Missing Magazines from the 80s

[leenew]

Hi,
Over the last few months I have trawled every computer magazine I can think of looking for BBC Micro and Electron games.
I have searched online archives of the following:

A&B Computing
Acorn Computing
Acorn Programs
Acorn User
Beebug
Beebon
Byteback
Computer & Video games
Computer Gamer
Disk User
Elbug
Electron Computing
Electron User
Fast Access
Games Computing
Home Computing weekly
Input
Laserbug
Let's Compute!
Micro User
Model B Computing
Personal Computer Games
Personal Computer News
Popular Computing Weekly
Your Computer.

I believe I have a fairly comprehensive list of all the type-in games and magazine cover games etc. that came from these publications.
All magazine games on bbcmicro.co.uk now detail which magazine/issue they originated from, and some previously unknown games are now attributed correctly.

However, the following magazines don't have a very good online presence:

Computing Today (Argus Press)
Personal Computing Today (Argus Press)
Personal Computer World (VNU)

Does anyone have a decent amount of any of these magazines?

I am looking for:

Personal Computing Today from August 1982 to December 1985 (The full run I believe)
(It appears Aug 82, Nov 82, Mar 83, Aug 83, Nov 83, Sep 84 do not have any beeb/elk games in.)

Computing Today from late 1981 to the end of the run in the mid 80s

Personal Computer World from late 1981 to 1986 or 1987 ish.
I think the Centre for Computing History has an almost complete collection of PCW so if no-one else can help, I will take a ride down to Cambridge

Lee.

[flaxcottage]

I have a pretty much complete collection of Computing Today from 1979 to 1983 and quite a few spares from 1981 and 1982 if that's a help.

I also have a few odd Personal Computing Today titles - Sep 82, Jan 83, Jun 83, Jan 84 and Jun 84.

[CMcDougall]

are you looking for more MIA tapes (.....hope not ) or just more mag type-ins?

I have this : Personal Software Magazines- Argus Publishing : Spring 1983 Vol1 No4
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7611&p=77562#p77562
but the link to 'that rubbish computer' site is no-worky now

[leenew]

Hi John,
Would it be possible, on the next rainy day, to look through the contents pages of those mags and let me know if there are any Beeb/Electron game listings.
You should only have to start at the end of '81 at the earliest
Personal Computing Today is usually very clear in the contents page e g. 'BBC Software: Pontoon'.
Computing Today isn't so clear, but they weren't big on games listings so I don't think there will be many **

Lee.

** I know they listed "Froglet" in the April 83 issue and updated it in the June 83 issue.
They listed "Poker" in the March 84 issue.
It would be good to get decent photos or scans of these listings.....

[leenew]

are you looking for more MIA tapes (.....hope not ) or just more mag type-ins?

I have this : Personal Software Magazines- Argus Publishing : Spring 1983 Vol1 No4
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7611&p=77562#p77562
but the link to 'that rubbish computer' site is no-worky now

Hi Col,
I am looking for magazine type-in games listings.
Were there any beeb games in that magazine?

Lee

[flaxcottage]

No problem, Lee. It will give me something to do as a break from my educational stuff.

[leenew]

Thank you

Lee

[CMcDougall]

I am looking for magazine type-in games listings.
Were there any beeb games in that magazine?

hi Lee, not looked at for a a a a a ages, but sure I downloaded all of them, more IDE HDisc hunting!
They did have beeb game adverts, but can't confirm type-ins at moment.....
Col.

[leenew]

No rush Col
EDIT: I have a suspicion that "Personal Software" was full of reprints from other Argus magazines, but I would just like to be sure...

Lee.

[CMcDougall]

suspicion that "Personal Software" was full of reprints from other Argus magazines, but I would just like to be sure...

evening Lee, found....

so the original mag I have, Spring'83
games :
Ultima - board game like chess, but monsters
George and the dragon - looks like Yellow Kingdom on beeb welcome tape
Gomoku - the usual
Mars Lander - similar to elk welcome tape
Maze - walk about

here is a sample, if not repeats from the other Argus press mags, will up this whole mag:

sample

bad news, don't think I downloaded all the rest of the mags (*weird...)

EDIT : *looks like the only one I found online Jan2014, so hence did not download rest, as non exist!
one other mag on eBay at mo being Summer82, with a beeb & welcome tape box on top
so looks like more game to be found, I bet you hate me now

looked on the CompleteBGA site, and Ultima was re-copied in July1990 in TMU and someone elses took the credits

[leenew]

Thanks Col,
You are right, someone ripped off Ultima probably from that mag
Could you take some photos of the beeb articles?
Listings and any write-ups that mention authors or where the game was originally published etc.
No rush
Just mobile phone photos should be ok for now, while I check what's what.
You can email them to me if you want...

Lee.

[leenew]

Stop!
Col, I have saved you a job
I have found copies of these magazines

https://computerarchive.org/files/compu ... software/

Lee.

