Vol. 3 No. 5 October 1983 FEATURES ELECTRONIC ARTS 10 Trip Hawkin's Dream Come True Dave Long ADVENTURE GAME CONTEST 12 A Crossword puzzler COMBAT LEADER 14 Review Floyd Mathews ARCHON 16 Review David Willis LODE RUNNER 20 Review John Besnard TAC 22 Review Dick Richards PARIS IN DANGER 28 Strategies and Rule Modifications Floyd Mathews BOARDGAMER MEETS COMPUTER 32 Jay Selover COSMIC BALANCE II 34 Review James A. McPherson DELTA SQUADRON 37 James A. McPherson Departments Inside the Industry 3 Hobby and Industry News 4 Taking a Peek 5 Scorpion's Tale (Zork III) 24 Name of the Game 25 Tele-Gaming 36 Dispatches 38 The Learning Game 40 Silicon Cerebrum / 42 Atari Arena 43 Commodore Key 44 Reader Input Device 51 Game Ratings 52 Game Playing Aids from Computer Gaming World COSMIC BALANCE SHIPYARD DISK Contains over 20 ships that competed in the CGW COSMIC BALANCE SHIP DESIGN CONTEST. Included are Avenger, the tournament winner; Blaze, Mongoose, and MKVP6, the judge's ships. These ships are ideal for the gamer who cannot find enough competition or wants to study the ship designs of other gamers around the country. SSI's The Cosmic Balance is required to use the shipyard disk. PLEASE SPECIFY APPLE OR ATARI VERSION WHEN ORDERING. $15.00 ROBOTWAR TOURNAMENT DISK CGW's Robotwar Diskette contains the source code for the entrants to the Second Annual CGW Robotwar Tournament (with the exception of NordenB) including the winner, DRAGON. Also included is the winner of the First Annual Tournament, NORDEN+. Twelve robots in all. Muse Software's ROBOTWAR`" required to use tournament disk. $12.00. CGW BASEBALL DISK Contains the four teams of the All Star League reported on in 3.3 (AL West All Stars, Al East, NL West, and NL East); the six teams of the 1982 Winter League (see 3.3), the eight teams of the Greatest Baseball Team of All Time Tournament, and a reprint of the results of The GBTOAT tournament from issue 2.3. SSI's Computer Baseball Apple version required to use data disk. Apple version only. $12.00. Send check or money order to: Computer Gaming World, Disk Order Dept., P.O. Box 4566, Anaheim, CA 92803-4566. California residents please add 6% sales tax. Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery. INSIDE THE INDUSTRY by Dana Lombardy Last issue, we surveyed the readers playing these other types of 2. Role-Playing Games (such as of CGW on how you buy software games, as well as computer Dungeons & Dragons, Traveller and on what types of software you games. etc.) spend your money. The results of Which statement most closely 3. Wargames (such as Squad Leader, that survey will be reported in this reflects your experience as a com- Ogre, Ace of Aces, etc.) column next issue. puter gamer? Here's your chance to 4. Miniatures Wargames (using This time, we'd like to find out tell us the types of games, other than micro-tanks, 15mm, 25mm, or what other types of games you've computer, that you have played or other scale model soldiers) played — or are now playing — are currently playing. Please answer Abstract Strategy Games (such as besides the home-computer type. the questions below, using the 5. chess, go, backgammon, Pente Most of you are probably familiar Reader Input Device at the back of with role-playing games and this issue. Trivial Pursuit, etc.) wargames; not the ones you see on 6. Coin-operated Arcade Games your monitor, the ones that are Part I (Question 1) (such as Pac Man, Frogger, etc.) played on boards or with miniatures. Many of the manufacturers of such Mark the one statement below (A, Part III (Questions 7 games are very sensitive to what they B, C, or D) that best describes your through 11) believe are "lost" gamers — you who gaming background. If you checked either statement "C" now play computer games. There A. I didn't play any other games or "D" in Part I above, check one or are, of course, some opposing views regularly (at least 3 to 4 times a more of the types of games below that on this subject. The opinions most month) before I got into computer you played regularly before you got often expressed are: games, and I still don't play into computer games. anything except computer games. 