Ludography
84/100
Players10 ratings
80/100
Critics1 review
Chuckie Egg cover

1983 · A&F Software · Arcade · Platformer

Chuckie Egg

Chuckie Egg is an action platformer featuring a turn-based multiplayer mode. 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. The player starts with five lives, and an extra life is awarded every 10,000 points.

Released
1983
Platforms
Acorn ElectronAmigaAmstrad CPCAtari 8-bitAtari STAtari ST/STEBBC Microcomputer SystemCommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXDragon 32/64MS-DOSMSXTatung EinsteinZX Spectrum
Genres
ArcadePlatformer
Developers
A&F SoftwareAackosoft
Publishers
A&F Software
Series
Chuckie Egg
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Action
Country
United KingdomNetherlands
Languages
English
Entry
#1 in Chuckie Egg

About

Chuckie Egg is a platform game released by A&F Software in 1983 initially for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Dragon 32/64. It was ported to the Commodore 64, Acorn Electron, MSX, Tatung Einstein, Amstrad CPC and Atari 8-bit computers. It was later updated for the Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC compatibles.

The game was written by Nigel Alderton, then 16 or 17 years old, inspired by arcade games including Space Panic. 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). Doug took on the simultaneous development of the BBC Micro version, whilst Mike Webb, an A&F employee, completed the Dragon port.

›Story

Eight levels are defined and are played initially under the watch of a giant caged duck.

Keywords

  • chicken
  • countdown timer
  • moving platforms

Media

Chuckie Egg screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

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, but 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.

Development

Purple and green were chosen as the primary colours for the levels in a similar way to Space Panic. The publisher named the game Chuckie Egg, and the player character Hen-House Harry.

Reception

The original ZX Spectrum release peaked at number 12 in the multiple formats chart in late 1983. The following year the BBC version reached the top of the BBC charts for one week.

The Telegraph named the game one of the "best video game platformers ever", deeming that it had been a "revelation" when released, though it noted that the game would appear dated to a modern player. Ollie Toms of Rock, Paper, Shotgun praised the games' portrayal of the antagonist caged duck, finding that the progression of the game allowed for the player to characterise her effectively. The A-Z of Atari 8-bit Games gave the game a score of 7/10, praising its graphics while criticising its sound effects, and finding that the game had a "certain charm".

Legacy

Chuckie Egg was followed up in 1985 with a sequel entitled Chuckie Egg 2.

In 2017, a remake titled Super Chuckie Egg was released for mobile devices.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
BBC Microcomputer System31 December 1983Europe
Dragon 32/6431 December 1983Europe
ZX Spectrum31 December 1983Europe
Acorn Electron31 December 1984Europe
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1984Europe
MSX31 December 1984Europe
Amstrad CPC31 December 1985Europe
Atari 8-bit31 December 1985Europe
Tatung Einstein31 December 1985Europe
Amiga31 December 1988Europe
Atari ST/STE31 December 1988Europe
MS-DOS31 December 1989Europe

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Collections5 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.