Kidware was a small 1980s educational software publisher for the Commodore 64.  This disk is their Secondary Education 4 release which contains 6 programs:  Tester, Stop Theif!, Candy Drive, Number Systems, Inventors and Authors.

Krazy Kong (1983) by Aniroa Computers - This is a single screen platform game molded after the widely known Donkey Kong.  You guide your character up staggered platforms and ladders to rescue maidens at the top while jumping over barrels hurled by a giant ape.

**Note - You need at least 16K RAM.  I found the Z64K Emulator to work best.

StarTexter v5.2 was a well-known German-language word processor for the Commodore 64, published by Sybex and generally remembered as one of the stronger “serious” productivity programs on the machine. The StarTexter line began in 1985, the original C64 version was by Toni Schwaiger, and v5.2 is described by multiple retro-computing sources as the last major published version, with the 5.2 upgrade credited to Michael Möller.

The M68000 Family Programmer’s Reference Manual is a comprehensive software reference for Motorola’s M68000-series processors and related coprocessors, explaining the programmer-visible architecture, including user and supervisor register models, integer and floating-point data formats, addressing modes, instruction formats, and the full instruction set across chips such as the 68000, 68020, 68030, 68040, CPU32, and associated FPU/MMU devices; it also includes detailed sections on integer, floating-point, privileged, and CPU32 instructions, plus appendices covering processor-specific instruction support, exception processing, stack frames, and S-record output, making it a central reference for writing, understanding, and debugging M68000-family assembly and low-level system software.

This document is a confidential 1992 Commodore technical specification for the proposed Advanced Amiga Architecture, describing a next-generation custom chipset meant to preserve Amiga compatibility while substantially improving performance, graphics, memory bandwidth, display flexibility, audio, and floppy support across both low-end and high-end system designs. It outlines the overall design goals and tradeoffs, introduces the major chip components and their roles, explains new graphics modes such as chunky and packed-pixel approaches alongside enhanced traditional modes, and dives into the low-level engineering details of clocks, DMA arbitration, bus timing, RAM organization, register maps, pin descriptions, framegrabber/genlock support, and processor interfacing. In practical terms, it reads as both a system architecture proposal and a hardware engineering reference for how a more powerful post-ECS Amiga chipset was intended to work.

This one-page “6502 Opcode Periodic Table” is a compact visual reference for the 6502 CPU instruction set, organizing opcodes by function and showing, for each instruction, its mnemonic, opcode value, size, cycle count, addressing mode, and which status flags it affects. It also includes quick-reference sections for the CPU registers, processor status flags, and addressing mode abbreviations, making it useful as a cheat sheet for assembly programming, debugging, or reverse engineering on 6502-based systems.

This is an annotated 1989 disassembly of the Amiga 1.2 exec.library from a Kickstart disk for the Amiga 1000, written by Markus Wandel, and it walks through the system at a very low level: boot and ROM startup, hardware initialization, exception vectors, memory detection and clearing, construction of the ExecBase structure, task and library setup, device I/O routines, and resident module scanning. It is aimed at readers who already know the Amiga Rom Kernel Manual and exec include files, and it goes beyond the official docs by explaining tricky or undocumented behavior in the actual code, including details of early boot flow, guru handling, CPU/FPU detection, and how the kernel brings multitasking online.

This is an Italian wiring diagram for an Amiga RGB-to-SCART cable. The top drawing shows the physical cable: a 21-pin SCART plug on one end, a 23-pin male D-sub on the other for the Amiga video port, plus two RCA plugs for left/right audio. The lower schematic shows the signal routing: red, green, and blue from the Amiga go to the SCART RGB inputs, composite sync goes to the SCART sync pin, ground is tied appropriately, the two RCA leads feed stereo audio into the SCART audio pins, and +5V is sent to the SCART switching/blanking line so the TV knows to use RGB mode.

This 1990 Amiga Device Driver Guide is an unofficial technical overview of how Amiga device drivers are structured, loaded, opened, used, and removed, aimed at programmers who already understand Amiga multitasking and message passing. It explains core pieces such as device nodes, library structures, RomTags, jump vectors, I/O request handling, BeginIO and AbortIO, synchronous versus asynchronous I/O, standard command and error codes, and the extra commands used by disk drivers like trackdisk. It also gives practical guidance for building disk-resident, autoloading, expungeable drivers and closes by showing that a minimal subset of commands is enough to create a workable hard disk driver, even if it is not a fully complete removable-media implementation.

