I Was A Teenage Adventure Gamer

Recommendations by J. J. Guest (London, England)

I grew up playing IF on the Acorn Electron, and later the BBC Master Compact. My aim here is to create a complete list of all the games that were in my collection back in the 8-bit era. It is not a Recommended List as such.

Most of the games listed below were for the Acorn Electron. The Electron had a tiny amount of RAM, just 32K, which meant that many of the best known games were not available for it. Hence there were no Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls or Infocom games in my collection. Nevertheless there were a handful of companies dedicated to writing quality IF for the little machine, such as Epic, Robico, Topologika and Magus. This list should give a flavour of what was available.

This list is a work in progress, since many of the games I owned are not yet listed in the IFDB. They are in no particular order, at present.

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1. The Count
by Scott Adams
(1979)
Average member rating: (21 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

The gem of my collection, and my favourite Scott Adams adventure. It is, more than any other single game, responsible for my becoming an IF author, and it profoundly influenced the design philosophy of my games.

2. Ghost Town
by Scott Adams
(1980)
Average member rating: (9 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

One of only two Scott Adams gamed I owned on cassette, it remains one of my favourite of his games. It contains a puzzle which influenced puzzle construction in several of my own games.

3. Dodgy Geezers
by Peter Jones, Trevor Lever, and Valerie Saunders
(1986)

J. J. Guest says:

I never got very far with this one, but it's a game I plan to revisit.

4. Twin Kingdom Valley
by Trevor Hall and P. M. Skinner
(1983)
Average member rating: (6 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

Nobody who owned a BBC Micro didn't have a copy of this one. A bona fide classic.

5. Feasibility Experiment
by Brian Howarth and Wherner Barnes
(1983)

J. J. Guest says:

One of several Brian Howarth Mysterious Adventures I owned. This one I completed pretty quickly.

6. Arrow of Death Part 1
by Brian Howarth
(1981)
Average member rating: (2 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

One of several Brian Howarth Mysterious Adventures I owned.

7. Arrow of Death Part 2
by Brian Howarth
(1982)
Average member rating: (2 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

Bought as part of a multipack.

8. Perseus and Andromeda
by Brian Howarth
(1983)
Average member rating: (2 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

Bought as part of a multipack.

9. The Time Machine
by Brian Howarth
(1981)
Average member rating: (3 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

I remember this one as being an enjoyable entry in the Mysterious Adventures series. Bought as part of a multipack.

10. Escape from Pulsar 7
by Brian Howarth and Wherner Barnes
(1982)
Average member rating: (1 rating)

J. J. Guest says:

One of the most disappointing Brian Howarth games. Full of illogical puzzles and a maze-like map.

11. Rick Hanson, by Robert O'Leary and Mike O'Leary (1985)
J. J. Guest says:

The first part of the Saga of a Spy. A very competently written game from Robico, who were very well regarded among BBC Micro text adventure fans.

12. SUDS
by Dave Edwards
(1986)

J. J. Guest says:

This was a very silly spoof of four popular British soap operas of the time. It was hugely enjoyable but I never completed it.

13. Avon
by Jon Thackray and Jonathan Partington
(1982)
Average member rating: (3 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

I owned the Topologika version of this game and I'm pretty sure I completed it with the help of the hint sheet.

14. Monsters of Murdac
by Jonathan Partington
(1982)
Average member rating: (3 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

This game came free with Avon, by the same company. I found it incredibly difficult and unfair, and I never completed it.

15. Circus
by Wherner Barnes and Brian Howarth
(1982)
Average member rating: (3 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

One of the more enjoyable of the Mysterious Adventures.

16. The Lost Crystal
by Melvyn E. Wright
(1987)

J. J. Guest says:

Epic were one of the biggest names in IF for the 32K Acorn Electron. This was their fifth and final game, as well as their most lavish.

17. The Kingdom of Klein
by Melvyn E. Wright and Dave M. Johnson
(1984)
Average member rating: (2 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

Epic's third adventure, and one of the very first IF games I ever bought. It is very hard, and somewhat cruel. Though I got a good way with it at the time, I only recently completed it with the help of a walkthrough.

18. Return of the Diamond
by R. McGregor
(1983)
Average member rating: (2 ratings)

J. J. Guest says:

This short type-in game was significant for me as I used it as the basis for my early attempts at writing a text adventure in BBC Basic.


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