# Gamer's Lost and Found **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 27, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116 "2008-04-27T19:25:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/1 "2008-04-27T19:25:32Z")
Now and then us gamers fondly remember a game we played when we were young, or a map we loved a while ago. However oftentimes this fond recollection ends with “I want to play that again… what was it called?” So here, you can post your descriptions and memories and find that game you’ve been searching for or map that’s lost to time. Let’s try to keep the number of losts down to maybe 10 or 20 at a time (so other’s don’t get totally forgotten). And let’s say 2 per person at a time max. Or just run wild, I don’t care too much. Anyway… I’m looking for a warcraft 3 map, the only thing I remember is that at the beginning you chose sword or axe and then you went to little aisles to train your guy and after a certain amount of experience and getting a new weapo (I think) your model would change as you got more powerful. So have at it everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/2 "2008-04-27T21:34:51Z")
PC game RPG strategy (not an MMO) - the beginning showed a ship going to the new land. You literally had to build the town - mill, blacksmith, homes, etc. It reminds me a little of the SIMS and of Black & White. They were cartoon-ish in appearance and it was fun for the whole family. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/3 "2008-04-27T23:06:40Z")
I’ve been looking for years for an old Sierra OnLine text based adventure game called Cranston Manor. No luck. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/4 "2008-04-27T23:52:42Z")
I would love to find an online emulated version of an early PC RPG called “Temple of Apshai.” I think it actually ran on the TRS-80, that’s how old it was. It was lame by today’s standards (monochrome, big blocky pixels, etc.) but I remember it being quite cool at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/5 "2008-04-27T23:53:01Z")
[QUOTE=MikeG] I’ve been looking for years for an old Sierra OnLine text based adventure game called Cranston Manor. No luck. [/QUOTE] I’ll entertain this, but I want to point out that we may want to avoid many full-fledged games, and especially want to avoid things such as Emulators/ROMS. So you can ask for these but be careful. [QUOTE=Pixilated] PC game RPG strategy (not an MMO) - the beginning showed a ship going to the new land. You literally had to build the town - mill, blacksmith, homes, etc. It reminds me a little of the SIMS and of Black & White. They were cartoon-ish in appearance and it was fun for the whole family. [/QUOTE] I don’t remember if there were any cinematics but The Settlers rings a bell similar to what you’re describing, look it up sometime. The Black and White reference makes me wonder if you’re possibly refering to Populous though. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/6 "2008-04-28T00:35:26Z")
anyone remember Hunt The Wumpus? or are you all much younger than I? ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/7 "2008-04-28T00:41:47Z")
[QUOTE=Jragon] I’ll entertain this, but I want to point out that we may want to avoid many full-fledged games, and especially want to avoid things such as Emulators/ROMS. So you can ask for these but be careful. [/QUOTE] I’m confused, are you saying I cannot purchase this game for some reason? The last time it came up on Ebay I bid 30 bucks but got sniped at the last second. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/8 "2008-04-28T01:43:20Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m confused, are you saying I cannot purchase this game for some reason? I believe he’s warning that some of these games may be copyright infringements and it’s against board rules to discuss means of obtaining them. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/9 "2008-04-28T03:54:25Z")
[QUOTE=MikeG] I’m confused, are you saying I cannot purchase this game for some reason? The last time it came up on Ebay I bid 30 bucks but got sniped at the last second. [/QUOTE] I was simply stating that certain games may fall into issues in discussion because the only means to acquire them short of getting lucky on eBay is through illegal or questionably legal means. Not all ROM/Emulator etc things are illegal, nor are all means of acquiring games freely online (i.e. Gametap), I’m simply saying that both people asking the questions and people answering should be careful to avoid means that are illegal or you’re not entirely certain on the legality of (though the game you mentioned would **probably** be out of protection by now anyway). ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/10 "2008-04-28T04:43:36Z")
I certainly remember programming Hunt The Wumpus on my old TI. Not only do I remember it, but I have a present for you! > **[Table of Contents: BASIC Computer Games](https://www.atariarchives.org/basicgames/)** > > Table of Contents: BASIC Computer Games Remember _this_ book? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/11 "2008-04-28T04:53:12Z")
