In the first days after ZX Spectrum was born, appears a lot of arcade games with interesting theme. These games are mostly based in maze which is obviously result of some kind of Pac-Man influence (for example, "Campbell System's" Gulpman). One of that kind of video game surely is Android Pit-Rescue, written by Kevin Flynn and published by Abacus Programs in 1982.

You control the special android which must rescue 20 and more miners scattered through the pit before they were flooded. The mine are located in the planet Zarqon and are very cold and the water rapidly freezes. The miners are safe in their suits and you must pick them up one at a time and take them to the surface. You pick them up by moving on to them, to put one down press key "0". If Android takes in the water he will be destroyed. The Android is moved by the cursor keys: 5-left, 8-right, 6-down, 7-up. If you get stuck you can blast a passage up and down for 5 squares by pressing "P".

The game is interesting and hold your attention but movement of Android is not such easy. Sometimes is hard to get in passage and there is a chance to easy get in the water resulting by Android destroying. For every miners you get carry out at surface, you will get a points. In dependence of that how miners are deeply you will get more points for their rescue.

At the end, we must notice, according to "Popular Computing Weekly" (september 1982. page 23 - source: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk), that "...Android Pit-Rescue had a bug in it such that if your laser blasted the bottom of the pit, you had an out-of-range error."

P. Penski

Video file by: Retro Games Blog