<s>
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
(	O
1941	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
wargame	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
created	O
by	O
Chris	O
Crawford	O
and	O
published	O
through	O
the	O
Atari	B-Application
Program	I-Application
Exchange	I-Application
(	O
APX	O
)	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
scenario	O
editor	O
and	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
source	O
code	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
also	O
sold	O
by	O
APX	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recreating	O
the	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
during	O
World	O
War	O
II	O
,	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
covers	O
the	O
historical	O
area	O
of	O
operations	O
during	O
1941	O
–	O
1942	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
killer	O
app	O
for	O
Atari	O
computers	O
,	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
was	O
among	O
APX	O
's	O
best	O
selling	O
games	O
,	O
selling	O
over	O
60,000	O
copies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
widely	O
lauded	O
in	O
the	O
press	O
and	O
was	O
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computings	I-General_Concept
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
licensed	O
by	O
Atari	O
for	O
distribution	O
on	O
game	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
,	O
then	O
rereleased	O
in	O
1988	O
in	O
XEGS	B-Application
styled	O
packaging	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
is	O
a	O
corps-level	O
simulation	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
41	O
weeks	O
of	O
Operation	O
Barbarossa	O
,	O
the	O
German	O
invasion	O
of	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
in	O
1941	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
screen	O
shows	O
only	O
of	O
the	O
entire	O
map	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
,	O
smooth-scrolling	O
around	O
it	O
when	O
the	O
joystick-controlled	O
cursor	O
reaches	O
the	O
edges	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
creator	O
Chris	O
Crawford	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
wargame	B-Application
with	O
a	O
smooth-scrolling	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
map	O
covers	O
the	O
area	O
from	O
just	O
north	O
of	O
Leningrad	B-Device
at	O
the	O
top	O
to	O
Sevastopol	O
at	O
the	O
bottom	O
,	O
and	O
from	O
Warsaw	B-Application
on	O
the	O
left	O
to	O
just	O
east	O
of	O
Stalingrad	B-Language
on	O
the	O
right	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
order	O
entry	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
is	O
used	O
to	O
select	O
units	O
and	O
enter	O
movement	O
in	O
the	O
four	O
cardinal	O
directions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
engine	O
includes	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
features	O
that	O
increases	O
the	O
depth	O
of	O
the	O
simulation	O
compared	O
to	O
contemporary	O
wargames	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
zones	O
of	O
control	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
front	O
lines	O
to	O
be	O
constructed	O
without	O
requiring	O
contiguous	O
lines	O
of	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Victory	O
points	O
are	O
scored	O
by	O
moving	O
German	O
forces	O
east	O
,	O
capturing	O
Moscow	O
,	O
Leningrad	B-Device
,	O
Stalingrad	B-Language
,	O
and	O
Sevastopol	O
,	O
and	O
destroying	O
and	O
pushing	O
Russian	O
forces	O
east	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
pondering	O
,	O
the	O
computer	B-Application
AI	I-Application
calculates	O
its	O
moves	O
during	O
the	O
period	O
between	O
vertical	O
blank	O
interrupts	O
(	O
VBI	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AI	B-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
three	O
basic	O
measures	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
state	O
:	O
The	O
strategic	O
situation	O
which	O
attempts	O
to	O
take	O
and	O
hold	O
cities	O
,	O
the	O
tactical	O
situation	O
which	O
attempts	O
to	O
block	O
player	O
movements	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
overall	O
arrangement	O
of	O
the	O
front	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AI	B-Application
first	O
attempts	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
continuous	O
front	O
line	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
prevent	O
encirclements	O
,	O
it	O
then	O
sends	O
additional	O
units	O
on	O
intercept	O
courses	O
to	O
block	O
player	O
movements	O
,	O
and	O
finally	O
any	O
remaining	O
units	O
are	O
sent	O
to	O
undefended	O
cities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
is	O
not	O
strong	O
—	O
believing	O
that	O
the	O
computer	O
needed	O
help	O
against	O
a	O
human	O
,	O
Crawford	O
intentionally	B-General_Concept
did	I-General_Concept
not	I-General_Concept
fix	I-General_Concept
a	I-General_Concept
bug	I-General_Concept
that	O
benefits	O
the	O
Russian	O
side	O
—	O
the	O
computer	O
has	O
greater	O
numbers	O
,	O
much	O
more	O
territory	O
,	O
and	O
winter	O
weather	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
manual	O
advises	O
using	O
blitzkrieg	B-Language
:	O
Use	O
mobile	O
armored	O
units	O
to	O
break	O
through	O
and	O
encircle	O
Russian	O
units	O
,	O
and	O
infantry	O
units	O
to	O
eliminate	O
enemy	O
pockets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Crawford	O
,	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
with	O
a	O
sharp	O
jump	O
in	O
the	O
learning	B-General_Concept
curve	I-General_Concept
;	O
"	O
apparently	O
there	O
is	O
just	O
one	O
trick	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
mastery	O
of	O
which	O
guarantees	O
mastery	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
he	O
did	O
not	O
specify	O
the	O
trick	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
ways	O
to	O
trick	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tactical	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
attempts	O
to	O
intercept	O
these	O
movements	O
,	O
sending	O
its	O
mobile	O
forces	O
first	O
one	O
way	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
other	O
,	O
never	O
actually	O
making	O
contact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
strategy	O
is	O
to	O
keep	O
flanking	O
forces	O
behind	O
a	O
spearhead	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
would	O
attempt	O
to	O
block	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
calculates	O
its	O
moves	O
while	O
the	O
user	O
enters	O
orders	O
,	O
reducing	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
the	O
user	O
takes	O
to	O
plan	O
their	O
own	O
moves	O
reduces	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
response	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
in	O
May	O
and	O
June	O
1979	O
on	O
a	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
using	O
Commodore	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
a	O
division-level	O
simulation	O
of	O
combat	O
on	O
the	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
he	O
began	O
working	O
for	O
Atari	O
,	O
in	O
September	O
1980	O
he	O
saw	O
a	O
fellow	O
employee	O
demonstrate	O
smooth	O
