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Archive-name: tolkien/games
See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge List of Computer Games Related to Tolkien's Works, ver 1.8 ========================================================== Disclaimer: This document includes some characters that are NOT part of the English alphabet. These are represented in accordance with the ISO 8859-1 (Latin-1) standard. If your computer cannot handle them, do not come whining to me. As of 1 Nov. 1995, this list is no longer updated. It has been transmogrified into a set of WWW pages, the URL of which is: http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/ Entries added since ver 1.7: Mozart MUD; Abyss; Mirkwood; An Everyday Tale of a Seeker of Gold; The Last Dragon; Tolkien Trivia; Assault on Dolni Keep; DikuMUD Entries changed since ver 1.7: Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail; Quovadis; Riders of Rohan; The Hobbit (Software Adventure); The Pits of Angband; Shadows of Mordor (Software Adventure); Nameless MUD; War in Middle Earth Entries deleted since ver 1.7: Mines of Mordor; The Bridge of Catzad-Dum Explanations and credits may be found at the end of the file. Commercial, licensed -------------------- This section contains all the games that have been licensed from Tolkien's publisher, HarperCollins. The Hobbit (Software Adventure) Produced by: Beam Software and Tansoft (Oric-1 version) Distributor: Melbourne House (The Hobbit) and Addison-Wesley (The Hobbit Software Adventure) Author: Philip Mitchell and Veronika Megler Year: 1982 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Oric-1, MSX, BBC B, Apple II, MS-DOS, Macintosh Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: "The Hobbit" Comment: Classic adventure. I love this game! It had a large vocabulary and good character interaction for its time. BBC cassette version does not feature graphics. The Hobbit Software Adventure is an extended version with enhanced graphics. For the Apple II, Macintosh and MS-DOS, only The Hobbit Software Adventure was released. The Hobbit was also part of Tolkien Trilogy. Most versions were sold with a paperback edition of "The Hobbit". Lord of the Rings: Game One Produced by: Beam Software Distributor: Melbourne House No: MH 331 Author: Philip Mitchell, et al. Year: 1985 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, BBC B Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: "The Fellowship of the Ring" Comment: This is one of the worst games I have ever played. Slow, totally lacking respect for Tolkien's works and the "graphics" are horrible. BBC version does not feature graphics. Play it once or twice for a good laugh. Divided in two parts and one beginner's game. Was also part of Tolkien Trilogy. Some versions were sold with a paperback edition of "The Fellowship of the Ring". The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure Produced by: Beam Software Distributor: Addison-Wesley No: ISBN 0-201-13640-6 (Apple II), ISBN 0-201-13650-3 (MS-DOS), ISBN 0-201-13660-0 (Commodore 64) Author: Philip Mitchell, et al. Year: 1986 System: Apple II, MS-DOS, Commodore 64, Macintosh Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: "The Fellowship of the Ring" Comment: This is actually the same game as Lord of the Rings: Game One but I think that there are enough differences between the versions to be cause enough to give this one an entry of its own. In addition to the change of title, the documentation is slightly enhanced and the packaging is totally different. There is no beginner's game and the graphics are completely different, although not necessarily better. This version was only distributed in North America. Shadows of Mordor (Software Adventure) Produced by: Beam Software Distributor: Melbourne House (Shadows of Mordor) and Addison-Wesley (Shadows of Mordor Software Adventure) No: ISBN 0-201-09497-5 (MS-DOS), ISBN 0-201-09498-3 (Apple II), ISBN 0-201-09499-1 (Commodore 64), ISBN 0-201-09626-9 (Macintosh) Author: Philip Mitchell, John Haward, et al. Year: 1988 System: ZX Spectrum, Spectrum 128, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Macintosh, Apple II Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: Book Four of "The Two Towers" Comment: Sequel to Lord of the Rings: Game One. It appears to be better than its predecessor in almost all aspects. Amstrad CPC version does not feature graphics and ZX Spectrum version has all graphics in a slideshow separate from the main program. Was also part of Tolkien Trilogy. Shadows of Mordor Software Adventure comes with an offer to send for a paperback edition of "The Two Towers" for only p&p. Crack of Doom Software Adventure Produced by: Beam Software Distributor: Addison-Wesley No: ISBN 0-201-51778-7 (Macintosh), ISBN 0-201-51779-5 (Apple II), ISBN 0-201-51780-9 (MS-DOS), ISBN 0-201-51781-7 (Commodore 64) Author: Philip Mitchell, Norton Truter, John Haward, et al. Year: 1989 System: MS-DOS, Macintosh, Commodore 64, Apple II Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: Book Six of "The Return of the King" Comment: The last part