Leader Board
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Bruce Carver, Roger Carver |
| Products | Golf simulation video games |
| Parent | Access Software |
Leader Board (also known as Leaderboard) represents a collection of golf simulation video game titles created by developers Bruce Carver and Roger Carver, and released under the Access Software label.
Summary
Initially launched in 1986, the original Leader Board showcased four golf courses predominantly featuring water hazards. It achieved notable critical success, securing a 97% score along with a "Gold Award" from Zzap!64 magazine. Additional high ratings came from Your Sinclair (9 out of 10), Sinclair User (five-star rating), and Crash (80%).
In the same year, Leader Board Tournament expanded the series through a set of expansion disks, each introducing four additional courses.
The sequel released in 1987, titled Leader Board: Executive Edition, incorporated new environmental elements such as trees and bunkers, but it did not replicate the original’s success, receiving a 72% rating from Zzap!64.
The concluding release, World Class Leader Board, featured four courses: Cypress Creek at Champions Golf Club, Doral Country Club, St Andrews’ Old Course, and the fictional Gauntlet Country Club. Subsequently, three course expansion packs were made available. This edition introduced several enhancements including an overhead map of the course, the implementation of the punch shot, printable scorecards, RealSound audio technology, and a course editor for player customization. Critics widely regarded this version as a significant improvement over Executive Edition, with Zzap!64 awarding it 94% and Your Sinclair giving it a 9/10 rating.
Reception
In the UK market, Leaderboard ranked as the top-selling Commodore 64 title in 1986 and was Access Software’s third highest-selling Commodore game by late 1987.
Rick Teverbaugh from Computer Gaming World commended the game for its authentic putting mechanics and realistic sound effects. The Commodore 64 edition received praise from Compute!'s Gazette for its lifelike gameplay and strong graphics presentation, though minor drawbacks were noted such as the exclusive presence of water hazards and lack of color differentiation between the fairway and green. Despite these limitations, it was described as engaging and addictive. The Amiga adaptation improved upon the original’s visuals and was positively reviewed by Computer Gaming World, though it faced comparisons with rival golf simulation Mean 18. Info awarded the Amiga version four stars out of five, highlighting its enjoyable gameplay and graphical quality despite missing features like a practice green or course editor.
The Atari ST port earned favorable feedback from Antic, which applauded its graphics and recommended it as an entertaining experience accessible to players of varying skill levels, even though it diverged somewhat from official golf regulations.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1986 video games
- Amiga games
- Amstrad CPC games
- Amstrad PCW games
- Apple II games
- Atari 8-bit computer games
- Atari ST games
- BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
- Commodore 64 games
- Commodore 128 games
- Game Gear games
- Golf video games
- Classic Mac OS games
- Master System games
- Sega Genesis games
- Tiertex Design Studios games
- U.S. Gold games
- Video game franchises
- Video games developed in the United States
- ZX Spectrum games