Lode Runner
VIC-20 cover art
Developer(s)	Doug Smith Irem (arcade) Hudson Soft (NES)
Publisher(s)	Broderbund (US) Ariolasoft SystemSoft (PC-88)[2] Irem (arcade)
Programmer(s)	Shinichi Nakamoto (NES)
Composer(s)	Isamu Hirano (NES)
Platform(s)	Apple II,Atari 8-bit,Commodore 64,VIC-20,FM-7,FM16β,Hitachi S1,IBM PC,IBM JX,Arcade,PC-100,NEC PC-6001mkII,NEC PC-8001mkII,PC-88,PC-98,SG-1000,NES,ZX Spectrum,MSX,Sharp MZ,Atari ST,PC Engine,Xbox 360,Windows,iPod,Classic Mac OS,PlayStation 3,BBC Micro,PlayStation,Sony SMC-777,Super NES,Amstrad CPC,Game Boy,Sharp X1
Release	Apple II, Atari 8-bit, C64 NA: June 23, 1983[1] PC-88 JP: December 1983[2] Arcade JP: July 1984[4] EU: October 1984[3] NA: November 1984[5] Famicom/NES JP: July 20, 1984[6] NA: September 1987
Genre(s)	Puzzle-platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Lode Runner is a2Dpuzzle-platform game, developed byDoug Smith and published byBroderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar toSpace Panic from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a level and get to the end while being chased by a number of enemies. It is one of the first games to include alevel editor.

After the original game, a number of remakes, spin-offs and sequels were published in theLode Runner series for different computers and consoles by different developers and publishers. Tozai Games holds the copyright and trademark rights.^[7][8]

This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The player controls astick figure who must collect all the gold in alevel while avoiding guards who try to catch the player. After collecting all the gold, the player must reach the top of the screen to reach the next level. There are 150 levels in the game, which progressively challenge players' problem-solving abilities or reaction times.^[9]

Levels have a multi-story, brick platform motif, withladders and suspendedhand-to-hand bars that offer multiple ways to travel. Guards can pick up gold bars by running over them, but any individual guard may carry no more than one bar at a time. The player can dig holes into floors to temporarily trap guards and may safely walk atop any who have fallen into holes. Should a guard be carrying a bar of gold when he falls into a hole, he will drop it and the player can pick it up. Holes dug by the player fill themselves in after a short delay. A trapped guard who cannot escape a hole before it fills is consumed and immediately respawns in a random location at the top of the level. Unlike guards, the player's character may not climb up out of a hole, and he will be killed if it fills before he can escape by other means. Floors may containtrapdoors, through which the player and guards will fall, andbedrock, through which the player cannot dig.

The player can dig a hole only to either side of his position and may not dig directly beneath his own feet. In order to dig through multiple layers of bricks, the player must create a gap whose width is at least equal to the number of layers. However, exceptions to this rule arise when the player digs from the position of standing on a ladder, or hanging from a hand-to-hand bar, which allows the player to repeatedly dig and descend one row. This kind of digging is involved in solving many of the levels.

The player starts with fivelives; each level completion awards an extra life. Should a guard catch the player, one life is subtracted, and the current level restarts. The player's character can fall from arbitrary heights without any injury but cannotjump, and players can trap themselves in pits from which the only escape is to abort the level, costing a life, and begin again.

The guards do not always take the shortest path to the player and can move in counterintuitive ways. Sometimes, when the player and a guard are on the same ladder, for instance, the guard will move away from the player. In general, depending on their exact positioning relative to Lode Runner, the guards sometimes appear to be repelled. Mastering the game involves developing the intuition to predict the movement of the guards.