JiffyDOS User’s Manual is a practical guide to a ROM-based upgrade for Commodore 64, SX-64, and 128 systems plus compatible disk drives, explaining how JiffyDOS speeds up disk operations while preserving standard disk formats and broad hardware/software compatibility. The manual walks through installation and ROM switching, everyday use such as function keys and default drive selection, and the full command set for loading, saving, listing, formatting, renaming, deleting, validating, and recovering files, including special conveniences like listing files directly from disk, disabling 1541 head rattle, and “un-NEWing” BASIC programs. It also highlights performance benefits, compatibility expectations, and warranty details, making it both a user guide and a command reference for getting the most out of the system.

PyDPainter, pronounced "Pied Painter" (like Pied Piper), is an attempt to create a usable pixel art program for modern computers in Python using PyGame. The original inspiration came from the Commodore Amiga version of Deluxe Paint released by Electronic Arts in 1985. Back then, Deluxe Paint helped define the user interface of a paint program with tool bars, menus, and the novel use of left and right mouse buttons for painting and erasing. After pixel art gave way to photo-realism and high-resolution 24 bit color, Deluxe Paint was largely forgotten for artistic work -- left behind in the ever-progressing march of technology.

Recently, with a resurgence of all things "retro," low-resolution pixel art and limited color palettes have become popular once again. Many tools to deal with this medium are either too complicated or too crude. This project is an attempt to bring back an old but reliable tool and enhance it with some features to help it better coexist in the modern world.

** Note - Other official releases can be found here - https://github.com/mriale/PyDPainter

arcPaint64 is a browser-based tool for creating bitmap art, sprites, animation, and other Commodore 64 assets within real hardware constraints.

Built for drawing, editing, animation, ASM-ready import and export, and project-based workflows, arcPaint64 keeps everything in one place while staying true to how the Commodore 64 actually works. Being browser-based also makes it less dependent on any one operating system, which helps keep it practical and accessible over time.

It is drawing-first, but it also includes a multicolour bitmap converter for bringing source images into real C64 constraints. Rather than replacing manual pixel work, it gives you a practical starting point for Commodore 64 image conversion, reference-based redraws, and native bitmap editing. Overlay mode lets you line up a source image over the canvas and redraw it by hand within proper C64 rules.

Koala Painter .kla and Art Studio .art formats are supported for direct import and export.

** The official site can be found here - https://www.doussis.com/arcpaint64/

Two disks (.d64 and .d81) to accompany The GEOS Column in the March 2026 COMPUTE!'s Gazette.

Setting up GEOS to run on an Ultimate 2+L or 64 Ultimate.

A geoCalc spreadsheet detailing where to find printouts of the GEOS fonts included with the Commodore 64 Ultimate along with a listing of the disk contents included in the geoSpecific Collection where many of these fonts can be found in the Font Resource Directory.

This 16-page September ’92 Amiga Action supplement is a punchy, hype-filled celebration of the platform at its peak: it crowns Kick Off 2 as the staff’s clear #1 “Best Game Ever”, then races through a 100-game hall of fame that mixes era-defining adventures, arcade conversions, sims, platformers, shooters, puzzlers, and strategy staples—each with quick, opinionated mini-blurbs designed to spark instant nostalgia or arguments. The spine of the special is a rare(ish) long interview with Dino Dini, where he talks about how Kick Off began, what he was trying to achieve (smart, “intelligent” football), why difficulty is part of its appeal, and why rivals like Sensible Soccer and Striker do (and don’t) threaten the crown—before signing off with a confident tease about the series’ future.

Highlights

• #1 overall pick: Kick Off 2 takes the “winner’s medal” as the staff’s runaway top game.
• Big feature interview: Dino Dini on creating Kick Off, his design philosophy, and candid thoughts on Sensible Soccer’s accessibility vs. “technical refinements,” plus why full 3D football is such a headache on the Amiga.
• A very “AA” Top 100 mix: huge adventure representation (Monkey Island 2, Lure of the Temptress, Indy), platform royalty (Rainbow Islands, Zool, Fire and Ice), shoot ’em up staples (Project-X, Xenon II, Blood Money), and sim/strategy favourites (F-16 Combat Pilot, Civilization, Populous II, F1 Grand Prix).
• Multiplayer love: plenty of picks justified almost entirely by couch competition (e.g., Dynablaster, Nitro, Supercars II, Silkworm).
• Era flavour: lots of cheeky, magazine-voice one-liners (mortgaging houses for budget classics, savage little digs, and over-the-top praise).
• Back-page vibe: a big football tie-in feel, capped with a prominent Sensible Soccer: European Champions splash at the end.

