Popular games for platform Sinclair ZX81

If you ever felt sorry for the ghosts, the orphans they left behind, and wondered what would happen when Pac-Man became the ruling elite, then this is for you. Whilst researching to see if the ZX81 was capable of doing justice to an isometric game along the lines of Ant Attack! or KnightLore, Bob's Stuff coded a program to display a single height map of tiles, and it looked a bit like a maze. Along with the code examples, he'd also been experimenting with the graphics required for such a game, and produced a cute little ghost. An idea then began to germinate... a maze, and some ghosts? Why not try a scrolling isometric Pac-Man? He's still not sure if a full isometric game is possible (that's for another day) but a scrolling flat one certainly is, and he's really pleased with the results. It looks good, is fluid and responsive, and features most of the aspects of the original - including the (slightly bugged) A.I. and attack patterns. Having a ghost as the main character means that I've had to supplemented the concept of 'lives' for 'spirit' - I mean, a ghost doesn't have a life, does it? - which introduces a slight twist on how you play the game.

A Space Invaders clone where you control a craft at the bottom of the screen moving left or right, to destroy aliens in formation above dropping bombs on you.

Serra Pelada is a text-based adventure game developed by Renato Degiovani and published by the magazine Micro Sistemas, based on the peak of gold mining in Serra Pelada in the 1980s.

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.

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...

Inspired by the 1983 ZX Spectrum game.

To clear the level, you must destroy all the UFOs while avoiding falling bombs and blocks. Blocks cannot be destroyed by your own bullets, but will disappear if hit by an enemy bomb.

An illustrated text adventure game for the ZX Spectrum and Sinclair ZX81.

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.

1K Games Pack is a collection of 11 games and programs on one tape. The collection consists of: Slot machine: You have 10p and you play a slot machine for 1p a go trying to get three numbers the same (10p) or the numbers add up to seven (5p). Etch and Sketch: This a program that allows you to draw pictures and shapes with a cursor. Slalom: Gates move down the screen and you have to align yourself to go through them without hitting them or missing them altogether. Catch me if you can: You must move an X to catch a O that moves about the screen. Space Pirate: You must attempt to dock your spaceship as it moves down the screen with another ship that moves left and right across the screen. Spacefire 1: You are on the left of the screen while the computer is on the right, firing bullets at each other attempting to hit the other player. Spacefire 2: Same as 1 but now the computer moves left across the screen. Car Crash: You must drive your car down the screen avoiding the other vehicles and the sides of the road. Man-Eating Budgies: You are on the top of the screen and Budgies move up the screen and you must avoid them while collecting their eggs. Maze: You are on the top of the screen and a maze moves upwards and you must navigate through it without hitting the walls. The Wall: You move right across the screen and you must remove every part of a wall that moves slowly upwards.

Dodgems and Connect 4 is a double games pack that contains: Dodgems: You move a vehicle around lanes eating dots while avoiding another vehicle because if you hit it then you lose one of three lives. Your vehicle is always moving forwards but you can change lanes through openings of the lanes. Before the game you can select the speed of the game (1-9). Connect 4: A strategy game where a player either plays the computer or another player on a 7 x 6 grid dropping counters down each column. The idea is for a player to make a row of four counters in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line to win the game.

Sim of a catering business.

Community Chest is based on the game Monopoly and is a smaller version of the game. You play the computer and try to make money without going bankrupt. The game has 16 squares with 13 squares named after London streets, Community Chance, Jail and a Go square. The street squares are split into six sets. Each player takes it in turns to throw a dice to move their counter and if a street square is landed on then the player has a choice to buy it if the player has enough money. If the player has brought a street to make up a set then houses can be brought and placed on the square. As the players move buying streets and a player lands on a street square owned by the other player then that player has to pay rent and the cost depends on how expensive the street is and if there are any houses on it. Landing on a Community Chance square reveals an incident and this can either lose or gain the player money. The Jail square forces the player to pay a fee and if a player passes the Go square then they receive £2000. A player will lose the game if they go bankrupt.

Pac Man clone.

A Pac-Man clone for the ZX81 with 16k memory expansion module and for the ZX Spectrum

3D space shooter

The first football management simulator, many of the hallmarks of the incredibly complex games which exist in this genre today are found in embryonic form here. Club finances, player transfers, basic tactics, and perhaps most importantly of all, excellent white noise crowd sounds when your team scored.

Traffic is a flick-screen game where you have to move across lanes full of various vehicles for as many points as you can. The vehicles move left or right across the screen and you have to move upwards through gaps while avoiding getting hit by the vehicles or it is game over. If you move downwards then your score decreases. There are 3 skill levels and you can choose the speed of the game (1-255) with 1 being the fastest.

Place the arrow, change the direction of the car, and pass all the flags to clear the game. If the car goes off-screen or hits a rock, it is a failure. If the car hits a wall, it will flip, but the wall will disappear.

Help our hero protect his colony by repelling the attack of voracious killer spiders in this exciting ZX81 game.

An unofficial port of Atari's Centipede made by Jeff Minter in the early years of Llamasoft.

Em Busca dos Tesouros is a platformer developed by then 15-year-old Tadeu Curinga and published by the computer magazine Micro Sistemas.