Author: professor6153

The Tarturian was written by Butch Greathouse and Garry Rheinhardt and published by Highlands Computer Services. It is a direct sequel to Oldorf’s Revenge but much bigger in scope and much harder. Created in 1980 for the Apple II it represented one of the more original games during that period.

The game’s ideas and originality makes it a little more difficult to categorize it. It sports early hi-res vector graphics and quite a bit of text as well. The interesting part of the game is that you represent various characters that make up your party. You switch between characters such as the Cleric, the Thief, the Gladiator, the Strongman, the Magician, the Wizard, and the Elf. Each of them has a specific skill set that you will need to solve various puzzles and obstacles in your explorations.

The cleric can read, write, speak, listen, translate, and decipher. The thief can pick locks, rest, open things, and unlock while the gladiator can kill, fight, search, and attack. The strongman can lift, push, move, break and smash while the magician has magic at his or her disposal as well as the gaze ability when crystal balls are about. The wizard can cast while the elf can use items, eat, feed, and jump. All of these actions come into play; some much more than others There are limitations as to how many times you can freely move from character to character. There are nine of each character type present in the party. Using the gladiator as an example; once you’ve accessed the gladiator nine different times then there are no gladiators left in your party.

To make things even more interesting; each time you switch character classes your strength score decreases by 2. Once your strength score reaches 0 you perish.

The documentation which comes with the game is brief however it does contain a nice background story. The goal of the party is to ultimately find and defeat the terrible Tarturian who is the “big bad” of the game. There are multiple goals which have to be achieved before you’re ready to face the Tarturian. You must first find 10 different treasures scattered throughout the different dungeons. Some of these treasures have extra powers or abilities that the elf in your party will need to use in order to advance further in the game. Each treasure found boosts the wizard’s power by 10. The wizard in your party will need a power score of 100 to get beyond the Tarturian’s force field late in the game. The 10 different treasures that you need to find are shown below:

Having the 10 treasures in your possession and having the wizard’s power score = 100 are still not enough to defeat the Tarturian. You must also outfit each of the party members in your group with enough weapons to face the Tarturian in battle and recover the flame of WAU. The cleric needs spears, the thief daggers, the gladiator swords, the strongman a mace, the magician both magic and potions, and lastly the elf needs poison darts. Once you have outfitted your company with the proper weapons and have found all ten treasures then you’re ready to find and face the Tarturian.

This was a hard game. It required several hours to complete and was much more difficult than it’s predecessor. The map was extremely challenging and aggravating in more ways than one – more on this later. A few of the puzzles were very challenging and required thought, experimentation, and time. There are over 160 different locations in the game and it took me some time to find them all. It required a lot of patience and perseverance and in the end I still had to “phone a friend”.

The next few paragraphs contain SPOILERS as I am going to walk you through how to find each of the 10 treasures you need to defeat the Tarturian. If you plan on playing this game and experiencing it on your own then I suggest that you skip through these next few sections.

*** BEGINNING OF SPOILERS ***

The game itself is divided into four sections to explore. You reach each of these areas by finding special junctions within the dungeon. You will have to move back and forth between these sections several times. The four sections are: the worlock’s realm, the maze, the minotaur’s land, and the deeper caves.

One of the treasures is found within the catacombs located in the worlock’s realm. The door to the catacombs is sealed shut and the only way to open this particular door is to choose the role of wizard and have him CAST. The door will then open and you can proceed into the catacombs.

The goal in the catacombs is to free the trapped spirit located within one of the tombs. You do so by saying a magic word that you discover in another area of the dungeon. The magic word is WUCI. Any character can use the magic word and once you do the spirit is free and awards your efforts with the Pendant of Bodil.

Treasure #2 is also found within the Worlock’s Realm in the Pentagon Room. There is a heavy stone slab in the middle of the room and if you have your Wizard CAST once again the heavy slab will disappear revealing a chute which leads below. If you travel down the chute it will take you to a narrow ledge where you will find the Ancient Gold. Now ONLY in this area, if you switch to your Elf character, and USE gold your strength will increase dramatically to 290. This is a nice boon because you use up strength with every action you take and you lose 2 strength points each time you switch between characters. While this is a nice boon it is not absolutely necessary to win the game. When you find that your strength reserves are running low, you can switch to your thief character and choose to REST. When you do so in key locations on your map then this skill is highly effective in restoring your strength. This ability does not work in every map location so you’ll have to experiment with it. The only way to escape from this area and return to the map is to jump from the ledge which only the elf can do.

The other interesting area in worlock’s realm is the lair of the Tuliesweep. Each time you enter the area the Tuliesweep runs away unless you are in the role of the elf character when you enter the location. The Tuliesweep loves elves and give your party 25 gold pieces. Gold is a valuable commodity in this game as you will need to buy your characters back from the Slave Traders. There are two areas in the game where you are automatically assaulted by slavers and they steal several of your party members. There are two different Slave Market locations in the game where you can use gold to buy back characters which you need. This becomes an important issue late in the game. When you find you are running low on a particular character class you can travel to a Slave Market and hopefully buy more of the particular class that you need. In this way, while much harder, this game is less forgiving in that area than Oldorf’s Revenge. I had to start Oldorf’s Revenge over twice to properly move through character classes without soft locking myself out of the game. In The Tarturian, the difficulty is in it’s different puzzles and trying to find hidden areas on the map.

Treasure #3 can be found in the Maze section. It is the only item or treasure to find in this section. You map out the maze by using the Cleric’s write ability in each area. The cleric will draw with chalk so that you can successfully navigate through the maze. You will eventually come to an area where only three of the walls are described as strong. If you then switch to the role of the Strongman and choose to SMASH then a hole will appear in the wall and you will find Kileng the Traveler’s Powerful Ring.

When you leave the maze you will find yourself in a series of locations involving a canyon. On one of the canyon walls there is an On/Off switch. It is possible to “soft lock” the game here so that you are unable to complete it. Did I do that? Of course I did! If you flick the switch to ON you let the minotaur out of his cage in the Minotaur’s Land. If you do not have the magic item in your possession that you need to defeat the minotaur then it will not let you pass into further areas of that section; thereby making it impossible for you to complete the game. So DO NOT flick the switch to the ON position until you have Rexxon’s Arc in your possession.

