''Flunky'' (sometimes known as ''Mad Flunky'') is an

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...

Don Priestley Don Priestley (born 1940) is a teacher and former video game programmer who wrote over 20 commercial games for the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum home computers between 1982 and 1989. Despite successful releases for DK'Tronics, such as '' 3D Tanx'' and ''Mazi ...

for the ZX Spectrum,

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the S ...

. It was published in 1987 by

Piranha Software Piranha Software was a short-lived video game publishing label created by Macmillan Publishers in 1986 and closed eighteen months later. In that time it gained a reputation for its unusual output from well known developers such as Don Priestle ...

. The player takes control of a flunky in the service of the British Royal Family. The flunky is given orders by various members of the family which he must carry out. When he is successful in completing a task, he can obtain an

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

from the satisfied individual. Once he has successfully completed tasks for several persons he can go on to perform the final task for

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

herself.

Gameplay

Screenshot The player controls the flunky as he moves around Buckingham Palace, carrying out orders that members of the Royal Family will give him. The flunky can only be given one task to do at a time. The solutions needed to complete the tasks range from the correct use of items in the correct places to tasks requiring skillful playing more reminiscent of

action games An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform ga ...

. The game includes members of the Royal Family:

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, Diana, Princess of Wales, The Duke of York, The Duchess of York, and

Development

''Flunky'' was developed by

and published by

Reception

References

External links

* *
Review from ''Your Sinclair''
(archived) 1987 video games Adventure games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Piranha Software games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in London ZX Spectrum games {{adventure-videogame-stub