The Atari Lynx version was the original version of Chip’s Challenge. It was developed by Chuck Sommerville at Epyx and first released in 1989.

Sommerville – the story goes – coded a demo of Chip’s Challenge on an Apple II home computer, in order to develop the game’s logic, and also to show it to Atari execs as a pitch for a viable project. This approach worked, and the game was green-lit by the Atari bigwigs for launch on their new colour handheld console, the Lynx. And – as the Lynx was developed by Epyx – Somerville and his team had a head start on the hardware.

The aim of Chip’s Challenge is simple: collect the various computer chips, hidden within a series of mazes. Getting to the chips is not straightforward, though, because they are almost always hidden behind a logic puzzle or two and you have to clear the way. How you do that differs, depending on the level, and on-screen instructions guide you as you progress. Needless to say: it starts off easy, then gets harder. By level 10 you’ll probably start to feel the pinch. Thankfully Lynx Chip’s Challenge uses level codes for access to any one of the 148 available levels, so you can play them at your leisure.

Chip’s Challenge may have tiny, titchy graphics, but they work extremely well in the context of the game, and are pretty much perfect for a Lynx-based game. It’s the captivating gameplay that rules in Chip’s Challenge though. It feels good to play; it really taxes the braincells, and it is something of a ‘killer app’ on the Atari Lynx. Whether it’s this or the later home computer versions that are the best, is debatable. In my opinion: they’re all great, and well worth a play today.

In fact: Chip’s Challenge is still available to buy, play, and enjoy today. The rights were acquired by one of the original developers, and Chip’s Challenge was re-born in 2015 on more modern formats, which is testament to the game’s greatness.

More: Chip’s Challenge on Wikipedia
Steam: Chip’s Challenge (2015) on Steam