the

ENCYCLOPEDIA

copy/paste:
DaddaRuleKonge
2016 - (v2) 2021
 DaddaRuleKonge
A book made for people who collect for, or are interested in, the
Atari 2600. Made because I like to learn more about the system.
I have tried to make the book well presented and easy to look
through, even though it may come through as something of a patch
work. If you are happy with the book then please look at some of
the web-sites on the “Reference Guide” page. Find a site that you
like and give them some spending money.
The book DOES include some information that is wrong. The Atari
2600 was a very difficult system to research for, and a lot of infor-
mation has irregularities. I tried to sort out most of the wrong info
but some are bound to get trough the cracks. I also got a lot of help
from users of AtariAge on this issue.
If you are annoyed, or the owner of some of the content i used in
this book, send an email to me: sennep@hotmail.com. The book
is free, and I hope the information and pictures I use comes under
free-use.
I hope you will get some use of this book, and maybe help you in
your quest on collecting, or just having fun with this great system.

Similar books/PDF`s in the same format cover NES, SNES, PSX,

SMS, N64, Game&Watch, NeoGeo, including several other book
in the same vein, from TMNT toys to Point and Click games.
http://daddarulekonge.itch.io/
 Atari 2600
”Wikipedia”
9

Ted Dabney and Nolan Bushnell developed the Atari

gaming system in the 1970s. Originally operating
under the name “Syzygy”, Bushnell and Dabney
changed the name of their company to “Atari” in
1972. In 1973, Atari Inc. had purchased an engineer-
ing think tank called Cyan Engineering to research
next-generation video game systems, and had been
working on a prototype known as “Stella” (named
after one of the engineers’ bicycles) for some time.
Unlike prior generations of machines that use custom
logic to play a small number of games, its core is a The unit was originally priced at US$199 ($777 ad-
complete CPU, the famous MOS Technology 6502 justed for inflation), and shipped with two joysticks
in a cost-reduced version known as the 6507. It was and a Combat cartridge (eight additional games were
combined with a RAM-and-I/O chip, the MOS Tech- available at launch and sold separately). In a move to
nology 6532, and a display and sound chip known compete directly with the Channel F, Atari Inc. named
as the Television Interface Adaptor (TIA). The first the machine the Video Computer System (or VCS for
two versions of the machine contain a fourth chip, a short), as the Channel F was at that point known as
standard CMOS logic buffer IC, making Stella cost- the VES, for Video Entertainment System. The VCS
effective. Some later versions of the console elimi- was also rebadged as the Sears Video Arcade and sold
nated the buffer chip. through Sears, Roebuck and Company stores. An-
other break-through for gaming systems was Atari’s
Programs for small computers of the time were gen-
invention of a computer-controlled opponent, rather
erally stored on cassette tapes, floppy disks, or paper
than the usual two-player or asymmetric challenges
tape. By the early 1970s, Hewlett-Packard manu-
of the past. When Fairchild learned of Atari Inc.’s
factured desktop computers costing thousands of
naming, they quickly changed the name of their sys-
dollars such as the HP 9830, which packaged Read
tem to become the Channel F. However, both systems
Only Memory (ROM) into removable cartridges to
were now in the midst of a vicious round of price-
add special programming features, and these were be-
cutting: Pong clones that had been made obsolete by
ing considered for use in games. At first, the design
these newer and more powerful machines were sold
was not going to be cartridge-based, but after seeing
off to discounters for ever-lower prices. Soon many
a “fake” cartridge system on another machine, they
of the clone companies were out of business, and both
realized they could place the games on cartridges es-
Fairchild and Atari Inc. were selling to a public that
sentially for the price of the connector and packaging.
was completely burnt out on Pong. In 1977, Atari Inc.
In 1976, Fairchild Semiconductor released their own sold 250,000 Video Computer Systems.
CPU-based system, the Video Entertainment System.
For the first year of production, the Video Computer
Stella was still not ready for production, but it was
System was manufactured in Sunnyvale, California.
clear that it needed to be before there were a number
The consoles manufactured there had thick plastic
of “me too” products filling up the market, which had
molding around the sides and bottom. These added
happened after they released Pong. Atari Inc. didn’t
weight to the console, and because all six switches
have the cash flow to complete the system quickly,
were on the front, these consoles were nicknamed
given that sales of their Pong systems were cooling.
“Heavy Sixers”. After this first year, production
Nolan Bushnell eventually turned to Warner Commu-
moved to Hong Kong, and the consoles manufac-
nications, and sold the company to them in 1976 for
tured there had thinner plastic molding. In 1978, only
US$28 million on the promise that Stella would be
550,000 units from a production run of 800,000 were
produced as soon as possible.
sold, requiring further financial support from Warner
Key to the eventual success of the machine was the to cover losses. This led directly to the disagreements
hiring of Jay Miner, a chip designer who managed to that caused Atari Inc. founder Nolan Bushnell to
squeeze an entire wire wrap of equipment making up leave the company in 1978. Despite Bushnell’s retire-
the TIA into a single chip. Once that was completed ment in 1978, Warren Robinett’s invention of the first
and debugged, the system was ready for shipping. graphical adventure game, Adventure, was developed
the same year and changed the fundamentals of gam- more stores reported breakdowns of the Atari 2600
ing as it unlocked a game with a “virtual space big- system than any other, and that Atari repair centers
ger than the screen.” Once the public realized it was seemed to have the most trouble with consoles manu-
possible to play video games other than Pong, and factured in 1980. In one case it is stated that a system
programmers learned how to push its hardware’s ca- was repaired five times before static electricity from
pabilities, the VCS gained popularity. By this point, a carpet was discovered as having caused the prob-
Fairchild had given up, thinking video games were a lem. The controllers were also a source of breakage
passing fad, thereby handing the entire quickly grow- because of the way they could be gripped by a player
ing market to Atari Inc. By 1979, the VCS was the holding it with their fist, allowing players to get car-
best-selling Christmas gift (and console), due to its ried away and over control, which was less likely
exclusive content, and 1 million units were sold that with other systems released at the time, such as the
year. Magnavox Odyssey², which has controllers that are
nearly half its size.
Atari Inc. then licensed the smash arcade hit Space
Invaders by Taito, which greatly increased the unit’s
popularity when it was released in January 1980,
doubling sales to over 2 million units. The VCS and
its cartridges were the main factor behind Atari Inc.
grossing more than $2 billion in 1980. Sales then
doubled again for the next two years; by 1982, the
console had sold 10 million units, while its best-sell-
ing game Pac-Man sold 7 million copies. The console
also sold 450,000 units in West Germany by 1984. By
1982 the 2600 console cost Atari about $40 to make
and was sold for an average of $125. The company
spent $4.50 to $6 to manufacture each cartridge and The second 2600 model is the “Light Sixer” which has
$1 to $2 for advertising, and sold it for $18.95 whole- lighter plastic molding and shielding than the 1977 launch
model.
sale.
In 1980, the VCS was given a minor revision in which
the left and right difficulty switches were moved to
the back of the console, leaving four switches on
the front. Other than this, these four-switch con-
soles looked nearly identical to the earlier six-switch
