Joachim Froholt
@jfroholt.bsky.social
Hi! I write about games, and try to make them as well.
Games: https://joachim.itch.io/
Writings: https://spillhistorie.no/ (English: https://spillhistorie.no/content-in-english/ )
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/joachimfroholt
I support 🇺🇦
Games: https://joachim.itch.io/
Writings: https://spillhistorie.no/ (English: https://spillhistorie.no/content-in-english/ )
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/joachimfroholt
I support 🇺🇦
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
Spotlight Golf contained very state-of-the-art technology for its time, which enabled it to create a unique gameplay experience.
According to the Australasian Golf Museum, this tech qualifies it as the "first computer game" and maybe the first electronic computer.
Let's investigate this.
According to the Australasian Golf Museum, this tech qualifies it as the "first computer game" and maybe the first electronic computer.
Let's investigate this.
November 14, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Spotlight Golf contained very state-of-the-art technology for its time, which enabled it to create a unique gameplay experience.
According to the Australasian Golf Museum, this tech qualifies it as the "first computer game" and maybe the first electronic computer.
Let's investigate this.
According to the Australasian Golf Museum, this tech qualifies it as the "first computer game" and maybe the first electronic computer.
Let's investigate this.
Might have to do some console gaming for a change.
November 9, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Might have to do some console gaming for a change.
Getting somewhere. This game is such a lot of fun. Yes, the tables are old-fashioned, but so nice to play.
November 8, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Getting somewhere. This game is such a lot of fun. Yes, the tables are old-fashioned, but so nice to play.
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
Recently, on the Norwegian videogame site spillhistorie.no, two new discoveries were posted, games that were previously lost. I've written about one already; the other discovery was of a very early Tolkien game, and the first original adventure we have in Norwegian.
bluerenga.blog/2025/11/05/r...
bluerenga.blog/2025/11/05/r...
Ringen: Return of the
Æons ago, in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, I wrote about the Norwegian game Ringen, based on Lord of the Rings. I only knew about it from a vague reference in a list of Tolkien games which gave th…
bluerenga.blog
November 6, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Recently, on the Norwegian videogame site spillhistorie.no, two new discoveries were posted, games that were previously lost. I've written about one already; the other discovery was of a very early Tolkien game, and the first original adventure we have in Norwegian.
bluerenga.blog/2025/11/05/r...
bluerenga.blog/2025/11/05/r...
Fun little article about the PLATO RPGs, and neat that they used my video from dnd. I didn't play very well, but it's not a super easy game either. :)
50 years ago, one of the most important video game genres was born https://kotaku.com/50-years-ago-one-of-the-most-important-video-game-genres-was-born-2000641056
50 Years Ago, Role-Playing Video Games Were Born
1975 saw the first burst of D&D-inspired games appearing on university mainframes
kotaku.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Fun little article about the PLATO RPGs, and neat that they used my video from dnd. I didn't play very well, but it's not a super easy game either. :)
Ding! Everyone in my Pool of Radiance party are level 2, and I'm finally beginning to get the hang of the insane currency system.
I really love the music that plays when you make camp (playing the Amiga version, obvs).
I really love the music that plays when you make camp (playing the Amiga version, obvs).
Amiga music: Pool Of Radiance (intro)
YouTube video by Kuokka77
www.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Ding! Everyone in my Pool of Radiance party are level 2, and I'm finally beginning to get the hang of the insane currency system.
I really love the music that plays when you make camp (playing the Amiga version, obvs).
I really love the music that plays when you make camp (playing the Amiga version, obvs).
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
BTW those protests were deliberately stoked by the publisher.
BUT the game also caused a very real diplomatic crisis in #Finland.
THAT is what #finlandization was in practice.
A thread, to help understand why most Finns are critical of oblivious foreigners pushing the same for, say, #Ukraine.
BUT the game also caused a very real diplomatic crisis in #Finland.
THAT is what #finlandization was in practice.
A thread, to help understand why most Finns are critical of oblivious foreigners pushing the same for, say, #Ukraine.
Raid Over Moscow (Access/U.S. Gold, 1984, C64/Spectrum)
#2 for one week in March 1985
Follow-up to Beach-Head. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament protested against its insensitivity.
#2 for one week in March 1985
Follow-up to Beach-Head. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament protested against its insensitivity.
November 3, 2025 at 10:43 AM
BTW those protests were deliberately stoked by the publisher.
BUT the game also caused a very real diplomatic crisis in #Finland.
THAT is what #finlandization was in practice.
A thread, to help understand why most Finns are critical of oblivious foreigners pushing the same for, say, #Ukraine.
BUT the game also caused a very real diplomatic crisis in #Finland.
THAT is what #finlandization was in practice.
A thread, to help understand why most Finns are critical of oblivious foreigners pushing the same for, say, #Ukraine.
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
From the PET to the VIC-20 and C64, Commodore evolved from business machines to home computing powerhouses. Smart marketing, the SID chip, and low prices made the C64 a billion-dollar success of the 8-bit era.