of the trilogy in this incarnation. Unlike The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure and Shadows of Mordor, this game does not allow playing multiple characters. The player is restricted to the character of Sam. The game comes with an offer to send for a paperback edition of "The Two Towers" for only p&p. War in Middle Earth Produced by: Maelstrom Games Ltd. (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC) and Synergistic Software (Amiga) Distributor: Melbourne House Author: Mike Singleton (ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC), Ron Harris, Alan B. Clark, et al. (Amiga) Year: 1988 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST Type: Strategy Language: English and Spanish (at least ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions were released in both languages) Covers: "The Lord of the Rings" Comment: Strange mix of RPG and strategy. Quite good but too simple. The graphics are OK on the Amiga, even if they certainly do not capture MY picture of Middle Earth. Early versions seem to have been extremely bug-infested. A new VGA version for MS-DOS has been released. Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail Distributor: Game Systems Inc. <gmsystminc@aol.com> (USA), GAD Games (UK until 1995) and Allsorts PBM Games <100425.1444@CompuServe.com> (UK from 1995) Year: Started 1990 Type: Play by mail (strategy) Comment: This differs from the rest of the games in this list since the players do not actually sit by the computer when playing. Instead, each player fills in a form which is sent to the Game Master (above noted as Distributor) once every two to three weeks. These forms are then processed by a central computer and the result is sent back to the player. In each game, 10 nations of the Free Peoples battle 10 nations of the Dark Servants, while 5 Neutral nations ponder when to choose sides. The time is about 1500 years before Tolkien's trilogy, although GSI has also started a scenario which plays in the time of the War of the Ring. There are rumours about an Australian Game Master. Riders of Rohan Produced by: Beam Software and Papirus Design Group Distributor: Konamy Co., Mirrorsoft and Entertainment Group Author: Hank Howie, Phil Redmond, et al. Year: 1990 System: MS-DOS Type: Strategy game with action elements Covers: The beginning of "The Two Towers" Comment: A game about the war between the Rohirrim and Saruman. In addition to controlling the movement of the good forces, the player may, among other things, shoot orcs with bow and fight enemy leaders with sword. Said to be good but simple. The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I Produced by: Interplay Productions <info@interplay.com> Distributor: Electronic Arts, Interplay Productions and Nintendo (Super NES version) No: Y63500 (Electronic Arts), IBM-007-8 (MS-DOS disk), ICD-007-0 (CD-ROM), SNE-808-0 (Super NES) Author: Scott Bennie, Troy Miles, et al. (MS-DOS version) and Matthew Findley (Super NES version) Year: 1990 (MS-DOS version), 1994 (Super NES version) Version: 1.3 System: Amiga, MS-DOS, Super NES Type: RPG Covers: "The Fellowship of the Ring" Comment: Exists both as disk and CD-ROM version. The CD-ROM has additional animations and is only available for MS-DOS. Part of The Lord of the Rings/Two Towers Bundle. The latest disk version was included in the Interplay 10th Anniversary CD-ROM. The Super NES version is so different from the other versions that it is almost a new game. Super NES version allows one to five players. Some MS-DOS games were shipped with a clue book. The game is also part of The Lord of the Rings/Two Towers bundle. The Lord of the Rings, Vol. II: The Two Towers Produced by: Interplay Productions <info@interplay.com> Distributor: Interplay Productions No: IBM-017 Author: Scott Bennie, Mark Whittlesey, et al. (based on Troy Miles' engine for Volume One) Year: 1991 System: MS-DOS, an Amiga version scheduled for 1992 was never released Type: RPG Covers: "The Two Towers" Comment: I think this game and the former are, in spite of a lot of bugs in early versions, very good and are the only games to come even close to the feeling of Tolkien's books. They add a lot that was not there from the beginning, though. Some games were shipped with a clue book. The game is also part of The Lord of the Rings/Two Towers bundle. Commercial, unlicensed ---------------------- These games are (or have been) commercial, but they were not licensed. They could thus (with exception of the parodies) be considered to violate copyright. To my knowledge, legal action has not been taken against any of them. *Lord of the Rings Year: 1981 System: TRS-80 Model I Type: Text adventure Shadowfax Produced by: Postern Author: Mike Singleton and Sean Logan Year: 1982 System: VIC 20, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC B Type: Arcade action Comment: You are Gandalf. Ride Shadowfax into battle and zap the Black Riders, which come riding towards you in a never diminishing stream. Quite ridiculous, almost, but still kind of fun. *Cracks of Doom Distributor: Supersoft Year: 1983 System: PET Type: