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As we learn in the Preface of the January 1978 edition of the book published by Ahl's Creative Computing Press, David H. Ahl left DEC in 1974. Despite his departure, DEC continued to publish its version, but without Ahl's name on it. The first printing of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition'' in January 1978 reflects the fact that, at the time of the DEC publication of ''101 Computer Games'', microcomputers hadn't been manufactured yet, and programmers using the BASIC language were still running code on time-sharing machines or on minicomputers.

−

The preface of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition'' differs significantly from the DEC edition. It is newly conceived and re-written. With this edition, the goal appears to be to spell out the value of games within broader contexts. The preface begins with a dictionary definition of the word “game” (though without naming the dictionary). It then provides a cursory history of sports and games moving from the ancient Chinese and Egyptians to the 1970s in little more than a paragraph and a half, only to emphasize that games offer recreational, breaks “from the “realities of life,” and also have other “important redeeming virtues.” The next two sections of the preface emphasize games as an educational tool and computer games in particular. The Preface also tells explains to users that the programs in this book all run on MITS Altair 8K BASIC, Rev. 4.0. Some new programs replace those that were deleted because they “could not be converted or weren’t worth converting to MITS BASIC.“ (p. ix)

+

The preface of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition'' differs significantly from the DEC edition. It is newly conceived and re-written. With this edition, the goal appears to be to spell out the value of games within broader contexts. The preface begins with a dictionary definition of the word “game” (though without naming the dictionary). It then provides a cursory history of sports and games moving from the ancient Chinese and Egyptians to the 1970s in little more than a paragraph and a half, only to emphasize that games offer recreational, breaks “from the “realities of life,” and also have other “important redeeming virtues.” The next two sections of the preface emphasize games as an educational tool and computer games in particular. The Preface also explains to users that the programs in this book all run on MITS Altair 8K BASIC, Rev. 4.0. Some new programs replace those that were deleted because they “could not be converted or weren’t worth converting to MITS BASIC.“ (p. ix)

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This first non-DEC printing drops the game's nametag and uses the game's name in the table of contents, which is no longer organized alphabetically, but by game category (e.g. Introductory Fun; Educational; Plotting and Pictures; Number and Letter Guessing; Remove an Object; Matrix Manipulation; Logic; Space; Sports Simulation; Gambling Casino; Card and Board; Combat; etc.), helping aficionados of certain types of games get easier access to them.

+

This first non-DEC printing drops the game's name tags. Instead it uses the game's title in the table of contents, which is no longer organized alphabetically, but rather by game category -- e.g. Introductory Fun; Educational; Plotting and Pictures; Number and Letter Guessing; Remove an Object; Matrix Manipulation; Logic; Space; Sports Simulation; Gambling Casino; Card and Board; Combat; etc.), helping aficionados of certain types of games gain easier access to them.

−

No doubt aware of the momentum building in this evolving community, Ahl encourages his reading programmers to submit games for publication in books and future issues of his magazine, ''Creative Computing''. To those who wish to submit game programs, Ahl writes, “Please send the following: program listing, one or two sample runs, descriptive notes, paper tape and self-addressed stamp envelope. The listing and run should be on white, unlined paper and should be done in fresh black ribbon. The paper tape should be wrapped in kitchen plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent oil seepage from damaging other enclosures. The descriptive notes should be double-spaced.”

+

No doubt aware of the momentum building in the growing community of users of the BASIC language, Ahl encourages his reading programmers to submit games for publication in books and future issues of his magazine, ''Creative Computing''. He urges those who wish to submit programs to “Please send the following: program listing, one or two sample runs, descriptive notes, paper tape and self-addressed stamp envelope. The listing and run should be on white, unlined paper and should be done in fresh black ribbon. The paper tape should be wrapped in kitchen plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent oil seepage from damaging other enclosures. The descriptive notes should be double-spaced.”

−

Still in 1978 ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition. 101 Great Games to Play on Your Home Computer. By yourself or with others. Each complete with programming and sample run. Edited by David H. Ahl. is published in NY by Workman Publishing. The lengthy title arguably reflects the publisher's imperative to reach always for broader audiences.

+

Still in 1978, Workman Publishing takes on further publication of Ahl's evolving compilation under the title of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition. 101 Great Games to Play on Your Home Computer. By yourself or with others. Each complete with programming and sample run. The lengthy title arguably reflects the publisher's attempt to reach always for broader audiences.

