BASIC Computer Games
by David H. Ahl · first published 1978
37% recommend59% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Type-in BASIC game listings that let readers modify someone else's code and see how it works; many learned programming this way as kids, with games like Eliza and ICBM teaching concepts like trig.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
BASIC Computer Games: Microcomputer Edition by David H. Ahl is a legendary book that, although no longer entirely up to date, remains an excellent starting point for anyone just beginning their journey into programming and game development. Released in the 1970s, it was a cornerstone of early computing, offering simple but engaging games written in BASIC, the most accessible language of the time. For me, this book was instrumental in my early development as a programmer. It helped me create a variety of simple games, including a very basic version of Blackjack, which was my first attempt at
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
What to do after you hit return
People's Computer Company.
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 33 recommend · 3 mention3 recommend · 33 recommend
2014–2026101 Basic Computer Games
David H. Ahl
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 237 recommend · 23 mention7 recommend · 237 recommend
2010–2024Teach yourself C++
Herbert Schildt
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 31 recommend · 3 mention1 recommend · 31 recommend
50 Years of Text Games
Aaron Reed
Recommended by 13 · mentioned by 1413 recommend · 14 mention13 recommend · 1413 recommend
2008–2026Getting started in electronics
Forrest M. Mims
Recommended by 28 · mentioned by 3828 recommend · 38 mention28 recommend · 3828 recommend
2009–2024Invent your Own Computer Games with Python
Al Sweigart
Recommended by 36 · mentioned by 3736 recommend · 37 mention36 recommend · 3736 recommend
2008–2026Starting FORTH
Leo Brodie, Inc Staff Forth
Recommended by 76 · mentioned by 9176 recommend · 91 mention76 recommend · 9176 recommend
2008–2026Thinking Forth
Leo Brodie
Recommended by 77 · mentioned by 9977 recommend · 99 mention77 recommend · 9977 recommend
…"Programmers don't read books" thread just come to my mind those really nice days where computer books where an extremely useful source of information. One of my favourites mentioned in the thread was: BASIC Computer games by David Ahl Which book was your favourite?
on “Which is your favorite 70-80s computer book?” ↗I was infatuated with Eliza as a kid, thanks to its inclusion in David Ahl's "More BASIC Computer Games". It was my first foray into modifying someone else's code and trying to figure out how it worked. Something about this program was like jet fuel for my young imagination. The author of this article and…
on “Joseph Weizenbaum's Original Eliza” ↗+1 for Invent With Python. I've got my 8 year old daughter doing it and she loves it. It's the closest thing that I've found to what first started me programming, David Ahl's Basic Computer Games. I've also done Scratch with her, which she enjoys because it's so quick to get multimedia integration, but I found she wasn't keeping hold of fundamentals, like how loop controls work. Moving to Invent…
on “Ask HN: programming tools for a 12 year old” ↗…Computing article with the (I think CDC) BASIC source code for Oregon Trail, but didn't realize that this is the issue. This is exactly the same time as David Ahl (founder of Creative Computing)'s monumental BASIC Computer Games book. While that book was the single most important source of source code for the earliest personal computer BASIC game programmers, another important resource was articles like this one. BYTE printed…
on “Why Apple II Is the World's Best Selling Personal Computer (1978)” ↗I first learned to program in CBASIC on an Eagle II (Z80), then later TI-BASIC, and finally MSBASIC. Thank you, Mr. Kurtz, for introducing me to a wonderful career and fond memories of hacking “BASIC Computer Games” by David Ahl into my early PCs.
on “Thomas E. Kurtz has died” ↗The book this is from, David Ahl’s More BASIC Computer Games, was hugely influential on me when I was 12. After my parents sent me to bed I’d read it under the covers trying to imagine how the computer would behave at every step. Great times!
on “Corral.BAS” ↗"BASIC Computer Games" by David H. Ahl
on “Breaking computers taught me to build them” ↗…another 100 lines of code" DLC package? You know, as a kid I learned BASIC from school friends, neighbors, and family members, and taught BASIC to many more, by trading the source code freely. Books like "BASIC Computer Games" were gotten at the library for free. My computer booted into BASIC for free. Now I realize how disadvantaged I was, this is the future -- teaching children about "platforms", that hold your code hostage,…
on “SmileBASIC 4 for Nintendo Switch” ↗If you like this kind of thing, try to find copies of books by Dave Ahl - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC_Computer_Games I like this kind of thing and I have both books. A family friend CP/M system was by first gaming experience and I played all of them. The Star Trek here exists in a sort of copyright limbo, CBS obviously…
on “Star Trek 1971 Text Game (2008)” ↗Had great times with this one and the "More Basic Computer Games" book. My favorites were the Eliza clone, and ICBM, where you are trying to intercept an incoming ICBM with a anti-ballistic missle. My first use of trig functions, which really helped solidify the…
on “BASIC Computer Games” ↗…punch and reader, and a phone-cradle modem, with which you could connect to the the PDP-8 at the local high school. Between this book https://www.amazon.com/Illustrating-Basic-Simple-Programming... and "BASIC Computer Games" my friend and I taught ourselves BASIC programming. It was about 42 years ago, but I remember to this day the initial astonishing joy of making the computer do something new that I had thought of.
on “BASIC Computer Games” ↗Assuming he has a computer and an internet connection, send him this link: http://inventwithpython.com/chapters/ The author has done a fantastic job of capturing the feeling of the Basic Computer Games book where you can just type in the code and fun stuff happens. I've got my 7 year old daughter started on it and she's having a ball.
on “Ask HN: What gift to teach a 7 year-old programming?” ↗Was it "BASIC COMPUTER GAMES" from Creative Computing? I loved that book! (Probably not, from your description, but it was very big and very yellow and had a lot of games you could type in.) https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/624341.Basic_Computer...…
on “Byte Magazine Volume 07 Number 08 – Logo (1982)” ↗…IIgs systems sold. The Commodore 64 sold the most systems but so many owners only played games on it that the manual probably wasn't the most influential book on BASIC. Exempting system manuals, the BASIC Computer Games books were probably it.
on “Updating the most influential book of the BASIC era” ↗…those books. In trying to find something similar to pique my kids interest, I found Invent With Python to fill the bill, My kids can type it in, and cool things happen. There's a bit more structure than Basic Computer Games, in that it introduces different concepts in a more logical way, but it still captured the magic for my kids of making the computer do what they want. I'm a fan, and my kids still love to code. https://inventwithpython.com/
on “Tech Prep by Facebook” ↗