Achieved at : 2026-09-06
Rank : 2
(18% worse)
Lups : t.b.d.
Approved :
No
Vote progress : 20%
| 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. |
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TGP
Bumble Bee is a maze game for the BBC Micro based on the 1981 Universal arcade game called Lady Bug. Released by Micro Power on their Program Power label in 1983, it was written by R. Barnes - the identity of the 'R' has never been confirmed, so we don't know if that person wrote any other BBC games.
By taking inspiration from Lady Bug, this game plays almost exactly the same way. You have to guide your Bumble Bee around the maze to collect all the pollen. Once this is done, the 'OUT' exit opens and you can leave to go to the next level. The maze is different to games like Pac-man because the walls are made from a type of turnstile. Pushing against these rotates them and lets you go through, so you can constantly redesign the maze. There is also a left-right tunnel that wraps around the screen, just like Pac-man. Patrolling the maze are the deadly spiders. These will move towards you and will kill you if they catch you, but they cannot turn the maze walls, so a clever bit of manoeuvring using the walls can get you away from them.
The maze is also occupied by some bonuses and perils. The bonuses come in the form of large bundles of pollen with a score inside. Collect these to gain extra points. Also a bonus is the fruit that sometimes appears in the middle of the screen, though this is the same spot that spiders spawn at, so care is needed! The additional perils are toadstools and poisoned bowls of food that are also scattered in the maze. Touching either of these will kill you. The spiders are unaffected by the toadstools, but the food is poisonous to them as well, so with a bit of luck and skill, you can kill a few with some well-timed door swinging.
This is a good version of the arcade original. It differs in a few details, but the core gameplay is well reproduced. The graphics are good, as is the sound and the playability is also generally fair, although at times I found it tricky to turn precisely. In a busy maze, that can cost you! Perhaps a few different enemy types could have improved the game, as your only moving opponents are the spiders. Still fun to play today.
This run was made on the 6th September 2026 using the Pantheon emulator on PC. The game has no selectable skill levels and the score reached was 2,660 points.
Time stamps:
00:30 High Score table.
00:32 Game start.
00:38 First pollen bundle collected for 100 bonus points.
00:50 The screen edge timer makes a full lap, and the first spider is released.
00:55 Spider eats poisoned food and dies, but I also collide with a toadstool - first life lost.
01:05 Bonus fruit eaten for the first time.
01:12 Warp tunnel used for the first time.
01:59 Level 1 complete.
02:07 Second life lost.
02:49 Third life lost. Game Over! Final score 2,660 points.
02:58 Initials entry (an interesting method!) and High Score table.
By taking inspiration from Lady Bug, this game plays almost exactly the same way. You have to guide your Bumble Bee around the maze to collect all the pollen. Once this is done, the 'OUT' exit opens and you can leave to go to the next level. The maze is different to games like Pac-man because the walls are made from a type of turnstile. Pushing against these rotates them and lets you go through, so you can constantly redesign the maze. There is also a left-right tunnel that wraps around the screen, just like Pac-man. Patrolling the maze are the deadly spiders. These will move towards you and will kill you if they catch you, but they cannot turn the maze walls, so a clever bit of manoeuvring using the walls can get you away from them.
The maze is also occupied by some bonuses and perils. The bonuses come in the form of large bundles of pollen with a score inside. Collect these to gain extra points. Also a bonus is the fruit that sometimes appears in the middle of the screen, though this is the same spot that spiders spawn at, so care is needed! The additional perils are toadstools and poisoned bowls of food that are also scattered in the maze. Touching either of these will kill you. The spiders are unaffected by the toadstools, but the food is poisonous to them as well, so with a bit of luck and skill, you can kill a few with some well-timed door swinging.
This is a good version of the arcade original. It differs in a few details, but the core gameplay is well reproduced. The graphics are good, as is the sound and the playability is also generally fair, although at times I found it tricky to turn precisely. In a busy maze, that can cost you! Perhaps a few different enemy types could have improved the game, as your only moving opponents are the spiders. Still fun to play today.
This run was made on the 6th September 2026 using the Pantheon emulator on PC. The game has no selectable skill levels and the score reached was 2,660 points.
Time stamps:
00:30 High Score table.
00:32 Game start.
00:38 First pollen bundle collected for 100 bonus points.
00:50 The screen edge timer makes a full lap, and the first spider is released.
00:55 Spider eats poisoned food and dies, but I also collide with a toadstool - first life lost.
01:05 Bonus fruit eaten for the first time.
01:12 Warp tunnel used for the first time.
01:59 Level 1 complete.
02:07 Second life lost.
02:49 Third life lost. Game Over! Final score 2,660 points.
02:58 Initials entry (an interesting method!) and High Score table.