# Android Nim

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Android_Nim
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Android_Nim.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Nim
> Source revision: 1320018922
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|1978 video game}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}

{{Infobox video game
| title = Android Nim
| image = Android Nim (Cover).jpg
| programmer = Leo Christopherson (TRS)<br>Don Dennis (PET)
| publisher = 80-NW Publishing
| released = '''1978:''' TRS-80<br>'''July 1979:''' PET<br>'''1980:''' Apple II
| genre = Strategy
| modes = [Single-player](/source/Single-player_video_game)
| platforms = [Apple II](/source/Apple_II), [PET](/source/Commodore_PET), [TRS-80](/source/TRS-80)
| caption = 
| alt = Intro screen of the PET version of Android Nim
}}

'''''Android Nim''''' is a computerized version of the strategy game [Nim](/source/Nim) programmed by Leo Christopherson for the [TRS-80](/source/TRS-80) and published in 1978 by 80-NW Publishing. A port to the [Commodore PET](/source/Commodore_PET) by Don Dennis was released in July 1979, followed by an [Apple II](/source/Apple_II) version in 1980.

''Android Nim'' is played versus the computer. The stones or other objects of traditional Nim are replaced by androids; their animation was considered impressive in 1978.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Crawford|first1=Chris|title=A Grain of Sand, A Gust of Wind|journal=The Journal of Computer Game Design|volume=5|url=http://www.erasmatazz.com/library/the-journal-of-computer/jcgd-volume-5/a-grain-of-sand-a-gust-of.html}}</ref>

==Gameplay==
The object of the game is to remove the last [android](/source/android_(robot)) from three rows of androids. The game's premise is simple, but its animation is impressive given the limitations of the TRS-80's display. Throughout the game androids are animated to face different directions, as if bored or engaging in conversation with one another.
{{thumb|content=200px|align=left|caption=Intro screen}}
The game starts with three rows of androids which contain 7, 5, and 3 androids respectively. An [animated](/source/animation) android asks the player if they would like to go first. The player chooses a row and types in how many droids to remove. An animated droid at the head of the row then nods its head and raises a gun and the other androids turn to look at the selected row. The specified number of androids are then zapped with a [laser](/source/laser) beam. It is then the computer's turn—with similar effect—and play continues until the last android is removed.

If the human wins, the computer is an amusingly poor sport and displays astonishment; if it wins, the computer displays a huge "I WIN!". If the computer is about to lose, it pretends to seek futile ways to avoid losing (i.e., by selecting more androids than are available in a given row) before giving up.
{{clear}}

==Reception==
The game was reviewed in ''[The Dragon](/source/Dragon_(magazine))'' #44 by Mark Herro. Herro stated, "if you want a good 'demo' program or just a little light entertainment — I think you could do worse than to try out this game. I like ''Android Nim''."<ref name="Dragon44">{{cite journal
|title=The Electric Eye
|author=Herro, Mark
|journal=The Dragon
|issue=44
|date=December 1980
|pages=86–87}}</ref>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osPYppC33OI PET gameplay video] at [YouTube](/source/YouTube)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071214214026/http://www.leochristopherson.com/android_nim.htm Windows version] by Leo Christopherson

Category:1978 video games
Category:Apple II games
Category:Commodore PET games
Category:Public-domain software with source code
Category:Single-player video games
Category:SoftSide games
Category:TRS-80 games
Category:Video games developed in the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Android Nim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Nim) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Nim?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.