Old Electron hands might greet newcomers to the world of the Acorn Electron rather enviously. But there is now soooo much to discover (and all of it for free!) that such newcomers may find themselves wading through yards of obscure, and often substandard, games searching for, well, something "different". What they need is one guide that covers everything from Arcadians through to You're Alan Partridge.

Here we present that guide. Click on the title of the game to go directly to its entry in Acorn Electron World.

ARCADIANS	1984: Orlando
What's The Buzz? There are oodles of 'Space Invaders' clones, but none do it as gracefully as Orlando's Arcadians. Effortlessly playable, the arcadians flip, dive-bomb, fire and weave towards your laser bases.
Why Should You Play It? Firstly, it's got it all - great graphics, great gameplay, great sound effects and great music. Secondly, it was programmed by one of the most respected programmers for the BBC series. Thirdly, it's brilliant!

AROUND THE WORLD IN 40 SCREENS	1985: Tim Tyler & Matthew Atkinson
What's The Buzz? With Repton 3, Superior published a game where the in-game characters, maps and passwords were all changeable by the home user. Then, in this fourth outing for the lizard Repton, Superior made use of all of these designers to create wholly new scenarios as well as taxing screens.
Why Should You Play It? Some people do criticise these later Repton games for mixing the characters so much that things become confusing to the end user. Our response to them is Yah Bah Sucks Boo, this is great!

BALLOON BUSTER	1989: Mike Williams
What's The Buzz? There are three things that 'lift' the average puzzle game above the rest: an intelligent idea, good graphics and a scaling level of difficulty. Balloon Buster pits you in a multi-coloured clown who must burst balloons in a set sequence using juggling balls.
Why Should You Play It? One of Blue Ribbon's last releases, this sat undiscovered for a number of years. But the animated clown and the colourful, well-presented interior of the circus tent make this a very pleasant gaming experience.

BEACH HEAD	1984: Peter Johnson
What's The Buzz? A multi-layered game, this is one attention-grabbing arcade conversion that everyone remembers. You start off guiding your ship through aereal reconnaise, then through a cave littered with mines, then fighting a horizon of ships and planes and finally guide your tanks across the beach to the impenetrable Beach Head.
Why Should You Play It? Practice makes perfect and though this game can at first seem rather tough, you can soon learn how to navigate each of the subgames. The graphics are dazzling and how well you perform in one directly affects your health in the next.

BIRDSTRIKE	1985: Andrew Frigaard
What's The Buzz? Try to hit the planes that home in on you anywhere except dead centre. Hit 'em correctly and a chirruping pigeon begins flying across the screen. Hit it and collect musical notes that play out 'We were only playing leapfrog'. Suddenly sounds a bit weird, eh?
Why Should You Play It? Never destined to be a blockbuster, Birdstrike nevertheless has an incredibly simple and attractive feel to it.

BUG EYES	1985: Peter Fotherfill, Jason Sobell & Kevin Blake
What's The Buzz? Deceptive through its utter simplicity, in this platform game you can move left and right - and that's it! You can't shoot, you can't jump and you certainly can't kill any of the marauding baddies that litter the space station that you must get through.
Why Should You Play It? It just has that 'pull' to it. The graphics are done in Mode 1 and it has a neat feel to it. It also doesn't really require any skill apart from knowing when to move in which direction. Play it once, and you'll keep coming back to it.

BUMBLE BEE	1983: R. Barnes
What's The Buzz? Have you ever played Snapper and found it, well, lacking in something? Well, how's this for a interesting variation? Control a bee collecting pollen in a spider-infested maze and don't be afraid of getting cornered in dead ends - the walls rotate.
Why Should You Play It? Some wonderful touches add to the abject playability of this title - a 'guide the bee over letters' to enter your high score, impressive sound riffs and everything set at just the right pace.