models. In 1982, another version of the four-switch
console was released without woodgrain. They were
nicknamed “Darth Vader” consoles due to their all-
black appearance. These were also the first consoles
to be officially called “Atari 2600”, as the Atari 5200 Later 2600 models only used four front switches.
was released the same year. During this period, Atari
Inc. expanded the 2600 family with two other com-
patible consoles. Despite the faux-wood panels and
what would now appear to be primitive graphics, the
game console became widely popular for the time.
Later however, they designed the Atari 2700, a wire-
less version of the console that was never released
because of a design flaw. The company also built a
sleeker version of the machine dubbed the Atari 2800
to sell directly to the Japanese market in early 1983,
but it suffered from competition with the newly re-
leased Nintendo Famicom.
The all black “Darth Vader” 4-switch model from 1982.
In a survey mentioned by Jeff Rovin it is reported that
Atari Inc. also continued their OEM relationship
with Sears under the latter’s Tele-Games brand label,
which started in 1975 with the original Pong. Sears
released several versions of the 2600 as the Sears
Video Arcade series from 1977 to 1983. These in-
clude the Rev. A “Heavy Sixer” model in 1977, the
Rev. B “4 switch” model in 1980, and the US version
of the Atari 2800 branded as the Sears Video Arcade
II in 1983.
Sears also released their own versions of Atari Inc.’s
games under the Tele-Games brand—often with dif- Sears got a rebranded “Video Arcade” 2600 for its Tele-
ferent titles—which included the Tele-Games brand- Games line.
ed variations of text and picture labels. Three games
were also produced by Atari Inc. for Sears as exclu- the most prominent of which included Pac-Man and
sive releases under the Tele-Games brand: Steeple- E.T. Public disappointment with these two titles and
chase, Stellar Track, and Submarine Commander. the market saturation of poor third-party titles are
cited as major contributors to the video game crash
Sears’s Tele-Games brand was unrelated to the com-
of 1983. Suddenly, Atari Inc.’s growth meant it was
pany Telegames, which also produced cartridges
losing massive amounts of money during the crash, at
for the Atari 2600—mostly re-issues of M Network
one point about $10,000 a day. Warner quickly grew
games.
tired of supporting Atari Inc., and started looking for
During the 1970s, Atari Inc. continued to grow un- buyers in 1984.
til it had one of the largest R&D divisions in Silicon
By mid-1984 most software development for the
Valley. However, it spent much of its R&D budget
2600 had stopped except by Atari and Activision,
on projects that seemed out of place at a video game
with third-party developers emphasizing ColecoVi-
(or even home computer) company; many of these
sion games. Although not formally discontinued, the
projects never saw the light of day. Meanwhile, sev-
2600 was de-emphasized for two years after Warner’s
eral attempts to bring out newer consoles failed for
1984 sale of Atari Inc.’s Consumer Division to Com-
one reason or another, although Atari Inc.’s home
modore Business Machines founder Jack Tramiel,
computer system (the Atari 8-bit family) sold reason-
who wanted to concentrate on home computers. He
ably well, Warner was pleased as it seemed to have
ended all development of console games, including a
no end to the sales of the 2600, and Atari Inc. was
2600 Garfield game and an Atari 5200 port of Super
responsible for over half of the company’s income.
Pac-Man. Due to a large library and a low price point,
The programmers of many of Atari Inc.’s biggest hits the 2600 and the 2600jr, continued to sell into the late
grew disgruntled with the company for not credit- 1980s and was not discontinued until 1992. The 2600
ing game developers and many left the company and ended up outdoing all other hardware that Atari re-
formed their own independent software companies. leased, in attempt to replicate its success.
The most prominent and longest-lasting of these third-
The Atari 2600 was wildly successful, and during
party developers was Activision, founded in 1980,
much of the 1980s, “Atari” was a synonym for this
whose titles quickly became more popular than those
model in mainstream media and, by extension, for
of Atari Inc. itself. Atari Inc. attempted to block third-
video games in general.
party development for the 2600 in court but failed,
and soon other publishers, such as Imagic and Coleco, The Atari 2600 was inducted into the National Toy
entered the market. Atari Inc. suffered from an image Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York
problem when a company named Mystique produced in 2007. In 2009, the Atari 2600 was named the sec-
a number of pornographic games for the 2600. The ond greatest video game console of all time by IGN,
most notorious of these, Custer’s Revenge, was pro- who cited its remarkable role as the console behind
tested by women’s and Native American groups be- both the first video game boom and the video game
cause it depicted General George Armstrong Custer crash of 1983, and called it “the console that our en-
raping a bound Native American woman. Atari Inc. tire industry is built upon.”
sued Mystique in court over the release of the game.
Atari Inc. continued to acquire licenses for the 2600,
 CONTENT
Atari 2600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
You are Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Reference Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Web Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
People of Atari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2600 Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Swordquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Overseas Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Multicart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Unlicensed NTSC Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Homebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Prototype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Label Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Overlays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Console Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
AtariVox+ Speech Synthesizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Activision Patch Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Atari NTSC vs PAL vs SECAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
North American video game crash of 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Atari video game burial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Checklist
NTSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
South America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
NTSC-J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Homebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
10 • Reference Guide

Reference Guide
These are web sites that were use a lot for pictures/screenshots, reference and much of the information. If I
have not used wikipedia on a game description then I have tried to credit it at the bottom of the text.
I can recommend all of these websites, as they are very informative and fun to look through. If you are the
owner of one of these sites and feel that i have done you wrong, then please send me an e-mail and i will make
the necessary change to your wish.

AtariAge

“Have You Played Atari Today?”

• Used for most pictures, information and rarity score.

A giant site on Atari. Maybe the most important site for an Atari aficionado. It consist of a huge forum, detailed
information, pictures, and a great rarity score list. Without this site, this book would be very barren. In making
this book/PDF, I was in contact with several members of AtariAge on their forum, getting help and ideas for
the book.

https://atariage.com/index.php

2600 Connection

“The Complete Atari 2600 Video Computer System Resource”

• Used for some pictures and information.

This site consist of articles, faqs, reviews and more on the Atari 2600.

http://www.2600connection.com/

AtariMania

“Database of games, demos, utilities for 2600, 5200, 400, 800, XL, XE & ST.”