Text adventure *Lord of the Rings Year: 1983? System: Microbee Type: Text adventure Comment: The title may not be correct for this entry. Colossal Adventure Produced by: Level 9 Computing Distributor: Level 9 Computing (original), Firebird (Jewels of Darkness in the USA) and Rainbird Software (Jewels of Darkness in the rest of the world) Author: Pete, Mike and Nick Austin, after an original by Willie Crowther and Don Woods Year: 1983 System: ZX Spectrum, Spectrum 128, Sinclair QL, Oric-1, Lynx, Nascom, Memotech, Commodore 64, BBC, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 400, Atari XE, Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS, Macintosh, MSX Type: Text adventure, Jewels of Darkness has illustrations Comment: This is Level 9's adaption of Crowther and Woods' original Adventure (aka Colossal Cave). The original was strongly influenced by Tolkien, and this version emphasizes that even more. Together with Adventure Quest and Dungeon Adventure, it came to form The Middle-Earth Trilogy. Later, Rainbird published the whole trilogy in one package and renamed it Jewels of Darkness, and in doing so they also changed all references to Tolkien (except at one place in the manual where they forgot to replace Amon Sul with Mount Sewl). Jewels of Darkness was not released for Oric-1, Lynx, Nascom, Memotech and Atari 400, while the original trilogy was probably not released for Spectrum 128, Sinclair QL, Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS and Macintosh. Adventure Quest Produced by: Level 9 Computing Distributor: Level 9 Computing (original), Firebird (Jewels of Darkness in the USA) and Rainbird Software (Jewels of Darkness in the rest of the world) Author: Pete, Mike and Nick Austin Year: 1983 System: ZX Spectrum, Spectrum 128, Sinclair QL, Oric-1, Lynx, Nascom, Memotech, Commodore 64, BBC, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 400, Atari XE, Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS, Macintosh, MSX Type: Text adventure, Jewels of Darkness has illustrations Comment: The second part of The Middle-Earth Trilogy (see Colossal Adventure for more details). Dungeon Adventure Produced by: Level 9 Computing Distributor: Level 9 Computing (original), Firebird (Jewels of Darkness in the USA) and Rainbird Software (Jewels of Darkness in the rest of the world) Author: Pete, Mike and Nick Austin Year: 1984 System: ZX Spectrum, Spectrum 128, Sinclair QL, Oric-1, Lynx, Nascom, Memotech, Commodore 64, BBC, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 400, Atari XE, Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS, Macintosh, MSX Type: Text adventure, Jewels of Darkness has illustrations Comment: The third part of The Middle-Earth Trilogy (see Colossal Adventure for more details). Moria Distributor: Severn Software Author: Mike Howard (ZX Spectrum) and Adrian Sheppard (Oric-1) Year: 1984 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric-1 Type: Illustrated text adventure Comment: Involves finding Durin's ring in Moria. Gandalf the Sorcerer Produced by: Game Gems Author: Frank Cecere Year: 1984 System: Commodore 64 Type: Arcade action Comment: The game consists of a wizard (presumably Gandalf) running along the battlements of a castle zapping dinosaurs(!) and the occasional ostrich(?!). Bored of the Rings Produced by: DELTA 4 Software Distributor: DELTA 4 Software (briefly), Silversoft and CRL Group PLC Author: Fergus McNeill and Judith Child Year: 1985 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair QL Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: Parody of "The Lord of the Rings", not based on (but influenced by) the Harvard Lampoon book "Bored of the Rings" Distribution: ZX Spectrum version is now apparently PD. FTP from ftp.nvg.unit.no: /pub/sinclair/snaps/games/adventure/text/bored-rings.zip. The file contains images for a ZX Spectrum emulator. Comment: Was made with The Quill. Had very poor graphics, and the parser was not much better. Quite fun, though. Divided in three parts. The Boggit Produced by: DELTA 4 Software Distributor: CRL Group PLC Author: Fergus McNeill and Judith Child Year: 1986 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC Type: Illustrated text adventure Covers: Parody of "The Hobbit" Distribution: ZX Spectrum version is now apparently PD. FTP from ftp.nvg.unit.no: /pub/sinclair/snaps/games/adventure/text/boggit.zip, .../boggit-2.zip and .../boggit-3.zip. The files contain images for a ZX Spectrum emulator. Comment: Parody of Melbourne House's adaption of "The Hobbit". Quite fun. Was made with The Quill. Divided in three parts. PD/Shareware ------------ This is the section for all the games that are distributed on a non- commercial basis. Ringen Year: 1979(?) Author: Hansen System: CNC, Commodore 64, MS-DOS Type: Text adventure Language: Norwegian (later translated to English when converted to MUD format, see comments) Comment: Was probably developed at the University of Tromsø. It came to form the basis of the Tolkien areas of Genesis and VikingMUD. *The Shire Year: 1979(?) Type: Text adventure Comment: It was made for some mainframe