Having Fun With Escape From Merlin 8
Introduction
This article like many others I will be doing, is a recreation, tidy up, etc of articles originally
published in old User Group Magazines. As the quality of these old magazines is quite
poor, I decided to take it upon myself to recreate those articles and present them in an
improved format, with pictorial enhancements and where possible improved content.
This time I thought I would have some fun with Escape From Merlin 8. This article was
originally Published in Einstein Monthly News as part of their Harry the Hacker series of
articles.
More lives
Insert the Escape From Merlin 8 disk and from DOS type;
LOAD MERLIN8.COM and press ENTER ;note the number of Blocks which
will be used for saving the program
MOS and press ENTER
M 0C09 and press ENTER
00. and press ENTER (remember to type in the full stop after the number.)
This will give you infinite Lives
Next insert a blank disc, on which you want to save the modified MERLIN8 to and press
CTRL/BREAK, this will return you to DOS. Then type:
SAVE nn MERLIN81.COM ;note the nn should be
replaced with the number
of Blocks noted for saving earlier
You now have your modified copy of MERLIN on disc. Load and enjoy.
Happy gaming.
Lee Bendall
I’ve worked in the finance sector since the late 1980s, but my passion for computing began much earlier. I purchased my first home computer in 1982, and from that moment I knew technology was what I truly wanted to pursue. So, when the opportunity arose in the 1990s to transition my career into the Financial IT sector, I seized it with both hands.
Throughout my later career, I had the privilege of working on leading-edge IT projects and was eventually invited to become a member of the British Computer Society, earning Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP) status—a charter I’m proud to still hold today.
Despite my professional focus, I never lost my enthusiasm for the home computing scene. Over the years, I’ve owned nearly every major machine released in the UK. It was no surprise, then, that when MAME introduced support for vintage computers (initially through MESS), I jumped right in.
Now retired, my love for 1980s and 1990s computers remains as strong as ever. When the opportunity arose to purchase an Einstein TC-01, I couldn’t resist. The seller—Adam Groome—shared a deep passion for keeping the Einstein alive, and his enthusiasm quickly drew me into the community.
Today, I’m involved in several Einstein-related projects, including work on the Speculator, TK-02, and Silicon Disk hardware. In addition to these, I founded the Einstein Document Preservation Project, which focuses on high-resolution rescanning, restoration, and enhancement of all Einstein documentation. I’m also engaged in a large-scale initiative to support and preserve the Einstein’s software library.
