List of computer games and MUDs with a Tolkien theme (long)
Fredrik Ekman
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As of 1 Nov. 1995, this list is no longer updated.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. <gmsys...@aol.com> (USA), GAD Games
(UK until 1995) and Allsorts PBM Games <10042...@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 <in...@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 <in...@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 <ca...@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 <d91f...@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.zuc...@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 <p...@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 n...@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 <in...@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 <di...@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 ek...@lysator.liu.se.
/Fredrik Ekman
Credits
-------
My thanks to the following persons for valuable help:
Lawrence Abrams <l...@mathlab.sunysb.edu>
Matt Ackeret <unk...@apple.com>
Adanial <CCB...@INDSVAX1.INDSTATE.EDU>
Arwen of Elendor MUSH
Robert Bartz <rba...@nyx10.cs.du.edu>
George Baxter <gba...@haystack.ncsa.uiuc.edu>
Johnny Billquist <b...@Minsk.DoCS.UU.SE>
Mary Butler
Massimo Campostrini <ca...@sunthpi3.difi.unipi.it>
Francisco Cotrina <cot...@lia01.unizar.es>
Pier Donini <don...@ellco.epfl.ch>
Olof Eggestig <ol...@mandos.forv.mh.se>
John Elliott <ell...@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk>
Mattias Engdegård <f91...@nada.kth.se>
Pål-Kristian Engstad <p...@engstad.ingok.hitos.no>
Eowyn of The Lord of the Rings MUSH
Ross Erickson <Ross=Erickson%New=Prod%Mfg=H...@bangate.compaq.com>
Luis Evaristo <luis.e...@skyship.alce.pt>
Josh P. Gallagher <J.P.Ga...@durham.ac.uk>
Dimas Caparros Gomez
Wayne Hammond Jr <Wayne.G...@williams.edu>
Brian Hanechak <hane...@k12.ucs.umass.edu>
Joost de Heer <joo...@sci.kun.nl>
David J. Hillier <cia...@ccsun.strath.ac.uk>
Jan Ingvoldstad <ja...@ifi.uio.no>
Jan Kapala <KAP...@ichn.ch.pwr.wroc.pl>
Paul Lyon <p...@jeeves.la.utexas.edu>
Nancy Martsch
Thomas Meier <Anf...@doom.gun.de>
Richard Merryman <richard....@medtronic.com>
Kendall Miles <T33...@UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU>
Branden R. Pelok <b...@po.cwru.edu>
Daniel Perry <per...@sol.acs.uwosh.edu>
Hans Persson <uni...@lysator.liu.se>
Christopher J. Rasmus <cra...@mailer.fsu.edu>
Michael F. Reid <M.R...@phys.canterbury.ac.nz>
Sam Ruby
Robert Sandberg <e2r...@etek.chalmers.se>
Jose M. Sanz <js...@ccs.neu.edu>
Dag-Erling Smørgrav <da...@infolink.no>
David Strutt <dst...@cape.uwaterloo.ca>
Chris Taylor <ana...@netcom.com>
Ed Zielinski <ziel...@egr.msu.edu>
Tom Zuchowski <t.zuc...@genie.geis.com>
I know I have forgotten a couple. Sorry about that.