BibleBytes was a family-run software venture founded by the Conrod family in the early
1980s, publishing Christian-themed BASIC games for home computers at a time when
faith-based software was virtually nonexistent.
Founded ca. 1982; games published through Accent Publications
Originally developed for the Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer, then ported to the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A and Timex/Sinclair (1982–83)
Games were distributed as type-in BASIC programs in book form — players typed the source code themselves from printed listings
Titles included Noah's Ark, The Rapture Game, and several others, all with evangelistic themes
The Conrod family has remained active in Christian publishing; BibleBytes materials continue to be available through biblebytebooks.com
The full original book — Computer Bible Games (Accent Publications, 1982),
including BASIC source listings for all games — is available as a
scanned PDF via the Color Computer Archive.
ADAPTATIONS IN THIS VERSION
This browser version is based directly on the original BASIC source code for
The Rapture Game. The core gameplay loop — guess a grid location to witness
to a moving person, with a limited number of tries before they move — is preserved
faithfully. The following adaptations were made for playability and retro aesthetics.
Display
Original: TRS-80 text terminal, green phosphor CRT
New: 16×19 grid (304 cells, 0–303) sized for browser display
Proximity Hints
Original: No proximity feedback after guesses
New: VERY CLOSE / CLOSE / MISSED feedback after each guess
Intro screen text, scoring display, and end-screen format ("Out of A opportunities /
You witnessed to B people") follow the original source directly.
GAMEPLAY, GOALS & STRATEGY
THE GOAL
Witness to as many people as possible before the "rapture bar" fills completely. A person
is hidden somewhere on the 304-cell grid. Each time you correctly guess their location you
witness to them — they then move to a new position and you continue. The game ends when
the rapture bar reaches 100%. Your final score shows total opportunities taken and how
many people you witnessed to.
HOW EACH ROUND WORKS
The person appears silently at a random cell (0–303) — you cannot see where they are
Type a cell number and press WITNESS to make a guess
The game tells you how close your guess was (see proximity hints below)
You have 4 misses or 12 seconds — whichever comes first — before the person moves to a new location
A correct guess witnesses to that person; they immediately move and the round resets
Each successful witness slightly slows the rapture bar — accuracy pays off
UNDERSTANDING THE GRID
The grid is 16 columns wide and 19 rows tall, giving 304 cells numbered 0–303. Numbers
run left to right, top to bottom: row 0 is cells 0–15, row 1 is 16–31, and so on down
to row 18 (cells 288–303). To find any cell: (row × 16) + column.
Useful row anchors to memorise: 0, 48, 96, 144, 192, 240, 288.
PROXIMITY HINTS
VERY CLOSE
8 cells or fewer away
Within half a row of the person. Adjust by ±1 to ±8. A hit should follow within one or two guesses.
CLOSE
9–24 cells away
Within one to two rows. Move by ±16 (one row at a time), then scan left or right in smaller steps.
MISSED
25+ cells away
More than 1½ rows away. Change zones — jump by ±50 to ±100 and reorient before guessing again.
Distance = |your guess − person's cell number| (absolute difference, not visual distance on screen)
STRATEGY
1
Start in the middle
Open with cell 152 (dead centre). The hint immediately tells you whether the person is in the top or bottom half, halving the search space on your first guess.
2
Move by rows first
Each row is 16 cells wide. Once you have an approximate zone, adjust in steps of ±16 to close in row by row before hunting across the column.
3
Then scan columns
When the hint reads VERY CLOSE, you are in the right row. Try ±1, ±2, ±4 to find the column. The midpoint of any row is its start number plus 7 or 8.
4
Guess fast
The 12-second clock runs constantly. Speed matters more than certainty — commit to a guess and adjust, rather than deliberating while the rapture bar fills.
5
Watch your move count
On your 4th miss the person is already gone. Use that final guess to probe a new zone rather than retrying a location you have already failed on.
