Rocky's Boots: the 1982 logic game, and where its ideas lead
Rocky's Boots is an educational logic game designed by Warren Robinett and Leslie Grimm and published by The Learning Company in 1982, for the Apple II, TRS-80 Color Computer, Commodore 64, IBM PC and PCjr. Its first puzzles give you a mechanical boot beside a conveyor belt of purple and green squares, diamonds, circles and crosses, each worth points, some of them negative: you connect AND, OR and NOT gates to the boot so that it kicks only the shapes that score, and Rocky the raccoon dances when you reach 24 points. Wires glow orange for 1 and white for 0. Later you can use every object in the game, flip-flops included, to design your own circuits. It won Software of the Year from Learning Magazine in 1983, and the Software Publishers Association gave it a Gold Award for 100,000 copies sold. Its engine went on to power the harder sequel, Robot Odyssey. If you remember wiring that boot, or have just heard about the game, here is how to play it today and where its ideas lead.
Where to play Rocky's Boots today
The Internet Archive's software library has several Apple II versions of Rocky's Boots, among them the original v1.0 in its woz-a-day collection, which run in the browser through its built-in emulator. The puzzles hold up because the logic is real: the boot kicks when its gate outputs 1, an AND needs both of its conditions at once, and a NOT turns "is green" into "is not green". Showing a 1 and a 0 as two colors on the wire is the same idea every logic simulator uses today. (digiwleea is an independent project, not affiliated with The Learning Company, its successors or Warren Robinett.)
From Rocky's Boots to how a computer works
Rocky's Boots gives you AND, OR and NOT as ready-made parts. digiwleea starts one level lower and goes much further up: in the browser you build NOT and NAND from CMOS transistors, then the other gates, adders, latches, registers and RAM, and finally an 8-bit CPU that runs a stored program, plus the assembly language behind it, with every part checked against its truth table, a 40+ level course and an AI tutor (Wleea). Wires show their values in color, as they did in Rocky's Boots, and the lab and the first act are free.
| Rocky's Boots | digiwleea | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 1982, for the Apple II, TRS-80 Color Computer, Commodore 64 and IBM PC | A browser course, updated continuously |
| Parts | AND, OR and NOT gates, flip-flops and the boot | CMOS transistors, and every gate and flip-flop you build from them |
| Goal | Kick the right shapes off the conveyor, then design your own | Build an 8-bit CPU step by step, through 40+ levels |
| How to run it today | Apple II versions in the browser on the Internet Archive | Any modern browser; the lab and Act I are free |
Boot rules like Rocky's, as real logic
- Kick only the green shapes. A single condition needs no gate: it drives the boot directly.
- Kick green diamonds only. Both conditions at once is an AND gate, which is 1 only when both inputs are 1.
- Kick anything that is a cross or purple. Either condition is an OR gate.
- Kick everything except circles. A NOT gate turns "is a circle" into "is not a circle". Inside, a NOT is two transistors: the CMOS inverter.
- Flip-flops. Memory: an SR latch holds a 1 after a single pulse, the building block of registers.
Practice the same rules with the logic gates practice quiz, or see how its sequel works in Robot Odyssey.
No sign-up is needed to start: open the lab and place your first transistor, or read the free theory course. The account (and the AI tutor) are optional.
More comparisons: Games about logic and computers
See for yourself: build a logic gate from transistors in the simulator, then follow the path from sand to an 8-bit CPU.
Open the digiwleea lab →Frequently asked
Can you still play Rocky's Boots?
Yes. The Internet Archive's software library has several Apple II versions, including the original v1.0, that run in the browser through its emulator, with nothing to install.
What do you learn in Rocky's Boots?
Logic gates. You connect AND, OR and NOT gates to a boot so that it kicks only the right shapes off a conveyor belt, and later you can design your own circuits with flip-flops as well.
Who made Rocky's Boots?
Warren Robinett and Leslie Grimm designed it, and The Learning Company published it in 1982. Its engine was reused for the sequel, Robot Odyssey, in 1984.
Is there a modern game like Rocky's Boots?
Logic games such as Turing Complete and nandgame build up from gates to a whole computer, and digiwleea is a free browser course that starts from transistors. Robot Odyssey, its sequel, has an open-source browser remake called Robot Odyssey Rewired.