4 Comments

Fun article to read. I currently host The Official BBS Door Games & Apps Museum. It's a PCBoard BBS that has over 1350 door games installed and running. I have also cataloged these doors in a searchable database that can only be viewed by logging into the BBS via Telnet. For the best ansi emulation, use Netrunner Telnet Client to login. Danger Bay BBS -> dangerbaybbs.dyndns.org:1337

Expand full comment

Yooo! Just seeing this image brought back a flood of memories. I haven't thought about this game since I was a kid but I was completely obsessed. I love reading through these, thanks for making this awesome series!

Expand full comment

Good read! My favourite door game was Usurper. I somehow missed "Trade War".

Expand full comment

Oh man, oh man, oh man, how I do remember the days of BBS with fondness and sweet nostalgia! Dialing in to one was an adventure both because a) the BBS' line could be busy or b) someone in your house would pick up/use the phone and destroy your connection. The uncertainty of it all certainly led to a behavioral response akin to playing slot machines, i.e. quite thrilling and addictive.

As for Trade Wars specifically, one of my favorite coders did a custom version of it for Telegram, making it one of the first multiplayer games on that app (Telegram). Hugely fun (as long as you've got lots of free time!). And even though it's now 2021, the game is still played out with text (and emojis, which are the modern version of ANSI).

https://spacehuntgame.com/

Expand full comment