Popular games for platform Sinclair ZX81

Never did like office parties... Christmas eve, and the staff at Macrobiology Industries Limited were having the usual office party, with all the usual hi-jinx and tears, but something very unusual was happening in the biohazard containment fridge. The predicted pandemic had never occurred, and so the fridge was full of unused swine-flu vaccines, but that night it jostled for space with the secretary's cucumber sandwiches and the boss's - sorry, not his, a friends - Viagra supply, all stored there for safe keeping until the party really got started. But the disco lights overloaded the generator, the fuses blew, the fridge shut off, and the staff all went their separate ways home to sleep off the excesses. January 2nd, happy new year! The security guard, first on site that morning, was slowly working his way around the offices and labs, tripping the fuse boxes back to life. He shook his head, bemused by the broken hinges on the doors, but the smashed containment fridge, and mucus-like stains on the walls and floor scared him enough to grab his SHARPS pistol, as strange things moved just out of sight...

Bank Robber is a variant of Commodore's Money Wars. The player controls a man who has to move money from the bank to his home. The bank is located on the left side of the screen while the home is located on the right side. The buildings can however only be entered when their doors are opened. From the sky, meteorites are falling and the player has to avoid being hit by these while moving across the screen. Getting hit means a life is lost. Other things falling from the sky are pills that give an extra life when eaten and bricks that when caught builds or repairs one of three protection buildings (similar to the shields in Space Invaders). At the end of the game the player gets a ranking depending on the amount of cash that has been collected.

Croaka-Crawla is a clone of the arcade game Frogger where the player must control a frog and get him to the other side of a road and river. The game is viewed from above and the first thing to cross is a busy road full of traffic scrolling across the screen. You can move left, right or forward as you dodge the traffic to reach a river bank. Once the road has been survived then a river must be crossed by jumping on logs or the backs of turtles that scroll across the screen as well. Once you reach the other side of the river you must jump into a gap and occasionally a baby frog or flies appears for extra points. If you get hit by a vehicle, fall into the river, or touch the sides of the screen then you lose one of three lives. Before the game you can change the speed of the game (1-100) with 1 being the fastest.

After failure on your last mission and recovering in hospital growing a new arm and leg, you have had time to find and study the base of the Cosmic Guerillas, the Black Star. The location is a huge industrial complex on an asteroid and when you have fully recovered you are going to attempt to destroy it. Now fully recovered and your Svelgian Raider craft rebuilt and modified you are flying over the base looking for the valley containing the energy ducts. After one run you prepare yourself to fly down the valley again and finally destroy the base. The game is a 1st person shooter where you fly down the valley and using your sight drop bombs on the energy ducts that you pass. You can speed up or slow down your craft and you are able to move your sight left or right. Below your sight is a small radar and this shows any ships flying behind you. On the sides of the main playing area you can see a timer counting down, amount of bombs, fuel levels, power, speed and score. The faster you travel the more power and fuel you use.

Bumper 7 is a collection of seven games and programs which includes: Repeat 20: Based on Simon but instead of colours you get numbers. The computer gives you a sequence of four numbers which you then copy. If correct then the computer will add a number on to the sequence for you to guess. Ski Slalom: You must control a H and move it left or right to go in between gates that move up the screen. Paper Stone & Knife: Based on the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, you must decide whether to use Paper, Stone or Knife to beat the computer's choice. Paper beats Stone, Stone beats Knife and Knife beats Paper. Snowflake: You must catch snowflakes that fall down the screen. Patterns: This a program that lets you watch patterns appear on the screen. Banco: Based on the card game Punto Banco and the idea is to get the nearest to nine. Sketch: A program that allows you to draw shapes and pictures with a cursor.

Fortress of Zorlac is a shoot 'em up with some similarities to Yars' Revenge. The player's objective is to rid the galaxy of a dreaded alien called Zorlac. Zorlac is positioned on the right side of the screen and is protected by a fortress consisting of three rotating walls as well as four indestructible stationary guns. The player starts out at the left edge of the screen but can move around in all directions. To be able to hit the alien the player first has to blast a hole through the three walls. It is made harder by the constant movements of both the rotating walls and the alien. At the same time the player has to avoid being hit by the defense guns which automatically lock in on the player ship. As the game goes on the fortress slowly moves toward the player who gets less space to dodge the enemy fire. Once the player has been able to hit Zorloc, he gets enraged and the game moves on to the next level that's played at a higher speed. The player scores points by destroying the walls of the fortress and for hitting the alien. Points are awarded based on the skill level chosen before a game and the player's distance from the edge of the screen. Hitting the alien is worth fifty times more than destroying a block in the fortress. The player has access to five ships and once they have all been destroyed the game ends.

