ALF Games for DOS

[samstokes80]

Does anybody have any of the following games? They are for DOS (and possibly other platforms). I would really like to get my hands on the program files. I'm assuming its abandonware, so perhaps someone could e-mail the files to me.

ALF's U.S. Geography (1993)
ALF's Thinking Skills (1993)
ALF's World of Words
ALF's Party Kit

[ALFicionado]

Didn't know there were ALF games from as late as 1993, not sure I've ever seen those on Ebay.

[samstokes80]

Yeah, I was surprised to learn about it, too. Images of the box and a single screenshot of one of the games are posted here: http://alf.wikia.com/wiki/ALF%27s_Thinking_Skills

I have done a lot of internet searches and these games have proven elusive.

[samstokes80]

Hey everyone, I have finally managed to locate all of the old DOS games except for one - ALF's U.S. Geography (1993).

I have found several websites that claim its existence, but I have yet to see a single screenshot or box photo or anything. Has anyone ever played this game or even seen it?

[samstokes80]

The plot thickens - I just found out about an additional DOS game featuring ALF - Add & Subtract With ALF.

I found this website with scans of box fronts and backs for most of the DOS ALF games, including ALF's U.S. Geography! Now I can confirm that it actually exists! Check out the pics - http://andydecarli.com/Video%20Games/Co ... %20PC.html

[CirothUngol]

ALF: The First Adventure was conspicuously missing from your list... I'm assuming you already have it? (if not, I have an actual floppy disc image for this one)

Could you provide a complete list of the MS-DOS titles for ALF? Indicate which ones you already have and which ones you have yet to find. tracking down MS-DOS software is kind of a hobby of mine, and I have a few really good resources at my disposal... I'd be glad to help.

[samstokes80]

Ah yes, the original post here was to indicate titles for which I did not have the program files at the time. A full list of known ALF software titles may be found at http://alf.wikia.com/wiki/Category:ALF_Video_Games.

I still do not have program files for Add & Subtract with ALF or ALF's U.S. Geography. However, please note that this forum does not allow you to post links to software downloads if they may potentially be infringing on copyright.

[CirothUngol]

Hmm... apparently you've done your research well. ^_^
My main source is also missing those two games. Interestingly, these are the listings I found in a large MS-DOS Complete Project:

1988
Alf- The First Adventure v3.2 (1988)(Box Office) [Action]
Alf- The First Adventure v3.3 (1988)(Box Office) [Action]
Alf- Thinking Skills (1988)(Vision Software) [Educational]
Alf- World of Words (1988)(Vision Software) [Educational]
Alf's Party Kit (1988)(Box Office) [Educational]

1993
ALF's Thinking Skills (1993)(Vision Software)

...and the missing list includes:
Add And Subtract With Alf (1988)(Vision Software) ISBN=22069-11512
ALF's U.S. Geography (1993)(Vision Software)

Add and Subtract had a link to an expired eBay auction, apparently where they originally discovered the game (it also means that somebody out there has it).
When I have more time, I'll snatch the versions of the software from that project and confirm that Thinking Skills really did come out in '88 and '93. I'll also check my floppy version of First Adventure the see if it was released in '87 or '88 and see what version the software is. Fun Stuff!

[samstokes80]

Thank for taking the time to research this! I actually did find one guy online that has both of the titles I'm missing. He has box photos of them on his website http://andydecarli.com/Video%20Games/Co ... %20PC.html

I contacted him but unfortunately he is unable to access the program files as he does not have a floppy drive (who does anymore?).

I have been checking periodically for the past few months and have not caught either one on eBay yet. They seem to be pretty rare finds.

I see you listed two different versions of ALF - The First Adventure. I'd be curious to know exactly how many versions there are. I believe that my version doesn't even have "The First Adventure" subtitle. I have noticed on the back of one of the box shots for this game, there is a computer graphic of the cartoon family. This must have been a later version, as I have never seen this image in my version of the game. It would be nice to figure out how many versions are out there and catalog the differences among them.

[CirothUngol]

My last computer with a 5.25" Floppy Drive died about 6-7 years ago. I rebuilt it and in my ignorance, I discarded the floppy. I just checked for prices... yikes! A 5.25 Drive will set you back $50-$100! Who woulda thunk it?

I know a couple of very responsible fellows who would be glad to pull the disk images (and be excited to do it), but it would require your associate to trust both us and the US mail system. If he were willing to loan the games, he could ship it to them, they would pull the images, and then ship them back. These guys are attempting to collect ALL MS-DOS games and catalog them... quite a project, and one that they've invested many years in so far (I believe their last estimate was ~30% complete).