If you go north from the area you exited the maze you will come to an iron box. If you switch to the Elf role and USE pendant the box will magically open to reveal the Wand of Palx which is Treasure #4.

Treasure #5 is found in the Minotaur’s Land and it is one of the harder treasures to find. I found it quite by accident merely because I was “stuck” in the game and couldn’t find new areas of the map to explore. So I started to meticulously use different character’s abilities in each area of the map to see if it would open up a new area. There is a fissure in the land of the minotaur that you can JUMP using the elf role so that you land on the opposite side. You can go NORTH from this spot and explore other areas however if you switch to the role of the Magician and use MAGIC here then it whisks you to another far ledge that you normally can’t reach. This new area leads you to a grave site. If you take on the role of Strongman you can then LIFT Rexxon’s Arc out of the grave which is Treasure #5.

You can then flick the On/Off switch to the ON position and let the minotaur out of the cage. The elf can USE arc to defeat the minotaur. Once you defeat the minotaur you can explore the inside of it’s cage where you will encounter a giant, deadly centipede. You can defeat the centipede with the Wand of Palx. When you do so it turns the centipede into the Scholl’s Crown which is Treasure #6.

Once you have the Crown in your possession you can travel back to one of the special junction areas and head to the Deeper Caverns. A location within that section has a bust which is missing the head. If you USE crown in that room the bust moves to reveal a Platinum Hand which is Treasure #7.

In another area in the Deeper Caverns is a strongbox. If you attempt to open the box or use an item on the box it releases snakes which attack you and they sap much of your strength. However if you switch to the role of Strongman and MOVE the box it reveals a hole which contains Marin’s Jewels which is Treasure #8.

Now doing all of this took me a great amount of time. It was time consuming to find many hidden areas on the map and it required patience and perseverance to cycle through each of the character’s and their skills. This is the part of the game where I became “stuck” again and I was starting to lose what patience I had left with the game. I had gone over all of the areas and I knew there was an area on the map that I was missing. I resigned myself to having to begin the elimination process all over again and I knew that it would take hours. I chose instead to “phone a friend” and I contacted Jason Dyer from Renga in Blue and I explained to him the eight treasures that I had found and that I was likely missing a hidden area of the map. Rather than a hint I asked if he had his old maps handy from the game. He did! He sent his maps and I noticed right away that I missed a secret door in an area within the Deeper Caves. I was sure I had checked that room too. I went back to the game and I opened the secret door and continued with the game.

The secret door led to a series of doors and encounters which eventually led me to the Vortex. Once past the vortex I found a dead end area which contained Kimmor’s Staff which was Treasure #9 and I knew immediately what I had to do with it.

In an area of the Deeper Caves is an area where you encounter Count Snoottweeker and no matter what you try or use you cannot seem to defeat this scoundrel. However, when you try to use magic on him he laughs and comments that “your magic doesn’t scare me since I hid Kimmor’s Staff and defeated Kimmor”. So once I had Kimmor’s Staff in my possession I went back to the count and used it on him and was able to defeat him. When you defeat the Count he leaves behind Herc’s Elixir which is finally Treasure #10

*** END OF SPOILERS ***

Once you have all 10 treasures you still need to go back through the maze and explore each area in order to find the weapons that you need to defeat the Tarturian. This more difficult than it sounds because you will not find the weapons you need until you have most of the 10 treasures in your possession. The treasures have magical powers of their own . The battle arc not only defeats the minotaur but it reveals where daggers and poisonous darts are. The Crown helps you uncover the Platinum Hand but it also reveals where swords and spears are. The Wand defeats the dangerous centipede but it also reveals where magic potions are. The Pendant reveals where magic is. Many of these are dead ends or secret areas that the Gladiator has to Search for.

In the land of the Minotaur there is a dead end area which contains a secret door that can only be found by choosing MOVE which swivels a burning torch sconce on the wall which causes the wall to slide open. From this area you’ll find a series of rooms where most of the equipment you need can be found. Finding these sections was not easy.

Once you have the 10 treasures and the all of the weapons in your arsenal then you are ready to face the Tarturian. This is where the game really sets itself apart from others during this period. It is one of the very first games where the concentration is on finding and defeating a “big bad”. It also sports in my opinion one of the very best computer game endings of it’s time. Most game endings during this period are very abrupt or they quickly congratulation you before dropping you into a dos prompt. In The Tarturian; while the entire end sequence is animated and you don’t interact in any way; it was still rewarding to see all that you accomplished in the game reach some sort of fruition.

The secret entrance to the Tarturian is actually found in the Worlock’s Realm. In one area a spider hangs from a strand. If you take on the role of Strongman and PULL the strand a secret door opens and you are asked if you want to enter the lair of the Tarturian. If you do so and you have not collected all the necessary items then you will be defeated. However once you have everything in your arsenal and you choose to do battle with the Tarturian then drama ensues.

A series of animations then begins to play before you.

Once you use the Wizard’s power to defeat his force field you encounter the three headed Tarturian!

The animated sequence and final battle with the big bad at the end of this game is the first of it’s kind for this period and the game itself is very underrated. I am not sure why Oldorf’s Revenge gets more attention than it’s sequel as The Tarturian is a much better game and much bigger in scope though frustrating.

The Dark Kingdom was published in 1980 for the TRS-80 by Computer Simulations Company and written by Stan Schriefer. Computer Simulations released five games in 1980 and three of them were strategy wargames.

I am assuming you begin the game as a knight since you have a humble servant. This servant has regaled you with tales of a rich and evil empire to the east. Astride a horse, armed with a sword and shield, you strike out to the east in search of wealth and adventure.

The setup is simple enough. There is no character creation and you begin the game in section 1 of the kingdom map. There are four total map sections which comprise the kingdom. In each section of the map are various places to investigate which include: swamp, ruins, pond, city, tavern, castle, house, lake, town, temple, desert, forest, valley. When you arrive at the hills for example you can press X on the keyboard to search the area. A search of the area may or may not yield gold and silver. You’ll want to accumulate as much wealth as you can so that you can purchase a magical sword. If you can accrue at least 100 silver that should be enough to purchase the sword. If you find no gold or silver you can keep searching the same area until you do find some. Combat can be quite difficult at first until you’ve gathered enough wealth to purchase the magical sword. Once you have the sword in your possession the combat becomes almost ridiculously easy. The sword can only be purchased in castles and towns.

