Top 27-32 best games in 1974. Reviews: Time Trap, Moon Base, Conquest, The Advanced Simulation in Undergraduate Pilot Training installation, TV Goalee, One on One

Today I will tell you about games for which there is no available graphic information, so bear with me in this episode.

All list top 32 games.

Time Trap

It's a tactical game about time travel. After processing by a computer, the results are sent to players by mail, and then responses are entered after receiving the mail.

The game can involve 2 to 9 players. Each player has a 16 by 16 square grid. On each turn, players can move their assassins one square in any direction, including diagonally, and take one shot in any direction.

The tactical component involves accumulating energy, which remains with inactive assassins. You can alter past actions by spending energy. Also, with each turn, the cost of actions in energy increases.

Moon Base

Similar to the previous game, all actions are conducted via postal mail, but the gameplay here is more strategic.

You control crawlers that can place different types of mines: stationary, jumping, programmable. You can also control stationary artillery, self-propelled installations, and command posts.

The game lasts for a predetermined number of turns, during which you need to accumulate the maximum number of points. Destroying enemy resources earns points, and if yours are destroyed, you lose points. The field consists of 133 hexagonal tiles of two types of terrain: plain or crater. Each new game has a different terrain configuration. Spy beams can be used to determine the tile type.

Conquest

The game is a reconstruction of the source code of Empire 1, which in later versions shifted the focus from strategic to tactical gameplay.

Here, you manage a planetary economy. Each planet and ship are displayed on the screen, along with information about the economy, population, production, and trade. Ships can be used not only for combat but also for trade and troop transport. The goal is to plan resource usage to defeat all opponents and become an empire.

The Advanced Simulation in Undergraduate Pilot Training installation (Mainframe)

This is one of the first flight simulators in the USA for the Air Force, located in Arizona. It simulated flights on the Cessna T-37. The platform itself operated on six hydraulic platforms simulating overloads and the sense of orientation. Seven displays were used for viewing, and two computers helped process all this information. There was space for an instructor who could input additional data.

TV Goalee (Arcade)

This is the original version of Pong. The screen was horizontal, and you looked at it from above, not in front of you. Around it, a stadium and cityscape were drawn. The ball doesn't bounce off the edges but returns.

The game featured advanced sound effects for that time, including the referee's whistle and crowd noise after a goal was scored.

One on One (Arcade)

This is a variation of Pong with a basketball theme. Here, you play as players who can hold the ball instead of immediately hitting it. However, you can hold it for no more than 10 seconds. The ball can be stolen on the backcourt.