Creative Computing Software Games - LaunchBox Games Database

23 Matches (Creative Computing Software)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1978

Published in BASIC Computer Games - Microcomputer Edition. In the game of 23 matches, you start with 23 matche3s lying on a table. On each turn you make take 1, 2 or 3 matches. you alternate moves with the computer and the one who has to take the last match loses. The easiest way to devise a winning strategy is to start a the end of the game. Since you wish to leave the last match to your opponent, you would like to have either 4, 3 or 2 on your last turn so you can take away 3, 2 or 1 and leave one. Consequently, you would like to leave your opponent with 5 on his next to last turn so no matter what his move you are lift with 4, 3, or 2. Work this backwards to the beginning and you find the game can be effectively be won on the first move. Fortunately, the computer gives you the first move, so if you play wisely, you can win. This version of 23 Matches was originally writeen by Bob Albrecht of People's Computer Company.

64 Nuclear Power Plant

Commodore 64 - Released - 1982

This text-based game is a conversion of a game written originally for the Commodore PET series. The program simulates the operation of a nuclear power reactor. The object of this game is to operate the plant at as high a power output as possible, without causing a reactor meltdown

Acey Ducey

Commodore 64 - Released - 1978

Published in the type-in book, "BASIC Computer Games - Microcomputer Edition". This is a simulation of the Acey Ducey card game. In the game, the computer dealer deals 2 cards face up. You have an option to bet or not bet depending on whether or not you feel the next card dealt with have a value between the first two. You start with $100 and can alter line 110 if you want to start with more.

Advanced Air Traffic Controller

Atari 800 - Released - 1981

Advanced Air Traffic Controller is an air traffic controller simulation developed by David Mannering and published by Creative Computing Software in 1981.

Adventureland

Tandy TRS-80 - Released - December 1, 1978

Adventureland is the first of Scott Adams' text adventures. Using simple two word commands you explore an enchanted world, solve puzzles and try to recover 13 lost treasures. The game's display is different from other adventure games like Zork: The Great Underground Empire in that the screen is divided into two "windows": the room description, exits, and items appear on the top part of the screen, and you enter commands on the bottom of the screen.

Adventureland

Exidy Sorcerer - Released - 1979

Air Traffic Controller

Apple II - Released - 1980

This simulation puts you in the role of an air traffic controller in charge of an 15x25 mile airspace (with 2 airports and 10 entry/exit fixes). The player has to process 26 aircraft entering/leaving the area within a 16-99 minutes time frame (adjustable setting, affects difficulty), with radar display updated real-time every 15s. Commands are given via simple keyboard input.

Air Traffic Controller

Tandy TRS-80 - Released - 1979

Air Traffic Controller

Exidy Sorcerer - Released - 1980

Atom 20

Apple II - Released - 1979

Atom 20 is a multiple choice adventure game. The time is the year 2000. An atomic war has taken place, wiping out a major portion of the population. You have been living within your bomb shelter for the last two months. Your food ration supply has nearly been exhausted. You must now go out into the new world and find any fellow human beings who have survived the war. The fate of mankind lies within your hands. Played as a multiple choice text adventure, the player must successfully navigate a number of multiple choice challenges to try to survive the post-apocalyptic wasteland. The player starts with 3 days of food, 7 days of water, and a rifle with 50 rounds. The player may fall victim to radiation poisoning, stroke, accidents, poisonous foods, or even crazed people.

Awari (Creative Computing)

Commodore 64 - 1978

Awari is a digital version of the game Kalah published in the book ""BASIC Computer Games - Microcomputer Edition".

Black Jack (Creative Computing Software)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1978

From the book "BASIC Computer Games - Microcomputer Edition". This is a simulation of the card game of Blackjack or 21, Las Vegas style. This rather comprehensive version allows for up to seven players. On each hand each player may get another card (a hit), stand, split a hand, in the event that two identical cards were received or double down. Also, the dealer will ask for an insurance bet if he has an exposed ace card. Cards are automatically reshuffled as the 51st card is reached. For greater realism, you may with to change this to the 41st card on Line 110 of the program.

Creative Computing Board Games 1

Tandy TRS-80 - Released - 1979

Creative Computing Board Games-1 is a compilation of several games for TRS-80: * Backgammon - A version of the classic game, programmed by Scott Adams * Qubic - a 4-D Tic Tac Toe implementation * Flip Disc - an Othello/Reversi implementation * Wumpus I and Wumpus II - two versions of Hunt the Wumpus * Mugwump - the classic type-in BASIC game

Creative Computing Strategy Games 3

Tandy TRS-80 - Released - 1979

Strategy Games - 3 (also referred to as just "Strategy Games") is a collection of 5 games for the TRS-80: *Evasion is a variant of the classic Snake game. *Jigsaw simulates a jigsaw puzzle. *The Masters simulates a game of golf for up to 4 players. *Motor Racing is a top-down racing game. *Tunnel Vision is a 3D maze game with a first person view.

