The Software Toolworks, Inc.

Beyond the Black Hole

Beyond the Black Hole

MS-DOS - Released - 1989

Use your paddles to pilot your orb in the search for the disappearance of Vern Grenington and his "entire vehicle service station" on Vicinity NAW-911 which "has long been known to contain a Black Hole." According to the game manual because most of their pilots grew up in the era of video games in the late 20th century, they have designed the orb control panel to resemble a video game! So just target your orb to eliminate the objects you see in the center of your screen in every level (however, in some levels you may have more "subtle" approach) in your path to The Black Hole...

Bruce Lee Lives

Bruce Lee Lives

MS-DOS - Released - 1989

You play the part of Bruce Lee, the only man who can fight back against Master Po and his army of martial arts warriors. You have to stop their destruction on Hong Kong Island! This martial arts game features a "learning" AI engine that can improve its strategy by examining and tracking your past actions... thus the player cannot beat the game by just re-using the same successful moves over and over again. This amounts to a difficult game where "the opponents very often beat the program's designers!"

Cribbage King / Gin King

Cribbage King / Gin King

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1990

Play the games of Cribbage and Gin against a variety of computer opponents. Features include natural language advice, computer vs. computer, Cribbage and Gin variants, duplicate mode, and scenario set-up mode.

Life & Death

Life & Death

MS-DOS - Released - 1988

Life & Death is a game which casts you as a doctor in a hospital. Your job is to diagnose patients and administer appropriate therapies, or even perform surgery when necessary. To diagnose a patient, you have to press on his or her abdomen, to see which portions of the stomach cause pain. Basing on this knowledge, you can choose a therapy for him (observation, medication or referring to another specialist) or administer a X-Ray or ultrasound scan to get more information about his illness. In some cases, surgery will be necessary. You're the surgeon and you have to perform the operation very carefully, adhering strictly to the procedures, preserving hygiene, and maintaining care when cutting up the patient. Should you mistakenly administer the wrong therapy, or kill your patient at the operating table, you're kicked into the medical school, where you're given hints as to what you've done wrong.

Life & Death

Sharp X68000 - Released - April 25, 1992

Life & Death is a game which casts you as a doctor in a hospital. Your job is to diagnose patients and administer appropriate therapies, or even perform surgery when necessary. To diagnose a patient, you have to press on his or her abdomen, to see which portions of the stomach cause pain. Basing on this knowledge, you can choose a therapy for him (observation, medication or referring to another specialist) or administer a X-Ray or ultrasound scan to get more information about his illness. In some cases, surgery will be necessary. You're the surgeon and you have to perform the operation very carefully, adhering strictly to the procedures, preserving hygiene, and maintaining care when cutting up the patient. Should you mistakenly administer the wrong therapy, or kill your patient at the operating table, you're kicked into the medical school, where you're given hints as to what you've done wrong.

Life & Death

Life & Death

Fujitsu FM Towns Marty - Released - 1992

Life & Death is a game which casts you as a doctor in a hospital. Your job is to diagnose patients and administer appropriate therapies, or even perform surgery when necessary. To diagnose a patient, you have to press on his or her abdomen, to see which portions of the stomach cause pain. Basing on this knowledge, you can choose a therapy for him (observation, medication or referring to another specialist) or administer a X-Ray or ultrasound scan to get more information about his illness. In some cases, surgery will be necessary. You're the surgeon and you have to perform the operation very carefully, adhering strictly to the procedures, preserving hygiene, and maintaining care when cutting up the patient. Should you mistakenly administer the wrong therapy, or kill your patient at the operating table, you're kicked into the medical school, where you're given hints as to what you've done wrong.

Life & Death II: The Brain

Life & Death II: The Brain

Fujitsu FM Towns Marty - Released - 1992

The Brain follows the same premise as its predecessor Life & Death, wherein the player controls an up-and-coming surgeon who must perform simulated surgery on patients with varying problems. The sequel focuses on the brain, whereas the first game focused on the abdomen. The graphics and gameplay have been improved from the first game, but, other than the new patient cases, it plays more or less the same.

Life & Death II: The Brain

Life & Death II: The Brain

MS-DOS - Released - 1990

The Brain follows the same premise as its predecessor Life & Death, wherein the player controls an up-and-coming surgeon who must perform simulated surgery on patients with varying problems. The sequel focuses on the brain, whereas the first game focused on the abdomen. The graphics and gameplay have been improved from the first game, but, other than the new patient cases, it plays more or less the same.

Mario is Missing!

Mario is Missing!

