# First computer game played



## owlfan12000

I'm taking a risk to my ego here since my post in this thread, http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ia-servers/5616-what-your-first-computer.html, resulted in Sonnie declaring bobgpsr and me "older than dirt".

The first ones I played were on the Rice University mainframe. They were text based games Lunar Lander and Colossal Cave Adventure. You can read about the Colossal Cave Adventure here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventure and the Lunar Lander here http://technologizer.com/2009/07/19/lunar-lander/


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## dalto

If you consider the vic-20 a computer than my first game would be "Gorf". I loved that game.

Otherwise, my first computer game was "Dark Castle" on the MAC.


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## 240V

Lunar Lander? Never thought of it as my 1st computer game but I remember (barely ha ha) a demo around 1971 or 72 where if you failed (always) it told you how big a crater you made on the moon. Is that the same Lunar Lander?


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## oublie

My First computer was a Sinclair ZX80 and my first game was typed in by hand from a magazine  games back then would put crysis and the like to shame for graphics :devil:


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## tonyvdb

My first gaming experience was on an AppleIIe, Loadrunner was a popular one and Lemmings. I also liked playing Beyond castle wolfinstine. My dad payed $2800 for the AppleIIe two joysticks, two 5-1/4"floppy drives and a dot matrix printer when it first came out in the early 80s.


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## knobert

Wow talk about a thread to date yourself!

I can't remeber the first official game that I played but Turtle Logo was always a bunch of fun on an old apple.
It's a long list after that but now I am more into console gaming


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## recruit

The first Video game I played IIRC was ping pong on a Binatone console, with a twisty controller...


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## dyohn

My uncle Bob Rhoades ran the first Kansas City cable TV company and had one of the first Pong games. He brought it to our house to show off and I played him on our 19" black and white Curtis Mathis console set... had to be early 1973 since I was still living with my folks...


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## Ronm1

Lunar lander as mentioned earlier plus Space Wars was another mainframe based game if I remember correctly.


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## owlfan12000

240V said:


> Lunar Lander? Never thought of it as my 1st computer game but I remember (barely ha ha) a demo around 1971 or 72 where if you failed (always) it told you how big a crater you made on the moon. Is that the same Lunar Lander?


Can't tell you for sure if the text based game that first came out told you how big a crater it formed. You might want to look at this online game, www.sebleedelisle.com/games/moonlander/ I think it mimics an Atari game that came out a little later. I can tell you I have managed to create a 2 mile crater while playing this.


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## akan101

The first game i played on the computer was Phantasmagorie, a horror game.


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## Moonfly

Does worm on the RM Nimbus count?

Thats about as far back as I can remember anyway

Beyond that, I remember the first Nintendo dual screen hand helds, games like Dizzy and Dan Dare on the spectrum. Pong is an obvious one, I had the original machine, with a 3 way switch to change between tennis, football and another game I cant remember, squash I think. My first real games console was the Atari 2600 though, loved that machine till the NES came along.

Computer wise though, it was worm, and I couldnt get away from it.


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## 1Michael

I remember Lunar lander and I always stunk at it. Space Invaders was cool and so was asteroids.


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## Moonfly

buggers said:


> Space Invaders was cool and so was asteroids.


And Galaxian and Centipede. How many variations were there in this game type, I cant remember.


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## lcaillo

I never really played computer games much, but one of the first I remember was a space simulation (based on Star Trek, loosely, IIRC) run on a minicomputer using paper tape back in the 1970s. Yeah, that dates me, but at least we used Hollerith cards and paper tape bak in the day. I am sure some here date back to when they used tubes in computers.


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## Mike P.

Back in the mid 70's Pong by Atari was my first game, we used to spend hours at it. At the time it was all the rage! :innocent:


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## Moonfly

Ive just remembered my first ever actual game 

Caveman

It rocked !!!!!!


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## Ronm1

lcaillo said:


> I never really played computer games much, but one of the first I remember was a space simulation (based on Star Trek, loosely, IIRC) run on a minicomputer using paper tape back in the 1970s. Yeah, that dates me, but at least we used Hollerith cards and paper tape bak in the day. I am sure some here date back to when they used tubes in computers.


I remember the ST game as it was played on a KSR35, though vt's hid what you were doing better.
First support call I took after my Navy hitch was at a tracking site. Lots of old equip there. The Univac system had tape drives with terrible servo nulls on the hubs, opened up the back of a unit, purple glowing *THYRATRON's* for servo control. Carefully closed the tube chassis and went about my work.