• Used for pictures, information and fact-checking.

This. This is an insanely detailed website on Atari games. Along with AtariAge I used this web-site alot. This
must be the most important web site for Atari2600 collectors, as it consist of a huge amount of detailed infor-
mation on every region of the Atari 2600 library.

http://www.atarimania.com/index.html
 Reference Guide • 11

Video Game Variations

“This site is dedicated to the various vintage video game systems

and all the games that go with them.”

• Used for some pictures and some information on label variations.

This site include a huge and detailed amount of label and box variations and is very interesting to look
through.

http://www.videogamevariations.com/

GameFAQs

“Founded in 1995, GameFAQs has over 40000 video game FAQs, Guides and
Walkthroughs, over 250000 cheat codes, and over 100000 reviews.”

• Used for pictures and the review score.

A giant webiste regarding many of games released with loads of information, faqs and pictures. It also in-
clude dedicated forums for each system.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/

AtariProtos

“All Your Protos Are Belong To Us!”

• Used for pictures and information on different prototype games.

A very detailed and well designed site on the different prototypes found for the different Atari systems. Recom-
mended for all people interested in the Atari since it is set around a very interesting topic for the system.

http://www.atariprotos.com/

Moby Games

“MobyGames is the oldest, largest and most accurate video game database for
games of every platform spanning 1979-2014.”

• Used for info and information.

A good site for information and pictures on much of the games released.

http://www.mobygames.com/
12 • Reference Guide

Atari 2600 Homebrew

“ATARI 2600 HOMEBREW”

• Used for information and pictures on homebrew and repros.

A great site that include a database and articles with information on homebrews, hacks, repros and prototypes.

http://www.atari2600homebrew.com/

Atari Museum

“This site is the culmination of years of research and hard work by enthusiasts with
the support of numerous former and current Atari employees and is intended to
provide images and information on all areas of Atari.”

• Some information.
A very well done site with lot of information on different Atari systems.

http://www.atarimuseum.com/

Atari Gaming Headquarters

“Celebrating Everything Atari Past To Present”

• Some information.
Include articles and pictures on Atari.

http://atarihq.com/mainsite/

Atari Guide

“The most complete free source for Atari 2600 information anywhere.
Thousands of classic video games listed in our archives. ”

• Used for pictures and information.

A superb site about the different Atari systems. A very well presented site that give easy and informative in-
formation about games (something I tried to achieve in this book). The site include pictures, short information and a
gameplay video of most of the games it feature.
http://www.atariguide.com/
 Web Shops • 13

Web Shops
I can not recommend every web-shop posted here, as i have not used them. You should always be a little
wary about using a web-shop you have not used before. Google the name and find customers reviews about
it before you give them your credit card information.
But the shops I listed here are shops that i find with either a good library of items
or somewhat fair prices. Or both.

Atari 2600.com

“Welcome to the largest online source for classic

video games, systems and accessories.”

A nice clean site with games at mostly fair prices (I think). The store consist of older systems.

http://www.atari2600.com/

4JAYS Video Games

“We’re family owned and have been in business for over 17 years.
Our store is full of Video Game Systems, Accessories and Games
from the Atari 2600 to the Vectrex”

A small store that include alot of systems. The store goes from PlayStation and back.

http://4jays.net/store/

Atari Best Electronics

“Specializing in Replacement Parts and Accessories for all Consumer based

Atari Game Systems and Atari Computers”

This site does look alittle “Web 1.0”, but if you can get past the multicolor text, it may be a good site for
people looking for replacement parts or the odd item...

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/
14 • Corporations

Corporations
wikipedia

Absolute Entertainment
pany was based in New Jersey, David
Founded 1986
Founder Garry Kitchen
Crane worked out of his home on the West
Defunct 1995 Coast. The company’s name was chosen
Headquarters New Jersey, United States because it was alphabetically above Activi-
Successor Skyworks Technologies sion, implying that Absolute Entertainment
was superior to Activision . It was the same
strategy that Activision chose when the program-
Absolute Entertainment was an American video
mers left Atari.
game publishing company. Through its develop-
ment house, Imagineering, Absolute Entertainment At Absolute Entertainment, Kitchen continued de-
produced titles for the Amiga, Atari 2600, Atari veloping games for the Atari 2600 and Atari 7800,
7800, Sega Game Gear, Sega Mega Drive, Mega- as he had done at Activision. However, the NES had
CD, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, already displaced Atari’s dominance of the video
and Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console market. Kitchen swiftly shifted his
game consoles, as well as for the PC. It also released focus to the NES, and produced several landmark
games for the Sega Master System in Europe. titles for the platform, beginning with A Boy and
His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia in 1989, and Battle
After leaving his position as a video game developer
Tank in 1990. Absolute Entertainment published at
and designer at Activision, Garry Kitchen founded
least 30 titles before dwindling sales from diminish-
the company in 1986 with his brother Dan Kitchen,
ing product quality prompted Kitchen to shutter the
along with David Crane, Alex Demeo, John Van
company in 1995. Since Kitchen had already formed
Ryzin. The company’s headquarters was in Glen
a new company with David Crane called Skyworks
Rock, New Jersey, but later moved to another New
Technologies, some of the employees transitioned to
Jersey borough, Upper Saddle River. While the com-
the new company.

Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American
Founded 1979
video game publisher. It was founded on Headquarters California, United States
October 1, 1979 and was the world’s first Parent Activision Blizzard
independent developer and distributor of Employees >4000
video games for gaming consoles. Website www.activision.com
Before Activision, third-party developers
did not exist. Software for video game consoles were with former music industry executive Jim Levy and
published exclusively by makers of the systems for venture capitalist Richard Muchmore; Kaplan joined
which the games were designed. For example, Atari soon. David Crane has said the name “Activision”
was the only publisher of games for the Atari 2600. was based on Jim Levy’s idea to combine ‘active’
This was particularly galling to the developers, as and ‘television’. The original name proposed for the
they received neither financial rewards nor credit for company was VSync, Inc.
games that sold well.
In December 2007, it was announced that Activision
Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan would merge with Vivendi Games, which owned
Miller, and Bob Whitehead met with Atari CEO Ray fellow games developer and publisher Blizzard, and
Kassar in May 1979 to demand that the company the merger would close in July 2008. The new com-
treat developers as record labels treated musicians, pany was called Activision Blizzard and was headed
with royalties and their names on game boxes. Ka- by Activision’s former CEO, Robert Kotick. Vivendi
plan, who called the others “the best designers for was the biggest shareholder in the new group. The
the [2600] in the world”, recalled that Kassar called new company was estimated to be worth US$18.9
the four men “towel designers” and that “anyone billion, ahead of Electronic Arts, which was valued
can do a cartridge.” Crane, Miller, and Whitehead at US$14.1 billion.
left Atari and founded Activision in October 1979
 Corporations • 15

