British Crown Dependencies on the ZX Spectrum

[PeteProdge]

Yes, I'm referring to the parts of the British Isles that are neither Great Britain nor Ireland. (I've previously posted about Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England of course). Essentially I'm talking about the Isle Of Man and the Channel Islands, or to be specific, these quasi-British-but-not-actually-part-of-the-UK islands:

• Alderney
• Brecqhou
• Guernsey
• Herm
• Isle Of Man
• Jersey
• Sark

Understandably, being rather tiny places that are about a fraction of a typical English county in both area and population, I can't see much of an influence on ZX Spectrum culture. Of course, I've tried to forage for a few things...

Isle Of Man

Internationally famous for that multi-day motorcycle race, the Isle Of Man TT. The original Imagine Software, in its highly profligate stage, sponsored a bike (or bikes) in that.

More importantly, ZX Spectrum games coder John F Cain lives there! He came up with Booty; Marble Madness; Moonlight Madness and many others.

And referring back to the Isle Of Man TT, there's this magazine type-in from Home Computing Weekly that has yet to be digitised. There's also 1986's TT Racer from Digital Integration.


CRL's Endurance got renamed by its budget offshoot The Power House when it came to a rerelease, becoming TT Racing Simulator (with Endurance just blanked off the loading screen.) It's pretty terrible, pretty much like nearly all Power House output.


I didn't want to boil down this part of the world to just 'motorbike races', but it's all I could find on the Speccy as representative.

Jersey

You can't get more Jersey than Jersey Quest, from the Jersey-based WD Software. It's a 1984 Quill'd text adventure about the island itself and uses a mysterious 'time jump' device (via a "blow to the head") so that it can take you on a "strange journey through TIME" - an excuse to portray the various parts of its history, like the Nazi occupation and the medieval period (probably more - that's as far as I got).

"Most of the events in the game are adapted from JERSEY FOLK LORE, by J.H.L'Amy (Pub.Soc Jersiaise.) Buy a copy!" You start off having landed at Jersey Airport.

WD Software also put out the text adventure Tradewind, but that's nothing to do with the Channel Islands and the coder appears to live in Hampshire. They also put out Wordfinder (MIA, for cheating at crosswords) and Morse Tutor (also MIA). Plus, they apparently made software for QL, BBC and Acorn Electron, according to their advertising.

And that's about it. Sorry, I couldn't find a big Domark/BBC tie-in for Bergerac. Use yer imagination.

Guernsey

Erm... I found an online retrogaming shop that's like a digital jumble sale, flogging second-hand games for the Speccy (and other 8-bit platforms) at quite low prices, all run out of what used to be a balloon novelty shop in St Peter Port.

And that's all I got for this island!

Alderney, Brecqhou, Herm and Sark

Couldn't find anything for these islands. Especially the one with the dodgy Daily Telegraph baron living on it and the car-free Sark.

Well, that's it really, unless you can find something set in these islands or from these islands.

[Turtle_Quality]

There's one other Manx programmer in the database and that's me (Thomas Quillin). Ok I grew up in London, but I was christened on the Island, most of my family are there and that's where I think of as home.

There was also a company called Manx Tapes making business software for the Spectrum.

[R-Tape]

Good detective work there Prodge.

There's The Wight Smugglers. It looks like the publisher was based in Ayreshire though. I think we'll be struggling for the smaller dependencies, but pleasantly surprised to see if anything turns up.

And that's about it. Sorry, I couldn't find a big Domark/BBC tie-in for Bergerac. Use yer imagination.

Red Heat reskin. You walk around punching and shooting trying to find some stolen antiques (maybe i've mixing this up with Lovejoy). The button masher minigame is Bergerac wrestling with the DTs.

[PeteProdge]

There's one other Manx programmer in the database and that's me (Thomas Quillin). Ok I grew up in London, but I was christened on the Island, most of my family are there and that's where I think of as home.

Ah yes, you put out Mazeball on the Coventry-based rental project Wildest Dreams, and only in anyone's wildest dreams would the programmers be paid.

There was also a company called Manx Tapes making business software for the Spectrum.

Interesting! Unsurprisingly all MIA, as business software isn't exactly highly coveted. Especially those that cost over 40 quid! And it was mail-order only as the owner, George Clough, didn't want to fork out for decent packaging or have manuals!

[Turtle_Quality]

A point of order there @R-Tape - the Isle of Wight is England's largest island, but it's still part of England.
Unlike the crown dependencies like the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man that have their own stamps, mint, tax rates and laws.

[PeteProdge]

Good detective work there Prodge.

There's The Wight Smugglers. It looks like the publisher was based in Ayreshire though. I think we'll be struggling for the smaller dependencies, but pleasantly surprised to see if anything turns up.

Oh dear, the Isle Of Wight is part of England! (Previously part of Hampshire.) I've been to the Isle Of Wight. It's like an enlarged Portsmouth.

Bringing it on-topic, I've also been to Jersey, once, in 2021, for 23 hours. I did not see any Spectrum games. Or any other computer games or any arcades. It's like a chunk of Cornwall flung into the sea, albeit really affluent.

Bergerac: Red Heat reskin. You walk around punching and shooting trying to find some stolen antiques (maybe i've mixing this up with Lovejoy). The button masher minigame is Bergerac wrestling with the DTs.

Heh, I've never seen an episode of Bergerac in full. Can we get Microsphere to reskin Contact Sam Cruise? The playing area is roughly the size of Jersey.

[PeteProdge]

Ooh, this is a bit tenuous for Alderney, but hey, when has that ever stopped me mentioning a game?

The Wombles by Alternative Software has a link.


Wombles creator/author Elizabeth Beresford moved to Alderney in the mid-1970s and passed away there in 2010.

[8BitAG]

Also on the text adventure front, Mark Walker, who wrote The Amulet of Darath and The Oppressed Land for Zenobi, is from the Isle of Man, iirc.

[TMD2003]

I didn't want to boil down this part of the world to just 'motorbike races', but it's all I could find on the Speccy as representative.

Someone is going to have to change that. *cracks knuckles*

Maybe some kind of "heritage quest" around the Isle of Man, as that's what I did when I went there. Over a decade ago now...

If anyone has any ideas, PM me. I might be able to do something by Tynwald Day (early July). If not, maybe there's a WOOT! program in the making...

[p13z]

I think "Winston" (Dylan Smith) is from the Isle Of Man.
Which means that the fantastic Spectranet interface originates from there.

[PeteProdge]

I think "Winston" (Dylan Smith) is from the Isle Of Man.
Which means that the fantastic Spectranet interface originates from there.

That seems to check out with this this 2008 forum post!

[8BitAG]

Opens can of worms about whether the "UK" tag on ZXDB covers the Isle of Man etc.

[PeteProdge]

Opens can of worms about whether the "UK" tag on ZXDB covers the Isle of Man etc.

Heh, yeah, parkrun counts Isle Of Man and Channel Islands as UK - a common misconception, alas.

Next week, Pete looks at the masses of ZX Spectrum output from Andorra and Liechtenstein. SpectrumComputing admins curse the very existence of microstates.