Swords & Serpents

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Follow this link for info about the review system. 1 = Terrible, 5 = Awesome!

Wizard or Knight, join the fight! Can you unlock the secret message?

Swords & SerpentsGraphics: 4
Sound: 3
Replay Value: 4
Notes: 1- or 2-player game
Screen Shots

It seems Intellivision offered more RPG style games than the other systems of its day. Swords & Serpents has good visuals, if a rather sparse soundtrack. And it was the first Intellivision game in which I found the true Easter egg all by myself! I even got (and still have) the Swords & Serpents poster! How many of those posters are there still today?




ROM No ROM variants have been identified.
Box So far, four variations have been found.
Manual Three variants have been identified.
Overlays Two different overlay variations are known to exist.
Label To date, three labels have been recorded.
Easter Eggs An in-game Easter egg exists.




A total of four Swords & Serpents box variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Swords & Serpents Box (Imagic 710009-1A) Imagic 710009-1A 1983 U.S.A. Has blurb about contest to win a free poster; standard black tray with cardboard backing; DOES NOT have game name and catalog number on top; game title on silver background on spine
Swords & Serpents Box (Imagic 710009-1B) Imagic 710009-1B 1983 U.S.A. Has blurb about contest to win a free poster; standard black tray with cardboard backing; DOES NOT have game name and catalog number on top; game title on blue background on spine
Swords & Serpents Box (Imagic 710009-2A) Imagic 710009-2A 1983 U.S.A. International Edition—text in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; standard black tray with cardboard backing; DOES NOT have game name and catalog number on top; game title on silver background on spine
Swords & Serpents Box (Imagic 710009-2B) Imagic 710009-2B 1983 U.S.A. International Edition—text in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; standard black tray with cardboard backing; DOES NOT have game name and catalog number on top; game title on blue background on spine. Tray is overall excellent, but with some edge wear on cardboard backing.

At least two versions of the Swords & Serpents box were released in the U.S.A. as seen at the top of the page. Two international versions were also printed, and didn't advertise the "Wizard's Challenge" contest.

The spine of the Swords & Serpents boxes changed from rev. A to rev. B for both the domestic and international editions.

Swords & Serpents Spine (revs. A, 2A)
Revisions A and 2A of the box followed the old black-on-silver style.

Swords & Serpents Spine (revs. B, 2B)
Revisions B and 2B of the box used the later, blue-on-white lettering scheme.





A total of three Swords & Serpents manual variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Swords & Serpents Manual (Imagic 700009-1A) Imagic 700009-1A 1983 U.S.A. This is the only Imagic manual I have seen that uses a serif font for the "GAME PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS" heading on the cover for the English-only version.
Swords & Serpents Manual (Imagic 700009-2A) Imagic 700009-2A 1983 U.S.A. International Edition—instructions in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish
Image not available. Imagic ???? None   Dutch; noted by cmart; need confirmation of color, part number, et. al.; assume shocking red cover; released by Dunnet

Supplemental Materials

The following supplemental materials have been found for Swords & Serpents.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Swords & Serpents Additional Materials (Imagic) Imagic N/A 1983 U.S.A. Poster prize for uncovering the secret of the Dragon's lair!




A total of four Swords & Serpents overlay variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Swords & Serpents Overlay (Imagic 740008-1A) Imagic 740008-1A 1982   Wizard overlay for the left controller
Swords & Serpents Overlay (Imagic 740009-1A) Imagic 740009-1A 1982   Knight overlay for the right controller
Swords & Serpents Overlay (Phil Boland 740008-1A<br>PRTD2014) Phil Boland 740008-1A
PRTD2014
1982   Part of the Imagic Overlays 2.0 Set (2016); Wizard overlay for the left controller
Swords & Serpents Overlay (Phil Boland 740009-1A<br>PRTD2014) Phil Boland 740009-1A
PRTD2014
1982   Part of the Imagic Overlays 2.0 Set (2016); Knight overlay for the right controller




A total of three Swords & Serpents label variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Swords & Serpents Label (Imagic 720009-1A) Imagic 720009-1A 1983 U.S.A. Picture label
Swords & Serpents Label (Imagic #720009-2 Rev. A) Imagic #720009-2 Rev. A 1983 U.S.A. International Edition—label text in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; silver label
Swords & Serpents Label (Imagic #720009-2 Rev. A) Imagic #720009-2 Rev. A 1983 U.S.A. International Edition—label text in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; black label




Title Screen Title screen for Swords & Serpents.
Wizard and Warrior A co-worker saw a screenshot from Swords & Serpents and blurted out: Gauntlet! Hmm...





Well, I'm going to give myself credit for this Easter egg. :P Although my friend Kim probably beat me to it. To find the initials of the programmer (BPD), you have to get to the deepest layer of the dungeon. It's a lot easier if you're the wizard, but once you go in, it's likely you'll be trapped.

If you're the wizard, load up on "Destroy Walls" spells. Find the huge, 5-wall thick block and blast your way in. There's a beautifully rendered, but totally harmless, dragon in that room. Wander around a bit, and you'll uncover the BPD initials.

If you're playing as the warrior, you can back into the room along a diagonal, through one of the corners. The ability to slither through the corners was something pretty handy to get around quickly.

Imagic encouraged you to find this Easter egg with the blurb on the box. To prove that I actually did find this Easter egg, here is a picture of the poster you won for finding the egg.

I don't have a screen shot of this one yet, as I've not spent the time in an emulator to get to that part of the game. If anyone out there would like to contribute one send it in!




If you find new, contradictory, or other information you wish to share, please send a message!