Reviews
Period Coverage
What the magazines said — and what the sales records prove. The PET era predated dedicated game review culture; coverage was found in technical hobbyist magazines like Byte, Compute!, Creative Computing, and Kilobaud Microcomputing.
The Magazine Landscape (1977–1982)
The hobbyist press that covered the PET was as young as the platform itself. These magazines covered hardware, programming, and software with no clear distinction — a game review and a hardware teardown could appear on facing pages.
Byte (1975–1998)
The broadest technical microcomputer magazine of the era. Covered all platforms including PET from its earliest issues. Full archive available on archive.org. Byte was the first place many developers and buyers learned about new software.
Compute! (1979–1994)
Covered all home computers including PET/CBM. Famous for type-in programs — listings you could type yourself. A common distribution method for early PET games was publication as BASIC listings in Compute!, which readers typed in and could then sell or share.
Creative Computing (1974–1985)
Educationally focused; published BASIC source code; early adopter of home computing culture. The November-December 1978 issue included coverage of Microchess 2.0’s availability for the PET. Full archive on archive.org.
Kilobaud Microcomputing (1977–1983)
Wayne Green’s hobbyist/kit market publication, founded as a rival to Byte. Less technical, more accessible. Covered PET software throughout its run. Archive on archive.org.
Microchess 2.0 — The Commercial Milestone
Microchess 2.0
1978 — Peter R. Jennings / Personal Software
Documented in: Wikipedia - Microchess; benlo.com (Peter Jennings primary account); Chess Programming Wiki
Microchess 2.0 received extensive coverage across Byte, Creative Computing, and Kilobaud Microcomputing because of what it represented commercially: the first microcomputer game to demonstrate that software could be a standalone business.
“Microchess became the first commercially successful microcomputer game, and the first to sell more than 10,000 copies. By 1978, Micro-Ware had earned over $1 million from Microchess sales.”
The Creative Computing Nov-Dec 1978 issue included a listing and review confirming Microchess 2.0’s PET availability. The coverage was not a game review in the modern sense — it was closer to a news item about a commercial phenomenon. Chess programs were treated as technical achievements as much as entertainment products.
Temple of Apshai — The Award Winner
Temple of Apshai
1979 — Automated Simulations (later Epyx)
Source: Wikipedia - Temple of Apshai; The Digital Antiquarian (filfre.net, Aug 2011)
Temple of Apshai won Best Computer Game at the 1980 Origin Awards — the awards given by Origins Game Fair, the tabletop gaming convention that was at the time the primary venue for strategic and role-playing game culture. That a computer game won at all was significant; that it was a PET title was a mark of the platform’s early cultural reach.
“By 1981, Temple of Apshai had sold 20,000 copies; by June 1982, 30,000; by 1986, 400,000.”
“Jim Connelley originally bought a PET computer to organize his D&D notes, found it unsuitable for that purpose, and decided to write games instead — leading to Temple of Apshai.”
The game’s commercial trajectory — 400,000 copies across a decade — is the most remarkable in PET gaming history. Temple of Apshai’s success funded Automated Simulations’s transformation into Epyx, which in turn produced Impossible Mission, California Games, and Summer Games for the Commodore 64.
Cosmic Jailbreak — The Legal Record
Cosmic Jailbreak
1982 — Derek J. Hipkin / Commodore Business Machines
Source: Games That Weren’t (gamesthatwerent.com); Indie Retro News (Aug 2021)
No specific Byte or Compute! review quotes for Cosmic Jailbreak have been identified in available sources. What we know of its commercial success comes from the legal dispute record: Hipkin’s brother produced US advertising showing Cosmic Jailbreak as a Commodore best-seller, which Commodore’s lawyers could not refute.
“Hipkin sought royalties from Commodore for Cosmic Jailbreak; Commodore initially denied the game had launched. Hipkin’s brother produced US advertising proving it was a best-seller; Commodore settled out of court.”
The advertising itself — which has not been recovered online — was the best-performing contemporary review the game received: Commodore valued it enough to use it in their own advertising campaigns.
Millipede — Developer Motivation
Millipede
1982 — Courtland Wood
Source: MobyGames - Millipede (game entry trivia/notes)
“Developer Courtland Wood stated his motivation for creating the PET Millipede was the poor quality of other games available for the PET.”
Wood’s statement is one of the only contemporary developer motivations on record for a PET game. That a developer in 1982 — the PET’s final commercial year — was motivated by quality dissatisfaction suggests the platform’s library never fully reached its potential. Or perhaps that the bar, after Cosmic Cosmiads and Temple of Apshai, was simply higher than casual developers could match.
Searching the Archives
The full archives of Byte, Compute!, Creative Computing, and Kilobaud Microcomputing are available on archive.org. Specific reviews for Cosmic Cosmiads, Cosmic Jailbreak, and CBM Draw Poker have not been pinpointed in available sources; the 1981–1982 Byte and Compute! runs are the most likely locations.
If you find a period review of a PET game, the community resources page lists preservation contacts who would be interested in hearing about it.