▶ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNzn...
#Commodore #PET #VIC20 #C64 #RetroComputing
▶ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNzn...
#Commodore #PET #VIC20 #C64 #RetroComputing
TCW 245 - The History of Commodore Pt 2
YouTube video by They Create Worlds Podcast
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 8:12 PM
From the PET to the VIC-20 and C64, Commodore evolved from business machines to home computing powerhouses. Smart marketing, the SID chip, and low prices made the C64 a billion-dollar success of the 8-bit era.
▶ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNzn...
#Commodore #PET #VIC20 #C64 #RetroComputing
▶ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNzn...
#Commodore #PET #VIC20 #C64 #RetroComputing
So much great retrogaming stuff happening locally. Grizzly Games just opened at Sørlandssenteret, they even have some Amiga games. I bought Police Quest 3.
November 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
So much great retrogaming stuff happening locally. Grizzly Games just opened at Sørlandssenteret, they even have some Amiga games. I bought Police Quest 3.
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
This 1981 Commodore PET 8096-SK displayed at the massive retro computer exhibit at Spillmesse 2025 is so damn cool looking!
We need to bring back this kind of product design and wood textures for our hardware! 🕹️❤️
#commodore #pet #commodorePET #retrogames
We need to bring back this kind of product design and wood textures for our hardware! 🕹️❤️
#commodore #pet #commodorePET #retrogames
October 30, 2025 at 11:44 PM
This 1981 Commodore PET 8096-SK displayed at the massive retro computer exhibit at Spillmesse 2025 is so damn cool looking!
We need to bring back this kind of product design and wood textures for our hardware! 🕹️❤️
#commodore #pet #commodorePET #retrogames
We need to bring back this kind of product design and wood textures for our hardware! 🕹️❤️
#commodore #pet #commodorePET #retrogames
I wrote about Spillmesse 2025, which was a great experience. Highlights included a complete collection of Commodore machines (including all the Amigas). Talked with @badgerpunch.com among others for the article. It is in Norwegian.
Spillmesse 2025 var en helt glimrende opplevelse. Vi har snakket med arrangører og utstillere, og her er vår store rapport fra messen:
Stappfull spillmesse i Kristiansand - Spillhistorie.no
Arrangøren lovet «over 60» spillbare maskiner – endte opp med over 130.
spillhistorie.no
October 30, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I wrote about Spillmesse 2025, which was a great experience. Highlights included a complete collection of Commodore machines (including all the Amigas). Talked with @badgerpunch.com among others for the article. It is in Norwegian.
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
1982 was very early for Japanese adventure games, with only a small number of releases. Takara Building Adventure thus is one of the earliest adventure games in Japanese, but it was not generally available...
...until today.
Includes some unexpected history!
bluerenga.blog/2025/10/29/t...
...until today.
Includes some unexpected history!
bluerenga.blog/2025/10/29/t...
Takara Building Adventure Part 1 (1982)
The last time I wrote about a Japanese game was with The Palms, where I mentioned skipping over two games from 1982 because there were no copies available. This was one of them. Brief history recap…
bluerenga.blog
October 30, 2025 at 1:59 AM
1982 was very early for Japanese adventure games, with only a small number of releases. Takara Building Adventure thus is one of the earliest adventure games in Japanese, but it was not generally available...
...until today.
Includes some unexpected history!
bluerenga.blog/2025/10/29/t...
...until today.
Includes some unexpected history!
bluerenga.blog/2025/10/29/t...
And now, beer festival at the fortress.
October 25, 2025 at 2:43 PM
And now, beer festival at the fortress.
Some photos from Spillmesse 2025 in Kristiansand. Including @badgerpunch.com , a lovely PET, a terminal from Norsk Data and ... a crowd of people! Great fun.
October 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Some photos from Spillmesse 2025 in Kristiansand. Including @badgerpunch.com , a lovely PET, a terminal from Norsk Data and ... a crowd of people! Great fun.
Was helping a friend set up her stand at Spillmesse in Kristiansand before opening. Heading back there now.
October 25, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Was helping a friend set up her stand at Spillmesse in Kristiansand before opening. Heading back there now.
We just published an interview with Frank Gasking from @gamesthatwerent.com about their preservation efforts. Interview by @retrogamingpappa.bsky.social .
Games that Weren't are doing a lot of really valuable work preserving video game history.
Games that Weren't are doing a lot of really valuable work preserving video game history.
Frank Gasking on preserving "lost" games - Spillhistorie.no
We spoke with the man behind Games That Weren't.
spillhistorie.no
October 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
We just published an interview with Frank Gasking from @gamesthatwerent.com about their preservation efforts. Interview by @retrogamingpappa.bsky.social .
Games that Weren't are doing a lot of really valuable work preserving video game history.
Games that Weren't are doing a lot of really valuable work preserving video game history.
