Popular games for platform Sinclair ZX81

Inspired by the 1983 ZX Spectrum game.

3D Monster Maze is a computer game developed from an idea by J.K.Greye and programmed by Malcolm Evans in 1981 for the Sinclair ZX81 platform with the 16 KB memory expansion. The game was initially released by J. K. Greye Software in early 1982 and re-released later the same year by Evans' own startup, New Generation Software. Rendered using low-resolution character block "graphics", it was one of the first 3D games for a home computer, and the first game incorporating typical elements of the genre that would later be termed survival horror. 3D Monster Maze puts the player in a maze with one exit and a hostile monster, the Tyrannosaurus rex. There, the player must traverse the maze, from the first-person perspective, and escape through the exit without being eaten.

Scram - 81 is a clone of the arcade game Scramble which is viewed from the side with the screen scrolling left to right constantly. You have to fly a spaceship above the surface of a planet bombing ground targets while shooting or bombing missiles with your laser. As you fly, your fuel level decreases but you can bomb fuel dumps to increase it. If you hit a missile or the surface then you lose one of three lives.

ZX Chess II is an improved version of ZX Chess I, a single-player chess game. In addition to the features of the previous version (custom board setup, printing etc.), the code enhancements include additional difficulty level, faster move calculation and an option for the player to ask the program to suggest a move.

Ten 1K Games is a collection of ten games and programs that contains: Survival: A program that sees you sat on the screen watching bombs explode around you, seeing how long you can survive. Typing: A typing tutor that allows you to select the speed of the program before typing the letter or number that flashes on a keyboard on the screen. Reverse: A puzzle game where you have a row of mixed up numbers from one to nine and you have to select how many numbers to reverse to put the row in order. Night Rally: You move up a road and you have to move left or right to avoid hitting the sides. Airstrike: A plane flies above a target from left to right at different heights and you have to press P to try to bomb it. Crocodile Swamp: A plane flies above a target from left to right at different heights and you have to jump out and move left or right to land on the target. Missile Chase: A missile flies at the top of the screen and you control the speed (normal or fast) of an Exocet to intercept the missile. Moonlander: Your craft falls down the screen and you have to move it left or right to land on a landing pad. Music: A program that lets you listen to a tune. Invader Dodge: Invaders move downwards and you have to move left or right to avoid hitting them.

Pinball recreates a pinball table where the aim is to keep hitting a ball to score as many points as you can with two flippers. The table is equipped with bumpers and letters spelling TIMEX, as well as two lanes that when entered give bonus points. There are also two outside lanes that when entered lose the ball and if the ball also passes the flippers then you lose one of five lives.

Comboio Espacial is a game for the Sinclair ZX81, where you must protect your convoy by destroying enemy ships and avoiding hitting the space mines.

Pac Man clone.

3D space shooter

3D Grand Prix (for the ZX81 with 16K memory expension module) is a racing simulator with a first person view. You race against others on random generated track. You have to accellerate, brake, steer and switch (6) gears.

Game based on the notes of the Graf Spee expedition to South Atlantic Ocean.

20 Years on from the Spectrum game Amusement Park 4000, the Zeddy gets a conversion of the 16K Spectrum follow-up Fun Park for Chroma-enabled ZX81s. So much has been crammed into this game; amazing colour and graphics courtesy of Jarrod Bentley, more visitors and options. There are more rides than Amusement Park 4000, and AI and strategy is more sophisticated than the 16K Spectrum version of Fun Park. You've never seen a ZX81 game that looks and plays like this.

An obscure compilation consisiting of six games for the ZX81.

Aeroporto 83 is an action shooter game developed by Renato Degiovani and published by the magazine Micro Sistemas, it is considered to be one of the first Brazilian computer games to be commercially released.

Endurance is a motorcycle racing simulation game released in 1985 for the Amstrad CPC and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Up to five players compete in turn-based races across various tracks, managing speed, endurance, and strategy. The game features alternating turns and was praised for its realism and challenge.

Byter is a Pac-Man clone. You control a mouse, moving about a maze and attempting to eat all the dots while avoiding monsters. If you touch a monster then you lose one of three lives but if you collect one of four dollar signs then you can eat the monsters for a short time.

