Dear players, As promised, The Sumerian Game 2.0 is finally here! With this update, youll find so many new features that The Sumerian Game on Steam will feel like an entirely new experience. There are new game modes (lesser-known, yet still important versions and iterations of the original game), new achievements, fewer bugs, and a more responsive interface that should feel more comfortable than the previous version. But thats not all! Among all the new content, youll also discover a completely new game another missing in action title, thought to be lost for years. Its The Sierra Leone Game, a lesser-known and less influential game compared to The Sumerian Game, but nonetheless significant. It is the first game in history to feature a multimedia introduction (with slides and audio), player tooltips, and even a tutorial complete with a final quiz and a chance for promotion. Until now, almost nothing was known about this game but it has now been restored and brought back to life.
We hope that all the effort weve put into creating this version has been worthwhile, and that the opportunity to explore and compare all these different versions of The Sumerian Game, while witnessing the evolution of its original concept into something more modern, will both entertain you and spark your interest. As always, if youd like to support this project which is Free to Play we invite you to purchase the Supporter Pack and share the game with friends and others who might enjoy it. Your support helps us continue this work of research and restoration. If you like to read the book, you can get it from my official site www.andreacontato.com and Amazon and get also The Sumerian Game in big box limited edition, for C64, Apple II and PC.
Thank you so much, and enjoy the game! Changelog: There are now 10 game modes, compared to 5 in the previous version. The selection menu allows players to immediately view the relationship between the various versions and then personally experience the differences and the evolution of the original concept through its numerous iterations. Here are the details: Sum9rx: already present in The Sumerian Game 1.0, this is a reconstruction of the version created in parallel by IBM at the Mohansic Laboratory (now the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights). It is a simplified and rudimentary version of the gameplay that later became famous thanks to Hamurabi. The reconstruction was possible through some fragments of game output listings and Richard Wings notes. It is only 50% faithful, as assumptions had to be made about mechanics not described by Wing. Available only to those who purchase the Supporter Pack. Suilxr: already present in The Sumerian Game 1.0, this is the reconstruction of the most well-known version of the game, created by Mabel Addis at BOCES in Yorktown Heights in 1965 and improved over the following two years. It is 95% faithful, as nearly all necessary information was recovered from archives, output listings, and Wing's notes. Available to everyone in the Free to Play version. Suilxr advanced: already present in The Sumerian Game 1.0, this is the complete version of Suilxr with player questions and slides. It is only 75% faithful to the original version because some texts (the questions) and the slide mechanic have been lost. The reconstruction is based on assumptions about how and when the slides would be loaded from the projector, and on questions recreated in the style of the only two surviving examples. Available only with the purchase of the Supporter Pack. King of Sumeria '68: This is the first major new feature of The Sumerian Game 2.0, based on FOCAL source code found by researcher Kate Willaert. It is the oldest version of the game by Douglas Dyment (later known as Hamurabi in subsequent versions). This lesser-known version has more text and the famous phrase "I beg to report," directly taken from Addiss Sumerian Game. It wasnt yet a real game, as it had no end and couldn't be lost. The simulation continued until the player decided to close the program. Interestingly, it had a procedure for loading custom initial parameters, a feature later abandoned or evolved in subsequent versions as a "load game" function. Available to everyone in F2P. Hamurabi (Becker): Not present in Sumerian Game 1.0. This is a transitional version created in early 1969 between King of Sumeria '68 (the early version) and Hamurabi in BASIC. The random generation system on PDP-8 and Focal-68 didnt work well, always returning the same value sequences. A student from Lexington High School, the same school as Jim Storer of Lunar Lander, modified the FOCAL code of King of Sumeria '68 to make it more "playable." Thanks to his work, other students could play it, including Storer himself, who later wrote Lunar Lander and The Pollution Game, inspired by Hamurabi. Available to everyone in F2P. King of Sumeria '70 (DEC): This version was present in Sumerian Game 1.0. It is the most well-known version of Dyments game, stripped down to its core, with most of the text removed but with the possibility of "losing" the game. Available to everyone in F2P. The Pollution Game: Another new feature not present in Sumerian Game 1.0. This is Storers game inspired by Hamurabi. It's a key development because all subsequent versions of Hamurabi, despite returning to the classic setting The Pollution Game is set on a dystopian communist island where the player, as a dictator, must manage the economy, plantations, coups, mining companies, and pollution internalized the mechanics invented by Storer. Moreover, the student, unknowingly, created a game with a strong narrative component, like Mabel Addiss original. Available to everyone in F2P. Sumer (French): A new addition to Sumerian Game 2.0, available to all. Its one of the many parallel versions of Hamurabi (FOCAL), but the oldest developed in Europe. Interestingly, it uses archaic French and curses at the player when mistakes are made. Hamurabi (BASIC): already present in Sumerian Game 1.0, this is the version programmed by David Ahl and popularized through 101 BASIC Computer Games. Available to everyone in F2P.
The most important new feature is the inclusion of The Sierra Leone Game, rebuilt from scratch. This is the second of three simulation games created through the joint BOCES and IBM project (the first, of course, being The Sumerian Game, the last was The Free Enterprise Game). Although less influential than The Sumerian Game, as it wasnt ported to other languages nor featured in publications like 101 BASIC Computer Games or DEC newsletters, The Sierra Leone Game is very important because it was the second example of gamification and the first game to include an introduction, tutorial, and a sort of tooltip. In the initial phases, students embarked on a virtual journey (with text printed by the computer, slides, and prerecorded audio) through Sierra Leone, with a detailed explanation of the duties of UN officials and the ability to explore topics by typing keywords. After the introduction, the player took a knowledge test, and if passed, could immediately receive a field promotion. The game then proceeded through three phases, each with increasing difficulty, involving managing an onion plantation, trading rice in general markets, running a diamond sales office, and finally, heading a Ministry of Economic Development. Based on Wing's notes and a small portion of recovered texts, this version includes the introduction, tutorial, keyword system, tests, and the three sections of phase one (onion plantation). This version is only available to Supporter Pack purchasers.