CHUCKIE EGG	1984: Doug Anderson
What's The Buzz? Platform games are all much of a muchness, right? Wrong. The sheer kinetics of Chuckie Egg account for the fact that many people are still discovering and remaking it today.
Why Should You Play It? The Electron version is the best one available - it's fast and furious and totally engrossing. Run around the henhouse, leap on lifts, scuttle out of the way of the birds and, on later levels, avoid the furious mother hen - all at the same time! Excellent stuff.

CLOGGER	1988: Gordon J. Key
What's The Buzz? There are puzzles and there are puzzles! Clogger is about twice as challenging as Repton. The game is similar, but the rules are very different - and the obstacles littering the maze need some serious thought before they are touched. The game uses Mode 5 but advanced 'dithering' to give the impression of many more colours on screen.
Why Should You Play It? Clogger is probably too complex for many. But awesome in its conception, and rich in its use of the whole screen as playing area, this is a true masterpiece of Electron coding - we keep coming back to it time and time again.

CRACK-UP	1990: Spike Moiran
What's The Buzz? There was a distinct lack of bat, ball and block games - then along came Crack-Up... and bloody superb it is too! Keep the ball in the playing area, collect the pods that fall and progress up the levels racking up your score.
Why Should You Play It? This game would struggle to be any more addictive. Plays as well as anything on the market for the PC today and features Mode 2 screens with superb graphics.

CYBORG WARRIORS	1991: Tony Oakden
What's The Buzz? When Spectrum owners were lapping up R-TYPE, it always seemed us Electron owners were stuck with another graphic adventure instead of something similar. Yes, there was Zenon, but it wasn't brilliant and it just didn't have the end of level bosses we wanted. Then, tucked away on the last Play It Again Sam 16 release, we got Cyborg Warriors.
Why Should You Play It? Alright, so we still didn't get end of level bosses here, but we did get a two-player sideways scrolling shoot-'em-up with a large variety of baddies to blast - and weapons to collect. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

DRAIN MANIA	1985: P. A. Morgan & D. J. Morgan
What's The Buzz? This is a platform game with a difference. Your character, Theodore, bounces around a drainage system collecting the coins that hang from the ceiling, and headbutting the odd mutants from the platform below. As the levels progress, the drains become slipperier...
Why Should You Play It? Drain Mania actually boasts one of the most impressive opening music themes ever heard on the Acorn Electron. And as if that wasn't reason enough, the game is actually pretty good too!

ELITE	1984: Ian Bell & David Braben
What's The Buzz? Over twenty years on, and this pitched space battle and trading game still astounds on every level. Progress from harmless to elite either by engaging enemy ships - destroying them and collecting their shipments, or by skilfully hyperspacing between planets and trading in everything from diamonds to slaves.
Why Should You Play It? Are you kidding? Elite is a game phenomeneon, and one which actually began on the Acorn machines. Elite is to the Electron what MARIO is to the NES, what SONIC is to the Sega Megadrive. Need we say more?

EXILE	1989: Peter J. Irvin & Jeremy Smith
What's The Buzz? Well, some say it's a graphical adventure, but that really doesn't do it justice. You are situate on a planet which has realistic friction, gravity and thrust - and you are able to use all of these to perform complex somersaults, flying, shooting and puzzle-solving.
Why Should You Play It? Exile is the Electron pushed to its limits, with every last byte milked for all the lush visuals and exciting playability. You're not just restricted to any one place - you can traverse every inch of the wonderous planet. You'll encounter bloodthirsty birds, mean robots, exploding rocks and hours' worth of entertainment. Opinion is divided on whether this or Elite is the very best game released for the Acorn Electron.

FELIX IN THE FACTORY	1983: John Chayter
What's The Buzz? The first in the Felix series is a tidy looking little platformer, with a conveyer belt, a mouse and an ever increasing number of monsters, to be despatched with a pitchfork if, and when, you can be bothered.
Why Should You Play It? It's there for all of you who are looking for something, well, just fun. The sprites are nice and your main character responds well. Felix In The Factory isn't difficult - but it is a different and enjoyable game.