Games by Apollo
A young programmer by the name of Ed
Founded 1981
Defunct 1983
Salvo was living in Iowa and saw the ad-
Fate Bankruptcy vertisement. He proceeded to contact Rop-
Headquarters Texas, United States er and offer him a game he had developed
Employees 30 in about four weeks, Skeet Shoot. Roper
flew Salvo to Dallas, where he was offered
a job to lead the development for the yet to be formed
Games by Apollo (often shortened to Apollo) was a
Games by Apollo. Roper offered Salvo a position as
third-party developer for the Atari 2600 video game
their Director of Development. Salvo accepted and
system, based in Richardson, Texas.
was tasked with hiring 25 programmers to build a
In 1980, Pat Roper was president of Texas-based staff and develop games.
National Career Consultants (NCC), a company
Early on, Roper spent much of the company’s mon-
that produced educational films. Roper knew noth-
ey on trying to emulate Activision. At one early staff
ing about the games industry, but while playing NFL
meeting he was quoted as saying that “Activision
Football on the Intellivision in 1980, he realized that
had 26 million in sales its first year so Apollo would
there was money to be made. Roper decided to form
have 27. Activision had a campus with 7 buildings
a game company, which he called Games by Apollo
each 7 stories so Apollo would have 8 buildings of
because the name “Apollo” appealed to Roper be-
8 stories.”
cause it was recognizable and a symbol of youth and
activity. In late 1982, Ed Salvo, Terry Grantham, Mike Smith
and one other fellow employee left Apollo when it
Instead of hiring away existing game designers from
appeared that Roper was not taking the right steps to
Mattel or Atari, however, Roper placed an advertise-
stay in business. Salvo claims that two weeks after
ment in the Dallas Morning News and the San Fran-
the four left, Apollo was forced into bankruptcy.
cisco Chronicle.

Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games, Inc. is a game company
Founded 1954
that specializes in wargames and strategic Headquarters Washington, United States
board games. Its logo contains its initials Parent Wizards of the Coast
“AH”, and the company is often referred to (Hasbro)
by this abbreviation. Website avalonhill.com
Avalon Hill was started in 1954 by Charles
S. Roberts under the name of “The Avalon Game company was reorganized by retaining only one staff
Company”, a reference to the nearby town of Avalon, member, Thomas N. Shaw, a high school friend of
for the publication of his game Tactics, considered Roberts, moved, cut costs and appointed J.E. Spar-
the first of a new type of board game, the wargame. ling as president. In 1964, AH set a two game per
Following the success of Tactics, Roberts changed year release schedule.
the name upon incorporation from “The Avalon
Monarch bought out J.E. Smith & Co., Avalon Hill’s
Game Company” to “Avalon Hill” in 1958 because
co-owner, on November 30, 1971. Thus the compa-
of an argument with another company. The number
ny became a division of a renamed Monarch Office
of games released per year was erratic until 1964 as
Services, Monarch Avalon.
the company released any where from 1 to 7 games.
Monarch sold Avalon Hill to Hasbro Games on Au-
Avalon launched a pre-school children’s line in
gust 4, 1998 for $6 million. Hasbro, largely seeking
1963 with four games, Imagination, What Time Is
a computer gaming software company and known
It?, Doll House and Trucks, Trains, Boats & Planes,
games to convert to interactive computer games per
which flopped. Roberts gave up and planned to file
an Arcadia Investment Corp. investment analyst,
bankruptcy on December 13, 1963. Instead his cred-
purchased the rights to the Avalon Hill trademarks,
itors, Monarch Office Services and J.E. Smith & Co.
copyrights, inventory, tooling and divisions, Aval-
interceded and took over. Monarch had printed all
on Hill Software and Victory Games. Avalon Hill
but the boxes, which were done by J.E. Smith. The
Games, Inc. was incorporated by Hasbro in 1998.
16 • Corporations

CBS
of that year. Columbia Phonographic went
Founded 1927
Founder William S. Paley
on the air on September 18, 1927, with a
Owner CBS Corporation presentation by the Howard Barlow Or-
Headquarters CBS Building, New York City chestra from flagship station WOR in Ne-
Website www.cbs.com wark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates.
CBS entered the video game market brief-
CBS (an initialism of the network’s former name, ly, through its acquisition of Gabriel Toys (renamed
the Columbia Broadcasting System) is an Ameri- CBS Toys), publishing several arcade adaptations
can commercial broadcast television network that and original titles under the name “CBS Electron-
is the flagship properties of CBS Corporation. The ics”, for the Atari 2600, and other consoles and
company is headquartered at the CBS Building in computers; it also produced one of the first karaoke
New York City with major production facilities and recording/players. CBS Electronics also distributed
operations in New York City (at the CBS Broadcast all Coleco-related video game products in Canada,
Center) and Los Angeles (at CBS Television City including the ColecoVision. CBS later sold Gabriel
and the CBS Studio Center). Toys to View-Master, which eventually ended up as
part of Mattel.
The origins of CBS date back to January 27, 1927,
with the creation of the “United Independent Broad- CBS continues to operate the CBS Radio network,
casters” network in Chicago by New York City which now mainly provides news and features con-
talent-agent Arthur Judson. The fledgling network tent for its portfolio of owned-and-operated radio
soon needed additional investors though, and the stations in large and mid-sized markets, and af-
Columbia Phonograph Company, manufacturers of filiated radio stations in various other markets. The
Columbia Records, rescued it in April 1927; as a re- television network has more than 240 owned-and-
sult, the network was renamed the “Columbia Pho- operated and affiliated television stations throughout
nographic Broadcasting System” on September 18 the United States.

