E lon Musk is most famous these days for his electric car company Tesla, and for the spaceships he created with his private spaceflight company SpaceX. When the inventor was much younger, though, he tried his hand at creating video games.
At age 12, as a kid living in South Africa, Musk created Blastar — a space-themed PC game that is heavily influenced by classic arcade games such as Space Invaders and Asteroid, according to The Verge . You play the game as a space pilot who has to “destroy [the] alien freighter carrying deadly hydrogen bombs and status beam machines.”
Musk sold the code for $500, and now you can play it here .
The 10 Best Classic PC Games You Can Play Right Now The Oregon Trail (1990)
Nostalgia for this elementary school library favorite has never faded — probably because they’ve relaunched the game so many times. Originally released in 1971, the Internet Archive’s edition is from 1990, but don’t worry, you can still die of dysentery in it.
MECC Lemmings 2 - The Tribes (1993)
A cute puzzler, the object of this game is to lead the little rodents to safety, using lemmings’ specialized digging, blasting, and building skills to navigate the landscape of each level.
DMA Design Limited/Psygnosis Limited
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - The Action Game (1989)
This 1989 title was a Holy Grail for gamers, because it gave them control of Indiana Jones, one of the 80's coolest characters. Tiertex Ltd./LucasArts, U.S. Gold Ltd. Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
The precursor to Doom, Quake, and many of the gore-fests roaring across consoles today, this 1992 first-person shooter has you, as allied spy B.J. Blazkowicz, racing to escape the Nazi's clutches.id Software, Inc./Apogee Software, Ltd.
4D Prince of Persia (1994)
Children of the 1990s will fondly recall this run-and-jump platformer as a top-notch adventure game, with great graphics and gameplay — and it has infinite lives. Score! Brøderbund/Terebilov KA
Leisure Suit Larry 1 - Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987)
Tame by today’s standards, this 8-bit, adult-oriented title was the Grand Theft Auto of its time, following the exploits of Larry Laffer as he strolls the city of Lost Wages, looking for love. Sierra On-Line, Inc. Dungeons & Dragons - Eye of The Beholder (1991)
Roll the dice in this 1991 Dungeons & Dragons role playing game — there’s nothing like the nostalgia of being a chaotic good paladin roaming the dark passages beneath the city of Waterdeep.Westwood Associates/Strategic Simulations, Inc.
The Hobbit (1983)
Open door. Go East. Enjoy game. If you want to go really old school, you can turn the graphics off in this
text-based game, guiding Bilbo through Middle Earth using only your imagination as your eyes. Milbus Software BurgerTime (1982)
Guide Peter Pepper in this hamburger-assembling action game, as he tries to build the biggest mouthfuls while being chased by enemy eggs and pickles and hot dogs.Data East Corporation/Mattel Electronics Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego (1985)
This educational title rocked elementary school kids’ worlds back in the 1980s, putting their geography and history smarts to the test. (How would you do with it, today?) Perhaps the best part of this browser version is its throwback sound effects.Bro/derbund Software, Inc. More Must-Reads from TIME