or minicomputer. *Orthanc Year: 1979(?) Comment: This has been described as a game where "a little figure is propelled through a series of corridors and rooms," whatever that is supposed to mean. Like The Shire, it was made for some mainframe or minicomputer. LORD Produced by: Helsinki University of Technology Author: Olli J. Paavola Year: 1981 System: DEC-20 Type: Text adventure Covers: "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" Distribution: PD (I think) Comment: With 550 separate locations, this game is huge by most standards. It does not really try to be completely consistent with Tolkien but mixes elements from many other sources. It is clear, however, that it is made with a great love for and knowledge about Tolkien's books. *Smaugs Lair Author: N. Brooks System: ZX81 Distribution: PD(?) The Dungeons of Moria Author: Robert Alan Koeneke, James E. Wilson, et al. Year: 1983 Version: 5.5.2 System: VAX, Unix, MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, X Windows Name address: herx1.tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de (version 4.80, log on as "GAMES") or bbs.runet.edu ([what version is here?], log on as "bbs") Type: ASCII-based RPG (Amiga version has simple graphics) Distribution: PD, FTP from ftp.cis.ksu.edu: /pub/Games/Moria/ Comment: Extremely classic game, but really more influenced by D&D than by Tolkien. The Tolkien Affair System: TRS-80 Model 100 Type: RPG (of sorts) Distribution: PD, FTP from ftp.eos.ncsu.edu: /pub/tandy100/games/dragon.ba Comment: Amusingly stupid game about stealing the Arkenstone from Smaug. Extremely buggy. Mario Author: Harald Bornfleth (version 1) and Herbert Grosser (version 2) Year: 1984 Version: 2 (1990) System: Commodore 64 Type: Illustrated text adventure Language: German Covers: Chapters four and five in Book Two of "The Fellowship of the Ring" (the passage through Moria) Distribution: PD(?), the program disks of German magazine 64'er Sonderheft 2/85 (version 1) and 52 (version 2) Comment: This game confuses me. All names are changed as if it was a parody, but no other attempts are made to be humourous. Nor can it be an attempt to avoid copyright violation, since no secret is made of where it was taken from. The overall quality of the game is poor. Der kleine Hobbit Author: Michael Nickles Year: 1984 System: Commodore 64 Type: Illustrated text adventure Language: German Covers: "The Hobbit" Distribution: PD(?), the program disk of German magazine 64'er Sonderheft 4/86 Comment: A much simplified German version of Melbourne House's The Hobbit. quiz Produced by: The Regents of the University of California Version: 5.1 System: Unix Type: Quiz game Distribution: Freeware, FTP from gatekeeper.dec.com: /pub/BSD/NetBSD/NetBSD-current/src/games/quiz/ Comment: I believe that this game is distributed with Berkeley Unix. It tests the player's knowledge on different subjects. One of the data files that is distributed with the game contains some nations and capitals in Middle Earth. Bilbo Author: Nils Eng Year: 1989 Version: 2.1 (1993) System: MS-DOS Type: Text adventure with some graphics Language: Swedish Covers: "The Lord of the Rings" Distribution: PD, FTP from ftp.gmd.de: /if-archive/games/pc/education/bilbo.zip Comment: Based on the "alternate reality" that Bilbo, rather than Frodo, was chosen to take the Ring to Mordor. Not very good but quite different. The Pits of Angband Author: Alexander Cutler, Andy Astrand, et al. Year: 1991 Version: 2.7.8 (1995) System: Unix, MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh Name address: bbs.runet.edu (log on as "bbs") Type: ASCII-based RPG (Amiga version has simple graphics) Distribution: PD, FTP from ftp.cis.ksu.edu: /pub/Games/Angband/ Comment: Extended, and much more Tolkien-influenced, version of The Dungeons of Moria. However, it seems more like an unordered collection of monsters and artifacts from Tolkien's world than anything else. Tolkien's Middle Earth Author: Massimo Campostrini <campo@sunthpi3.difi.unipi.it> Year: 1992 System: X Windows Type: Module for multiplayer strategy game Xconq 5.5 Distribution: PD, FTP from ftp.uu.net: /pub/games/xconq/contrib/tolkien.shar.Z. Also distributed with Xconq 5.5. Comment: A new version will be out for Xconq 7 and will cover current shortcomings in the representation of Tolkien's world. The author asks that you please contact him if you would like to help designing 16x16 bitmap graphics for the forces of the game. Morgul Author: Chris Wilde, et al. Year: 1993 System: Unix, MS-DOS, Macintosh Type: ASCII-based RPG Distribution: PD, FTP from ftp.cis.ksu.edu: /pub/Games/Moria/unofficial/ Comment: An unofficial version of The Dungeons of Moria version 5.5. It is almost identical to that game, but takes place in Morgul where the player has to kill the nine Nazgûls in order to delay the attack on Minas Tirith. The author is very concerned with the poor realism of allowing humans to become mages (compare Tolkien's rare descriptions of humans using magic) but does not bother to explain why hobbits and half-elves are shop-keepers in down-town Minas Morgul. Hobbit - The True