You begin the game with enough food and water to last three days. You can purchase more in castles and towns. The game keeps track of your time while you’re traveling and if you go too long without proper rest you’ll enter combat and suddenly see your stats drop 50% so you’re going to have to be aware of the time and rest and eat accordingly.

When a random encounter occurs the screen switches to a combat screen. The graphics of combat are pretty rudimentary as both you and your opponent are represented by a square. When one opponent attempts to strike the other there is a bit of animation to simulate an appendage jutting from the square. The creatures that I fought were giants, horrible flying things, and all types of different dragons. Young dragons, old dragons, angry dragons etc.

One facet of the game I found quite interesting is that each time you defeat an opponent your fame grows. When your fame gets over a score of 200 it is supposed to attract the attention of the evil warlord.

When you reach a castle or town you can hit B for barter on the keyboard. If there is a merchant present you then have the option of buying different items. The aforementioned magic sword is available to purchase, healing salves that heal 20% of your injuries, you can purchase a kingdom map, buy food and water, and pay for information about the evil warlord. I did this once and learned that he was a magic-user who could only be slain with magical weapons. When my fame score was well over 250 points and I still did not encounter the evil warlord I went to a town to learn more. I paid for information and was told that the warlord lives in a forest to the north even though he travels all over. Armed with this vital information and a magical sword I made my way to the forest in the northern part of the map.

Once I reached the forest and started to search it an encounter with the evil warlord occurred. He starts combat at 500% which equates to quite a bit of hit points. However each strike from my sword took off 20-40 points so I defeated him rather easily.

I played the Dark Kingdom on a TRS-80 emulator and it took me roughly two hours to complete. The end screen seems to suggest that the author had a sequel in mind but one was never made. I don’t think that this game really qualifies as a true role-playing game but remember in 1980 there was a lot of feeling around in the dark. It was a year which contained many game hybrids or games with unusual mechanics.

The next game on tap is a sequel to Oldorf’s Revenge called the The Tarturian.

Labyrinth was written by Frank Corr, Jr. and William F. Denman. Denman wrote Reality Ends and Frank Corr, Jr. wrote Deathmaze 5000, both of which were also published in 1980 for the Apple II and TRS-80 systems. Both of these games are what I consider hidden gems. Reality Ends was very unique and Deathmaze 5000 is probably the earliest dungeon crawler for the home computer. I had no idea it had even existed prior to Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. These two artists have now paired up to bring us another high quality offering from Med Systems. Med Systems would later be bought out by Screenplay in 1983 and would have to close their doors in 1984. We will be covering more of their offerings at a later date and I’m particularly looking forward to playing Asylum from this same duo.

The opening screenshot of Labyrinth

Labyrinth is another dungeon crawler which was released in the same year as DeathMaze 5000. It uses the same engine and so veterans of Deathmaze 5000 will feel right at home. It uses wireframe graphics to display a 3d maze that you can move around in using the four arrow keys on your keyboard. There are no graphics or sound but there is quite a bit of text; probably more so than you’ll experience in Wizardry I. There are five total levels and more than 550 locations. There is no character generation or ability scores to deal with but inventory management can prove to be tricky. Like Deathmaze 5000, you have a limited number of moves before hunger kicks in and you’ll need to eat. Your illumination in the labyrinth is provided by torches and so your light source also limits the number of the total moves you can make. You’ll find three stores of food as you explore the five levels and you’ll also find three replacement torches as well. So there is a strategy involved in trying to economize your moves once you learn more and more about the maze and how it is constructed.

I found Labyrinth to be extremely difficult. It looks like my experience with it and opinion are outliers. One of the things I enjoy doing after finishing a game is to read about the experience other archivists had with it and to read reviews others wrote about the game. Most seem to have found Labyrinth easier than Deathmaze 5000 but I’m going to have to respectfully disagree. Deathmaze 5000 was indeed very difficult but the story and objective seemed more linear to me (advance and progress from level one to level two to level three etc.). MOST of the puzzles, while difficult, seemed to have a more logical solution that you could work through too. Labyrinth, on the other hand, also has five total levels but you access those levels via teleporters and pits. The teleporters are insidious. They are so seamless that it is very difficult to tell that you’ve even been transported. I probably spent almost two hours diligently mapping before I realized that areas of the map seemed to be overlapping one another or repeating. I had to start over with the assumption that teleporters were in play and to actively watch for them. I also avoided the pits at first but later learned that the pits, much like the teleporters, could be used to quickly access different levels. The entire five levels were connected like a giant puzzle via teleporters and pits. I was having a conversation with another gamer on Discord where I claimed that one of the puzzles for many of the early adventure and role-playing games was the map itself. This is certainly the case for Labyrinth. The game was a nightmare to map and I found it to be fiendishly clever.

To make matters worse, the solutions to the puzzles were very silly and rarely made any sense at all. An example is dealing with a Wraith in the final third of the game. You do this by throwing a cream pie.

The program then responds with; Pie in the Face! Pie in the Face! and then the Wraith vanishes. Really? The entire program however is very clever. Once the Wraith is defeated you have to don it’s clothes. These clothes allow you to “float” over a deadly pit on this level that would otherwise kill you (trust me, I died THAT WAY too). While you’re wandering back however; you encounter another adventurer, who thinks you’re the Wraith since you’re dressed like it, and the adventurer throws a pie in your face! I had to laugh out loud. Pure insanity. So the only way to solve these puzzles is to resort to a text adventure solution in which you have to experiment with all of your inventory items and how they interact with the obstacle. This was a true test of my patience and perseverance as there was no way for me to save the game. The emulator nor the game offered any kind of save state. So each time I made a mistake in the game or died as a result of being wrong I had to start completely over. I found that after an hour or 90 minutes with the game I’d shut off the computer and vow to try again tomorrow. This game took me almost three weeks to solve and I probably spent more than 25 hours on it. I even had to resort to a hint to help me through one of the puzzles much to my chagrin. So because I found the mapping to be so much more difficult and because the puzzles did not make a lot of sense I found Labyrinth to be much more difficult than Deathmaze 5000.

