# coding-horror/basic-computer-games

An updated version of the classic "Basic Computer Games" book, with well-written examples in a variety of common MEMORY SAFE, SCRIPTING programming languages. See https://coding-horror.github.io/basic-computer-games/

Repository: https://github.com/coding-horror/basic-computer-games
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/basic-computer-games
Language: C#
License: Unlicense
License Family: permissive
Topics: basic-computer-games, classic-game, basic
Last push: 2026-02-15T01:43:45+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 62/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 67, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2041, "days_push": 200, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 11095, forks 1349 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:46.093227+00:00)

## What it is
An updated, open-source edition of the classic 1970s 'BASIC Computer Games' book, with each game ported into modern memory-safe scripting languages like Python, JavaScript, C#, and Rust. It serves as a community-driven educational resource for learning programming through classic game implementations.

## Use cases
- learn programming by reading classic game source code
- compare the same game implemented in ten different languages
- port a classic BASIC game to a modern language
- play retro terminal games like Hangman or Tic-Tac-Toe
- teach a programming class with simple, complete game examples
- study how BASIC-era games translate to modern idioms

## When to choose
- you want simple, complete example programs for learning a new language
- you're nostalgic for classic BASIC computer games
- you need small, self-contained codebases for teaching or practice
- you want to contribute ports of classic games to modern languages

## When to avoid
- you need production-quality game engines or frameworks
- you're looking for polished, modern game experiences
- you need a library or API to import into your own project

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: active
- function: game, interpreter, developer-tools
- domain: education, gaming-tools, programming-languages, tutorials
- platform: cross-platform, python, rust, go, jvm, dotnet, lua, ruby, browser
- tags: basic, classic-games, porting, open-source-book, unlicense, javascript

## Member repositories
- coding-horror/basic-computer-games (main) score 62

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:46.093227+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:16:48.311471+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/coding-horror/basic-computer-games (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:46.093227+00:00, sha 6b450f226994)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.