beebgames.com
Last Updated 12th May 2024
beebgames.com
Probably the original BBC Software company, this was a software arm of Acorn itself. In my mind, and many others, it is recognised as one of the best. It was particularly good at converting the arcade games of the time (Asteroids, Space Invaders, etc) and it also did a few text adventures which were also good. It is probably best known for the discovery of Elite, and Revs, Geoff Crammonds' first in a long line of succesful racing games.
Superior Software eventually came in and bought the whole of Acornsoft's back catalogue in 1986 and from then on some of the games were re-released on the Play It Again Sam, and Acornsoft Hits collections. After five years in the ring it was still the unbeaten champion, and you can imagine why, Acorn had all the knowledge about the beeb, everything which it was capable of, and how to do it in the best way possible, which is why most of their games are extremely well programmed.
Acornsoft also produced a lot of software on ROM, not to mention business and educational packages.
Released: 1984
Author: Peter Killworth
A huge adventure game, roughly 3 times larger than the original Advent/Colossal cave, this was originally programmed on the 'Phoenix' an IBM mainframe located at Cambridge University. Reckoned by many to be one of the most difficult and largest of its kind. The game is so big that there was no cassette version and it came on TWO discs! It was ported to the BBC by Peter Killworth and co.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
A set of four games, including Breakout, Space Invaders, Dodgems and Snake, they were all produced in Mode 7, and because of the small memory usage they worked on the BBC Model A as well. Because Mode 7 isn't exactly great for fast moving graphics, they are rather blocky and cumbersome, but if you had a Model A, then it was all you could play!
Released: 1982
Author: Nick Pelling (Orlando M Pilchard)
One of my favourite games, it is really just a Galaxians clone, but it is especially well done. It has two minor gripes, the ship is a bit out of proportion to the invaders, and they tend to get you into a corner all the time. Cool things include the neat explosion sequence.
Released: 1983
Author: Geoff Crammond
An advanced (for the time) Flight Simulator, I thought this was a bit boring, as most flight sims tend to be (for me anyway) but I suppose you could have some fun as there is an option to fly against space invaders. One of their big hits, this has lots of scenery, and the graphcis are more fluid than in their earlier Flight Simulator, it is quite fun for a while, at least if you like this sort of game.
Released: 1983
Author: Neil Raine
Good game in which you have to stop theives from stealing your gold by shooting them. The graphics are low-res mode 2, they look good and the game is definitely worth playing. Strangely enough, this game is very rare!
Released: 1984
Author: Clive DW Feather
This is a strategy game based on X-Ray diffaction of crystals, you have to deduct where in the grid the atoms are based on firing particles in to the grid. You guess the locations, and the computer marks you based on the number of guess you had and the number of atoms you guessed correctly. Its an interesting game, and executed well. There are some rules for it here.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
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Acornsoft's conversion of the arcade smash Q*Bert - its a good attempt, well up to the usual Acornsoft standards. Worth a bash but there's around about 20 other attempts at the same game on the beeb, this was probably the first though, unless Superior just beat them to it!
Released: 1984
Author: Wal Mansell
This is a boxing game with a difference, the difference being that it is really more like a platform game! You run around the level against your opponent played by the computer, and have to collect the balloons which are lodges on platforms around the level. The graphics are nice, and look a lot like Firebug, but the gameplay is much simpler and not as fun in my opinion.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
A sort of shoot the ducks fairground game. You have to shoot things out of the air with your gun, and collect extra bullets for it. Has a weird section where a bear runs across the screen. It also has a really good tune for annoying people. The graphics are very minamalistic, but they are qdequate for the game.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
This is a game made from all the locations and puzzles that could not fit into the BBC version of Philosophers Quest. It is set in a castle, hence the name and you have to solve the riddles to complete it. It is more detailed than most of the adventure games released by Acornsoft, and is pretty good fun as well. Acornsoft offered a prize for anyone who could complete the riddles in the game, the prize being a badge saying "I conquered the Castle of Riddles".
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
This one is a pretty good player. It is played in low resolution mode, but hey, it's chess and doesn't need those kind of fancy add-ons such as good graphics and sound. Of course it doesn't match up to later efforts by other companies, but was released right at the dawn of the Beeb.
