hours playing that game during the next several months! It took me longer to figure out that going north took me ten rooms towards room 1, etc. I had to mature several years before I finally got the idea to go back to the basic prompt, and not Run Great Escape, but Load it. And when it was loaded, I typed in the command LIST. And through my echo speaker came all the 'print's, 'input's, 'goto's, 'gosub's, and everything else that collectively made up the game. It wasn't long before I figured out what variables the game used to store information such as what room the player was in, what room the villain was in, what room specific objects were in or the status of those objects, etc. I then figured out a way to break out of the game while it was running, change the contents of some variables, and continue from where I left off. For example, at the basic prompt, if I needed to get to a first aid kit, one command would tell me where the kit was, and it only took a few more keystrokes to put me in that room. Eventually, I figured out how to make a routine in the program which would prompt me for the info such as what room I wanted to start out in, what room I wanted the villain to start in, and whether or not I wished to start out carrying certain objects. Then, a few years ago, I decided to see if this old goodie could be converted to run on my IBM computer. So I hooked up a cable from my Apple IIGS to my IBM, and I think within the day, I was playing Great Escape on my IBM. I'm very glad I did that now, because soon after that, my Apple IIGS died! Had I not converted this game over to IBM, it would still be on an old Apple disk which no IBM would read. If you would like to see Great Escape Revisited, I can send you either a file in GWBasic format, or a stand-alone executable. for best speech compatibility, I suggest the GWBasic version if you have a GWBasic interpreter. I thought it interesting that you started out with The Great Escape also! From the instant I read your article about it, I knew I just had to respond! HI, Jason. Glad I was able to bring back some good memories. YOu're one of the few people who has directly responded to an article, and I hope others will Join you in doing this. I must confess that cheating would never have occurred to me. Sighted people are always going on about cheat codes for various games. It's about time one of us blind folks got into that act. Although cheating is certainly not a good habit to get into, it can be fun once in a while. I suspect a few people would be interested in your re-make of the Great Escape, and I urge you to up-load it to an Internet site if you can, so that it is broadly accessible. Thank you for that marvellous letter. I look forward to more thoughts from you in the future. + What's On My Screen: A TuTorial on Screen-oriented RPgs by Michael Feir Long before I started publishing this magazine, I was trying to help new players of screen-oriented role-playing games become used to the more graphical aspects of playing them. these kinds of games are by far the closest experience blind people are likely to have which can be compared to the thought-processes required to achieve high scores in a complex video game such as Gauntlet. These kinds of video games are not like the more famous ones like Pac-man or Space Invaders, which are simply dependant on hand-eye coordination, perception, and reflexes. For a long time, most video games resembled the two classics mentioned above in these respects. Since those earlier days, video games have gradually become more complex, and involve more strategic thinking. Goals must be set out and evaluated in games like Gauntlet. It isn't simply a case of whoever has the fastest reflexes wins. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gauntlet, it is basically a Dungeons and Dragons kind of adventure in which four players can take characters into a dungeon. In each level of the dungeon, they will find treasures, monsters, magic potions, food, traps, teleporters, etc. They must keep track of the health of their players, any special powers they have attained, their score versus that of their fellow players, and a host of other factors. They must think not merely reflexively, but strategically. Like all video games, speed and reflexes are still critically important. Players are timed as they progress through the levels of the dungeon. Screen-oriented role-playing games use text characters to make graphical representations of the board. Different symbols and letters represent various objects, such as the player, monsters, treasures, places, doors, etc. They can be compared to video games if the elements of time pressure and hand-eye coordination are subtracted from a video game. Players of Gauntlet might have less than half a second to make a given critical decision. Players of Nethack have no such time restrictions. Screen-oriented games like Nethack are turn-based, rather than time-based. The player makes his/her move, and all active characters and monsters make their moves in turns. A player being attacked by a monster need not worry if he/she has to temporarily leave the game sitting there while going off to attend to chores. The monster will not attack until the player has taken or forfeited his/her turn. If a player is being attacked by more than one monster, the other monsters may be able to attack on each turn. For example, a player is attacked by a zombie and a giant bat. The player attacks the zombie, and is attacked in turn by both the zombie and the bat. The bat doesn't have to wait until the player attacks him. It must be remembered that these screen-oriented role-playing games are not actually dependant on coordination. In all games of this type, players must understand the basic concepts of attributes and probabilities common to role-playing games. I've received countless letters from confused players which say things like: "I was playing a knight, and there was this bat attacking me. I tried to move onto its square like it told me to do, and I somehow missed. I know I hit the right button and moved the right way. I didn't miss, but it said I did!" To all who are quaking with impotent rage for reasons such as this, I urge you to do several things: A) Get a life! It is just a game! B) Take a break and grab a cold drink. C) Stop and think about what has happened. In our example, we have a knight in armour swinging a weapon at a fairly agile flying rodent. There is logically a chance of the knight missing. this is represented by two opposing forces. The knight's strength, dexterity, and swordsmanship will help him hit the bat. The bat's dexterity and natural armour represented by its armour class will help it avoid the attack. Chance is a factor in many other instances than strictly combat. There is only one other thing which can cause confusion to blind players of these games which is not dealt with in the game manuals themselves. That is that a lot of these games, like Omega, Adom and Moria, have scrolling maps. That is, the maps of levels or areas are simply too large to fit on a single screen. When characters move to different areas, the area nearest the character's position replaces the map of the area for which there is no room on the screen. I've received numerous questions concerning that aspect of screen-oriented games, and there's really no way to properly solve the problem. I find that the best solution is simply to deal with the area on the screen, and slowly come to grips with how the different areas relate to each other. The fact that a lot of these games use the @ sign to represent