Addictive Games was a UK

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s. It is best known for the ''

Football Manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

'' series of games created by company founder Kevin Toms. The company was originally based in Milton Keynes,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and later relocated to Bournemouth, in southern England.

History

The company was set up by Kevin Toms in 1982 in order to launch the ''

'' game he had written for the

TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...

and

ZX81 The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-cos ...

computers. Initially this was just by mail order from advertisements placed in computer magazines. In September 1982 Addictive Games launched the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

version of ''Football Manager'', with added match action graphics. The addition of the graphics actions was very popular, and the game went on to be a number one best seller, with the games being stocked in major retailers. The success of Football Manager allowed Toms to move the company to commercial premises in Richmond Hill in the centre of Bournemouth. In 1984 the game was ported to the

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

and Commodore 64. By 1987, ''Football Manager'' had been ported to 16 different platforms. In 1984, Addictive used the short-lived ''Silicon Joy'' label for games by other authors, 'specially selected' by Kevin Toms, but in 1985, after Toms launched his next game ''

Software Star ''Software Star'' is a 1985 game released by Kevin Toms for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. Gameplay This is essentially a text-based management game. The player's task is to manage a software house, create new games, manage pub ...

'', Addictive also began publishing games by other authors including ''

Boffin Boffin is a British slang term for a scientist, engineer, or other person engaged in technical or scientific research and development. A "boffin" was viewed by some in the regular services as odd, quirky or peculiar, though quite bright and es ...

'' by Paul Julian O'Malley and '' Kirel'' by Siegfried Kurtz. '' Headcoach'', an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

sports strategy game written by Simon Davies was released in the summer of 1986 and reached No. 3 in the

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...

UK sales charts.ZX Computing, November 1986; p5.
/ref> Toms went on to write the political strategy game ''

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

'' released in 1987. The company was bought by Prism Leisure Corporation in 1987. Prism used the Addictive name for full price game releases (including '' HotShot'' in 1988, '' The Kristal'' in 1989 and the later ''Football Manager'' games), as well as selling older Addictive games (particularly ''Football Manager'') in their budget ranges and in compilations.

Releases

Addictive Games

*''

'', 1982 (

, C64,

Oric Oric was the name used by UK-based Tangerine Computer Systems for a series of 6502-based home computers sold in the 1980s, primarily in Europe. With the success of the ZX Spectrum from Sinclair Research, Tangerine's backers suggested a ho ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...

Electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...

, Dragon,

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the ...

, Atari 8-bit, C16/ Plus/4, MSX, Amiga, Atari ST, PC) *''

'', 1985 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC) *''Stringer'', 1985 (C64) *''

'', 1985 (BBC Micro, Electron) *''Arac'', 1986 (C64) *'' Kirel'', 1986 (ZX Spectrum) *''

Head Coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

'', 1986 (ZX Spectrum, C64) *''President'', 1987 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC) *''

Football Manager 2 ''Football Manager 2'' is the second game in the ''Football Manager'' series. Gameplay Gameplay is very similar to the first game, with mostly text based screens (although they are more colorful than the original and usually contain at least ...

'', 1988 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, PC) *'' Hot Shot'', 1988 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, PC) *''Battle Stations'', 1988 (C64) *''Metaplex'', 1988 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC) *''Hyperforce'', 1989 (Amiga, Atari ST) *'' The Kristal'', 1989 (Amiga, Atari ST, PC) *''Aquanaut'', 1989 (Amiga, Atari ST) *''

Football Manager World Cup Edition ''Football Manager'' is a video game series published and developed by Addictive Games, the label set up by the game's creator Kevin Toms. The first game was released in 1982.

'', 1990 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga, Atari ST, PC) *''

Football Manager 3 ''Football Manager'' is a video game series published and developed by Addictive Games, the label set up by the game's creator Kevin Toms. The first game was released in 1982.

'', 1992 (ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, PC)

Silicon Joy

*''Caves of Rigel'', 1984 (Atari 8-bit) *'' Grand Prix Manager'', 1984 (ZX Spectrum) *''Boxing'', 1984 (ZX Spectrum) *''Run Your Own League'', 1984 (ZX Spectrum) *''Trio'', 1984 (ZX Spectrum) - 3 games: ''Ascot'', ''Chaotic Caverns'', ''Dracula's Castle''

References

{{Reflist Video game companies established in 1982 Companies based in Bournemouth Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom 1982 establishments in England