TL;DR
Adventure 751, a long-sought variant of the original Crowther/Woods Adventure that circulated on CompuServe, has been located and is now playable. Collector LanHawk supplied the copy and Arthur O'Dwyer, who has tracked the title since 2012, announced the find as part of ongoing preservation work.
What happened
Adventure 751, a notable offshoot of the early text-adventure tradition, has resurfaced after decades off public systems. The variant circulated on CompuServe from near the service's launch and vanished when CompuServe removed its games in the 1990s. Researcher and archivist Arthur O'Dwyer, who has maintained a dedicated web page pursuing the game since 2012, revealed that a community member known as LanHawk located a copy. The item was acquired through an eBay listing that originated from CompuServe-era material; the recovered copy is reported to be playable. Promotional material associated with the release framed the experience in heroic, sword-and-sandal terms and the recovered game still contains distinctive elements such as a bird in a cage, a dwarf-like goblin, and a trident presented as a weapon. The discovery is being discussed as part of broader interest in preserving early online and mainframe-era interactive fiction.
Why it matters
- It fills a gap in the documented distribution of early interactive fiction on commercial online services.
- Recovery allows scholars and hobbyists to inspect a rare variant of the original Crowther/Woods Adventure for design and cultural details.
- The find underscores the value of community-led preservation efforts for material that vanished with defunct online services.
- Playable material from CompuServe-era offerings can help reconstruct how games were presented and marketed on early online portals.
Key facts
- Adventure 751 is a variant of the Crowther/Woods Adventure text-adventure lineage.
- The variant was commonly available on CompuServe from nearly the service's beginning.
- CompuServe removed its games offering in the 1990s, after which this version disappeared from public access.
- Archivist Arthur O'Dwyer has maintained a web page hunting for Adventure 751 since 2012.
- A collector known as LanHawk located a copy and it surfaced via an eBay listing.
- Arthur O'Dwyer announced the discovery as part of game preservation activity wrapping up 2025.
- The recovered item is reported to be playable.
- Associated promotional copy framed the game in a swords-and-sandals tone and the recovered game includes details such as a bird-in-cage, a goblin-esque dwarf, and a trident used as a weapon.
What to watch next
- Whether the recovered files or disk images will be published to an archive for public study — not confirmed in the source.
- Any technical details or walkthroughs documenting the playable state and fidelity to the CompuServe version — not confirmed in the source.
- Follow-up provenance documentation or statements from the finder and archivists about authenticity and condition — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Crowther/Woods Adventure: The original early text-based adventure game that established the interactive fiction genre; many later variants and ports were derived from it.
- Text adventure: A genre of computer games in which players read descriptions and type text commands to interact with an environment and solve puzzles.
- CompuServe: An early commercial online service that provided time-sharing accounts, forums, and games to subscribers before the consumer internet era.
- Preservation: The practice of locating, documenting, and storing software and related materials to prevent loss and enable future study or use.
Reader FAQ
What is Adventure 751?
A sought-after variant of the original Crowther/Woods Adventure that was distributed on CompuServe.
Who found the recovered copy?
A collector known as LanHawk located the copy; the discovery was announced by Arthur O'Dwyer.
Is the recovered version playable?
The announcement reports that the located copy is playable.
Will the game be made publicly available or archived?
not confirmed in the source
Renga in Blue Interactive fiction and the All the Adventures project Home About All the Adventures IFComp reviews All Recent Comments RSS Feed Adventure 751 (1980) 15 comments…
Sources
- Adventure 751 (1980)
- The Long-Lost Earliest Version of Crowther/Woods …
- Colossal Cave Adventure: open world challenge
- Colossal Cave Adventure
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