Chuckie Egg

Chuckie Egg is a 1983 platform game originally written by Nigel Alderton for the ZX Spectrum, and officially ported to many other home computers. It was a bestseller, is frequently included in lists of the best games on several platforms, and is widely considered a classic.

Since the original release, authors have released hacks (some even sold commercially), unofficial ports, and remakes.

A sequel, Chuckie Egg 2, was made without the involvement of the original creator.

Interviews

• An interview with Nigel Alderton — 80sNostalgia.com, 2002 (Wayback Machine)
• Chuckie Egg — World of Spectrum forums, 2002 — Alderton's posts are under username 'spot5050'
• Creating Chuckie Egg for the ZX Spectrum — excerpt from the documentary The Rubber-Keyed Wonder, 2022
• ‘People still remember it 40 years later’: the making of Chuckie Egg — The Guardian, April 2026
• Nigel Alderton interview – the man behind ZX Spectrum classic Chuckie Egg — Metro (UK), April 2026
• High Score! Expanded: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games (3rd Edition) by Rusel DeMaria, 2018
  – includes a short blurb about Chuckie Egg and interview with Alderton
• Acorn: A World in Pixels (Memory Full Edition) by idesine, 2021
  – includes six pages on Chuckie Egg including quotes from Nigel Alderton and Doug Anderson

ZX Spectrum (1983)

The Spectrum original was written by 16-year-old Nigel Alderton, a Saturday employee of the Micro-Link computer shop in Gorton, Manchester, which was also the headquarters of A&F Software. Alderton started working on the game at home, but after showing an early version to his coworkers, A&F paid him for the right to first refusal of the finished game.

Home Computing Weekly
🇬🇧 15–21 November 1983

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Sinclair User
🇬🇧 January 1984

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BBC Micro (1983/84)

While Alderton developed the game, A&F's Doug Anderson worked in parallel on the BBC Micro port.

Home Computing Weekly
🇬🇧 3–9 April 1984

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Beebug
🇬🇧 April 1984

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Acorn User
🇬🇧 September 1984

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Dragon 32 (1983/84)

The Dragon version was developed in-house by A&F's M. Webb (Mike or Martin, according to different sources).

Home Computing Weekly
🇬🇧 28 February–5 March 1984

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Acorn Electron (1983/84)

The Electron version was adapted from the BBC Micro version by Doug Anderson.

Electron User
🇬🇧 December 1983

Announcement in December that an Electron version is coming

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Electron User
🇬🇧 March 1983

Announcement in March that an Electron version is still coming

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Electron User
🇬🇧 August 1984

Review

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Tatung Einstein (1984)

The Einstein version, like the Dragon's, is credited to M. Webb.

Practical Computing
🇬🇧 October 1984

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Ads

ZX Computing
🇬🇧 October/November 1983

Earliest print ad

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Computer and Video Games
🇬🇧 December 1983

Ads in December were for the Spectrum version only

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Computer and Video Games
🇬🇧 February 1984

By February, ads include the BBC Micro, Electron and Dragon 32

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Computer and Video Games
🇬🇧 May 1984

By May, some ads include the Commodore 64 version

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