MS-DOS - Released - 1992

Bowser, the token bad guy from the Mario Bros. series, is up to no good again in this educational game designed to teach children geography. This time he's set up his headquarters in Antarctica and created portals to 25 famous cities around the world, so that his Koopas can wreak havoc in our own world. He's also kidnapped Mario, hence the title of this game. You play as Luigi who must foil Bowser's plans by entering through each of the portals, tracking down the Koopas who have stolen famous artifacts, and looking for clues about your location. Once you've set everything right and determined where you are, you call Yoshi on your Globulator so he can track you down. You need Yoshi's help to eat the Pokey (a cactus-like creature) that's guarding the return portal, and when Luigi returns he can close the portal forever. By exploring these 25 cities, children can familiarize themselves with the landmarks and artifacts that each city has. When Luigi returns the stolen artifacts to the proper places he can even take photographs of them. There is also an add-on disk you can purchase that adds ten additional cities to the game.

Mario's Early Years Collection

MS-DOS - Released - 1994

The Mario's Early Years Series covers a multitude of subjects which helps your child acquire valuable skills and develop a rich and active imagination. In "FUN WITH LETTERS" children are introduced to the fundamentals of letters and sounds. In "PRESCHOOL FUN" children learn through exploration of shapes, colors, sounds, opposites, numbers and songs. In "FUN WITH NUMBERS" children are introduced to the basics of numbers by exploring shape, number, difference, counting, comparing, how many, pattern and sing song worlds. Award winning learning software, great for home schooling or classroom!

Mario's Time Machine

Mario's Time Machine

MS-DOS - Released - 1993

Bowser is at it again! He's using a time machine, called a Timulator, to loot historical artifacts from the past, in order to stock his museum. He plans to destroy the time machine after, and therefore change the course of history forever. It's up to Mario to stop Bowser and return all the stolen artifacts to their rightful place in history!

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

MS-DOS - Released - 1987

Teacher Mavis Beacon enlists you in class to learn the touch typing. The lessons are explained on chalkboard, and you have to type the proposed words with the certain set of keys by typing them with proper fingers. The keyboard and fingers are shown as well as the text rows necessary to be typed and typed by you. The first lesson begins with "ASDF" keys of Standard QWERTY keyboard, but the Dvorak keyboard is also supported and may be adjusted before the gameplay. Also in the game the Arcade Racing is present. You should type the scrolling text as fast as possible to win a race with drivers of different skills. The skills of drivers and speed of typing are increased from level to level. Progress Graphing is present to show your progress with over 20 graphs of different parameters. You may use this information to create your own lessons. The multiple settings of gameplay may be adjusted, your actions and types of games may be explained by help and Mavis` comments, and your progress is saved.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1988

Teacher Mavis Beacon enlists you in class to learn the touch typing. The lessons are explained on chalkboard, and you have to type the proposed words with the certain set of keys by typing them with proper fingers. The keyboard and fingers are shown as well as the text rows necessary to be typed and typed by you. The first lesson begins with "ASDF" keys of Standard QWERTY keyboard, but the Dvorak keyboard is also supported and may be adjusted before the gameplay. Also in the game the Arcade Racing is present. You should type the scrolling text as fast as possible to win a race with drivers of different skills. The skills of drivers and speed of typing are increased from level to level. Progress Graphing is present to show your progress with over 20 graphs of different parameters. You may use this information to create your own lessons. The multiple settings of gameplay may be adjusted, your actions and types of games may be explained by help and Mavis` comments, and your progress is saved.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!

Commodore 64 - Released - November 1, 1987

Teacher Mavis Beacon enlists you in class to learn the touch typing. The lessons are explained on chalkboard, and you have to type the proposed words with the certain set of keys by typing them with proper fingers. The keyboard and fingers are shown, as well as the text rows necessary to be typed and typed by you. The first lesson begins with "ASDF" keys of Standard QWERTY keyboard, but the Dvorak keyboard is also supported and may be adjusted before the gameplay. Also in the game, the Arcade Racing is present. You should type the scrolling text as fast as possible to win a race with drivers of different skills. The skills of drivers and speed of typing are increased from level to level. Progress Graphing is present to show your progress with over 20 graphs of different parameters. You may use this information to create your own lessons. The multiple settings of gameplay may be adjusted, your actions and types of games may be explained by help and Mavis` comments, and your progress is saved.

MYCHESS

MS-DOS - Released - November 1, 1984

MYCHESS is one of the oldest chess games ever made. It was developed by David Kittinger (the man behind the famous Chessmaster games) in 1979, although the DOS version was published in 1984. The game offers various configuration options to make adjustments for different hardware and doesn't have mouse support, so the standard chess notations have to be written on the keyboard to move the pieces. In MYCHESS you can only play against the computer and there are 9 levels of difficulty to chose from. Games can't be loaded or saved but you can set up the board at the beginning. The game also allows you to record the moves on the printer and provides time controls for timed games.

The Chessmaster 2000

The Chessmaster 2000

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1986

This iteration of the Chessmaster series offers a strong chess opponent at 12 skill levels, catering for novices to grandmasters. Its many features include an opening library built around 71,000 moves and the ability to print out the move history. To help novices there is a teach mode showing all legal moves, a hint move offering what the computer feels is a strong move, and the chance for the Chessmaster to analyse all previous moves in a game. Famous real-life game positions and pre-set challenges offer individual challenges.

