Apple II

"The most personal computer."
The Apple II (also referred as "Apple ][", with brackets) is a series of computers produced by Apple from 1977 to 1993. Unlike the Apple I, which was just a limited circuit board on a wooden box made for hobbyists, the Apple II was a full-blown computer made for both personal and business use. While not immediately successful due to its high price, it ended up being the longest-lived and most popular system of the "1977 trinity" - the first commercially successful personal computers, which also included the TRS-80 and the Commodore PET.
Due to its popularity and longevity, the Apple II received a lot of business and educational software, many of which are still used today or served as inspiration for the more modern software (such as the popular Lotus123 spreadsheet program, which is more or less the base for Microsoft's Office Excel). Of course, it also received a lot of games, being the birthplace of the holy triad of Western RPG series (Ultima, Wizardry and Might & Magic), as well as the very first Prince of Persia.
If you're going for real hardware, look into the IIGS, which introduced modern Mac-like features like a mouse-driven graphical interface, and is required for the most technically demanding games.
==The list==
Box Art	Title 	Genre 	Description
 	Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH(GS)	Paddle 	Excellent conversion of the classic paddle game from the Arcades.
 	Out Of This World 	Action-adventure	An accident with a particle accelerator teleports a scientist to an alien world where everything is deadly. Essentially the same as the many other ports of this game, which is excellent and seriously challenging.
 	Prince of Persia 	Action-adventure	The Vizier kidnapped the princess and tossed you into the dungeon, now you must race against the clock to escape and stop the Vizier's plans. This is the original version of the game and still very much playable.
 	Thexder(GS) 	Platformer 	A transforming robot/jet must destroy hordes of enemy robots because of reasons. Using your laser actually depletes your own life, but killing your enemies refills it. A very widely ported game at the time; the regular II version is painfully simplified, but the GS-specific port looks pretty good and its music is particularly nice thanks to the machine's Ensoniq sound chip.
 	Wolfenstein 3D 	FPS 	Now hold on a second, how the hell did they get a cutting edge 1992 game to run acceptably on 1986 hardware? This is, hands down, one of the most impressive games on the II. Get it here. The tale of its development is also quite interesting, read it here.
 	The Fool's Errand 	Puzzle 	
One of the very few Apple II games that would hold up just as well if it was released today in its current state. 
Features top-notch writing and puzzles based on wordplay, anagrams and cryptic rules you have out figure out on your own. Really hard, but also really satisfying. All of the individual puzzles you solve tie into one giant meta-puzzle that you're working towards to finish the game.
Available for free here.
Also check out other games made by Cliff Johnson, as well as the direct sequel to this game called The Fool and His Money.
==Videos==
20 Games That Defined the Apple II
20 Games That Defined the Apple IIGS
==External links==
* Virtual Apple II - emulated Apple II games in your browser
* Asimov's Apple II FTP archives
Category:Apple
Category:Second Generation