[ 2025-04-24 13:13:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear players,

as promised, weve been working hard on a new version of the game. There are so many improvements that we decided to completely rewrite the entire program not only to fix some pesky bugs, but above all to make it easier to use, with a responsive GUI that adapts smoothly to 1920x1080 resolutions and above, without graphical glitches. And while we were at it, we also expanded the gameplay experience: we included more versions of The Sumerian Game and its derivatives, added a greater amount of educational content, and hopefully made everything more engaging with a large set of achievements. Here are a few screenshots from The Sumerian Game 2.0!
The main menu has been completely redesigned with a small infographic that not only shows all versions of the game, but also arranges them in chronological order. It displays the technologies used to create each one (FAP on IBM, FOCAL-68 or 69 on PDP, BASIC, and so on) in a kind of family tree that clearly indicates which games influenced later ones, or evolved into their next versions.
Each version or game is accompanied by a background image carefully chosen to be historically accurate. For the Suilxr version of The Sumerian Game, you can see a young student who took part in a photo shoot for IBM and actually tested that specific version of the game. We paid close attention to every detail for example, the red-colored player input. The IBM 1050 terminal used by students at the time was capable of printing in two colors: red and black. It had been programmed to print user input in red and system output in black. Surviving printouts from that era are indeed two-colored. Fascinating, isnt it?
The improved Suilxr version featuring slides and questions (not historically accurate, unfortunately, as the original questions have been lost and the exact slide mechanics are unknown) has been enhanced. This is an optional piece of content that can be played by purchasing the Supporter Pack.
The Sum9rx version has also been improved it was developed in parallel by IBM at the Mohansic Laboratory in Torktown Heights. This version, too, is playable with the purchase of the Supporter Pack.
Thanks to the work of a researcher friend, Kate Willaert, we were able to reconstruct the very first version of King of Sumeria by Douglas Dyment. Its quite different from the more well-known one and the most practical way to spot the differences is to play it :) Here it is: King of Sumeria for FOCAL-68.
Much less known than the other versions but mentioned on Wikipedia! here is Sumer (French), a French-language version programmed by two university researchers from Lige. Its a much more poetic take, Id say.
Hamurabi for BASIC, written by David Ahl based on the work of Dyment, but with the influence of games and modifications made by the students of Lexington High School also the birthplace of Lunar Lander and Civil War.
Preview of Pollution Game, the midway point between The Sumerian Game and Hamurabi. Programmed by James Storer the creator of Lunar Lander Pollution Game is also one of the most entertaining versions in the great Sumerian Game family. Welcome to Setates Detinu! And to keep things interesting or to give you a reason to play one more round here come lots of new achievements! They werent designed to make the game harder, but rather to highlight something special. Most achievements are unlocked when the player encounters a unique aspect of the version theyre playing. Reading the description should help you figure out what interesting event just happened. And if youre still not sure feel free to ask on the forum or reach out to us directly :) And thats not all there are more exciting things on the way, but well talk about them next time! Now for the most important part: when? Next week.

