Gold Runner

Gold Runner is a Lode Runner variant with very few deviations from the original's gameplay formula. The player controls a small white stick figure, viewed from the side, whose objective is to collect a set amount of gold nuggets scattered across the level, while steering clear of the roaming guards. Once all gold has been collected, the player character must safely reach the teleport gate that will appear, to advance to the next level.

The guards (called guardians in the game manual) will immediately vaporize the player character on close contact, with the player losing one life out of five. They will also sometimes randomly pick up gold bars and carry them around. If such a guard does not drop the gold on his own, the only way to get this bar back is to trap the guard in a temporary hole the player can dig in the floor. This digging device is also the only tool that the player can use for defence, either to trap approaching guards or to make an escape to a different part of the level.

Each level takes up exactly one screen and consists of several variously arranged platforms that are sometimes connected with ladders or railings. The level design is often puzzle-like and requires the player to plan ahead the optimal route and avoid soft-locking themselves in inescapable areas. There is a soft time limit for each level in the form of the ever-idminishing bonus points pool: the faster the level is completed, the more bonus points (if any) will remain.

The game has no story line or explanation why any of the in-game events are happening. However, the voice clips used as level introduction and ending suggest that the main character is a force of good acting against bad people.

Gold Runner was sold as shareware, with the unregistered version containing only the first world of the full game. Registered users could order a further 50 or 100 levels (depending on the registration fee) and a level editor. The registered version also has functional cheat codes.