Darts

Atari 800 - Released - 1981

Darts is a 1-4 player skill game for the 8-bit Atari. The player controls a hand, which they must position on a dart board to score points. There are 10 levels of difficulty, which determine the shakiness of the throwing arm. The player also sets the level of the computer opponent. The player counts down points from 1001, 905, 501, or 301. The first player to reach a score of 0 is the winner, and the scoring points must be a double. The player can choose to require a double at the start of the game.

Eliza C64

Commodore 64 - Released - 1979

An early life simulation game from the book "More BASIC Computer Games". Eliza is a program that accepts natural English as input and carries on a somewhat reasonably coherent conversation based on psychoanalytic techniques of Carl Rogers.

French Fur Trader

Commodore PET - Released - 1978

French Fur Trader is a text-based trading simulation that takes place in 1776 North America. The player must try to earn money trading furs at the three different forts in the surroundings. Money is used to buy supplies for the next year. The game continues until the player runs out of goods to trade.

Grand Prix (CCS)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1979

From the book "More BASIC Computer Games" / a.k.a. "Grnprx". In this game you are attempting to complete one lap around a grand prix circuit against one of six opponents, everything from a US Postal delivery truck to a 1974 Ferrari. The track consists of four straightaways and four curves with different maximum speeds possible for each one. Depending on which car you select for your own you can take these curves and straights at different speeds. Also, the car you select will have different braking characteristics which may allow you to had into the curve at higher speeds and then apply the brakes at the last minute. It may sound like it's easy to win by simply selecting a Porsche or Ferrari for your car and racing against a US Mail truck or a well-used Ford Mustang, but beware, it isn't really that easy.

Hail to the Chief

Atari 800 - Released - 1980

Hail to the Chief i a 1-player election strategy game for multiple systems. You are running as the presidential candidate for one of the two major American political parties. The campaign runs from September 01 to election night. The player must express their views on a variety of political issues on a scale of -99 to 99, where 99 is the most liberal opinion and -99 is the most conservative opinion. Every Monday, the player receives polls based upon their performance in 4 key geographic areas. Weekly, the player can take out TV advertisements, take out regional ads, or go on a campaign tour. On election night, the returns come in, and if the player wins 270 votes in the electoral college, they are the winner. There are 4 complexity settings, which influence whether incumbency plays a role in the election, and when the player must state their positions. There are 10 difficulty levels, which influence campaign finances, and the difficulty of the opponent. Higher levels also allow fund raising and issuing of position papers.

Hamurabi

Commodore PET - Released - 1978

The great grand-daddy of all god games, Hamurabi puts the player in the shoes (well, sandals) of Hammurabi the Wise, ruler of ancient Sumeria. Though this king is best known historically for his codification of laws and edicts, composed and engraved in cuneiform tablets ~1780 BC, the game veers away from lawmaking and the pursuit of justice in favour of guiding your population of subjects to stable, contented growth. The game puts it, somewhat blandly, in other words: YOUR TASK IS TO DEVELOP A STABLE ECONOMY BY THE WISE MANAGEMENT OF YOUR RESOURCES. YOU WILL BE BESET FROM TIME TO TIME BY NATURAL EVENTS. Results of your actions are narrated to you in plain text; player input primarily consists of punching in numbers and selecting the occasional YES and NO (the end of every turn typically asking you DO YOU WISH TO ABDICATE?) into your keyboard, touchscreen -- or TeleType terminal. Gameplay and interaction are restrictive, but the minimalist number-crunching is foundational for all the managerial leadership games that followed: You can buy and sell acres of land, purchasing extra bushels of grain to sow in your fields or feed your populace if so needed. Between turns (only 10 on the iPhone version), citizens starve and are laid low by plagues, peasants immigrate to replace them, and vermin deplete your stores of grain reserves. One year is much the same as the next, though the particular numerical values shift according to elegant algorithms the deeper understanding of which will lead you to a fruitful and harmonious reign, concluding with enthusiastic congratulations from the computer: A FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE!!! CHARLEMAGNE, DISRAELI, AND JEFFERSON COMBINED COULD NOT HAVE DONE BETTER!

Hamurabi

Tandy TRS-80 - Released - 1977

Haunted House (Creative Computing Software)

Apple II - Released - May 20, 1979

Haunted House is an early text adventure that is described in the manual as a nightmare simulation program. The objective of the game is simply to escape the house and it has to be done before midnight. The game starts at 6 PM with each move taking one minute of in-game time. The number of commands available are limited to four for movement (r, l, f, b), two for using stairways (u, d) and one for searching a room (s). Searching can only be done when in a room (not in hallways) and can be used to find hidden passage ways or other things such as keys and boxes. Some actions cause the player's luck factor to increase will others cause it to decrease. Some rooms are haunted by ghosts that might help or hinder the player. The layout of the house is randomly generated at the start but will always be made up of four floors with seven room in each.

