Alchemyst

If you are a bit familiar with binary numbers and binary logic, the concept of this game will be easier to grasp. Otherwise, it can be a bit confusing at first.

At the beginning, the squares in the four rows at the bottom are all blue. The row at the top shows a random pattern of blue and gold. By clicking on one of the rows below (the game requires a mouse), you transfer this pattern to it. Later on, a gold square put on top of a gold square will turn it blue again. In technical terms, it's a XOR operation, consider the gold squares the ones and the blue squares the zeroes.

The rows have values. The values they'd have as binary numbers. If you're not familiar with this concept, a gold tile in the rightmost square has the value one. Each square farther left has twice the value of the one immediately right to it. Thus the leftmost square always has a higher value than all the others combined. That is important, for as soon as a transaction (or operation) lowers the value of a row, the game is over.

It is a bit disappointing is that the only goal of the game is to reach as high a score as possible. You get a little tune when you turn one bar completely to gold, a longer tune when you turn the last bar to gold, but then they all just turn blue again and the game continues. And, of course, it might really be confusing if you're not familiar with the computer mechanics it is based upon. I can't say, because I am, and that was a good part of the fun for me.

Like most amateur games of its time, it was a sort of shareware. You were asked to send in $5 if you liked it, for those with a greater largesse the author had a special offer:

Send $20.00 and a graphic file on disk, I'll install your graphic as the game background and return the customized game to you!

Even without a custom graphic, the game is optically pleasing, far more than most others of its kind, and it does offer some genuinely unique gameplay.

Steckbrief

• Author: Bruce Hansen
• Year: 1992
• Country of Origin:

Download

• Alchemyst (86 kB, ZIP)