Polybius

Moby ID: 52938
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Description

Polybius is a fan-made version of an arcade game known only from urban legend. The game play is based on an interview of Steven Roach. The first thing you will notice about the game is that is has lots on flashing, colors and odd sounds. This is in keeping with the legend. In the game, you have a ship on the right side of the screen. By moving left or right, the ship moves left or right, within a limited area. By pushing up or down, the items on the screen rotate so as to place them within range or get them away from you. If your ship is rammed by an enemy, you lose some shields. Lose all your shields and you lose a ship. Lose all your ships the game is over.

In the center of the screen is a hexagon with circles at the corners. Each circle contains the same number. Enemies exit the hexagon and spread outward. You need to shoot the enemies or at least avoid colliding with them. Also appearing is a three-dimensional shape with a number orbiting it. If that number is the same or evenly divisible by the numbers in the circles them when you shoot the three-dimensional shape, one of the circles will be destroyed. Destroy all the circles to clear the level.

Screenshots

Trivia

Arcade cabinet

The game is designed to be run in an arcade cabinet. Designs for such a cabinet can be found at Sinnesloschen's web site at http://www.sinnesloschen.com/.

Urban legend

Polybius is, as the main description says, an urban legend. Supposedly, the game was released in 1981 in some suburbs of Portland, Oregon. Most sources claim the game was a "shoot-em up" but are not clear on exact game play. The game was said to cause amnesia, insomnia, nightmares, night terrors, and , in some versions of the legend, even suicide. Soon after the game appeared, it was pulled and not seen again. The legend also says that 'men in black'-types would enter the arcades and gather data from the machines. On March 20, 2006, a man names Steven Roach posted on coinop.org that he was involved with the creation of the game and wanted to "lay it to rest". On April 26, 2006 Duane Weatherall of Gamepulse.co.uk, now bitparade.co.uk, interviewed Mr. Roach about the game. Mr. Roach's story is said to contain a number of inconsistencies. Several people have claimed to own the original ROM to the machine but it has never been made public, a situation typical of hoaxes and conspiracy theories.

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Related Games

Polybius Invaders
Released 2021 on Windows
Polybius (Agent Edition)
Released 2013 on Atari 2600

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 52938
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by LepricahnsGold.

Additional contributors: Sciere.

Game added October 1, 2011. Last modified February 22, 2023.