Sword of Fargoal is a dungeon exploration video game by Jeff McCord, published by Epyx for the VIC-20 in 1982 and the Commodore 64 in 1983. The game was originally released on cassette tape and 5¼" floppy disk formats. Gameplay The player controls a warrior who explores numerous dungeon levels in search of the legendary "Sword of Fargoal." The levels become progressively harder to complete as the player progresses through the game. The dungeons are initially completely dark and only illuminate as the player explores further. Once the Sword of Fargoal is found a countdown begins, and the player has to successfully escape the dungeon before the timer runs out, or else the sword is lost forever. The warrior levels up by gaining experience points, which increase the character's fighting ability and hit points as they progress through the dungeon. There are several items in the dungeon that help the character, which can be found in treasure chests or on slain adversaries. Combat in the game is controlled by the computer, and the player has no control over how their warrior fights. A warrior can flee an attack at any time, unless they fall victim to a sneak attack in which a monster engages in combat before the warrior has a chance to move. The warrior can move freely about the dungeon, whereas monsters take intermittently timed steps. Each dungeon has a number of staircases that go up or down. Because each map is randomly generated, a level layouts do not remain the same after the player leaves them. Stairs also spawn wandering monsters. Characters can find bags of gold scattered around the dungeon. The bags can be taken by enemies if they step over them. Gold can also be stolen from the character by humanoid enemies. If those thieves are killed, the gold is returned to the warrior. A warrior can only carry 100 pieces of gold, and magic sacks must be located that allow the warrior to carry more. Each dungeon level contains a temple. Every time the warrior steps on a temple, their gold is sacrificed to their deity, which earns additional experience. If a warrior remains standing on a temple, it acts as a sanctuary where they become invisible to enemies around them. Chests in Sword of Fargoal present a risk element. Some contain useful items, while others contain traps. Some chests explode, causing damage, and