Coleco
Coleco Inc. is an American company
Founded 1932
founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg Defunct 1988
as “Connecticut Leather Company”. It be- Revival 2005
came a highly successful toy company in Headquarters New Jersey, United States
the 1980s, known for its mass-produced Website www.coleco.com
version of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and
its video game consoles, the Coleco Tel-
their early order enabled Coleco to break even.
star dedicated consoles and ColecoVision.
Coleco continued to do well in electronics. They
Coleco originally processed shoe leather, which later
transitioned next into handheld electronic games, a
led to a business in leather craft kits in the 1950s.
market popularized by Mattel. An early hit was Elec-
They began manufacturing plastic moulding and
tronic Quarterback. In 1982, Coleco launched the
moved into plastic wading pools in the 1960s. The
ColecoVision. While the system was quite popular,
leather part of the business was then sold off.
Coleco hedged their bet on video games by introduc-
Under CEO Arnold Greenberg, the company entered ing a line of ROM cartridges for the Atari 2600 and
the video game console business with the Telstar in Intellivision.
1976. Dozens of companies were introducing game
In 1988, the combination of the purchase of Selchow
systems that year after Atari’s successful Pong con-
& Righter, manufacturers of Scrabble, Parcheesi,
sole. Nearly all of these new games were based on
and Trivial Pursuit, sales of which had plummeted,
General Instrument’s “Pong-on-a-chip”. However,
and the disastrous Adam computer, the company
General Instrument had underestimated demand, and
filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
there were severe shortages. Coleco had been one of
the first to place an order, and was one of the few In 2005, River West Brands, a Chicago-based brand
companies to receive an order in full. Though dedi- revitalization company, re-introduced Coleco to the
cated game consoles did not last long on the market, marketplace.
 Corporations • 17

Imagic
Imagic was a short-lived American video
Founded 1981
game developer and publisher that created Defunct 1986
games initially for the Atari 2600 and later Fate Liquidation
for other consoles. Founded in 1981 by Headquarters California, United States
Atari and Mattel Intellivision expatriates,
its best-selling titles were Atlantis, Cosmic
Ark, and Demon Attack.
During its height, Imagic ran a fan club for their
Activision was first third-party publisher for the games, the Numb Thumb Club, which published an
Atari 2600. Imagic was the second. annual newsletter. Only two issues were published
before Imagic’s demise in 1983.
Imagic founders included Bill Grubb, Bob Smith,
Mark Bradley, Rob Fulop, and Denis Koble from Although Imagic grew quickly in its early years, it
Atari, Inc., Jim Goldberger, Dave Durran and Brian was irreparably harmed by the video game crash of
Dougherty from Mattel, as well as Gary Kato from 1983. It released 24 titles before going out of busi-
Versatec. Grubb left an 18-month post at Atari as a ness by 1986, but the exact time it disbanded is un-
vice president of marketing to form Imagic. Before known. In 1983 the company laid off 40 of their 170
that, he was with the marketing department at Black employees but appeared at the 1984 Consumer Elec-
and Decker for 11 years. It was Grubb’s goal to take tronics Show with plans for four IBM PCjr games.
Imagic public and to eventually overtake Activision The rights to Imagic’s most popular titles have been
as the number one third party video game publisher. owned by Activision since the late 1980s, and they
have been re-released on several occasions.
Atari sued Imagic over Demon Attack because of
its resemblance to Phoenix, to which Atari had the A unreleased game, Cubicolor, a two-player puzzle
exclusive home-version rights. The case was settled game loosely based on a combination of a Rubik’s
out of court. Cube and fifteen puzzle, was completed but never
officially released before Imagic’s demise.

Milton Bradley Company

point was to avoid Ruin and reach Hap-
Founded 1860
Founder Milton Bradley
py Old Age. Squares were labeled with
Headquarters Massachusetts, United States moral positions from honor and bravery
Parent Hasbro to disgrace and ruin. Players used a spin-
ner instead of dice because of the negative
association with gambling. By spring of
1861, over 45,000 copies of The Checkered Game
The Milton Bradley Company is an American board
of Life had been sold. Bradley became convinced
game company established by Milton Bradley in
board games were his company’s future.
Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it ab-
sorbed the game production of McLoughlin Broth- When Milton Bradley died in 1911 the company was
ers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the passed to around to different people.
United States.
During the 1970s and 1980s, electronic games be-
Milton Bradley found success making board games came popular. Milton Bradley released Simon in
people enjoyed playing. In 1860, Milton Bradley 1978, which was fairly late in the movement. By
moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and set up the 1980, it was their best-selling item.
state’s first color lithography shop.
In 1979, Milton Bradley also developed the first
Struggling to find a new way to use his lithography hand held cartridge based console, the Microvision.
machine, Bradley visited his friend George Tapley.
In 1983, seeing the potential in the new Vectrex vec-
Tapley challenged him to a game, most likely an old
tor based video game console, the company pur-
English game. Bradley conceived the idea of mak-
chased Good Consumer Electronic (GCE). Although
ing a purely American game. He created The Check-
the Vectrex had a very short production run, new
ered Game of Life, which had players move along a
games are still being developed for it as of 2013.
track from Infancy to Happy Old Age, in which the
18 • Corporations

Mystique
Mystique was the name of a company that
Parent Caballero Home Video
produced a number of pornographic video Defunct 1983
games for the Atari 2600, such as Beat ‘Em Fate Liquidation
& Eat ‘Em, Bachelor Party and Custer’s Successor Playaround
Revenge. It was one of several video game
companies that tried to use sex to sell its
games.
the game. The game’s literature stated “if the kids
Mystique was an offshoot of Caballero Control catch you and should ask, tell them Custer and the
Corporation, who produced pornographic films, maiden are just dancing.” The makers elected to pre-
and American Multiple Industries. The company’s view the game for women’s and Native American
games were sold under the “Swedish Erotica” ban- groups, an act which some thought was a publicity
ner, although they were programmed in the United stunt. Women’s rights groups criticized the game,
States, and manufactured in Hong Kong. stating that it was a simulation of rape; the back of
the packaging states “she’s not about to take it lying
“I just don’t believe adults want to shoot down down, by George! Help is on the way. By God! He’s
rocket ships”, American Multiple Industries’ presi- coming.” Other groups such as Women Against Por-
dent said. According to industry watchers and crit- nography, Native American spokespersons, and crit-
ics, Mystique’s game designs were generally simple, ics of the video game industry in general protested
with crude graphics and unexceptional gameplay. about the game.
Mystique’s game Custer’s Revenge gained particu- Mystique went out of business during the video game
lar notoriety. Sold in a sealed package labeled “NOT crash of 1983. The rights to Mystique’s games were
FOR SALE TO MINORS” and selling for $49.95 sold to the Playaround spin-off company, which con-
(the most expensive Atari 2600 game in the market), tinued the pornographic game line.
it acknowledged that children might nonetheless see

