CHUCKIE EGG (with Leaderboards). THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE ZX SPECTRUM (AND BBC MODEL B) GAME RECREATED! Choose From 3 Viewpoints. Weekly Promotion And Relegation.
BACKGROUND
More than 40 years after its original release, Chuckie Egg’s being revived as a perfectly formed recreation of the much-loved home computer game, with 3D voxel-style graphics and with Leaderboards.
ORIGINS
Chuckie Egg® is a platform game released by A&F Software in 1983 initially for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Dragon 32/64 home computers.
The game was written by Nigel Alderton, then 16 years old. After a month or two of development, Nigel took a pre-release version of his Spectrum code to the two-year-old software company A&F, co-founded by Doug Anderson and Mike Fitzgerald (the "A" and "F", respectively).
Consequently, the game inspired dedicated fan sites, such as The Chuckie Egg Professional’s Resource Kit. https://bagshot-row.org/chuckie-egg
REVIVAL AND RECREATION
The revival and the recreation of Chuckie Egg® have been inspired by factors including but not limited to:
- its enduring popularity with many of the millions who have played the various versions of the original game
- artists' ‘re-imaginings’ of their game-inspired fan art, such as that of Metin Seven and
- the widespread adoption of game enhancing technologies, such as Leaderboards.
GAMEPLAY AND OBECTIVES
As Hen House Harry, the player must collect the twelve eggs positioned in each level, before a countdown timer reaches zero. In addition, there are piles of seed which may be collected to increase points and stop the countdown timer for a while, which will otherwise be eaten by hens that patrol the level, causing them to pause. If the player touches a hen or falls through a gap in the bottom of the level, they lose a life. Each level is made of solid platforms, ladders, and occasionally lift platforms that move upwards and when they reach the top of the screen wrap around to the bottom. Hitting the top of the screen while on one of these lifts, however, will also cause the player to lose a life.
Eight levels are defined and are played initially under the watch of a giant caged duck. Upon completion of all eight the levels are played again without hens, but Harry is now pursued by the freed duck flying around the screen and homing in on him. A second completion of all eight levels yields a third play through with both hens and the duck. A fourth pass introduces additional hens. Finally, a fifth pass has the duck and additional hens moving at a greater speed. If the player completes all forty levels, then they advance to 'level 41' which is in fact exactly the same as level 33.
The player starts with five lives, and an extra life is awarded every 10,000 points.
The goals are simple:
- unlock all the levels
- achieve your best score.
GAME CONTROLS
Chuckie Egg® is playable on iOS devices, such as Apple iPhones and Apple iPads, by touch screen and with MFi peripherals and accessories.
Chuckie Egg® is playable on tvOS devices, such as Apple TVs, with MFi accessories and peripherals.
Currently supported MFi accessories and peripherals are limited to game controllers, such as Steelseries Nimbus+ and keyboards, such as the Recreated ZX Spectrum. App updates may add others.
Tip: when playing Chuckie Egg® whether by touch screen or with MFi accessories and peripherals, using the Direction input and the Jump input simultaneously (when appropriate) offers the greatest degree of control over Hen House Harry’s movement.
For example, when on a platform in the game:
- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump causes Harry to run and jump
- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump + Up or Down causes Harry to run and jump, and (if it’s in his ‘flight path’) grab and ascend / descend a ladder.
Similarly, when on a ladder in the game:
- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump causes Harry to jump off a ladder
- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump causes + Up or Down causes Harry to jump off a ladder, and (if it’s in his ‘flight path’) grab and ascend / descend an adjacent ladder.
I played this to death on my Spectrum and always wondered why it was never remade for the iPhone. Great game still. I did have issues with the virtual joystick and getting up ladders. If they fix that it would be 5 star. The sound on the ZX S48 version is good but I have vivid memories of the sound and it not sounding like it used too to me. However maybe it’s my 50 year plus old ears. If you loved the original then you will love this and if you have never played it you are missing out.
Developer Response
Thank you for your kind review and for supporting Chuckie Egg after all these years. It's wonderful to hear from players who remember the original ZX Spectrum version.We're pleased you're enjoying the game, and thank you for your helpful comments about the virtual controls. By default, the on-screen D-pad appears wherever you first touch the screen and follows your thumb while it's in contact with the display. We appreciate that the controls can take a little getting used to, and we're continuing to refine them based on player feedback.We've recently released an update adding expanded Bluetooth controller and keyboard support, together with a number of gameplay and leaderboard improvements, and we're continuing to investigate reports relating to ladder movement so that we can make the experience as faithful to the original as possible.Thank you again for taking the time to leave your review. We hope we'll be able to earn that fifth star in a future update!— Steve, Nigel and Elite's Chuckie Egg team
Much improved with new controller support
SidBoggle
This is a good recreation of a game I love and is pretty faithful to the original BBC version I played for many hours. However, now we have much improved controller support, I notice that there are certain issues e.g. level 5 and 6, you should be able to press up to grab the bottom of the hanging ladders but this does not work with controller or keyboard. Jumping up between the ladders on level 5 is quite a key move or you have to wait ages for the birds to move into the right place. Still, the update is a big improvement and I am enjoying it. The new key options are much better for playing on ipad. I would love the old R to redefine keys though!The 3D graphic options do look really nice but they are not ideal for playing this game as you do really need to see the whole level in many cases to plan your egg strategy.
