SNAP (ZX-81)
by Tim Crossley
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 31

As its name suggest, Snap is a version of the well-known card game but
instead of cards the program has three words, 'club', 'bar' and 'cherry'
which appear in random order on two sides of the screen.

When two words are the same, the two players have to press their keys, either
Q or P, as quickly as possible, to score a point.

The game lasts for four attempts, and the score for each player is displayed
at the top of the screen.

It is a simple game but can be fitted into 1K RAM and is one of the few games
of this size which can be played by two players.

Snap was sent by Tim Crossley of York.

[I had to fix a few bugs in the game 'Snap' based on the letter published in]
[a later edition of SU.                                                PaulF]


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GOLF (ZX-81)
by A Baines
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 32

A number of attempts have been made to put the game of golf on the ZX-81 and
this one, sent by A Baines of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, is a simple
version played on the 16K of RAM memory.

When the program is run, a 'hole' appears at the bottom of the screen and the
player is asked to supply the angle of shot, between 0 and 90 degrees, and
the strength, a figure usually greater than 300. The trajectory of the shot
is shown on the screen and the result.

Only one shot is allowed each time, which makes it necessary to remember
angles and strengths from previous shots.

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NUMBER CRUNCHER (ZX-81)
by N Page
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 32

Number Cruncher is an interesting game which can fit on the basic 1K version
of the ZX-81. It is another variation on the many slalom-type games.

As the name indicates, the 'obstacles' are made up of numbers of random value
and position on a path. The aim is to make as high a score as possible.

The cursor moves automatically down the path and is shifted to the left using
the 'Z' key and to the right by the 'M' key.

After a certain length of time the game stops and the score, plus a rating,
is displayed.

It was sent by N Page of Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.

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BUG BAITER (ZX-81)
by M archer and D Hayes
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 33

Bug Baiter is not a tool-kit for attracting bugs in programs to emerge with
their hands up but a game in which the aim is the tempt bugs to fall into a
swamp.

To start the game, press RUN, and the swamp is shown in one part of the
screen with two bugs at random positions and a plus sign in one corner. The
plus sign is the bait towards which the bugs move.

The game involves moving the plus sign from corner to corner, using the
cursor keys above 5 to 8 so that the bugs fall into the swamp. Once one of
the bugs falls in, the game stops and the length of time taken is shown.

If you wish to continue with the same lay out, press the CONT key. If you
want a new game, press RUN.

The game was sent by M Archer and D Hayes of Godalming, Surrey.

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FILING SYSTEM (ZX-81)
by John Fletcher
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 34

The number of entries for our May competition proved that as many people are
using their ZX-81s for serious uses as for games. The variety of application
was wide and all were of a very high standard.

That made the task of the judges difficult once more but the eventual winner
was John Fletcher, of Humberstone, Leicester, who submitted a system which
files and retrieves information. He uses it to help keep track of 1,000
photographic slides, with each slide being described by six two-letter codes.
It is possible to obtain lists of slides which have up to three codes in
common.

Fletcher said he had bought the ZX-81 with the intention of producing such a
system. He and his wife had so many slides, which are used to illustrate
lectures, that is was difficult to sort them.

He was able to write the program, listed here, after having the machine for
only three months.

"I have always been interested in computers and learned how to use the ZX-81
very quickly." he said.

He added that LOADing and SAVEing time was five minutes but that was nothing
compared to the time needed previously to sort through the slides.

The system is very general and can be used for other types of filing.

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LANGUAGE (ZX-81)
by Andrew Wilson
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 36

A simple learning program has been introduced by Andrew Wilson of Putney,
London. He has called it 'Language' and his version can be used to help
vocabulary in foreign languages.

When the program is run, it asks for 10 foreign words to be typed-in,
followed by their English translations. The foreign words then appear on the
screen and the user is required to insert the English equivalents; the
program comments on whether they are correct or not.

It is ideal for someone wishing to test themselves on a group of words they
wish to learn, or for someone who wishes to set a test for someone else. No
doubt with a little ingenuity it could be extended to cope with more words.

As it is for the user to decide which words are put in, the possible
variations are endless. It is also possible to extend the system to involve
other subjects, such as simple mathematics with a problem and answer being
entered for someone else whose efforts can then be checked immediately by the
program.

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SHEEPDOG (ZX-81)
by Daniel Shavick
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 37

From Daniel Shavick of Mill Hill, London, Sheepdog - a difficult game which
is a good representation of a sheepdog trial.

A sheep, an inverse S, is driven by a dog, an inverse D, through a gate,
denoted by two black squares, and into a pen which is shown as a grey square.
The dog is moved upwards by pressing the 'O' key, downwards by the '.' key,
left by 1 and right by 3. It continues moving until the S is pressed.

When the dog is within five squares of the sheep, the sheep begins to move.
The difficulty is that the movement of the sheep tends to be as wayward as
any sheep in a real trial.

After a good deal of concentration, the sheep can be penned and the time
taken is displayed. As a guide it took our reviewer 1,079 seconds - one
second short of 18 minutes.

The game can be re-started by pressing NEW LINE.

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BULLS AND COWS (ZX-80)
by G Gill
from Sinclair User 4 (July 1982), page 38

We include a special program for users of the ZX-80. It is a version of the
well-known game of Mastermind, where four numbers are picked at random by the
program and the player has a limited number of attempts in which to guess the
numbers.

To guide the player, the program marks each attempt by bulls and cows. A bull
denotes a correct number in the proper position in the sequence and a cow
means that the number is correct but in the wrong place.

The game continues until the correct number is guessed or the player has had
15 attempts. Press RUN for another number to be guessed.

Bulls and Cows was sent by G Gill of Westerhame, Kent.