1869

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1993

1869 is a strategy and economics trading game developed by the Austrian company Max Design GesMBH and published by Flare Software for Amiga OCS/ECS/AGA series of computers in 1993. You cannot beat the feeling of power money brings, and there is plenty of money to be made in the A1200 version of 1869. It is the late 19th Century and the world is wracked with civil wars and international conflicts. In many ways, there has never been a more exciting time to launch a business venture. You play the owner of a fledgling shipping company and you have to use your skills as a tactician and businessman to exploit the various trading situations around the world. If you succeed then your business expands, but if you fail, you could end up losing more than just your livelihood. The A1200 version of this game does not actually seem to be that much different from the original version – you get the same brief animation sequences and humorous interludes. You even listen to the same irritatingly nautical chip music. However, 1869 can be best appreciated in multi-player mode with you and up to three other pals battling it out for the ultimate control of the high seas. If you're heavily into 19th century nautical history, or play on an Amiga with other enlightened beings, and the idea of pretending to be a hard-nosed, back-stabbing, scrupulous capitalist appeals to you, then go buy this game. Just be prepared to play like a real Thatcherite.

1869

MS-DOS - Released - 1992

Trade goods between ports all over the world in this economic simulation game. As a 19th century merchant newcomer, the player need to buy a ship, find a crew, load a few goods on the ship, and sail into the horizon, until the player reaches a port with a demand for said goods. Eventually will have the money to buy more ships, create regular trade routes, and become the head of a regular trading company. 1869 focuses on management and economy, rather than action. Actual sailing is done by plotting a route and then watching the days go by, interrupted only by the occasional random event. Basically you'll be planning routes, watching out for special assignments (that pay well if completed on time) and generally trying to steer clear of the shores of bankruptcy.

Burntime

MS-DOS - Released - 1993

Deserts cover the globe, cities are destroyed, the end of every civilization is near. The few survivors search for drinking water and food. They eat all they can find. Like a Role-Playing-Game, you travel through the world and meet many computer-played characters. You want to rule the world. But there are other 3 characters with the same aim. You spend the most game time looking at the map, which takes up several screens. The position of the 4 characters, their occupied conquests, the cities, and the health condition of your character are shown on the map. The different settlements you can occupy are old factories, camping-grounds or ruins of old mega-cities. The five great cities are opened for all competitors and can’t be occupied. In these cities you cannot fight against your enemies. Sometimes you meet a human for changing news, items or take them in your party. There are different classes of computer-characters: fighters, engineers or doctors for example. Every character of your party can carry up to 6 items (food, weapons). These items are produced by the settlements you control.

Burntime

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1993

Deserts cover the globe, cities are destroyed, the end of every civilization is near. The few survivors search for drinking water and food. They eat all they can find. Like a Role-Playing-Game, you travel through the world and meet many computer-played characters. You want to rule the world. But there are other 3 characters with the same aim. You spend the most game time looking at the map, which takes up several screens. The position of the 4 characters, their occupied conquests, the cities, and the health condition of your character are shown on the map. The different settlements you can occupy are old factories, camping-grounds or ruins of old mega-cities. The five great cities are opened for all competitors and can’t be occupied. In these cities you cannot fight against your enemies. Sometimes you meet a human for changing news, items or take them in your party. There are different classes of computer-characters: fighters, engineers or doctors for example. Every character of your party can carry up to 6 items (food, weapons). These items are produced by the settlements you control.

Cash

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1991

Cash is a managerial simulation of a shipping agency. Six players (either human or AI) compete to gather the biggest personal fortune within a certain time frame. The monthly salary is directly based on the company's performance and stock market deals are also conducted with personal money. The gameplay itself is a basic trading game in which the players buy and sell three kind of goods (copper, bauxite and nickel) between 25 cities. Other options are buying new ships, getting a loan from the bank or storing the goods inside a warehouse. The prices are adjusted after each turn (three days).

Motor City

MS-DOS - Released - 1994

In Motor City you are the President of an upstart car company. You have the control just about everything, from designing cars and opening branches throughout Europe to hiring workers and engineers. You have to build larger and larger factories. The game starts at the beginning of the 20th century and takes you slowly forward to the modern ages and the technical revolutions.

Strike Base

MS-DOS - Released - 1996

In Strike Base the earth is once again threatened by alien forces. The player controls Admiral Leighton who has to coordinate and lead the defense battles on four moons with different geographical features (lava, mountains, forest and underground). Every mission begins with the tactical map where the actual combat situation is shown. Then the player has to equip the vehicles with the appropriate weapons, defenses and other tactical items like satellites or teleports. In every mission the player has a predefined set of the four vehicle types at his disposal (two tanks, a bomber and a battle glider). After these tactical preparations begins the action part of Strike Base: The player controls the vehicles in 1st or 3rd person view and shoots at the alien troops, e.g. rocket launchers, tanks or mines. Of course the player can only use one unit at a time, so he can set waypoints for the others. The vehicles are almost completely mouse controlled, the keyboard used solely to control the speed. Destroyed enemies leave refreshments for the player's equipment, it can also be stocked up at the base. The 15 missions have varied goals, e.g. destroying all enemies, finding escape capsules or destroying specific hostile units. A mission is lost when all units are destroyed or the enemy conquers the player's base. There are four difficulty settings which affect the number and strength of the enemies but only on the two higher settings can all missions be played.

Th!nk Cross

Commodore 64 - Released - 1991

Th!nk Cross is a Puzznic variant. In each of the 150 levels, there are a number of blocks with varying symbols or numbers on them. The player can move each block left or right and when two or more identical blocks are brought together, they vanish. The goal is to eliminate all stones within a time limit. The levels are shown from the side with applied physics, i.e. blocks fall down if pushed from a ledge. There are also various special level elements, e.g. conveyor belts, elevators or weak structure elements which can only bear one block. Passwords are rewarded all five levels and a "help" function can be used twice per level. It brings the level back to point zero without a game over, which is useful when the player navigated into an unwinnable situation. After earning a certain amount of points, the player receives a bomb which can be used to kill off a block of choice.

Th!nk Cross

MS-DOS - Released - 1992

Th!nk Cross is a Puzznic variant. In each of the 150 levels, there are a number of blocks with varying symbols or numbers on them. The player can move each block left or right and when two or more identical blocks are brought together, they vanish. The goal is to eliminate all stones within a time limit. The levels are shown from the side with applied physics, i.e. blocks fall down if pushed from a ledge. There are also various special level elements, e.g. conveyor belts, elevators or weak structure elements which can only bear one block. Passwords are rewarded all five levels and a "help" function can be used twice per level. It brings the level back to point zero without a game over, which is useful when the player navigated into an unwinnable situation. After earning a certain amount of points, the player receives a bomb which can be used to kill off a block of choice.

Th!nk Cross

Commodore Amiga - 1991

Th!nk Cross is a Puzznic variant. In each of the 150 levels, there are a number of blocks with varying symbols or numbers on them. The player can move each block left or right and when two or more identical blocks are brought together, they vanish. The goal is to eliminate all stones within a time limit.