World Class Leader Board: A Retro Golf Game that Still Holds Up Today

As I sit down to talk about one of my childhood favorites, it's hard to believe it's been decades since Access Software released World Class Leader Board in 1987. This game was a staple of many an 8-bit home computer user, including myself, and it's amazing to think that it's still remembered fondly by many today.

Developed and published by Access Software, the same company behind the popular Linksseries of golf games, World Class Leader Board was designed to be a challenging and immersive golfing experience. The game featured simple yet colorful graphics, with detailed courses and realistic sound effects, making it feel like a mini-vacation from the world outside.

As I played through various levels of the game, I couldn't help but notice how well the developers had captured the essence of real golf. From the nuances of club selection to the satisfaction of sinking a tricky putt, World Class Leader Board made me feel like I was really on the course. And yet, despite its simple graphics and sound effects, the game still managed to deliver a sense of immersion and wonder that's hard to find in modern games.

One of the things that struck me most about World Class Leader Board was its sense of arbitrary timing. Swinging your club and snapping back into place seemed like it should be a precise science, but in reality, it felt like a delicate dance between luck and skill. Judging the distance and trajectory of your shot required a keen eye and a steady hand, making even the simplest shots feel like a challenge.

And yet, despite these challenges, I found myself coming back to the game again and again. There was something about World Class Leader Board that felt special, a sense of wonder and excitement that's hard to find in modern games. Maybe it was the simplicity of the graphics or the way everything redraws itself when you move, but whatever it was, it made me feel like I was inside this little virtual golf world, one that felt potentially infinite.

I think part of the appeal of World Class Leader Board is its connection to the past. Playing on an older system like my childhood PC was a blast, and the game's retro charm only added to the experience. But even beyond the nostalgia factor, there's something intangibly cool about playing such an advanced golf game on an old AT-class PC or something even older.

In many ways, World Class Leader Board feels like a lost art. Modern games have moved on to more complex and realistic simulations of golf, but in doing so, they've lost some of the charm and simplicity that made games like this one so enjoyable. So if you're looking for a game that will challenge you, challenge your perceptions, and deliver a sense of wonder and excitement, then World Class Leader Board is definitely worth checking out.

For those interested in more retro gaming content, be sure to check out some of my other videos on classy games from the '80s and '90s. I've got a whole library of them waiting for you, and I'll be posting new ones every week. And if you don't mind waiting just a little bit, you can click the Subscribe button to get notified whenever there's more content. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon, where I interact with viewers and share updates about upcoming videos.