7. Role-Playing Games 1. A large number of people who B. I didn't play any other types of 8. Wargames had played role-games and games regularly before I got into wargames got into computer computer games, but now I play 9. Miniatures Wargames games and then stopped buying other types of games fairly 10. Abstract Strategy Games regularly (as well as computer and playing non-computer 11. Coin-operated Arcade Games games. games). Thanks for taking the time to tell C. I played other types of games 2. The above statement is only par- us about your gaming interests. The regularly, and still play these tially true. Some computer results of this mini-survey will be other games regularly, as well as gamers still play other types of published in a future column. games, as well as computer play computer games. games. D. I used to play other types of 3. Statement number 1 above is on- games regularly, but now I play ly temporarily true. Computer only computer games regularly. gamers stopped playing other types of games for a while but Part II (Questions 2 now play these other games in the back of through 6) Use R.I.D. again, as well as computer this issue to respond to games. If you checked either statement "B" questions on this page. 4. A number of computer garners or "C" in Part I above, check one or never played other types of more of the types of games below that games a lot before they got into you now play regularly (other than computer gaming. Computer computer games). If you checked games, in fact, have gotten them either statement "C" or "D" above, interested in and involved in please go to Part III below. HOBBY & INDUSTRY NEWS Michael Berlyn, Project Manager at Infocom, TI 99144 and certain other home computers. The school and home use. MSA acquired all of the reports that all seven Infocom products are now game will be available September 15 and sell outstanding stock of Edu-Ware in exchange for a compatible with 13 different microcomputers. for $39.95. combination of MSA stock and cash of approximate- Following is an up-to-date list of available formats: ly $1,500,000 and some deferred payments based on APPLE II; ATARI; COMMODORE 64; CP/M; DEC The AIRPORT Air Traffic Controller game is now future revenues and profits of Edu-Ware. RT-11; DEC RAINBOW; IBM PC; NEC PC-8000; available from the Software Toolworks in a version NEC APC; TRS-80 MOD I; TRS-80 MOD III; TI configurable for most CP/M computer systems. AIR- TG SOFTWARE has been announced as a new PROFESSIONAL; and the OSBORNE 1. PORT can be configured for most 80 column, 24 line division of TG Products to develop and market displays with cursor addressing, and uses character programs for Atari-compatible computers. The Infocom, Inc., has also announced the fall release graphics if available. It comes in 8" CP/M format, parent company, TG Products, has been manufac- of INFIDEL, the first game in the new Infocom Tales and 5 " formats for DEC, Kaypro, Osborne (80 line turing joysticks, trackballs and game paddles for of Adventure Series. Set in the vast Egyptian desert or Executive), Xerox, and Heath/Zenith computers. personal computers for three years. TG Software somewhere near the banks of the Nile River, Suggested price is $19.95 and may also be gotten released four games at the Summer Consumer INFIDEL challenges you to find the buried entrance from The Software Toolworks, 15233 Ventura Blvd., Electronics Show on cartridge for the Atari 400/8001 to the last great pyramid and, once inside, seize Suite 1118, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91403. 1200XL computers. the games include DROIDS, priceless treasures that have remained hidden for NIGHTSTRIKE, OZZY'S ORCHARD and ABRA- thousands of years. Activision, Inc. has announced the release of two CADABRA and will sell for $44.95. It is the second prose adventure written for of its best selling games for the ATARI line of home Infocom by Michael Berlyn, author of Suspended. computers. RIVER RAID and KABOOM!, both of Insoft has LOWERED PRICES on its Apple Berlyn says the Tales of Adventure genre offers which have sold more than one million units in their Arcade game series. The suggested retail price of players a modern-day journey into the chronicles of original designs for the Atari 2600, will be available Grapple, Spider Raid and ZARGS— all written in history. "A tremendous amount of research went at retail in October and will carry a retail price GraFORTH—is now only $19.95. into this product," Berlyn says, adding, "We have of $34.95. incorporated detail that presents players with an in- Thom Keith, Director of International Network credibly realistic environment." Berlyn was assisted Commodore International Limited announced Affairs, THE GAMES NETWORK, INC., that agree- on the, project by Patricia Fogleman, a graduate record revenues, net income and earnings per share ment has been reached in principle with W. H. student at Harvard University who was especially for the fourth quarter and year ended June 30, 1983. SMITH & SON, LTD., a London-based publisher/ involved with the research on pyramids.