The player may come into contact with a guard directly from above, with the stick figure's feet touching the guard's head. This is what enables the player to walk over guards who are temporarily stuck in a hole that has been dug. It is also possible to make this contact while both the guard and the player are in free fall, since the player not only runs faster than the guards, but also falls faster; moreover, it is possible to survive the feet-to-head contact while a guard is standing on a platform and begins to move. Both forms of contact are necessary to solve some levels. Sometimes it is necessary to liberate a trapped guard by digging while standing on his head but then moving rapidly in the opposite direction when the guard begins marching to freedom. In a few levels, it is necessary to use a falling guard as a bridge to reach an otherwise unreachable area. One subtlety is that if a down movement is initiated while standing on a guard's head, or briefly touching the guard's head during free fall, the consequences are fatal.

In some levels, guards can be deliberately trapped in various ways. For instance, they can be lured into entering a part of the level from which there is no escape. In some situations, the player can liberate trapped guards by digging them out. In some levels, the player must exploit the guards by having them collect gold pieces which are positioned such that whoever collects them will become trapped. When the guard collects the piece and becomes trapped, the player can release the guard and then later steal the gold when the guard drops it or falls into a hole.

In some levels, there are gold pieces that can be collected only by killing guards by digging holes to trap them. Deceased guards come back to life from locations near the top of the screen, which may allow them to reach parts of the level that cannot be reached by the player.

Some levels require careful ordering of traversal, because they are divided into zones connected by passages which are impossible to traverse in the reverse direction. If a gold piece remains in an unreachable zone, the player may have to abort the level to start again, losing a life, unless there is a way to coax a guard into bringing the gold.

Some of the game's puzzles in the advanced levels are time-sensitive. The player must dig in order to penetrate the interior of some cavern to collect gold, and quickly return the same way before the digging repairs itself, enclosing Lode Runner in that cavern with no means of escape.

Some puzzles require deliberate timing among the digging actions because Lode Runner must run over previously dug-out tiles that have just repaired themselves, while having enough time to pass through ones which have not yet repaired.

Around late 1980, high school student James Bratsanos heard from a friend about a newarcade video game,Space Panic byUniversal, which involves climbing platforms and ladders while digging holes to trap monsters. Bratsanos was intrigued by his friend's description of the concept, and he wanted to develop it further. He began writing aCommodore PET program, calledSuicide, using simple text-based graphics. Due to his lack of programming experience, there were no pre-programmed levels, but he instead built "an engine that could interpret a game level and then run a processing loop on the monsters". This novel design later evolved into the concept of a level editor.^[10][11]

At theUniversity of Washington in 1981, Bratsanos met two other students,architecture studentDouglas E. Smith and Tracy Steinbeck. Following the release ofNintendo's arcade platformerDonkey Kong that year, the three students began working on a program calledKong, which evolved the concepts ofSuicide. Bratsanos later left the project to pursue his studies, and Smith continued to developKong^[11][10] into the prototype of what later becameLode Runner.^[12]Kong was written for aPrime Computer 550minicomputer limited to one building on the UW campus.Kong was soonported toVAX minicomputers, which had more terminals available on campus. The game was programmed inFortran usingASCII character graphics. WhenKong was ported to the VAX, somePascal sections were mixed into the original Fortran code.^[13]

Over one weekend in 1982, Smith recreated a crude, playable version in6502assembly language on anApple II Plus and renamed the gameMiner. Through the end of the year, he refined that version, which was black-and-white with nojoystick support. He submitted a rough version toBroderbund around October 1982 and received a one-line rejection letter in response to the effect of "Thank you for submitting your game concept. Unfortunately, it does not fit within our product line."^[12]

Miner, like its text-basedKong predecessors, had only simple animation where characters move across the screen in block increments. It was too primitive for an acceptable commercial product as Broderbund wanted detailed pixel-level movement.^[14] Smith's new game would be one of the first to include alevel editor foruser generated content, allowing players to createlevels for the game.^[15] Smith was given a $10,000 advance by Broderbund to develop the inter-square animation and to provide 150 levels of play. In a 2010 interview,game designerJohn Romero claimed that Smith added the level-editing function at the request of neighborhood kids he had testing the game, and "a ton" of the levels they designed ended up in the final game.^[15] Smith borrowed money to purchase a color monitor and joystick and continued to improve the game. Around Christmas of 1982, he submitted the game, renamedLode Runner, to fourpublishers and received offers from all four:Sierra,Sirius,Synergistic, and Broderbund. He took the deal with Broderbund.^{[citation needed]}