Released: 1983
Author: Peter Killworth
You play the part of a spacemen who just crash landed on a planet called Doomerangwa (Doom for short) this is another of the Acornsoft Text Adventures, pretty good by my reckoning. It is only a two verb parser, but has considerable text detail and a good plot. Written by Peter Killworth.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
Very basic looking game in which you have to return a balloon to its owner, you are the balloon and you have to move around the maze. Its a good game which never actually got released by Acornsoft, it wasn't as polished in the graphics department as most of their output, which could be one of the reasons.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
Otherwise known as Crazy Painter by Superior Software. This was an earlier version, but basically the same thing. You have to paint around the edges of boxes, without being killed by the baddies, to entice you to live dangerously, the boxes with the most baddies nearby have bonus points to be gained, if you can outwit them. The graphics are great, and the sound is cool as well, a good version of a well tested game.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
A rubiks cube simulator, what more can I say? I really can't see the point of this. Get all the coloured squares together on each face, and then you win. Hardly fun considering that the whole point of the cube itself was that you had to have quick hand movements to complete the thing (if you could) quickly.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
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Draughts for the beeb, plays a mean game, the little machine certainly has very good AI on this one. The graphics are really appaling though, again it was a very early release. Also included the old game of reversi, I still don't know the rules to this day, so I can't really explain them. You have to jump over the opponents counters, and the one with the least at the end of the game loses. If someone knows the rules, can they please mail me!
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
A very strange game, my copy has no instructions, so I'm just going on what I've picked up from playing it for a few minutes. It seems to be a two player game, with the objective being to get from one side of the screen to the other by moving on strange shapes, somehow the connect to one another, and you have to make the connections, if you make a wrong jump, the turn passes to the other player. It has good graphics and sound (for the year it was made, 1983) but it is very strange! I have since been told, it was a conversion of a BBC Television series called 'The Adventure Game' in which contestants had to move across a floor, working out how they could - weird!
Released: 1984
Author: Ian Bell
The all time classic space-trading game. This was the original released version, and came on Tape, or Disk, the difference was that one had the two missions to play. This first version has a number of small bugs in it, but they weren't really noticeable. You should buy this if you can, and play it on the original machine. An electron version was realeased, but obviously it wasn't as good, the machine being as slow as it was. Even the Beeb has trouble keeping up with the wireframe 3d used to power it, it goes terribly slow when you get a lot of ships on screen. Nothing really attracts from the excellent game play though. Certainly better than the two sequels, Elite II and First Encounters on the PC!
Released: 1986
Author: Ian Bell
The original game, but with added features to make the most of the Masters 128k, it loaded all in one go, because of the extra RAM. Also the game was in Mode 1/2 instead of 4&5, so had coloured wireframes for the different types of craft. The sound effects (so I am told) were not as good as the original.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
A really original game, this one puts you in the character of a Fireman, putting out little fires on the different platforms, whilst dodging the baddies. Highly original gameplay and great for a quick burst everyday. One of my favourites, although I can't seem to find it anymore!
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
A simple flight simulator and nowhere near as complicated as Aviator. This looks as if it was a dry run for the aforementioned classic. The graphics are put quite frankly extremely poor, and they don't move all that well either. It has hardly any scenery at all, which is a shame. I think this may have been an earlier Aviator version - can anyone prove me right/wrong?
Released: 1983
Author: Ian Bell
A very good idea for a game, you are a spaceman outside in space, and have to use the rocket pack to move around, away from the aliens as well as trying to kill them by punching them. It uses a real physics model, and thus is very accurate. This makes the game much more fun, as well as more difficult. The graphics are black and white, but well drawn, and sound is minimal.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
Very weird game - can anyone explain this to me? It looks ok but I think it was one of the earliest games because it is far less polished than the classics they did later.
Released: 1984
Author: Derek Haslam
A text adventure game, the story goes that you were allowed into the Manor of Karoway, and in the Library you find a book with an old scrap of paper inside. The paper tells you that at Summer Solstice there is a mystical gateway into the Land of Karos. Of course, it just happens to be summer solstice at dusk, so you travel back to the Land Of Karos. To get back to your own land, you have to find the Talisman of Khronoz. I think this one is excellent, and has loads of great puzzles.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
A conversion of the old board game, this is very boring, and the graphics aren't up to much, the board game doesn't exactly look good anyway. It is not really deserving of a conversion to the Beeb, hardly a classic game anyway, but it was one of their earliest attempts.
Released: 1983
Author: D.J Hoskins
A classic shoot-em-up, this is really good fun. Instead of scrolling, this is a single screen game, with you being able only to move up and down the screen, you are in the left of the screen, and have to shoot the aliens which appear on the right, shooting madly at you, so you have to dodge the bullets very carefully so you don't get hit. The graphics are good, and if this game was put in an arcade style cabinet, you could bet that it would be one of the most popular ones in the arcade.
Released: 1983
Author: Lee Raine
A true classic, this one is a clone (brilliantly done I must say) of the original Frogger. It is really good fun guiding that old frog under the wheels of the cars! Seriously though, this is one you should play. The graphics are excellent, and the whole thing moves at just the right pace so that you always feel as if you are progressing.