Issue 89 (Dec 1996) is Amiga Action’s loud, sarcastic, surprisingly heartfelt “last ever issue,” basically a wake with jokes: the team declares the Amiga finished as a viable games platform (in their view), explains the mag is folding into Amiga Computing, and spends the rest of the pages doing victory laps through old in-jokes, petty gripes, and genuine nostalgia. The cover leans hard on “LAST EVER ISSUE!” energy, the coverdisk is pared down to a single “exclusive” full game (Egor in Toyland) with plenty of mockery about the missing second disk, and the main games content is a final burst of footy and late-era Amiga optimism (a big Championship Manager 2 piece) plus a couple of solid send-off reviews. Around that you get the magazine’s trademark oddball mix—competitions that feel like office clear-outs, a “last ever” lifestyle section, rant-poems, guides, swaps, and a goodbye roll-call—ending less with a dignified bow than a wink and a shove out the door.

Highlights

• End-of-an-era tone: blunt farewell editorial(s), lots of “we’re done, it’s over” humour, and a clear handover pitch to find AA-style games coverage inside Amiga Computing.
• Coverdisk: Egor in Toyland as the “exclusive full game,” paired with jokes/excuses about why there isn’t a proper second disk.
• Big feature: Championship Manager 2 coverage as the last big “maybe the Amiga still has one more classic in it” hope, packed with nitpicks, promises, and sceptical hype.
• Reviews (standouts):
  • Ruffian reviewed as a top-tier platformer send-off (mid-80s score).
  • TFX flight sim reviewed as impressive but clearly aimed at higher-end/accelerated setups (low-80s score).
• Guides & long-running bits: a chunky Sensible World of Soccer guide; the “Dead Celebrity Game Guide” gag returns with Boris Yeltsin fronting King’s Quest VI help.
• Competitions (peak “closing down sale” vibes): giveaways framed like clearing the office cupboards, plus a collector-bait contest offering a full run of Amiga Action issues 1–89.
• Weird ephemera: a “last issue” free poster that’s basically a surreal collage, and a full goodbye/thanks section name-checking a ton of contributors and in-house characters.

Amiga Action issue 88 (Nov 1996) leans hard into a “last stand” vibe (“The clock is ticking…”) while still trying to keep the Amiga games scene feeling alive: the cover pushes Capital Punishment as a flashy, hard-drive-only beat ’em up, backed by a big Alien Breed 3D 2: The Killing Grounds review that compares different memory setups, and a moody sci-fi shooter/puzzler (Angst) that wins points for atmosphere. There’s a very on-brand mix of practical and daft filler too—guides for Ultimate Soccer Manager and Bloodnet (plus the “dead celebrity” walkthrough gag), a comics-and-culture detour, and a manga competition—while the coverdisk focus is a full-game freebie (Charlie the Chimp and the Treasure of Tutankhamun) framed with a blunt editorial shrug about shrinking releases.

Highlights

• Cover feature review: Capital Punishment (A1200, hard drive required) — Overall 95% (Graphics 96%, Sound 95%, Playability 93%); big, polished presentation for a belt-scrolling brawler.
• Big FPS review: Alien Breed 3D 2: The Killing Grounds — two score sets depending on setup: Overall 77% (4MB) vs 80% (2MB); hard-drive installable; a “bigger, louder” follow-up vibe.
• Classic-ish shooter/puzzle hybrid: Angst — Overall 80% (Graphics 80%, Sound 92%, Playability 87%); praised for eerie ship atmosphere and sound, with some grumbles about combat/pacing.
• Coverdisk: Charlie the Chimp and the Treasure of Tutankhamun — full game with a Dizzy-style “collect, dodge, puzzle-solve” feel; accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek “Disk 2: Invisible Game” gag.
• Reader deal: Valhalla sequel (…the Fortress of Eve) mail-order offer for £17.99.
• Guides: Ultimate Soccer Manager tips (money, stadium, steady progression) + Bloodnet location-by-location nudges.
• Dead Celebrity Game Guides: “Tarzan” shtick delivering help for Beneath a Steel Sky (third/final part) and King’s Quest VI (first part).
• Weird-fun feature page: “AA’s Word To The Wise Extravaganza!” — celebrity quote-collage nonsense as a palate cleanser.
• Comics corner (“Space Filler”): quick round-up of comics/graphic novels (Aliens/Predator/Superman, Batman, The Mask, Simpsons).
• Manga competition: Castle of Cagliostro-related giveaway plus a plug for a UK manga/anime exhibition event.

