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Redhook's Revenge II

Redhook's Revenge II

by vunderba·May 14, 2026·1 point·0 comments

AI Analysis

●●●●GemWizardryCozyZero to One

Injects trivia by patching 1993 binary blobs in-memory without shifting a single byte offset.

Strengths
  • Reverse-engineering undocumented binary formats to preserve 30-year-old pointer integrity is wild craft.
  • js-dos port makes a DOS-exclusive game playable in any modern browser instantly.
  • Secured official blessing from the original author despite lost source code.
Weaknesses
  • Niche appeal limits audience to those who care about DOS-era edutainment quirks.
  • Relies on js-dos emulation layer which can be heavy or flaky on some devices.
Category
Target Audience

Retro gaming enthusiasts, demoscene hobbyists, JavaScript tinkerers

Similar To

DOSBox · Internet Archive Software Collection · ExodusDOS

Post Description

A favorite game of mine as a kid was an old DOS game called Redhook's Revenge released all the way back in 1993. It was an interactive naval board game where you roll dice, move ships, conquer ports Risk-style, and answer maritime trivia. My sister and I spent hours playing it until we'd basically memorized every question.

About 10 years ago, I reverse engineered the game's packed binary asset format to inject new general knowledge trivia questions, being careful not to shift any memory offsets pointing to sound effects or graphics, which would crash the game. On a whim, I tracked down the original author, who while they no longer had the source code, did give me permission to release an official sequel (joking that I only had to split any earnings over $100,000 with him).

The original remake used .NET and DOSBox and only ran on Windows, which really missed the spirit of the project, so I ported it to run in the browser using js-dos so anyone can play it. The core game is the same (e.g. dice, ships, trivia) but with random general knowledge questions so it's more like Trivial Pursuit meets naval Risk.

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