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@@ Line 95: / Line 95: @@
 As we learn in the Preface of the January 1978 edition of the book published by Ahl's Creative Computing Press, David H. Ahl left DEC in 1974. Despite his departure, DEC continued to publish its version, but without Ahl's name on it. The first printing of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition'' in January 1978 reflects the fact that, at the time of the DEC publication of ''101 Computer Games'', microcomputers hadn't been manufactured yet, and programmers using the BASIC language were still running code on time-sharing machines or on minicomputers.
-The preface of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition'' differs significantly from the DEC edition. It is newly conceived and re-written. With this edition, the goal appears to be to spell out the value of games within broader contexts. The preface begins with a dictionary definition of the word “game” (though without naming the dictionary). It then provides a cursory history of sports and games moving from the ancient Chinese and Egyptians to the 1970s in little more than a paragraph and a half, only to emphasize that games offer recreational, breaks “from the “realities of life,” and also have other “important redeeming virtues.” The next two sections of the preface emphasize games as an educational tool and computer games in particular. The Preface also tells explains to users that the programs in this book all run on MITS Altair 8K BASIC, Rev. 4.0. Some new programs replace those that were deleted because they “could not be converted or weren’t worth converting to MITS BASIC.“ (p. ix)
+The preface of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition'' differs significantly from the DEC edition. It is newly conceived and re-written. With this edition, the goal appears to be to spell out the value of games within broader contexts. The preface begins with a dictionary definition of the word “game” (though without naming the dictionary). It then provides a cursory history of sports and games moving from the ancient Chinese and Egyptians to the 1970s in little more than a paragraph and a half, only to emphasize that games offer recreational, breaks “from the “realities of life,” and also have other “important redeeming virtues.” The next two sections of the preface emphasize games as an educational tool and computer games in particular. The Preface also explains to users that the programs in this book all run on MITS Altair 8K BASIC, Rev. 4.0. Some new programs replace those that were deleted because they “could not be converted or weren’t worth converting to MITS BASIC.“ (p. ix)
-This first non-DEC printing drops the game's nametag and uses the game's name in the table of contents, which is no longer organized alphabetically, but by game category (e.g. Introductory Fun; Educational; Plotting and Pictures; Number and Letter Guessing; Remove an Object; Matrix Manipulation; Logic; Space; Sports Simulation; Gambling Casino; Card and Board; Combat; etc.), helping aficionados of certain types of games get easier access to them.
+This first non-DEC printing drops the game's name tags. Instead it uses the game's title in the table of contents, which is no longer organized alphabetically, but rather by game category -- e.g. Introductory Fun; Educational; Plotting and Pictures; Number and Letter Guessing; Remove an Object; Matrix Manipulation; Logic; Space; Sports Simulation; Gambling Casino; Card and Board; Combat; etc.), helping aficionados of certain types of games gain easier access to them.
-No doubt aware of the momentum building in this evolving community, Ahl encourages his reading programmers to submit games for publication in books and future issues of his magazine, ''Creative Computing''. To those who wish to submit game programs, Ahl writes, “Please send the following: program listing, one or two sample runs, descriptive notes, paper tape and self-addressed stamp envelope. The listing and run should be on white, unlined paper and should be done in fresh black ribbon. The paper tape should be wrapped in kitchen plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent oil seepage from damaging other enclosures. The descriptive notes should be double-spaced.”
+No doubt aware of the momentum building in the growing community of users of the BASIC language, Ahl encourages his reading programmers to submit games for publication in books and future issues of his magazine, ''Creative Computing''. He urges those who wish to submit programs to “Please send the following: program listing, one or two sample runs, descriptive notes, paper tape and self-addressed stamp envelope. The listing and run should be on white, unlined paper and should be done in fresh black ribbon. The paper tape should be wrapped in kitchen plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent oil seepage from damaging other enclosures. The descriptive notes should be double-spaced.”
-Still in 1978 ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition. 101 Great Games to Play on Your Home Computer. By yourself or with others. Each complete with programming and sample run. Edited by David H. Ahl.  is published in NY by Workman Publishing. The lengthy title arguably reflects the publisher's imperative to reach always for broader audiences.
+Still in 1978, Workman Publishing takes on further publication of Ahl's evolving compilation under the title of ''Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition. 101 Great Games to Play on Your Home Computer. By yourself or with others. Each complete with programming and sample run. The lengthy title arguably reflects the publisher's attempt to reach always for broader audiences.