I color coded my map to show how the pits and shafts are connected and I highlighted where the teleporters are and how they work. In all honesty this made my head hurt. Each level operates from a 10 x 10 grid.

You actually begin play on Level Two. There is a lot going on with this level. You can’t access part of the level because of a fog. If you attempt to explore those areas it attracts the minotaur. You are not yet prepared to face this beast and it will rip you asunder so the area marked with fog is an avoid for now. There are four teleporting squares on this level. Three of them are found at the corners of the grid; the last teleporter will take you to a mysterious final level which you will not encounter until near the end of the game. The useful item to find on this level is salt. You also find a magical book that contains a word of power: PTOOI When you say this word it teleports you to an enclosed section of level one where you find a 2-handed sword. The problem then is you cannot escape from this enclosed area and the game becomes soft locked. You will have to start over. I mistakenly thought then that the sword was a red herring as Deathmaze 5000 had a few of them. You will, however, require the sword later and there is indeed a way to escape this enclosed section. The solution does not come easy.

The other items that you find include a pair of roller skates, a cream pie, a lantern which doesn’t work, and a haunted jar that you can’t open. It was at this point that my frustration factor was high. It was then that I found the iron bar. On level two there is an area where the walls move in on you and crush you; causing me once again to start the game over. I wish I would have kept track of the number of times I died; perhaps it was over 65 times? There had been an elevator trap like this in Deathmaze 5000 so my first thought was to dismiss and avoid it. Until I found that iron bar. My mind flashed to the Star Wars trash compactor scene so I traveled back to the crushing walls and they were immediately stopped since I had the bar in my possession. I dropped the jar here and stepped out and sure enough the jar was smashed and a ghost was released.

The ghost, upon release, reveals a word. Armed with that knowledge, I once again said; “PTOOI” and transported myself to the enclosed area with the 2-handed sword. Once I had the sword in my possession; I said “Mevar” and I found myself teleported out of the enclosure to Level Three.

I wish I could tell you the game got easier from there; but quite the opposite actually. You have to deal with the following:

• a cave gnome which attacks
• an ugly man who attacks
• a hungry cave bear
• a maiden who turns into a witch and then casts a spell upon you
• a lantern which doesn’t seem to work
• a wraith
• a vending machine
• a minotaur which seems unbeatable thus far

The solutions to these obstacles or puzzles do not make much sense. The only way to solve them is through trial and error using the items that are in your inventory. I was like what in the world do I do with a pair of roller skates and some salt? In addition to these things you still need to find a way to circumvent the fog and there is also a final area of impenetrable darkness in which you have to stumble your way around.

I wanted to reiterate that the reason the game took me so long was that I had no way to save the game. Many of the puzzles in this dungeon crawl could only be solved by using text adventure tactics. Which meant experimenting with verbs and inventory items on the spot. Each time I was wrong resulted in my untimely demise and I was forced to start all over again. Every single obstacle or dilemma above resulted in multiple restarts as I worked through the problem.

There is a lot of text in this game and because the difficulty level was so high; each time I found myself solving a puzzle it was very rewarding to get to read new text or find a new area opening up.

As you near the end of the game you’ll find that you’ll have to lure the minotaur to you and this alone resulted in me dying a few times in order to get it right. You’re also going to have to find a weapon worthy of killing the minotaur and the 2-handed sword is not it.

I am definitely impressed with the team from Med Systems. Reality Ends, Deathmaze 5000, and Labyrinth were three of the more memorable games that I played in 1980. Perhaps it is I who was merely living in a cave but I’m surprised these three games didn’t garner more notoriety in the 80s. I’ve mentioned this before but I was stunned that there were dungeon crawlers sporting wire frame dungeons published before Wizardry I (not counting mainframe games). Written in machine language too so movement and speed through these dungeons are seamless. You absolutely could not beat this game without taking the time to carefully map it out. The map itself is probably it’s biggest puzzle and I spent much time with it. Make no mistake; this is a dungeon crawler with text adventure characteristics.

There definitely seemed to be a fascination with the minotaur and maze theme in 1979 and 1980. Our first encounter with the theme was in Eamon: Lair of the Minotaur released in 1979. In 1980 Hellfire Warrior had a dungeon level known as the Labyrinth in which you wandered a maze fighting hordes of different minotaurs. TSR published Theseus & the Minotaur in 1980 which I just recently played and reviewed and now, finally, we see the theme used yet again here in The Labyrinth.

Next up on the docket is The Dark Kingdom; an RPG adventure game for the TRS-80 published in 1980.

Happy New Year! Now that 2021 is almost in our rearview mirror I wanted to hit the pause button and reflect upon the year and what lies ahead.

On January 3rd of this year I officially challenged myself and others to play 100 games in 2021. I also set a goal of trying to publish 100 blog posts this year as well. Let’s take a look at the scorecard and see how I fared.

In 2021 I managed to tackle and beat 85 games. Wow. I fell short of my 100 game goal but if we’re being honest I’m amazed that I played as many as 85 games all the way through. It is an extremely high number that I doubt I’ll be able to replicate again for a couple of reasons.

Remember that I started this series of posts so that I could chronicle my journey through time as I attempt to play every single CRPG and adventure game in order in which they were created or published. I started with the year 1975 and began to methodically play each of these games in order. I am currently finishing up the 1982 CRPG offerings and still traveling back in time to 1980 to clean up games I have not yet completed from that year.

One of the reasons why I feel I will never replicate having played 85 games in one year again is that as we move through time and hardware capabilities improve so do the games. A byproduct of this is that the games become larger and longer and require more time to finish. I’m beginning to see this already with some of the offerings from 1982. I don’t want to rush my experience in any way but give each game their due so I think the focus this year is going to be on the quality of my experience and not the quantity.

The second reason is time. Time is something that we cannot control nor can we ever get it back. The COVID epidemic created more time at home to pursue this hobby and while things are far from better I find myself struggling to find a balance between work, play, and my personal life. My passion for this project has not waned and while I recognize the scope of the project can seem daunting at times; I remind myself to take pleasure in it and not to rush. Quality over quantity will be my theme for 2022.

