Over a year has passed since my OP, and with a range of life issues taking over I haven't come back to a solution to my original problem since very recently. (Still in the tragic camp - e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC#Nostalgia). With a bit more research, the options for resurrecting old BASIC code (line-numbered, unstructured) either natively or with suitable correction - as 6502coder pointed out with my ATARI-dialect "Werewolf" example earlier in the thread. And I'll be trying to steer clear of vbasic, QBAS64 and QBasic given the overheads discussed frequently by others wiser than I on a lot of fora (including Murga's)
There are a range of possibilities (current dribblings before I get sucked back into the real world for another year):
1. BaCon GUI + HUG
BarryK's example here (http://bkhome.org/archive/bacon/my-1st- ... index.html) has got me dreaming of converting ye olde BASIC games into neat little C + GTK applications - provided the line numbers/calls are appropriately updated to structured Basic format. However, while at the time of writing Bacon 3.7.3 is available from PPM, the Bacon GUI doesn't appear in the menu. I've dumped the "Werewolves and Wanderer" text in and there are label issues from the get-go. Looks hopeful, will have to pour through the documentation... [http://www.basic-converter.org/] and to what others have achieved under gatordog's inspiration (e.gs., BaCon Bits; BaCon, HUG & Thanks for the fishes.)
2. FreeBASIC plus Geany
FreeBASIC apparently can cope with unstructured BASIC with the old line numbers - but modern flow controls are preferred (and I have to get my head around those). I have spent a *little* time with geany 1.29, but how to save dumped code as an executable *.bac file is something I will have to look into.
3. SDL_basic: SDL-based Basic interpreter
THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR Only just found it! Already has Wumpus, Star Trek and a load of other line-numbered programs. In Dpup Stretch 7.5 the 1.0.2 pet from 2009 works OOTB. Menu entry issues at present, but hopeful that *.bas files can be sorted out (there was a post from somebody specifically on this issue). From muggins' readme:
So - I'm not the only oneThis is an implementation of the language BASIC I made to expose my kids to programming...
4. Gambas3
No line numbers, as far as I can tell. Will have to be translated first into structured BASIC..
5. Online compilers
{INCOMPLETE NOTES example given earlier, other sites found that interpret and/or compile in the browser}
6. Translation (e.g., JSBasic-(GW-Basic dialect required))
{the ideal way I think to link the history with modern flow commands, languages eg javascript, lua, python maybe...}
7. PuppyBASIC/wxBasicScript
{MU's project, stalled but still functional? wxBasicscript is around somewhere, but from what I can see wxBasic (wxWidgets) looks like doing the same job as BaCon+HUG - unless I am much mistaken}