In conclusion, World Class Leader Board is still a game that holds up today, even decades after its initial release. Its simple yet immersive gameplay, combined with its retro charm and sense of wonder, make it a must-play for anyone looking to experience the thrill of golf in a bygone era.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en♪♪Well, it's that time again here on LGR.Time to walk in from just off-cameraand talk about a game from mychildhood that was one of thosefirsts for me in gaming.Now, before I have coveredwhat was probably the first open-endedadventure kind of RPG fantasy thing for me.But, uh, this time around,it's time to look at what is probably thevery first sports game that I ever played.Oh, yeah...World Class Leader Board,developed and published byAccess Software, Inc. in 1987for popular 8-bit home computerslike the Commodore 64 and Sinclair Spectrum.And, yes, that's the same Access Softwarethat made the popular Linksseries of golf games in the '90s,although before World ClassLeader Board, they releasedLeader Board and Leader Board Executive a year prior.But we're looking at World Classbecause it's one classy worldand as such is the best of the Leader Board series.It was a lot like the older games,but it added a top-down view,printable scorecards, punch shots,a course editor, more graphical details,and on the PC version,a feature called Real Soundthat made its debut in this game andanother Access title called Echelon.Inside the box, you get the gameon a world class floppy disk,and a manual detailing all the details of the game,the courses you'll be playing on,and instructions for editing coursesand the finer details of golf in general.You're also supposed to get asecurity key in the box in this version,which is a dongle that plugsinto a port on your computerand acts as the game'soff-disk copy protection.Mine didn't come with one,so I had to resort to becoming a dirty piratejust to play my legit copy.And in this edition, you actually gotthe first expansion disk to the game,which added four new 18-holecourses on a separate floppy diskand came with a fold-out booklet,providing information on those, as wellas advertising the other expansions.First up is the Commodore 64 game,since this is one of theearliest and is just awesome,especially for the hardware it's on.The game can take a while to load,and obviously the color depth is a bit lacking,but the game play is all thereand that's all you really need.Except when you need more, andin that case you can always do better,like the MS-DOS EGA PCversion released in 1989.While there are even better versions than this,the rest of the video I'mgoing to be showing the PC port,'cause DOS and nostalgiacombined are impossible to ignore.Booting up the game provides you with the title screenand an example of the patentedReal Sound technology in action.Yeah, those sound effects arecoming from the PC speaker,which is pretty darned impressive.6-bit digitized PCM audio playbackfrom hardware that normally only provided beepsblew my mind when I first heard it as a kid,and since I didn't have asound card, this was amazing.From the main menu, you canselect the number of players,from one up to four, and go from there.Alongside things like changingthe ball color and difficulty,you have three real-life courses to choose from,Cypress Creek, Doral Country Club and St. Andrews,as well as one fictional course,the Gauntlet Country Club.Of course, you can play custom courses,or those from expansion disks, too,accessing them through the softwareby pressing a key combo on the main menu screen.You can also bring up thecourse editor using another keythat you have to readthe manual to know about,which naturally allows you to edit courses.Well, somewhat,as it's rather unintuitiveand only lets you do so much,but, hey, it's better than nothing.To play a round of golf,play a round of golf,where you're greeted by thescenery loading in piece by pieceand the peaceful sound of crickets and frogs.Pressing Space or a joystick buttonmakes your dude start swingin'.And if you've played prettymuch any golf game ever,it's rather intuitive what to do.Hold the button down until the meteron the right reaches the power you want,then let go and press thebutton again at the right timeto make sure you don'thook, draw, fade, pull, push,thrust, twist, turn, exfoliate,slice, or dice the shot.ANNOUNCER:Looks like he hit the tree, Jim.Dang it, Jim! I'm a golfer, not a wood cutter!Yet I'm always hitting the tree.And the sand traps.And the water.ANNOUNCER:Ooh, can't be too happy about that one.Man, I suck at World Class Leader Board!Holy crap, I inhale throughmy mouth so sharply.Even playing on Kids difficulty,which makes all shots perfectlystraight and removes wind and such,I still end up with some ludicrous scoreof thirty over or something.And yet, I keep coming back to this game,and whenever I start playing it,I find it difficult to stop.Even if I play seventeen terrible holes,by the eighteenth, I still feel like THISone will be that awesome double birdie.I feel strangely compelled to master it,even when I don't alwaysknow exactly what club to use,or whether or not I should be usinga punch shot or pitching wedgeor if the slope of the green is reallygoing to affect the putt how I think it will.Hmm, or maybe now that I think of it,it could be the fault of the gamefor being so freaking vaguewith these details that makes me suck at it.Yes, there are meters, numbersand graphics to let you knowhow far you need to hit the ball and at what angle,but interpreting them can be liketranslating doctor scribble sometimes.Yeah, I see it, I think I know what it's saying,but I'm not 100 percent,so I'll just do my best and–Oh, there goes the balla hundred yards off course.Again.For one thing, swinging your cluband the timing of the snapis just WAY to freakin' arbitrary.Now, absolutely, it should be tough to time thingsso that you hit the ball perfectly straight,but it shouldn't be so that it hooks or sliceslike a tornado is overheadwhen you're just a tiny fractionof a second or a pixel off.Not only that, but judging the relation betweenthe measurement of how far the hole isto the indication of the poweryou're using on the meteris just ridiculous.Here, it feels like I'm not given the toolsto do as well as I should be doingwith the information the game is giving me.And yet, I keep playingcourse after course.There's just something about old golf games,particularly this one,that just fills me with a senseof wonder when I start playing.Maybe it's the simplicity of the graphics,or the way everything redraws itself when you move,or the eerily scarce but impressive sound effects.I dunno, I guess it's the combination of all threethat makes me feel like I'minside this little virtual golf worldthat feel potentially infinite.Like, if I could just hit my ballbeyond THAT tree right over there,there'd be this weird little shackor building to check out, oranother golfer just doinghis thing on a nice sunny day,or the yeti from SkiFree, or something.I always got a strange sense ofimagination-fueled immersionwhen playing World Class Leader Board as a kid,and if I let my mind wander a bit, I can still get that,which really made the game feel special to me,and still does.Though I would sooner recommend their laterLinks games from a gameplay perspective,as those just expanded on literally everythingand made it easier to determinewhat each shot should do,which makes them hold up far better today.But there's something intangibly coolabout playing such an advanced golf gameon an AT-class PC or something even older.And combine that with the fond memoriesand maybe even a bit of infuriatingmultiplayer action with friends,and World Class Leader Boardis still in a class of its ownas far as I'm concerned.♪♪And if you'd like more videoson classy games from the '80sand the '90s and 2000s and...other decades that exist in time,you're on the right channel.I have made a lot more of them,so why not click on some of these to see them?Or if you don't mind waiting a little bit,you can click the Subscribe buttonand be notified whenever there's more,because I do more of them every week.And if that's still not enough,there's other avenues ofonline existence out therelike Twitter, Facebook and Patreonthat I interact more with viewers onand you can even supportme a little bit in the process.And as always, thank you for watching.\n"