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Hint Books
Some of the most useful historical resources for classic gaming historians are hint books. This is especially true of massive compendiums like 1984's The Book of Adventure Games, which covers the background and hints for nearly 80 classic adventures and RPGs.
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| Book Name: | Book Publisher: | Author: | Condition: | Year: |
| Azure Bonds | TSR, Inc. | Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb | G | 1988 |
| Balance of Power: International Politics as the Ultimate Global Game | Microsoft Press | Chris Crawford | F | 1986 |
| Before Shadowgate | Scholastic Inc. | F.X. Nine/ Ellen Miles | F | 1991 |
| Doom: Knee-Deep in the Dead | Pocket Star Books | Dafydd ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver | F | 1995 |
| Doom: Hell on Earth | Pocket Star Books | Dafydd ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver | F | 1995 |
| How To Program: The Skill That Will Sharpen Your Thinking | Storm King Press | Chris Crawford | VG | 1991 |
| Myst: The Book of Ti'ana | Hyperion | Rand Miller with David Wingrove | NM | 1996 |
| Pool of Radiance | TSR, Inc. | James M. Ward | G | 1989 |
| ShadowKeep (Based on Trillium computer game) | Warner Books | Alan Dean Foster | F | 1984 |
| Tales of the Marvelous Machine | Creative Computing | Robert Taylor & Burchenal Green (Eds.) | F | 1980 |
| Temper of Wisdom (The Ultima Saga #2) | Warner Books | Lynn Abbey | F | 1992 |
| The Art of Computer Game Design | Osborne/McGraw Hill | Chris Crawford | F | 1984 |
| The Book of Marvelous Magic | TSR, Inc. | Frank Mentzer and Gary Gygax | G | 1985 |
| The Complete Book of Wargames | Simon and Schuster | Eds. of Comsumer Guide and Jon Freeman | F | 1980 |
| The Complete Guide To Electronic Games | Plume/Times Mirror | Howard J. Blumenthal | VG | 1981 |
| The Forge of Virtue (The Ultima Saga) | Popular Library | Lynn Abbey | F | 1991 |
| Zork #1: The Forces of Krill (2 copies) | Pinnacle Books | S. Eric Meretzky | F | 1983 |
| Zork #2: The Malifestro Quest | Pinnacle Books | S. Eric Meretzky | VG | 1983 |
| Zork #3: The Cavern of Doom | TOR | S. Eric Meretzky | VG | 1983 |
| Zork #4: Conquest at Quendor | Pinnacle Books | S. Eric Meretzky | VG | 1984 |
Reference books are highly sought after by computer game historians. They are invaluable for cataloguing the classics, help justify the historical significance of gaming, and can be historical treasures themselves. The newer books are the equivalent of historical text books, and might be even more valuable in terms of the knowledge they contain.
| Book Name: | Book Publisher: | Author: | Condition: | Year: |
| Apple Confidential | No Starch Press | Owen W. Linzmayer | F | 1999 |
| Arcade Fever | Running Press | John Sellers | F | 2001 |
| Arcade Treasures | Schiffer | Bill Kurtz | F | 1994 |
| Atari Adventures | Sunshine Books | Tony Bridge | F | 1984 |
| Commodore 64 Adventures | Sunshine Books | Mike Grace | F | 1983-84 |
| Digital Press 6th Edition Collector's Guide | Digital Press | Joe Santulli, et al. | F | 2001 |
| Dungeons and Dreamers | McGraw Hill/Osborne | Brad Lomg + John Borland | F | 2003 |
| Dvorak's Guide to PC Games | Bantam Books | John C. Dvorak and Peter Spear | F | 1991 |
| Electronic Games | Franklin Watts | Fred D'Ignazio | VG | 1982 |
| Electronic Games 1983 Software Encyclopedia (First Annual) | Reese Communications | Arnie Katz (Ed.) | F | 1983 |
| Electronic Plastic | Jaro Gielens, Buro Destruct | Die Gestalten Verlag -- ISBN 3-931126-44-7 | F | 2000 |
| Fire in the Valley | McGraw Hill | Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine | F | 1984, 2000 |
| Game Over (Press Start To Continue) | CyberActive Media Group, Inc. | David Sheff with new chapters by Andy Eddy | F | 1999 |