Airline is an economic strategy game, with the player taking the role of a Chairman for L-AIR, an air company whose business starts off with £3 million. He has 7 years to increase his net assets to £30 million. The player can charter, buy or sell aircraft, as well as managing staffing, maintenance and insurance. Situations in game (like hijacks, air crashes and sabotage) and costs (of fuel and aircrafts, tax demands etc.) are realistic. The graphics are simplified, made ​​up almost entirely of tables and texts.

QS Defender is a side scrolling shooter that although it is inspired by it, lacks many features of the arcade game Defender. This version is constantly scrolling left to right and there is no option to turn around and move in the opposite direction. The player can move up and down, fire and use thrust to increase the movement speed forward. There is only one enemy type and each one killed is worth 100 points. Enemies appear in waves. At the start there are just a few but as the player progresses it gets more hectic with up to eight enemies on the screen at once. The player has nine ships. When getting hit the screen goes black for a few seconds before it starts again with a clear screen and one ship less. Once all ships are lost the game has to be restarted through basic.

10 Games is a collection of games and programs on one tape. The collection contains: Klingons: You are a spaceship returning from a mining expedition and you have run into a Battlefleet of Klingons but you have no guns so with your shield you must ram them all. The game is viewed from above with you scrolling down the screen and the Klingons scrolling upwards. You receive extra points for any Battleships or Motherships that you hit. Crash-Landing: Your spaceship has been hit by a meteor and you are prepared for a crash landing on a planet with the only control you have is using your rockets. The game is text only and you see your fuel levels, velocity, height and the time. Simon: Based on the classic game where the computer shows you a sequence of colours and you have to input the same sequence. Every time you get the sequence correct, the computer adds another colour to the same sequence. Artist: A drawing program that allows you to draw pictures and shapes on the screen with a cursor. UFO: A row of UFO's sit on the top of the screen and your spaceship scrolls from the left of the screen below them, firing one shot at a time to remove parts of the UFO's. Every time you hit a UFO you score a point and you start scrolling from the left of the screen again. Missing a UFO or hitting the right side of the screen loses you points. Code: Based on the game Mastermind, the computer thinks of a 4 digit number and you have to guess it within a set number of guesses. Once you enter a number the computer tells you which number is correct in the right place and which number is correct in the wrong place. Asteroids: Your spaceship has hit an asteroid field and like the game Klingons you have no gun but instead of ramming the asteroids you must avoid them for as long as possible. Bomber: The game is viewed from the side as you watch a Bomber fly from left to right across the screen. The land is below with a dam on it and you must drop a bomb to hit the dam. Each dam that you see appears in a different location. Kaleidescope: This is program based on the toy where you see dots moving about the screen making symmetrical shapes. There is no interaction from the player. Guillotine: A two player game based on the pen and paper game Hangman but instead of saving your self from being hanged you must stop yourself from getting your head chopped off by a Guillotine. Player One enters a word and Player two has to type in letters to guess the word. Get a letter right and it appears in the word but get it wrong and a Guillotine starts to appear.

2K Games Pack is a collection of six games and programs. The collection consists of: Snail: You have $50 and the choice to bet an amount of money on one of four snails to reach the other side of the screen first. Advice: A program which gives you a statement to take as advice. Dice: You and the computer take it in turns to throw a dice and the winner is the one with the highest score after 10 throws. 31: The computer gives you a number and you decide whether to receive another one with the aim to get closer to 31 than the computer. Sketch: A program allowing you to draw pictures and shapes with a cursor. Reverse: A puzzle game where you have to put 10 mixed up numbers in order by selecting how many numbers from the left will be reversed.

Breakout 3 is based on the arcade game Breakout but instead of the bat on the bottom of the screen, the bat is on the left side of the screen. The aim is to hit bricks on the right of the screen to make them disappear but if you let the ball past the bat then you lose one of three lives. Before the start of the game you can choose whether to play with one or two bats, and playing with two bats has them parallel to each other a small distance apart. There are also three types of games to play and they are: Practise Game: A normal game with the choice to choose the speed of the bat (1-4) with 1 being the slowest. Progressive Game: Every time you hit the ball it speeds up and also removing a set of bricks makes the ball faster. Acceleration Game: The ball will speed up for every 10th brick disappearing and it speeds up when all the bricks have been removed.

Developed by Salvacam, this is his own version of the classic game for ZX81, with two game modes, redefinable keys and pause. In arcade mode it changes screen when you do 10 lines.