Dear gentle reader, I actually started playing Lode Runner while I was bored on a plane flight from Israel back to the United States. I was super excited to find a 110v outlet under my seat where I could plug my computer in since the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore. Once I was all plugged up, I decided to start out with a round of Lode Runner which quickly became an addiction and soon developed into an obsession. Unfortunately, the arcade version does not come with a map builder, which in the long run didn't really matter because the levels in the arcade version seemed to go on and on and on. One of the things that really stuck with me about the game was how much strategy and quick decision making are actually involved in the game. Most of the addicting aspects of the game were involved in trying to out-smart the AI of the hostile units (be they cavemen or spiders or whatever). Mostly the AI just tries to corner you by coming up on both sides of the screen. Having this in mind can actually work towards your advantage and its a lot of fun to do so. The game didn't sucked me into this little world like Super Mario Bros. did. In fact, after playing it for 5 hours straight on the plane I eventually had to put it down as the game play just became a little too monotonous. Still... I can't imagine spending that much time on a game like Donkey Kong, so that is still pretty impressive for an early 80's arcade machine. A part from that I was still left with a satisfying experience and time well wasted.