This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Lode Runner was originally released on June 23, 1983.^[1] The originalmicrocomputer versions were for theApple II,Atari 8-bit computers,VIC-20,Commodore 64, andIBM PC compatibles.^[16] The VIC-20 version was released on cartridge, including the level editor. The Commodore 64 had both a disk and cartridge release, with the latter having 32 levels. The IBM PC port was originally on aself-booting disk and is incompatible with video cards other thanCGA.^{[citation needed]} A 1986 MS-DOS release runs on any video card.

TheFamicom version was released byHudson Soft in 1984 (North AmericanNES release in 1986) and became one of the earliest third-party games made for that system. It has 50 levels, scrolling screens, added music, and graphics redone in a more cartoon-like style. In addition, fruits and vegetables randomly appear which may be grabbed for additional points. A level editor was included, which in Japan used the Famicom's Family BASIC tape drive to save one's work; however, as with many US localisations, the NES lacked the tape drive and thus there is no way to save levels created with the US release.

Anarcade version ofLode Runner was produced byIrem in 1984. It was notably the first time an American computer game was adapted into a Japanese arcade game.^[17] It had some added features like the ability to hang off the ends of ladders and an improved enemy AI.

A port for theMacintosh 128K followed in January 1985;^[18] it runs on machines up to OS 6 and can be used on System 7 with a patch. Other versions include those for theAtari ST,ZX Spectrum, a licensed version forMSX published byASCII Corporation,SG-1000,Windows 3.1x, andGame Boy.

Broderbund released an enhanced version,Championship Lode Runner, in 1985, with 50 levels and a higher difficulty. The company offered a commemorative certificate to anyone who could submit proof of having beaten the game (and submitted proof of purchase to show that their copy of the game was not pirated). It was ported to the Apple, Atari, C64, MSX, and IBM PC, as well as the NES (although that version did not reach North America).

The Atari 8-bit version ofLode Runner was converted to cartridge and re-released byAtari Corporation in 1987, as one of the series of releases for theAtari XEGS console. This version contains all 150 levels and the level editor, which requires a disk drive.

Lode Runner was very successful. It was Broderbund's second best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987,^[19] and sales had surpassed 300,000 copies by August 1984.^[20] It was the top-selling computer game in the United States during 1983. By 1985, the game had sold just as many copies in Japan.^[17] As of 1999^[update], Hudson Soft's Famicom (NES) version had sold about 1.5 million cartridges in Japan and all versions of the game had sold over 3 million units worldwide, including more than 2 million sales in Japan alone.^[21]

Softline in 1983 praisedLode Runner, calling it "smooth, thoughtful, and quite addictive". The magazine approved of its large number of unique levels, level editor ("the possibilities are astounding"), and emphasis on "wits and strategy" over violence.^[22]Computer Gaming World praisedLode Runner's unusually easy-to-use level editor and the strategy necessary for an arcade title, describing it as "one of the few thinking men's arcade games".^[23] In August 1984,Computer Gaming World held a contest for the best reader-built level.^[24] Praises for the introduction of strategy into the "climbing game" genre and for the intuitive level editor were repeated inVideo magazine's review of the game as well as praise for its graphics and animation, with the Apple II version being described as "stand[ing] out far ahead of the pack".^[25]: 39

Ahoy! in 1984 called the game "a top-notch action game that requires both a quick mind and an agile joystick". With the "easy-to-use game generator", the magazine concluded that "Lode Runner is one of the best games available for the C-64. Unconditionally and wholeheartedly recommended".^[26]PC Magazine gave the game 16.25 out of 18 points. The magazine called the game "a tour de force of American ingenuity ... the first release in a long, long time that can honestly bear the title, 'computer game' ...Lode Runner uses the power of the PC to create something much more than a video version of Ping Pong. This game requires thought, too." The magazine praised the IBM PC version's graphics, increasingly difficult level design, and the level editor.^[27]The Commodore 64 Home Companion said that "there's lots of education hidden in" the level editor, concluding thatLode Runner "is one of the first of a new breed of computer game that lets the player be a creator".^[28]

