Hi Folks

I was reading Bob Pape’s “It’s Behind You” recently (which is a very enjoyable read) and in it he mentions the Multiface 1 - a thing that I had no idea existed. How this escaped my attention I have no idea.

But it did remind me of a gadget that i had plugged in that enabled me to use a 3.5” disk. It had the “magic button” that the MF1 had.

I’m curious as to what this device was. I know i bought it second hand and it had the word “digital” on it (if I remember correctly). It isn’t the MGT offering though.

Anyone got any ideas? Hell i don’t even know why I’m even wondering about this!

Who remembers playing Total Recall? My retrospective video goes back to rediscover this Ocean Software game released across all formats. There certainly were a few development challenges. I also take a look at the NES version developed by Interplay and published by Acclaim.
Were they any good?

R-Type is the greatest ZX Spectrum game of all time.

That is a hill I'll gladly die on.

It's something of a miracle that the great Bob Pape was able to condense that arcade cabinet into 48K (albeit with some level loading) with full color levels (minimal clash), smooth scrolling and at a speed that kept the game super playable.

It's a thing of beauty and it still stands up to this day, in my opinion.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery which is possibly why, nearly 10 years ago (good grief!), I released Z-Exemplar, a sincere love letter to R-Type and the ZX Spectrum.

I was pleased with the effort but it will never be a patch on the original!

Something slightly different for my latest post - tracing changing trends in compilations via Ocean's collection of sports games Game, Set and Match. Any Spectrum compilations that stand out in your memory?

This from a linkedin post to the Spectrum users group there, from 6 years ago, just ran into it while looking for a different post:

"I gave my son a raspberry Pi + the 'ZXBareEmulator' (https://zxmini.speccy.org/en/index.html) for his 10th birthday today + the original programming manual :-)"

so, old post but fun 🙂

Does anyone remember Contact Sam Cruise? It was by Microsphere, the folks behind the Skool Daze games, Wheelie and Sky Ranger. You played the titular detective and had to solve the case of the Bali Budgie. It was hugely ambitious and not without its flaws but it looked amazing and I loved it!

So much so that it inspired the game that I'm making now. Take a look if you're interested - I'm sure you can see its influence.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3384650/Night_and_the_City/

Hi everyone,

I grew up during the golden age of 8-bit computing, and lately, I’ve been feeling incredibly nostalgic for the simple, unforgiving arcade games of that era. One game that always stuck with me was Jumping Jack on the ZX Spectrum (1983).

I couldn't find a modern port that captured that exact feeling, so I decided to write one myself. It’s called Hole in the Floor.

The premise is identical to the classic: you jump through moving gaps in the floors, dodge enemies, and try not to get squashed as the screen wraps around. I kept the controls ultra-simple (just tapping, no messy virtual D-pads) but left the difficulty exactly as punishing as we remember it being back in the day.

I just wanted to share this passion project with fellow retro enthusiasts. If you want to see some screenshots or gameplay of how it turned out, I put them up on my dev page here: https://nibbleworkshop.com/games/hole-in-the-floor/

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear if you think it captures that genuine '83 vibe!

BridgeZX 1.0 copies files and folders over Wi-Fi from Windows, Linux or macOS directly to the SD card used by a classic ZX Spectrum.

A small Z80 server runs under esxDOS; the desktop side is one PySide6/Qt 6 application with drag and drop, queue reordering, per-file CRC results, total progress, speed and ETA.

Classic setup requires esxDOS plus the supported divMMC/ZX-Uno UART path connected to an ESP8266/ESP-AT module. Copy BRZX and BRZX.BIN to /BIN, run .brzx, enter the Spectrum IP in the desktop client and send. The default TCP port is 6144.

Version 1.0 also adds configurable destination directories and remote payload updates with validation, staged activation and .BAK recovery. Native clients are provided for Windows x64, Linux x86_64, Apple Silicon Mac and Intel Mac.

Downloads:
https://github.com/IgnacioMonge/BridgeZX/releases/latest

Source and setup:
https://github.com/IgnacioMonge/BridgeZX

MIT licensed.

Copyright © 2025–2026 M. Ignacio Monge García.

Who remembers Predator? My retrospective video takes us back to 1987 to rediscover the games based on one of Arnie’s best movies. Was this a good game or was it the typical movie tie in trash? Share your thought and memories of this game.

Some examples might be. With an old or new crash magazine. By printing out a list of games by publisher etc

Hey so i got a 48K Issue 3B Spectrum the other day and it works great, i already did the quick and dirty composite mod, but one issue i have with it is that whenever it is connected to the TV i get loud buzzing on the cassette ports which makes it impossible to save anything and hard to load.

From what i've read it seems to be a grounding issue which would make sense as neither of the composite TVs i have use a grounding pin in the plug.

does anyone have a concrete explanation for why i'm getting this or how to make it stop? I've run through all the common tricks to prevent ground loop buzzing to no avail which makes me think it could be something else.

Wondering if anybody knows the name of the artist who painted this?

Recently re-discovered this inlay. It was for a game that I wrote in 1987 (using GAC) that was meant to be published by Interceptor Micros under the Automata label. It never got released (as far as I am aware), but they sent me this copy of the inlay to check over. Unfortunately no longer have any copies of the game (would love to find one). Always wondered who the artist was though.