FIRETRACK	1989: Orlando & Chris Terran
What's The Buzz? It's the far flung future, with pirate galaxies in space trading with each other - and cutting Earth out of the loop! Well, that just won't do, so you're getting into your trusty spaceship and blasting all their communication hardware to smithereens.
Why Should You Play It? When Orlando's involved, you always know you're gonna get something special. How special? Well, the visuals in this could be considered works of art. The gameplay is a tad frustrating to get the hang of at first, but well worth perseverance.

FRAK	1986: Orlando
What's The Buzz? Ooooh, you little b******! You s***! Gimme a chance! Frustration levels into overdrive with Orlando's Frak; the caveman who is charged with getting from left to right on each level, yo-yoing the Scrubblies blocking the way, and avoiding daggers and balloons at random.
Why Should You Play It? Considered amongst many to be as much of a classic as Orlando's other works, I bow to popular opinion although I personally find it far too frustrating to carry on with for long. Unique in almost innumerable ways though.

FRUIT CATCHER	2002: Paul Branton
What's The Buzz? The Elk had a lot of Fruit Machine simulators, most of which were pretty dire. FRUIT CATCHER is the exception - we could happily listen to its jangles and blips, spin its wheels and play its subgame and gamble/collect chain until the cows come home.
Why Should You Play It? A real work of genius, you'll be bowled over by how lively this game makes your Electron.

HEADFIRST PD DISC E010	1992: Gareth Boden & James Treadwell
What's The Buzz? The PD library HeadFirst PD produced 30 discs for the Electron, and, painful though it is to admit, history seems bound to record that we've lost 27 of them. This 10th disc from them shows the quality of some of the programs they produced: Uno, Idiot's Delight Patience, Feed The Frog, NIGHTMARE PARK, etc.
Why Should You Play It? You get a collection of fourteen games on this disc, all work on the Electron, and all are neatly presented and great fun to play!

IMPOSSIBLE MISSION	1984: Peter Johnson
What's The Buzz? You are Special Agent 4125, penetrating the underground lair of Professor Elvin Atombender. Stunning (and we mean stunning) graphics lend this game a dynamism that is unique, and the complexity of the puzzle set before you has to be experienced to be believed.
Why Should You Play It? You've got lift shafts, extremely intelligent enemies, computer terminal hacking, a self-mapping system, a secret agent watch and much much more. This is the closest the Elk came to a James Bond game, boys.

IMOGEN	1988: Michael St Aubyn
What's The Buzz? You are a wizard with, let's say, some mental health 'issues'. So you've been imprisoned in a series of caves, each one more complex than the preceding one. You can transform into a monkey to climb ropes or a cat to leap chasms. Imogen is a monochromatic number, but the quality of the graphics and the lateral thinking involved more than makes up for this.
Why Should You Play It? Imogen is a game for those who like puzzles and like to take their time thinking through problems. 'Diving in' is not advised. It's slick brainstraining fun for retro fans.

JET SET WILLY	1985: Matthew Smith & Chris Robson
What's The Buzz? The game was massive on the Spectrum, as one of the first games to 'free' its player from the linear 'level' format. As Willy, you have the run of your house and can wander into rooms left, right and centre at will. Which is handy, 'cause you have to collect items from each of them to complete the game.
Why Should You Play It? Tricky one this. The game has some infuriating bugs and is all done in monochrome on the Electron. For all that though, it is fairly enjoyable - although more or less impossible to complete.

JET SET WILLY 2	1986: Matthew Smith & Chris Robson
What's The Buzz? Every runaway success has its sequel. Although the format of the game remains idential, this time you've got teleportation devices to deal with, a rocket room and some other mysterious effects on picking up certain items. It's also less 'bugged'.
Why Should You Play It? Although on some formats, Jet Set Willy 2 was the same game with some new rooms 'tacked on', on the Electron this is not the case. Jet Set Willy 2 is a wholly new challenge and mapping it, even if you don't complete it, is hugely enjoyable.

