''Taxman'' is a clone of

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

's ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'' written by Brian Fitzgerald for the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

and published by H.A.L. Labs, a firm he cofounded with Greg Autry, in 1981. Featuring the same maze and yellow Pac-Man character as the arcade game, and promoted as "the definitive version of the popular game," HAL was asked to stop selling ''Taxman'' by Atari, Inc. who owned the home rights to ''Pac-Man''. Atari published a modified version of ''Taxman'' as the official Apple II port of ''Pac-Man'' under its Atarisoft label. HAL Labs then changed the mazes and some of the graphics of ''Taxman'' and rebranded it as ''Taxman 2'' in 1982. Fitzgerald publicly released the ''Taxman'' source code in 2015.

Plot

''Taxman'' is set in the land of

Tanstaafl "No such thing as a free lunch" (also written as "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" or "There is no such thing as a free lunch" and sometimes called Crane's law) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get some ...

in which the rebellious citizens are rioting in the streets, and the player passes through tax centers located in each precinct to temporarily pacify the rebels.

Reception

Karl Westerholm reviewed ''Taxman'' in ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' No. 56. Westerholm commented that "I definitely recommend this game to all who waste too many quarters at arcades, as it is just as addictive as the original."

References

External links

*
''Taxman''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

Review
in ''

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...

''
Review
in ''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', (also referred to as ''CU'') later renamed to ''CU Amiga'', is a British magazine initially published by Paradox Group before being acquired by EMAP. Timeline ''Commodore User'' was launched in October 1983 with an initial pr ...

'' {{Portal bar, 1980s, United States, Video games 1981 video games Apple II games Apple II-only games Multiplayer and single-player video games Pac-Man clones Tax resistance Video games developed in the United States