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Looking for old Apple II game, need expert help

B

Bryan Redmond

New Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
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2
HI,

I'm looking for an Apple II game we played in the mid to late-1980's (1986-1988 ) at school. It came as a demo disk initially, with a few different educational programs on it. Then once it ran out the teacher ordered it since this game was so addictive.

The game I am searching for had you complete a page of math (multiplication) problems that would give your airplane fuel depending on how many you completed correctly in the time frame allowed. Then you would fly a mission, dropping bombs on various targets, warehouses, fuel tanks, etc. and avoiding enemies shooting anti-aircraft fire at you and flying around obstacles. View was from the side of the plane.

I have google-searched and haven't found it, so I'm turning to those who may have more experience with those educational games than I.

Thanks for your help and let me know what suggestions you may have in finding it. Thanks! - Bryan
 
I don't think so, because I don't remember anything related to those names on the packaging or advertising. I know it was from somewhere different than the other games we had from MECC, etc. and pretty advanced for that time in our opinion.
This was the only 'demo' disk I think we were sent, and this particular game was the only decent one for a 10-11 year old boy.
Disk had a gold label on it, I remember.
Any other clues I can give you? I know it was made 1987 or before...
Thanks! - bryan
 
Bryan Redmond said:
HI,

I'm looking for an Apple II game we played in the mid to late-1980's (1986-1988 ) at school. It came as a demo disk initially, with a few different educational programs on it. Then once it ran out the teacher ordered it since this game was so addictive.

The game I am searching for had you complete a page of math (multiplication) problems that would give your airplane fuel depending on how many you completed correctly in the time frame allowed. Then you would fly a mission, dropping bombs on various targets, warehouses, fuel tanks, etc. and avoiding enemies shooting anti-aircraft fire at you and flying around obstacles. View was from the side of the plane.

I have google-searched and haven't found it, so I'm turning to those who may have more experience with those educational games than I.

Thanks for your help and let me know what suggestions you may have in finding it. Thanks! - Bryan
Click to expand...

not sure if you ever found this, but I believe it was called Math Blaster...

*EDIT*

I dont think it is Math Blaster after all.

I too have been looking for this very same game for quite some time and I always thought it was called Math Blaster.
 
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I remember this game too. We had it in elementary school. As I remember, it was on a compilation with 10 games on it, all of which were math related. The bomber plane game is the one I most clearly remember, and I also remember a pac man style game as well.

Did you ever find any more information on this?

MK
 
I was just talking to my wife about it this night. I think it was called "Bomber", maybe?

Nobody at my school knew that you could fly left and right on the screen, only up and down, so we'd always die when a plane would fly in from the left and collide with our plane.

Then one day I'm watching this girl play, and she's flying all over the screen. One of the most epic moments of being schooled in video games I've ever had.

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I've been trying to track this game down myself.
 
I remember that disk of games also. We had a bunch of copies... it must have been free or something.

Some of the other components included a "Miss Muffet" math game in which you had to solve a problem before the spider landed in the curds & whey and Miss Muffet ate it (and subsequently died)! In another game, a frog would hop across logs whenever you solved math problems. I really enjoyed those games!

Maybe ten years after the first set of games came out, the same company released another disk of math games. I remember there being a better Bomber game and also a Grand Prix racing game. That would have been in the early nineties, maybe? I also played that one on an Apple II computer.

I will look around in my parents' house when I visit sometime. I bet there's a big box of 5.25" floppies somewhere, and we can figure out the name of the game. I also think my parents have a IIGS in the closet, so maybe I'll even get to play some Math Games!!
 
I got on the subject of old games similar to Oregon Trail with the guys I work with, and I also remembered that game disk with all sorts of math games that probably got me me hooked into computer games in general. My favorite was probably the bomber game mentioned where you solved math problems to get ammo and fuel, and if you did everything perfectly, you'd get stealth for your bomber and never get shot at. The other one I clearly remember was a type of math RPG that looks a lot like the original Ultima games. You walk around the map exploring, finding towns and dungeons, and answer various math story problems or riddles. I also vaguely remember a game that had something to do with a conveyor belt in a "widget factory"

Seems like there isn't much information out there about this game disk, maybe with these additional details someone else out there can come up with a name?
 
biederlach said:
I remember that disk of games also. We had a bunch of copies... it must have been free or something.

Some of the other components included a "Miss Muffet" math game in which you had to solve a problem before the spider landed in the curds & whey and Miss Muffet ate it (and subsequently died)! In another game, a frog would hop across logs whenever you solved math problems. I really enjoyed those games!

Maybe ten years after the first set of games came out, the same company released another disk of math games. I remember there being a better Bomber game and also a Grand Prix racing game. That would have been in the early nineties, maybe? I also played that one on an Apple II computer.

I will look around in my parents' house when I visit sometime. I bet there's a big box of 5.25" floppies somewhere, and we can figure out the name of the game. I also think my parents have a IIGS in the closet, so maybe I'll even get to play some Math Games!!
Click to expand...

