Revisiting the 80s: Apple II Games

Posted by Tamar Weinberg on December 19th, 2006

And now for something completely different.

I grew up on an Apple IIgs. I must have been six or seven years old when my father bought it for our family. I remember spending my computer time learning how to use a mouse with some pretty addictive games — and then there was Bolo.

The Apple IIgs days were pretty exciting, but they didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. For about 18 years, I completely forgot about what I did on the Apple II (and my favorite game Bolo, including the title of the game) until the game screen flashed into my head this past weekend. I was determined to find that game to relive my childhood.

My efforts asking peers were fruitless. Not many people were using computers at all in the 80s. The revolution began in the 90s when computers were deemed to be useful tools for every home.

I searched and searched, and thanks to Webomatica, I found out the name of the game and took it from there. I can’t believe there are emulators for this — but I guess there’s nothing to do now that the Apple II has been replaced by bigger, better, and more powerful machines.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been successful in getting AppleWin and the old version of Bolo on my computer and still subconsciously knew how to play the game. Man, that was addictive.

Bolo for Apple II

I’m curious to know how many others among us, if any, may have had one of those games that you couldn’t pass up when you moved to bigger and better equipment. I’m not a gamer, but this was one of those puzzles that somehow made its way back into my consciousness, which must mean that it did make an impression that was just waiting to be awakened. I’m happy I found it.

19 Responses to “Revisiting the 80s: Apple II Games”

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  1. chris Says:

    hmm ,looks interesting ill have to take a look at that. my fav old school game was pong

  2. Tamar Weinberg Says:

    Pong… ah yes, that classic. But it was so widely available that nobody can forget such a name. This one, however, was an incredible challenge that I spent days trying to go at!

    Thanks again to Jason at Webomatica for his help.

  3. Julian Says:

    Wow, and I thought I was the only one! I used to spend hours trying to crack the top levels of Bolo! I ended up motoring backwards at top speed firing as best I could at the drones. Mis-spent youth, or what?

  4. Tamar Weinberg Says:

    I did the same thing, Julian. You’re not the only one. I think it’s impossible. :)

  5. Julian Says:

    Don’t suppose you could send me the game file(s) so I can try and make it work with AppleWin too? Might impress the kids! (julianptechstuff@googlemail.com)

  6. Tamar Weinberg Says:

    Sent you email. :) I don’t have it on this computer but you can search for it!

  7. James Says:

    I liked a game on the Apple II called Rescue Raiders. You dispatched tanks and troops and commanded everything with a helicopter.

  8. Jeffrey Rankin Says:

    I loved Bolo. At the top levels you travel full speed with gun pointed backwards or sideways to destroy the enemy fighters. You learn where the enemy fort is, and then you head straight toward it, at full speed with gun pointed forward, firing a couple shots at specific intervals followed by crashing your tank into the fort kamikaze style. Sometimes, this was the only way to destroy the enemy fort since the enemy fighters were so fast. Wish I had that game.

  9. John Says:

    I used to play this game in junior high around 1983. We had a really cool math teacher that would sell us 5 1/4 inch double-sided floopies and let us play games during ‘off times’. I used to hang out and play games with my old buddy Sidney Vannoy.

    I had looked for the name of this game in the past and was unable to find it. Thanks. Brings back old memories.

  10. EHO Says:

    I *loved* this game. I dug up the ROM but found the game hard to play in the AppleWin emulator. I actually bought an Apple ][ so I could play the game for real. Of course, I don’t have the original game disk nor a working joystick, so alas, I still haven’t recreated that early 80’s experienced. This is one of my favorite games of all time. :-)

  11. Kilroy Says:

    Bolo Came in COLOUR ????
    i spent many many Many houres looking at the green screen. and Now you tell me. Time to unearth the ][e and the Five and a quarter disc.

    Cheers,
    Kilroy

  12. Philippe Says:

    Nostalgia - I’ve been looking all over the web to locate Bolo program for the Apple IIe but no succes. My floppies have been trashed long ago - a shame. Can someone point me in the right direction?

  13. Tamar Weinberg Says:

    Philippe - use AppleWin and search online for bolo.dsk.gz. Then run AppleWin, open the disk image, and type BRUN. That should do it for you.

  14. David Tee Says:

    Hi Tamar,

    Would you be able to send me the emulator to play rescue raiders on my pc (Win Vista)? I love this game so much as it is my childhood game. Please help me to fulfill my dreams

    Luv,
    David

  15. Tamar Weinberg Says:

    David, all the information I know is in this post. Google is at your disposal. :)

  16. Ryan Says:

    I cant believe that I’ve finally found a group of people who understand what bolo for the Apple II was all about. Every once in a while I would do a google search but keep ending up with references to the newer multi-player version, such a bummer! I thought knowledge of this was gone forever. Now I just need somebody to reprogram for PCs.

  17. Tamar Weinberg Says:

    Ryan, I totally agree! This game rocked and it was almost impossible to find.

  18. Zoyous Says:

    Hi, another Bolo fan here! I tried looking it up on Wikipedia but it directs to a different game by the same name. I agree with Jeffery Rankin — that’s exactly the way I eventually ended up playing. Very fast and fun, with the enemies at top speed, the turret turned ’round and the maze at a low level of density. It was great how adjustable it was. Does anyone know the names of the programmers?

  19. Luke Says:

    Ok this is awesome. i hope someone will read this. i just downloaded the applewin program but i cannot find the bolo game anywhere. im still looking though. my email is ladillon79@hotmail.com

    someone email me and tell me….

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