# The Hobbit, native: a routine-by-routine C port of the ZX Spectrum game

> The Hobbit, native ports the 1982 ZX Spectrum game to C one Z80 routine at a time, guided by an annotated SkoolKit disassembly. It provides a faithful version preserving register and memory behavior plus a separate edition that fixes identified bugs, with a reference runner that compares routine effects and transcripts against the original.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-09
- Original resource: <https://github.com/7ucina/hobbit-1982-native>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/7ucina/hobbit-1982-native/blob/5be9cacfd482a9f8f8c3c8671d594494199965aa/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/hobbit-1982-native-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/hobbit-1982-native-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/hobbit-1982-native-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** Supply your own version 1.2 The Hobbit tape image; a Spectrum 48K ROM improves hardware-matching results.
- **Prerequisites:** Requires a C compiler and SDL2.
- **Limits:** The faithful native port differs when the original overwrites its own code and in some restart-seed behavior.
- **License:** MIT License.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/7ucina/hobbit-1982-native/blob/5be9cacfd482a9f8f8c3c8671d594494199965aa/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/7ucina/hobbit-1982-native/blob/5be9cacfd482a9f8f8c3c8671d594494199965aa/docs/PORTING.md>
3. <https://github.com/7ucina/hobbit-1982-native/blob/5be9cacfd482a9f8f8c3c8671d594494199965aa/LICENSE>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.