KISSIN' KOUSINS	1984: David Woodhouse & Tony Racine
What's The Buzz? 'Oi, where's me bird gone?! What, she's sittin' out of town beyond the woods, and I have to avoid dragons, flying crabs and mutant dustbins to get a snog from her? Yeah, that sounds about right. This way, is it?'
Why Should You Play It? Kissin' Kousins probably won't be everyone's cup of tea. It can be incredibly frustrating when you die just as you're leaving a screen, and the leaps over worms and postboxes have to be very accurately judged - in a game which whips along. It has that addictiveness that's hard to put one's finger on, though.

OMEGA ORB	1986: Peter Scott
What's The Buzz? You control a lovely bouncing friendly salesdroid, Blip, stranded on the planet Mynix which you must search for twelve missing pieces of energy core. A surprisingly difficult game but wonderfully well turned out.
Why Should You Play It? A little more than your average graphic adventure, you also get to interact with the various computer terminals scattered throughout the complex. It's beautifully presented and immensely challenging.

PALACE OF MAGIC	1985: Martyn Howard
What's The Buzz? After Citadel, which is also raved about, Palace Of Magic was the first mould-breaking platform-style graphic adventure for the Electron. Spawned numerous clones, none of which proved as ultimately beguiling.
Why Should You Play It? Great pains in the graphics, variety and presentation render Palace Of Magic much more fascinating that it may at first appear. Collecting keys to open doors to escape a large castle is its ultimate premise - but along the way you'll find other puzzles to solve!

PIPEMANIA	1990: David Lawrence
What's The Buzz? This one tickles everyone's fancy - bits of pipe appear in a random order and must be laid on a grid to form an unbroken pipeline. The number of consecutive sections you need to lay increases as the levels progress - and the number of obstacles on the grid also rises. Although it's in monochrome, there's no denying the addictiveness of Pipemania.
Why Should You Play It? This is the rare game where you can believe its own publicity. First there was Tetris, then there was Pipemania. And there are three pieces of music to listen to, all of which are very impressive on the little Electron.

PLAN B	1986: Andrew Foord
What's The Buzz? What an absolutely brilliant game! All done in monochrome, this is fast and furious shoot-'em-up with mapping and graphical adventure elements. You control a drone and there is one rule - if it moves, shoot it.
Why Should You Play It? Although it's incredibly difficult to complete Plan B without cheating, the action factor makes for a gripping little game. It, and its sequel, wowed the reviewers of the time. Play it for two minutes and you'll see why!

REPTON	1984: Tim Tyler
What's The Buzz? It's the whole Boulderdash thing, but featuring twelve levels and the cutest monsters you've ever seen. It almost feels like killing your friend's pet hamster crushing them with those rocks, it really does!
Why Should You Play It? Repton was the closest the Acorn Electron got to having its own character to represent it - there ended up being a actual demand for stuffed Repton lizards at one point! This is the game that started it all, although Repton 3 was, of course, the most famous! Oh, and it's good.

RUBBLE TROUBLE	1984: P. A. Morgan
What's The Buzz? It's the future and Earth has suffered a nuclear war. You are evidently the only survivor and need to eat. Fortunately, a new lifeform called the Krackat has also survived and is scooting around the maze of square rocks with you. You push these rocks to crush a Krackat and, if they miss, they come bouncing back at you. Whoops.
Why Should You Play It? Again, this is a very simple yet engrossing game from the Morgan brothers, with a theme tune and jingles throughout. The game is fast and furious and the Krackats seem to go on multiplying forever. Some special options too.

SIM CITY	1990: Peter Scott
What's The Buzz? Design a city. Lay down residential homes, industrial centres, parks and shopping centres. Connect them all up with roads and electricity pylons. Watch your city grow and grow as you work on rail links, ports and airports. A fabulous-looking Mode 2 extravaganza.
Why Should You Play It? Not only is the Electron's conversion of Sim City engrossing in its own respect, it is truly awe-inspiring in that the source code is less than 1/20th of the Amiga 500's, which it was converted from!

