''Personal Computer Games'' was a multi-format UK computer games magazine of the early/mid-1980s published by VNU.

History

''Personal Computer Games'' was launched in July 1983. The magazine was part of VNU and had its headquarters in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The second issue was published on 28 October 1983 with the magazine going monthly from February 1984. Computer coverage at the time were mainly consisted of the

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

, C64 and the

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

, although there were others featured such as

Atari 8-bit The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

Electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

, Vic 20 and the newly released

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 ZX Spec ...

. The February 1985 issue was the last of the magazine. Chris Anderson and Bob Wade went on to launch the Commodore 64 magazine ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by Commodore International, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

''.

Screen Test

One of the sections of the magazine was the 'Screen Test' pages where the latest games were reviewed. The PCG Panel, who voiced their opinions on the games reviews, consisted of the PCG staff plus several contributions from readers. The review was laid out with an explanation of the gameplay and then three opinions from the reviewers were given in boxouts at the end. PCG Ratings were out of ten, with a score giving to the graphics, sound, originality, lasting interest and the overall score.

Game of the Month

The highest accolade awarded by Personal Computer Games was the "Game of the Month" (First introduced in issue 3), issue 1 did not have a Game of the Month. Issue 2's Game of the month was actually called the "Screen Star" award. * Summer 1983(Issue 1) No Game of the month awarded. * January 1984(Issue 2):

Manic Miner ''Manic Miner'' is a platform game written for the ZX Spectrum by Matthew Smith (games programmer), Matthew Smith. It was published by Bug-Byte in 1983, then later the same year by Software Projects. The first game in the ''Miner Willy'' series ...

(ZX Spectrum) - "Screen Star" award. * February 1984(Issue 3): Revenge of the Mutant Camels (Commodore 64) * March 1984(Issue 4): Scuba Dive (ZX Spectrum) * April 1984 (Issue 5): Forbidden Forest (Commodore 64) * May 1984(Issue 6):

Jet Set Willy ''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time. The game is a sequel to '' Manic Miner'' pub ...

(ZX Spectrum) * June 1984(Issue 7):

Fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

(BBC Micro) * July 1984(Issue 8): Loco (Commodore 64) * August 1984(Issue 9): The Lords of Midnight (ZX Spectrum) * September 1984(Issue 10): Quo Vadis (Commodore 64) * October 1984(Issue 11): Ancipital (Commodore 64) * November 1984(Issue 12): Pyjamarama (ZX Spectrum) * December 1984(Issue 13): Boulder Dash (Commodore 64) * January 1985(Issue 14): Underwurlde and Knight Lore (both ZX Spectrum) * February 1985(Issue 15): Impossible Mission (Commodore 64)

Cover mounts

In February 1984 ''PCG'' gave away a cover-mounted FlexiDisc containing game data that could be transferred to cassette. These included free programs for the Vic 20, Spectrum, BBC and

Dragon 32/64 The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are 8-bit 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 mo ...

computers.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Archived Personal Computer Games Magazines on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...