Amiga Action Issue 87 (Oct 1996) is a lean, sports-tilted “Kick Off ’96” issue that tries to win you over with pure value: two full games on the coverdisks (a fantasy hack-’n’-slash sequel and a bright, toy-themed platformer), a run of big-name sports sim reviews (football, cricket, and a standout management game), and a chunky set of walkthrough/help pages for adventure/trading titles. It’s very late-era Amiga-mag in tone—cheeky, deal-focused, and community-driven—rounded out with competitions (including a very 1996 Oasis/Knebworth giveaway), mail-order pages, and the ongoing “Dead Celebrity” game-guide comedy bit.

Highlights:

• Coverdisks (pages 2–4):
  • Return of Gwendor: Wrath II — Full Game
  • Seemore Doolittle’s Toyland Capers — Full Game
• Big reviews & scores:
  • Player Manager 2 — 92% (pages 18–19)
  • Kick Off ’96 — 73% (pages 10–12)
  • Brian Lara’s Cricket ’96 — 52% (pages 6–7)
• Guides / help pages:
  • Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis guide segment (pages 22–23)
  • High Seas Trader guide segment (pages 24–25)
• “New(ish) feature” comedy: Dead Celebrity Game Guides returns (pages 26–27), framed as advice “from beyond the grave.”
• Competitions / culture bits:
  • Oasis live at Knebworth giveaway (page 16)
  • Simpsons comics compo (“Simpsonorama”) (page 20)
• Classic AA back pages: Swap Shop classifieds (pages 28–29) + chunky mail-order/ad pages (pages 9, 17, 30)

Amiga Action Issue 86 is basically a celebration of Valhalla fandom: it ships with a massive Valhalla demo on the coverdisk, then backs it up with an enthusiastic review of Valhalla & the Fortress of Eve that treats it like a must-play Amiga swansong—complete with a bit of industry drama and a reader offer for the full game. Around that centrepiece, the mag swings wildly between extremes: Super Taekwondo Master is absolutely slated, Pinball Mania gets a solid-but-not-classic verdict, and the rest is classic Amiga-mag comfort food—arcade nostalgia on disk, Sensible Soccer advice, oddball humour features, movie/video chat, and competitions.

Highlights

• Coverdisks: Arcade Classics (a bundle of old-school coin-op conversions like Space Invaders, Gorf, Scramble, Galaxians) + a huge Valhalla demo.
• Valhalla & the Fortress of Eve review is the star: 94%, lots of love for its atmosphere and depth, plus a special reader offer for the full game.
• Super Taekwondo Master is brutally panned with an overall score of 7%.
• Pinball Mania comes out as a decent table-set with 72% (good fun, not top-tier).
• Sensible World of Soccer tips/guide pages for players who still take their tiny-sprite football seriously.
• New comedy-leaning feature: “Dead Celebrity Game Guides” (featuring Sid James dispensing “wisdom” about classic adventures).
• Extra fluff: film/video chatter (including Trainspotting) and competitions (e.g., Granada Studios tour tickets, Manga video prizes).

Amiga Action issue 85 (Aug 1996) leans hard into the late-era Amiga vibe: a big “proper” review of Legends (a long, exploration-heavy action RPG that finds a solid niche despite ropey story and lots of combat), a bunch of sharply opinionated reviews (including a brutal takedown of Mash v2), plus the usual irreverent columns, competitions, and a hefty dose of public-domain/coverdisk goodness—very much a magazine trying to keep the scene lively with free stuff, guides, and attitude while new retail releases are thinning out.

Highlights:

• Coverdisks / free full games: Hollywood Hustler (full game) and The Great Escape (full game); plus Outfall (highly recommended Columns/Tetris-style puzzler).
• Big review: Legends — 88% overall; praised for breadth/puzzles/exploration, with notes about weak story flow and too much combat.
• Other notable reviews: Sensible World of Soccer 95/96 European Championship Edition — 90% overall (reviewer basically says: you already know you’ll love it); Mash v2 — 35% overall (called out as overpriced and mediocre).
• Public domain picks: Alien Bash 2 gets singled out as one of the better PD finds; World Golf gets absolutely slated.
• Competitions/giveaways: Manga Castle of Cagliostro giveaway, plus big stacks of 21st Century pinball and an Ocean prize haul.
• Extras: a Valhalla walkthrough segment, plus classic AA filler like the “beer and that” page and mail-order/software ads that scream mid-90s Amiga culture.

