Gold Digger

Gold Digger: The Lost Mines is a fast-paced, multi-screen platform game by Tad Woods (T&T Software), released in 1995 and described in its own documentation as "the ULTIMATE balance of STRATEGY and arcade-style ACTION." Macintosh Garden frames it as "a cross between Lode Runner and Donkey Kong" - mining gold across screens of ladders, hazards, and AI villains.

Gameplay

Players use grappling hooks and dynamite to mine gold and outsmart "artificially intelligent villains" across single-screen stages. The submission emphasizes that Gold Digger is a balance of strategy and arcade action rather than a pure twitch platformer.

Content

The release ships with 175 built-in screens, including 25 Novice Mines screens for new players, plus a level editor for creating your own. Color graphics, integrated documentation, and in-app help notes round out the package.

System requirements

Per the BinHex notes, any Macintosh running System 6.0.3 or later, with 2.5 MB of RAM in color or 1.5 MB in black and white. The game supports both small and large screens, fitting comfortably on early compact Macs as well as larger desktops of the mid-1990s.

Shareware status

Originally a $15 shareware release with some features disabled until registration, Gold Digger had its registration removed in 2022 and is now distributed free through the archive. Three downloads (1.3.1, 1.2.1, and a 1.2.2 update) cover both branches.