Boulder Dash Download (1984 Arcade action Game)

You are Rockford, and you have to dig through monster infested caves in search of diamonds. In each level you must collect a certain number of these diamonds, in order to open a portal to the next stage. Enemies can be squashed by falling boulders, which are released when the ground below them is removed or they are pushed onto empty ground, but be careful because these can also squash you. In later levels, difficulty is increased by many puzzle elements and shorter time limits.

Back in 1984, the Olympic year when first all the greatest winter athletes met in Sarajevo and later all the greatest summer athletes met in Los Angeles, is also the year that brought us one of the most enjoyable classics. There are still many clones of this game out there today.

Boulder Dash is a game that combines quick reflexes with problem solving skills. It's also a great timewaster and many people will not be able (or just simply won't permit themselves to do so) to tell you just how many days have been thrown away playing this gem!

The premise is very simple. You're a little critter who seems to be underground eating away chunks of the soil in order to collect the natural treasures that are to be found. But woe is me; there are huge boulders in the ground which can fall on your head if you undermine their stability. Lucky for you, you can easily see them and if you dig straight under them they won't fall just yet (only when there's enough space between you and them). You can also (if you've cleared away enough land) push these boulders sideways, otherwise it would be too easy to get stuck between (dare I say it) a rock and a boulder (I dared). There are also other things you need to watch out for and you always need to get to a certain blinking square that will take you to the next level (needless to say, every new level is harder).

So there you go, now dash of to Boulder Dash!

One of the true classics from the Commodore 64 system that has been converted to the PC system. The game is pretty simple. You have to pick up as many diamonds on each level and on each level there is a minimum as well. In the many first levels there are always more diamonds than you need though which makes it a bit easier. During each level you have to avoid several monsters in your hunt for more diamonds. There are different monsters though. Some will simply disappear when you kill them and other will turn into diamonds. Some levels even require that you destroy these monsters in order to get enough diamonds to complete the level.

As mentioned you can kill the monsters. You can do this by dropping rocks over them. But beware - the rocks can kill you as easily as they can kill a monster. Other nice things in the game are a wall that will turn rocks into diamonds and of course this is required as well on some of the levels. Finally lava is included as well. Not only will it kill monsters if it gets too near them but it can also trap you and eventually turn to stone and I guess you can imagine the rest of it. There are also different types of lava but the main thing they share is that they are good at killing monsters and will suddenly start to grow rapidly and turn into stone.

Boulderdash is a great arcade game with tons of levels where some of them also offers a few things for the puzzle-orientated players. The graphics and sounds are very simply but good enough to have decent graphics. It's possible to play more than one human player but sadly not at the same time. Playing several players playing on turn isn't the same but of course you can still compete on who is the best at the game. Overall a recommended game for all arcade fans and average players as long as you are looking to use some time playing games.

A legendary game that can very well hook you and keep you addicted for a very long time. Everyone should have heard of Boulder Dash - you play a miner collecting diamonds and avoiding falling stones. A simple concept that soon gets challenging and interesting with the advanced levels. Comparing several versions I found the PC-version not only near unplayable - the C64-Version is also much better looking. In my opinion the best version ever made of this game. Fun for hours, legendary, cult - what should I say more?

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

People who downloaded Boulder Dash have also downloaded:
Boulder Dash 2, Boulderdash (remake), Boulder Dash, Super Boulder Dash, Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Prince of Persia, Dig Dug