Issue 84 is peak late-era Amiga Action: loads of juvenile in-jokes, a surprisingly strong “we’re still gaming” heart, and a constant background hum of “is the Amiga even going to exist next month?” The cover story is Domark’s Total Football, but the real star is the mag’s mix of value and attitude—three coverdisks (including a full game), a new Classic Review slot kicked off with a properly big hitter, and a couple of brutally honest smaller reviews (including one mail-order shooter that gets absolutely savaged). Away from the reviews, you get a practical Valhalla guide continuation, the chaotic reader/community energy of Son of Boggit, and a news section that swings from “Escom sells Amiga… to someone” to “look at this weird ‘new Amiga’ Walker thing,” plus a nod to the next Valhalla entry.

Highlights

• Coverdisks (3!)
  • Disk 1: Seemore Doolittle’s Underwater Capers (full game)
  • Disk 2: Friday Night Pool II (demo)
  • Disk 3: Mr Blobby and the Pests (puzzle demo) — presented with the mag’s usual “we can’t / won’t explain this properly” style
• Reviews & scores
  • Super Skidmarks (Classic Review): 92%
  • Timekeepers Expansion Disk: 87%
  • Total Football: 80%
  • Friday Night Pool II: 62%
  • XP8: 48% (a full-on kicking, especially for the price)
• Game Guide
  • Valhalla pt 2: a chunky, step-by-step guide to level two of Valhalla and the Lord of Infinity
• Feature / community stuff
  • Son of Boggit: reader competition for the best “Son of Boggit” picture, plus help/advice bits (including adventure-game problem-solving)
• News & previews
  • “Escom sells Amiga to someone” (VIScorp is named, with plenty of uncertainty and snark)
  • “What the hell is that?” on the Walker “new Amiga” concept (yes, with Darth Vader jokes)
  • Preview/screens for Valhalla and the Fortress of Eve (Mini Series / collectors edition angle)
• Competitions
  • Win an Amiga 500 (presented in classic AA “this thing barely works but you might want it” tone)
  • Win Violence Jack on video (because 1996)

Amiga Action issue 83 (June 1996) leans hard into “the comeback” vibe, mixing genuine optimism about the Amiga’s release pipeline with the magazine’s usual cheeky tone. The coverdisks are the big hook—an included two-disk full game (Fantasy Manager, tied to the Baddiel & Skinner TV craze) plus a time-limited Slamtilt demo—while the editorial pages bounce between a long-awaited Legends update, a meaty news piece on The Chaos Engine 2, and hands-on verdicts for both pinball and footy-management fans. Rounding it out are practical walkthroughs (including a return to Valhalla and another chunk of Simon the Sorcerer), the comedic advice/mailbag-style “Son of Boggit,” and the always-very-90s classifieds/swap-shop pages and oddball bits.

Highlights:

• Coverdisks: Two-disk full game Fantasy Manager (Baddiel & Skinner tie-in) + Slamtilt A1200 demo (time-restricted table).
• Reviews: Slamtilt scores 85% (strong playability; pinball fans’ pick), while Tracksuit Manager 2 (A500) lands a rough 59% with bugs called out as a major problem.
• Preview spotlight: Legends returns from the wilderness with a confident “it’s really happening” tone and plenty of screenshots.
• News & previews: The Chaos Engine 2 gets a big feature outlining its direction (including competitive two-player focus and updated presentation), plus other upcoming chatter.
• Guides: Detailed help for Valhalla and the next installment of the Simon the Sorcerer walkthrough.
• Community/regulars: “Son of Boggit” continues its chaotic Q&A humour (with reader contributions and the running “what does Boggit look like?” angle), alongside swap-shop/classifieds and quirky news-side extras.

Amiga Action issue 82 (May 1996) leans hard into “keep the Amiga alive” energy: big, unabashed football focus up front (with two meaty management sims squaring off), a run of smaller-scale reviews that feel very mid-90s budget/PD-friendly, and a generous mix of regulars—letters, reader reviews, and a big walkthrough—wrapped around a genuinely strong coverdisk bundle (a full game plus two demos). The back half pivots into “what’s coming next” optimism with previews and news bites (including more ambitious A1200/AGA fare), while the magazine’s cheeky tone runs throughout—from the knowingly silly snooker write-up to the continuing “Son of Boggit” antics and advice.

