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1981 Winners
Castle Wolfenstien
Muse, © 1981
Olympic Decathlon
Microsoft, ©1981
Computer Baseball
SSI, © 1981
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
Sir-Tech, © 1981
Empire of the Over-Mind
Avalon Hill, © 1981
President Elect
SSI, © 1981
Eastern Front - 1941
[The original APX version]
[The re-released Atari version]
Publisher: APX (Atari Program Exchange)* / Atari
Developer: Chris Crawford
Original PC Platform: Atari 400/800
Ported Platforms: None
Summary: Eastern Front 1941 was one of the first computer wargames to pass muster with
hardcore board wargamers. The game featured a large smoothly scrolling map, showing only a portion of the map
at a time. As the game progressed, the colors of the trees, ground, and rivers changed to indicate the changing seasons.
There was nothing worse than having your troops bogged down in mud or snow.
The story behind Eastern Front is the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on June 22, 1941.
Known as Operation Barbarossa, the German Blitzkrieg swept deep into Russia...until old man winter set in.
The Germans were turned back at the gates of Moscow, after months of hard battle, and a death toll that
reached 6 million combined.
The objective of the game, like that of Operation Barbarossa, is to move German armies across Russia to capture
Moscow and other Russian cities. The original version of the game had only one level of difficulty, while the
second version had six: Learner, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert 1941, and Expert 1942. During a turn, the player
evaluates muster strength and combat strength for each unit (both infantry and armor), gives orders
to German army units, and finally executes the orders. You gain points by destroying enemy units and capturing cities.
What made Eastern Front unique for its time was the complexity of the AI. Russian troops would evaluate
weaknesses in their defense, and move units to fill holes accordingly. If the German army managed to circle around behind
a group of Russian units, the supply lines would be cut off and combat strength would begin to drop. Each unit had a
zone of control, allowing the complex algorithms to function smoothly.
For a fascinating article, written by Chris Crawford himself, about the development process of Eastern Front,
check out this reprint from Creative Computing magazine.
*(Note: APX was a division of Atari that released shareware titles
with no packaging and minimal documentation. These titles usually sold for around $10-$20. Eastern Front 1941
was so popular that Crawford updated it a year later with additional difficulty levels. The newer version
required 48k of RAM, thus wouldn't run on a 400. Atari re-released it as an official Atari product, complete with a 31-page booklet and a
color map.)
-- Tony Cervo
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