Android Nim is a representation of the mathematical game Nim. Players take turns removing a desired quantity from a number of distinct heaps. The player to remove the last item wins, but a player can only remove items from a single heap per turn. In this version the heaps are represented by text-mode animated androids and removing items is done …

Attack Force is a Targ variant. As such it is a shoot 'em up that takes place in a grid-like maze where the player's ship starts out in the bottom right corner while eight alien ramships start out in the top row. As the game begins, the ramships will start chasing the player who has to shoot them to prevent …

Cosmic Fighter was loosely based on Astro Fighter, which was released by Data East in 1980. In many ways, Cosmic Fighter looks similar to Galaxy Invasion. However, the similarities are superficial and the games are very different. Your goal in Cosmic Fighter is to shoot the aliens as they descend from the top of the screen. Unlike Galaxy Invasion, you …

Lance Micklus, who has authored some of the finest programs available today, has chaneled his energies into the making of his first adventure. Now comes DEATH PLANET: THE DOG STAR ADVENTURE - an exhilarating dip into a peril-filled universe! The evil General Doom and his Roche Soldiers are preparing to launch an attack against the forces of freedom lead by …

Defense Command was the last TRS?80 game written by Bill Hogue. It was very loosely based by the arcade game Defender, which Williams Electronics released in 1980. There were many Defender clones created for the TRS?80. Notable examples include Alien Defense by Soft Sector Marketing, Penetrator by Melbourne House, and The Eliminator (the official Defender) by Adventure International. The goal …

--- CAN YOU SURVIVE!?! --- On April 19, 1906 at 5:18 a.m., one of the most violent earthquakes of modern times decimated metropolitan San Francisco. Now, Jyym Pearson (author of ESCAPE FROM TRAAM and THE CURSE OF CROWLEY MANOR) has crafted his finest Other Venture to date: EARTHQUAKE - San Francisco 1906! Painstakingly researched with close attention to detail and …

Many people thought that Galaxy Invasion was based on Space Invaders (including a reviewer for 80 Microcomputing), but this was a common misconception. Galaxy Invasion was based on the arcade game Galaxian, which was released by Namco in 1979. Galaxy Invasion was the first Big Five Software game to feature sound and music. In addition to the tune that plays …

GHOST TOWN Explore a deserted western mining town in search of 13 treasures. From rattlesnakes to runaway horses, this ADVENTURE's got them all! Just remember, Pardner, they don't call them Ghost Towns for nothin'. (Also includes new bonus scoring system!

Invasion Force (catalog number 26-1906) was one of the first action games Radio Shack published for the TRS?80 Model I. It was written by Robert Arnstein and introduced in 1979 on cassette1 for a price of $14.95. There never was a disk version of Invasion Force. Invasion Force was very similar to Trek-80, a game for the Sol-20 computer that …

Meteor Mission 2, also known as Meteor Mission II, was based on Taito’s 1979 Lunar Rescue, although it differs from it in many ways. Despite the name, Meteor Mission 2 is not a sequel to Bill Hogue‘s earlier Meteor Mission. Amusingly, the first Alpha Products advertisement to feature Meteor Mission 2 mistakenly used pictures from Meteor Mission instead. The goal …

You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building. Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully. There is a shiny brass lamp nearby. Get ready to make the first decision that will affect your course through "Colossal Cave" in the first complete version of Adventure …

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

An Egyptian Treasure Hunt leads you into the dark recesses of a recently uncovered Pyramid. Will you recover all the treasures or more likely will you join its denizens for that long eternal sleep?

Robot Attack was based on the arcade game Berzerk, which was released by Stern Electronics in 1980. The game concept itself is older than that, and can be found in any number of BASIC games, such as Chase, Robots, and Daleks. Robot Attack was notable as the first talking game released by Big Five Software. The game supports the TRISSTICK …

The original SARGON was written by Dan and Kathleen 'Kathe' Spracklen in a Z80-based computer called Wavemate Jupiter III using assembly language through TDL Macro Assembler. The name was originally written entirely in capitals because early computer operating systems such as CP/M did not support lowercase file names. SARGON was introduced at the 1978 West Coast Computer Faire where it …

Scarfman was based on the arcade game Pac-Man, which was released by Namco in 1980. It was written by Philip Oliver and distributed by the Cornsoft Group. The Cornsoft Group also released a version of Scarfman for the Color Computer. The game starts with you (the “Scarfman”) at the bottom of the screen. Like Pac-Man, the goal of Scarfman is …

The Sledge of Rahmul and Merlin's Treasure is a collection of two text-based graphical adventures packaged together for the TRS-80. In Merlin's Treasure, the goal is to locate 10 treasures hidden within a series of underground tunnels, and return safely to the surface. The tunnels are laid out in a grid-like pattern, and the player is able to look in …

SPOOK HOUSE Horrors! A deranged madman has locked your unconscious form inside of a deserted creep house at a crazy carnival. You awake to some sobering facts: a bomb is set to explode and only 30 real-time minutes stand between you and eternity. Somewhere, somehow you must locate and defuse the explosive - but we'd be less than honest if …

Stellar Escort was written by Jeff Zinn, and it was the first game distributed by Big Five Software that wasn’t written by Bill Hogue. Stellar Escort has a very distinctive look because of the flashy transition effects when changing screens. There is always something in movement on the screen. Stellar Escort has a number of sound effects, but no music …

Published by Adventure International, this text-based adventure game was one of many from Scott Adams. Gameplay involved moving from location to location, picking up any objects found there, and using them somewhere else to unlock puzzles. Commands took the form of verb and noun, e.g. "Take Shovel". Movement from location to location was limited to North, South, East, West, Up …

Super Nova was based on the very popular arcade game Asteroids, which was released by Atari in 1979. It was the first big success for Bill Hogue and Big Five Software. Super Nova was originally available only on cassette tape. It required a Model I with 16K and Level I or Level II BASIC. Later, Big Five sold a disk …

The player character has been sent to defeat the vampire Count Dracula by the local Transylvanian villagers, and must obtain and use items from around the vampire's castle in order to defeat him. Players move from location to location, picking up any objects found and using them somewhere else to solve puzzles. The interface is text-based, commands took the form …

The scene is London, in 1913. Scotland Yard is buzzing with the news - there's been a murder at the Crowley Estate! What starts out as a simple homicide investigation turns into a trip into the depths of the occult as you try to solve The Curse of Crowley Manor. This program uses many unique plot-twists and strange devices to …

Weerd was written by Arthur Gleckler and released in 1982. It was the final TRS?80 game released by Big Five, and only the second one not written by Bill Hogue. Weerd was released near the very end of the TRS?80 game market. The goal in Weerd is to destroy the attacking aliens. The controls are pretty standard: LEFT ARROW and …