all human characters adds to confusion, as any search function of a screen review package will locate the first @ sign it comes to when asked to do so. the player's character is where the cursor position is kept, so ask your synthesizer for the cursor position to locate your @ sign. Once you understand what I've just tried to explain above, anyone who is interested in adventure should be able to fully enjoy these games. they are infinitely random, with so many varying elements and situations, that no two games are alike. They are the perfect mix of order and chaos. The last bit of good advice I'll give here is to read the documentation and/or on-line help which comes with the game. Most of the questions I get from players are answered far better by these documents than any answer I could give. If anyone has trouble with these games, don't hesitate to send me e-mail with your questions. I'm always glad to help out when I can. + Adam, the Immortal Gamer: The Quest for Enlightenment by Michael Feir and Adam Taylor >From nothingness, Adam suddenly finds himself surrounded by stone walls. The floor is covered in small dots. He absently takes a step forward, and finds that he can only move a dot at a time. "Hey!" Adam bellows in a kind of panicked rage. "What's going on here?" A disembodied voice replies. "You must recover the amulet of Yendor." "Ah! This must be Rogue! I've won this game before. It's simplicity itself! I'll run along and... Argh!" Adam starts to run, and realizes that he cannot stop. He smashes headlong into a closed door. "OOf! I'll have to be a bit more careful in the future." He wields his sword and cautiously opens the door. He steps through it and finds himself in a long and narrow corridor. He starts walking down it, encountering nothing at all. Becoming bored, he starts running down the corridor, increasing his speed as he goes. Rounding a corner, Adam suddenly comes face to face with an orc. "Hey! watch where I'm going! Wait a minute! You're not a person. You're an orc!" The orc responds with a snarl, before pulling forth a stout club and bashing Adam on the Helmet with it. Adam winces with pain. "Ouch!" Adam quickly kills the orc with a swipe of his sword. He marches past the corpse and opens a door. He enters a large room with an exit in the top wall. the room is absolutely barren except for a large chest resting near the far wall. "Oh, goodie! A chest!" Adam gleefully runs across the room towards it, with visions of amazing weapons, heaps of gold, and assorted other treasures dancing through his head. Being too intent on what the chest might contain, he fails to see the faint outline of a trap-door hidden in the floor. He screams in frustration as he plummets down through it. Recovering his feet after a hard, stunning landing, Adam looks around to find himself in a shop stocked full of items. The shopkeeper welcomes him warmly, and encourages him to look around at his fine wares. Adam proceeds to do this and soon begins to suffer from temptation. There are all manner of weapons, wands and scrolls around. Adam wrestles with temptation, but being no heavy- weight, he is soon pinned down for the count. Forgetting all his higher principles of honour and good citizenship, Adam starts stealing the items from the shop. He takes everything he can carry, knowing full well that he is unable to pay for it. He tries to leave the shop, but is thwarted in his attempts by the shopkeeper. In a fit of exasperation, he pulls out one of the wands he has stolen, and points it at the shopkeeper. A ray springs from it and strikes the shopkeeper, causing him to fade from view. "Oh, goodie! He's gone!" Adam could not be happier with the results of his little experiment. He boldly strides towards the exit of the shop. "Where do you think you're going?" The shopkeeper's voice thunders angrily from less than two spots away. Adam is surprised, and his anger at being thus disturbed in the midst of his happy thoughts results in him striking the shopkeeper with his sword. The shopkeeper counter-attacks with several quick strikes with his weapon. Adam is completely stunned by the first blow, and is killed in short order by the furious and relentless assault. The shop and his various possessions fade away. He is alone once more in the void between games. As his consciousness is reconstituted, a disembodied voice addresses him. "so, Adam, what have you learned from this adventure?" "Well, I was too careless in approaching the chest. If I had paid more attention, I would have noticed the trap-door." "Very good, Adam. In the future, you will hopefully value what you have, and guard it, rather than incautiously attempt to seize what you don't. What of your encounter with the shopkeeper?" "I guess I shouldn't have tried to steal from his shop, but it was only a game, and I needed all the advantages I could get in order to win. I would never steal in real life." "That is a good attitude to have. However, you are here because you have effectively stolen in real life. In spending so much time playing games, you took more time than you had to spend on them. Your friends, family, and others have been robbed of the time and attention you should have paid to them." "I guess I never thought about it that way. I just thought of games as pure fun, but I guess they can teach a lot of things." "They can indeed, Adam. Games can and should be entertaining, but their potential to help us learn about ourselves and our fellow people should not be ignored. Keep that in mind in your future adventures, and you will learn what you need to face life in the real world." + New Developments from PCS Nov. 9, 1996 Carl Mickla PERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS 551 Compton AVE. Perth Amboy, NJ. 08861 PHONE 908 826 1917 EMAIL pvlasak@monmouth.com PERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEM is working on a very large game platform. We are trying to enable blind gamers to play using a computer map, with out needing a external tactile map. Are aim is to let the computer know where a player is at, by using X, Y, references and zooming levels of detail. The detail given would be related to the scale being used. For example, a detailed two hundred fifty square yard block scale would be used to maneuver a player's unit or party on the map. If the player got confused they could change the scale of the map to an one square mile per block. This would enable a player to find their general location, and by referencing the terrain around their area could get a pretty good fix on their position. Another tool which can be employed is a function that tells the player what is in the bordering blocks around their current position. We have a function that tells the player what the terrain is in a straight line from there current position to the edge of the map. We are working on connecting sounds with each terrain type to reinforce the learning of the map. We do have a map demo available if any one would like to check it out, and let us know their thoughts. If any one would like to make any comments or suggestions we are willing to listen. We are trying to produce games for the blind community, and any input offered may help in producing fun, and quality programs. In the future P C S will be releasing a war game line and a dungeon and dragon type game series. OTHER GAMES: ANY NIGHT FOOTBALL. A text based game which makes you feel like the coach. You send in the play, but the quarterback might change it on you. COST 30 dollars. MONOPOLY. This game lets a blind person know every thing they need to know, except how to