Green described the game as "exceedingly simple ... yet very addictive" and rated it four of five stars. McGrath wrote that he wanted to have more control over his money, and added that a store for purchasing upgrades would have been useful. He thought that games such as "Dunjonquest" and "Maces and Magic" handled this aspect better. McGrath suggested that the player draw their own map in the absence of an overview mapping system. He said that his appreciation for the game grew with time and that it had the necessary hook to make him continually return and play again. Tony Roberts of "Compute!" considered the Commodore 64 version of the game best for its enhanced graphics. "The Commodore 64 GHome Companion" agreed, stating that it "has some fine sprite graphics and sound effects not found in other versions of the game". Scorpia in 1993 stated that while "Telengard" was "interesting for its time, the game would be pretty dated today" compared to the Gold Box games; "back then, however, it was hot stuff, and a fun way of passing the time".