This was one the of the first games I played with my little brother. I was 17, and he was 4 or 5. He’d sit on my lap as we thwarted monks, climbed ladders, and solved puzzles on my Dad’s laptop.

I particularly remember playing it while visiting my Dad in Bratislava, Slovakia. He was assigned there on a remote tour for the Air Force, the same year I packed off to college. It was a sad year for my mom and little bro. We all visited my dad for a month the summer before college, and we filled that month with tours of central European cities, explorations of Bratislava, Dexter’s Laboratory on the international Cartoon Network, and Lode Runner.

This iteration was my first experience with the classic series, and it was a good one. I think the graphics would hold up today, and the music was fun and hypnotic. It’s a classic “solve the room” game. There were 150 rooms, or levels, broken up into 10 different environments. You were one man, Jake Peril, and your job in each level was to collect coins and get to the exit, while avoiding the dangerous red monk men. You had several devices at your disposal, depending on the level, and I think they were used to alter the ground and sometimes the ceilings around you. You could also make your own levels, which I think my brother explored more than I did.

I see Wikipedia lists it as having been available for the Playstation. Maybe I should hunt that down. It also looks like the lead programmer for the game has some versions available for download, although they all look like they’re the sequel, Lode Runner Online. (sounds like an MMO!) Or hey, I could buy it for $78.99 from Amazon!

Does anyone else remember this game?

Do you guys remember back when Chloe drew a pretty little picture of a Catcake? Or a Cupcat? Well NPC reader Melvin does. I was delighted to find these pictures in my inbox yesterday. He had the folks at Beaverton Bakery make these based on the drawing.

I love how he placed them on the laptop. Next best thing to an iPad? I’m very impressed at how closely they resemble the original drawing. I hope they were delicious! Thanks very much Melvin!

You may recall that this also happened back in March when I went over the three levels of nerd stigma. Well it’s here again, for the second time this year! Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to participate this time. I have a job at home this week along with preparing to go out of town this weekend, which means no subway/public time for me. But I do hope to go over Diaspora and Shock, and even though I’ll be doing that at home, I’m telling you about it, which is kind of public….right? Leave comments below if you plan on participating, and what tabletop RPGs you’re into.

<br/><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/browse/originals/the-guild?videoId=d0fa6983-84d4-4ab0-9bbd-933e400be67b&#038;fg=sharenoembed" target="_new"title="Episode 2: Strange Allies">Video: Episode 2: Strange Allies</a>