win. COST 30 dollars MOBIUS MOUNTAIN. A math quiz and adventure game. You climb up a mountain with pitfalls and answer math questions to avoid trouble or to gain advances. COST 20 dollars. TEN PIN. Try your skill with ear and hand to knock down bowling pins. COST 30 dollars. SHOOTING RANGE. A good ear and quick reflexes are used to hit the bulls eye, or smash targets at the skeet range, or just to go plunking stuff at our junk yard. COST 30 dollars. + Fifty Games For Gifts: As promised, here is my list of fifty games that would make great gifts for blind people with access to personal computers. It spans some nineteen pages, so there's bound to be something for everyone in here. I hope you find the list of some use in the festive season to come. Please note that I have not ordered this list at all, and certainly not in terms of quality. All of the games listed here are of so many different types that any kind of overall quality assessment is impossible. + Nethack: (Numerous VARIATIONS. Get NH320RM.ZIP OR NH320PM.ZIP FROM cOMPUSERVE. rM AND PM ARE REAL VERSUS PROTECTED MODE. pROTECTED MODE IS BETTER FOR SYSTEMS WITHOUT MUCH MEMORY.) Category, screen-oriented role-playing adventure Good FOR AGES 16 AND UP. Size: ROUGHLY 3.6 MEGS WHEN FULLY EXPANDED. Legal STATUS: fREEWARE Documentation/ON-LINE HELP: Excellent Available AT: Compuserve, THE GAMERS FORUM This GAME IS THE MOST AMBITIOUS AND USER-FRIENDLY SCREEN-ORIENTED ROLE-PLAYING GAME EVER DISCOVERED TO DATE. It allows A SINGLE PLAYER TO CHOOSE ONE OF A WIDE VARIETY OF CHARACTERS AND EXPLORE A VAST SERIES OF DUNGEONS. High SCORES ARE KEPT TRACK OF, ALLOWING FOR LIMITED PLAYER COMPETITION. There ARE MANY SPECIAL KINDS OF ROOMS AND LEVELS, AND A LARGE NUMBER OF MONSTERS AND NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS TO BE INTERACTED WITH. The ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME IS TO RETRIEVE THE AMULET OF Yendor FROM THE DUNGEONS AND BRING IT TO YOUR GOD. Although THIS GAME IS OF THE HACK-AND-SLASH VARIETY, THERE IS ENOUGH STRATEGY IN IT TO MAKE THE GAME STIMULATING. Players WHO ARE FOND OF COMPLEX PUZZLES MAY NOT FIND THIS GAME TO THEIR LIKING. Each TIME PLAYERS START A NEW GAME, EVERYTHING IS RANDOMIZED SO THAT NO TWO GAMES CAN BE THE SAME. Careful THOUGHT AND STRATEGY, AS WELL AS LUCK ARE NEEDED IN ORDER TO WIN. Players MAY SAVE AND RESTORE THEIR GAMES, WHICH MAY EXTEND OVER MONTHS. The AREA TO BE EXPLORED IN THIS GAME IS EXCEEDING LARGE. A good working knowledge of your speech software's screen review features is necessary. You will need the capability to explore your screen character by character in order to make sense of the ascii maps of dungeon levels and rooms which are generated. + Omega (file name is omega.arc) Category: screen-ORIENTED ROLE-PLAYING ADVENTURE Good FOR AGES 16 AND UP. Size: roughly 0.7 MEGS WHEN FULLY EXPANDED. Documentation/ON-LINE HELP: EXCELLENT. Legal STATUS: freeware. Available AT: Compuserve, GAMERS FORUM. This game has a much broader scope than Nethack, despite its smaller size. It takes place within a land containing a city, forests, mountains, temples, dungeons, castles, and villages. Your ultimate goal depends on the kind of character you become. Single players may elect to generate random characters, or may answer a series of questions in order to play themselves. They must explore their surroundings and rise in status and power. The combat system is extremely detailed, and the game even boasts a few puzzles other than the ever-present one of how to defeat monsters. For the most part, it is another hack-and-slash game. this game may lock up occasionally, and force the player to reset his/her machine. This occurs when players try and hunt for food, and as long as players avoid doing this, crashes should be fairly rare. Requirements for speech access are the same as those for Nethack. An added difficulty is that maps of dungeon levels, wilderness and city areas are so large that they scroll in four directions as the player explores. + Hack (file name is hack36.zip) Category, screen-oriented role-playing adventure Good FOR AGES 12 AND UP. Size: ROUGHLY 500 K WHEN FULLY EXPANDED. Legal STATUS: freeware Documentation/ON-LINE HELP: excellent Available AT: Compuserve, THE GAMERS FORUM This game is a simplified version of Nethack. The objective is virtually the same, as are the majority of the basic mechanics of the game. However, features which lend complexity to Nethack are not found herein. It is strongly recommended that players try this game before they try Nethack. While special levels exist in Hack, there are fewer of them than there are in Nethack. Requirements for speech access are the same as for Nethack. Maps do not scroll as players move as they do in Omega. + Fallthru (file name on Compuserve is fallth.zip) Category, text-based role-playing adventure gOOD FOR AGES 12 AND UP. sIZE: ROUGHLY 480 K WHEN FULLY EXPANDED. lEGAL STATUS: shareware(fully functional without registration) dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: adequate aVAILABLE AT: FTP.GMD.DE/GAMES/PC/EAMON AS FALLTHRU.ZIP This excellent adventure can be played by up to three players. You find yourself transported to a strange land of fantasy. Your objective is to find your way home. To do this, you must become a warrior and journey throughout the vast territory of Faland and gain the means to defeat a powerful demon called Zug. oN YOUR TRAVELS, YOU WILL EXPLORE NUMEROUS DUNGEONS, CASTLES, INNS, CITIES, AND GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS. yOU WILL ENCOUNTER BOTH FRIEND AND FOE. nO TWO GAMES ARE THE SAME. tHE SCREEN IS DIVIDED INTO TWO WINDOWS, AND PLAYERS WILL DOUBTLESS FIND PLAY FASTER IF THEY CONFIGURE SEPARATE WINDOWS WITH THEIR SPEECH SOFTWARE. tHE NATURE OF THE DIVISIONS ARE CLEARLY SET OUT IN THE DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED. + Jigsaw Category, iNTERACTIVE FICTION gOOD FOR AGES 16 AND UP. sIZE: ROUGHLY 400 k INCLUDING NECESSARY iNFORM INTERPRETER. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: eXCELLENT aVAILABLE AT: cOMPUSERVE, THE GAMERS FORUM AND FTP.GMD.DE/IF- ARCHIVE tHIS EXTREMELY WELL-WRITTEN ADVENTURE IS AN EXPLORATION OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. pLAYERS START AT A nEW yEAR'S eave PARTY AT THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, AND MUST TRAVEL THROUGH TIME TO SEVERAL PIVOTAL EVENTS IN THE RECENT PAST IN ORDER TO STOP HISTORY FROM BEING ALTERED. tO TRAVEL THROUGH TIME, PLAYERS MUST FIND THE PIECES TO, AND SOLVE AN ENTIRELY TEXT-BASED JIGSAW PUZZLE. eACH PIECE FORMS YET ANOTHER DOOR INTO THE PAST. hISTORICAL PLACES AND PEOPLE ARE DESCRIBED IN STUNNINGLY FULL DETAIL. tHE GAME ALSO PROVIDES FOOTNOTES TO THE VARIOUS EVENTS IN HISTORY WHICH DESCRIBE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. tHIS GAME IS AN EXCEPTIONAL WAY TO LEARN ABOUT TWENTIETH-CENTURY HISTORY, BUT IT IS MORE THAN THAT. tHIS GAME ALSO FORCES PLAYERS TO FACE A MULTITUDE OF MORAL ISSUES HEAD ON. yOUR antagonist, A STRANGER WHO ATTRACTED YOU AT THE PARTY, IS NOT AN EVIL PERSON. hE/SHE, (tHE GAME IS TOTALLY GENDER-NON- SPECIFIC), IS TRYING TO CHANGE HISTORY FOR THE BETTER. sHOULD HISTORY BE PRESERVED? hOW FAR ARE YOU WILLING TO GO IN ORDER TO PRESERVE IT? wRITTEN IN THE iNFORM LANGUAGE, THIS GAME IS COMPLETELY SPEECH-FRIENDLY. dOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED WITHIN THE GAME ITSELF, AND CAN BE ACCESSED BY ENTERING "HELP", AT ANY TIME. If you should come across the game file by itself, (jigsaw.z8), you'll need an interpreter such as frotz or zip204.exe in order to run it. + Spiritwrak: (game file is called spirit.z5) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR all AGES. sIZE of game file: ROUGHLY 260 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: barely adequate aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archives The age of magic has all but passed from the land of Quendor. Yet, its power has not entirely faded away. You, a munk in an order dedicated to the preservation of a neutral balance between good and evil, must journey into a world gone mad in order to confront a demon which the head of your order has accidentally unleashed on the land. To do this, you must recover four pieces of a shattered magic rod, and learn how best to use them. Only you stand between the evil demon and the helpless land of Quendor. Ultimately, this adventure is about faith in the face of adversity. It is full of interesting places, people, and situations. It is quite non- violent, and good deeds are always rewarded. If any game on this list is in the spirit of the holiday season, Spiritwrak certainly is. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Theatre (file name is theatre.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE of game file: 192 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: absolutely first-rate aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive In the depths of an old and abandoned theatre, buried under dust and time, a sinister plot is underway to allow alien spirits to gain access to the world. You, a real estate agent, suddenly find yourself in an evil web which is more binding than any constructed by spiders hanging from the rafters of the old building. To survive, you must thwart an evil witch, and uncover the strange and dark past of the theatre and its creators. Scattered around the theatre are the pages of a torn journal of a young architect, which offer interesting and useful insights into the game. this small but excellent game is very well-written. descriptions are richly detailed, and the puzzles are of medium difficulty. A complete short story comes with the game, and adds much to its atmosphere. The documentation is the best I've ever come across. Hints to all the puzzles are provided for those who need them. Anyone with an interest in horror should find this game to be of interest. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Christminster Abbey (game file is cm.z5) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE of game file: ROUGHLY 230 K. lEGAL STATUS: freeware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive Your brother's urgent telegram has brought you to the town of Christminster Abbey, where things are not as they should be. A conspiracy is afoot inside the halls of Biblioll College, and it turns out that your brother is somehow involved. Is he in danger? You must gain entry to the college and unravel the conspiracy to aid your brother. The town and university are full of interesting characters, and places are richly described. This is one of the few games in which the player character is distinctly female. The documentation is quite good, and hints are available for desperate players. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + The Mind Electric: (mindelec.z5 is the game file) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE of game file: ROUGHLY 260 K lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive The Mind Electric takes place in the far future within a strange computer system where your mind has been stored. you must escape the containment grid where your mind is, and help in the assault on the enemy base which houses the computer. You receive help from your allies, as well as a strange cube you encounter in your exploration. Can you escape before your mind dissipates and your body loses its cohesion? The game has no playing instructions, but provides a virtually complete solution within a hint system. Just type help to gain access to it if necessary. This game is good for all kinds of players. It helps to have some small knowledge of computers. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Sofar: (game file is sofar.z8) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE of game file: ROUGHLY 297 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: adequate aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive, or compuserve, the gamers forum as sofar.zip. In Sofar, you start in a theatre observing a play. This play mirrors your life in some respects, as it deals with a lover's betrayal. A strange breeze eventually lures you into a journey to four strange worlds, and beyond them into other strange areas in a quest to solve their mysteries and return home to find and forgive your wife. This game is one of the strangest of those in this list. The worlds you will travel through various shadows to reach range in nature from the ancient to the bizarrely modern. The plot seems barely held together by various performances that must be seen. Many of the puzzles are fairly tricky. This game is for the expert player only. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Legends: (file name is legend11.zip) Category, text-based role-playing game gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 2.7 megs when fully expanded. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: adequate. aVAILABLE AT: (see my review in the previous issue for the location I found it on.) This is the largest text-based role-playing game yet discovered. It takes place in a fantasy world of magic and danger. It involves elements of role-playing games and interactive fiction. There are numerous monsters to be fought and characters to be interacted with. The only draw-back to this game is that it is prone to crashes when a user types in a command that it doesn't understand. + Gnuchess, version 30f (file name isgc30f.zip) Category, board game gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 1.7 megs when fully expanded if the hash table is used. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: very good aVAILABLE AT: compuserve, the chess forum. This is a very powerful chess program with many features and levels of difficulty. It uses text characters to display the board squares and pieces, and moves are made with algebraic notation. Black pieces are indicated by a star symbol, (shifted number 8) beside the piece letter. Ranks and files are marked along the horizontal and vertical sides of the board. One warning that must be given here is that no announcement is made when a player is in check, and no announcement is made when a piece is taken. it simply vanishes from the board. The documentation and help are quite good, but do not explain the basic rules of Chess. A working knowledge of the game is essential to make use of this program. for the Chess buffs on your Christmas list, this is just the thing. + Begin2 (file name is begin2.zip) Category, text-based strategy game gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 340 k. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: unknown (I can send it if you want it.) this is a spectacular space combat simulator which uses Star Trek ships. Up to sixty ships, starbases, outposts, etc, can engage in battle on a two-dimensional plane. This game makes use of bearing, mark, range, course, etc, working around a 360-degree circle. Careful strategy is needed to be successful. You are given full control of a ship or docking facility, and partial control of any ally vessels. Ships can be captured and turned against their former masters. for people who love strategy and tactics, this is a superb game. Some mathematical knowledge and a basic knowledge of the screen review capabilities of which ever speech or braille system players use to interface with their computers is necessary. Charts must be examined constantly. + The World Is Mine (file name is world.zip) Category, text-based strategy game gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 300 K. