My Favorite Games for the ZX Spectrum

Today, I’d like to share with you my favorite games on the ZX Spectrum. They’re in no particular order though I’ve started with the games I used to enjoy with my family and friends. Let me know if you have any more suggestions in the comments below or if you want to share your memories of playing games on the ZX Spectrum.

Jungle Fever

Jungle Fever is probably one of my earliest memories of sitting down and playing games with the family. It was essentially a side scrolling platform game where you had to jump over rivers avoiding crocodiles and swing across chasms. I’m not a huge fan of platform games but other notable mentions would be:

Chuckie Egg
Manic Minor
Jet Pac
Jet Set Willy
Monty Mole
Dizzy
Ghouls and Ghosts
Booty
the list goes on …

I remember my elder sister once completing Manic Minor one summer holiday. And I also remember her buying me ghouls and ghosts which was a great game with great graphics for the day.

Daley Thompson’s Decathlon

This was a keyboard bashing sports simulation. We as a family had hours of fun mashing the keys to see who could run the fastest, jump the highest. I think we went through 2 or 3 machines with this one.

The Oracle’s Cave

This was a brilliant game that gave us hours of fun and is still playable today. It was a dungeon crawler and you had to collect items fight monsters and escape the Oracle’s cave. We finished this game, so it is possible. It was also my first experience of “modding” a game. You could break into the code and change the name’s of monsters and things like that.

Football Manager

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28623059

Football manager and its many sequels and similar games were probably one of the big multiplayer games that the men of the house used to enjoy together. My dad and my brother stayed up the whole night playing it the day we bought it. As I got older, I enjoyed this type of game more and more and often set up leagues with my dad and friends. I’ll cover more of these games on the Amiga and PC in a separate article. You can of course still play football manager today:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1263850/Football_Manager_2021/

Laser Squad

Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1291963

Turn based strategy at its best! Another game I enjoyed greatly with my best friend and dad. My greatest memory of this game was when I armed my men with one rocket launcher and a rocket each. On the first assassination mission I fired the first rocket into the house threw it to the next guy he re-loaded and fired again and then to the next… until I blew up most of the house and killed my target on the first go. This is an early predecessor of the XCOM series which can still be enjoyed today:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/XCOM_2/

Lords of Chaos

This game was similar to Laser Squad but in a fantasy theme. This one I played on my own but had great fun with it. If anyone can suggest a similar game to this available today that would be great.

The Hobbit

This was one of many humble text adventures that I used to enjoy with my Dad. We completed The Hobbit, so it is doable. The Hobbit was also the first serious book I read. My sister bought the book for me (though I suspect it was actually my mom). Of course there are many books, games and films that can be enjoyed around this legendary book.

Winter Wonderland

Another classic text adventure I used to enjoy with my dad. Extremely atmospheric for a text adventure. You can feel the cold and the magic of Shangri-La.

Twin Kingdom Valley

Another text adventure. I played this on my own but was always engrossed by it. There was real time fighting involved. This is one I’ve gone back to recently. If you like text adventures definitely try it!

The Lords of Midnight

An excellent RPG with “3D” graphics on the Spectrum! Still very playable today. You could get it on iOS and Android but I thinks it’s no longer supported. Try this one out you won’t regret it. I’ve completed it but you need a good map. I’ve put a link at the end of this article.

Colony

The spiritual ancestor of Stardew Valley. You are a robot growing mushrooms on a farm planet. You need to look after the power grid, fight off the native wildlife and supply Earth with enough mushrooms to keep the populace fed. What’s not to like? Definitely playable today!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/

Check out The best free ZX Spectrum emulator to play Colony and the other games listed here.

Rescue

An excellent game, still playable today. You need to explore the ship, rescue scientists and re-fuel your vessel before blasting off and escaping. Another one I’ve completed, so it is doable. Check it out!

Skool Daze

A brilliant game where you get to go to school, attend lessons, bully people, kiss your girlfriend and do lines(Not the kind you’re thinking of!).

Back to Skool

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7894336

The sequel to Skool Daze more of the same school based fun. I used to enjoy playing these games with my brother.

Paperboy

By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61575021

I don’t think this is a ZX Spectrum screenshot but you get the idea. You ride along the pavement and throw papers into the houses avoiding cars and dogs and generally having fun. This was simple but addictive game play.

Trashman

This was very similar in style to paperboy but now you can realize your dream of being a bin man. I was a bin man for a day once, but it chafes you know! Had a frozen bag of peas between my legs for the rest of the day! Much better to enjoy from a comfy chair!

Arkanoid

A classic break thru style game. Infinitely playable and the go to choice for learning to program your 2nd game. Obviously Pong is the first!

Sim City

This was one great game that spawned an empire. You can still play this series today. Sim City 4 is probably the best one. Give it a go!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/24780/SimCity_4_Deluxe_Edition/

Spy vs Spy

Not the ZX Spectrum screenshot but it is close. This probably should be higher up the list as one to enjoy with a friend. You basically move around the building collecting things and setting traps to hamper your opponent. Great two play fun!

Double Dragon

Side-scrolling beat ’em up. I remember this from the arcade machine and playing with my best friend on the Speccy. Especially satisfying when you kick someone in the stomach, grab them by the head, knee them in the face and then flip them over your shoulder. This is another one we were able to finish. I can think of one recent game with similar gameplay (disclaimer – I haven’t actually played it!) Shank.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/6120/Shank/

Golden Axe

More side scrolling beat ’em up fun. This time in a fantasy setting with rideable animals. This provided hours of fun for me and my best friend!

Hero Quest

This was a port of the classic board game. It allowed me to play on my own when I couldn’t find enough people willing to play the board game with me. I would recommend the board game. You can pick it up on E-bay I believe. If not then try this version for a bit of nostalgia and fun.