[leenew]

I have looked through all of the "Personal software" quarterly magazines I can find, and can discount the following as having no beeb game listings:

Autumn '82
Summer '83
Winter '83 (has 1 small listing that I will type up today) **DONE* it will appear on Mick's discs and bbcmicro.co.uk shortly.
Spring '84
Summer '84
Summer '85
Autumn '85

I would be interested if anyone has the following issues of Personal software:

Summer '82 (This mag has listings previously printed in Computing Today - so hopefully John Flaxcottage will find these...) - NOW ALL TYPED IN...
Winter '82
Autumn '83
Autumn '84
Winter '84
Spring '85

Lee.

[Cudgel]

No problem, Lee. It will give me something to do as a break from my educational stuff.

John, can I ask if you have scanned copies Computing Today? I've been searching for ages but for some reason this magazine seems to be missing from all the archives. I'm particularly interested in the 1982 editions and references to the type in program "The Valley". I have the April 82 edition with the main listing but I believe there were follow up articles in the following months.
If you know of a link to digital copies it would be as exciting as Christmas!

[leenew]

Little article about "The Valley": https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/2 ... he_valley/

on bbcmicro.co.uk http://bbcmicro.co.uk/game.php?id=2250

Lee.

[iamaran]

Scans of articles about The Valley from issues other than April 1982 are in the zip file here:
https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/fraser.char ... Valley.zip

Happy Christmas, Cudgel

[CMcDougall]

have found copies of these magazines

nice, ain't seen the others, only had one BITD , but rest look like inferior computers

this was the one I seen on eBay the other day with 5 other mags, tried to find it again...
.... but sold for £3+2pp

so some lost beeb type-in games in this :

[leenew]

Yep, we definitely need that one Col..

Lee.

[1024MAK]

The World of Spectrum archive of magazines is now here
I don't know if there are any that you want there though.

Mark

[Cudgel]

Scans of articles about The Valley from issues other than April 1982 are in the zip file here:
https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/fraser.char ... Valley.zip

Happy Christmas, Cudgel

[flaxcottage]

No problem, Lee. It will give me something to do as a break from my educational stuff.

John, can I ask if you have scanned copies Computing Today? I've been searching for ages but for some reason this magazine seems to be missing from all the archives. I'm particularly interested in the 1982 editions and references to the type in program "The Valley". I have the April 82 edition with the main listing but I believe there were follow up articles in the following months.
If you know of a link to digital copies it would be as exciting as Christmas!

Scans of Computing Today are missing from the web. It is on my to do list but that is very, very long. There were follow ups to The Valley. Ill look them out. I'm working on a text only version of the adventure for the Pi so I'll need them myself.

[flaxcottage]

Hi John,
Would it be possible, on the next rainy day, to look through the contents pages of those mags and let me know if there are any Beeb/Electron game listings.
You should only have to start at the end of '81 at the earliest
Personal Computing Today is usually very clear in the contents page e g. 'BBC Software: Pontoon'.
Computing Today isn't so clear, but they weren't big on games listings so I don't think there will be many **

Lee.

** I know they listed "Froglet" in the April 83 issue and updated it in the June 83 issue.
They listed "Poker" in the March 84 issue.
It would be good to get decent photos or scans of these listings.....

September 82 - ASTEROID LANDER
January 83 - PETE THE PLASTERED POSTMAN
January 84 - NIGHT RAID (Also Electron)
June 84 - MOLE MANIA (Also Electron)

PS: It rained today.

[leenew]

Hi John,
I'm glad it rained
It is interesting to note that Argus Press seemed to have a habit of publishing games commercially, then printing the listing in one of their mags. Sometimes they would print a listing, and then sell it commercially
Asteroid Lander and Pete the plastered postman were both sold commercially - together on one cassette.
The other 2 games are MIA...
It would be nice, once you get more rain, to take me a couple of piccies of the articles/listings for these 4 games.
I will compare Asteroid Lander and Pete the plastered postman to their commercial counterparts, and attempt to type the other 2 in


Lee.

[leenew]

Also John, could you make it clear which issues of these magazines you have looked through please, so I may cross them off my list. And which magazines those games were in
Thanks.

Lee.

[flaxcottage]

September 82 - ASTEROID LANDER
January 83 - PETE THE PLASTERED POSTMAN
January 84 - NIGHT RAID (Also Electron)
June 84 - MOLE MANIA (Also Electron)

PS: It rained today.

I also looked at June 83 and Sept 84 - there were no BBC/Electron games in there.

[leenew]

Which publication John?

Lee.

[flaxcottage]

Sorry, Lee. Personal Computing Today.

I misunderstood some posts way back and I thought you wanted me to look at these rather than Computing Today.

[leenew]

Thanks John,
No, I really need you to look at both of them please
BTW I am in Sheffield at the minute, and it is absolutely persisting it down

Lee.

[leenew]

Does anyone have a copy of "Personal Computing Today" from February 1985?
I am attempting to type in "Pontoon" but the quality of the listing on the archive.org copy is terrible.
https://archive.org/details/PersonalCom ... 5/page/n50
Anyone have a better one?

Lee.

[CMcDougall]

does anyone on the forum have these under the bed?

need to confirm IF any type-in beeb / elk games within