Looking ahead here is the list of CRPGs for 1983 that I will be tackling (in no particular order). If you want to see the entire list of games from 1983 you can click on the link in the sidebar from the homepage of the website.

One of the improvements or additions I made to the site this year was a link which allows you to read through the blog posts and my journey in chronological order. When I switched to the website from a normal blog page finding earlier posts became a bit more difficult so I set out to make it easier for folks to access earlier blog entries. I am also going to work on creating a MASTER games list in addition to the yearly tabs which I’ve created.

I wish everyone health and happiness as we look ahead to 2022. Be kind to others and reach out to let me know what your own gaming goals are for 2022. I look forward to hearing from you.

DeathMaze 5000 is an early dungeon crawler from 1980 and it’s a good one. It was written by Frank Corr Jr. and published by Med Systems. Frank Corr Jr. also wrote Reality Ends with William F. Denman Jr. and it was also published by Med Systems. If you remember correctly I called Reality Ends an undiscovered gem from 1980. I’m going to do the same thing with the obscure DeathMaze 5000 published in the same year.

DeathMaze 5000 is the first dungeon crawler based on a grid system for the home computer system. I thought Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was the first to do this and do it well but I now stand corrected. Med Systems was the first to introduce a grid based dungeon crawler to the home computer (I am not counting any of the mainframe grid crawlers from 1975 on up as they were not commercial games).

The only goal in DeathMaze 5000 is to leave the DeathMaze ALIVE.

Movement is via four arrow keys. The up arrow will move you forward one step while the other arrows turn you left, right, and around. The program is written in machine language and so the loading of the wireframe graphics as you move through the maze are instantaneous and fluid. Objects that you will need to solve puzzles and to propel you through the levels can be manipulated at any time with one or two word commands. The manual which comes with the game states that you can save the game, however, I played the game on a TRS-80 emulator and had no access to saves or save states. DeathMaze 5000 is properly named because I died many, many, many times and had to start over at the beginning each time. It took me at LEAST 12 hours to play through all five levels and emerge victorious. Not only is it the first grid based dungeon crawler but it contains multiple puzzles that are at times whimsical but clever and hard.

The DeathMaze is comprised of five different levels. Each level is made up of a 10 x 10 grid.

Many of the items that you find scattered throughout the five levels of the DeathMaze are borderline silly or odd. Inventory management becomes an issue as your traverse through the maze and it’s levels. Food and torches can be found on each level and are necessary in order to survive. If you run out of food you will immediately starve to death and if your torch sputters out before you’ve had a chance to light another one you will be eaten. Your food and torches both count as inventory items so juggling inventory can be a tricky affair. What makes the game even harder is the fact that not every item that you find in the maze has a particular use or is necessary to complete the game. However it can be infuriating to find yourself on the fourth level of the dungeon and realize that you left an item that you need back on level 2.

There are actually six very important items to find on the first level and only one red herring. The first dungeon level has a couple of tough puzzles to work through as well. One of those puzzles in particular is the hardest puzzle that I’ve seen to date in a game so far.

You hit a dead end in the corridor and suddenly across the screen the words appear: Tis the season, turn turn turn and then you are suddenly sealed in a 10 x 10 room and cannot leave.

I am dating myself a bit here because I’m now 56 years old but the first thing I thought of was the song by the Byrds: Turn! Turn ! Turn!

So what did I do? I started to turn. I turned left. I turned right. All to no avail. There was also a box at the end of the corridor so now that it seemed that I was trapped I opened the box and discovered, of all things, a calculator. I examined the calculator and it said it was dirty. I cleaned the calculator and it now read 317.2 Hmmm A clue of some sort? This puzzle had me stymied for quite some time. I actually rebooted the game and continued to map out the rest of Level One before returning to it again. This time, while stuck, I typed HELP. The response back from the game was INVERTED TELEPHONE Now that was definitely a clue. INVERTED. If you flip the calculator upside down the 317.2 now looks like Z.LIE My mind went to the letters that are found on a telephone so I then went to google and called up images of a phone.

The numbers 5, 4, 3 were associated with LIE. I wasn’t sure if the 2 was supposed to be taken for a Z but it could also represent the shape of the 5,4,3 sequence on the phone. Could it be that easy? This is the infuriating part. I actually solved this puzzle on my own with no clues; however I kept typing the answer in incorrectly. I am not sure WHY I ended up thinking I needed to literally type in: TURN 5 TIMES, TURN 4 TIMES, etc. and the computer game kept responding with; Are you crazy? I had the correct answer however I simply needed to use my arrow keys and physically turn. I found this out because I finally resorted to looking for a hint to the solution to this puzzle. I simply had to use the arrow keys to turn left 5 times, turn right 4 times, and turn left 3 times. Once you do that the wall vanishes and you are free. This is a very tricky puzzle for 1980! I later found out, due to dying multiple times and having to start over each time, that the game doesn’t care whether you start out turning left or right, as long as you have the 5,4,3 sequence it will work.

The second tough puzzle on Level One involves you trying to figure out where Level Two is. This involved finding a hat with Ram’s Horns on the top of it. I typed in WEAR HAT and then I started charging at all of the walls around the dungeon that might have a secret door. This took quite awhile but there was indeed a wall that you can charge through and you promptly fall down a pit to Level Two.

Level TWO has two items that you need to pick up as well as more food and a torch. All of the items on this level are spread far apart. Every time you turn in this game it counts as a step. You only have X amount of steps before you will need more food again or your torch burns out. So Level Two becomes a punishing lesson in how important it is to economize your steps and how necessary your food and torches are. I had come to a conclusion that the glass jar with a lid was a red herring and as I progressed further and further into the game I started to leave the glass jar behind. I realized, much to my detriment, that when I finally found my way to Level Five that I did indeed need the glass jar. I had to reboot the game and start all over. The other obstacle on this level is actually a puzzle. You have two vicious dogs on this level that you have to deal with. One will appear to harass you after you’ve completed a certain number of steps on this level. An inventory item will come in handy in dealing with this creature. The other dog can be avoided because it actually guards a red herring on this level. Experimenting with the FART command on this level produces some interesting results too.