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## Sthrndream

Mike P. said:


> Back in the mid 70's Pong by Atari was my first game, we used to spend hours at it. At the time it was all the rage! :innocent:
> 
> View attachment 19611
> 
> 
> View attachment 19612


Ditto. Even remember discovering that you could put a spin on the ball if you flipped the paddle while making contact.


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## recruit

Does anyone remember the Intellivision console, I remember playing soccer at a friends house and a few other games that I cannot remember :scratch:


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## Ronm1

recruit said:


> Does anyone remember the Intellivision console, I remember playing soccer at a friends house and a few other games that I cannot remember :scratch:


Yup, Mattel's answer to the 2600.


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## recruit

Ronm1 said:


> Yup, Mattel's answer to the 2600.


Apparantely it was the first 16bit console made...


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## owlfan12000

Mike P. said:


> Back in the mid 70's Pong by Atari was my first game, we used to spend hours at it. At the time it was all the rage! :innocent:
> 
> View attachment 19611
> 
> 
> View attachment 19612





Vidmaven said:


> Ditto. Even remember discovering that you could put a spin on the ball if you flipped the paddle while making contact.


Wow I didn't realize that pong was that old. That may in fact have been the first one I played. I remember the console and the spin move.


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## recruit

I still have my Atari computers in the loft with the 5 & 1/4" floppy disk drive and tape deck to load games and a few still, not sure if anyone remembers Mercenary or the Goonies game which I still have and hopefully they still work, I used to play them for hours on end...

This was 



 and this was the 



 game, look at the great graphics :bigsmile:


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## FlashJim

1st PC game for me was Magic Candle as far as I remember.

1st console game was Pong. Yes, I'm old.


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## tonyvdb

How about Cannonball Blitz or Hard Hat Mack? I played these many times on our Apple IIe


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## Moonfly

FlashJim said:


> Yes, I'm old.


Just wait till it gets to the point when we're some of the last living people that played these original consoles and games


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## corock

the first console I played was pong. My favorite of all time was Atari asteroids. First hand held was the head-to-head football.


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## owlfan12000

Moonfly said:


> Just wait till it gets to the point when we're some of the last living people that played these original consoles and games


I can see it now - "Next on the FOXABCMSNBC virtual reality news - The last geek to play Pong died today at the age of 107. Pong was a 2D console game played on a television almost 100 years ago." 

Followed by my great grandson saying "Dad, what's a television?"


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## tonyvdb

Hey, I get that with my turntable. My daughters were in awe over it when i showed them how it worked.
I loved playing Dig-Doug as well. There is something to be said about those old game platforms.


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## looneybomber

My first computer game may have been Oregon Trail, or Where In The World Is Carman Sandiego?

My first consol games were on an Atari 2600 my parents had. I don't remember all the games that we had, but I loved Moon Patrol.


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## 240V

Officially my 1st computer game was called Aquanox in 2002. Game was packaged with a video card. It is an underwater, futuristic, sci-fi shooter with vehicles, turrets and small maps. Got me into gaming though.


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## namuk

Pong :T


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## Dave Upton

Chips Challenge I believe - that was the first "I" played. I also played the original Microsoft Golf.


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## MishMouse

My first computer game was Space War played on the Sears version of the Atari 2600.
Actually, I still have it along with all the original games I had, plus multiple ones I bought off of ebay.
Yars Revenge still is one of the best Atari 2600 games ever made in my opinion.

My first handheld I think was either baseball, or Battlestar Galatica.


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## soundfreak28

I can't remember what I was playing first, Loom, or some math based learning game on the old Mac computers, you know, back when they had the greenish colored screen? Oooh ooh one of my favorites though was Raptor. I don't remember when I started playing it but I think it was one of the first that got me into shoot'em up games


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## taoggniklat

Oregon Trail
Brickout
Pong


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## kudo11

i have to say, i totally agreee. that game is awesome. it started me playing games and i have never stopped. i now play bf2 and all e a games that are first person shooter. i am what you call a gamer for life.


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## doc5150

My first Game was Quake 2 back in 97, My brother built me my first pc and loaded it up and said I would like it. Played it and every quake/doom game since then lol. Played many FPS since then, I like BFBC2 and Vietnam addon these days, nice graphics and descent gameplay tho i still play Q2 now and then.


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## Infrasonic

My first was playing a stand alone Pong system my friend had, it's amazing the changes in technology over the last ~30 years.


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## pharoah

first computer game period was a hitchikers guide to the galaxy.the first more modern style game was diablo 2.


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## NBPk402

The first computer game I played was Doom. I remember playing it for hours on end and then the dif levels that peep would develop for it. Looking at the games we have today I don't know how I ever played it with the graphics being so poor back then.


