Description
This researched download index collects ten surviving files connected to the HP 9845 / Hewlett-Packard System 45B computer games ecosystem: the original Computer Games Library, its 28-page manual, multiple preserved game packages, and separate source code for a later Space Invaders implementation.
The HP 9845 belongs to an important transitional period in personal and technical computing. It was a self-contained late-1970s desktop system built for engineering and scientific work rather than a home game machine. Its architecture was notable enough to receive a dedicated treatment in the 1982 academic reference Computer Structures: Principles and Examples, where William D. Eads, Jack M. Walden and Edward L. Miller described the 9845A’s dual-processor architecture. A language processor executed user programs while a peripheral processor handled I/O, with the two cooperating through shared memory.
Hewlett-Packard nevertheless published its own Computer Games Library for the platform. The original collection was supplied on tape and written in BASIC, allowing owners to inspect and modify the programs instead of merely running opaque executables. The surviving collection includes versions of Star Trek, Lunar Lander, Hunt the Wumpus, Conway’s Life, Blackjack, Gomoku, Nim, Hangman, Ski, Race and other programs. Historical software catalogs list the 9845B Computer Games Library at $100.
The later material is useful for seeing how programmers pushed a workstation that was never designed as an arcade machine. Chess variants use BASIC, assembly support and graphics; Gravity demonstrates the 9845C graphics environment; the action-game material shows real-time graphics techniques; and the Space Invaders package uses a large BASIC program together with a binary screen routine for faster character animation.
Included download locations
| File name | File description | Date |
|---|---|---|
09845-10110 9845B Computer Games Library Vol. 1 (1977).zip |
Preserved software image of Hewlett-Packard’s original Computer Games Library. The collection contains BASIC programs including Biorhythm, Blackjack, Calendar, Gomoku, Hangman, King, Lunar Lander, Life, Nim, Race, Ski, Star Trek and Hunt the Wumpus. | 1977 filename; collection documented as 1978 |
9845B_Computer_Games_09845-10111_28pages.pdf |
28-page System 45B Computer Games instruction manual, part number 09845-10111. Covers operation of the original Hewlett-Packard games package. | Late 1970s |
9845-adventure-hpi.zip |
HP 9845 version of Crowther and Woods’ Colossal Cave Adventure, one of the foundational text adventure games. The 9845 version is preserved as an HPI image package. | 1972–1977 game origin; 9845 port date not stated |
9845-chess-hpi.zip |
Several HP 9845 chess implementations, including BASIC, assembler-related and graphics variants. The earliest known HP 9845 chess implementation dates to 1978. | 1978 earliest known 9845 version |
9845-gravity-hpi.zip |
Gravity, a graphical dexterity game originally associated with the HP 9845C demo package. Designed around the System 45 graphics environment and input hardware. | 1981 |
9845-action-games-hpi.zip |
Action-game package containing preserved real-time graphics material for the HP 9845, including Dog Fight. These programs demonstrate the machine’s unusual use of BASIC plus graphics-support binaries. | 1981 |
terrys-games-hpi.zip |
Programs and data for a larger group of HP 9845 games including basketball, blackjack, baseball, Jets & Tanks, Lunar Lander, racing, solitaire, Star Trek and Sub Hunt. | Date not stated |
9845-space-invaders-hpi.zip |
Playable HP 9845 adaptation of Space Invaders, combining a roughly 1,000-line BASIC program with the SPRINT binary for fast character-screen updates. | 1978 original arcade game; 9845 port date not stated |
9845-2048-hpi.zip |
HP 9845T/9845C BASIC port of Gabriele Cirulli’s 2048 by François Lanciault, with monochrome/color support and keyboard, light-pen or tablet control. | 2014 game origin; 9845 port date not stated |
9845-space-invaders-listing.zip |
Separate source-code package for the HP 9845 Space Invaders adaptation. Useful for studying game logic, event handling and the constraints of late-1970s workstation game programming. | 9845 port date not stated |
What you are buying
This product is a researched and organized location index. It saves the work of identifying the relevant HP 9845 game files, separating the historical Hewlett-Packard material from later ports and community software, checking the direct download targets, and documenting what each file is.
The historical software and documentation remain hosted by third parties and may remain subject to their original copyrights, licenses or usage restrictions. Purchasing this index does not transfer ownership of, or grant additional rights to, the underlying software. No historical binary or manual is being repackaged or redistributed by CacheRat.
Compatibility
These files target the HP 9845 family and include HPI disk-image packages, BASIC programs, binaries and PDF documentation. Running the software on modern hardware generally requires an HP 9845 emulator and appropriate image-mounting tools. Individual games may require graphics options, ROMs or peripheral features associated with specific System 45 models.
