Autobots

The robots close in every time you take a step. In Autobots, by L. Scott Emmons for DOS, your character must get the machines to crash into each other before they catch up. The title screen shows the 1989 copyright, and the download preserves the documentation for version 1.1p.

The board uses CGA graphics and reserves one column for the game status. There you will find the score, the level, the robots remaining, and the teleport and zapper reserves. Moves are resolved turn by turn: before pressing another direction, you can study how the enemies have positioned themselves.

Turning the chase into a trap

The robots follow the character's position. When they collide they leave wrecks that can be used to destroy other machines. Simply running away is not enough: you want to plan routes that force several enemies to share a square or run into an obstacle.

F1 lets you teleport and F2 uses the zapper against nearby robots. The game begins with five teleports and one zapper. Spending these resources can open an escape route, but it pays to look at the board's new layout before moving again.

The RetroBat collection labels the file as Actobots. The title and the program's documentation confirm Autobots, which is the name used on this game page. The identifying image and the background reproduce its original title screen; the other screenshots come from a game session on this copy.