scrolling	O
in	O
a	O
text	O
window	O
on	O
an	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
and	O
realized	O
the	O
technique	O
's	O
potential	O
for	O
a	O
war	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
December	O
he	O
produced	O
a	O
smoothly	O
scrolling	O
map	O
of	O
Russia	O
,	O
in	O
January	O
1981	O
produced	O
a	O
written	O
description	O
of	O
the	O
design	O
for	O
what	O
he	O
by	O
now	O
envisioned	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
48K	O
disk-based	O
game	O
with	O
fabulous	O
graphics	O
"	O
written	O
in	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
and	O
began	O
working	O
20	O
hours	O
a	O
week	O
during	O
nights	O
and	O
weekends	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
demonstrable	O
game	O
by	O
the	O
Origins	O
Convention	O
in	O
July	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
simplify	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
he	O
reduced	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
scope	O
from	O
the	O
entire	O
1941-1945	O
campaign	O
to	O
just	O
the	O
first	O
year	O
;	O
introduced	O
zones	O
of	O
control	O
to	O
reduce	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
units	O
and	O
the	O
burden	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
;	O
and	O
added	O
logistics	O
,	O
which	O
permitted	O
encirclement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crawford	O
estimated	O
in	O
1987	O
that	O
he	O
had	O
worked	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
800	O
hours	O
on	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
,	O
and	O
believed	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
influenced	O
the	O
industry	O
to	O
simplify	O
user	O
interfaces	O
and	O
prove	O
that	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
market	O
for	O
an	O
"	O
intelligent	O
"	O
,	O
non-action	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crawford	O
approached	O
Atari	O
about	O
selling	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
company	O
believed	O
that	O
wargames	B-Application
for	O
Atari	O
computers	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
popular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	B-Application
Program	I-Application
Exchange	I-Application
(	O
APX	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
separate	O
Atari	O
unit	O
that	O
distributed	O
third-party	O
applications	O
,	O
published	O
it	O
on	O
disk	O
and	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Renamed	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
shortly	O
before	O
release	O
,	O
APX	O
began	O
selling	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
August	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
June	O
1982	O
it	O
was	O
APX	O
's	O
best	O
seller	O
;	O
APX	O
's	O
manager	O
later	O
said	O
that	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
and	O
De	O
Re	O
Atari	O
"	O
paid	O
the	O
bills	O
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
so	O
successful	O
that	O
Atari	O
asked	O
Crawford	O
to	O
convert	O
it	O
to	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
as	O
an	O
official	O
Atari	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
improve	O
the	O
gameplay	O
he	O
revamped	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
code	O
,	O
and	O
eliminated	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
"	O
fast	O
forward	O
"	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
avoid	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
received	O
critical	O
praise	O
from	O
contemporary	O
magazines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World	O
in	O
1981	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
to	O
this	O
date	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
impressive	O
computer	B-Application
wargame	I-Application
on	O
the	O
market	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
praised	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
the	B-Application
artificial	I-Application
intelligence	I-Application
,	O
noted	O
its	O
pondering	O
,	O
and	O
suggested	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
killer	O
app	O
for	O
Atari	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
called	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
very	O
best	O
war	O
games	O
available	O
for	O
a	O
personal	O
computer	O
...	O
nearly	O
every	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
a	O
technical	O
masterpiece	O
"	O
,	O
praising	O
its	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
and	O
"	O
magnificent	O
"	O
scrolling	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
magazine	O
Antic	O
called	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
"	O
a	O
game	O
master	O
piece	O
,	O
a	O
brilliant	O
simulation	O
of	O
battle	O
conditions	O
on	O
the	O
eastern	B-Application
front	I-Application
in	O
WW	O
II.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
called	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
"	O
a	O
paradigm	O
for	O
computer	O
war	O
games	O
"	O
and	O
praised	O
its	O
graphics	O
and	O
gameplay	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
only	O
major	O
criticism	O
being	O
the	O
inability	O
to	O
save	O
and	O
restore	O
a	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BYTE	B-Application
stated	O
that	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
"	O
is	O
possibly	O
the	O
first	O
fun	O
war	O
game	O
for	O
people	O
who	O
hate	O
war	O
games	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Addison-Wesley	O
Book	O
of	O
Atari	O
Software	O
1984	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
an	O
overall	O
A	O
rating	O
,	O
calling	O
it	O
"	O
perhaps	O
the	O
best-designed	O
computer	O
war	O
game	O
to	O
appear	O
on	O
any	O
microcomputer	O
to	O
date	O
"	O
and	O
praising	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
joystick-driven	O
user	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
named	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1987	O
Crawford	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
games	O
he	O
was	O
proud	O
of	O
,	O
with	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
and	O
Balance	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2002	O
GameSpy	O
wrote	O
that	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
was	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
computer	B-Application
wargames	I-Application
that	O
paper-and-pencil	O
wargamers	O
approved	O
of	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crawford	O
used	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
ideas	O
from	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
in	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
for	O
Avalon	O
Hill	O
in	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legionnaire	B-Application
uses	O
the	O
same	O
map	O
engine	O
to	O
simulate	O
the	O
Roman	O
legions	O
fighting	O
the	O
barbarians	B-Application
,	O
but	O
modifies	O
it	O
to	O
move	O
units	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
Crawford	O
publicly	O
released	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
several	O
of	O
his	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
.	O
</s>