Story Produced by: Milbus Software Author: Fredrik Ramsberg <d91frera@und.ida.liu.se> and Johan Berntsson Year: 1993 System: MS-DOS Type: Text adventure Covers: Parody of "The Hobbit" Distribution: Shareware (USD 10), FTP from ftp.gmd.de: /if-archive/games/pc/hobbit.zip Comment: Possibly the first adventure ever written with BAT files(!). It is a very good but extremely short parody of Melbourne House's The Hobbit. *Tolkien Trivia Author: tolkien (this is the author's previous user-name) Year: 1995(?) Type: Quiz game Distribution: Previously on-line Comment: This is (was?) a web game running on a Hawaiian server. I do not know if it has moved or disappeared, but it is no longer on its original site, anyway. Eamon ----- Eamon is a sort of standard platform for many different text adventures with a strong RPG element. One player character can be used in many adventures and some objects and abilities can be moved from one adventure to any of the others. Eamon was invented by Donald Brown and developed by John Nelson. Because of the element of inter-game mobility, the player of these games never actually takes the role of any of Tolkien's characters, but rather plays "himself". Therefore, these games have no "Covers" entry. Instead, there is a short description in the comment. The Last Dragon No: Eamon 107 Author: R. Pender Year: 1985 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from cassandra.ucr.edu: /pub/apple2/incoming/PublicDomain/eamon/eamon107.dsk.gz. The file is a disk image for an Apple II emulator. Comment: Apparently set in the fourth age, it is a quest to slay the very last dragon and loot his treasure. While the game is mostly based on Tolkien, it is a mix-up with strong elements of Graeco-Roman and Norse mythology. At one place there is a fatal bug that may make it impossible, or at least very difficult, to finish the game. The Mines of Moria No: Eamon 108 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1985 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from cassandra.ucr.edu: /pub/apple2/incoming/PublicDomain/eamon/eamon108.dsk.gz. The file is a disk image for an Apple II emulator. Comment: The Mines of Moria is the first in a series called The Lord of the Rings by Sam Ruby. The author himself considers the games before The Hunt for the Ring to be "technically and thematically inferior to [the later games]". This one involves going through Moria to get some secret information through to the good forces in the south. The Forest of Fear No: Eamon 109 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1985 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from cassandra.ucr.edu: /pub/apple2/incoming/PublicDomain/eamon/eamon109.dsk.gz. The file is a disk image for an Apple II emulator. Comment: The Lord of the Rings Part 2. Free Mirkwood from the evil power in Dol Guldur. Thror's Ring No: Eamon 114 Author: Tom Zuchowski <t.zuchowski@genie.geis.com> Year: 1986 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from apple2.archive.umich.edu: /apple2/8bit/game/eamon.best.bsq Comment: A quest to find and reclaim Thror's ring from the depths of Moria. This is the second best Eamon adventure according to a vote by the members of the Eamon Adventurer's Guild. If you happen to like the Eamon concept, Thror's Ring is excellent. The Ring of Doom No: Eamon 115 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1986 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from cassandra.ucr.edu: /pub/apple2/incoming/PublicDomain/eamon/eamon115.dsk.gz. The file is a disk image for an Apple II emulator. Comment: Guess what? YOU have to take the ring to Mount Doom in order to destroy it. Loosely based on Book Six of "The Return of the King". This is the third part in Sam Ruby's The Lord of the Rings series. The Iron Prison No: Eamon 116 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1986 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from cassandra.ucr.edu: /pub/apple2/incoming/PublicDomain/eamon/eamon116.dsk.gz. The file is a disk image for an Apple II emulator. Comment: The Lord of the Rings Part 4. Find and bring back the Silmarils from Angband. While doing that, you will get the chance to kill Gothmog, Ancalagon, Ungoliant, Sauron and Morgoth himself, among many others. This must be the all-time low by Sam Ruby. Assault on Dolni Keep No: Eamon 124 Year: 1987 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD, FTP from apple2.archive.umich.edu: /apple2/8bit/game/eamon.best.bsq Comment: Sequel to Thror's Ring. This is the best of all Eamon adventures according to a vote by the members of the Eamon Adventurer's Guild. The Hunt for the Ring No: Eamon 127 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1987 Version: ProDOS (1990) System: Apple II Distribution: PD Comment: The Lord of the Rings Part 5 involves a search for the Lost Ring from the Grey Havens to Gondor. Quest of Erebor No: Eamon 128 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1987 Version: ProDOS (1993) System: Apple II Distribution: PD Comment: Join Bilbo and the dwarves on their adventure east of the Anduin in The Lord of the