Archon

Archon: The Light and the Dark is one of the most original strategy games ever made. Designed by Jon Freeman and Paul Reiche III, programmed by Anne Westfall and published by Electronic Arts in 1983, it first appeared on the Atari 8-bit computers and was quickly ported to the Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM PC, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, NES and several Japanese computers.

At first glance, Archon looks like chess played with fantasy creatures. The light side fields knights, unicorns, valkyries, golems, a djinni, a phoenix and the wizard; the dark side has goblins, basilisks, manticores, trolls, banshees, a shapeshifter, a dragon and the sorceress.

Gameplay

The twist is that when two pieces meet on the board, the capture isn’t automatic. Instead, the game switches to a real-time arena where the two creatures fight it out with their own weapons, speed and strength.

• Combat arena: Each creature has its own attack, from the knight’s sword to the dragon’s fire and the banshee’s deadly wail.
• Light and dark squares: Many squares cycle between light and dark, strengthening one side and weakening the other.
• Power points: Five special squares heal pieces and protect them from magic; holding all five wins the game.
• Spells: The wizard and sorceress each have seven one-use spells, such as teleport, heal, summon elemental and imprison.
• Victory: Hold the power points, wipe out the enemy or trap their last piece.

The blend works brilliantly. Strategy decides which fights to pick and when, while skill decides who wins them. Playing a friend is the best way to enjoy it, but the computer opponent puts up a decent fight.

Verdict

Archon is a timeless classic. Its graphics and sound are simple, but its mix of strategy and action has rarely been matched. Computer Gaming World ranked it among the best games of all time, and it inspired the battles in Star Control. It was followed by Archon II: Adept and the remake Archon Ultra.