Checkers (Lester Cain)

Title – Checkers
System – Commodore 64
Author – Lester Cain
Publication – COMPUTE! Issue 036, May 1983
Page Scans – 1 2 3
Preserved by – eboy71
Recommended Emulator – VICE

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

• Mount the disk image (Compute Issue 036.d64) in your emulator. In VICE, this is done by selecting File → Attach Disk Image
• Load the game by typing LOAD”C64 CHECKERS”,8,1
• Once loaded, type RUN to start

Game Instructions –

• This is a one-player game where your opponent is the computer.
• When starting the game, you will be asked to enter your name, choose whether to view in-game instructions, and then to select either Red or Black.
• Once the gameboard appears:
  • Move your piece using the four cursor controls. Move the ? cursor to select a piece and press RETURN. This will change the cursor to a @. Now, move to where you want to go, and press RETURN. The computer will not allow wrong moves. To cancel your move, press the DEL key. If no move is possible, press the space bar.
  • Standard pieces are depicted as an open circle and a checkered-box. When turned into a king, the circle and the box will both be filled in.
  • To eliminate an opponent’s piece, move the cursor to the empty space beyond the piece you want to jump. If you are able to continue your move at this point (i.e., jump a second piece), you will be prompted to continue.
  • The game will then proceed like a standard game of checkers. The goal is to eliminate your opponent’s checkers by jumping them. Regular pieces can only move forward, one diagonal space at a time. If you reach the end of the board, the piece will be transformed into a King and it can be moved either forward or backwards.

Article Text

Want a rest from those fast-paced arcade games? Try playing the sedate, ancient game of checkers against your 64. Not much frustration, and you’re likely to win.

Move your piece in this game of checkers using the four cursor controls. Move the ? cursor to the piece to begin with, and press RETURN. This will change the cursor to a @. Now, move to where you want to go, and press RETURN. The computer will not allow wrong moves. To cancel your move, press the DEL key. If no move is possible, press the space bar.

The computer logic is not tournament quality, since the program checks moves only one level deep. The King moves lack somewhat, but, otherwise, the computer plays a pretty fair game. If you don’t pay attention, you could get into trouble.

Editor’s Notes

• This game appears to have been subsequently published by Wicked Software as part of “The Big 100”, a collection of 100 games for the Amiga. I wasn’t able to find a list of all the games in that collection, so I couldn’t verify. Nor was I able to find any additional information about the author.
• The game has been thoroughly tested and debugged. I was able to successfully complete multiple games, testing both a win-state and a lose-state.

Watch Checkers get typed-in and played