When I was about 10, I had a DOS game called “Phylox.” It was given to me by a friend. It was a side-scrolling action game, and you played as a guy in a yellow hazmat suit with a pistol. The very first level, you were in some kind of underground cavern, and you had to fight a fat, old man who had a peg-leg. I was never able to beat him, and got killed every time. I never advanced past that very first screen. I think there might have also been a graphic of the same fat man with the peg leg walking across the screen when the game first booted up. As I recall, it had very good graphics for its time. I can’t find any information whatsoever about this game online. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/12 "2008-04-28T05:04:35Z")
OK, I did just find something on that game. You can read about it and download it [here.](http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1825) Boy, was I wrong about the old man with the peg leg - the man actually appears as a weird, transforming animation in a preview for another program by Beavis Soft called “Game Creator” that you see if you quit the game. There is also a preview for Beavis the Beaver. It’s pretty funny. You can run the game in XP. The character does indeed have a yellow hazmat suit and he sits in a levitating chair which can shoot rapid-fire bullets and grenades. You fight evil insects. If you are killed, a lurid animation is shown depicting blood gushing from your suit. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/13 "2008-04-28T09:11:06Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] I certainly remember programming Hunt The Wumpus on my old TI. Not only do I remember it, but I have a present for you! > **[Table of Contents: BASIC Computer Games](https://www.atariarchives.org/basicgames/)** > > Table of Contents: BASIC Computer Games Remember _this_ book? [/QUOTE] I never had an Atari - I played HTW on a text only network terminal in 1980 (poaching my sister’s time on her workstation) ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/14 "2008-04-28T10:13:22Z")
Actually, the book wasn’t just Atari, a version of it came out on most systems. But it’s got all that good old BASIC code in it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/15 "2008-04-28T16:31:02Z")
[QUOTE=Pixilated] PC game RPG strategy (not an MMO) - the beginning showed a ship going to the new land. You literally had to build the town - mill, blacksmith, homes, etc. It reminds me a little of the SIMS and of Black & White. They were cartoon-ish in appearance and it was fun for the whole family. [/QUOTE] This sounds like “Colonization”, which I still play fairly frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/16 "2008-04-28T17:14:24Z")
[QUOTE=anyrose] anyone remember Hunt The Wumpus? or are you all much younger than I? [/QUOTE] I recently found the old green-and-white fanfold printout from which I typed _Hunt the Wumpus_ into the TRS-80 Model III, so very long ago. I’m such a packrat. Alternatively, you could play online or download a graphical version here: [Dream Codex : Hunt The Wumpus](http://www.dreamcodex.com/wumpus.php) Or the traditional version: [http://www.ifiction.org/games/play.phpz?cat=&game=249&mode=html](http://www.ifiction.org/games/play.phpz?cat=&game=249&mode=html) ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/17 "2008-04-28T17:16:13Z")
[QUOTE=winterhawk11] I would love to find an online emulated version of an early PC RPG called “Temple of Apshai.” I think it actually ran on the TRS-80, that’s how old it was. It was lame by today’s standards (monochrome, big blocky pixels, etc.) but I remember it being quite cool at the time. [/QUOTE] You can play the whole Apshai trilogy (Apple II version) in your browser here: [Virtual Apple 2 - Online disk archive -- Apshai Trilogy](http://www.virtualapple.org/apshaitrilogydisk.html) Here’s an online version of Hunt the Wumpus: [Dream Codex : Play Hunt The Wumpus](http://www.dreamcodex.com/playwumpus.php) ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/18 "2008-04-28T17:17:45Z")
[QUOTE=Shoeless] This sounds like “Colonization”, which I still play fairly frequently. [/QUOTE] That’s what I was thinking too, especially with the description of the opening scene being a ship sailing to a new land. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/19 "2008-04-28T18:01:21Z")
This is going to be so hopelessly vague. When I was little I had a Texas Instruments computer/game console. It had a tape drive but no hard disk, and an attached keyboard and joystick. I can’t even remember what this console was called. My favorite game for it was a side-scrolling spaceship shooter (like the R-Type series). I think the title began with a Z. I wish I could remember the name of the console and this game. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116/20 "2008-04-28T18:26:50Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] This is going to be so hopelessly vague. When I was little I had a Texas Instruments computer/game console. It had a tape drive but no hard disk, and an attached keyboard and joystick. I can’t even remember what this console was called. My favorite game for it was a side-scrolling spaceship shooter (like the R-Type series). I think the title began with a Z. I wish I could remember the name of the console and this game. [/QUOTE] Could [this](http://oldcomputers.net/ti994a.html) have been the console? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamers-lost-and-found/447116.md?page=2)