[ 2025-04-09 17:37:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello!

We are proud to finally announce that The Sumerian Game: A Digital Resurrection in its complete edition is now available in digital format as a bonus reward for supporters who purchased the Supporter Pack. The Sumerian Game: A Digital Resurrection is divided into five major sections: the first narrates the story of one of the very first known computer games in history; the second provides a detailed analysis of the known versions of The Sumerian Game (which supporters can also play in its digital reconstruction); the third section explores in detail the successors of The Sumerian Game, explaining how they were programmed and how they functioned. This is followed by a chapter dedicated to the surviving slides, with commentary on the sources Mabel Addis used to write The Sumerian Game, and finally, a lengthy appendix containing biographies of all the individuals involved in the game's development.
This last section is my personal favorite because it has been an honor to bring back to light the names, faces, and lives of the talented teachers, programmers, and creators of The Sumerian Game. As players, we owe them a great debt, and it was truly a shame that so little was known about these peopleuntil now.

And now?

Now that the book has been released (and will soon be available in paperback format directly from Amazon), its time to start looking toward the future. I plan to dedicate some more time and energy to The Sumerian Game, as I want to finalize the bug fixes and add a new gameplay mode, a variation of King of Sumeria). I also intend to continue the project of digitally recreating lost games so that everyone can see how it all began.
If youd like to support this research, I ask you to spread the word about The Sumerian Game to your friends and acquaintances and consider purchasing the Supporter Pack. Already, 140 people have done so, but there are still hundreds who have it on their wishlist. Now is the perfect timewhat are you waiting for? :) The Supporter Pack comes with access to the revisited game modes (Suilxr, Sum9rx) and two ebooks: The Sumerian Game: A Digital Resurrection and Video Games: Stage 1: 1979 and before, epub and PDF, English and Italian versions. Thank you all so much, and enjoy discovering The Sumerian Game!

