Source · Primary · official

101 BASIC Computer Games

Ahl, David H. 1975. “101 BASIC Computer Games.” Digital Equipment Corporation.

Cite as
Ahl, 101 BASIC Computer Games
Original
https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_decBooks10Mar75_26006648
sha256
311c1be8d3c9361ee9badb59b5a43c43a5b0bf4803298943be1cb617b8f33ad7
Archived
https://archive.org/download/bitsavers_decBooks10Mar75_26006648/101_BASIC_Computer_Games_Mar75.pdf
Accessed
2026-10-20
Licence
© 1975 Digital Equipment Corporation
Credit
David H. Ahl collected and edited the games and converted Hamurabi (HMRABI) from FOCAL to BASIC. Scan from Al Kossow's bitsavers.org, mirrored on the Internet Archive.
Notes
Read: the third printing, March 1975 (101_BASIC_Computer_Games_Mar75.pdf, sha1 80fd2636140bf7f2e011b43045444e2aa4207f11). The copyright page lists the printings as July 1973, April 1974, and March 1975; the first printing wasn't available to compare. HMRABI is on pp. 128–129: a description page, then the listing in DEC's EduSystem BASIC and a sample run. It counts as a primary source because DEC published the game in it, with Ahl's own listing and notes.

Cited on

Claims (6)

DEC's 1975 printing of the listing has the same rules and constants as the 1978 edition, except that its seed check, INT(D/2)<S, refuses a planting that would use the last bushel.p. 129, line 450Publisher
Ahl's source note in the DEC book says the FOCAL program "has been floating around DIGITAL for nine or more years".p. 128, SourcePublisher
DEC's printing of the listing opens with a remark that it was "converted from the original FOCAL program and modified for EduSystem 70 by David Ahl, Digital".p. 129, lines 10–20Publisher
DEC's 101 BASIC Computer Games, first printed in July 1973, includes the game as HMRABI, "Govern the ancient city-state of Sumeria".copyright page and contentscontents, p. 4Publisher
Hamurabi descends from The Sumerian Game through Dyment's FOCAL Sumer Game, which Ahl converted to BASIC, and which Dyment based on a description of The Sumerian Game.p. 129, line 10Publisher
Ahl's 1973 book introduces King as one of the "land and resource management games" and tells newcomers to "start with HMRABI".p. 138, KINGPublisher