Computer Bismarck

Computer Bismarck
Artwork of a grey, vertical rectangular box. The top portion reads "Computer Bismarck. A War-game for Your Home Computer". The bottom portion displays a white line drawing of a battle ship on a blue monitor screen.
Cover art designed by Louis Saekow
Developer(s)Strategic Simulations
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Designer(s)Joel Billings
John Lyons
Platform(s)Apple II, TRS-80[2][3]
ReleaseFebruary 1980[1]
Genre(s)Wargame
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Computer Bismarck is a computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations (SSI) in 1980. The game is based on the last battle of the battleship Bismarck, in which British Armed Forces pursue the German Bismarck in 1941. It is SSI's first game, and features turn-based gameplay and two-dimensional graphics.

The development staff consisted of two programmers, Joel Billings and John Lyons, who programmed the game in BASIC. Originally developed for the TRS-80, an Apple II version was also created two months into the process. After meeting with other wargame developers, Billings decided to publish the game as well. To help accomplish this, he hired Louis Saekow to create the box art.

The first commercially published computer war game, Computer Bismarck sold well and contributed to SSI's success. Though it received a mixed reception, the game is credited in part for legitimizing war games and computer games.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CGW-45 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference RetroG-42 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ R.R. Bowker Company; Bantam Books (1983). Bowker/Bantam 1984 Complete Sourcebook of Personal Computing. Bowker. p. 251. ISBN 0-8352-1765-5.