Rings Part 6. Return to Moria No: Eamon 129 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1987 Version: ProDOS (1991) System: Apple II Distribution: PD Comment: Sequel to The Mines of Moria where the player is supposed to find mithril for Gondor and rouse Durin to unite the dwarves against Sauron. The Lord of the Rings Part 7. Haradwaith No: Eamon 130 Author: Sam Ruby Year: 1987 Version: ProDOS (1994) System: Apple II Distribution: PD Comment: The eighth (and probably last) part of The Lord of the Rings by Sam Ruby. Journey into the Southern Desert, to the old port of Umbar, and uncharted regions beynd the sands, to spy on enemy forces as they prepare to assault Gondor. MUD --- MUD means Multi User Dungeon and can be described as a text adventure for several players. This section is probably relatively complete with regard to the MUDs on the Internet, but there may well be others on phone-in Bulletin Board Systems and such. Genesis Year: Tolkien area opened 1988, still running System: DEC Alpha IP address: 129.16.227.203 3011 Name address: spica3.cs.chalmers.se 3011 Type: LP MUD Comment: The Tolkien area in this MUD was originally based on Ringen, but has since grown a lot. One earlier version of it has also been ported to VikingMUD. A very good MUD. *Middle-Earth Year: Opened 1991(?), closed 1992 Type: LP MUD Comment: This game was running in the UK. It is rumored to have been very good. VikingMUD Author: Pål-Kristian Engstad <pke@engstad.ingok.hitos.no> (who no longer maintains the area), after an original by Hansen Year: Tolkien area opened 1991, still running IP address: 129.241.190.14 2001 Name address: viking.pvv.unit.no 2001 Type: LP MUD Comment: The Moria area in this MUD was originally the same as that of Genesis, which was in turn based on Ringen. Walk s, [4 e], [4 n], e from the starting point to get there. Nanny Year: Tolkien area opened 1991, still running IP address: 130.236.254.159 2000 Name address: mud.lysator.liu.se 2000 Type: LP MUD Comment: Includes two Tolkien areas; one first and one third age. They are only a very minor part of the total MUD. Walk [7 s], w from the starting point to get to the Tolkien areas. The third age area has also been ported to Quovadis. Elendor Year: Opened 1991, still running IP address: 134.114.66.33 1892 Name address: elendor.sbs.nau.edu 1892 Type: MUSH Comment: Very large and covering most of what is described in "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" and more. Completely dedicated to Tolkien. This is probably the most popular of the Tolkien MUDs. DikuMUD Author: Poohbear Comment: Diku is not a mud, per se. It is a type of MUD (see for example MUME below). Most versions of DikuMUD, as well as other types of MUD which are based on Diku, are distributed with one Tolkien area built into them. That area is called The Shire. Most of these MUDs also have an area called Moria, but that is only very loosely based on Tolkien. Among the MUDs that have these areas are Mozart MUD, Mirkwood and (probably) Abyss (see below for the addresses of these). MUME: Multi Users in Middle Earth Year: Opened 1992, still running Version: V IP address: 130.15.16.85 4242 (Canada), 141.142.103.6 4242 (USA), 129.241.210.219 4242 (Norway), 128.178.173.2 4242 (Switzerland), 130.234.80.6 4242 (Finland) or 130.235.55.4 4242 (Sweden) Name address: ncb2.ee.queensu.ca 4242, shire.ncsa.uiuc.edu 4242, mumegw.pvv.unit.no 4242, mxsg1.epfl.ch 4242, bmv.jyu.fi 4242 or medusa.sparta.lu.se 4242 Type: DikuMUD Comment: MUME is set between "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". It takes a lot of inspiration from ICE's Middle Earth Roleplaying game. Only a few areas are open, but those that are open are very detailed. The addresses above may change. Telnet to 128.178.77.5 4242 to get info on current servers. MUME is closed weekdays 9am to 5pm GMT. *Nameless MUD Year: Closed 1994 Type: LP MUD Comment: Had a Mordor area and a Moria area. *RealmsMUD Year: Still running System: P5-90 IP address: 198.3.127.200 1501 Name address: realms.dorsai.org 1501 Type: LP MUD Comment: There is a first age area and two quests within that. *Mozart MUD Author: Mallery, et al. Year: Still running IP address: 129.22.46.3 4500 Name address: nauset.econ.cwru.edu 4500 Type: SillyMUD Comment: Has Shire, Moria and Mordor areas. *Nemesis Year: Tolkien area opened 1993(?), MUD closed 1994 Type: LP MUD Comment: This MUD used to run in Munich and had a Mordor area. It was closed due to too much traffic. There are plans to reopen it on some other site, but no date is yet decided. The Lord of the Rings MUSH Year: Opened 1993, closed 1994 IP address: 140.142.113.52 4201 Type: MUSH Comment: This MUSH was completely dedicated to Tolkien. There are plans to start two new MUSHes based on this one; one with the same theme but better coded and one based on the fourth age (probably to be called The Lord of the Rings MUSH II). Abyss Version: IV IP address: 129.89.68.89 4000 Comment: Currently temporarily closed. Quovadis Year: Tolkien area opened 1994, MUD closed 1995 Type: LP MUD Comment: The larger of the Tolkien areas from Nanny MUD