by Gideon Marcus

Picture yourself in the Wild West.  The Sun blazes overhead.  Tumbleweeds (anachronistically) trundle down the lane.  Suddenly, Black Bart, "one of the meanest desperadoes west of the Allegheny mountains," steps out of a saloon, just 100 paces away.  He taps his six-gun meaningfully and leers.  You make to grab for yours.  A puff of smoke, a bang, and Bart lies dead in the dust…

Then you punch a couple of keys on your terminal, and Black Bart is once again emerges from the tavern, and the face-off begins again.  A duel you can play over and over again, as many times as you like.

Remember that scene in 2001 where Frank Poole plays chess with HAL?  Well, now playing against a transistorized opponent isn't just science fiction, thanks to a Syosset (New York) High School student named Chris Gaylo.

Continue reading [December 12, 1970] Games: Coming to a Computer near You (High Noon) →