Released: 1984
Author: Jonathan Griffiths
Another original idea from Acornsoft (back in '82 there was room for new ideas in gaming!) this one you have to drive a JCB Digger around, eating the monsters that inhabit the small islands which make up the levels. Strangely, on a real BBC, it makes the speaker hiss a lot, and the graphics do mess up occasionally, but nevertheless it is a great fun game.
Released: 1983
Author: Jonathan Partington
A hugely entertaining game in a medieval setting. There are some ingenious puzzles and about 4 mazes, one of which has to be played to be believed, the frustration factor on it is sky high. Its another (slightly trimmed) version of a game of the same name on the Phoenix Mainframe (see Acheton) written by J.R Partington and converted by Peter Killworth for the Beeb. The parser is only a simple two-word, but it packs a lot of locations and puzzles into the limited memory. Definitely worth playing and seriously addictive fun.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
Widely considered to be amongst their best games, this is a nicely designed shoot-em-up come adventure game, with high-resolution graphics and fluid animation. You basically have to find your way out of the labyrinth, solving puzzles to open doors whilst keeping the monsters at bay with the trusty laser. An ingenious game for the time, and well deserving of its cult status.
Released: 1985
Author: Unknown
A one-screen platform game, this has all the hallmarks of being a true classic. You have to go around the levels collecting the mushrooms, and avoiding the monsters. To obstruct you there are one-way ladders, convery belts, trampolines and more, and you really have to thing about the path you are taking. The graphics are low-res, but very crisp and clear, making them look much better. The game also has a screen designer built in, so that you can design your own levels!
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
The classic maze game, set in a first person perspective 3d view. You have to find the treasure in the maze, whilst watching out for the baddies also inside. One of the best things is that you can hear the footsteps of the baddies, whilst they are still far off, and the atmosphere is much improved with this. The graphics are well drawn, and the only problem is that the game does not move as quickly as it possibly could.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
Another classic from the arcade conversion masters. This time you have the task of rescuing three spacemen trapped on the moon during a meteor shower. You start in the mother ship, and have to launch from it, then you move out into space, dodging the meteors, and finding the way through them. To make it even harder, there are comets and alien ships which kill on contact. The graphics are good, and it is very addictive and entertaining.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
My favourite Acornsoft conversion. This one plays just like the original Asteroids, right down to the explosion of the ship, and the strangely shaped meteors! All you have to do is shoot the meteors, which explode into smaller parts, and then shoot them, until you clear the screen of asteroids. It is addictive, and has the elusive 'just one more go' feel. A true classic arcade game, excellently converted to an equally classic computer.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
A poor conversion of Missile Command. Superior Software did a much better version of the classic. Although in my mind you really need the trackerball (like the original arcade version) to get those really high scores. If you don't know, Missile command has you defending cities with missiles, against bombs or other missiles, (shown by lines) which the enemy launch from planes. You have to hit the tip of the line to blow it up, the enemy missiles converge on your cities and gun towers, if all cities are gone, you are dead.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
Smacks of Lode Runner in this ladder climbing, hole digging, monster chomping game. You are a little man who is running around a series of platforms infested by monsters. You have to dig a hole, wait for the monster to fall in, then cover him up. If you don't, then he comes back as an even meaner one! Highly enjoyable, although I am really crap at it! This was one of the first Acornsoft games, along with Snapper and Planetoid, so it was one of the first ever games!
Released: 1982
Author: Peter Killworth
The first of the Acornsoft text adventures, this was supposedly an unfair game as you could get killed just by moving in the wrong direction! As it was an early game, it had a lot of puzzles but not a great deal of plot, the main objective being to collect the 3 treasures and return them to the start point, it is entertaining though. This game was originally written by Peter Killworth on an IBM Mainframe machine called 'Phoenix' and he scaled it down and ported it to the Beeb. The parts Killworth didn't use from his original game were made into Castle Of Riddles.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
This is the same game as Defender, I think this is the re-named version because of copyright hassle with Atari. This certainly plays the same as Defender, but is much more widely known. It is of course another suberb conversion, how they managed to pull it off I'll never know, it has a reputation for being one of the more demanding old arcade games, which used a lot of custom stuff. There are cracks of this around, including 'Super Defender'.
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
Seems to be a renamed version of Snapper - I doubt this was every officially released. Notably it has the actual PacMan character and not the weird shaped man with the hat we all know and love as Snapper!
Released: 1984
Author: Peter Killworth
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Text adventure - this was another game originally to have come from the Phoenix machine at Cambridge University, again ported by Peter Kilworth. Its basically a good old puzzle fest, without too much plot, for its time it is very large and has lots of detailed quite descriptions for its age.