Sega
over US$100 million by 1979. In 1982,
Founded 1940
Parent Sega Holdings Sega’s revenues surpassed $214 million.
Headquarters Ōta, Tokyo, Japan That year they introduced the first game
Employees 4,865 (2014) with isometric graphics, Zaxxon, the in-
dustry’s first stereoscopic 3D game.
In 1983-4, Sega published Atari 2600 versions of
Sega Games Co., Ltd., originally short for Service some of its arcade games and also Tapper from Bal-
Games and officially styled as SEGA, is a Japanese ly/Midway. Carnival, Space Fury, Turbo, and Zaxx-
multinational video game developer and publisher on were licensed to Coleco as launch titles for the
headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with multiple offices ColecoVision console in 1982. Some of these and
around the world. Sega developed and manufactured other titles were licensed to different companies for
numerous home video game consoles from 1983 to 8-bit computer versions. The Atari 8-bit computer
2001, but the financial losses incurred from their port of Zaxxon is from Datasoft, for example, while
Dreamcast console caused the company to restruc- the Commodore 64 port is from Synapse.
ture itself in 2001, and focus on providing software
An overabundance of games in 1983 led to the video
as a third-party developer from then on.
game crash, causing Sega’s revenues to drop to $136
Sega started in 1940. American businessmen Mar- million. Sega then designed and released its first
tin Bromley, Irving Bromberg, and James Humpert home video game console, the SG-1000 for the third
formed a company called Standard Games in Hono- generation of home consoles.
lulu, Hawaii, to provide coin-operated amusement
Sega remains the world’s most prolific arcade pro-
machines.
ducer, with over 500 games in over 70 franchises on
Sega prospered heavily from the arcade gaming more than 20 different arcade system boards since
boom of the late 1970s, with revenues climbing to 1981.
 Corporations • 19

Spectravideo
rarity: Chase the Chuckwagon, Mangia
Founded 1981
Founder Harry Fox and Bumper Bash. A few of their titles
Alex Weiss were only available through the Columbia
Defunct 1988 House music club.
The company’s first attempt at a computer was an
add-on for the Atari 2600 called the Spectravideo
Spectravideo, or SVI, was an American computer CompuMate, with a membrane keyboard and very
company founded in 1981. They originally made simple programmability.
video games for Atari 2600 and VIC-20. Some of
Their first real computers were the SV-318 and SV-
their computers were MSX-compliant or IBM PC
328, released in 1983. Both were powered by a Z80
compatible. They ceased operations in 1988.
A at 3.6 MHz, but differed in the amount of RAM
SpectraVision was founded in 1981 by Harry Fox and keyboard style. The main operating system, re-
and Alex Weiss as a distributor of computer games, siding in ROM, was a version of Microsoft Extend-
contracting external developers to write the soft- ed BASIC, but if the computer was equipped with
ware. Their main products were gaming cartridges a floppy drive, the user had the option to boot with
for the Atari 2600 VCS, Colecovision and Commo- CP/M instead.
dore VIC-20. They also made the world’s first ergo-
Today the Spectravideo name is used by a UK-based
nomic joystick, the Quickshot. In late 1982 the com-
company called SpectraVideo Plc, formerly known
pany was renamed to Spectravideo due to a naming
as Ash & Newman. That company was founded in
conflict with OnCommand’s Hotel TV system called
1977, and bought the Spectravideo brand name from
SpectraVision.
Bondwell (SVI owner) in 1988. They sell their own
In the early 1980s, the company developed 11 games range of Logic3 branded products, and do not have
for the Atari 2600, including several titles of some any connection to the old Spectravideo products.

Sears
retailer in the country overall. It operates
Founded 1886
Parent Sears Holdings divisions in Canada and Mexico, among
Locations Illinois, U.S. several subsidiaries within its brand.
Employees 793 (US; 2014) Sears Video Arcade was the In-house ver-
sion of Atari in the early 1980s; discontin-
ued in favor of the actual Atari systems
Sears (officially Sears, Roebuck & Co.) is an Ameri-
In 1993, Sears terminated its famous general mer-
can chain of 5-star department stores. Sears is main-
chandise catalog because of sinking sales and prof-
ly known for its appliances, hardware, and clothing.
its. Sears Holdings continues to produce specialty
The company was founded by Richard Warren Sears
catalogs and reintroduced a smaller version of the
and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in 1886; it was previously
Holiday Wish Book in 2007. In 2003, Sears sold its
based in the Sears Tower in Chicago, and is currently
retail credit card operation to Citibank. The remain-
headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It began
ing card operations were sold to JPMorgan Chase in
as a mail order catalog company, and began opening
August 2005. In 2003, Sears opened a new concept
retail locations in 1925. The company merged with
store called Sears Grand. Sears Grand stores carry
the American discount store chain Kmart in 2005,
everything that a regular Sears carries, and more.
which was in bankruptcy at the time and renamed
Sears has spent much of 2014 and 2015 selling off
itself Sears Holdings upon completion of the merger.
portions of its balance sheet; namely Lands’ End and
In terms of domestic revenue, Sears was the larg-
its stake in Sears Canada. Sears Holdings has lost
est retailer in the United States until October 1989,
a total of $7 billion in the last four years. In part,
when it was surpassed by Walmart. It is the fifth-
the retailer is trying to curb losses by using a loyalty
largest American department store company by sales
program called Shop Your Way.
as of October 2013 (behind Walmart, Target, Best
Buy, and Home Depot), and it is the twelfth-largest
20 • People of Atari

People of Atari
wikipedia

Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Kay Bushnell is an After Bushnell attended a Burlingame, California
American engineer and demonstration of the Magnavox Odyssey, he gave
entrepreneur who found- the task of making the Magnavox tennis game into a
ed both Atari, Inc. and the coin-op version to Alcorn as a test project. Alcorn in-
Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza- corporated many of his own improvements into the
Time Theaters chain. game design, such as scoring and sound, and Pong
was born. Pong proved to be very popular; Atari re-
Bushnell graduated from
leased a large number of Pong-based arcade games
the University of Utah
over the next few years as the mainstay of the com-
College of Engineering
pany.
with a degree in electrical
engineering in 1968 after In 1976 Steve Jobs went to Nolan to get him to put in
transferring from Utah State University, and was a some money in exchange for a minor equity stake in
member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was Apple. Nolan remarked, “Steve asked me if I would
one of many computer science students of the 1960s put $50,000 in and he would give me a third of the
who played the historic Spacewar! game on DEC company. I was so smart, I said no. It’s kind of fun to
mainframe computers. The University of Utah was think about that, when I’m not crying.”
heavily involved in computer graphics research and
By 1976 Atari was in the midst of developing the
spawned a wide variety of Spacewar versions.
Atari VCS, but Bushnell realized that if the com-
In 1969, Bushnell and colleague Ted Dabney formed pany was going to grow, it needed capital, and with
Syzygy with the intention of producing a Spacewar the stock market in a bleak condition, going public
clone known as Computer Space. In order to keep would not be the solution. Warner Communications
the company alive while the machine was being pro- was contacted about Atari by one of its investors to
totyped, the two took on a route servicing broken discuss purchasing the company. For $28 million,
pinball machines. Dabney built the prototype and Warner Communications bought Atari, bringing the
Bushnell shopped it around, looking for a manufac- capital they needed for the VCS launch, which took
turer. They made an agreement with Nutting Associ- place in August 1977.
ates, a maker of coin-op trivia and shooting games,
In November 1978, Bushnell was forced out of the
who produced a fiberglass cabinet for the unit that
company after a dispute with Warner over its future
included a coin-slot mechanism. Computer Space
direction, notably on the lifespan of the Atari 2600
was a commercial failure, though sales exceeded $3
and their closed software strategy, which was later
million. Bushnell felt that Nutting Associates had not
changed for the new home computer division.
marketed the game well, and decided that his next
game would be licensed to a bigger manufacturer. In 1974, Atari entered the consumer electronics
market after engineers Harold Lee and Bob Brown
In 1972, Bushnell and Dabney set off on their own,
approached Alcorn with an idea to develop a home
and learned that the name “Syzygy” was in use;
version of Pong. With a marketing and distribution
Bushnell has said at different times that it was in
agreement with Sears, Pong sales soared when the
use by a candle company owned by a Mendocino
unit was released in 1975.
hippie commune and by a roofing company. They
instead incorporated under the name Atari, a refer- Bushnell’s most recent company is BrainRush, where
ence to a check-like position in the game Go (which he is Founder, CEO and Chairman, a company that
Bushnell has called his “favorite game of all time”). uses video game technology in educational software.
They rented their first office on Scott Boulevard in The company was venture capital funded in 2012. It
Sunnyvale, California, contracted with Bally Manu- is based on the idea that many curriculum lessons
facturing to create a driving game, and hired their can be turned into mini-games. Developers can take
first employee, engineer Allan Alcorn. Bushnell later any body of knowledge from English language arts
bought out Dabney, who was forced out after Nolan to foreign language, geography, multiplication table
told him he would transfer all the assets to another or chemistry tables, to parts of the human body and
corporation and leave Ted with nothing. gamify the experience.
 People of Atari • 21

