Puneet Varma (Editor)

BeamWars

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Developer(s)
  
Steve Crutchfield

Release date(s)
  
1992

Genre
  
Arcade game

Publisher(s)
  
Polaris Software

Initial release date
  
1992

Mode
  
Multiplayer video game

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Platform
  
Macintosh operating systems

Beamwars v2 3 2 macintosh game 1994


BeamWars is a Macintosh snake game released as shareware in 1992 by Steve Crutchfield. It allows up to four people to play simultaneously on a single keyboard.

Contents

Description

The player controls a beam of light which is capable of moving up, down, left or right. The objective is to avoid hitting anything while forcing your opponents' beams to crash into yours, their own, or a wall. After a set amount of time, the walls begin to close in, making survival more difficult and forcing players closer together. The winner of each round is the last surviving beam and points are awarded based on how long each beam survived. After a few rounds, the player with the highest score wins the game. The game supports a maximum of 4 players, either human or computer controlled (which can be set to either Novice or Expert level). However, since the game could be played with 4 humans at the same time on the same keyboard, it was prone to the N-key rollover problem.

Reception

The MacUser Guide to Shareware (1993) stated "BeamWars stands out as one of the finest arcade-type games" and "the game is actually a delightful, nerve-wracking combination of sound, skill, and color."

References

BeamWars Wikipedia