The Mines of Mordor was written and developed by Scott Cunningham for the TRS-80 and published by Electronic Imaginations in 1979.
Mines of Mordor is a surprisingly addictive turn-based dungeon crawler. The game is completely text-based and uses ascii characters to depict the dungeon. There are no class or character choices other than coming up with a name for your character. Once you choose a name your character is automatically generated. You begin play with a health rating of 6 and this health rating increases as you slay opponents. You also begin the game with a knife, sword, and rope in your inventory.
Once your character is complete you are then deposited on the first level of the dungeon. The dungeons are randomly generated each game and consist of six levels. When you begin play the stairs exiting the dungeon are in the space that you start in.
The double asterisk depicted above is your character. Each dungeon level consists of 5×5 squares. A single I allows passage between columns going from left to right. You can move north and south in each of the five rows unless they are blocked by a wall which is depicted by several “I”‘s together ( IIIII ) . The + sign’s strewn all over the first level represent monsters or encounters. The game will inform you if there are stairs going up or down when you land upon the space.
There are a couple of features in Mines of Mordor that I found to be quite interesting and unique. The game constantly lets you know how much total treasure is in the dungeon as well as how much treasure you’ve acquired through weight.
In the picture shown above Fost had just survived an encounter. He found 2 gold pieces and 15 silvers pieces as well as a sword. Note how the game details that Fost now has .21 kilos of treasure. When you exit the dungeon periodically to purchase supplies the game will also tell you how many kilos of treasure are remaining in the dungeon. This is the first time, in all of the games I’ve played & covered, that we’ve seen a feature like this. While there is no overarching plot or goal other than to explore the dungeon and collect as much treasure as you can, I find that this feature creates a lot of replay value. Each new game you can constantly compete against your prior weight score by attempting to haul out even more treasure than last time.
Your health rating goes up with each opponent that you vanquish however you do not acquire this benefit or experience until you exit the dungeon. When you exit the first level your health rating is then adjusted to reflect your experience gain and then you also have the opportunity to purchase supplies and magic items. You must have a minimum of 50 silver to exit the dungeon and you must also have a minimum of 50 silver to re-enter the dungeon so keep careful track of your finances. I was astounded by the number and variety of items you could possibly purchase. I found this feature to be very unique in 1979 and the only game that was truly comparable in this regard was the Temple of Apshai. Notice at the top of the screen that the game informs you that there are 138.59 kilo’s remaining in the dungeon and that number changes as you continue to find more and more treasure.
Food supplies are very important and affect your health. Each time you are wounded you consume food in order to heal yourself. Your food supply dwindles quickly and thus you constantly have to exit the dungeon to purchase more. I found the variety of magic items available to purchase quite exciting. On one dungeon run I was able to purchase Gauntlets of Strength and they definitely made a difference or impact in combat. The Teleport Ring was very cool too. When you use the ring it teleports you to a random square in the dungeon however you did get to choose the target dungeon level which is helpful if you’re on one of the lower levels and find yourself in trouble.
Combat is automatically done for you. Your only choices are to either move or what type of weapon or magic you want to attack with. Once your choice is made each turn the game then determines the outcome of each round with hidden rolls.
During combat there are a number of unique states that you or your opponent can find themselves in. You can be standing upright, lying down against the wall, or weaponless due to a fumble and dropped weapon. Most of your enemies tend to be goblins and orcs on the first two levels. If you choose to fight you can choose each turn which object that you want to use. Choosing M for (M)ove is the equivalent of attempting to flee. When I reached the fourth level of the dungeon I began to encounter Wights which were extremely difficult to kill.
I found Mines of Mordor to be an addicting little game and I found myself constantly saying “just one more game” as I tried to beat the weight of my previous treasure haul. It was also fun to purchase the different magical items and experiment with them. I was surprised and impressed by this game given that it was released in 1979.
You can try out Mines of Mordor for yourself by playing it right here online. Click on AUTORUN to play
Next up on the docket is more housekeeping from 1980 with an oldie entitled Monster’s Lair.
Until next time…