Although computers these days are long past the stage where BASIC was the do-all, end-all of computer game programming, this book still has value. Take any of these games and put them in current code - C++, Visual Basic, whatever, and you'll learn a great deal about programming and have fun doing it. ( )

Back in the day, there were dozens of different models of personal computers. A few had keyboards, but most had only toggle switches. Some read paper tape, and others used tape cassettes. Some were merely conglomerations of loose circuit boards, held together by ribbon cables, while others came in shiny metal cabinets.
They had only one thing in common: they all ran BASIC.
And Creative Computing magazine published type-in BASIC programs that worked on them all. This book was CC's first compilation of game programs from the earliest issues of the magazine. I bought it and eagerly typed in all of the ones that would fit into my own PC's meager memory. Guess what? They not only worked, they were actually fun!
And you know what? If your PC runs BASIC, these classic games will still work on your machine, with little or no 'adjustment'. I don't know if that's a tribute to BASIC's cross-platform capabilities, or to Ahl's programming skill.
Either way, this book and its sequel, More BASIC Computer Games', are two of my favorite relics from the early days of personal computing. ( )