ChipWits by Doug Sharp and Mike Johnston
In March 2008 ChipWits was named one of the Top 10 Apple II/Mac Games of all time by Maclife.com Thank you, WayBackMachine, for preserving these dead pages.
“ChipWits is a program that every Mac user should have.” Byte Product of the Month (1985)
“If you have only one entertainment/educational program in the disk cabinet next to your Macintosh, ChipWits should be it.” Icon Review magazine review
“ChipWits is an excellent game, both in concept and implementation.” COMPUTE!’s Gazette review
“A fantastic program that is as educational as it is entertaining… Hands-on trial and error environment combined with attractive screens and animation create a world where playing and learning become (as they should be) one and the same.” 5-star INFO review (p.50)
“We described ChipWits as a ‘revolutionary’ game package, and we think that when you see it you will agree. However, it’s more than just a game, it’s ‘edutainment’ at its best. In our opinion, the program is so innovative that it overleaps other education and game packages in the same manner that Filevision brought new concepts to the ‘data base jungle’. We predict without hesitation that ChipWits will become a cult favorite among Macintosh users and their children of whatever age.” The extensive and egoboosting MACazine review. Also to be found on the Internet Archive, here.
Macazine dug ChipWits so much that they let Mike design a 3D ChipWits model which the magazine published on cardboard as the centerfold. We wound up seeing ChipWits models in a few geekish location.
“… so much fun you won’t even realize you’ve been educated until you leave the environment. Young or old will delight in this educational treat.” The MACazine Best of ’85 Award blurb
“IBOL is nearly perfect introduction to programming for nonprogrammers.” MacUser 5-mouse review
Our BrainPower producer was sure that the kids who shelled out for ChipWits would demand make a ChipWits song into a hit. Someday I’ll digitize the song so you can soak in its awefullness.
“ChipWits from BrainPower is the best, certainly most enjoyable, introduction to programming concepts that we’ve seen. Its icon based language is wonderfully innovative, and the program’s design is both refreshing and highly educational.” MacUser’s Editor’s Choice 1985 Award
“ChipWits is delightful and delightfully easy to use… I found ChipWits to be highly educational as well as highly entertaining… I also found ChipWits to be very challenging and even addictive on the more difficult play levels…. It’s an excellent program that teaches by osmosis…” Commodore Power/Play review
“Not too many reviews come with a guarantee, but this one guarantees that if you like programming, you’ll love ChipWits.” MacWorld review
“Once you get going with it, ChipWits becomes obsessive – something that is true of all programming. Last night my wife came downstairs at 4:30 a.m. only to witness me cursing at a cartoon robot…She just doesn’t understand.” 1985 Creative Computing review by John J. Anderson. “ChipWits: Bet You Can’t Build Just One“
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