Introduction

This is a tribute to the little black box that some years ago (not many really but it seems to be ages...) made a dream come true for many of us: to own a computer to find out.

And it is dedicated too to the genius father of that black box, a foolish English (but not too much) that, thanks to that box (and to the seven million sold all over the world), received the title of Baron by the Queen Elizabeth and has found a stable place between the big people of the history of computers.

Of course, I'm talking about the Spectrum and Sir Clive Sinclair.

Is it absurd to speak of them again today, nearly 16 years after that fatidical May 1982 which was the born date in Cambridge of that incredible jewel, equipped with a good 16 Kb of RAM, with an 8 color graphic and, listen, sold at an affordable price even for the poor mortal?

And why should it be absurd?

In a world where everything - in particular the computer related things - is rapidly burnt the Spectrum is able to keep alive the interest of many people scattered everywhere, isn't it worth to celebrate such an extraordinary event?

We think so!

And so to celebrate it properly we thought to collect the best software produced for the Spectrum in this 16 years of life in a particular sector to which, to tell the truth, Sir Clive didn't pay much attention initially but nevertheless gave a huge help to the Spectrum spreading and above all did allow to show the talent of many young programmers who are able to create sometimes true small works of art: the videogames.

It is enough to say that no "true" Spectrum, since the first rubber-keyed 16k till the last black 128k, was ever produced with an in-built joystick interface: how to forget the mythical Kempston "black box"?

You may well say that - at least, in our humble opinion - "the best of the best of the best" of the Spectrum videogames is condensed on these pages.

Enrico Maria Giordano made the selection of the games and screen$ and wrote the reviews (originally in Italian) while the undersigned carried out the printing of the booklet from which these pages are originated.

But now, no more nonsense and... good reading!

Carlo Malantrucco