The VIC 20 Games Book (GB)
Owen Bishop
Granada, 1983
Download all programs from this book on one disk:
 VIC20 Games Book.d64 |
21 programs (100% complete)
| Program | Author | Requirements | Files | Info |
Black Hole Pages 5-11. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | black hole.prg Screenshot |
Collect the yellow gold while avoiding the invisible black hole. The only way to detect the black hole is by seeing how it effects the movement of your ship - if you get too close then you will be destroyed. Controls: Z (left), X (right), ; (up), / (down). |
Tight-rope Pages 12-17. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | tight-rope.prg Screenshot |
You must cross a circus tightrope. It takes twelve steps to reach the other platform, but any oscillation in the rope could be fatal. Controls: S (move forward), Z (tilt left), X (tilt right). |
Magic Jigsaw Pages 18-23. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | magic jigsaw.prg Screenshot |
Jigsaw puzzle for young children. Humpty Dumpty's pieces are muddled up, and some squares are turned the wrong way. Can you put him back together again? It plays the Humpty Dumpty tune when you win. Controls: Move pieces by entering their number (1-9) followed by the new position (1-9). Rotate pieces by entering their number (1-9) followed by any letter key (A-Z). |
Cops and Robbers Pages 24-29. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | cops robbers.prg Screenshot |
Strategy game for 2 players. The cops (blue square) must catch the robbers (red square) before the robbers escape to their hideaway. The cops have a faster car but must obey traffic laws, which mean they can only go ahead or turn left. The robbers have a slower car but ignore traffic laws. The robbers move when the higher note is sounding, and both cars automatically move forward if no key is pressed. Controls: Press G to start the game. Cops: F3 (move forward two squares), F5 (turn left), F7 (stop). Robbers: A (turn left), S (turn right), Z (U-turn), Space (stop). |
Mind Over Electrons Pages 30-34. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | mind electrons.prg Screenshot |
Guessing game. The computer randomly selects one of ten symbols, and you must guess which one it chose. After 100 trials, it displays how many you got right. Controls: Move the arrow by pressing F7, then press F5 when it is beneath your guess. |
Nimble Thimble Pages 35-39. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | nimble thimble.prg Screenshot |
Nim game for 2 players. Three coloured thimbles (purple, green, blue) are randomly positioned. Players take it in turns to move one thimble closer to the home square at the bottom-right of the screen. The winner is the last player to move a thimble home. Controls: 5 (move purple thimble), 6 (move green thimble), 7 (move blue thimble). When the game ends, press Run/Stop and type RUN to play again. |
Sand Castle Pages 40-46. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | sand castle.prg Screenshot |
Typing game. You are building a sand castle on the beach. Each time a number appears in the sky, you must press that key to build another layer of the sand castle. Can you finish the castle before the tide comes in? Controls: Press the number shown (1-0). |
Bombing Run Pages 47-51. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | bombing run.prg Screenshot |
Fly across the landscape dropping bombs on enemy munitions sites. The counter at the bottom-left tells you the distance to the next target. Controls: F3 (drop bomb), F5 (up), F7 (down). |
Breakaway Pages 52-58. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | breakaway.prg Screenshot |
Board game. The computer controls the purple piece, and you control the green, blue and yellow pieces. You must move one piece during each move, pieces can only move along the lines, and they cannot jump over other pieces. Your pieces can move up and sideways but not down, while the computer can move up & down. You win if you can block the purple piece at the top of the screen so that it cannot move, and the computer wins if reaches the bottom of the screen. If multiple games are played then the computer learns from its mistakes to improve its strategy. Controls: Select which colour you want to move (6=green, 7=blue, 8=yellow), followed by a direction: H (left), J (right), Y (up-left), U (up), I (up-right). |
Snipers Pages 59-63. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | snipers.prg Screenshot |
Snipers are attacking, and your only clue to their location is the flash when they fire. Aim your machine gun where the flashes appear and shoot them before they take cover elsewhere. You must kill all the snipers before one of them shoots you. Controls: Z (left), X (right), ; (up), / (down), Space (fire). |
Nine Men Morris Pages 64-69. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | nine men morris.prg Screenshot |
Board game for 2 players. During the first phase, both players take it in turns to put their pieces on the board. If either player puts three pieces in a line then they can remove one of their opponent's pieces. During the second phase, pieces are moved around the board and cannot jump other pieces. Again if a player gets three pieces in a line they can remove an opponent's piece. The game ends by either blocking your opponent so they cannot move, or by removing their pieces. Controls: In the setup phase, position your pieces by pressing 'Space' to move the question mark to the desired location, then press '/'. During play, select the piece you want to move (1-9), then press: U (up), N (down), H (left), J (right). Remove opponent's pieces by entering its number (1-9). |
