Last updated on October 31st, 2025 at 05:21 pm
Archon is a game that was first released in 1983 by Electronic Arts. It is a strategy game that combines elements of chess with mythical creatures. The game was released for Commodore 64 and Amiga platforms.
Archon, released in the mid-1980s for platforms like the Commodore 64 and Amiga, remains a standout classic that brilliantly blends strategy and real-time action. Its unique concept—a chess-like board game where each piece represents a fantastical creature with distinct fighting abilities—creates a tense and thrilling gameplay experience that was revolutionary at the time and still captivates today.
On the C64 and Amiga, Archon shines with its smooth animation and vibrant sprite work, bringing each mythical combatant—the fierce phoenix, the menacing dragon, or the agile unicorn—to life in intense battlefield duels. The game’s soundtrack complements the dark fantasy atmosphere, adding to the immersive experience.
What truly sets Archon apart is its hybrid gameplay: a strategic territorial control game combined with fast-paced, skill-based combat sequences when pieces clash. This mechanic keeps players on their toes in every battle phase, making every move critical—not just on the board but in the duel itself.
Archon’s elegant simplicity mixed with challenging depth makes it perfect for casual players and hardcore strategists alike. It established a timeless genre blend that inspired many successors, yet none quite matched its spellbinding magic.
### Curiosities
– Archon was the first game released by Electronic Arts.
– Archon III: Exciter was released in 1989, six years after the original game. It received mixed reviews and was not as successful as the original game.
– Archon was also released for other platforms, including Atari 8-bit, Apple II, and MS-DOS.
– Archon has a dedicated fan base, with some fans creating custom controllers and graphics for the game
– Archon was developed by Jon Freeman and Anne Westfall, who were inspired by the game of chess and the fantasy genre
Archon is a war between the Light and the Dark: two armies of creatures and persons of myth and legend, called by the game “icons.” Each side begins with a force of 18 icons, with 8 different types per side. The Light and the Dark do not share any types, yet the teams are very evenly matched. The armies alternate turns, maneuvering for position on a chessboard-like Strategy Screen. On a single turn either one spell may be cast, or one icon moved. Turns may not be passed. Whenever an icon is moved to a square already occupied by an opposing piece, a battle ensues on the Combat Screen, where each different type of piece has its own hit points, attack damage, and so on, detailed below. The winning icon keeps the square, while the loser is eliminated from the game (both icons may be destroyed in the battle, in which case both are eliminated).
..and…Finally the ancient 1983 Battle between the Light and the Dark takes a new place
########The Remake
ARCHON CLASSIC
We would say one of the all time “greatest”, but that only serves to forge its peculiarity .
Action/strategy game released in 1983,what year , Archon fills itself with a diversity of characters from the middle age fantasy and their abilities in a schema of rules dazing so a unique gameplay .
###############################################
Amiga version of Archon
############################################
ARCHON ULTRA
Softgold Computerspiele released Archon Ultra in the year 1994. Archon Ultra is a old fantasy strategy game, part of the Archon series.
Archon Ultra is abandonware, runs on DOS and can be played by up to 2 players.
Archon Ultra can be described by the keywords: turn based, fantasy. Archon Ultra is available for download.
- multiplayer:
hotseat, LAN or Internet (1-2 players)
- input:
joystick, keyboard, mouse
- distribution:
3,5 floppy disk, cd-rom
- graphics:
VGA
- sound:
Adlib, Sound Blaster, Gravis Ultrasound, Pro Audio Spectrum
- popularity: 2437 page views
- DOSBox compatibility:
-
v 0.73100% – fully supported
-
v 0.70100% – fully supported
-