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
ASCII art + permadeath: The history of roguelike games -- a perfect Saturday read from 2020.
➡️ arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/...
➡️ arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/...
October 18, 2025 at 9:21 AM
ASCII art + permadeath: The history of roguelike games -- a perfect Saturday read from 2020.
➡️ arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/...
➡️ arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/...
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
Fellow preservationist Robert Robichaud got in touch to share that he was recently involved in a game preservation project regarding Norway's first adventure games. A great article worth checking out:
spillhistorie.no/2025/09/11/n...
spillhistorie.no/2025/09/11/n...
Norway's first adventure games, part 2 - Spillhistorie.no
For years, Ringen was considered lost and not much was known about it. Here's the full story of the game, and how it was saved.
spillhistorie.no
October 10, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Fellow preservationist Robert Robichaud got in touch to share that he was recently involved in a game preservation project regarding Norway's first adventure games. A great article worth checking out:
spillhistorie.no/2025/09/11/n...
spillhistorie.no/2025/09/11/n...
If you're an Amiga veteran, you've probably used X-Copy at some point (it's okay, we all did it).
We just published a cool interview with Cachet veteran (and current KryoFlux developer) Christian Bartsch, about X-Copy and some of the weird stuff that happened at X-Copy publisher Cachet.
We just published a cool interview with Cachet veteran (and current KryoFlux developer) Christian Bartsch, about X-Copy and some of the weird stuff that happened at X-Copy publisher Cachet.
The story of X-Copy on the Amiga - Spillhistorie.no
The most popular Amiga program ever? We've spoken with Christian Bartsch who worked X-Copy publisher Cachet.
spillhistorie.no
October 10, 2025 at 1:35 PM
If you're an Amiga veteran, you've probably used X-Copy at some point (it's okay, we all did it).
We just published a cool interview with Cachet veteran (and current KryoFlux developer) Christian Bartsch, about X-Copy and some of the weird stuff that happened at X-Copy publisher Cachet.
We just published a cool interview with Cachet veteran (and current KryoFlux developer) Christian Bartsch, about X-Copy and some of the weird stuff that happened at X-Copy publisher Cachet.
I reviewed Strange Antiquities from @badvikinggames.bsky.social and @iceberg-int.bsky.social . Review is in Norwegian, but TLDR; I had a very good time with the game. Lots of clever puzzles that made me feel smart for solving them.
Strange Antiquities er det perfekte spillet for dere som liker å trimme hjernen med detektivaktige puslenøtter.
Inntrykk: Strange Antiquities - Spillhistorie.no
Mystiske puslenøtter fryder hjernen i dette herlige spillet.
spillhistorie.no
October 7, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I reviewed Strange Antiquities from @badvikinggames.bsky.social and @iceberg-int.bsky.social . Review is in Norwegian, but TLDR; I had a very good time with the game. Lots of clever puzzles that made me feel smart for solving them.
I've been watching Kurt J Mac walking towards the Far Lands in Minecraft almost since the beginning (originally followed him because of his Spintires videos). And tonight he is going to get there! Only took 14 years. www.twitch.tv/kurtjmac
October 4, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I've been watching Kurt J Mac walking towards the Far Lands in Minecraft almost since the beginning (originally followed him because of his Spintires videos). And tonight he is going to get there! Only took 14 years. www.twitch.tv/kurtjmac
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
A huge surprise today, with a preview recovery of the unreleased The Blues Brothers: Jukebox Adventure on #Amiga. Dlfrsilver got in touch with Games That Weren't to share his recovery of this long lost game, and its hoped more can be found! Check it out at:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/10/the-...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/10/the-...
October 4, 2025 at 11:45 AM
A huge surprise today, with a preview recovery of the unreleased The Blues Brothers: Jukebox Adventure on #Amiga. Dlfrsilver got in touch with Games That Weren't to share his recovery of this long lost game, and its hoped more can be found! Check it out at:
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/10/the-...
www.gamesthatwerent.com/2025/10/the-...
I've been playing Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon lately. It's really good. Obviously low budget compared to the better known RPGs released this year, but the writing and acting is surprisingly great, and if you can deal with some Elder Scrolls style jank, you'll probably like it a lot.
Save 20% on Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon on Steam
Step into a dark reimagination of Arthurian legends in this first person, open world RPG. Explore a world stuck in everlasting autumn, witness falling legends and make meaningful choices woven into a ...
store.steampowered.com
October 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I've been playing Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon lately. It's really good. Obviously low budget compared to the better known RPGs released this year, but the writing and acting is surprisingly great, and if you can deal with some Elder Scrolls style jank, you'll probably like it a lot.
Reposted by Joachim Froholt
It's worth reading this and some of the quotes people have made, to make an informed decision about supporting the SNES RPGs book.
Let's hope the book doesn't have a section on Brazil or "third world countries"
October 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM
It's worth reading this and some of the quotes people have made, to make an informed decision about supporting the SNES RPGs book.