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: compuserve, the gamers forum, library 12 (search for keyword military.) You and up to nine other human or computer opponents become the rulers of competing countries. Your objective is world domination. Control your country's immigration, taxes, spending, military forces, intelligence and counterintelligence spending, and much more. This game is completely menu-driven making play relatively easy. However, a multitude of factors must be considered during each round of play. There are three kinds of computer opponents, making this game excellent for single players. The game is most enjoyable when multiple players are involved. Games can be saved to files on disk for later cessions of play. For those who enjoy complex strategy, this game is a must. It is fully functional without registration. + Adventure 550 (file name is adv550.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 250 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum, and ftp.gmd.de/if- archive This adventure is an expanded version of the game that started it all. You are a bold adventurer seeking treasure inside a large system of caves. Many puzzles and monsters lie in wait, as well as several nasty dwarves armed with magical knives. Some of the descriptions in the game are extremely well-written, and the puzzles are of intermediate difficulty. A complete solution is provided along with the game, and the game offers hints for a price in points. The game lacks much in the way of plot, but makes for an exceptionally good treasure hunt. + Space Mule (file name is mule.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 700 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: adequate aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum You awaken to the sound of alarms on-board your mining ship. Your ship has sustained major damage and must be repaired. this is a game written using the master edition of the Adventure Game Toolkit. To run it in a speech-friendly mode, enter "mrun mule /b" for bios mode. Science fiction fans should enjoy this adventure. Sound is available for people with Sound blaster cards. The ship environment and systems are described in good detail. Pictures are also available to make the game more interesting for sighted companions. + Shades of Grey (file name is soggy.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 1 meg lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum and ftp.gmd.de/if- archive You awaken to find yourself captured by what appear to be vampires. After escaping from them, you must find out what your goal is as you go along. You have lost your soul, and must retrieve it before taking control of your own and an entire country's destiny. This game explores many different myths, times, and places. It's name is taken from its moral outlook. there is no black or white, no clearly right or wrong. All there is are shades of grey. Actions which players make determine which of four possible endings, none of which are defined as ultimately correct, the story eventually reaches. For those who enjoy thinking through ethical issues and solving mysteries, this game is for you. Being another game which uses the Adventure Game Toolkit, you must type "run soggy /b" in order to run it in a speech-friendly mode. the solution is available on Compuserve and is likely also at the ftp.gmd.de site. + The Multi-dimensional Thief (file name is mdthief.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 14 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 600 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good. aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive, or Compuserve, the gamers forum. this is a hilarious and bizarre game which is full of jokes and sarcastic humour. You are given a chance to join the multi- dimensional thieves' guild, but must pass a test first. All you have to do is get out of a bunch of interconnected rooms. This is by no means as simple as it might sound. All kinds of strange devices and locations are described in fairly good detail, although the emphasis seems to be more on amusement than thoroughness. This is another game which was made using a version of the Adventure Game Toolkit. To run it in a more speech-friendly mode, type "runf thief /b". while the game comes with hints, they are in a hints program which does not work well with speech. A complete solution is available at ftp.gmd.de, or, from me. + The Light: Shelby's Addendum (file name is shelbypc.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 650 K. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum, and ftp.gmd.de/if- archive Something has gone wrong with the world. A gateway between dimensions has been opened, and it is having devastating effects on life. You must explore the lighthouse where you are an apprentice, and unravel the mystery of what has happened during your absence. the fate of the world depends on your wits alone. Fans of science fiction and mystery should find this game of interest. Descriptions are extremely well-written, and many items are cleverly hidden. + gUMSHOE (file name is gumshoe.z5) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 143 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive This is a mystery story. You are a down-and-out private detective in serious financial trouble. The case you take on could save your business from bankruptcy. This game contains a lot of time- dependant elements, and also contains many non-player characters which must be dealt with. these characters tend to wander around, adding life to this well-written game. All characters and places are thoroughly described in the style common to detective fiction. this game is by far the best free mystery game available, and certainly rivals even some of Infocom's best mystery stories. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Waystation (file name is way.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 1 meg. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: adequate aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gaming forum and ftp.gmd.de/if- archive You are drawn into the far future, where the galaxy is under a tyrannical rule. You are the only one who can free the galaxy from the iron grip of the empire. Journey to three alien worlds and try to figure out the many mysteries they contain. Who is the enemy? The answer will surprise you. this game will be of interest to older science fiction fans. + Gc: Thrashing Parity Bit of the Mind: (file name is gc.gam, but it comes with other files which you will either have to track down or ask me for.) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 20 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 580 K with all related files. