Bolo2K · README

The Game

Bolo2K is a browser-native recreation of Stuart Cheshire's Bolo — the multi-player tank battle game Cheshire wrote for the BBC Micro in 1987 and ported to the Macintosh in 1992. This project rebuilds it for the modern web, staying as faithful to the original spec as possible.

"Bolo is not a two player game, where your objective is to kill your single enemy, but a multi-player game, where you can work as teams. In this game you are not alone when you find yourself cornered by the enemy — you can shout for help, and have your allies break cover and come out of the forest shooting, to wipe out your attackers and rescue you."

— Stuart Cheshire, Bolo for Macintosh, 1992

System Requirements

Getting Started

1. Visit play.bolo2k.com and pick a callsign.
2. Join an existing battle, or start your own.
3. Use W A S D to drive and SPACE to shoot.
4. Drive your tank onto a neutral refuelling base to claim it as your own.
5. Stay out of deep sea — it will sink your tank.

See the CONTROLS page for the full keymap.

Credits

• Original design: Stuart Cheshire — Bolo, 1987–1995.
• Sprite art & sounds: John Morrison & WinBolo contributors (sprites, GPL-2.0); Stuart Cheshire's 1993 WAV samples (sounds, bundled via WinBolo).
• Standard Autopilot AI: ported verbatim from Cheshire's 1995 Standard Autopilot.c.
• Everything else: the Bolo2K team — PYR8dave, BlackAngel, ORiON, PhoneBug, JR, Wi2Low.

License

Bolo2K's source code is licensed under GPL-2.0 — free to read, free to fork, free to host. Sprite art is also GPL-2.0 (via WinBolo). Sound effects and the Standard Autopilot AI are used under Stuart Cheshire's original shareware terms — non-commercial use only, prominent crediting required. Because those two pieces ride along with the bundle, the practical posture is: free to share, free to fork, free to self-host, but please don't sell it.