Super Dungeon had been on my list of games to play from 1979 and I began to worry that I might not get the chance to experience the game at all. Why? Super Dungeon was SUPER scarce. I could not find a physical or digital copy of the game anywhere. I want to thank Chester Bolingbroke of CRPG Addict fame for coming to my rescue. He graciously provided me with a working copy allowing me to sit down and spend some quality time with the game.
There is no author credited in the game however Chester did some “super” sleuthing and found a 1980 Programma catalog which lists Rodney Nelsen as the author.
When you combine the title screen of the game with the low resolution dungeon graphics my first impression is that there is not a lot to see here. The game however does check a lot of CRPG boxes:
- there are different character classes to choose from
- an initial store to buy weapons, armor, a horse, and rations
- a leveling system based on experience points
- combat with increasingly powerful foes
Once you are past the title screen and the plot hook you are asked if you would like to read the instructions. The instructions are extensive and it IS necessary to read them.
The character attributes are Strength and Constitution. When you’re in combat you want your Constitution to be higher than your opponent’s strength. When you successfully attack a creature damage is subtracted from the creature’s Strength. When you are hit during combat damage is subtracted from your Constitution. You’ll want to monitor these match ups closely in the early dungeon levels.
Amor Class is a rating from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. Your armor type, helmet, and shield will affect your Armor Class rating. If you have a magic weapon your chances of scoring a hit are increased and some creatures in the dungeon can only be hit with a magical weapon.
Speed is an interesting concept in the game. You begin the game with a Speed rating of 1 and the only way to raise it is to buy a horse. You’ll want to save money in the beginning of the game to buy a light horse as it will raise your Speed rating (even though it makes no sense that you’re on horseback for 20 dungeon levels). A monster’s Speed will also tell you how many attacks it makes per turn. If you encounter a creature with a Speed rating of 3 it will get to make 3 attacks against you each round.
When you begin play you are randomly assigned your attribute scores and then given a choice to play one of the following character types:
- Warrior
- Wizard
- Elf
- Dwarf
- Hobbit
There is a bit of a strategy in choosing your character type. A warrior gets 25 extra life points to begin the game and is a tank. A veritable fighting machine.
Wizards can read maps and instantly identify magic potions and rings. A wizard receives a +3 to strength at the beginning of the game. Since a wizard relies on spells he or she can automatically hit creatures that are only affected by magic.
An Elf is both a Warrior and Wizard and can always enter a secret door (the blue doors) without losing life points.
Dwarves can wear all armor and use all weapons and can go through bolted or locked doors (the white doors) without losing any life points.
A hobbit can also enter all bolted or locked doors without loss of life points and also receives a +3 to Strength at the beginning of the game.
Once you have decided upon your character type, you purchase equipment, armor, weapons, a horse, and rations. It is then time to enter the dungeon.
Each dungeon level is randomly generated. The goal is to work your way lower and lower into the dungeon. You accomplish this by working your way from one side of the dungeon maze to the other. In the dungeon depicted above the brown square on the right side of the dungeon represents your starting character. You can see an open exit on the left side of the dungeon level. You need to work your way across and reach that exit to get to level 2. It is not as simple as it appears to be.
Notice that each door in the maze is one of three colors: magenta, white, or blue. The magenta doors are unlocked and any of the character classes can make their way through. Each time you cross ANY doorway there is an encounter and combat takes place. The white doorways are bolted or locked. If your character class cannot enter a locked door you can choose to break the door down. The odds of breaking the door down are 50% and if you fail then you lose up to 10 life points. This can be disastrous in the first few levels and based on how the maze is randomly generated you may not have a choice. You do not always have a clear and unobstructed path to the exit. A blue door is a secret door. You can attempt to pass through a secret door but like the white doors there is only a 50% chance of success. Failure means you lose up to 10 life points.
There are six obstacles or things that can occur to hinder your chances of success:
tremors – when a tremor occurs it changes the current state of the maze and you may find yourself suddenly blocked from the entrance or the exit
teleportation – you may step on a teleportation disc which teleports you to a different spot on the current dungeon level. This “event” happens often and it serves to weaken your character. Every step you take in the dungeon reduces your life points by 1. Constantly getting teleported around means more steps for you and thus weakens you.
witch’s spell – if you encounter the witch and she casts a spell on you it usually reduces 1/9 or 1/10 of your constitution points
thieves – if you encounter these miscreants they steal some of your gold
pits – if you fall into a pit it usually costs you 1/9 or 1/1oth of your constitution points to crawl out
wandering monsters – you can encounter roaming monsters a number of times equal to the level you are on but no more than that
There are 20 total levels that comprise the Super Dungeon. I spent some time with the game and made my way all the way down to the 20th level.
The mysterious black square on the left side of the 20th level teleports you out of the dungeon with all of your gold. I was able to fight my way to the portal and VICTORY!
When I mentally compare this game to the six other CRPG offerings that I have played in 1979 I can see the allure here and the addictive nature of the game play. The random generation of dungeon levels and the choice of different classes to play enhances the replay value The magical boons are interesting and the coffins and chests you find in the rooms are a nice touch. It proved difficult to get to the 10th level of the Super Dungeon and there was some strategy involved. Each step costs you a life point and when you reach the stairway to go to the next level you exchange your experience points for more constitution and life points. So you have to balance encounters with travel as you descend into the dungeon. Once you begin to move past level 12 however I thought that the leveling system went off of the rails a little bit. A few of the encounters were difficult but you were awarded quite a bit of experience for your effort. This translated into a very large constitution score which removed a lot of anxiety for me in the late levels.
I have played seven different CRPGs in 1979 and I would probably place Super Dungeon in the middle of that pack. I am grateful for getting the chance to experience this game and it has been very interesting playing these first home computer CRPG ambassadors that followed the Plato games.