This level has it all. It has a secret door, a red herring, and an elevator that actually works (the elevator on the second floor is a trap – when you enter it the walls close in and crush you – killing you instantly – hence the name DeathMaze). An elevator would appear a year later in Wizardry I. The wool is an absolute must to find on this level as you will need it later to deal with the monster stalking you on Level Four. Throughout the game you have the sense that something is hunting you throughout the corridors and you’ll have to face this creature head on when you reach Level Four. The secret door on this level took me a bit of time to find or realize it for what it was as well.

I spent a lot of time dealing with Level Four. The items once again are placed in such a way that you have to think about how you’re going to traverse the level and in what order you’re going to do things. There is a diabolical puzzle on this level involving the snake in the box from Level Two and the flute that you find on this level. I died several times trying to solve the snake puzzle. It was disheartening to have to keep starting over too after getting this far in the game. I also spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find a way to reach Level Five. I had to resort to a hint here. It is the second time I had to do so in order to finish the game. The answer to how you reach Level Five? Simple. You pull out the calculator and press the number 2. It will teleport you to Level Five. Yes. I am glad that I resorted to using a hint there. The items in your inventory are finite. Once you use them they disappear. So it is possible that you use an inventory item successfully on a lower level but find yourself without it on a later level and then unable to complete the game. Some puzzles have alternate solutions so be careful.

DeathMaze 5000 lived up to it’s title this on this level. I died 11 different times on this level and it took me multiple days to complete. I died trying to figure out how to deal with the darkness on this level. When you teleport to this level your torch instantly blows out. The creature that you killed on Level Four that had been stalking you throughout the early levels? It had a mother. She is here with you on Level Five. She is not happy. I died multiple times learning how to deal with her. I died multiple times inserting my golden key into the wrong lock on this level. You also encounter a Vampire Bat on this level that only the glass jar with lid will properly deal with. I’ll let you puzzle that one out. Once I reached the very end of the game I was asked a question that I did not know the answer to. I once again had to resort to using a hint; which was the third time, in order to complete the game.

This is another hidden gem from 1980. I am astounded that we had a dungeon crawler based on a grid system from this year. I thought the first to come along was Wizardry I a year later. This game was highly entertaining. It checked a lot of boxes for me. It was a bit too whimsical or silly for me in spots but there is no denying the strength of this game. Written in machine language, it was fluid and quick and I found no bugs. The game is hard. You will die often. It’s mix of puzzles and mapping are almost perfect. I had been pleasantly surprised by Reality Ends this year as well from this group so I am excited to now play the rest of their offerings.

When I completed this game my first inclination was to do a full walkthrough for the readers. But then I had to stop and remind myself that my purpose here is to not only share my experience with this piece of history but to entice you to play it as well. I know that not having a full, detailed walkthrough is not to everyone’s liking but I did not want to completely ruin the experience for those who might be interested in trying this dungeon crawler out on their own. So I walked a tightrope. It is a great mix of text (for the interactive adventure enthusiast) and dungeon crawling for those who like a good dungeon crawl. If anyone does need a nudge in the right direction, you know where to find me. I’d be all too happy to help you out. I strongly encourage you to try this obscure gem on your own.

Next up on the docket is Labyrinth which is another game from the group over at Med Systems. They were quite busy in 1980; developing and publishing Reality Ends, DeathMaze 5000, and Labyrinth. I am very eager to play Labyrinth after my experience with their other two releases.

Many modern games today provide new digital content that a player can install on top of a video game. Known as a DLC you can think of them as expansion packs or “add-ons” that developers create that contain new stories, new levels, new characters, new costumes, etc.

In 1982 a DLC had not been conceived yet however each successive game in the Dunjonquest line could have been considered a precursor to this idea that would add a signifcant amount of content. Games in the Dunjonquest series like Upper Reaches of Apshai and Keys of Acheron were merely expansion packs requiring their parent game to play however they were physically sold separately and at what was considered a full price.

There was no attempt to update the game engine or the graphics from 1979 to 1983 so each scenario merely supplied the player with a new plot and new dungeon levels to explore; much like DLC’s do today for several modern CRPGs.

This is where we find ourselves with Danger in Drindisti in 1982. There are technical “flaws” that were now creating a bit of a negative experience for me after so many offerings in the series. In order to get Danger in Drindisti to work; you have to boot up your Hellfire Warrior disk. When the games asks if you want to re-enter a saved level you have to type in YES. You will then be asked to insert the game with the saved level. It is at this time that you insert your Danger in Drindisti disk and choose which level you want to play; 6, 7, 8, or 9? However the order of difficulty, according to the manual, is as follows: Level 7, Level 6, Level 9, and then Level 8. So why is the level of difficulty between levels 6 through 9 not sequential but rather in that odd order? The answer, disappointingly, is that Hellfire Warrior didn’t use room descriptions on odd levels so neither can the Danger in Drindisti game. Rather than improve upon existing releases they instead chose to trick the Hellfire Warrior program into believing that Danger in Drindisti was it’s disk. This is how they chose to introduce new content. The developers want you to play the levels in the order of 7, 6, 9, and 8 so that they can use room descriptions on Level 7 and Level 9 which Hellfire Warrior is constrained to.

I found these technical “flaws” or inadequacies to be both frustrating and confusing; I found that each time I started play again I’d have to consult the manual and special documentation again to make sure I didn’t insert the wrong disk or press the wrong key. What might be the worst of the technical “flaws” is that when you complete each quest or level in Danger in Drindisti and return to the Innkeeper there is no recognition in any way that you’ve been successful or have completed your quest. There is no celebration or congratulatory recognition in any way. Only by diligently following along in the manual and using your imagination are you aware that you have achieved a winning condition or victory in the story. I had forgotten about this and so after completing the first scenario and then making my way back to the innkeeper nothing happened. It is really quite a let down.

Lastly, no improvements have been made to improve the graphics or the game engine. While one can certainly map out each dungeon level (I strongly suggest you do so) it is not easy to draw the map to scale like it is in a Wizardry game. This makes mapping of the game a bit more tedious and subjective. A lack of scale has always made mapping the games in the Dunjonquest series a bit frustrating.

The strength of this offering, and what I did enjoy, was the creativity of the scenarios themselves and the written descriptions of the rooms in the accompanying manual. Once again, Automated Solutions now known as Epyx, have done a masterful job creating a high quality game manual.