SKIRMISH	1988: Delos D. Harriman
What's The Buzz? Flap your buzzard around the playing area, coming down slapbang on the brain of any other buzzard you may come across, be it computer controlled or that of the player sitting next to you. Pick up eggs for bonus points and avoid the fires and emerging hands at the screen edge.
Why Should You Play It? A spot-on conversion of the Atari game JOUST, this is timeless retro, executed to perfection by god of Elk programming Delos D. Harriman (aka Orlando).

SUNDAY	1997: Dave E
What's The Buzz? This slightly disturbed but ultimately intriguing graphic adventure pits you in the role of Jamie, a fourteen year old boy on a quest to set up and survive a date with the dangerous Sally Roberts.
Why Should You Play It? This simply is a game you won't find an equal to anywhere else. Playing it through from beginning to end takes around an hour, and you can do and say practically anything you wish to. The game is also massive, and is the only Electron game ever to require three discs!

TETRIS	1988: Mirrorsoft
What's The Buzz? Come on, it's the puzzle game that even your granny's heard of! Bricks of various shapes fall from the top of the screen and need to be manoeuvred in such a way as to form a solid wall. Continues indefinitely and one game can lead to permanent addiction!
Why Should You Play It? You do not play Tetris, Tetris takes a hold of you and forces you to return to it, time and time again. Come to think of it, the Electron version is not particularly inspiring. So why is it I want another go?

THE LAST NINJA	1987: Peter Scott
What's The Buzz? Oh wow, words cannot describe playing this three dimensional beat-'em-up. You play Armakuni, the last surviving member of the Ninja brotherhood. Whilst there may only be six levels to traverse, this is a game of stealth, pixel-perfect positioning and a fair smattering of violence.
Why Should You Play It? If you like colourful landscapes, the whole 'Rambo' feel to a game, and like to see your enemies buckle over and capitulate when hit in the chest by a smoke bomb then The Last Ninja is essential.

THE LAST NINJA 2	1989: Peter Scott
What's The Buzz? Armakuni's back to battle through the streets and sewers of New York in the sequel to the incredible The Last Ninja. Every bit as colourful and playable as the first, this even manages to pack in more sprites, more thugs and more weapons!
Why Should You Play It? The Electron sports what I think are the best versions of both LAST NINJA games - forget the appalling monochrome Spectrum version with its confusing joystick movements. The final puzzle is the only letdown here.

UGGIE'S GARDEN	1997: Ian Webster & Frazer Middleton
What's The Buzz? All these Boulderdash style clones seem a little predictable to you? Step forward Uggie's Garden, one of only a handful of two player only games for the Electron. Introduce your friend into the same playing area, and attempt to clear each level of apples by teamwork or treachery.
Why Should You Play It? With the exception of the lazy monster who hardly ever gives chase (Like, is this a bug or what?), and provided you can rope a friend into help, this is both bewildering and mesmerising. Includes screen and character designers too.

WEENIES	2003: Chris Dewhurst
What's The Buzz? In the early Nineties, a game called LEMMINGS caused a big stir on the Amiga and PC computers. The ubiquitous 'they' said the game was far too complex to be converted down to an 8-bit machine. However, very recently in fact, Cronosoft released a very similar type of game: Weenies.
Why Should You Play It? Although quite obviously based on LEMMINGS, the game in fact handles very differently. It boasts not only some of the flashiest graphical effects but is also one of the hardest games ever created for the Electron.

YOU'RE ALAN PARTRIDGE	2006: The Organ Grinder's Monkey
What's The Buzz? How often does the code for one short game fill almost a whole disc? You're Alan Partridge pits you in an interview with Ray Woollard and his sidekick Digital Dave over six levels of multiple choice 'pub quiz' style questions and answers.
Why Should You Play It? The full screen visuals are amazing and, if you have a real Electron and the Millsgrade VOXBOX expansion, you get speech synthesis every time Digital Dave asks a question.