| Hackers | Penguin | Steven Levy | F | 1984, 1994 |
| High Score! The illustrated history of electronic games | McGraw Hill/Osborne | Rusel Demaria & Johnny L. Wilson | F | 2002 |
| Home Computers | Publications International, Ltd. | The Editors of Consumer's Guide | G | 1978 |
| Insanely Great: The Life and Times of the Macintosh... | Penguin | Steven Levy | F | 1994, 2000 |
| Masters of Doom | Random House | David Kushner | F | 2003 |
| Personal Computers & Games | Publications International, Ltd. | Editors of Consumer Guide | F | 1983 |
| Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames (2nd Ed.) | Rolenta Press | Leonard Herman | F | 1997 |
| Supercade | The MIT Press | Van Burnham | F | 2001 |
| The Best Apple Software | Beekman House | Roe R. Adams, III, Consumer Guide | F | 1984 |
| The Best Atari Software | Publications International | Jim Bumpas, Consumer Guide | F | 1984 |
| The Best Texas Instruments Software | Beekman House | Brian Starfire, Consumer Guide | F | 1984 |
| The Best VIC/Commodore Software | Beekman House | Consumer Guide | F | 1984 |
| The Best of Creative Computing Volume 1 | Creative Computing Press | Edited by David H. Ahl | F | 1976-77 |
| The Best of Creative Computing Volume 2 | Creative Computing Press | Edited by David H. Ahl | F | 1978 |
| The Best of Creative Computing Volume 3 | Creative Computing Press | Edited by David H. Ahl and Burchenal Green | F | 1980 |
| The Book of Apple Software 1983 | The Book Company | Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Ph.D., Sandra Rochowansky (Eds.) | VG | 1983 |
| The Book of Atari Software 1983 | The Book Company | Jeffrey Stanton, Robert P. Wells, Ph.D., Sandra Rochowansky (Eds.) | G | 1983 |
| The Complete Book of Wargames | Simon and Schuster | The Editors of Consumer Guide and Jon Freeman | VG | 1980 |
| The Computer Entrepreneurs | New American Library | Robert Levering, Michael Katz, Milton Moskowitz | F | 1984 |
| The First Decade of Computer Games | Game Players PC Entertainment | Selby Bateman and Lance Elko | F | 1992 |
| The First Quarter | BWD Press | Steven L. Kent | F | 2000 |
| The Ultimate History of Video Games | Prima Publishing | Steven L. Kent | F | 2001 |
| The User's Guide to Texas Instruments | Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster) | The Editors of Consumer's Guide | F | 1983 |
| Trigger Happy | Arcade Publishing | Steven Poole | F | 2000 |
| Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records | Sunstar Publishing | Walter Day (Ed.) | NM | 1998 |
| Usborne Guide to Computer and Video Games | Usborne Electronics | Ian Graham, Edited by Lisa Watts | F | 1982 |
| Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari | McGraw-Hill | Scott Cohen | F | 1984 |
| Reference Videos | ||||
| Modern Marvels: Video Games - Behind the Fun | The History Channel | VHS | F | 1996, 2000 |
| Triumph of the Nerds | PBS, RM Associates | VHS - Bob Cringely | MS | 1996 |
Classic gaming magazines are useful and valuable to historians for both their written content and their advertisements. More than any other resource, they give insight into the games, the gaming industry and the tastes of game players during the Golden Age. There are many classic magazines dedicated to computing. Compute, A+, Antic, STart, Amiga World and many others covered classic gaming as part of their magazines. However, two long-running, gaming-devoted magazines stand out amongst all others: Computer Gaming World and Electronic Games. Computer Gaming World is particularly desirable since it focuses solely on computer games and is the longest continuously running video game magazine. Pictured is Computer Game Forum #1, the premier issue of a computer wargaming magazine spin off from Computer Gaming World. Unfortunately, issue #2 was the last.