Danger in Drindisti has four dungeons or missions for you to complete: The Glass Wizard, The Abode of the Illusionist, The Temple of the Demonmaster, and The Realm of Mist.

The first scenario was unique in that this Glass Wizard you must deal with lives in a cave with his numerous apprentices and his magical glass creatures. In order to get to the Glass Wizard you have to make your way through his Glass Maze. While you’re making your way through the maze you’ll encounter several glass statues. These were opponents that the Glass Wizard turned to glass and left standing as a warning to intruders. All of this is very original and it checks a fantasy/role-playing box for me. Wandering around the “Glass Maze” however and constantly bumping into invisible walls that you couldn’t see (the glass) however was less than fun. Combat continues to be random AND frequent and so while you’re trying to navigate yourself through the glass maze you’re spending quite a bit of time fending off opponents. Eventually I made my way to the Wizard and dealt with him, taking his Book of Spells I was tasked to find, represented by a numbered treasure within the manual. Again, once I returned to the innkeeper with the book there was no winning or congratulatory screen. I was merely asked if I wanted to go back into the dungeon. The only way I knew I obtained my objective was by carefully reading room and treasure descriptions. This was unique and much like a tabletop session of Dungeons & Dragons in 1979 however by 1982 the convention now feels strained.

Any enjoyment I derived from this latest Dunjonquest installment was rapidly dwindling once I started playing the second scenario; Abode of the Illusionist. Here we are not dealing with a glass maze but instead illusions and repeating rooms and halls. I never even bothered to map this scenario out. I just bumbled and stumbled around until I accidently came up on the Illusionist. Your mission objective is to take his staff. But wait, being an illusionist, there are four of them to find. Since you don’t know which one is the real one you take all four with you back to the innkeeper who doesn’t even recognize that you have them.

The Temple of the Demonmaster was my favorite scenario of the four. The map of the temple that you’re exploring makes a lot of sense and the room descriptions in the manual are excellent. There are secret doors and chapels that you have to find but I didn’t mind this as part of the mapping exercise because it made a lot of sense where both map and scenario were concerned. The battles with the demons were tough and there is a battle with an animated idol that leers over an altar that is extremely hard. I found this entire scenario redeemed much of the negative feelings that I had while slogging through some of Danger in Drindisti’s parts.

The last scenario went backwards for me again. Rather than rest on the laurels of writing and creativity like the last scenario we’re back to maze trickery like that of the Glass Maze, or Abode of the Illusionist, or even from the Lair of the Minotaur from the last expansion. Having to navigate through “mist” or a “glass maze” merely to lengthen the playing experience doesn’t do it for me now at this juncture. By the time I reached the altar in this last scenario and had to pray for the Demigod to appear so I could do battle with him, I also found myself praying for release from this game.

Because the developers have not bothered to update the Dunjonquest engine in any way; but merely have spent time putting a new shade of lipstick on each offering; the series is losing it’s luster for me. The formula which I had so much fun with in previous installments is now losing it’s luster and charm. I have one more offering with the Dunjonquest engine, Curse of Ra, which was also released in 1982. This one is not a sequel to Hellfire Warrior but to Temple of Apshai. There is one more in the series which was released in 1983 where I hear the engine received a complete overhaul. I am sure we will get to that one eventually.

Next up on my docket is a game known as DeathMaze 5000. Until next time…

Retrogames.com is nothing other than a passion project of mine. When I have the time I am constantly changing and updating the content. I try to add anywhere from 2 – 4 games into the database each day. Each time you log into the site you are always greeted with the latest additions on the home page. I cover ANY game but there is emphasis here on adventure games and computer role-playing games.

There are a number of ways that you can search for games and I urge you to experiment. My CRPG Quest continues on at a healthy pace and you can see the newest blog posts on the sidebar to the right in the picture above. One of the questions I am frequently asked is if there is an easier to go back and read the blog posts in chronological order. The answer now is a resounding yes!

Now from the home page of the site you can click on Read the Blog Posts in Chronological Order and it will take you to a page that looks like this:

I spent time developing a page that allows you to see each of the blog titles and they are listed in chronological order. You can see to the right that you can click on and go immediately to any one of the posts that might interest you or you can choose to take your time and read them in order. I also posted the date that each post was published as well.

When you’re finished with a post if you have a comment or something you’d like to add, I strongly encourage you to participate. Nothing would please me more than to have a robust discussion on each of the games as I historically move through each of the games by order of publication date.

I have also created a Discord server that can be accessed from the front page of the website.

I do have a special request. I am looking for someone who is a little tech savvy. I am not the most technologically proficient which is a problem when trying to get one of these older games to play on a particular emulator. There are a handful of games that I know would run with some proper “tweaking” but I am looking for someone to problem solve a couple of these and then help me with step by step instructions on how to get to work. For example; I can’t get Dragon & the Princess to run with the translation patch. I also can’t get House of Usher to run under the Atari emulator as another example. I would love some help in that area with the small handful of games I have not been able to cover due to technical reasons. If you wouldn’t mind reaching out, if you’re reading this and interested in helping, I can be more specific. I would be extremely grateful.

Progress update: I am currently playing DeathMaze 5000 and I am quite impressed with this little gem. I am hoping I have a breakthrough and will be able to finish it this week. I am still working on a post covering my recent Danger in Drindisti play through and I should have that up soon. I also finished compiling the list of games that I plan on covering from 1983 and I’ll be sharing that shortly as well.

I hope that you are well and you are able to take time for YOU and to get some gaming in. Once again thanks for reading me and I look forward to future discourse with you on games and gaming.

Dungeon! is the second CRPG from TSR that was released in 1982. The first was our recently reviewed dungeon crawler; Theseus and the Minotaur. I used to own this board game in my youth and I was surprised to discover that TSR made a computer game of the property. Having had the experience of playing the actual board game; I was excited to check this offering out.

I played Dungeon! on an Apple II emulator and I had no technical issues getting it to run. The game does it’s best to mimic play of the actual board game which was released by TSR in 1975. You can choose one player mode or play with up to four friends. The goal is to be the first person to collect a specific amount of treasure and then return to the starting spot on the board.