was implemented on this MUD, which was running in Switzerland, as well. Mirkwood Author: JellO, Tomasin (Isengard), Gerrold (Midgaard Academy), et al. Year: 1995 IP address: 141.142.222.42 4000 Name address: haystack.ncsa.uiuc.edu 4000 Type: ROM Comment: Mirkwood, in spite of its name, is not only based on Tolkien. Beginners, however, should pass through the Academy of Midgaard, which contains many references to Middle Earth. There are also Moria, Isengard and Shire areas. Other areas are planned for the future, such as Helm's Deep, Mordor and the Lonely Mountain. Night's Keep Year: Not yet officially opened at the time of writing IP address: 35.8.8.177 7777 Name address: archive.egr.msu.edu 7777 Type: LP MUD Comment: Night's Keep will be mostly based on Tolkien's world. Because of problems with finding someone to code the player classes, the opening of it has been postponed indefinitely. If you know LPC and would like to help, contact nk@roundtable.msu.edu. Aurora Year: Not yet officially opened at the time of writing IP address: 156.35.41.20 3000 Name address: trono.etsiig.uniovi.es 3000 Type: LP MUD Comment: A MUD in the building stages with a Middle Earth area among a few others. It is currently only open for playertesting. MEFA Mush Year: Not yet officially opened at the time of writing IP address: 128.2.22.19 6969 Name address: envirolink2.envirolink.org 6969 Type: MUSH Comment: MEFA Mush means Middle Earth Fifth Age MUSH, and it is a totally spaced-out (literally) attempt to mix Fantasy with Science Fiction. It is set 5,000 years after Tolkien's trilogy, and the player may face such things as RoboHobbits and CyberOrcs. It now accepts player registrations. The Two Towers Year: Not yet officially opened at the time of writing IP address: 36.73.0.68 9999 Name address: empires.stanford.edu 9999 Type: LP MUD Comment: The aim of this MUD is to find and destroy the One Ring. It is now open for playertesting. Unreleased ---------- These are, as could be expected, the games that have been planned, started on or even completed but never released. The Lord of the Rings, Journey to Rivendell Produced by: Parker Brothers No: PB5950 Year: Originally scheduled to be released in 1983 System: Atari 2600, Atari 400 Type: RPG Covers: "The Fellowship of the Ring" up to Book Two, Chapter 4 (the gate to Moria) Comment: This game was probably never finished, although a box cover illustration was produced and it was advertized in several catalogues. One reason that it remains unfinished could be the death of the video games market. *The Tebbit Produced by: Application Software Specialities Distributor: Application Software Specialities Year: 1984 System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 400 Type: Text adventure Covers: Parody of "The Hobbit" Comment: Satire of British political life in the guise of a parody of The Hobbit. I have heard that it remained unreleased because of poor sales of the game Denis Through the Drinking Glass by the same author. I have also heard that it was withdrawn in the last moment because of the bombing of the Conservative party conference in Brighton where Norman Tebbit (who has lent his name to the game) was injured. This latter reason seems unlikely, however, since Application Software Specialities ads suddenly vanished from British computer magazines after May 1984 and the bombing was not until October. *Sagan om ringen Year: 1984 System: Commodore 64 Type: Text adventure Language: Swedish Comment: Third prize winner in "Swedish Adventure Game Championship" that was held by a Swedish computer magazine. The game was completely finished, but written solely for the purpose of the competition and never meant to be released. *An Everyday Tale of a Seeker of Gold Author: John Wilson System: ZX Spectrum Type: Text adventure Covers: Parody of "The Hobbit" Comment: Originally supposed to be called The Boggit (just like the Delta 4 game (see Commercial, unlicensed above)), the author decided to change the title, possibly because Delta 4 released their game. The game was probably never released, but may have ended up on the reverse side of the tape of another of the author's games. *Where Hobbits Dare Produced by: Beam Software Type: Illustrated text adventure Comment: This was a planned sequel to The Hobbit. I am _almost_ sure it was never released. Then again, I used to be almost sure that Crack of Doom Software Adventure was never released either. The Lord of the Rings, Vol. III Produced by: Interplay Productions <info@interplay.com> Year: Originally scheduled to be released in 1992 System: MS-DOS Type: First designed as an RPG, later as a strategy game Covers: "The Return of the King" Comment: Development was started on the third part of the abovementioned games but it was decided to turn the project into the AD&D strategy game Forgotten Realms. Interplay still has the license for the game and it may still be made. 