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: could be better. aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive this is an extremely difficult but very amusing text adventure filled with all kinds of non-player characters which wander around. It takes place in a strange college where you must "get a clue", as the game says. A lot of introductory material is provided in separate files, although it doesn't directly help in solving the game. The game itself was designed as an event in the MIT mental olympics. It was to be played in groups, although it can be played by single players. If there's anyone who you want to absolutely perplex on your Christmas list, this is the game to get them. If there's anyone upon whom you feel the need for vengeance as a result of their giving you a seven-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle last year, this game is the one to use. It is funny, but absolutely mind-boggling. You have been warned. + Galactic Warzone (file name is gw72.zip) Category, multi-player bbs door gOOD FOR AGES 14 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 1.2 megs when fully expanded. lEGAL STATUS: shareware(fully functional without registration) dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the pcbbs forum This is a Tradewars-like game of space combat and trading. You are a merchant in a galaxy at war. The federation and the Cabal are in fierce combat. You and many other players can try and conquer this universe, which can be custom-made in several ways. Be certain that you access the sysop editor and turn on the auto-warp-linker option, or the game may crash. The sysop documentation should be adequate to get things running smoothly. After each player has taken their turn, run the maintenance program to advance to the next turn. + Land of Devastation: (File names are loda through lodh or so. Not all parts are necessary beyond files loda through lodc) Category, multi-player bbs door gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 2 megs for a basic working copy with no sound or graphics. lEGAL STATUS: fully functional shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the pcbbs forum In the future, a nuclear war has been fought on Earth. The air and environment have been polluted with radiation and dust. Scientists managed to create a device which would have cleaned up the mess, but this device was broken into seven pieces and scattered by a band of robbers. You must explore this world full of mutants and strange places and try to solve its mysteries and survive its dangers. The world can be customized in many ways through the use of game editors. the supplied environment, monsters, and non-player characters are well described and interesting. Anyone into science fiction or adventures should find this game to be of interest. + Shoot96 Category, sound-based game gOOD FOR AGES 10 and up. sIZE of full version: unknown lEGAL STATUS: commercial software dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: PCS Inc. (See article in this issue for contact information.) this attempted simulation of a shooting range allows players to choose from various types of weapons and four different kinds of sports shooting. Players must attempt to anticipate when the correct time to strike a key is in order to hit targets. Success requires a very good sense of timing and quick reflexes. People who are tired of strictly text-based games should find this a refreshing change. + Monopoly96 Category, board game gOOD FOR all ages sIZE of full version: unknown lEGAL STATUS: commercial software dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Pcs Inc. (See article in this issue for contact information.) The classic and always popular game of Monopoly has been computerized and made speech-friendly for the blind by the folks at PCS. All information is spoken to players as it is required. the interface is quite simple to learn. for added amusement and identification, sounds have been added to the game. Up to four players can participate. This game would be a fantastic idea for a family with one or more blind members. + Any Night Football Category, text-based sport gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE of full version: unknown lEGAL STATUS: commercial software dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Pcs Inc. (See the article in this issue for contact information.) this is a turn-based and text-based game of Football. It uses actual statistics to determine outcomes and probabilities, so a good knowledge of current football teams is a definite bonus in playing. Description of game action is vivid and fairly well- written. The interface is simple to learn. Football fans, this game is definitely of major importance. + THE hOLLYWOOD mURDERS (file name is hollywoo.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE of shareware version: ROUGHLY 2.2 megs. lEGAL STATUS: shareware (You must register to get the full version with the entire story.) dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum This game puts you in the role of a private detective. You must travel through Hollywood and solve a murder mystery. The game is very large, but a lot of the size is taken by graphic images and sound files. It seems to be fairly well-written. The descriptions are quite good, at any rate. Graphics and sound can be turned on and off as required. Mystery fans ought to appreciate this one. + fALCON'S eYE (file name is fe.zip) Category, multi-player bbs door gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 800 K. lEGAL STATUS: fully functional sharEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the pcbbs forum This is a game of conquest and good rulership which takes place on a fantasy world. You are in charge of a county which you must try and make the best county of all. To do this requires careful economic management and planning of developments such as town halls, markets, etc. Population must also be maintained and made good use of. This is by far the most complex simulation of this kind, even compared to The World is Mine. Many more factors and options are provided. On-line help is extensive and well- implemented. The game is entirely menu-driven and turn-based. However, players are under a customizeable degree of time restriction. Lovers of fantasy and strategy should find this game quite enjoyable. + Second Conflict (file name is sc270.zip) Category, multi-player strategy game gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 360 K. lEGAL STATUS: fully functional shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum Players are admirals in an interstellar war for control of the galaxy. Each star system can contain up to ten planets, which must be completely conquered before ownership of a star system is attained. Players control fleets of ships, troops, missiles, scouts, and the factories of their empires. Random galactic maps are generated each time the game is played, and many parameters can be customized and changed from game to game. Random events add more excitement to an already intricate and absorbing contest. Up to ten human or computer opponents can participate, and there are several levels of intelligence which each player can have. The map of the galaxy is composed entirely of text characters, but it is not strictly necessary for game play. One odd bug in the game can occasionally ruin games in progress, so it is advised that players save the game fairly often. Registration entitles players to more starting scenarios and a powerful game editor and scenario designer. Lovers of strategy should find this game of great interest. + Master the Market: (File name is market.zip) Category, text-based strategy game gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 130 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good. aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum This game can be played by up to ten players. It is a simulation of a stock market. There are several ways to play the game, including time-based, ongoing, or until a player obtains a certain amount of money. Stock prices are effected by random news events, and players must watch for trends which appear. Visual charts are offered, but are not necessary for playing the game. Anyone with an interest in economics should find this to be right up their alley. + wORLD (file name is world.