David Crane Tod Frye

David Patrick Crane is a Tod R. Frye is a com-
video game designer and puter programmer once
programmer. employed by Atari, and
is most notable for being
Crane originally worked
charged with the home
in the field of hardware
adaptation of Pac-Man
design for National Sem-
for the Atari 2600.
iconductor. Crane started
his programming career Frye landed the 2600
at Atari, making games Pac-Man project in early
for the Atari 2600. He 1981. Atari had licensed
also worked on the oper- the arcade games Defend-
ating system for the Atari 800 computer. After meet- er and Pac-Man and while Frye preferred Defender,
ing co-worker Alan Miller in a tennis game, Miller when fellow programmer Bob Poloro got that as-
told Crane about a plan he had to leave Atari and signment, Frye got Pac-Man by default. Frye’s land-
found a company that would give game designers ing the high-profile title did not pass without critical
more recognition. From this meeting, Crane left comment. One Atari employee wrote “Why Frye?”
Atari in 1979 and co-founded Activision, along with on the Pac-Man arcade machine contained in Atari’s
Miller, Jim Levy, Bob Whitehead, and Larry Kap- in-office arcade room. In response, Frye drew a hori-
lan. His games won many awards while he was at zontal line over the “Why”, which means “Why not
Activision. At Activision, he was best known as Frye” in logic notation.
the designer of Pitfall!. Pitfall! was a huge hit, and
Frye’s Pac-Man port was started in May 1981, and
maintained the top slot on the Billboard charts for
was the most anticipated release for 1982, so mar-
64 weeks and was named video game of the year in
keting pressed Frye to produce the game on a very
1982. Over 4 million copies of the game were sold
strict timetable (in the early 1980s lead times on the
in the 1980s. It was the second best-selling game for
cartridge ROMs was several months, so the code
the Atari 2600 after Pac-Man.
needed to be completed in September 1981 to get the
Crane maintained that the Atari policy of relying on product into stores during the first quarter of 1982).
mangled adaptations of arcade games would result in Atari corporate management demanded Frye com-
a glut of cheap, unappealing games, which became plete the game in the standard 4K ROM, despite his
one of the contributing factors to the Video Game repeated requests that 8K of ROM be allocated.
Crash of 1983. He believed instead that tailoring
Criticisms aside Pac-Man proved to be a stunning fi-
new games to the strengths and weaknesses of the
nancial coup for Atari, and Frye reportedly received
2600 machine would have yielded positive results.
$0.10 in royalties per Pac-Man cartridge. Atari
The reasoning was that while the new games would
would manufacture 12 million cartridges, making
have lacked the instant-promotion of an already-
Frye a millionaire in the process.
known name, word of mouth among video gamers,
being a young and highly-social group, would have Frye contributed to the LCD Breakout Atari hand-
gradually made up for it if the game was good. held, Asteroids (Atari 400/800), the Swordquest
series (Earthworld, Fireworld, Waterworld, and the
In 1986, Crane left Activision to co-found Absolute
uncompleted Airworld).
Entertainment with Garry Kitchen. The two of them
left mainly because of Jim Levy’s departure, and the After parting ways with Atari, Frye later worked for
way the newly appointed CEO of Activision, Bruce Axlon (one of the many companies founded by Atari
Davis, treated video games more like commodities Pioneer Nolan Bushnell) and was hired as a pro-
rather than creative products. grammer alongside fellow Atari employees Rob Zy-
dbel, Bob Smith, and Howard Scott Warshaw at The
Crane is currently working as an independent video
3DO Company. Frye remains active in video games,
game developer and video game expert witness.
making technical contributions to classic compila-
tions such as Midway Arcade Treasures.
22 • People of Atari

