Gottlieb‘s classic arcade game Q*bert was first released in 1982. It delighted gamers with its quirky mix of cube-jumping and ‘painter’-style gameplay.
Tag Archives: puzzle
The Sentinel, BBC Micro
Another timeless classic video game that originated on the BBC Micro in 1986.
Geoff Crammond‘s The Sentinel is a strategic game of ‘hide and seek’ – played-out on a chequerboard-like surface over which a being called The Sentinel watches.
Klax, Arcade
It says “copyright 1989” on the title screen, but Klax actually made it into arcades in June 1990. Klax is a real-time puzzle game – for one or two players – with falling tiles that you must catch, then drop, into a small trough at the bottom of the screen.
Boulder Dash, Atari 8-bit
Peter Liepa and Chris Gray‘s classic Boulder Dash was first released for the Atari 8-bit in 1984 (the Commodore 64 version came later).
Boulder Dash is one of those games that is very simple, but also very clever. Not to mention: extremely devious. In some levels, if you put a foot wrong, you’re toast and must re-start.
Spindizzy, Atari 8-bit
Paul Shirley‘s classic isometric puzzle/adventure game, Spindizzy, originated on the Commodore 64, but is also quite excellent on the Atari 800.
Bubble Ghost, Amstrad CPC
I’m a big fan of the game Bubble Ghost and this Amstrad CPC conversion is up there with the best of the 8-bit versions.
Brainstorm, Commodore 64
Pete Cooke‘s brilliant puzzle game Brainstorm was converted by David Kirby to the Commodore 64 and published by Silverbird in 1987.
Pieces, Super Nintendo
Known in Japan as Jigsaw Party, and in the West as Pieces, this 1994 Super Nintendo game is an intriguing and compelling mix of Tetris and jigsaws. Which might sound as dull as hell, but it’s actually surprisingly good.
Holiday Lemmings 1993, Amiga
Although there were small Christmas demos made for Lemmings in 1991 and ’92, Holiday Lemmings 1993 was the first full retail release of a Lemmings game based on Christmas.
Hatris, PC Engine
Hatris is basically Tetris with hats, and the reason why this is allowed is because the designer of Hatris is the same guy who made Tetris! Voila: no copyright issues with this clone. Ha, ha.
The King of Grabs 