Achieved at : 2026-05-31
Rank : 1
(world record)
Lups : 200
Approved :
Yes
Voting completed : 2026-06-02
| General Rules: |
Play with default settings unless otherwise specified. No use of trainers, cheats, saved game files, auto-fire (when not default present in-game), emulator save states, or other emulator advantages. No use of code modifications that give the player an advantage over other players. 1 player only. No continues. It is discouraged and may lead to voters not accepting your score to - excessively point farm - use glitches or other game exploits |
| Specific Rules: |
Play the game in 1 player mode with default settings. Use the 'NormalPC' version, not the 'FastPC' version. Start at Level 01 (Password: COBWEB). The game is also known as 'Castle Black Heart'. |
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TGP
Castle Blackstar is an arcade game by James Watson for the Acorn Archimedes family of computers. It is a homebrew game, released in 1991.
Castle Blackheart is a game similar to classics such as Gauntlet, Dandy, Castle Wolfenstein and Cavelon. You control a knight who has entered Castle Blackheart on a quest. You have to find all the keys to open the way to the next level. Along the way you can collect treasures and find sections of a scroll. The inhabitants of the castle rush around, seeming to follow a predetermined path. Contact with them will reduce your health, and if that reaches zero, it is game over. You can destroy them with an endless supply of throwing daggers. Later levels add different monsters that take more hits to destroy. Like Gauntlet, the enemies are spawned from generators (trapdoors in this game) and these cannot be destroyed. Be careful with your keys. It is very tempting to open chests with them, but doing so may leave you unable to open doors leading to the exit. I found it was best to ignore the locked chests.
Graphically and sonically the game is fairly simple - this style of game does not lend itself to much in the way of flair in these regards. The gameplay is also a bit repetitive, but at the same time can be very compulsive. Finding your way through the maze to find the keys and scroll so you can see what awaits you on the next level has a certain drive associated with it to push on and get further. I enjoyed trying this game out and in 1991 this would have been a popular choice for Archimedes players.
This run was made on the 31st May 2026 using the Arculator emulator on PC as an A3010. You can start the game at any level if you know the password, but this game was started at the beginning - Level 01. The final score was 27,520 points.
Time stamps:
00:30 Title screen.
00:35 Game starts. The stairs down in the middle of the screen are your ultimate goal and there are four locked doors between you and it - you'll need to find at least four keys.
06:24 The furthest screen on this level. Notice the section of scroll just beyond the key.
06:28 First section of scroll collected - now to trek all the way back to the entrance.
09:15 Level 01 completed.
09:40 This level features ghosts, which look exactly like the ones in Gauntlet.
12:02 The exit to the level is here, but I need more keys first and to find the scroll piece.
13:14 Scroll piece is here at the bottom right.
13:25 Second piece of the scroll collected.
14:31 Level 02 completed.
17:08 Third piece of the scroll collected.
19:45 Out of energy - if I had gone down instead of up, I would have found all that food and survived a little longer. Game Over! Final score 27,520 points.
19:47 Initials entry and High Score Table.
Castle Blackheart is a game similar to classics such as Gauntlet, Dandy, Castle Wolfenstein and Cavelon. You control a knight who has entered Castle Blackheart on a quest. You have to find all the keys to open the way to the next level. Along the way you can collect treasures and find sections of a scroll. The inhabitants of the castle rush around, seeming to follow a predetermined path. Contact with them will reduce your health, and if that reaches zero, it is game over. You can destroy them with an endless supply of throwing daggers. Later levels add different monsters that take more hits to destroy. Like Gauntlet, the enemies are spawned from generators (trapdoors in this game) and these cannot be destroyed. Be careful with your keys. It is very tempting to open chests with them, but doing so may leave you unable to open doors leading to the exit. I found it was best to ignore the locked chests.
Graphically and sonically the game is fairly simple - this style of game does not lend itself to much in the way of flair in these regards. The gameplay is also a bit repetitive, but at the same time can be very compulsive. Finding your way through the maze to find the keys and scroll so you can see what awaits you on the next level has a certain drive associated with it to push on and get further. I enjoyed trying this game out and in 1991 this would have been a popular choice for Archimedes players.
This run was made on the 31st May 2026 using the Arculator emulator on PC as an A3010. You can start the game at any level if you know the password, but this game was started at the beginning - Level 01. The final score was 27,520 points.
Time stamps:
00:30 Title screen.
00:35 Game starts. The stairs down in the middle of the screen are your ultimate goal and there are four locked doors between you and it - you'll need to find at least four keys.
06:24 The furthest screen on this level. Notice the section of scroll just beyond the key.
06:28 First section of scroll collected - now to trek all the way back to the entrance.
09:15 Level 01 completed.
09:40 This level features ghosts, which look exactly like the ones in Gauntlet.
12:02 The exit to the level is here, but I need more keys first and to find the scroll piece.
13:14 Scroll piece is here at the bottom right.
13:25 Second piece of the scroll collected.
14:31 Level 02 completed.
17:08 Third piece of the scroll collected.
19:45 Out of energy - if I had gone down instead of up, I would have found all that food and survived a little longer. Game Over! Final score 27,520 points.
19:47 Initials entry and High Score Table.