Have got hold of the Polybius ROM, however, does anyone know how to get it working?

I have played this game, not on an original machine but a on a Commodore 64. Though I didn't suffer amnesia or nightmares the game certainly does something to your head.

As you begin it doesn't seem that odd, just many pretty colors and psychedelic patterns, but as you play you get sucked in, you become less aware of your surroundings and your concentration becomes more and more focused on the game to the point where nothing outside of the game matters. I was playing alone one night, the phone(10ft away!) rang eight times while I was playing and I didn't even notice! I played it for 6 hours solid and only stopped when my mother turned it off, though it seemed like I had barely played at all. It is a little creepy the effect it is has on you, but I reckon the only conspiracy is one by the game designers to make you play over and over!

This all happened in 1987, years ago, I was 14 at the time. Someone got a copy of it on tape and copied it and sold them to us.

Using mirrors and a laserdisc or something you could superimpose the vector graphics onto the images with 1980ish tech no doubt... so the tech was there, I think...

The existence of Polybius has been debated for many years. If you read the recent article from a former intelligence agent then not only did it exist but it has a current format already in circulation. He that Polybius was devised to identify children with special attributes. What these were he wouldn't say.

I agree, I'd like to read this article myself.

Yeah, I read the Cracked article too, and for some reason that I cant pinpoint (too many video games?), I am chomping at the bit for more regarding "Polybius".

With all the evidence available (not much) and common sense, I personally believe this to be just an urban legend, but the origins of it is what has piqued my curiosity.

While reading the article on Cracked, a bit of my memory seemed to get jogged from my brain archives, and that feeling of "I've heard this story before" kept getting more intense. I have memories of talking about this, or something extremely similar in the early 90's (coin op mortal kombat era, so very early 90's) with my friends. The problem is though, from reading the article and their sources, is that if this is an urban legend, it would seem to be one born of the internet age.

I know that human memory is one of the most unreliable forms of testimony, so I am totally open to the fact that I could be confusing this with something else, but I am curious if anybody else remembers this from the "pre-internet" days as well? If not, no harm done.

I am curious though as to the interview jones was referring to, as I would be very interested in reading it if he or somebody else could provide a source for the claims he claimed were made.

A very, very interesting thread. I wish this Polybius thing was real, because I would love to test it out. I would love to!

Oh well...guess we'll never really know. If any top-secret government sector had anything to do with it, the game has been made to never have existed at all. That's what they are good at...making things disappear forever.