[ 2025-03-01 17:27:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

The project to reconstruct The Sumerian Game and release it on Steam, allowing everyone to play it, began several years ago, between 2018 and 2019. The more I studied The Sumerian Game, the more I realized that not only was it possible to rebuild it, but it would also be a tremendous challenge and a unique endeavor in its own right. Five years later, here it is: The Sumerian Game! I hope you've enjoyed this journey through time. For the curious, the collectors, the video game history enthusiasts, and those who want to support this project (which is just the first in a series Im already working on... stay tuned because theres more to come!), for the hundreds of individuals who have already added The Sumerian Game Supporter Pack to their wishlist, now is the ideal moment! In four days, the crowdfunding campaign to fund the English translation and publication of my latest two books will come to an end. [previewyoutube=40QRq1nD_2Y;full][/previewyoutube] The first is Video Games Stage 2, the second in a series of five books (in Italy, we are about to publish the forth), which tells the entire history of the video game industry from its origins up to 1999, covering mainframes, computers, arcades, consoles, and handheld devices.
The second is The Sumerian Game: A Digital Resurrection, available in both print and ebook formats. But thats not all: among the rewards, there will also be a limited "big box edition" of The Sumerian Game in three versions: for Commodore 64, Apple II, and PC (on USB drive).
All supporters will also receive a free Steam key to unlock all the additional modes of The Sumerian Game. Additionally, for those who want to catch up on some of my other books, you'll be able to order Stage 1 of the Video Games series and Through the Moongate: The Story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc., and Ultima, the biography of the greatest CRPG creator and father of Ultima. What are you waiting for? Check the Kickstarter now :) If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[ 2024-10-14 11:56:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear players, First of all, I want to thank you for your support. Exactly 100 of you chose to purchase the supporter package to fund this and other initiatives. Yes, because the restoration of The Sumerian Game is just the first of the adventures we can embark on, and Im already working on the next exploration back in time, going even further, all the way to the 1950s. But for now, I wont say more. Lets focus on the updates for this project. The version of The Sumerian Game youve played over the past few weeks was named Suilxr by its developers (it was the filename of the code saved on tape and loaded by the technicians before the game). As you already know, the source code didnt survive, but some game printouts did, including the one Ive called Scotts game in honor of the student who was playing. Thanks to the printout of Scotts game and Richard Wings notes, it was possible to almost entirely restore the Suilxr version, but we know that there was at least one other version. Ive studied it extensively, and unfortunately, Ive come to the conclusion that there isnt enough material to faithfully recreate it. However, its possible to imagine some of the missing parts of the game, and thats what I did. So here is the forgotten revision of the lost game: Sum9xr. This version is quite different and simpler than Suilxr. There is less text, no slides, and no questions either. The player had complete control of the inventory, being able to withdraw the oldest grain from storage year by year and replace it with the most recent harvest. The only challenge was performing mental calculations: adding and subtracting the grain withdrawn and deposited into the storage, adding it to what was harvested in the fields, and then dividing it between seed and food supply. These are simple calculations for adults, but they were designed for 10-year-old children experiencing a computer for the first time! With the restoration of Suilxr, the recovery work of The Sumerian Game is officially complete. Phases 2 and 3 where the player was given full control of the kingdom, including recruiting soldiers, sending caravans, building infrastructure, and advancing technology have been completely lost. So this is not a restoration but rather a reinvention. Maybe one day. Well see :) In addition to the update that adds Suilxr, a small bug fix and a few minor tweaks have been made. Nothing major. Suilxr is available to those who purchased the Supporter Pack DLC, but thats not all: the development and restoration document for The Sumerian Game has been enhanced with a lot more information. Its not complete yet, so it will be updated again in the future. All the material included in the development document will be part of the printed book The Sumerian Game: A Digital Resurrection, along with the collectors edition for Commodore 64, Apple II, and PC of The Sumerian Game, soon on Kickstarter.
Once again, thank you all for the support and for being part of this project. If you had fun or consider my work worthy of recognition, please leave a review and/or purchase the supporter package. The funds will be used for further research projects like this one, so I believe it will be well spent :) Thanks again, and enjoy the game!

[ 2024-08-23 13:45:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

With this update, version 1.0 of the Sumerian Game has finally been released, which includes four games in one:

• Suilxr: The Sumerian Game extracted from Scott's game listing.
• Suilxr Revised: The Sumerian Game as it was presumably played by students, with slides and questions for the player. This version is available only to owners of the DLC Supporter Pack.
• King of Sumeria: The game written in FOCAL by Douglas Dyment, based on the description given to him of the Sumerian Game (presumably the Suilxr version).
• Hamurabi: The version written in BASIC by David Ahl, based on Dyment's King of Sumeria.

For any questions, to report bugs, or anything else, contact me directly or write below. Have fun and remember to call the teacher if you run out of population ;)

[ 2024-08-04 13:35:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear players, I am very happy to announce that a new version of The Sumerian Game has just gone live. In addition to some bug fixes, there are many new features, including a complete overhaul of the graphics and game interface and the addition of a new mode that includes (drum roll) the famous slides from 1964 and the questions.
Since the mechanics of how the slides were implemented in the 1964 game and all the questions the program asked the player (one every two turns to see if they had studied and understood the lesson) are not known, I had to think long and hard about how they could be reinvented and I had to create new questions.
This version of the game available only to those who have purchased the DLC is not historically accurate, although it is based on the available data, which is unfortunately too scarce. There might actually, there certainly will be! bugs and malfunctions. Currently, only two historically accurate questions (found in Scott's game listing) have been uploaded, but many more will be added soon. For any feedback, please write on the forum even if you want to suggest questions :) I hope you appreciate the effort to recreate The Sumerian Game. Your support is essential because only you can help us reach a wider audience :) Thank you and see you soon. ps: please leave a review steamhappy

[ 2024-07-26 19:24:36 CET ] [ Original post ]