Pyramid of Peril — a 3D maze from 1985 Runs here
1985 · Aegis Development · System 6 · Mini vMac (Mac Plus) · 512×342 black and white
Guide updated September 2026
A first-person walk through the corridors of a pyramid, drawn in black and white on a 1985 Macintosh. Pyramid of Peril gives you six buttons, forward, back, turn left, turn right, climb up and climb down, and a pyramid to find your way through, with your condition and score in the corner.
It was published by Aegis Development in 1985, and this copy boots from its own original floppy, System and all, on an emulated Macintosh Plus.
Boots from the original 1985 floppy straight into the pyramid. Click the buttons under the view to move, turn and climb.
Controls
| Move Forward / Backward | Step along the corridor |
| Turn Left / Right | Face a new direction |
| Climb Up / Down | Use the ladders between levels |
| Map menu | See where you have been |
Aegis Development closed decades ago and Pyramid of Peril has not been sold since the 1980s. It is preserved here on the same footing as the rest of the early Macintosh catalogue. Full reasoning is in notices/pyramid-of-peril.md, and the takedown promise applies without argument.
Archives and originals
- Internet Archive: the floppy this copy came from.
How it works & what to expect
| Machine | Macintosh Plus, 512×342, black and white |
|---|---|
| System | The floppy's own 1985 System |
| Emulator | Mini vMac, compiled to WebAssembly |
| Version | 1 (1985) |
Applications from 1985 often crash later versions of the Mac system, so this one boots the way it shipped: from the original floppy, which starts the game directly instead of the Finder.
Finding your way
The view on the left is what is in front of you; the panel on the right shows ladders and the way up or down. Everything is done with the six buttons under the view, so it plays entirely with the mouse.
Your condition starts at 100 per cent and your score at nothing. Use the Map menu often: corridors look alike, and the pyramid is built to lose you.
Why it is here
Pyramid of Peril is from the first year of Macintosh games, when a first-person 3D view on a black-and-white screen was an achievement in itself. If you like it, Scarab of Ra is a bigger pyramid adventure from two years later.
Questions people ask
Do I need the keyboard?
No. The six buttons under the view do everything.
Why black and white?
It is a 1985 game for the original Macintosh, which had a black-and-white screen.
Is there a similar game here?
Scarab of Ra, from 1987, is a bigger pyramid adventure with food, a lamp and creatures to deal with.
Who made Pyramid of Peril?
Aegis Development, in 1985, for the original Macintosh.
Why is there no Mac desktop first?
This copy boots from the original floppy, which was set up to start the game directly rather than the Finder. That is also why it runs reliably: 1985 programs often crash later Mac system software.
Does it work on a touchscreen?
Mostly. Every action is an on-screen button, so taps work, though a mouse is more comfortable.
Put Pyramid of Peril on your own site
Free, no permission needed and no account. Paste this where you want the machine to appear; it brings its own emulator and asks nothing of your page.
<iframe src="https://macemu.com/embed/pyramid-of-peril/"
width="512" height="342"
style="border:0;max-width:100%"
allowfullscreen
title="Pyramid of Peril"></iframe>Sized to this title's real screen. How embedding works.
