Challenge of the Ancient Empires is an educational video game that was released by The Learning Company in 1991. The game’s purpose, besides to entertain, is to teach history and problem solving. To complete the game you must make your way through twenty caverns, in which you must recover artifacts.
In order to reach the final cavern, you must first go through four caverns, with each cavern representing a different culture, or set of cultures. The cultures are: Near East, Egypt, Greece/Rome, and India/China. The caverns’ atmospheres are related to the culture/s each represents.
Challenge of the Ancient Empires is an educational video game that was released by The Learning Company in 1991. The game’s purpose, besides to entertain, is to teach history and problem solving. To complete the game you must make your way through twenty caverns, in which you must recover artifacts.
In order to reach the final cavern, you must first go through four caverns, with each cavern representing a different culture, or set of cultures. The cultures are: Near East, Egypt, Greece/Rome, and India/China. The caverns’ atmospheres are related to the culture/s each represents. Each cavern is broken down into four chambers (levels). The artifacts you need to collect are actual historical items, like a vase, mask, or statue; or even structures such as the Greek
Parthenon, the Roman Coliseum, or a Chinese pagoda.
You can begin the game in any cavern. As you go through each level you need collect six pieces of an artifact. Then once you put them together like a puzzle, some information about the artifact will be displayed on the screen. Also, a door to another chamber will appear. To enter the next chamber you must complete a logic problem.
But gathering artifacts isn’t all you have to do. Each cavern has a different type of puzzle you must complete: conveyor belts, coded panels, sliding panels, and reflecting triangles. Three kinds of switches control the obstacle: head switches (you must jump up to hit them), foot switches (walk over them), and light switches (you will use a miner’s hat to operate them).
You have three tools to help you along. There is a light beam from a miner's hat, turbo sneakers that let you jump higher and farther, and a force field that protects you against cave creatures. If you are touched by one of the cave creatures, or are hit by something they throw, you will lose one segment of health. Your health bar consists of four segments. When all four segments are gone, you must play the chamber over again. You are able to restore your health be picking up apples or solve a logic puzzle on the first attempt.
When you complete all four caverns, a fifth cavern is revealed. This “Ancient World” cavern is composed of four chambers, each representing a culture. This cavern is more difficult than the others, and all four puzzle types are found. When that cavern is completed, you have won the game.
This game appeal is too many as it is educational and adventurous. If you like a mental challenge while gaining some knowledge, Challenge of the Ancient Empires should prove to be a worth downloading.