| Magazine Name: | Condition: | Issue: |
| 99'er Magazine | F | Vol. 1 No. 6 1982 |
| 99'er Home Computer Magazine | F | May 1983 |
| Best of 99'er Volume 1 (Book) | F | 1981, 1982, 1983 |
| COMPUTE! (Special Games Issue) | F | July 1983 Issue 38 Vol. 5 No. 7 |
| Computer Entertainment | F | Volume III, No. 5 May 85 |
| Computer Entertainment | VG | Volume III, No. 7 July 85 |
| Computer Fun (Formerly Electronic Fun) | F | April 1984 |
| Computer Fun (Formerly Electronic Fun) | F | May 1984 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Vol. 1 No. 1 Nov - Dec 81 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Vol. 2 No. 4 July - Aug 82 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Vol. 2 No. 5 Sept - Oct 82 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Vol. 2 No. 6 Nov - Dec 82 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Vol. 3 No. 1 Jan - Feb 83 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Vol. 3 No. 4 July - Aug 83 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Vol. 3 No. 5 October 83 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Vol. 4.2 April 84 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Vol. 4.3 June 84 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Vol. 4.6 December 84 |
| Computer Gaming World (2) | F | Vol. 5.4 Sept - Oct 85 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | No. 25 Jan - Feb 86 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | No. 26 March 86 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | No. 33 December 86 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | No. 35 March 87 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | No. 37 May 87 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | No. 44 Feb 88 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Number 49 July 88 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 50 August 88 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 53 November 88 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 60 June 89 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 62 August 89 |
| Computer Gaming World | VG | Number 88 November 91 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 100 November 92 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 148 November 96 |
| Computer Gaming World | F | Number 200 March 2001 |
| Computer Game Forum | NM | #1 Fall 87 |
| Computer Game Forum | NM | #2 Winter 87 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers and Games | F | Vol. 1 No. 11 September 83 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers and Games | F | Vol. 1 No. 12 October 83 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers and Games | F | Vol. 2 No. 1 November 83 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers and Games | VG | Vol. 2 No. 2 December 83 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers and Games | F | Vol. 2 No. 3 January 84 |
| Electronic Fun with Computers and Games | F | Vol. 2 No. 4 February 84 |
| Electronic Games | F | March 1982 |
| Electronic Games | F | December 1982 |
| Electronic Games | VG | June 1983 |
| Electronic Games | F | July 1983 |
| Electronic Games | VG | August 1983 |
| Electronic Games | VG | December 1983 |
| Electronic Games | F | March 1984 |
| Electronic Games | F | May 1984 |
| Electronic Games | F | July 1984 |
| JoyStik | G | December 1983 |
| Softline | F | Volume 1, No. 1 Sept 1981 |
| Softline | F | Volume 1, No. 2 Nov 1981 |
| Softline (3) | F | Volume 1, No. 3 Jan 1982 |
| Softline (2) | F | Volume 1, No. 4 March 1982 |
| Softline | F | Volume 1, No. 5 May 1982 |
| Softline | F | Volume 1, No. 6 July 1982 |
| Softline | F | Volume 2, No. 1 Sept 1982 |
| Softline | F | Volume 2, No. 2 Nov 1982 |
| Softline | F | Volume 2, No. 3 Jan 1983 |
| Softline | F | Volume 2, No. 4 March 83 |
| Softline (2) | F | Volume 2, No. 4 May - June 83 |
| Softline | F | Volume 2, No. 5 July - Aug 83 |
| Softline | F | Volume 2, No. 6 Sept - Oct 83 |
| Softline | F | Volume 3, No. 1 Nov - Dec 83 |
| Softline (cover misprinted VOLUME 4) | VG | Volume 3, No. 2 Jan - Feb 84 |
| Video Games | VG | No. 15 December 83 |
Beta Disks are distributed to reviewers and testers before the game is sold in stores. The Interstate '76 gold master was sent to reviewers in this 8-track look-alike case. The final game shipped in a standard box.
| Game Name: | Publisher: | OS: | Media: | Category: | Condition: | Year: |
| 7th Legion | Microprose | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Strategy | CDR | 1997 |
| Atomic Bomberman | Interplay | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Arcade | CDR | 1997 |
| Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far | Microsoft Corp. | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Strategy | CDR | 1997 |
| Diablo | Sierra On-Line | Win 95 | CD-ROM | RPG | CDR | 1996 |
| Heroes of Might and Magic II | 3D0 | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Strategy | CDR | 1996 |
| HyperBlade | Activision | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Fantasy Sports | CDR | 1996 |
| Interstate '76 | Activision | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Action/Adventure | VG | 1997 |
| Iron Strategy | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Simulation | CDR | 1998 | |
| Krush, Kill 'N' Destroy | Electronic Arts | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Strategy | CDR | 1997 |
| Madden NFL 98 | Electronic Arts | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Sports | CDR | 1997 |
| Magic: The Gathering | Microprose | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Card | CDR | 1997 |
| MDK | Playmates Interactive | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Arcade | CDR | 1997 |
| Myst: Demo Disc Sneak Preview! | Broderbund | Mac | CD-ROM | Adventure | F | 1993 |
| NCAA Final Four '97 | GTE Entertainment | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Sports | CDR | 1996 |
| SandWarriors | Interplay | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Arcade | CDR | 1997 |
| Sierra Sports Football Pro '99 | Sierra On-Line | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Sports | CDR | 1998 |
| Sixth Dimension | Nikita, Ltd. | Win 95 | CD-ROM | Action/Adventure | CDR | 1998 |
| Street Fighter II | U.S. Gold | Amiga | 3.5" Disk | Fighting | VG | 1992 |
Click on the link to see the poster:
| Poster: |
| The Atari Advantage: Back |
| EA: We See Farther |
| SSI: AD&D |
| Palace: Barbarian II |
| CV&G: Barbarian II |
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