Bop-A-Bet

Last updated: January 22, 2026

Overview

Bop-A-Bet is an educational typing and letter-recognition game for children, originally developed by Sunnyside Soft in 1982 and later republished by Sierra On-Line in 1983 as part of their Hi-Res Learning series.¹ The game represents the second commercial title created by Al Lowe, who would later achieve fame as the creator of the Leisure Suit Larry series.² Drawing from their educational backgrounds, Al Lowe and his partner Mike MacChesney decided to utilize the computer as a platform for education, blending arcade-style enjoyment with simple learning principles.³

The game helped children learn letters and the alphabet through a Pac-Man-like maze format, where players steer a boxing glove through the playfield using four directional keys.⁴ Targeted at children ages 5 to 8, Bop-A-Bet teaches letter recognition and alphabetization while adapting its difficulty based on player performance—the speed of the game increases as the child becomes more proficient.¹ This adaptive difficulty mechanic alone proves “rather addictive” as players often find themselves wanting “just one more go” to beat their high score.⁵

The game has achieved a degree of cult status among Sierra collectors, with the original Sunnyside Soft release being described as “the cult classic” in Sierra historical documentation.⁶ Only 200 copies of the original Sunnyside Soft version were ever produced, making it one of the rarest titles in Sierra’s early catalog.³

Game Info

Developer: Sunnyside Soft¹ Designer: Margaret Lowe, Rae Lynn McChesney¹ Programmer: Al Lowe⁷ Artist: Mike McChesney⁷ Publisher: Sunnyside Soft (1982), Sierra On-Line (1983)¹ Engine: Applesoft BASIC³ Platforms: Apple II¹ Release Year: 1982 Series: Hi-Res Learning Series (Sierra release) Protagonist: Boxing Glove (player-controlled) Sierra Lineage: Acquired Title

Story Summary

As an educational game designed for young children, Bop-A-Bet does not feature a traditional narrative structure.¹ The game presents players with a maze environment where they must guide their boxing glove character through the playfield, learning alphabet sequencing through interactive gameplay rather than storytelling.⁴

The core concept centers on teaching children letter recognition and alphabetical order through an engaging arcade-style format.⁸ Letters appear scattered throughout the maze, and players must “bop” them in the correct alphabetical sequence to score points.⁴ The educational framework transforms what could be rote memorization into an exciting challenge, making learning feel like play for its young target audience.⁹

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Bop-A-Bet employs a simple four-key control scheme for steering the boxing glove through the maze environment.⁴ Players navigate using directional inputs and press the space bar to “bop” letters when positioned correctly.⁴ This straightforward control scheme was specifically designed for the game’s intended audience of children ages 5 to 8, ensuring accessibility for young players.¹

The game opens with setup questions that configure the play session, though reviewer Bob Proctor of Computer Gaming World noted these initial questions posed a usability challenge: “In terms of simplicity, three of these four games can be used by the age groups for which they were intended. Bop-A-Bet would also qualify except for those questions at the start which set up the game.”⁴ This meant that while children could play the game itself, they typically needed adult assistance to configure the session parameters.

Structure and Progression

The gameplay structure centers on timed challenges within the maze environment.⁴ Letters appear on screen, and players must identify and select them in alphabetical order within the time limit.⁸ The object is to “bop as many as you can within a time limit,” creating urgency that makes the educational content more engaging.⁴

The game features an adaptive difficulty system where speed increases as the user becomes more proficient, ensuring the challenge scales appropriately as children improve their alphabet knowledge.¹ This progressive difficulty keeps the experience challenging without becoming frustrating for developing players.⁹

Puzzles and Mechanics

The core mechanic requires players to identify letters and select them in correct alphabetical sequence.⁴ Four letters appear on screen simultaneously, and players must correctly choose them in alphabetical order.⁸ If players attempt to bop letters out of sequence, nothing happens, preventing incorrect reinforcement and encouraging careful consideration of alphabetical order.⁴

The maze format adds spatial awareness and navigation skills to the educational objectives, requiring players to plan routes through the playfield while tracking which letters remain to be collected.³ This combination of alphabet learning with arcade-style gameplay mechanics distinguished Bop-A-Bet from more straightforward educational software of the era.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Computer Gaming World published a review of Bop-A-Bet in their March-April 1983 issue, with Bob Proctor assessing the game alongside other educational titles.⁴ While no numerical score was provided, Proctor offered a qualified positive assessment, noting that “Bop-A-Bet could be used by the age groups for which it was intended, except for the questions at the start of the game.”⁸

Proctor raised a practical concern about the game’s $30to$40 price point, asking parents and educators to consider “if your children (or students) can be entrusted with the only copy of a $30to$40 disk.”⁴ This comment reflects both the relatively high cost of educational software during the early 1980s and the fragility of diskette-based media in classroom environments.

