| Excalibur | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Program Exchange |
| Designer(s) | Chris Crawford, Larry Summers, Valerie Atkinson |
| Engine | Assembly |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit |
| Release date(s) | 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Media/distribution | floppy disk |
| System requirements
Atari 8-bit computer with 48K, disk drive |
|
Excalibur is a notable early resource-management/strategy computer game for the Atari 8-bit computers. It was designed by game design legend Chris Crawford, developed with the help of Larry Summers and Valerie Atkinson, and published by Atari Program Exchange in 1983.
The object of the game is to unite all of Britain under the rule of King Arthur. You invade kingdoms, set tithes for your vassals, send plagues and pestilences (with the help of Merlin) and manage the loyalty of your own Round Table by rewarding your knights or, if they grow too disloyal, by banishing them.
Excalibur was considered to be a well-balanced and elegant-looking game for the time. A trivial detail is that three of the knights of the game, Sremmus, Nosnikta and Drofwarc are named following the names of the creators of the game backwards.