Boulder Dash
DOS - 1984
Also available on: Amstrad CPC - Apple II - Atari 8-bit - Atari ST - BBC Micro - ColecoVision - Commodore 64 - FM-7
Description of Boulder Dash
In 1984, First Star released a low profile, unassuming puzzler called Boulderdash that would become the company's best selling series and sparked numerous clones even decades after its release. The game could perhaps best be described as Pac-Man with brains.
The concept is simple: help guide adventurous Rockford through 16 caves packed with tricky puzzles to solve. Your basic goal on each level is to collect the specified number of diamonds to advance to the next, more difficult, level. Along the way, you will foil fireflies and butterflies, trap bubbling amoeba, and transform worthless boulders into valuable diamonds.. and vice versa.
Of course, it is not as easy as it first seems, especially since Rockford can be instantaneously crushed by boulders if he carelessly tunnels right below them, opening up space for them to fall down. The trick is to carefully tunnel your way to all the diamonds without making the rocks fall on you, or quickly evade them once they do.
The game is a lot of fun for its time, and hundreds of levels kept many fans glued to the screen for hours on end. The sequel, Boulderdash 2, adds more of the same features that made the original highly addictive: many more devious levels, special items, and monsters. Both games are true classics in every sense of the word. Thumbs up!
Review By HOTUD
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
M 2023-05-03 0 point DOS version
Also, holding shift+arrow key will tunnel through in that direction WITHOUT moving Rockford. Useful when you want to cascade some boulders without going into the space(sometimes because you will be trapped if you do.) Also pushes boulders away from you(left/right only), again, in case you don't want to collapse a tunnel behind you.
M 2021-09-12 3 points
Since there doesn't seem to be any manual or anything online, here are the keys.
Spacebar: Pause during the game, also used to open main menu on title screen.
Enter/Return: Select number of players and controls.
Shift: Starts the game with current configuration.
Arrow keys: UDLR, straightforward.
Esc: kills current player life, restarts level(or hands over to next player). Use it when trapped, to avoid wasting time waiting for the timer to run out.
Enemy characteristics:
Firefly: explodes when crushed by boulder, destroying a 3x3 area centred on it.
Butterfly: 3x3 diamonds when crushed. Otherwise identical to firefly.
Amoeba: spreads rapidly through soft material/empty spaces, rate increases the larger it gets. Constraining it within boulders for a few seconds turns the entire amoeba into diamonds.
Mr Vampire 2019-02-05 4 points Commodore 64 version
Brilliant, brilliant game. Many hours were spent avoiding homework with this in the 80's.
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DOS Version
12 KBAmstrad CPC Version
- Year: 1985
- Publisher: Mirrorsoft Ltd., Prism Leisure Corporation Plc
Apple II Version
Atari 8-bit ROM
- Year: 1984
- Publisher: First Star Software, Inc., Mirrorsoft Ltd., Prism Leisure Corporation Plc
Atari ST ROM
- Year: 1986
- Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
BBC Micro Version
- Year: 1988
- Publisher: Tynesoft Computer Software
ColecoVision Version
Commodore 64 Version
- Year: 1984
- Publisher: First Star Software, Inc., Micro Fun, Prism Leisure Corporation Plc, State Soft Ltd.
FM-7 Version
226 KBSimilar games
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