Highlights

• Coverdisks (3-disk set): Charlie Chimp Remix (full game) + Saturday Night Snooker (demo) + Munch (AGA demo with a Pac-Man-ish vibe).
• Big football showdown reviews:
  • Premier Manager 3 Deluxe — 88% (the standout of the issue)
  • Tracksuit Manager 2 — 80%
• Other reviews:
  • Harry’s Balloons — 71%
  • Saturday Night Snooker — 62%
  • Watchtower — 58%
• Game guide: Simon the Sorcerer walkthrough, Part One (with Part Two promised next month).
• “Son of Boggit” feature: reader Q&A-style tips for adventure games (including Indy and the Fate of Atlantis, Dreamweb, King’s Quest V, Leisure Suit Larry II, Innocent Until Caught) plus a call for readers to send in drawings of what Boggit looks like.
• News & previews: a look at Superleague Rugby in development, a featurette on Alien Breed 3D 2: The Killing Grounds, plus teasers suggesting Legends is finally ready and Chaos Engine 2 is (supposedly) back on track.
• Letters / reader pages: a notably “end-of-era” thread on piracy and the Amiga’s decline, plus reader mini-reviews (notably Jungle Strike at 90% and X-treme Racing around 80%).

Amiga Action issue 81 (April 1996) leans hard into “maximum value” with three coverdisks—two complete games plus a chunky A1200-only demo—then backs them up with a compact mix of reviews, guides, and the magazine’s usual cheeky tone. The big hook is the coverdisk lineup: Joker Poker (a full-on gambling sim that even tells you to write-enable the disk) and Fruit Salad (a polished, one-screen maze/platform puzzler from the Penguins creator), alongside Coala, a helicopter-combat/flight-sim demo for AGA machines. Reviews cover everything from a beloved top-down racer expansion to hardcore flight-simming and pinball, while the features section keeps things light with Son of Boggit and practical with multi-page strategy help—especially for Worms and Flight of the Amazon Queen. Rounding it out, the news pages spotlight upcoming pinball tech in Slam Tilt, plus show/scene chatter and a mail-order offer that feels very mid-90s Amiga.

Highlights:

• Coverdisks (p6):
  • Disk 1: Joker Poker (Full Game) — arcade-style poker/gambling sim; “write-enable the disk” note is a classic.
  • Disk 2: Fruit Salad (Full Game) — tricky single-screen escape mazes with collectables and enemies.
  • Disk 3: Coala (Demo, A1200/AGA) — helicopter action/flight-sim sampler meant to test your machine and your nerves.
• Reviews (p10–17):
  • Super Skidmarks Data Disks — 92% (p10–11): more circuits, more modes, more of what fans wanted.
  • Airbus II — 67% (p12–13): ultra-dense passenger-aircraft sim; accurate and ambitious, but very specialist.
  • Pinball Prelude — 89% (p16–17): slick, high-quality pinball action with strong playability.
• Game Guides:
  • Worms (p18–19): tactics and “play it properly” tips with input from Team 17 voices/regulars.
  • Flight of the Amazon Queen (p20–23): walkthrough continuation pushing the story toward the endgame.
• Feature: Son of Boggit (p24): the column’s ongoing adventure/comedy framing plus reader-help Q&A.
• News & Previews (p30+): Slam Tilt preview (pinball with flashy tables and sub-games), plus Amiga scene/show chatter and deals.

Amiga Action Issue 80 (March 1996) is a very “value-first” issue built around a three-disk cover package and a big end-of-year-style feature: you get an exclusive full game (Wrath of Gwendor, a Golden Axe–style hack ’n’ slash) plus two demos (Hillsea Lido, a pier/holiday-resort management sim, and Technology 2, a fruit-machine sim), while the magazine’s centerpiece is its “Official” Top 20 of 1995 countdown; around that, it delivers a tight set of chunky reviews (including Xtreme Racing, Zeewolf 2: Wild Justice, and Breathless) alongside the usual mix of news/previews and longer game-guide content.

