http://www.oldgames.sk/docs/codewheel/

They are quite useless now, but I can not resist to download them all. :-/

I just realised that if this is DRM, then some games on GOG are not technically DRM-free. The Star Trek adventure games for ecample still requir you to use the outside-the-game star map which served the same purpose as the wheels.

I think of it more as Paper Rights Management. As long as you manage not to lose the paper, you're good.

And yeah, code wheels. Some of those were pretty neat.

But now the map is a pdf file, so it's digital too!

Oh. Umm, then be sure to back that sucker up! But at least they aren't those stupid phone-home or online registration schemes.

it's analogue rights management!

With a game involving a manual or code wheel (or whatever) check, it was possible to lose that physical item, and therefore be unable to use your software.
As far as I'm aware, every GOG game that still requires such a check (and many, if not most, of those that originally did, no longer do, as far as I know; the code wheels and [nullified] in-game prompts and such are often included/kept just for nostalgia's sake) includes any required external reference document(s) in the game's install folder. If you have the GOG version of such a game, in other words, you have everything required to play it. Any password checks no longer serve any copy protection/DRM purpose.

It's debatable whether every single game sold on GOG is actually 100% DRM-free (even by GOG's own specific definition), but I think it's safe to say that the code wheels and manual checks no longer count as DRM in this case.

Just to be clear- I wasn't being serious. It was just an amusing thought that struck me, no an actuall worry about DRM. I totally don't mind and don't care about debating semantics as long as I can playthe gmae offline whenver and wherever I want.

'Saright. I've seen other people make the "Oh no! Game has an active manual check, so GOG has DRMed games!" argument before, and I've wanted to properly rebut this; you were just my excuse. :) (I was using you! Ahaha!)
EDITED because of terrible writing that was terrible.

But... I... I thought we had something special!

The GOG version of "Laura Bow:The Colonel's Bequest" includes the "Identify the fingerprint " DRM at the start of the game. The fingerprint chart is included with the download, thought.

I have the Monkey Island 1 and 2 code wheels somewhere at my old homestead. And they're pristine, like actually look like new, because I never used them. My LAEC 10 adventures only ever worked with SCUMM VM, and SCUMM VM kills the copy protection.

Indeed good old times. Thanks you made my day :D

True, including also games asking for a keyword from a manual.

But if you have that manual or starmap or whatever as an easily copied PDF or such, then that DRM is basically rendered meaningless, it doesn't serve its original purpose anymore (ie. that you couldn't pass the game to someone else because it is so hard to copy the whole paper manual/starnap as well).

At that point it becomes merely nitpicking whether the game has that old form of DRM anymore. Maybe it does, but it doesn't affect anything anymore, other than a small nuisance because you still have to waste a couple of seconds to look up for that keyword or whatever from the PDF manual.

EDIT: I guess this was ninjaed already, but whatever.