TOP TEN RARITIES

You’ll have your work cut out for you hunting these down

JET SET WILLY and MANIC MINER TATUNG EINSTEIN

Two hugely familiar games but for an unfamiliar system. Both of the Einstein individually released Miner Willy games are difficult to track down and if you do locate them, don’t expect to get much change from £100 each. Finding copies in good clean condition will also prove difficult with most having well-thumbed and rather flimsy instructions/colour code sheet.

JET SET WILLY and MANIC MINER MEMOTECH

Despite featuring on a Software Projects advert, the Memotech versions of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy are still unconfirmed official releases. There are finished versions of each game complete with mocked up inlays but were they officially released, accomplished early fan conversions or samples withdrawn at the last minute? No one seems to have an answer.

MANIC MINER/JET SET WILLY 2 AND JET SET WILLY/HARVEY SMITH SHOWJUMPER TATUNG EINSTEIN

Both of these compilations aren’t as rare as the individual examples nor as pretty with bland unimaginative white inlays with no screenshots and garish ineffective design. Still, the ugly ducklings of our checklist will make your wallet £50 lighter. It’s also the only way to play JSW2 on your Einstein.

STAR PAWS COMMODORE 64 – DISK

We’ve singled out Star Paws on this list, however it could just as easily have been Hysteria, Dragon’s Lair or any of the Commodore 64 disk games, for that matter – as these releases are all so very hard to find today. As such, these incredibly rare games command a pretty penny, too, and you would do pretty well to grab any of them for less than, say, £40 each.

LODE RUNNER 128K ZX SPECTRUM

While the 48K version of Lode

Runner is in plentiful supply with sealed examples available, the 128K release is a much more elusive beast. Rarely seen, it can be a troublesome game to locate and when it does appear, is usually snapped up very quickly by collectors and nostalgic gamers alike. You can get a 48K Lode Runner for just a few pounds, however, the 128K version will be nearer £25.

JET SET WILLY and JET SET WILLY 2 BBC – BOTH DISK

While the cassette releases, licensed to Tynesoft, are freely available and are both relatively inexpensive, the disk versions are most certainly not. They don’t surface very often on the open market and cause a bidding frenzy when they pop up on auction sites. Jet Set Willy and its sequel should cost you around £50 each to incorporate into your collection.

JET SET WILLY COMMODORE C16/PLUS 4 – DISK

Two disks, one Willy? Nice. The Commodore 16/Plus 4 disk version has two different covers. While the blue bordered edition is relatively easy to find, the full artwork inlay first release will take a lot more detective work to track down. A blue border disk version commands a reasonable £20 price point. The rarer full cover would be double that price. Both are Tynesoft licensed products.

SOFTWARE PROJECTS COMPILATION AMSTRAD CPC – DISK

A nifty compilation appeared on the Amstrad CPC containing all of Software Projects’ CPC output; Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner and Binky And Karl’s Treasure Hunt. It could be yours for £25, however, a rarer version which includes, bizarrely, the Argus Press game American Football rather than Karl’s Treasure Hunt, will set you back £40 should you be lucky and find one.

GALACTIC GARDENER COMMODORE 64

Galactic Gardener is one of those cassette games that just doesn’t pop up very often and is usually the final piece in the Software Projects Commodore 64 collection. £15 or £20 would grab you a minty fresh-looking copy, but actually finding one is another matter entirely. Collecting difficulties aside, however, Galactic Gardener is quirky and fun little game that you should at least try if you get the chance.

MANIC MINER SAM COUPE

Another instance of Manic Miner being licensed out by Software Projects, this time to Revelation. The original Sam Coupe release of Manic Miner is a rarity and there are also inlay and disk variations to track down. There’s an earlier Samco/revelation release with a bright inlay and a muted, ill-defined later edition inlay from a different incarnation of Revelation. Either issue will cost a chunky £75.