WOW. I've been looking for this 'bomber' like game for 3 years now. If you do find out what it is I would love to know. I too played it when I was in grade school. Funny thing is, I can't believe no one knows what it was called, but people remember it really well. I'm glad I'm not the only one :p.

After you mentioned the Miss Muffet game and Frog Hop one I distinctly remember them too...they were SOOOOOO much fun. Thanks for jogging some good memories :).

I think this thread would find better results under the "Vintage Gaming" category. Just a thought.
 
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I loved those games. Yes, I clearly remember that game being called "Bomber", and it was very popular at my school when I was in like 3rd or 4th grade. You did multiplication problems to get ammo, fuel, bombs, etc. And I believe the last thing you could try for was stealth, which you had to answer a bunch of multiplication problems all correctly to get, which prevented the things on the ground from attacking you (pretty much exactly what wathman said).

As for the disk, if memory serves, there were 10 math games on it. Each math game covered a different skill (bomber was multiplication). The earlier games involved more basic skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication). The second disk, which I played more when I was a little older, had some more advanced topics. There was one game where I think you were walking/jumping around as a person, and you had to do greatest common denominator (GCD) problems. There was another game on the second disk, a top view adventure/RPG type game (as wathman said) which involved solving story problems. I think you got gold and stuff for doing them correctly.

The muffet and frog games seem vaguely familiar, though I can't comment for certain on them. Bomber is the only one that I clearly remember the name of.

Definitely brings me back to the great games we used to play on the Apples in elementary/middle school. Oregon Trail, Lemonade Stand, Word/Number Munchers, Montezuma's Revenge.
 
I have a Word Muncher, and possibly Number Muncher floppy I could image if you want, once I get my Apple ][ connected to something useful, that is.
 
Funny stuff. I found virtualapple the other day and couldn't find math bomber, which was by far the best game. The RPG was also quite good. My recollections were the same as most other people here. It was a 10 game disk or 2-disks that contained 10 games. There were some dumb games like the Miss Muffet game, there was an Amazon type game where you had to greatest common factors and lowest common denominators, and then the best of all, Math Bomber. I'm not finding that particular game on the virtual apple site. Is it possible they don't have it, or do we just not know what it was called?
 
I have also been looking for this game for several years. As has my dad; he was a master at the game! My recollection is similar to others here, although the only game I really spent any time with was "Bomber." And I'm pretty sure it was just called simply "Bomber." I really hope it shows up, as it would be a real blast to play the game again.
 
I didn't think the Miss Muffet game was too bad. If nothing else it was pretty funny when she ate the spider and died! *Sigh*...I wish the "bomber" game would surface. I want to relive a great part of my childhood computer times!
 
Title of video game

Title of video game

I am pretty sure it was called "Stealth Bomber" as I now recall. Thanks for helping jog my memory with the descriptions!

Anybody that knows anyone that used to be a teacher back then that might have old floppy discs around?
 
Nope

Nope

So evidently no one has found this land mine of a game we all remember. Sad really, because I just want to play it again for old times sake. I'll still keep an eye on this thread though :D
 
I've been looking for this game for years, but no luck yet. I was glad to find this thread to know I wasn't the only one who recognized the best math game ever made. Bomber was an instant classic, but of course I didn't think to save it when my mom gave our Apple IIe computer and games away. I was so excited to get a new computer with better graphics, and didn't yet realize that graphics don't necessarily make a good game.

The software company who made that demo disk had to be successful--they were several steps ahead of their competition. Now we just have to find some teachers from the late 80's who can remember the name of the company...
 
Can you all describe it a bit more? This was an Apple II game? Color/black and white? What angle was the view of the game? What happens in the game while you play? I'm becoming a bit of a broken record but you could search mobygames.com under Apple II and start looking for similar titles/descriptions. I found one with a little miss muffet scenario, but that was a mother goose game and doesn't sound like it would be the compilation you all are referring to.
 
A little more.

A little more.

barythrin said:
Can you all describe it a bit more? This was an Apple II game? Color/black and white? What angle was the view of the game? What happens in the game while you play? I'm becoming a bit of a broken record but you could search mobygames.com under Apple II and start looking for similar titles/descriptions. I found one with a little miss muffet scenario, but that was a mother goose game and doesn't sound like it would be the compilation you all are referring to.
Click to expand...

I will answer your questions but of course I can only do so to the best that my memory serves me. I am pretty sure that, yes, it was an Apple II game. I do know the game was totally black and white. The view was from the side (you could see the airplane flying along from left to right) and you dropped bombs (again just a simple bomb sideview) onto buildings. A simple summary:

It was an educational game. You answer multiplication problems, and if you get them right you receive bombs. The higher the multiplication problem the more bombs you received (up to 9*9). After so many problems (approximately 10) the problems would stop, you would fly your plane across the screen while avoiding shots at you (not sure if they were from other planes, but more likely from the ground buildings) and drop the bombs to try and destroy the buildings below. I am not sure how the levels worked. If you answered every multiplication problem right I do remember you could get into stealth mode where the other planes or the buildings would not be able to see you or something like that. It was really simple, but really fun, especially for a young child...I just want to relive it once more...

Thanks for your time.
 
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