Manic Miner is a platform game written for the ZX Spectrum 48K by Matthew Smith. It was published by Bug-Byte in 1983, then later the same year by Software Projects. The first game in the Miner Willy series, the design was inspired by Miner 2049er (1982) for the Atari 8-bit computers.
Playing the game
In each of the twenty caverns, each one screen in size, are several flashing objects, which the player must collect before Willy’s oxygen supply runs out. Once the player has collected the objects in one cavern, they must then go to the now-flashing portal, which will take them to the next cavern.
The player must avoid enemies, listed in the cassette inlay as ” Poisonous Pansies, Spiders, Slime, and worst of all, Manic Mining Robots”. Which move along predefined paths at constant speeds. Willy can also be killed by falling too far, so players must time the precision of jumps and other movements to prevent such falls or collisions with the enemies.
How to get extra lives
Extra lives are gained every 10,000 points. The game ends when the player has no lives left. Above the final portal is a garden. To the right is a house with a white picket fence and red car parked in front. To the left is a slope leading to a backyard with a pond and tree; a white animal, resembling a cat or mouse, watches the sunset behind the pond. Upon gaining his freedom, the game restarts from the first level with no increase in difficulty.
Manic Miner original cassette
Original trifold inlay instructions
Orginial cassette case
What’s it like today?
Rarity: Fairly rare
Typical value: £19.99
Boxed & Mint: £19.99- £24.99
Fun Factor: 
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