You don't know me from Adam (and neither does he), but you can trust me when I say that they have no interest in keeping the actual game (box, disk, packaging, etc.), they just want the disk image. He could even send just the discs, although scanning everything would be nice too, if he hasn't already. I'm sure that between you and I we could pay for the shipping to and fro. If you could convince your friend to trust us (and the US mail) we could have those files in no time!
...so, whadda think?

As for the original ALF game... they don't even list it in the 1987 category, but the 1988 games are v3.2 and v3.3. If your version is earlier, I'm sure they would love to catalog that as well. If any of this sounds kosher to you, I'll contact them and ask exactly how we do this and where to send them (I've never actually done it before, as I no longer have any old commercial disks, but I do know that it's something that they do)

[samstokes80]

Wow, they're trying to collect every MS-DOS game? They must be just about countless.

Anyway, I took a look at my version of ALF: The First Adventure and it is 3.3, but take a look at the box rear at http://alf.wikia.com/wiki/ALF:_The_Firs ... %281987%29
It has a picture on the left of the cartoon family and a picture on the right of ALF. I have never seen either of these pictures in the game. Furthermore, the screen shot of gameplay in the center looks a lot different from the gameplay in my version. Wierd...

Also, it is marginally possible that I have saved a 5.25" floppy drive somewhere. I'll also check with a couple of libraries and see if they have old computer equipment for the purpose of transferring old data.

One final thing, have you ever actually beat this game? I find it very difficult (even if I adjust the game speed to make it playable). I'm curious as to how it ends.

[CirothUngol]

Yea, it's a huge and ambitious project taking place at Underground-Gamer (a site I've been an active member at for many years now). They have a firm idea of which games were commercially released, and they've trolled old magazines and catalogues trying to find every reference to every game so they'll know what to look for.

The box that you linked to was for the Commodore 64/128 version of the game. Could that be why it looks different? Even if it was the box for the IBM/MS-DOS version, it was common at that time to use screenshots from the best-looking computer version of the game... so you'd still want to buy it (several times I'd buy a game for the IBM only to find out that the graphics on the back were from the Atari ST or the Commodore Amiga... and the IBM graphics sucked in comparison. Pretty sneaky, huh). Check out the fine print on the back of your box and make sure that it doesn't say something clever like "Screen images shown are from the Commodore 64/128 version of the game". They used to do that quite often.

I hope you still have a working 5.25 flopy drive... and a computer that will accept it. If you get a chance to pull a game from a floppy, don't just pull the files from the disc. Please pull a proper floppy image as well with software such as WinImage. This keeps a complete snapshot of the floppy as a whole, so that it can be recreated exactly. It's kinda hyper-geeky, but it's the best way to fully archive old floppies for posterity... it's also often required if the game has on-disk copy-protection of some sort.

As for beating the game? No, I only played it rather superficially, but I think I'm gonna try it again. Do you know if it was released for any other computer systems besides IBM and Commodore? Apple, or hopefully Atari? Games from this period were usually best on Commodore or Atari because they had better sound and graphics (by a long shot).

[spanks_4]

My copy of + and -

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/ ... 060024.jpg
I have several other games, but don't think I have the geography game and they are all sealed so no help in your project.

[spanks_4]

I found a picture that showed the four I own *3 under the card box and one next to it*
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/ ... 040011.jpg

Sooner or later I hope to replace these with mint boxes, but sometimes we take what we can get.

[CirothUngol]

Very nice!
The Add and Subtract with ALF is for the Commodore 64/128 anyway, so no help there... and I don't blame you for not wanting to break the seal on your vintage games. We need to find 'em in good condition, but already opened (so there's no real harm done).
When I get a chance, I'll scour the Apple, Commodore and Atari databases looking for ALF titles (have and missing). They may already be available for one of the other computer systems and easily playable using an emulator.
Thanx for the images spanks, they look great!

[Admin]

I have the First Adventure game as well as one other (forget which). Just send me an email and I will attach the ZIP files. I would like to eventually get someone to convert them to flash to be played on the website...but that is a long ways away due to $$$

[samstokes80]

I just got "ALF's Party Kit!" in the mail from e-Bay. Someone had an unopened copy of it that was wax sealed and sold it really cheap so I went ahead and bought it. I was really curious to see what was in it, because the front of the box says "PACKED WITH PARTY SUPPLIES!" Well, I excitedly opened it when it arrived and found a 5.25" floppy disk (with no sleeve), a small folded ALF poster, and three tiny balloons. Not exactly what I had hoped Oh well...
Maybe I can sell the 23 year old balloons for their antique value

[Melmac98]

I've been having trouble downloading them from here to my Mac. I have a topic with more info.