Caves of Ice (Marvin Bunker and Robert Tsuk)

Title – Caves of Ice
System – Commodore 64
Authors –Marvin Bunker and Robert Tsuk
Publication – COMPUTE! Issue 40, September 1983
Page Scans – 1 2 3 4
Preserved by – eboy71
Recommended Emulator – VICE

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Mount the disk image (Compute 040 – Caves of Ice.d64) in your emulator. In VICE, this is done by selecting File → Attach Disk Image
Load the app by typing LOAD”CAVES OF ICE”,8,1
Once loaded, type RUN to start

Game Instructions –

In caves of ice, your goal is to escape a 5x5x5 grid.
After starting the game, you will find yourself in a random spot within the grid.
To move: Type N (north), S (south), E (east), W (west), U (up) or (D) down
You can also change your facing by pressing F and then the direction you want to face
An exit appears along one of the outside walls on one of the 5 levels. Navigate the maze until you find the door and can escape.
When you win, your completion time will be displayed… try to beat it!

Article Text

This award-winning game should provide hours of amusement. Originally written on the Apple, there are also versions here for VIC, 64, Atari, and PET/CBM.

Robert Tsuk invented a game called “QuintiMaze,” wrote a version for the Apple, and won a prize in a BYTE magazine game contest – it was published in the September 1982 BYTE. It looked too intriguing to be limited to Apple owners, so I wrote a version called “Caves of Ice” which will run on all Commodore computers (VICs require 8K or more expansion memory). I contacted Robert Tsuk about submitting this version as a joint article to COMPUTE! where other Commodore computer owners could share it. He replied that he was converting it for the Atari. These games are the result of our joint efforts.

The Game Scenario
At the start you are somewhere in a five-story structure made entirely of ice. Each floor has 25 rooms in a five-by-five array. Carved into the walls of each room are one or more openings, doors to the north, south, east, west, up, or down. However, you can see only the doors available to you from your present vantage point. Only one door in the building opens to the outside – it may be in a wall, the roof, or the floor of the building. Your goal is to get out as fast as possible. You could freeze inside these caves of ice.

You can change which direction you are facing at any time – complete instructions are included in the program.

After finding your way out, you are given the option of trying the same maze and same starting point again to see if you can improve your time. Or, you can play again with a new random maze.

Editor’s Notes:

Neither Marvin Bunker and Robert Tsuk have credits on additional games.
Navigating this maze is difficult! There is nothing to give you your bearings while traveling through the multi-level maze.
I employed a couple of strategies to escape:
- On each level, my first goal was to find the edge and then do my best to walk the perimeter.
- I found it easier to keep the same facing (e.g., north) for the entire game. This meant that you couldn’t see what was happening behind you (i.e., south) throughout the game, but you can still move in that direction.