Modern Assessment

Modern retrospective assessments of Bop-A-Bet focus primarily on its historical significance as an early Al Lowe title rather than its gameplay merits.² The game has been noted as a precursor to Lowe’s later career achievements, representing his initial foray into commercial game development before creating the iconic Leisure Suit Larry series.⁷

The King’s Quest Omnipedia describes Bop-A-Bet as “the cult classic,” acknowledging its status among dedicated Sierra collectors.⁶ The game’s extreme rarity, with only 200 original Sunnyside Soft copies produced, has elevated its collector value significantly.³

Collector Market:

• Original Sunnyside Soft Copy #18: Sold for $10,200 at auction in 2018²

Development

Origins

Bop-A-Bet emerged from the collaboration between two teaching couples: Al and Margaret Lowe, and Mike and Rae Lynn MacChesney.³ Drawing from their educational backgrounds, the team decided to utilize the computer as a platform for education, blending arcade-style enjoyment with simple learning principles.³ This approach reflected a growing interest in educational computing during the early 1980s, as personal computers became increasingly accessible to schools and families.

Al Lowe programmed the game in his home office, creating his second commercial title after his debut game.² As Lowe later recalled: “My second game, I wrote it in my home office, before our new daughter took it away from me for her bedroom, relegating me to code in our laundry room.”² This domestic development environment was typical of the early microcomputer software industry, when many games were created by small teams or individuals working from home.

Production

The development team operated under the company name Sunnyside Soft, which Al Lowe had established for independent software publishing.² Lowe handled programming duties using Applesoft BASIC, while Mike MacChesney contributed the game’s graphics.⁷ The design work was credited to their wives, Margaret Lowe and Rae Lynn McChesney, who brought their teaching experience to the educational game design.¹

The initial Sunnyside Soft release was decidedly modest in scale—only 200 copies were produced, packaged in “genuine zip-lock baggies” with the creators’ home address and phone number printed on the materials.² This bootstrap approach to distribution was common among early microcomputer software publishers before retail channels became established.

Development Credits:¹⁰

• Designer: Margaret Lowe
• Designer: Rae Lynn MacChesney
• Programmer: Al Lowe
• Artist: Michael MacChesney

Technical Achievements

Bop-A-Bet utilized the Apple II’s HI-RES graphics mode, requiring 48K of RAM to operate.¹ The game was distributed on 5.25-inch floppy disks and ran under Apple DOS 3.3.² While technically modest compared to Sierra’s adventure games of the same era, the game effectively combined educational content with engaging arcade mechanics suitable for its young audience.

The adaptive difficulty system represented a thoughtful design choice for educational software, automatically increasing game speed as players demonstrated proficiency.¹ This ensured the game remained challenging and engaging as children improved their alphabet skills.

Technical Specifications

Apple II Version:¹⁰

• Resolution: HI-RES mode
• Memory Required: 48K RAM
• Operating System: Apple DOS 3.3
• Media: 5.25” Floppy Disk
• Players: 1 Player

Version History

Version	Date	Publisher	Notes
Original	Early Autumn 1982	Sunnyside Soft	200 copies produced in zip-lock packaging2
Sierra Release	1983	Sierra On-Line	Repackaged in Sierra boxes, Hi-Res Learning series3

The transition from Sunnyside Soft to Sierra On-Line occurred when Sierra acquired the Sunnyside Soft product line in 1983.¹ This acquisition brought Bop-A-Bet into Sierra’s catalog and eventually led to Al Lowe joining Sierra as a developer, where he would create his most famous works.³

Technical Issues

The primary usability issue identified during contemporary review was the complexity of the game’s setup questions for its intended age group.⁴ Bob Proctor noted that while children ages 5-8 could successfully play the game itself, the initial configuration process required adult assistance.⁸ This represented a design oversight in an otherwise age-appropriate educational product.