Developer Response
Thank you for updating your review and for the kind words about the recent controller and keyboard improvements.We're pleased to hear that the new control options are making the game more enjoyable on iPad and that you're finding the recreation faithful to the original BBC Micro version.Thank you also for the detailed feedback regarding the hanging ladders on Levels 5 and 6 when using a controller or keyboard. We've added this to our list for investigation. Feedback from experienced Chuckie Egg players is particularly valuable because it helps us identify subtle gameplay differences from the original versions.We're also grateful for your suggestions regarding redefinable keys and for your observations about the different viewpoints. As with the original app, we're continuing to review player feedback and look for ways to improve the experience in future updates.Thanks again for your support and for taking the time to help us make Chuckie Egg even better.— Steve, Nigel and all at Elite Systems.
Childhood memories restored
Ethanace
Thank you Nigel, and the team at Elite, for still looking after this game all these years later. My parents introduced me to Chuckie Egg on a 128K ZX Spectrum in the mid 90s when I was about 5 years old. I cannot believe this game was made by Nigel as a teen, it continues to inspire me to this day!
Developer Response
Thank you so much for this lovely review. It means a great deal to Nigel and to everyone at Elite to hear that Chuckie Egg® still brings back such strong memories after all these years. We’re delighted that the new version has rekindled some of that childhood nostalgia for you, and we hope you continue to enjoy it.
Always Loved Chuckie Egg
BrewLady1
Great to see the original back, many hours spent playing in the 80s. Sadly I find the controls on this terrible, I just can’t control direction at all. Any tips welcome. The controls on the Downsideup modern versions work so much better, so I might have to be satisfied with those replicas for now.
Developer Response
Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We're delighted to hear you enjoyed Chuckie Egg in the 1980s, although we're sorry to hear the touch controls haven't yet clicked for you.A quick tip that many players find helpful is that the on-screen D-pad appears wherever you first touch the screen and follows your thumb while it remains in contact with the display. Many players also find it more comfortable to use their left thumb for the Jump button and their right thumb for movement, although you may naturally prefer the opposite arrangement.We've also recently added expanded support for Bluetooth game controllers (including Backbone) and additional Bluetooth keyboards for those who prefer physical controls.We're continuing to refine the controls based on player feedback, and comments from long-time Chuckie Egg players like yours are particularly valuable because they help us make the experience as faithful to the original as possible.Thank you again for your feedback, and we hope we'll be able to earn that fifth star in a future update.— Steve, Nigel and Elite's Chuckie Egg team.
Implemented the new Streak feature:
A player's Streak is a measure of how consistently they play Chuckie Egg. A Streak starts at zero weeks and increases by one week for each week during which a player completes a game and records a High Score in Chuckie Egg. It resets to zero if, for a whole week ending at midnight on Sunday, the player does not complete a game and record a High Score in Chuckie Egg ... UNLESS a Streak Freeze is available (see below). To extend a Streak for a given week, a player must complete a complete and game and record a High Score in Chuckie Egg before midnight (00:00/12:00 AM) on each Sunday. A player’s Streak is displayed beneath their name in the High Score table.
Implemented the new Streak Freeze feature:
A player's Streak Freeze is also a measure of how consistently they play Chuckie Egg. A Streak Freeze starts at zero. A player earns 1 Streak Freeze for every 4th consecutive week of completing a game and recording a High Score in Chuckie Egg; (maximum 3 Streak Freezes). A player loses 1 Streak Freeze for a week of not completing a game and recording a High Score in Chuckie Egg. A player loses their entire Streak for a week of not completing a game and recording a High Score in Chuckie Egg and having no Streak Freeze(s) available. Streak Freezes are redeemed automatically (the player does not choose when to use them). A player’s Streak Freeze(s) is displayed beneath their name in the High Score table.
Please let us know how you feel about the new Streak and the new Steak Freeze feature(s) by, for example, leaving a Rating and / or a Review at the App Store page listing for Chuckie Egg.
Implemented the ‘ladder climbing fix’ in the BBC version:
holding 'Fire' now allows climbing one tile higher. Holding 'Fire' no longer slows down movement on ladders (unlike the ZX version).
Implemented the ‘Level 5 fix’ in the BBC version.
Implemented the ‘egg shape fix’ in the ZX version.
Implemented the ‘jumping to a ladder above Harry fix’, (it was not working on Level 5).
Changed the font for BBC version leaderboard and adjusted the Streak display.
Implemented automatic scrolling to the player's position in the Leaderboard, (the player ‘s position in the Leaderboard was sometimes off-screen).
Version 1.3
The developer, Elite Systems Ltd, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
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Accessibility
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Information
Provider
Elite Systems Ltd
Size
220 MB
Category
Action
Compatibility
Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