'El Señor de los Anillos', parte 1, La Communidad del Anillo (Libro 1) Author: Dimas Caparros Gomez <dimas@mazanet.es> System: Amiga Type: Illustrated text adventure Language: Spanish (English version may be forthcoming) Covers: Book One of "The Fellowship of the Ring" Comment: This game has previously been listed as Shareware, but will now be released as a commercial game as soon as the author has replaced all graphics and music. English version may be PD. Explanations ------------ This is a brave attempt to list all games that have a direct relationship with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of "The Lord of the Rings". The games are divided into six different categories: Commercial licensed, Commercial unlicensed, PD/Shareware, Eamon, MUD and Unreleased. There also used to be a section with games that almost but not quite belonged to the list. These are now either moved to other sections or to a separate list that can be requested from me. Every game is listed in a separate paragraph. The first line always states the title of the game. An asterisk (*) before the title indicates that some important information is missing. Following lines include different kinds of information, as described: Produced by: The company that designed and programmed the game. Distributor: The company that distributed the game. No: Usually the distributor's product number, but sometimes ISBN or other code. In the case of the Eamon games, it denotes the Eamon Adventurer's Guild's game number. Author: Programmer, designer or project leader for the game. Year: The year the game was first released. If several versions exist, the year refers to the first. Version: The latest version of the game, if several exist. If known, the release year of this version is given in parentheses. System: The computer system(s) for which the game has been released. In the US, the ZX 81 was called Timex Sinclair 1000 and the ZX Spectrum was called Timex Sinclair 2068. That is not the whole truth, but we need not be concerned with the rest. IP address: The IP address for the site of an on-line game. Name address: The name address for the site of an on-line game. Type: The type of the game. Text adventure means just that while illustrated text adventure is a text adventure with pictures for all or several locations. RPG (role-playing game) is a game in the tradition of Rogue, either graphic or ASCII-based and usually showing a view from above the player. Language: The language that the game is in. If this entry is left out, English is implied. Covers: The book(s) or part thereof that the game covers. Distribution: Distribution form for freely available games (PD or Shareware) and wherefrom to acquire it. Comment: General description and comments on the game. Warning! These are my very personal comments. You may want to disagree. A missing line indicates either that the information is unknown or unapplicable. I would be overjoyed to get any kind of feedback on this monster. Especially, error corrections and additions for the *-marked entries are welcome. I can be reached at email ekman@lysator.liu.se. /Fredrik Ekman Credits ------- My thanks to the following persons for valuable help: Lawrence Abrams <lan@mathlab.sunysb.edu> Matt Ackeret <unknown@apple.com> Adanial <CCBUDD@INDSVAX1.INDSTATE.EDU> Arwen of Elendor MUSH Robert Bartz <rbartz@nyx10.cs.du.edu> George Baxter <gbaxter@haystack.ncsa.uiuc.edu> Johnny Billquist <bqt@Minsk.DoCS.UU.SE> Mary Butler Massimo Campostrini <campo@sunthpi3.difi.unipi.it> Francisco Cotrina <cotrina@lia01.unizar.es> Pier Donini <donini@ellco.epfl.ch> Olof Eggestig <olof@mandos.forv.mh.se> John Elliott <elliott@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk> Mattias Engdegård <f91-men@nada.kth.se> Pål-Kristian Engstad <pke@engstad.ingok.hitos.no> Eowyn of The Lord of the Rings MUSH Ross Erickson <Ross=Erickson%New=Prod%Mfg=Hou@bangate.compaq.com> Luis Evaristo <luis.evaristo@skyship.alce.pt> Josh P. Gallagher <J.P.Gallagher@durham.ac.uk> Dimas Caparros Gomez Wayne Hammond Jr <Wayne.G.Hammond@williams.edu> Brian Hanechak <hanechak@k12.ucs.umass.edu> Joost de Heer <joostdh@sci.kun.nl> David J. Hillier <cias25@ccsun.strath.ac.uk> Jan Ingvoldstad <jani@ifi.uio.no> Jan Kapala <KAPALA@ichn.ch.pwr.wroc.pl> Paul Lyon <pdl@jeeves.la.utexas.edu> Nancy Martsch Thomas Meier <Anfalas@doom.gun.de> Richard Merryman <richard.merryman@medtronic.com> Kendall Miles <T330075@UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU> Branden R. Pelok <brp@po.cwru.edu> Daniel Perry <perryda@sol.acs.uwosh.edu> Hans Persson <unicorn@lysator.liu.se> Christopher J. Rasmus <crasmus@mailer.fsu.edu> Michael F. Reid <M.Reid@phys.canterbury.ac.nz> Sam Ruby Robert Sandberg <e2rosa1@etek.chalmers.se> Jose M. Sanz <jsanz@ccs.neu.edu> Dag-Erling Smørgrav <dagsm@infolink.no> David Strutt <dstrutt@cape.uwaterloo.ca> Chris Taylor <anarchy@netcom.com> Ed Zielinski <zielinse@egr.msu.edu> Tom Zuchowski <t.zuchowski@genie.geis.com> I know I have forgotten a couple. Sorry about that. User Contributions:
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List of computer games and MUDs with a Tolkien theme (long)
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List of computer games and MUDs with a Tolkien theme (long)
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