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.

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.

Raider is a Scramble clone that has you flying over the surface of a planet before flying through a cavern bombing the installations and missile dumps. As you fly, missiles and aliens will fly towards you and you can either bomb them or use your laser. You are able to move your craft up or down, and left or right to avoid the missiles and aliens as well. If you hit a missile, alien or the planet's surface then you lose one of three lives. A fuel gauge decreases as you fly but you can increase it by bombing fuel dumps.

Asteroids (Silversoft) is a clone of the Arcade version which sees your craft in the middle of an asteroid field and you must destroy all the asteroids to survive. The asteroids start off large and when you shoot one then it splits into two, and shooting an asteroid this size splits it into two again before being destroyed with another shot. Occasionally an alien craft appears moving across the screen and this can be destroyed for extra points. If you are hit by an asteroid or the alien craft then you lose one of three lives. You are able to turn your ship 360 degrees as well as move forward.

USS-Enterprise is an unofficial strategy game based on Star Trek, where you are James Kirk, and your mission is to destroy all Klingon ships in the galaxy.

Program Pack 4 is a double games pack that contains: Breakout: Based on the arcade game where the aim is to remove all the bricks at the top of the screen by moving a bat left or right below and bouncing a ball upwards. If you let the ball pass your bat then you lose one of three lives. Brikthru: Moving a bat left or right and bouncing a ball upwards, you clear the screen with a ball going through a shaded area and bouncing off the top and sides of the screen. If you let the ball pass your bat you lose one of thee lives.

Arcade Action is a collection of five games which include: Overtaker: The aim of the game is to drive up the screen passing as many cars as you can in two minutes to get the highest score you can. You can move your car left or right, and increase your speed but you can't slow down and the faster you drive the quicker your score increases. If you hit other cars then you stop which also stops your score increasing. Missile Man: Based on Galaxians, you must move your craft left or right at the bottom of the screen to blast and destroy the aliens above moving left and right. The aliens will drop missiles on you and occasionally an alien will move down the screen. If you are hit by a missile or an alien then you lose one of three lives. Spacefighter Pilot: Your crippled Mothership is orbiting a planet but the planet residents are firing missiles upwards to destroy it. You control a crosshair at the top of the screen and you must move left or right and hit the missiles. If your Mothership is hit too many times then it is game over. Greedy Gobbler: In this Pac-Man clone you must move about a maze eating all the dots while avoiding ghosts who are out to kill you. If you touch a ghost then you lose one of three lives but there are four power-pills that can be eaten to allow you to eat the ghosts for a limited time. Extra Terrestrial: Your mission is to destroy the whole world before a timer reaches zero. You move across the screen to the right above a map of the world. Pressing keys 1 - 8 fires a missile and the number you press determines the range of the missile.

A compilation of 4 quiz games

Centopeia is a shooter game where you are the operator of the earth's defense bases, with the mission of frustrating the attack of the terrible fleet of space centipedes that want to conquer our planet.

Blow up as many boxes as you can before the guard sees you. Or play as the guard and try to find the saboteur.

O Aventureiro is a text-adventure where in search of an adventure, you clandestinely teleport aboard a cargo ship whose crew is made up of exotic beings from various planets. Your objective is to accumulate all the money you can by searching the ship's rooms.

A collection of 8 games for the Sinclair ZX81 with an a 16K memory expansion module. Invaders A Space Invaders clone with an extra shield that can be activated for a brief moment in time. Life A simulation of cell growth. The player can set a patern and see if/how it grows. 3D Tick-Tac-Toe A 3D Tic-Tac-Toe game. The aim is to make a straight line of 4 dots. You play against the computer. Galaxy Invaders A shoot em up where the player is at the bottom trying to shoot alien crafts moving around the screen. Gun Fight An Outlaw clone. You try to shoot a cowboy on the other side of the screen and you can take cover behind a carriage. ZX Scramble A Scramble clone where the player flies through a tunnel from left to right which bombing installations on the gound. Snakebite A Snake clone. Fungaloids The player flies at the top of the screen bombing funguses growing into the air. When a funcgus is destroid it can throw spores into the air which must be dodges. Be aware not to bomb installations on the ground. Fuel can be collected at the side of the screen.

You are marooned on a strange planet and have to repair your space ship in order to get back home.

Released in 1982, Adventure B: Inca Curse is the second in a series of eight interactive fiction adventures made by Artic Computing. The aim is to explore an Incan temple in order to find golden treasures. There are eight treasures and only six items can be carried in the inventory, so the correct treasures must be collected in order to leave the temple with the maximum score.

A text adventure game where the player controls a spy shot down while investigating an enemy stronghold.