


FLYCATCHER (ZX-81)
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 27

If you like creepy-crawlies you will like Flycatcher. A bug-eating reptile
squats at the top of the screen, hungry for the flies which buzz past below
it. Pressing P causes its long, dripping tongue to slide out and if a fly is
caught on its tip, the tongue is retracted and the player scores 10 points.

There are two snags. One is that the flies reduce speed when they see the
tongue moving in their direction. The other is that the tongue cannot be
retracted until it bags the blue-bottle; missing causes it to hang helplessly
until another victim strays into its clutches.

You lose one point for every fly which starts and the game ends when the
tongue touches line 16 without catching anything.




WINDOW CLEANER (ZX-81)
by Neil Fleming Smith
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 28

Climb the ladder to success in our Window Cleaner game from Neil Fleming
Smith of Brampton Bierlow, South Yorkshire. Neil explains the idea:

"It involves maneuvering a run to the top of a ladder in the hope of reaching
a window above. Keys M and N are used for right and left and the full stop
moves it up. Hitting a part of the ladder kills you and after three lives, or
running out of time, the game ends once the window is reached, a new ladder
is started with less time than at first. An extra 'man' is given at the third
window."



ODDS AND EVENS (ZX-81)
by B McIntosh
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 29

A reader from Sleaford, Lincolnshire writes: "I am always frustrated to find
that programs in magazines are generally emulations of arcade space games. I
am sure there must be many readers who enjoy tackling a mind-bender."

Further to his policy, B McIntosh has sent a puzzle which depends more on
tactical thinking than on quick work with the cursor finger.

You are given a column of numbers from 1 to 9 and are required to separate
the odd and even numbers and place them in order of value on a second and
third column.

You have two other columns to give you room to maneuver; moves are input by
typing the column on which your number appears, then the destination column
and then hitting the NewLine key.

The computer will count the number of moves taken and inform you of your
score at the end of the game. The snags are that a greater number may not be
placed on a smaller one; an even number may not be placed on an odd one and
vice versa; once a number has left the first column, it may not return.



HELICOPTER LANDING (ZX-80)
by A G Fosberry
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 30

Picture yourself in a returning Sea King heading for Hermes through a force
10 gale. If you cannot, aid your imagination with this Helicopter Landing
game from A G Fosberry of Bognor Regis.

The program is for the unexpanded ZX-80 and involves selecting both gale
strength and amount of fuel on board, then guiding your craft to a pad on the
left of the screen.



AMMETER AND VOLTAGE CONVERSION (ZX-81)
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 31

Ammeter and Voltmeter Conversion is a program for the 1K ZX-81 which
calculates the value of a resistor required to convert any meter to a
voltmeter or ammeter of known range.

The program will first ask if you require conversion to voltmeter or ammeter
- you need type-in only V or A. It then asks for the resistance of the meter
and the Full Scale Deflection current and then, depending on whether you
entered V or A, will ask either for the maximum reading of the converted
meter.



RIFLE RANGE (ZX-81)
by Eve Gorton
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 31

RIFLE RANGE is a straightforward but entertaining game, submitted
by Eve Gorton of Stockport. It involves blasting at a moving row
of ducks, fairground style.

You have 16 ducks to kill and an unlimited number of bullets. Once
you have run out of ducks you can press S for your score and sharp-
shooter rating.

"To date", she reports, "no-one has managed to shoot all 16 targets
in only 16 shots."

Graphics Notes:
85 - Graphic shifted A
90 - Alternate spaces and graphic shifted Ys, 16 of each.



TOWNS (ZX-81)
by T E Newham
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 32

Towns, is one of the best programs we have received. It is an aid to teaching
geography, with vivid flashing displays and a neat map.

The program was sent by T E Newham of Worcester Park, Surrey, and we cannot
better his description:

"The program is designed to teach, or test knowledge of, the location of
towns and the spelling of place names. It can run in two modes - Easy, in
which town names are listed on the screen and, when a map location flashes,
are identified by number; or Hard, in which only the map appears and then
name of the flashing town must be entered, and spelt correctly without
help. "If two successive incorrect guesses are made, in either mode, the
computer gives the correct answer. There is a scoring system to record
performance."



SPACE TRAWLER (ZX-81)
by D Pickering
from Sinclair User 6 (September 1982), page 34

Space Trawler is one of the best invaders games we have seen for the
unexpanded ZX-81. You blast through a scrolled-up hyper-space attempting to
avoid colliding with the dreaded black inverse spaces. On the way you must do
your best to trawl up as many comets and asteroids as possible.

As the program stands, it is more a question of space dodgems than of
amassing a high score but that could be amended easily by reducing the size
of the black holes.

Congratulations to D Pickering of Bordon, Hampshire for cramming so much into
so little.