''Jack the Nipper'' 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 ...

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

released in 1986 for

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 ...

, Commodore 64,

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 ...

, and MSX. It was followed by a sequel, '' Jack the Nipper II: In Coconut Capers''.

Gameplay

''Jack the Nipper'' is a side-view

flip screen This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

game with puzzle solving and platform elements. The graphics are rendered in 2D, but an illusion of depth is achieved by allowing characters to move forward and back within the playing area. The player controls Jack, a naughty child who wants to break the record for naughtiness (recorded on the "naughtyometer"). He needs to carry out various wicked pranks on the unsuspecting inhabitants of his town, but if he comes into contact by angry adults he will be spanked. With each spanking his " nappy rash" meter increases, and if it grows too high Jack loses a life. Contact with the monsters and ghosts which inhabit the town will also increase the nappy rash.

Reception

The game went to number 1 in the ZX Spectrum charts, replacing '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'', and reached number 2 in the overall charts behind ''

Leader Board ''Leader Board'' (sometimes ''Leaderboard'') is a series of golf simulation video games that was developed by Bruce Carver and Roger Carver, and published by Access Software. Summary left, Teeing off on the first hole (Atari ST). ''Leader B ...

''. ''

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 pub ...

'' described it as having a " Wallyish style reminiscent of '' Pyjamarama'', running wild through the village, searching houses, shops and gardens for objects you can use to create havoc elsewhere", in an environment populated by " Beano"-type characters. The review noted how it was "tempting when you come across a well-tended garden and you just happen to have a bottle of weed killer ... And then there's the tin of glue and the false teeth factory..." ''ZX Computing'' praised the graphics. The Spectrum version was voted number 40 in the ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History T ...

Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time''.

Legacy

Starting in April 1987, ''

'' magazine published a monthly comic strip based on the character.

References

External links

* {{WoS game, id=0002564, name=Jack the Nipper
''Jack the Nipper''
at Lemon 64
''Jack the Nipper''
at C64.com

at JuegoTk 1986 video games ZX Spectrum games MSX games Commodore 64 games C+VG Hit award winners Amstrad CPC games Video games set in England Gremlin Interactive games Platformers Video games scored by Ben Daglish Fictional British people Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Crash Smash! award winners