Hunt the Wumpus

Commodore 64 - Released - 1975

In this faithful recreation of the original Mainframe game, the player hunts Wumpi. The game is presented in text only. The player walks through a cave system and must hunt Wumpi by shooting them with arrows. Each turn the player can move to any adjacent room, fire an arrow in any adjacent room, look up the remaining number of arrows, exit a cave (when near an exit) or show instructions. If the player walks into the same room as a Wumpus it's game over. There are also other traps: superbats that will send the player to a different cave and bottomless pits that kill. From time to time earthquakes can occur which can block or open certain passages between rooms. At any time the player can sense the hazards which are in adjacent rooms, but not in which adjacent room they are. Published in Creative Computing Vol.1-5 (September/October 1975).

Keno (Creative Computing Software)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1979

From the book "More BASIC Computer Games". Keno is strictly an American invention that originated in the casinos in Nevada, perhaps in Reno. During the game, twenty numbers from one to eighty are selected at random. Prior to each game at the casino, the player may choose from one to fifteen numbers, or "spots" he thinks will be selected during the game. The player enters, or "marks," the desired spots and places a bet. At the end of each game, the spots marked by the player are compared with the twenty numbers and the payoff is computed accordingly. Keno seems to have a high attraction in Las Vegas because the betting is very simple and the maximum payoff is very high ($25,000). Nevertheless, the probability of winning is extremely low; indeed, Keno returns more to the house than virtually any other game. In this particular computerized version of Keno. there is only one player and he has the option only of betting eight different spots. In Nevada the normal bet is in multiples of 60 cents; however, in this game the bet will be $1.20 with no multiples possible. The payoff with eight spots marked is as follows: Spots Payoff 5 $10.00 6 $100.00 7 $2,200.00 8 $25,000.00 There is no payoff for zero, one, two, three, or four correct.

Life (Creative Computing)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1978

Published in the type-in book, "BASIC Computer Games - Microcomputer Edition". The game of Life was originally described in Scientific American magazine, October, 1970. The computerized version of LIFE can be found on many computer systems--in many cases with Teletype print routines. This version allows initial patterns to be composed directly on-screen and instant visualization of each generation as it is created. In addition,patterns may be stored and recalled from seven memory pattern registers. The generation speed may be controlled from the console. A.Genetic Rules Cells (organisms, ducks, people, plants, etc.) reproduce, exist or die according to certain genetic laws. Conway derived the genetic law of the game of LIFE from the following criteria:1. There should be no initial patterns for which there is a simple proof that the population can grow without limit.2. There should be initial patterns that apparently do grow without limit.3. There should be simple initial patterns that grow and change for a considerable period of time before coming to an end in one of three possible ways: a. fading away completely (no life) b. becoming stable (no change in pattern or population) c. a pattern oscillates in an endless cycle of two or more periods. Think of each cell as being a square of a checkerboard. A celI may be either empty (shownas a space [no *] on the screen and in the following examples) or living (shown as an * bothon the screen and in the examples). In the following examples, a '+' indicates an empty cell which is becoming a living cell.

Micro Golf

Apple II - Released - 1981

Micro Golf is a 1 - 4 player miniature golf game for the Apple II. Players attempt to hit a golf ball into a hole during a game of miniputt. The player must control the direction and power of their putt, and can play through 3 different courses. The player can also modify or create their own courses. The player must control the direction and power of their putt.

Mission Impossible

Tandy TRS-80 - Released - 1981

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ADVENTURE -Good morning, your mission is to... and so it starts. Will you be able to complete your mission on time? Or is the world's first automated nuclear reactor doomed? This one's well named. It's hard, there is no magic, but plenty of suspense. Good luck...

Orbit (Creative Computing)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1978

Published in "BASIC Computer Games - Microcomputer Edition". Orbit challenges you to visualize spatial positions in polar coordinates. The object is to detonate a Photon explosive within a certain distance of a germ laden Romulan spaceship. This ship is orbiting a planet at a constant altitude and orbital rate (degrees/hour). The location of the ship is hidden by a cloaking device, but after each bomb you can determine how close to the enemy ship it exploded. The challenge is to hit an invisible moving target with a limited number of shots.

Original Adventure

Atari 800 - Released - 1980

Not to be confused with the Atari 2600 classic, this is a standard old school computer text adventure published by Creative Computing Software in 1980.

PET Nuclear Power Plant

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

Nuclear Power Plant is a simulation game in which the player is in control of a nuclear power plant. The goal is to make energy without letting things run out of control. Each day in the game the player can set the position of the control rods and determine the flow of various cooling systems. The next day the player gets to see the fruit of his or her labors and try to improve on (or fix) the actions of the previous day. There are many variables the player must bear in mind such as turbine capacity, coolant levels, maintenance, extreme temperatures and possible meltdown.

Pool, Snooker and Billiards

Atari 800 - Released - 1981

Secret Mission (1979)

MS-DOS - Released - 1979

This is adventure #3 in Scott Adam's text adventure series. It takes place in a nuclear power plant. You must race against time to fulfill your mission or the reactor may be doomed. You use one or two word commands to move around and manipulate objects.

Super Invasion

Apple II

The name appears under several names its packaging. Super Invasion is seen on the casseete package whereas Super Invader is printed on the actual cassette. Finally, however, Apple Invader is seen on the game screen. Regardless of the game's name, it is a fairly accurate conversion of the classic arcade game Space Invader.