The amount of treasure that you need to accumulate is based on the class that you choose to play. Elves and heroes only need to collect 10,000 gold pieces to win. Superheroes have beefed up statistics and better rolls so they need to collect 20,000 gold pieces to win. Wizards get to hurl Lightning Bolts and Fireballs at their opponents so they need to collect 40,000 gold pieces to win. Wizards also have a Teleport spell at their disposal. While Wizards have the greatest arsenal at their disposal their resources are limited and they begin the game with only 12 spells.

Elves and heroes are best suited for the 1st and 2nd dungeon levels and can venture into the third level on occasion without too much mishap. Superheroes are best suited for the fourth and fifth levels while a Wizard is going to want to go to the sixth level because of the limited number of spells in his or her arsenal.

The above screenshot depicts the first level of the dungeon map. Each player rolls a die and then gets to move a specific number of spaces. The green squares represent rooms in which there is usually an encounter. If you can defeat your opponent then you are awarded the gold pieces that it was guarding.

The map consists of six different levels. Greater treasures and tougher monsters are located in the deeper levels of the dungeon. In addition to the previously mentioned gold pieces; you might also find a magical sword, a crystal ball which allows you to see the creature and treasure inside of each room, maps that show secret doors of different levels, and ESP medallions that let you see what creature is in the room next to you.

The graphics in the game are actually pretty good. When you encounter a creature the game jumps to a combat screen. You press a key to attack and then the computer rolls the dice for you. If you miss, the creature then gets the opportunity to rip your face off. If you’re hit with a critical blow it causes you to drop half of the treasure that you are carrying and you are unceremoniously “pushed” out of the room. You CAN go back in and try again and if you win you can recover not only the treasure the creature was guarding but you can retrieve the treasure that you dropped. If you are defeated by the creature you drop half of your treasure and find yourself back in the starting area of the board.

I played Dungeon! as a solo adventurer and I chose the class Elf. It was relatively easy to keep playing until I collected 10,000 gold pieces after which I made my way back to the starting spot on the board for the win.

I think the game was well done and it does a good job simulating the actual board game experience. If you have someone to play against or even better a group of four to compete against each other I think the game would be fun and challenging.

If you were a TSR fan boy and like to wax nostalgic about your early Dungeons & Dragons days then I urge you to take Dungeon! for a spin. Or perhaps you once owned the game in your youth and remember it fondly; in which case I again recommend you playing the computer version as it does a great job of simulating the board game.

The Apple II version of Dungeon! was well received, gaining a Certificate of Merit in the category of “1984 Best Multi-Player Video Game/Computer Game” at the 5th annual Arkie Awards.

Fred Hemmings reviewed Dungeon! for White Dwarf #4, giving it an overall rating of 8 out of 10, and stated that “Even if you play D&D it is still worth having a game or two of Dungeon. You may argue that Green Slime is not as deadly as it is portrayed but a little thing like that shouldn’t spoil your fun. If on the other hand D&D is not your cup of tea (or coffee), don’t let the connections put you off, this is a game in its own right and a good one.”

India Palace is the sixth adventure game written by Roger M. Wilcox for the TRS-80. He managed to recover the program from cassette tape in 2013 and rewrote it as a WPF .NET application as part of his “remember my past” endeavor. India Palace was never released commercially but is part of his private collection that he made public in 2013.

I was able to complete the game without too much trouble however there were a couple of things that were unique to India Palace compared to Space Traveller and Nuclear Sub.

When I arrived at the foot of the palace door I tried a number of things and could not get the door opened. When I finally typed HELP the program actually responded with WHAT YOU DO AT A NEIGHBORS. Aha! I knocked on the door and the door suddenly creaked open.

There is also a magic word inscribed on a stone wall within the palace. When I used the magic word it sent me to an area where I was able to find some hiking boots and a flying carpet. I had hit a dead end in the game and then discovered that you could use the magic word in another location of the game whereby you’ll find a miner’s pick. Once you find that you’ll know where to use it and it opens up another large section of the game. I did soft lock the game and had to start over because when I discovered the miner’s shaft I did not have the flying carpet with me. I had already deposited it in the score room and it is necessary to navigate the mine shaft.

There is an interesting bit where you need to discover how to cross a vat of acid and a secret door you’ll need to find in order to uncover the chest of jewels.

There are six total treasures that you have to find in order to win the game. It took me 45 minutes to an hour to complete the game and I found it to be a very enjoyable experience. Do not let the fact that this game was not released commercially sway you from playing it. It is just as good as many of the text adventures that WERE released commercially.

We return once again to the fifth game in the Roger M. Wilcox collection. Nuclear Sub was originally written for the TRS-80 in 1980. It was recovered from cassette tape in 2013 and reworked as a WPF .NET application as part of Roger’s “remember my past” endeavor.

Nuclear Sub is my favorite adventure so far of the five Roger M. Wilcox offerings I’ve played through. This is yet another find the treasure and deposit it in a specific area for points theme however the puzzles were interesting and the length of the game and pacing were just right.

There are some interesting puzzles in the game that are a step up from previous entries. In the game you are exploring an underwater cave complex when you come to a cliff top. There appears to be no way to climb down. In another part of the complex you find a trampoline. You’ll need to pick up the trampoline and take it to the cliff top. You’ll then want to throw the trampoline over the cliff and then jump. The trampoline will break your fall and open up new areas of the map to explore. This is not original as a similar puzzle was in Scott Adams’ Mystery Fun House but it was a nice touch and if you had not played Mystery Fun House the solution may not as been so forthcoming. The blaster wand puzzle was a nice touch as well.

The map of Nuclear Sub is a larger map than previous games with more than 25 different locations.

There are six total treasures that you need to collect and then return to the sub but then the game does not end there. Your reactor on the sub is nonfunctional and you’re going to need to miraculously find some plutonium lying about in an underwater cave before you can get underway. Remember to use the tongs before you pick up the plutonium. It was in this final part of the game that I had some trouble. I had the plutonium but I was having parser issues and playing “guess the verb” at the end. Luckily the game provided me with a helpful of hint of “try INSERT” and I was able to INSERT the plutonium into the reactor.

This was my favorite Roger M. Wilcox offering thus far. Next up on deck is the adventure known as India Palace. If you’re interested in playing and experiencing any of the Roger M. Wilcox games for yourself you can find them HERE.