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• Al Lowe retained his personal copy of the Sunnyside Soft release, numbered “18,” for 36 years before auctioning it in 2018.²
• The original Sunnyside Soft packaging included the creators’ home address and telephone number, reflecting the cottage-industry nature of early software publishing.²
• All 199 commercial copies of the original Sunnyside Soft version sold, with only Lowe’s personal copy remaining in his possession until the 2018 auction.³
• Unlike other Sunnyside Soft titles, Bop-A-Bet was only released for the Apple II platform.³

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

The original Sunnyside Soft release achieved complete sellout of its 199 available copies, with Al Lowe retaining the 200th copy for personal use.³ However, the Sierra On-Line re-release reportedly achieved only a “very limited number of sold copies,” suggesting the game did not achieve significant commercial success under Sierra’s distribution.³

The game’s primary legacy lies in its connection to Al Lowe’s career trajectory. The meeting between the Sunnyside Soft team and Ken and Roberta Williams at KansasFest in San Francisco in November 1982 led directly to Sierra acquiring the Sunnyside Soft product line and eventually hiring Al Lowe as a developer.³ This relationship would prove enormously significant for Sierra’s future, as Lowe went on to create the commercially successful Leisure Suit Larry series.

Collections

Bop-A-Bet was included in Sierra’s Hi-Res Learning series following Sierra On-Line’s acquisition of the Sunnyside Soft product line in 1983.³ This educational software line positioned the game alongside other learning-focused titles in Sierra’s catalog.

The game appeared on Sierra’s internal product list maintained at their Oakhurst, California offices, confirming its status as an official Sierra release.¹¹

Fan Projects

Due to the game’s extreme rarity and educational focus, no significant fan projects or remakes have been documented. The game remains primarily of interest to Sierra collectors and historians documenting Al Lowe’s early career.

Related Publications

Documentation for Bop-A-Bet was minimal, reflecting the game’s simple gameplay and target audience of young children.² The original Sunnyside Soft release included basic instructions packaged with the diskette in zip-lock bags, while the Sierra re-release featured improved retail packaging consistent with Sierra’s other products of the era.³

Critical Perspective

Bop-A-Bet occupies an interesting position in Sierra’s history as a transitional title that bridged the gap between independent microcomputer software development and Sierra’s expanding educational software division. While the game itself was modest in scope and commercial impact, its role in bringing Al Lowe into Sierra’s orbit makes it historically significant.³

The game demonstrates the experimental nature of early educational software, attempting to combine arcade-style engagement with pedagogical goals.³ This approach—making learning feel like play—would become increasingly sophisticated throughout the 1980s and remains a fundamental principle in educational game design.

From a preservation standpoint, Bop-A-Bet represents one of the rarest titles associated with Sierra On-Line. The 2018 auction of Al Lowe’s personal copy for $10,200 demonstrates the significant collector interest in early, obscure titles from developers who achieved later fame.² The game serves as a reminder that even legendary designers began with humble projects, honing their craft before creating their landmark works.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• Not currently available on digital storefronts

Download / Preservation

• Sierra Chest – Box Scans – packaging documentation from Al Lowe’s auction

Manuals & Extras

• Original documentation included with Sunnyside Soft zip-lock packaging

Series Continuity

Bop-A-Bet was part of Sierra’s Hi-Res Learning educational software series, which Sierra developed and acquired during the early 1980s.³ The game represents Al Lowe’s second title under the Sunnyside Soft label before the company was acquired by Sierra On-Line.

Following the success of the Sunnyside Soft acquisition, Al Lowe joined Sierra as a staff developer, where he would contribute to numerous projects before creating the Leisure Suit Larry series in 1987.⁷ Bop-A-Bet thus serves as the earliest commercially released work from one of Sierra’s most prolific and celebrated designers.

References

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia – Bop-A-Bet – release dates, publisher history, technical specifications, age range, gameplay mechanics ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. Sierra Chest – Bop-A-Bet News – Al Lowe quotes about development, auction details, production numbers ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

3. Retro365 Blog – Bits from My Personal Collection – development history, Sierra acquisition, sales data, platform details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹

4. Computer Gaming World – March-April 1983 – Bob Proctor review, gameplay description, usability concerns ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

5. Consolidated Research Sources – addictive gameplay mechanics quote ↩

6. King’s Quest Omnipedia – Sierra – “cult classic” designation, release year ↩ ↩²

7. Wikiwand – Bop-A-Bet – programming and art credits, educational gameplay description ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

8. Kagi FastGPT Research – Computer Gaming World review summary, gameplay description ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

9. Kiddle Encyclopedia – Bop-A-Bet – adaptive difficulty, educational focus ↩ ↩²

10. MobyGames – Bop-A-Bet – credits, technical specifications, platform details ↩ ↩²

11. Sierra Gamers Forum – List of Sierra Products – internal Sierra product documentation ↩