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 I can’t believe there are emulators for this — but I guess there’s nothing to do now that the Apple II has been replaced by bigger, better, and more powerful machines.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.
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.
Tamar Weinberg is a social media enthusiast with a passion for all things tech and productivity. She provides consulting in internet marketing and blogs for numerous online publications, most notably Lifehacker, Search Engine Roundtable, and Mashable.
December 19th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
hmm ,looks interesting ill have to take a look at that. my fav old school game was pong
December 19th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
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.
May 21st, 2007 at 4:44 pm
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?
May 21st, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I did the same thing, Julian. You’re not the only one. I think it’s impossible.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:27 am
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)
May 22nd, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Sent you email.
I don’t have it on this computer but you can search for it!
June 5th, 2007 at 1:55 am
I liked a game on the Apple II called Rescue Raiders. You dispatched tanks and troops and commanded everything with a helicopter.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
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.
October 21st, 2007 at 10:42 pm
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.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:38 am
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.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 am
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
January 4th, 2008 at 12:40 am
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?
January 4th, 2008 at 12:44 am
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.
February 10th, 2008 at 10:20 am
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
February 10th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
David, all the information I know is in this post. Google is at your disposal.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
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.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Ryan, I totally agree! This game rocked and it was almost impossible to find.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
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?
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
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….