BASIC BRILLIANCE

Organiser Gunnar Karnold and competitor Ben Coffer talk about the 2025 edition of the BASIC 10-Liner competition

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Gunnar Karnold formed an Atari group in northern Germany with some friends, which led to a friendly competition. “In 2011, we started the first BASIC 10-Liner competition,” says Gunnar.

“After a break in 2012, in 2013, the task was to write a game in Atari BASIC. 2015 was the year in which the competition was expanded to other 8-bit computers. In 2016, all 8-bit computers were allowed, and the rules were further differentiated with new categories.”

The main categories are PUR-80 and PUR-120 for that number of characters on a line. EXTREM-256 covers alternative forms of BASIC. The WILD category is for anything that doesn't fit, and SCHAU (Show) is for graphic demos and utilities. As the competition grew, more unusual machines took part. “By 2018, the C64 surpassed the Atari,” says Gunnar.