Autobots

Tell me everything a robot needs to do to get from point A to point B. Not just pass through the map—you have to find it, move it, rotate it correctly, then give it the right command. Autobots on computer in 1989 took it seriously.

It's a logic puzzle game consisting of a sequence of tasks. In each level you try to bring a robot or several robots to certain places. The robot moves according to rules you first have to understand—some move only in straight lines until hitting an obstacle, others have different limits. Maps are small, clear, without unnecessary clutter.

Playing consists of alternating clicking and experimentation. You place a command, the robot moves, at first nothing happens—then you realize you should have rotated it differently or the command sequence doesn't make sense. It used to be obsessive fun, now it plays more like a forties puzzle archive that wonders why it can't have such a simple control system. Graphics is primitive, without unnecessary animation, which has its charm—you see everything at once.

Autobots belongs to the category of games that had their time and audience but weren't nearly as influential as, say, Lemmings, which came out the year after. It aged rather than elegantly—the logic is still clear, but it lacks what endures: entertaining mechanics, wit in design, something that makes you want to look further. After a few levels you know what's happening and it's no longer interesting.

Who should play it? Collectors of rare DOS games and fans of old logic puzzles. It's not bad, but it's not something you'd stare at in amazement either. It exists in your browser, so you can watch it free and guilt-free if you don't get it.