6
Know your row anchors
Memorise a handful of row starts — 0, 48, 96, 144, 192, 240, 288 — and count from the nearest one. This gives you a fast mental map of any cell number.
ATTRIBUTION & FAIR USE
This browser game is an unofficial adaptation of The Rapture Game, originally
published as a type-in BASIC program in Computer Bible Games (Accent Publications,
1982) by the Conrod family / BibleBytes. All original intellectual property rights remain
with their respective owners.
Fair Use Notice
This adaptation is produced solely for educational and personal preservation
purposes. It is non-commercial, may not be redistributed or sold, and is not
a substitute for the original work. It has been made in good faith under fair use
provisions on the following grounds:
Purpose: Non-commercial, educational, and transformative — porting a 1982 BASIC listing to a modern browser environment with new visuals, audio, and mechanics
Nature: The original is a published creative work; however, the underlying game mechanics (guess a location, witness to people) are not themselves copyrightable — only specific expression is
Amount: A partial BASIC listing was used as reference; the final product is substantially rewritten code, not a verbatim reproduction
Market effect: The original 1982 product is not currently available commercially in its original form; this adaptation is unlikely to harm its market
This does not constitute legal advice. Those wishing to reproduce or redistribute this
adaptation should consider seeking direct permission from the Conrod family / BibleBytes,
who remain active at biblebytebooks.com.
AI TRANSPARENCY
This browser adaptation of The Rapture Game was coded entirely with the assistance
of Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic), developed
in a single collaborative session on May 16, 2026.
No code was written by hand. All HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python image-generation scripts,
and documentation were produced through iterative AI-assisted prompting and revision.
What this means
The game logic, visual design, audio engine, screen flow, and this documentation page were
all generated through natural-language prompts in conversation with Claude. The human
contribution was conceptual direction, editorial judgment, source material, and all
decisions about what the game should be — including five major revision rounds that shaped
the final version.
PROCESS & WORKFLOW — VERSION 5.3
The following summarises the prompting and revision workflow that produced the final game:
1
Research & Source Recovery
The session began with a search for a playable online version of the 1982 BibleBytes game. Claude identified the original as a type-in BASIC program in book form, located the scanned book on Archive.org, and established that no pre-built ROM or disk image existed.
2
Source Code Provision
The user transcribed the TRS-80 BASIC source code for The Rapture Game directly from the scanned book and provided it in the conversation. Claude identified the dialect (TRS-80 Color Computer BASIC), mapped the key game logic, variables, and control flow, and confirmed what was and was not in the original.
3
Initial Browser Version (v1)
Claude produced the first playable HTML/JS version, translating the BASIC logic into a browser game with a CRT-style green phosphor aesthetic, a 16×25 grid, and a rapture progress bar. Core mechanics — numeric cell guessing, proximity hints, 3-miss move trigger — were implemented from the source.
4
Iterative Aesthetic Revision (v2–v4)
Multiple rounds addressed: intro screen styling (cover-inspired, then Apple II blue, then back to green CRT), how-to-play screen content and layout, character representation (pixel sprite → stick figure → smiley face), removal of non-original grid props, NES-style Web Audio music and sound effects, and consistent colour brightness across all screens.
5
Gameplay Refinement (v5)
Final gameplay changes: 12-second round timer, 4-miss limit, slower and more ominous looping melody in a minor key, yellow guess markers, grid reduced to 16×19 (304 cells), rapture bar moved below the grid, and stat boxes relocated to the bottom. End-screen revised to remove scripture quote and cross symbol.
6
Cheat Sheet & Infographics
Claude generated an interactive in-chat reference guide (grid map, proximity hints, strategy tips) and three downloadable JPG infographics rendered via Python/Pillow, all styled to match the game's green/amber palette.
7
Documentation Page
This page was generated by Claude and refined through a final prompt round incorporating section reordering, removal of embedded infographics, addition of creator credit and contact details, fair use framing, and this AI transparency statement.
Tools used: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) — HTML / CSS / JavaScript / Python (Pillow) — Web Audio API — Browser Canvas API