The Chessmaster 2000

The Chessmaster 2000

MS-DOS - Released - 1986

This iteration of the Chessmaster series offers a strong chess opponent at 12 skill levels, catering for novices to grandmasters. Its many features include an opening library built around 71,000 moves and the ability to print out the move history. To help novices there is a teach mode showing all legal moves, a hint move offering what the computer feels is a strong move, and the chance for the Chessmaster to analyse all previous moves in a game. Famous real-life game positions and pre-set challenges offer individual challenges.

The Chessmaster 2000

The Chessmaster 2000

Apple II - Released - 1986

This iteration of the Chessmaster series offers a strong chess opponent at 12 skill levels, catering for novices to grandmasters. Its many features include an opening library built around 71,000 moves and the ability to print out the move history. To help novices there is a teach mode showing all legal moves, a hint move offering what the computer feels is a strong move, and the chance for the Chessmaster to analyse all previous moves in a game. Famous real-life game positions and pre-set challenges offer individual challenges.

The Chessmaster 2000

The Chessmaster 2000

Atari ST - Released - 1987

This iteration of the Chessmaster series offers a strong chess opponent at 12 skill levels, catering for novices to grandmasters. Its many features include an opening library built around 71,000 moves and the ability to print out the move history. To help novices there is a teach mode showing all legal moves, a hint move offering what the computer feels is a strong move, and the chance for the Chessmaster to analyse all previous moves in a game. Famous real-life game positions and pre-set challenges offer individual challenges.

The Chessmaster 3000

The Chessmaster 3000

MS-DOS - Released - 1991

Chessmaster 3000 provides a strong chess opponent with 168 openings and different types of playfields (2D, 3D, and War Room). The game can suggest moves and determine the player's rating. It also contains 151 replications of classic real-world matches, and a Mentor feature which can act as a personal chess tutor through a variety of practical techniques.

The Chessmaster 3000

The Chessmaster 3000

Apple Mac OS - Released - 1991

Chessmaster 3000 provides a strong chess opponent with 168 openings and different types of playfields (2D, 3D, and War Room). The game can suggest moves and determine the player's rating. It also contains 151 replications of classic real-world matches, and a Mentor feature which can act as a personal chess tutor through a variety of practical techniques.

The Fidelity: Chessmaster 2100

The Fidelity: Chessmaster 2100

Apple IIGS - Released - 1988

Chessmaster is a chess-playing computer game series which is now owned and developed by Ubisoft. It is the best-selling chess franchise in history, with more than five million units sold as of 2002. The Chessmaster series started with The Chessmaster 2000 by The Software Toolworks. It was published for Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Macintosh, and DOS. The game had a chess engine written by David Kittinger, and the manufacturer rated the game at 2000 Elo USCF; in reality, it plays at approximately 1550-1600 Elo (1750-1800 USCF).The Fidelity Chessmaster 2100 was published for the Apple IIGS.

The Fidelity: Chessmaster 2100

The Fidelity: Chessmaster 2100

MS-DOS - Released - 1989

An update/modification to Chessmaster 2000, adding 640x200 graphics for nicer displays, many tutorial and "expert" options, and a plethora of other features too numerous to mention here.

The Four Crystals of Trazere

The Four Crystals of Trazere

MS-DOS - Released - 1992

The Four Crystals of Trazere is an epic fantasy adventure through the land of Trazere. Armies of mutants are marauding through the land and it's up to the heroes to scour the cities, dungeons, and wilderness looking for clues to the source of the evil. The party moves from location to location on a strategic map avoiding (or ambushing) enemy patrols and armies while trying to find the clues and items they need in isometric dungeons and cities. The game also features an intricate magic system that lets players design and customize spells.

The Games People Play: Gin ∙ Cribbage ∙ Checkers ∙ Backgammon

The Games People Play: Gin ∙ Cribbage ∙ Checkers ∙ Backgammon

MS-DOS - Released - 1990

The title pretty much says it all, a game package featuring two card games (Gin and Cribbage) and two board games (Checkers and Backgammon). Gin and Cribbage have personality based A.I. advisors and opponents. The checkers program is endorsed by the American Checker Federation and includes official play rules such as 2-move and 3-move openings. The backgammon game has four variations of play (Traditional, Acey-deucy, Dutch, and Plakoto).

The Original Adventure

The Original Adventure

MS-DOS - Released - 1982

This was a port of ADVENT. It was endorsed as the "official version" by Crowther and Woods, in return for a small royalty. Although many versions of Adventure were both sold and freely distributed, and although the game spawned an entire segment of the software industry, we were the only company ever to pay Crowther and Woods anything.

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