By 1985, the game was still selling well, withVideo magazine reporting that it was the 6th best-selling recreational title in March^[29]: 35 and April of that year.^[30]: 43Zzap!64 called the Commodore 64 version "not one of the most recent games but certainly one of the best ... a classic for a long time to come ... graphically minuscule and aurally crude, the game's sheer addiction kept my eyes propped open until the owls went to bed".^[31] In 1986Ahoy! described the Commodore 64 version's graphics as "sparse, but attractive" with "evocatively animated" characters.^[32]

In 1984,Lode Runner was awarded "1984 ComputerGame of the Year" at the 5th annualArkie Awards. Judges praised its "outstanding design", and described it as "fascinating", "irresistible", and as "the thinking player's climbing conquest".^[33]: 28Softline readers namedLode Runner the most popular Apple and fourth most-popular Atari program of 1983.^[34] In 1993 theSpectrum version of the game was voted number 37 in theYour Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time.^[35]GameSpot namedLode Runner as one of the "Greatest Games of All Time".^[36] In 1996,Computer Gaming World declaredLode Runner the 80th-best computer game ever released.^[37]Time in 2010 ratedLode Runner #1 game in "The 10 Greatest Games for the Apple II" list.^[38]Game Informer placed the game 52nd on their top 100 video games of all time in 2001.^[39]

Orson Scott Card wrote inCompute! in 1989 that its editor was the first game that let him and his family express their creativity through gaming.^[40]Tetris designerAlexey Pajitnov stated in 2008 thatLode Runner was his favorite puzzle game for many years.^[41]

In 1984,Irem developed an arcade conversion ofLode Runner.^[48] It contains 24 remixed levels from the 150 original levels. Irem brought many of its arcade-inspired levels to the Famicom Disk System with the namesSuper Lode Runner andSuper Lode Runner II. In Japan,Game Machine listedLode Runner on their August 1, 1984 issue as being the most successfultable arcade cabinet of the month.^[49] The arcade version has numerous sequels, including these:

• Lode Runner: The Bungeling Strikes Back (1984), selecting 30 levels based on the original game developed for the arcade. The gameplay is almost exactly the same (save the addition of a two-player mode) and the only heavy modification was the graphics and advancement to a 512-color palette. In Japan,Game Machine listedLode Runner: The Bungeling Strikes Back on their March 1, 1985 issue as the seventh most successful table arcade unit of the month.^[50]
• Lode Runner: Majin No Fukkatsu (1985), also known asLode Runner: The Golden Labyrinth, developed by Irem. In Japan,Game Machine listed it on their December 15, 1985 issue as the top-grossing table arcade unit during that month.^[51] It went on to be Japan's ninth highest-grossing table arcade game during thefirst half of 1986.^[52]
• Lode Runner: Teikoku Karano Dasshutsu (1986)
• Lode Runner: The Dig Fight (2000)

• Lode Runner: The Lost Labyrinth, 1990 updated version for theTurboGrafx-16 featuring all 150 levels of the 1983 set.
• Lode Runner: The Legend Returns, a 1994 Sierra incarnation of the original game with enhanced graphics and tools.
• Lode Runner Online: The Mad Monks' Revenge, the 1995remake which replaced all the elements of the previous plus new online play.
• Lode Runner 2 (1998), a game with isometric 3D gameplay.
• Lode Runner (1998), a compilation game for PlayStation, which includesLode Runner: The Legend Returns andLode Runner Extra.
• Lode Runner 3-D (1999) for theNintendo 64.

