Acolyte

Amstrad CPC - Homebrew - 1989

This game puts you in the shoes of an unfortunate little fellow by the name of "Glut". He has been robbed of his human form by the evil wizard "Borderon" and locked inside a castle. You must try to escape by collecting valuable gems which are scattered throughout the many rooms of the castle. Collecting gems will magically fill a glass phial. When the phial is full it will be exchanged for a golden key. The key fits a chest which is hidden somewhere within the castle and when unlocked, pieces of a magical locking mechanism are revealed The locking mechanism must be taken to the main entrance and fitted to the huge oak door than can be found there. Once this is achieved, you are presented with a blown up display of the locking mechanism. It is promptly scrambled before your eyes and you must then shuffle it to restore the lock in order that the door will open Good luck...

Australian Rules Football

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1989

This game is based on the sport Australian rules football, or Aussie rules. It has two teams playing against each other in four, three minutes quarters and the aim is to score the most points at the end of the game to win. A goal, also known as a sausage roll, is scored if the ball goes through the middle posts and is worth six points while a behind is scored if the ball goes between the side posts, this is worth one point. You can earn possession by tackling the opposition to win the ball. There is also a chance that while in possession you can drop the ball which may cause you to lose possession. Throughout the game, a commentator runs down the action and gives updates on the scores as they happen. The game comes with two leagues. The Outback Amateur League has you in control of the Koalas and you must win matches to move up the OAL ladder. You take on teams such as the Rangers, the Butchers and the Wallabies and you must reach the top of the ladder to become champions. The Victorian Football League is the professional league and provides a much tougher test. Here you are the Hawks and teams like the Bombers, the Kangaroos and the Blues are your opposition and the aim is the same as the previous league, win matches to move up the VFL ladder and eventually reach to top to win the championship.

Grid Iron 2

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1989

This (American) football management game uses a menu-driven system. There are 16 teams to choose from; the Dolphins, Packers and 49ers are all in there. Players are rated out of 10 on skill, energy and form. Player trading is handled in a soccer-style transfer market, rather than with a US 'draft' format - mid-season trades for money are common. Matches have no direct tactical input, and are viewed from remote highlight shots, which do not have the distinct pitch markings of the original (an old Softstone game released under three different names).

Penalty Soccer

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1990

Penalty Soccer is a football game with easy rules: save 10 penalties before the striker scores 10. For every victory you qualify to the next level. For each level the game goes faster and your goalkeeper moves slower. Totally there is ten levels. Before the game starts you can choose who to take the penalty and this represents the difficulty level. In total there are eight levels with Keegan being the easiest and Maradona the most difficult.