Top 37 video games in 1972. reviews: Moonwar, Dogfight, Battle Plan, Desert Fox, STTRK, Graf - Spee, Golf 2

Top 31-37.

List Top 37 games.

I'll start with intriguing games from 1972 that were not released on consoles but were available on platforms like arcade, PLATO, and mainframe. There is no graphical information or even screenshots for these games, so please bear with me for now.

Moonwar.

It's quite challenging to describe this game without an image, as it might give the impression that the game was released in the 2000s, based solely on the description. Take a look for yourselves.

The game was available on university terminals and was a multiplayer shooter. Players were equipped with lasers, and they had to shoot in a mountainous landscape. This meant that you had to take the terrain into account.

Using your sharp eye, you had to estimate distances and angles for the laser beam's movement. The beam could bounce off walls, allowing you to eliminate opponents from behind cover.

The game displayed a complete list of players, and they could choose whom to challenge to a duel.

Dogfight.

This game is of a similar caliber to the previous one. It's also a multiplayer game on the PLATO platform, where, even back then, some impressive multiplayer games were being developed in a college environment.

In the same year, another game with the same name was released, but the second game was for a gaming console. Copyrights weren't heavily enforced back then.

In this game, however, you'd engage in aerial combat.

The game features some amusing sound effects. It rapidly switches projector slides, causing humming, shaking, and flashing. Different times, different special effects, as they say :).

Just like in the previous game, there's a player list board where you can challenge another player to a duel.

Battle Plan (Arcade).

This game is even more intriguing because you played it through a computer, but the computer only acted as a moderator, and commands were sent through mail.

Up to 7 players could participate in the game. It was a turn-based strategy game. Like the previous ones, it ran on a university computer mainframe.

The goal of the game was to conquer all of Europe. You had a wide range of resources at your disposal to achieve this. Players could control various types of troops - on land, in the air, and at sea. They had defensive measures against various threats like missiles or aircraft. Additionally, they had money, spies, counter-spies, industry, and research.

Even a player without land could continue playing if they had other resources. Moreover, there was a system of influence spheres, where a player had partial control over secondary states they didn't control with troops.

Players could form alliances with each other.

Money spent on research lost its effectiveness over time. You could spend it on propaganda to reduce a player's popularity or create alternatives that couldn't be spent but generated interest.

Desert Fox.

This is an arcade game that used a projector for its visuals.

With a joystick, you had to destroy approaching German tanks from Rommel's divisions. Tracer bullets were displayed on top of the screen, and tank explosions had their own explosion animations.

Next, I will tell you about three games for which there is also no graphical information, but they were released on two platforms, one of which was a large computer similar to a mainframe. The other platform was often the Sol-20 personal computer.

STTRK (Mainframe, Sol-20).

This is a game set in the Star Trek universe. It is a turn-based text-based strategy game. You control the Enterprise, and your goal is to destroy a Klingon ship. You can fire both phasers and torpedoes, choosing the target zone between the stern and the front. You can also launch a drone. The ship can be moved or rotated. The ship's speed depends on the number of shields. Once per game, you can make a bluff or surrender.

Graf - Spee (Mainframe, Sol-20).

This game is a turn-based text-based simulation. Here, you will take on the role of an artillery officer on the German cruiser "Graf - Spee." You will be given coordinates, and you'll need to adjust the height for distance and azimuth for direction to hit your target.

Golf 2 (Mainframe, Sol-20).

This is a turn-based text-based game with tables. You will play on six courses in the game. In the game, you can choose from a variety of wooden and iron clubs. Some clubs allow you to set a swing percentage, which regulates the speed. After each shot, the ball's location is described.