Miner 2049er is one of the best "climbing games" ever made (the genre popular in early 1980s), and a much better game than the better-known Donkey Kong series.
Original released on the Atari 5200 system, the game was ported to over 15 home systems including the Apple II (the version I played) and this now very rare PC version. In this ultimate climbing game, you are Bounty Bob, an explorer searching through all of Nuclear Ned's abandoned mines for the treacherous Yukon Yohan (whoever came up with these names were having fun, you can tell...) You must "claim" each section of each mine by running over it, jumping over segments and avoiding radioactive creatures in the process. Once you reach the prize required for that level (ranging from an axe, dynamite, martini, and more), you'll proceed to the next one.
The best thing about Miner 2049er is that each of the ten level is carefully laid out. Similar to games like Flashback that are ostentatiously action games, sometimes there is only one way to finish the level - but it will take you dozens of tries to figure it out because the path is not always obvious. This gives Miner 2049er an added layer of complexity that puts it far and above all other climbing games. One annoyance I had with the game is that you have to time your jumps very precisely - you will miss them if you are only one pixel off. This is true even on the lowest difficulty level (the game has ten), so if you are easily frustrated, you might find the game more tedious than fun. For me the precision required is just part of the challenge, because the game is very addictive. Unlike Donkey Kong where gameplay remains more or less the same from level to level, screens in Miner 2049er have many special features you can use, including slides, movable hoist, teleporters, cannons, and many others.
With addictive gameplay, an amazing array of surprises, and very clever puzzle-like level design, Miner 2049er is a top-notch classic that you simply must play if you consider yourself a true arcade fan. The best version of the game remains the Atari 5200 version, though, but this PC port (published by Microfun) isn't that bad, although it's very difficult to get it to run on modern computers. Highly recommended. If you like the game, check out the superior but lesser-known sequel Bounty Bob Strikes Back also on this site.
Review By HOTUD
English 
Japanese 
Comments and reviews
When I was a kid my dad and step mom worked for atari and the neighbor across from us was a programmer for atari and he had the 800xl with an open cartridge with a locking lever to change the chip and miner 2049er was my favorite and would play for hours... missed that game.
It was originally released on the Atari 400/800 computers as a rom cartridge and NOT the Atari 5200 as listed. Get your facts right!!
i wrote a similar game in the 80s called zengam but i never could get it into production because it was written for the z 100
Whoa, this was the first video game I got addicted to as a kid. I remember staying up all night playing this on my Atari400. I'm gonna try playing this again!
How Do I Jump I Will Have To Test My Keyboard Then
I had this game for the Atari 800. I was better at this than any other game I ever played. There was a point, I think board 7 on the tenth level that it was impossible to finish. I got there with all my lives and there was no way to get all the soaces under one of the mutants. My best score was 406,000 and change. Great game.
I used to play this so often as a kid, I don't remember how far I got, so I'll give it another try :) :)
This was the first game I got for my appleIIe sometime in the mid 80's. It was extremely difficult because when you died, you went back to level 1. I think I got to level 10 a few times but never solved it.
cool
This is the first video game I ever played, and sparked my continuing love of 2d platformers. Absolutely a classic.
No comment nor review for this game at the moment.