Liptocoe

Liptocoe is an action/strategy game released by IBM in 1985 for the IBM PC/PCjr and compatible computers. In the game players explore the various subterranean mazes on the fictional planet Liptocoe. The game is somewhat similar to Boulder Dash; the goal is to collect enough power from each maze to open the transporter to the next level while avoiding the numerous enemies that are in constant pursuit. Included are 40 different mazes to complete along with a level editor for players to create their own mazes.

The game takes place in the year 2112 as mankind explores the planet Liptocoe, the fictional tenth planet in the solar system. Players control a robot named Ractor sent to Liptocoe to explore the numerous subterranean maze-like caverns; the goal is to explore all 40 of the mazes. To move from level to level, players need to guide Ractor to the interlevel transporters. The transporters, however, first need to be powered up; to do so, players must first gather enough of the power units called loons. Loons come in several varieties which provide either 1, 5, 10, 25, or 50 power units. After a player has collected enough loons, the transporter opens and can be used to proceed to the next, more difficult level.

Naturally, collecting the necessary loons won't be easy; wandering throughout the mazes are numerous Crawdites, the guardians of Liptocoe. If players come into contact with any of the Crawdites, a life is lost. Crawdites appear in several varieties with some of them chasing the player continuously while others will destroy any loons they come into contact with. Players sometimes need to be quick to complete a level; if too many of the loons are destroyed by the Crawdites it can become impossible to power up the transporter to complete the level.

Other obstacles exist which also slow down a player's progress. The layout of each of the 40 levels is unique with numerous walls blocking Ractor. Additionally, death mines often appear; touching one of these will cost a life. Gates appear in many levels; these block the Crawdites, however Ractor can go through them. Last are transporter blocks which instantly transfer Ractor from one block to another (the direction a player enters the transporter will dictate which location on the screen Ractor ends up at). These different obstacles can appear as just a single obstacle or can be combined together to form more complex barriers; reaching the necessary number of loons often requires players to form a strategy to navigate through and around the obstacles.