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 150 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum. You have been chosen to explore a strange, alien world. You must gather as much information as you can to take back to your ship. the world has been divided into different biological environments suitable for various creatures. This game is made around 1987, and is apparently regarded as a classic. It lacks the complexity of an Inform game having a fairly simple parser, but it is fairly detailed. Science fiction fans should like this game. + Supernova (file name is probably nova.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 360 K. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: fair aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, ibmspecial forum You are a miner on a world which is running out of ore. You end up caught in an adventure involving aliens. This game is very tricky, and no solution exists as far as I know. It has sound effects, which add atmosphere to the game. Limited hints are provided, but they cost points. Registration entitles players to help. Science fiction and conspiracy fans with a good deal of patience and intelligence might be able to figure this on out. + pLANETS: THE eXPLORATION OF sPACE (file name is teos.zip) Category, multi-player bbs door gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 830 K. lEGAL STATUS: sharEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the pcbbs forum this game puts from one to a high number of players in command of merchant ships which travel from planet to planet. It is essentially a game of buying and selling cargo, but has other elements such as combat and adventure built into it. Many options for customization of the game universe and game play are present. It is entirely menu-driven and turn-based. It is somewhat simpler to play than Galactic Warzone in terms of navigation through the universe. However, it is also a bit more limited. The game is good for single players and/or groups. + Landing Party (file name is lparty.zip) Category, text-based role-playing game gOOD FOR all AGES sIZE: ROUGHLY 160 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good. aVAILABLE AT: unknown. Ask me if you want it. This is a menu-driven role-playing game suitable for all ages. You must pick a customizeable team of crew members to join with you on an expedition to obtain crystals for your ship. You will encounter various creatures and situations on your way to the mines where crystals can be bought. Although simplistic in style, this game's sheer randomness makes it interesting. It is slightly humorous, but not overly so. Younger science fiction fans should find the game interesting. More experienced players might tend to become bored with it after a short time. + Wizard's Castle (Files are castle.exe and castle.doc) Category, text-based role-playing game gOOD FOR all AGES. sIZE: ROUGHLY 60 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Unknown. Ask me if you want it. this game is an excellent introduction to role-playing games. It is simple, but totally random. You must explore a castle of eight-by- eight-by-eight rooms and find the hidden orb of Zot. You must also attempt to leave with as much gold and as many special treasures as you can. the game is quite humorous, but is mainly concerned with exploration and killing monsters rather than puzzle-solving. Younger adventurers will find this game entertaining. + Mutants: (File name is mutants.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 50 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/games/pc This adventure takes you to a city under attack by mutants. You must defend it against them. Considering the game's small size, the background information provided is quite good, as are the descriptions of locations. Descriptions are short, and the game appears to be fairly small. the vocabulary is fairly easy, however, making it more accessible to younger players. The parser is simple, and players might have to spend time figuring out the correct way to say things. + tHE sILVER cLOUD (file name is scloud.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 160 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: fair aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/games/pc You awaken seriously wounded in a futuristic building. Your first objective is to attempt to take proper care of your wound. After that, you will have to discover the rest. The parser of the game is quite good, and so are the descriptions of the places and items you will find. it seems to be a cyber-punk kind of adventure. Anyone interested in this genre should find the game quite interesting. + gLOBAL wAR: (file name is gw.zip) Category, multi-player strategy bbs door gOOD FOR AGES 14 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 330 K. lEGAL STATUS: shareWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, modemgames forum This is a game which strongly resembles the classic board game called risk. It can be played by up to nine players per game, and multiple games can be ongoing simultaneously. Players must attempt to take over the world with the armies in their control. New armies are received each round from countries and continents owned. A knowledge of geography is a definite advantage in this game. Strategy fans who favour minimal complexity will like this game. + tHE pATH TO fORTUNE (game file name is windhal1.z8) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE of game file: ROUGHLY 300 K. lEGAL STATUS: non-crippled shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive Journey to a fantasy world and become Erin, a young apprentice to a dwarven blacksmith is forced to become a hero and save his town. There are many non-player characters in this game which must be interacted with. They are all very well developed, unlike in a lot of other interactive fiction. This game is largely based on learning what motivates these characters. the descriptions in Path to fortune are enchantingly detailed, and the game is full of good humour. Registration entitles players to help in solving the game's many puzzles, some of which are a bit difficult. One thing which might frustrate some players is that the game keeps track of the time of day In Windhal, and certain things only happen at specific times. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Vip611 collection: (file name vip611.zip) Category, text-based games of chance gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 700 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, disability forum This collection of games is composed of a speech-friendly casino containing several casino games, a game of Yahtzee, a solitaire program containing several versions of Solitaire and complete instructions on play. You'll also find a deck of talking tarot cards with descriptions of each card and plenty of instructions on their use. Craps and Twenty-one are also included. Last but not least, there is a word-game called Gegs which can play a bunch of different ways. This package is small, but has something for just about everyone. + Bridge (file name is bridgepal.zip) Category, card game gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 240 K. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: thorough but designed to be printed rather than read. aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum This appears to be a very good bridge program. It has several options, and is entirely text-based. The documentation for it is in small text files which are numbered. Each such file is a page of the manual which is supposed to be printed. The game of Bridge itself is explained, as well as the program. It is therefore a viable way of learning to play the game. Anyone interested in card games may find this amusing and possibly useful. + Cannons and Catapults (file name is knk.zip) Category, text-based strategy game gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 160 K. lEGAL STATUS: shareware dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum or possibly the pcbbs forum. You are the king of a castle, and the computer is your rival. You and it must attempt to conquer each other in any of various ways, while managing your population. The game is actually a bbs door, and player's scores are kept. Although uncomplicated, the game is complex enough to present a challenge. You and the computer start with random amounts of supplies each game, so different strategy will have to be used. Younger strategy or medieval fans will appreciate this game. + Alice in Wonderland (file name is alice.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 10 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 300 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum and ftp.gmd.de/if- archive Based on the book by Lewis Caroll, this adventure allows the player to be Alice. You must earn points for power, charity, and various other categories in order to win. You can read parts of the book which might furnish clues to the puzzles in the game. Younger players will find this game delightful, as characters are quite well developed, and places are well described. One gets the same feeling as when reading a story-book. + Golden Flutes and Great Escapes collection (file name is gfge.zip) Category, text-based role-playing games gOOD FOR all AGES. sIZE: ROUGHLY 240 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: non-existent for some games. aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/games/pc/eamon this collection has several very simple and small text-based games which cannot really be called interactive fiction due to their randomness. Readers who have read the first issue might recall my autobiographical account of my first experience with one of the games (the Great Escape), in this collection. That classic and more simple games are in this collection. Other games include Quest for the Golden Flute, Mars, and Treasure. Younger players will likely draw deeper enjoyment from these games. They are an excellent means of introducing youngsters to computers. + Dungeon (file name is dungeon.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 700 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum. This is the original version of Zork, before it was altered from an on-line adventure game into the Zork trilogy of games. As with all games written by the authors of INfocom games, the prose and attention to detail are of the highest calibre. The parser is noticeably lacking in power when compared to Inform games or Infocom's works. However, the game is exceptionally large and combines elements from all three Zork games, plus a few more puzzles. On-line instructions are provided, as well as some other information. A complete solution is available from ftp.gmd.de, and if you plan to give the game to someone, I strongly suggest that you get hold of it. The game dungeon can also be found at the same site. + Time: all Things Come to an End: (name of game file is tatctae.z8) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 18 and up. sIZE of game file: ROUGHLY 380 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: adequate aVAILABLE AT: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive In this gripping story, you are hurled by your experiment with temporal travel far into the future. You witness a murder, and your only means of possibly returning to your own time seems to lie in unravelling the motives behind the murder. the portrayal of a possible future England is as vivid as it is chilling. Corporations seem to be dominant and all too powerful. Will time and fate catch up with you, or can you survive to find your way home? Puzzles in the game are of a rather difficult nature, and correct solutions are not always apparent. This game will keep its players thinking for months. Science fiction, cyber-punk and suspense fans will find much to attract them into this game. This is another game which uses the Inform language. You will need an interpreter such as the one which comes with Jigsaw, or an interpreter such as Frotz in order to run the game. Such interpreters can be found in the ftp site listed above. + Iron Ox Category, multi-player bbs door gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 1 meg. lEGAL STATUS: sharEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the pcbbs forum this game is a kind of clone of an old classic game called Mule. You are a colonist on a world with other colonists who are competing with you for resources and land. this game allows players to commit some dishonest acts, but does not allow for much violent competition. Computer players can have various levels of intelligence, and combinations of human and computer players can be involved in games of various sizes. Alliances may be struck between players. Registration allows players to access some of the games more advanced features. + Supreme Ruler: (file name is sruler.zip) Category, text-based strategy game gOOD FOR AGES 12 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 150 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: good aVAILABLE AT: compuserve, the gamers forum. this is a simplified version of the World is Mine. (See above.) Human and computer players take control of countries which must compete for world domination. Only one kind of military force, the army, is used. Players who found The World Is Mine to be too complex may find this game more to their liking. Computer players can be normal, aggressive, or defensive, and up to ten players may participate in a game. Games may be saved for later play. + tHE Star pORTAL (file name is portal.zip) Category, interactive fiction gOOD FOR AGES 16 and up. sIZE: ROUGHLY 540 K. lEGAL STATUS: fREEWARE dOCUMENTATION/ON-LINE HELP: excellent aVAILABLE AT: Compuserve, the gamers forum and ftp.gmd.de/if- archive this game is another science fiction adventure in which you discover a mysterious and highly secret portal capable of transporting you to numerous alien worlds. Being the adventurous type, you decide to see where it takes you. There are several environments and aliens. Puzzles are fair on the whole. Descriptions are not as good as in other games, but are good enough. Younger science fiction fans should find this game enjoyable. It is another game using the adventure game toolkit. To run it, type "run portal /b". + Contacting Me I can be reached in two ways. The easiest is through Compuserve. My e-mail address is as follows: 72712.3103@compuserve.com alternatively, you may correspond with me on 3.5-inch disks, provided you be sure to send them in returnable disk-mailers. I don't have the money to pay for postage. My mailing address is: 5787 Montevideo Road Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Postal code: L5N 2L5 I have recently acquired a copy of UUencode and UUdecode for dos, so you may send files to me via this means.