MANIC MINER

“It was like a dream come true to work on Manic Miner” AMSTRAD CODER STEVE WETHERILL

First published in 1983, Matthew Smith’s Manic Miner was a smashhit sensation. Devised within eight weeks by this precocious teenager in his bedroom, the talented coder would soon also assume a mythical status among Spectrum owners. The legend of both Matthew Smith and Miner Willy begins here.

And it starts with a story as odd as some of its graphics. While prospecting for treasure in the wilds of Surbiton, Willy discovers an ancient mineshaft. Unable to resist the urge to explore, the valiant miner is soon delving deep into these strange caves, inhabited by the automatons left over from a superior civilisation, lost in time. With their masters destroyed by war, these robots continue to mine valuable minerals. Struck by the beautiful