Popular games for platform Call-A-Computer time-shared mainframe computer system

31.12.1962

Marienbad is an adaptation of the strategy game Nim, originally written in Poland for the Odra 1003 mainframe. The game did not originally have a specific title; in later literature the name Marienbad was applied retroactively. It is one of the earliest Polish computer games. It was inspired by a variant of Nim seen in the 1961 movie Last Year at Marienbad and described under the name "Marienbad" in the magazine Przekrój. There are several rows (four by default) of matchsticks, with a different number of matchsticks in each row. Both players (the human and the computer) take turns, in each move taking away at least one matchstick from a single row. The player left with the final matchstick loses.

31.12.1956

Hutspiel is a military training simulation for the Goodyear Electronic Differential Analyzer (GEDA) that simulates at a theatre level. Its intention was to study the use of tactical nuclear weapons and conventional air support in Western Europe in the event of a Soviet invasion. The game pits two players against each other with one controlling NATO forces in France, Belgium and West Germany, and the other in control of a Soviet invasion force trying to penetrate a 150 mile frontage. Players could allocate forces across sectors of the map and set targets (such as airfields, enemy troops, supply depots and transportation facilities) for planes and nukes. Early versions of the game would have the computer continue the simulation until it was paused for further input. In later versions the game used turns of fixed time increments. The game modeled troop reinforcement, resupply and movement by rail. It did not account for terrain or weather.

31.12.1978

Achteon was originally released on a mainframe computer, similar to Zork. And just like Zork it is a fantasy treasure hunt with 400 rooms and 200 objects, and therefore is much bigger than its more famous companion.

01.03.1984

Core War is a 1984 programming game created by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney in which two or more battle programs (called "warriors") compete for control of a virtual computer. These battle programs are written in an abstract assembly language called Redcode.

12.09.1970

Highnoon is a BASIC game developed by Christopher Gaylo from Syosset High School, New York in early 1970 on a timeshared mainframe computer. The game is single-player and set in the Wild West in 1889. The objective of the game is a showdown between the player and Black Bart. The status of the game, actions available and results of each action are written to the system console as textual descriptions. Turns are taken to either move closer, run, or shoot. Both the player and Bart have four shots and the odds of hitting each other increase as the player closes the 100 paces between each.