Ball Maze Pages 70-75. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | ball maze.prg Screenshot |
Maze game. Move the ball by tilting the maze, which makes it roll freely under its own inertia. The scales at the right & bottom of the screen show how the maze is currently tilted. Navigate to the exit (blue circle) without falling into any of the holes. Controls: Z (tilt left), X (tilt right), ; (tilt up), / (tilt down). |
Singalong Pages 76-80. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | singalong.prg Screenshot |
Music program that generates a song with amusing semi-random lyrics, then invites you to sing along to the tune. Controls: Follow on-screen prompts. |
Pintable Pages 81-86. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | pintable.prg Screenshot |
You have got 8 balls, and you must decide when to release each ball. You score points for every pin that it hits as it rolls down the table. Controls: Any key (release ball). |
Rail Runner Pages 87-93. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | rail runner.prg Screenshot |
Strategy game for 2-4 players. Players must lay a railway line that passes through three towns, and each player should write down their route at the start of the game. From top-left to bottom-right the towns are: Ayr (black), Burnley (white), Cardiff (red), Derby (cyan), Everton (purple), Falkirk (green), Grimsby (blue), Halifax (yellow), Ipswich (black). Each player lays a section of track in the following colours: Player 1 (red), player 2 (cyan), player 3 (purple), player 4 (green). A straight piece of track must be used when leaving a station, U-turns are not allowed, you must press a direction key to lay track going through each station, and do not go through any stations except those on your list. When a player reaches the final station, a train will run along the track from start to finish. Controls: U (up), N (down), H (left) J (right), ArrowLeft (remove last tile). When the game ends, press Run/Stop and type RUN to play again. |
Computer Clues Pages 94-100. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | computer clues.prg Screenshot |
Mastermind game. Set the difficulty by entering how many pieces (3-6), colours (3-8) and shapes (1-4) you want to use, then try to guess the random code. With one shape, the following stripes are used: blue (a correct colour in the right position), and red (a correct colour in the wrong position). With multiple shapes, these stripes are used: yellow (correct colour & shape in the right position), blue (a correct colour but wrong shape in the right position), green (a correct shape but wrong colour in the right position), cyan (a correct shape & colour in the wrong position), red (a correct colour in the wrong shape & position), and white (a correct shape in the wrong colour and position). Controls: For each guess, enter the colour (keys 1-8) and shape (keys A,S,Z,X). |
Spellbound Pages 101-106. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | spellbound.prg Screenshot |
Word game for 2-6 players. A pool of four tiles is shown. You must use some combination of those letters to spell a word. If you take too long then the tiles will change. Controls: Press Space as soon as you spot a word. When "Groups?" appears, enter the tile numbers (1-4) in order to spell the word, and press Space when finished. When "OK?" appears, all players must agree that it is a spelt correctly (Y/N). When "Who?" appears, enter the player number (1-6) who found that word. |
Minefield Pages 107-112. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | minefield.prg Screenshot |
You are an escaped POW, and you must cross the minefield to escape to safety at the bottom-right corner of the screen while avoiding the enemy troops who patrol the area. You only have two clues to avoid the invisible mines: tress & bushes are always safe, and troops never pass over the mines. Controls: U (up), N (down), H (left), J (right). |
Vibrations Pages 113-118. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | vibrations.prg Screenshot |
Puzzle game. The screen is filled with vibrating symbols. Starting in the top-left corner you must find a way of navigating to the bottom-right corner, by moving from one symbol to another when they are touching. Controls: U (up), N (down), H (left), J (right). |
Poker-Face Pages 119-124. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | poker-face.prg Screenshot |
Card game, play poker against the computer. You & the computer are dealt a random hand, and the computer's reaction may provide clues. For each hand, you must decide whether to see the computer's cards or turn in your own cards. Controls: S (see the computer's cards), T (turn in your cards). |
Snorkel Pages 125-130. |
Owen Bishop | Unexpanded | snorkel.prg Screenshot |
Collect oysters from the bottom of the ocean. After fetching an oyster, you automatically drift back to the surface. Touching a puffer fish will force you to return to the surface to remove its sharp spines, the dangling Man-of-War tentacles are poisonous, and it takes several seconds to free yourself if your hand gets trapped in a clam. Controls: ; (up), / (down). You can only move vertically, the tides make you randomly drift from side-to-side. |
