''Hareraiser'' is a

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 ...

released in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

in the UK in two parts: ''Prelude'' and ''Finale''. The game was published for

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

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 Sin ...

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 ...

Model B,

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

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 PE ...

Dragon 32 The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer, and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., initially in Swansea, Wales before mov ...

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

Oric Atmos 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 hom ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 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 t ...

at £8.95 for each part. Original advertisement for the game A prize worth £30,000 was on offer if the game could be solved. The solvers of ''Prelude'' would also then have to buy and solve ''Finale''. They could then enter a competition to locate the prize, the bejewelled

18 carat The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardne ...

"Golden Hare"

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

featured on the cover.

Gameplay

Hareraiser: Prelude

The game is a title screen with the game rules and a series of graphical screens showing grass, sky, and trees with text clues at the top and bottom of the screen. The hints in the first part of the game, "Prelude," are well-known proverbs and sayings. The only interaction is pressing the cursor keys to follow the hare, which moves across the screen and disappears to one side. "Rooms" are a non-Euclidean space - the user wanting to go back and pressing the appropriate key did not always return to the same place, sometimes ending up in a different "room."

Hareraiser: Finale

The game also presents a title screen with the rules of the game and a series of graphical screens, the action takes place in the evening (night). The hints at the top and bottom of the screen are specific search instructions, information that not all of the words in the hints are in order, and a numeric code common to all copies of the game.

Background

The golden hare had previously been the prize for solving the book ''Masquerade'', by the British artist

Kit Williams Christopher "Kit" Williams (born 28 April 1946) is an English artist, illustrator and author best known for his 1979 book '' Masquerade'', a pictorial storybook which contains clues to the location of a golden (18 carat) jewelled hare created ...

."Play to Win"
in

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

, Issue 17 It had been buried at a secret location (Ampthill Park in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

), the object of the game being to solve the clues in the book that would lead the successful treasure-hunter to this location and the golden prize. Several sources state, erroneously, that ''Hareraiser'' is based on ''Masquerade'' - in fact, the only thing apart from the prize that the two have in common is that both feature a hare. Haresoft was founded by Dugald Thompson, the controversial winner of ''Masquerade'', and his business partner John Guard."Masquerade & the Mysteries of Kit Williams FAQ"
at bunnyears.net, accessed 3 May 2009

Release

Haresoft claimed the game was released in two parts "to make it fun and enable competitors of all ages to participate". ''

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was publi ...

'' magazine however suggested it was simply to make more money. Haresoft stated that an additional clue had been revealed in

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

by TV personality

Anneka Rice Anne Lucinda Hartley Rice (born 4 October 1958), known professionally as Anneka Rice, is a Welsh-born television and radio presenter, broadcaster, journalist and painter. Early life and education Rice was born in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales, ...

. The nature of the clue remains unknown, as does whether or not Rice even revealed such a clue. The game did not sell well and Haresoft went into

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

. ''Hareraiser'' was never solved, and the hare was sold at a

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

auction by the

creditors A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...

in 1988. Although only given a guide price of £3,000–6,000, it did in fact exceed Haresoft's stated value, selling for £31,900. Although it was rumoured to have been sold again in the early 1990s, its whereabouts were unknown for over 20 years until July 2009 when an appeal was made on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. The current owner's granddaughter got in touch and Kit Williams was reunited with the hare for a BBC TV documentary.

Reception

The game was awarded 3/10 in ''

'' with reviewer Richard Price struggling to find any reason to play the game except "the sincere need to get rich". At the Norwich Gaming Festival in 2017, comedian and computer game historian

Stuart Ashen Dr Stuart Clive Ashen (born 16 December 1976), commonly known by his online alias Ashens ( ), is a British comedian, critic and YouTuber known for reviewing various products; his reviews usually include toys, video games and food. , his main Y ...

described and showed the game play, and called it "quite possibly the worst video game ever," further revealing that the solution to the videogame's predecessor had been discovered via cheating. Ashen further stated that he believed the puzzle was intentionally designed to be unsolvable so that Haresoft would not lose the art piece (the golden hare).

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Hareraiser''
at ''Lemon 64''

at ''Acorn Electron World'' 1984 video games Amstrad CPC games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 64 games VIC-20 games Dragon 32 games MSX games Oric games ZX Spectrum games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Puzzle competitions