The Rainbow Book of Adventures

The Rainbow magazine, compiled a collection of text and graphical adventures programmed in BASIC. The default interface of early 1980's microcomputers, BASIC was familiar to every owner. Most of the 108-page manual is listings of BASIC code for each game; the challenge of programming in such a small space is a unifying theme. A couple, like "The Door," fit into just four kilobytes, matching the total RAM of one retailed Color Computer model. "The Door" spoofs the universal frustration of all but a few '80's text adventures: figuring out how to tell the game what you wanted to do was often more difficult than knowing what to do. The games herein offer few exceptions to that rule, but the contributors, both amateur and professional developers, take the player to the limits of earth and outer space. Most of the background color and storyline are contained in the manual's introduction or the first screen of the game.

Polynesia, Africa, the house down the street, the evil side of the universe, and even a dream provide settings. Two adventures show overhead views of your circumstance, but the rest rely on text to be your eyes and ears. Two-word responses at a command line prompt are typically all you need to unlock the mysteries.

• Polynesian Adventure: Hunt for treasure in the South Seas.
• Horror House: Slaughter the computer's minions to prove you're no chicken.
• Search for the Ruby Chalice: Explore the wilds of Africa to find the world's most precious treasure.
• Lighthouse Adventure: Finding the legendary pirate treasure is only half the challenge.
• Dungeon Adventure: You get sidekicks, wandering monsters, and even a town in this dungeon-crawl RPG.
• Sir Randolph of the MoorsSir Randolph of the Moors: From rags to riches, a kid finds a sword and becomes a hero.
• Dreamer: The program limits of four kilobytes of RAM make wandering through this dream appropriately Kafkaesque.
• One Room: Blinfolded and tied up, all you have to do is get out.
• The Door: How quickly and how many of the 44 ways can you find to open it?
• Dr. Avaloe: The new job: Find your way through the mad scientist's deadly rooms.
• The Deed of the York: Brave the macabre traps left for you by your grandfather to inherit his fortune.
• Dungeon: Endure the maze of caverns to rescue the sweet princess from the despicable Groms.
• An Unexplored Mansion: Setting out on your own, the adventure you find is a mysterious old mansion.
• Escape from Sparta: Preserve freedom in the universe by rescuing the creator of your robotic race.