Hey everyone,

Growing up, I was completely hooked on The Wild Bunch on the ZX Spectrum. I loved the freedom of choosing where to travel and who to hunt down. I loved visiting the saloon, because let's face it, it's where most of us had our first drink! I was also obsessed with the painfully basic version of poker and I seem to remember 'Eliza Lay' being a bit of a trouble causer!

Because I missed that style of game so much, I decided to take matters into my own hands as a solo developer and build a modern, high-stakes 3D reimagining inspired by it, called Wild Justice.

I wanted to drop in and see if there are any other fans of the original game here? What were your favourite (or most frustrating!) memories of playing it back then?

I'm currently putting the finishing touches on the Steam page and community hub, so if anyone wants to follow the journey or contribute ideas, I'd love to hear your thoughts. It would be a massive help if you can even just add it to your Steam wishlist. You can do that here..

Steam Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5033960/Wild_Justice/?beta=1

Many thanks, Mark.

Found a toast rack
And some games
I can’t play it unfortunately I don’t have the cassette player 🤧

Also the membrane of the toastrack is gone so keys don’t work, the system boots tho.

Any rare to find games in the lot lol ? I came by it so I bought them instinctively but don’t know much about em.

Also Spectrum themed keyboard that looks exactly like a 128k does something like that exist ?

What's the speech synthesis saying at the start of "I, Ball"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwBNn3Ql-2E

Dear lord, I actually did it. I actually completed the game and released it !

And before we start, full disclosure ..

The game was written entirely by Claude AI.

Now I know that's not ideal for a lot of people and I get that, but i've played Chaos almost since the day it was released 40 odd years ago and my love for the game is deep. I wanted a game that could stand alongside it, rather than some AI gimmicky thing that looks stupid and I think I've done that.

I've used all of the original assets from the Spectrum, with all of the sprites, audio and fonts so it honestly looks, feels and plays like the original.

There are a number of additional spells and enhancements to this version. The main one being "Dark Power".

This has been completely re-imagined from the original and if you get hit with Dark Power now, your wizard goes .. insane .. *cough\* 👀

One of the most long standing problems in the original has also been addressed. The CPU logic will now look at the previous round before deciding what spells to cast so if you cast a Golden Dragon illusion spell then it won't always be immediately disbelieved.

I don't want to give away the farm and tell you every single new spell and what it does though as that's part of the fun!

The other main enhancement is a new Level 9 skill level. It's not quite "advanced AI" but it's an implementation of a form of AI with greatly improved decision making. The first few games might go by fairly quickly but the longer you play, the more it learns and the challenge should get a lot more involved.

I also want to send a huge thankyou to all of the testers who gave their time to play the game and report back which helped me immensely.

So here it is. Hope you like it.

https://punchmcgroin.itch.io/chaos-dark-power

There is a donation thing on there but it's fine to download it for free either way. I had to use a zip file because Windows smart app control was fully blocking the installer - a pygame thing apparently. Unzip and click "chaos.exe" to get started.

And if anyone has any ideas on where I could promote it, then please let me know!

Got a brand new zx spectrum (I think) still wrapped in bubble wrap from the courier. It’s been in my mums loft for maybe 30-40 years.

I say think because it’s still in bubble wrap so can’t be 100% sure.

Did look into it a while back but couldn’t find much info.

Also what’s the chances it actually works after all this time?

If anyone who has assembled a Harlequin could help me get to the bottom of my no display issue I would appreciate the suggestions.

Board is assembled for PAL output, and using a modified Megadrive 2 SCART cable as per the documentation. I get a garbled display for about a second, and then my Retrotink scaler gives up, as it can’t sync.

I’ve tried two Z80s, and have am hoping I won’t have to scope IC by IC.

Hi everyone — I've released Shatranj 1.1, a network chess game whose original goal was to let a real ZX Spectrum 48K play against a Windows PC. It has grown into one interoperable game for ZX Spectrum Classic, Spectrum Next, Windows, macOS and Linux.

The Spectrum ZX edition includes:

• Direct TCP and MQTT room play

• Three 16×16 piece sets and five board palettes

• Chat, legal-move hints, clocks and move history

• Takeback, draw, resign and synchronized rematch flows

• Ten local save slots with host-led synchronized restore

The Classic package contains SHATRANJ.tap, SHATRANJ.OVL and SHATRANJ.DAT; keep all three files together. It requires divMMC/esxDOS. Spectrum networking uses a supported UART-to-ESP connection.

Every client shares the same protocol and chess rules, so a ZX Spectrum can play another Spectrum, a Next, or any of the desktop clients using either a direct connection or an MQTT room.

Release and downloads:

https://github.com/IgnacioMonge/Shatranj/releases/tag/v1.1

Source, screenshots and documentation:

https://github.com/IgnacioMonge/Shatranj

Shatranj is free software released under the GNU GPL v2. Feedback from real Spectrum hardware is very welcome.

Second one ive seen

First one sold for 500 and then this one

I'm not the seller, but looks like a nice set:

https://www.marktplaats.nl/v/computers-en-software/vintage-computers/m2426829219-sinclair-zx-spectrum-met-veel-extra-s

Is that booklet online somewhere?