Released: 1985
Author: Geoff Crammond
The second biggest classic (after Elite) of Acornsoft. This is a really accurate simulation of Formula 3, and was written by Geoff Crammond, the writer of F1GP for the PC. This is really excellently done, considering how much detail there is. One of the best things about the game is that it is ultra-realistic, the way the car handles is suberb, just like (I imagine) the real thing. Skids, spins and crashes with other cars are all included.It has great graphics, a good feeling of speed, and is bloody difficult!
Released: 1985
Author: Geoff Crammond
4 extra tracks for the game above, which really make it a long lasting game, and it provides a bit of variation from the Silverstone track that comes with the original game. The new tracks in this version are Donington Park, Snetterton, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch.
Released: 1982
Author: Jonathan Griffiths
A pretty boring game this one. You are in a littl rocket, going from left to right across the screen, and have to blow up the communication bases and rockets that the enemy launch. It is really boring at first, but then does get more interesting. For some reason the collision detection is not up to Acornsoft's normal standard.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
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Should really be called Sliding-Block Puzzle because this is really only one puzzle (the mixed up squares which make part of a picture puzzle) but there are six different pictures which can be used to play it. Its quite hard, just like the real puzzles, although quite why there is the need for such a game on a computer is not really known. The graphics are quite good and it makes the right sliding sounds so its quite a competent little game really.
Released: 1982
Author: Jonathan Griffiths
This is one of the most loved games ever, it is another perfect coversion by Acornsoft, this time of the well-known Pac-Man, and includes all the features. The reasons there are so many versions is because originally Acornsoft used the Pac-Man character as it is in the original Arcade machine, but they were sued, and had to change it to the Snapper character (one with a hat, and he had legs.) It didn't detract from the perfectly done gameplay, eating the dots and grabbing power pills to chase the badies with!
Released: 1983
Author: Kevin Reid
A pretty good snooker game, but for some reason it goes doo-lally on my Beeb, although it worked perefectly on the Torch Machine I had before. It is a good game, for one player only, and the way the balls move are suprisingly realistic. All the action is viewed from overhead, and the graphics are good, not that snooker is very graphically detailed anyway!
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
In my view this is the worst text adventure that Acornsoft ever did. It is very monotonous, the playing field is too large, with too many mazes, and not enough objects and puzzles. Probably the main thing that makes it boring is the way that there is hardly any description in the text, few rooms with good descriptions would make it a much better game, it certainly packs in a large amount of code.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
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Quirky little multi-player text adventure, released under the educational section of the label.
Up to four people can compete (or as encouraged by the instructions - work together!) to solve the puzzle of Spooky Manor
I'm not sure I've seen a single computer multi player text adventure before!
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
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Released: 1982
Author: Peter Irvin
A great game this one. You are in a little ship (looking much like USS Enterprise in the later levels) and have to shoot up all the little aliens in their ships. To hinder you, some of the ships have high powered lasers, and can go invisible at any time! It is played from top down, in a high res, black and white mode. Supremely fast, and has a eject the pod sound!
Released: 1982
Author: Unknown
Space invaders to you and me, and probably one of the best versions on the beeb. It has high resolution graphics, in colour and the aliens are looking much better than when they made their first arcade appearance. It is a good, fluid game, and as usual you just have to keep playing, it suffers from the old lack of longterm playability syndrome a bit though.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
A highly original, and extremely addictive game, you are in control of a sort of star ship, and there are many pods on the screen, amongst these pods are a number of other ships, which keep bouncing the pods around. You have to destroy the star ships by shooting them, but you have to be accurate because if you shoot a pod it produces a monster which follows you and kills on contact, shooting it turns it back into a pod. It is fun, and well programmed, another one of their classics - but this time a wholly original idea.
Released: 1984
Author: Unknown
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A text adventure, though one more in the Gateway to Karos league than Philosohers Quest. You crash land on a planet in your spaceship and have to escape. Its got a better parser than Gateway and Sphinx, though laking the sophistication of the Peter Kilworth adventures for Acornsoft. Worth playing.
Released: 1983
Author: Unknown
One of my favourite Acornsoft Games, this just always keeps me coming back for more. You are the rescue helicopter pilot, and have to get the four stranded people off of the erupting volcano, before the lava runs down and kills them. You have to negotiate through the flying debris from the volcano to reach the people, then bring them back safely. If you don't, and a person dies, then he turns into a cost, and follows you, killing you on contact. It has good graphics, and is great fun to play, requiring skill and good judgement as you progress through harder levels.(C)2024 C. Boylan