Highlights:

• 3-disk cover haul: Full game Wrath of Gwendor + demos for Hillsea Lido (management) and Technology 2 (fruit machine sim).
• Main feature: “Official Amiga Action Top 20 of 1995” countdown—framed as a slightly lean year, but with clear standouts and plenty of opinion.
• Reviews spotlight:
  • Xtreme Racing — praised as a “proper” fast racer with lots of performance/options tuning.
  • Zeewolf 2: Wild Justice — big upgrade in speed and action, plus extra vehicles beyond the chopper.
  • Breathless — another first-person sci-fi shooter with smoother scrolling on an A1200 than some rivals, but a more mixed take on visuals and feel.
• Guides/features: Includes game-guide coverage such as Flight of the Amazon Queen, plus the recurring comedy/regulars (e.g., Son of Boggit) and the usual news/previews block.

Amiga Action Issue 79 (Feb 1996) doubles down on its self-mocking, irreverent voice while delivering a packed issue built around rumors and scene chatter, a chunky reviews lineup, and practical “here’s what to play” guidance: it riffs on talk of a next-gen “Power Amiga” and an A1200 with a built-in CD drive, then pivots into big-name coverage like Super Street Fighter II Turbo (CD32) and Sensible World of Soccer 95/96, alongside Star Crusader, Dungeon Master 2, and the wonderfully daft Hillsea Lido “holiday resort simulator,” with previews, guides, and a coverdisk pairing meant to feel like real value (a full game plus a demo).

Highlights:

• Coverdisks: Full game Charlie the Chimp II ’96 plus a Super Tennis Champs demo (tie-break scenario).
• Headline reviews: Super Street Fighter II Turbo (CD32), SWOS 95/96, Star Crusader, Dungeon Master 2, and Hillsea Lido.
• Budget football focus: A compilation angle around multiple soccer titles bundled under a “Soccer Stars ’96” style package.
• News buzz: Speculation about a RISC-flavored “Power Amiga,” an A1200 variant with integrated CD, and chatter around a beefed-up Alien Breed 3D special edition with tech/gameplay upgrades and creation tools.
• Extra content: Previews (including Extreme Racing and Gloom Deluxe), plus substantial guides for Flight of the Amazon Queen and Jurassic Park, and recurring comedy/column bits.

Amiga Action Issue 78 (Jan 1996) has a surprisingly upbeat “the Amiga scene’s still kicking” vibe, mixing its usual cheeky humour with a busy bundle of content: prominent coverdisk value (a timed Worms demo plus a full game), lively news and oddball features, and a solid run of reviews and regular sections that keep the magazine’s irreverent, fan-facing tone front and center.

Highlights:

• Coverdisks: A timed Worms demo (limited play session, small-player setup, quick-turn rules) plus a full game included on disk.
• Big attention on Worms: Positioned as a long-awaited, hype-heavy release and treated like a major event for Amiga players.
• Industry/scene curiosity: A feature tying former Commodore UK figure David Pleasance to Tangent Music Design, framed around an Amiga-themed music project/celebration.
• Classic AA humour: A jokey “Lemmings” news-style piece leaning into puns and mock drama.
• Reviews snapshot: Titles covered include Coala, Exile (A1200), Leading Lap, Penguins, Super Tennis Champs, and Team (alongside the Worms coverage).

December ’95’s Amiga Action strikes an upbeat “we’re (sort of) back!” tone as the mag reacts to fresh Amiga machines reappearing in shops via Amiga Technologies/Escom, while still side-eyeing how fragile the comeback looks. The coverdisks lead the issue: two playable levels of the unreleased A1200-only platformer Charlie J Cool replace the promised It’s Cricket (pulled at the last minute), alongside full arcade conversions Galaxians and Scramble. Reviews are anchored by a big-name arrival—Flight of the Amazon Queen—praised as a proper, classic-style point-and-click adventure with fair puzzles (and lots of disk swapping on floppies), plus a mixed bag elsewhere: Pinball Mania is called a step down from earlier 21st Century/Digital Illusions standards, Citadel is a tough but middling Doom-style shooter with jerky scrolling, and Hollywood Hustler is a story-driven poker game that’s novel but inherently limited next to real cards and friends.