Several versions ofLode Runner were not released in the U.S., such asLode Runner Twin andPower Lode Runner (1999,SFC), which vary gameplay, mostly by adding different characters and scenarios. Another title,Battle Lode Runner, was originally exclusive to Japan, but made available on 23 April 2007 as the first Japan-only game to appear onNintendo'sVirtual Console service.^[53] The originalLode Runner followed in June 2007. There is also aCubic Lode Runner, a 3-DLode Runner variant released only in Japan for theGameCube andPlayStation 2.^[54]

TheNES version, developed byHudson Soft, marked the first appearance ofBombermen as the opposing robots.^[55] The end screen toBomberman for the NES notes that the original White Bomberman has turned human and hints at his appearance in another game, with the Lode Runner behind him. In the Japanese version, the reference is more direct: "Congratulations - Bomber Man becomes Runner - See you again in Lode Runner".

In Japan, theFamicom version ofLode Runner allows editing and creating levels to share with friends using aFamicom Data Recorder.^[56]

Hudson Soft released a version ofLode Runner forNintendo DS in 2006.^[57]

An unreleased version of the game for theAtari Lynx was discovered in 2008 on an old Atari Corp. hard drive.^[58]

A remake ofLode Runner, developed by Tozai andSouthend Interactive, was released on April 22, 2009. The game features revamped 3D graphics, additional game modes, cooperative and competitive multiplayer support, six new block types and a level editor, as well as live leaderboards and a timeline of the game's history.^[59][60]

Lode Runner Classic was made available as an Xbox Live enhanced game forWindows Phone 7 series of phones on July 18, 2012. It features the graphics, gameplay, and 150 levels from the originalLode Runner game.^[61]Lode Runner Classic was released foriOS and Android phones on January 17, 2013.^[62]

Lode Runner 1 is a remake of the original NES game, and has the same mechanic, in brand new 2D graphics. It is different to the other same-year release in the series,Lode Runner Legacy. It was released for free on Android, iPhone and iPad on May 18, 2017.^[63] The game was discontinued in 2020 and its servers shut down in 2021, rendering the game unplayable due to a mandatoryGoogle account check.^[47]

A newLode Runner game was announced for theIntellivision Amico. It is being made in partnership betweenIntellivision Entertainment and Tozai Games.^[64]

Dion Olsthoorn licensed the originalLode Runner from Tozai to create a version for the Atari 2600.^[65] The ZeroPage Homebrew channel featured the gameplay and an interview with the programmer on their Twitch Livestream on October 8, 2022.^[66]

• Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory (1984)
• Ultimate Wizard (1984)
• Ladder (video game) (1982)

• Lode Runner series atMobyGames
• Lode Runner at theKiller List of Videogames
• Lode Runner can be played for free in the browser at theInternet Archive
• Lode Runner series atIGDB
• Lode Runner can be played for free in the browser
• TheLode Runner Museum
• TheLode Runner PC-98 Version Museum

• 1983 video games
• Amstrad CPC games
• Apple II games
• Arcade video games
• Atari 2600 games
• Atari 8-bit computer games
• Atari ST games
• Broderbund games
• BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
• Cancelled Atari Lynx games
• Commodore 64 games
• VIC-20 games
• DOS games
• Game Boy games
• FM-7 games
• Classic Mac OS games
• MSX games
• NEC PC-6001 games
• NEC PC-8001 games
• NEC PC-8801 games
• NEC PC-9801 games
• Nintendo Entertainment System games
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
• Puzzle-platformers
• PlayStation (console) games
• SG-1000 games
• Sharp MZ games
• Sharp X1 games
• TurboGrafx-16 games
• Virtual Console games
• Virtual Console games for Wii U
• Windows games
• WonderSwan games
• Nintendo DS games
• Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
• ZX Spectrum games
• Southend Interactive games
• Video games developed in the United States
• Android (operating system) games
• Single-player video games
• Video game level editors
• Video games with user-generated gameplay content
• Ariolasoft games
• SystemSoft Alpha games
• Java platform games

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters
• Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images
• Articles needing additional references from November 2017
• All articles needing additional references
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 1999
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• KLOV game ID same as Wikidata
• Articles with Internet Archive links