Friday, January 13, 2012

Fooblitzky by Infocom

Facing severe problems with selling interactive fiction to the widening gaming masses, Infocom made the fatal mistake of not soldiering on and succumbing to the supposed market pressures of graphics. Hence the failed but interesting and nowadays rare Fooblitzky. It was lavishly boxed board/strategy game for 2-4 players, that used the computer as a cross between a referee and a rather impressive accessory. The game as you most probably know flopped, meaning it usually costs quite a bit to grab in our day and age.

You can still try your luck on this Fooblitzky (Atari XL/XE) auction and hope for a decent price. The game comes in its complete (lavish too) box, including everything from the original disk and manuals to boards and markers. Everything seems to be in fantastic condition. Seller ships to N. & S. America and Europe.


Posted by gnome at 1/13/2012

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21 comments:

  1. MadPlanetJanuary 13, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    graphics - bah! The downfall of civilized computer gameplay! Back in my day I walked 5 miles in the snow uphill to play a game with nothing more than words - and I was thankful to have it! :)

    Interesting find - never even heard of this piece. Although I could have guessed its origin from the wacky name.

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  2. gnomeJanuary 13, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    I share the sentiment :) Books do fine without graphics after all...

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  3. Harbour MasterJanuary 13, 2012 at 10:55 PM

    I remember when this came out. There were big concerns in our household that this was the end of Infocom.

    Yep. We were right.

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  4. gnomeJanuary 14, 2012 at 7:54 AM

    Sadly, yes... Well, at least Zenobi is still around :)

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  5. UnknownAugust 9, 2012 at 1:56 PM

    I have Fooblitzky for the Atari 800 and I'm interested in selling it. Near mint condition. I see it went for about $120 on Ebay 6 months ago but now zero sellers for Fooblitzky on Ebay, as far as I can tell.

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  6. UnknownAugust 9, 2012 at 5:08 PM

    I currently have it listed on Amazon.com for $77.

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  7. gnomeAugust 9, 2012 at 5:14 PM

    I'm on to it :)

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  8. UnknownAugust 9, 2012 at 5:23 PM

    Thanks. Hopefully, you are located in the U.S. I had both a Japanese and German buyer and neither could purchase it because Amazon doesn't allow non-professional sellers to sell "toys and games" overseas. So I could take it to Ebay or sell it on Amazon to an American buyer.

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  9. gnomeAugust 9, 2012 at 5:50 PM

    Was actually meaning to blog it :) Just post a link when the auction is live please!

    Cheers!

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  10. UnknownAugust 9, 2012 at 5:55 PM

    Ebay has auctions. Amazon is just first come first served at $77. I suppose I would make more money at Ebay, but I prefer Amazon because it's more straight forward. Here is the Amazon link:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0042LCL6E/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

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  11. UnknownAugust 9, 2012 at 5:56 PM

    Or, if you're not interested in it, but think some of your friends are, I guess I would be willing to put it on Ebay. I did sell something on Ebay once before.

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  12. gnomeAugust 9, 2012 at 6:00 PM

    Nah, that's ok. I'll just link to Amazon.

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  13. UnknownAugust 10, 2012 at 1:24 PM

    I decided to switch to Ebay so that foreign buyers could purchase it, if they wish. I have the starting bid at $77.00

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  14. gnomeAugust 10, 2012 at 1:25 PM

    Excellent, care to share the URL please?

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  15. UnknownAugust 10, 2012 at 4:08 PM

    Here it is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120966187711&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

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  16. UnknownAugust 11, 2012 at 1:52 PM

    I don't know if there is any interest in this, but I also listed a less pristine copy of The Witness (Atari) on Amazon along with some of my copies of the New Zork Times, one of which contained a promotional poster for Fooblitzky in 1985.

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    Replies
    1. gnomeAugust 12, 2012 at 7:47 AM

      Feel free to post the here or mail them over using the Contact Us link on the sidebar.

      Delete
  17. UnknownAugust 17, 2012 at 4:04 PM

    Amazingly, Fooblitzky sold to a Japanese buyer for $148.50, just a couple dollars above a potential English buyer. A German potential buyer was also bidding. Suprisingly, no American bidders.

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    Replies
    1. gnomeAugust 17, 2012 at 4:07 PM

      Interesting! Thanks for the info :) Oh, and congrats too.

      Delete
  18. UnknownNovember 29, 2012 at 2:34 PM

    I've decided to put more of my retro Atari materials on Amazon. Decision in the Desert by the famous Sid Meier, Field of Fire, and some newsletters and magazines that apparently Ebay people think is worth something (Activisions Update, etc.). Amazingly, a gentleman on Amazon has the Atari Conversational Spanish for sale for $80 without the manual so I put my very good copy (with 27-page manual) at a slightly higher price. Frankly, I don't know what this paraphenalia is worth--I put old Infocom envelopes for sale on Amazon and they sold for relatively high prices so perhaps I should also put SubLogic newsletters on Amazon as well. It's hard to know what people want...

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