Highlights

• Coverdisks: Charlie J Cool (2 playable demos), plus full games Galaxians and Scramble; It’s Cricket missing due to a last-minute hitch.
• News focus: Amiga machines “back in shops” optimism tempered with skepticism about long-term support.
• Tech oddity: Virtual i-glasses pitched as a pricey “big screen/VR-ish” headset option.
• Review standout: Flight of the Amazon Queen framed as the best Amiga adventure in ages—classic interface, likeable characters, logical puzzles.
• Pinball verdict: Pinball Mania criticized for weaker table design and worse ball physics than Dreams/Fantasies/Illusions.
• Shooter review: Citadel: configurable window/visual options, but slow turning, energy loss on wall bumps, and overall “not top tier.”
• Feature piece: a humor “whinger’s guide” of excuses for losing at two-player games (“blame the joystick/game/opponent,” etc.).
• Charts snapshot: football/management sims dominate (e.g., Player Manager 2, Premier Manager 3, Sensible World of Soccer).

Amiga Action Issue 76 (Nov 1995) is framed as a slightly panicked “where are the games?” month that leans hard on big features, sharp humour, and a couple of marquee reviews: the cover story and lead review is Fears, positioned as the latest (and best yet) Amiga “Doom-clone,” praised for its depth, options, weapons/level variety, and save feature, while Wheelspin is gleefully eviscerated as a technically-pretty but fundamentally broken racer with atrocious acceleration/handling and a near-total lack of fun. Away from reviews, the mag’s personality comes through in a knowingly sarcastic ECTS-themed news diary (basically admitting they didn’t go and making a joke of it), plus a mix of previews and long-form filler that does the heavy lifting: a Sequelitis feature chewing over the Amiga’s sequel-heavy charts, a sprawling Colonization Part 2 “guide/novel,” the revamped letters/reader section, PD bits, charts, competitions, and a “Get a life!” beer-and-birds palate cleanser—while the coverdisks do their best to keep you busy with a substantial Virocop demo and the story-driven poker sim demo Hollywood Hustler.

Highlights

• Coverdisks: Virocop (playable level demo of Graftgold’s platform/shoot-’em-up) + Hollywood Hustler (poker-with-story demo, ten hands, sets up the full game’s features and tone).
• Big review win: Fears reviewed as an outstanding 3D shooter with lots to do (weapons, secrets, switches/puzzles, options, save system; generally pitched as better than rivals).
• Big review car-crash: Wheelspin slammed for dreadful acceleration and handling despite decent presentation; treated as one of the worst “big” racers in ages.
• Budget reviews roundup: The Lion King, Man Utd: The Double, Mortal Kombat II, Sensible World of Soccer, Shadow Fighter, Skidmarks.
• Features: Sequelitis (why sequels dominate, what’s actually worth it), and a massive Colonization Part 2 guide that’s explicitly billed as absurdly in-depth.
• News bits: Amiga scene snark + mentions of Street Racer coming to Amiga, Thomas the Tank Engine’s Pinball, and Flight of the Amazon Queen finally being “imminent.”

Issue 75 is built around two big ideas: new-school 3D and old-school Amiga loyalty. The headline review is Alien Breed 3D (Team17’s “Gloom-killer”), which the mag frames as the Amiga’s most talked-about 3D shoot-’em-up moment and backs up with a huge score, while Odyssey gets positioned as a surprisingly strong, imaginative platformer from Audiogenic (better known for sports titles). On the feature side, there’s a nostalgic/forensic piece on “The Rise and Fall of the CD32”, and the cover also teases Dungeon Master II as a long-delayed “sequel that time forgot.” Rounding it out, the issue leans heavily into practical play: you get two coverdisks (a strategy full game plus a big football-management demo), plus chunky guides for games like Colonization, Sensible Golf, and Simon the Sorcerer.

Highlights

• Cover story/feature: Dungeon Master II – “The sequel that time forgot is here!”
• Full-price reviews:
  • Alien Breed 3D – 91% (Graphics 93%, Sound 90%, Playability 89%; difficulty marked Tricky)
  • Odyssey – 89% (Graphics 89%, Sound 87%, Playability 91%; difficulty marked Very Hard)
  • Club & Country – 67% (Graphics 81%, Playability 69%; difficulty marked Tricky)
• Budget reviews (both £9.99, Guildhall):
  • Bravo Romeo Delta – 73%
  • Subversion – 70%
• Coverdisks:
  • Disk 1: Player Manager 2 demo (includes Wolverhampton Wanderers; options to watch full match/highlights or play)
  • Disk 2: Conquest full game (Do A Game competition winner; “Asterix meets Mega-lo-Mania” empire/strategy conquest)
• Previews: Total Football, The Citadel
• Guides: Colonization, Sensible Golf, Simon the Sorcerer, plus “Small Tips” and “Son of Boggit” sections