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## pharoah

ellisr63 said:


> The first computer game I played was Doom. I remember playing it for hours on end and then the dif levels that peep would develop for it. Looking at the games we have today I don't know how I ever played it with the graphics being so poor back then.


the thing is back then doom ws cutting edge graphics.everyoone thought it looked awesome.now that you know the difference it does look bad.if someone had asked you the first day you played it.how does that game look?i think i know what your answer would have been.


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## tripplej

My first computer game was an NBA game. We just got a 286 pc back in the early 80s and a friend of mine had a pirate version. The game wouldn't work on my new 286 thou due to error about memory. We then took it to the store where they built the pc and wouldn't you know it they short changed us by not giving us all the memory that we stated we needed. Back then of course we didn't realize to check all the technical specs so we just took the store at their word when they gave us the PC. So, after that experience, I always check and ensure everything we paid for was in the new PC. And that game was awesome even on a 286.


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## Rhuarc

The first game that I remember was Duke Nukem. I remember it so well, because, well I was young and the content was not appropriate for a kid my age...


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## BD55

I think the first pc game I played was either Lemmings or Duke Nukem. One of my favorites though was The Lost Vikings. That was a classic, and I would love to see a revamp into a modern console (maybe there is...I just don't play computer/console games anymore!)


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## Dynarider

tonyvdb said:


> My first gaming experience was on an AppleIIe, Loadrunner was a popular one and Lemmings. I also liked playing Beyond castle wolfinstine. My dad payed $2800 for the AppleIIe two joysticks, two 5-1/4"floppy drives and a dot matrix printer when it first came out in the early 80s.


I think there was a version of Loadrunner on the original Nintendo system. I remember wearing that one out. 
We had one of those early IBM machines. I remember my folks saying how expensive it was, but Mom got a deal because she worked at IBM. I have fond memories of the King's Quest series on that old boat anchor of a machine, and all the noise it made when you walked the character over to the next screen.


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## Todd Anderson

Outside if the Atari console systems... Our first computer was an Atari 800. Some if the first games we had in it were Zaxxon and Castle Wolfenstein. Classics. I must say, though, my favorites from that era are a game called M.U.L.E. and Miner 49er.

Great games back in those days!


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## phillihp23

comodore 64 Frogger??? I think. Then again if your talking the first video game, I had a Intellivision I think. All I remember was the weird circle paddle and number pad you punched to do things. Everything was black and white. You were a hash mark and everything else on the screen was made of hash marks......very primative to say the least....graphics...dont believe they existed...at least not in this system.


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## Tooley

Tank and pong on Atari


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## 8086

Pong at an arcade.


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## JQueen

I think Duke Nukem


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## NBPk402

I believe the first games I played on my computer was castle wolfenstine, Doom, and Grand Prix.


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## 8086

JQueen said:


> I think Duke Nukem


Not exactly a kid friendly game.


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## rab-byte

Commander Keen or pinball I think. Windows 3 on dos. 
First game I bought was x-wing


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## JQueen

8086 said:


> Not exactly a kid friendly game.


I turned out alright  and times have changed I would never let either of my children play a game like that


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## Medi0gre

Mouse trap for the Gemini, but i sure spent alot of quarters on Kungfu Master and Galaga.


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## jevans64

A " Lunar Lander " clone I coded myself on a TI 99-4/A in BASIC. I wrote tons of text-only games on a Horzon II in programming class.

Probably the first store-bought game I played was the games that came with the Commodore 64. Can't remember what they were but they were probably a Pong clone and some other clones. I remember playing the out of Pitfall!, Summer Games ( 1984 ), Winter Games, Lode Runner, Flight Simulator, Castle Wolfenstein, and Seven Cities of Gold.

I upgraded to the Commodore Amiga 1000 in 1986 when I could finally get one but held onto the C=64 until about 1990.


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## Dynarider

Medi0gre said:


> Mouse trap for the Gemini, but i sure spent alot of quarters on Kungfu Master and Galaga.


Me too! Choplifter, Contra, and Tron got lots of my quarters, also. Those were the good ol' days, when you could go to the arcade with $5 and play for hours.


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## MasterOfZuru

If you count Atari 2600, then it would be Donkey Kong, followed by many other Atari 2600 games such as PitFall (Awesome back then!), asteroids, joust, etc..

For PC, it would be Save the Lemmings, followed by Commander Keen, and King's Quest! Ah the good old days!


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## nova

First PC games I remember playing were text based games like Trade Wars and Legend of the Red Dragon.


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## PhillyT

think mine was the 1991 sonic the hedgehog!


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## AlphaPie

The first game I remember was commander keen. Still play it from time to time on steam for nostalgia sake.


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