Ray Kassar
Raymond Edward Kas- not held accountable.
sar was president, and
One of the most notable turnovers was when four
later CEO, of Atari Inc.
programmers were unsatisfied with their paychecks.
from 1978 to 1983. He
They felt they were making a very paltry salary for
had previously been ex-
someone who actually designed the games that made
ecutive vice-president
the company millions of dollars. They wanted a small
of Burlington Industries,
commission, but when they asked Kassar about that,
the world’s largest textile
David Crane recalls that Kassar responded, “You are
company at the time, and
no more important to that game than the guy on the
president of its Burling-
assembly line who puts it together.” .
ton House division.
In 1981, the highly popular and successful game
Ray Kassar was hired in February 1978 as president
Yars’ Revenge was released for the Atari 2600.
of Atari Inc.’s consumer division by Warner Com-
Howard Scott Warshaw, the game’s designer, got the
munications, who at the time owned Atari. By this
names “Yar” and “Razak” by jokingly spelling “Ray
time, rifts had begun to develop between the origi-
Kassar” backwards. Warshaw claimed that the game
nal Atari Inc. staff (most of whom had engineer-
was “Ray’s revenge on Activision”
ing backgrounds) and the new hires brought in by
Warner (who, like Kassar, mostly had business back- Contrary to popular belief, Kassar was not responsi-
grounds). ble for the deal to make the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
game from the blockbuster movie. Steve Ross, CEO
In November 1978, when Atari Inc. co-founder No-
of Atari’s parent company Warner Communications,
lan Bushnell left the company after a dispute, Kas-
was the one who was in talks with Steven Spielberg
sar became CEO. Under his leadership, sweeping
and Universal Pictures. Kassar’s response to Ross’
changes were made at Atari and the laid-back atmos-
query of how he liked the idea of making an E.T.
phere that had existed under Bushnell’s leadership
based video game was, “I think it’s a dumb idea.
all but disappeared. Kassar’s twenty-five years at
We’ve never really made an action game out of a
Burlington Industries had given him a taste for or-
movie.”
der, organization, and efficiency and his efforts to re-
vamp Atari along similar lines provoked substantial In July 1983, Kassar was forced to resign from Atari
animosity. Kassar shifted the focus away from game Inc. over mounting allegations of illegal insider
development and more toward marketing and sales. trading activity. In December 1982, Kassar had sold
Atari Inc. began to promote games all year around 5,000 shares of stock in Warner Communications
instead of just at the Christmas season. R&D also only 23 minutes before a much lower than expected
suffered deep cuts and the discipline and security at fourth quarter earnings report would cause Warner
Atari Inc. became strict. Kassar became unaffection- stock to drop nearly 40% in value in the following
ately known to many at Atari Inc. as the “sock king” days. The Securities and Exchange Commission ac-
and the “towel czar” (due to his previous years in cused Kassar and then Atari Inc. vice-president Den-
the textile industry) after he once referred to Atari nis Groth of trading stock with illegal insider knowl-
programmers as “high-strung prima donnas” in an edge. Kassar settled, returning his profits without
interview with the San Jose Mercury News in 1979. acknowledging guilt or innocence. The shares that
Kassar sold actually constituted only a small amount
During the Kassar years, Atari Inc.’s sales grew from
of his total holdings in the company, and the SEC
$75 million in 1977 to over $2.2 billion just three
later cleared him of any wrongdoing.
years later. Though Atari enjoyed some of its great-
est success during this period, the stifling atmosphere Upon Ray Kassar’s resignation, James J. Morgan,
and lack of royalties or recognition to the individual formerly of Philip Morris, replaced him as CEO of
game designers angered employees, many of whom Atari Inc. in September 1983.
quit. During this period, nearly all members of the
He is now a collector and private investor and sits on
original Atari Inc. staff, including Al Alcorn, quit or
the Board of the American Hospital of Paris Founda-
were fired. Atari Inc.’s upper management also suf
tion.
fered severe turnover rates. Many blamed Ray Kas-
sar’s autocratic management style, but Kassar was
 People of Atari • 23

Alan Kay Carla Meninsky

Alan Curtis Kay is an Carla Meninsky is a
American computer sci- former video game de-
entist. He is best known signer during the early
for his pioneering work years of the Atari 2600.
on object-oriented pro- Along with Carol Shaw,
gramming and window- Meninsky was one of two
ing graphical user inter- female engineers at Atari
face design. Kay was also to develop video game
Atari’s chief scientist for cartridges released in the
three years. early 1980s.
In an interview on educa- Meninsky’s mother was
tion in America with the Davis Group Ltd. Alan Kay a programmer and Carla learned programming in
said, “I had the fortune or misfortune to learn how high school, but she switched from mathematics
to read fluently starting at the age of three. So I had to neuropsychology and brain modelling at Stan-
read maybe 150 books by the time I hit 1st grade. ford University. Given her artistic bent, Meninsky
And I already knew that the teachers were lying to was particularly interested in vision and eventually
me.” veered back toward programming and a lifelong
In 1966, he began graduate school at the University dream of creating animation tools. She presented
of Utah College of Engineering, earning a master’s her animation idea to Atari and was hired, but in the
degree and a Ph.D. degree. His doctoral was entitled fluid environment characteristic of an early start-up,
FLEX: A Flexible Extendable Language, describing her talents were soon put to videogame program-
an invention of computer language known as FLEX. ming. Meninsky’s Atari 2600 credits include the
1980 racing game Dodge ‘Em (an unofficial version
In 1970, Kay joined Xerox Corporation’s Palo Alto of Sega’s 1979 Head On coin-op) and a 1981 port of
Research Center, PARC. In the 1970s he was one Atari’s Warlords. Meninsky also worked on the 2600
of the key members there to develop prototypes of port of Star Raiders (originally designed by Doug
networked workstations using the programming lan- Neubauer and released in 1979 for the Atari 8-bit
guage Smalltalk. These inventions were later com- family of computers) and an unreleased prototype of
mercialized by Apple Computer in their Lisa and Tempest.
Macintosh computers.
While pursuing venture capital for animation,
Kay is one of the fathers of the idea of object-orient- Meninsky worked for Electronic Arts and other
ed programming, which he named, along with some game publishers and eventually started her own
colleagues at PARC and predecessors at the Norwe- successful contract programming company. In the
gian Computing Center. He conceived the Dyna- course of writing contracts and seeing intellectual
book concept which defined the conceptual basics property rights being ignored by some companies,
for laptop and tablet computers and E-books, and is she became interested in intellectual property law.
the architect of the modern overlapping windowing
GUI. Because the Dynabook was conceived as an Meninsky graduated from George Washington Uni-
educational platform, Kay is considered to be one versity Law School and now practices intellectual
of the first researchers into mobile learning, and in- property law. As an EPIC Public Interest Opportuni-
deed, many features of the Dynabook concept have ties Program Fellow, Meninsky testified before the
been adopted in the design of the One Laptop Per U.S. Senate in 2002.
Child educational platform, with which Kay is ac- Meninsky has worked as a summer teacher of In-
tively involved. ternational Financial Law at the London School of
Kay has lectured extensively on the idea that the Economics.
computer revolution is very new, and all of the good
ideas have not been universally implemented.
24 • People of Atari

Alan Miller Jay Miner

Alan Miller is an early Jay Glenn Miner was
game designer and pro- an American integrated
grammer for the Atari circuit designer, known
2600 who co-founded primarily for developing
video game companies multimedia chips for the
Activision and Accolade. Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit
family and as the “father
Miller studied electrical
of the Amiga”.
engineering and compu-
ter science at the Univer- Miner started in the elec-
sity of California, Berke- tronics industry with a
ley, graduating in 1973. number of designs in the
medical world, including a remote-control pacemak-
Miller joined Atari in February 1977 and was one of
er.
the first four Atari 2600 game designers. His 2600 ti-
tles include Surround, Hunt & Score, Hangman and He moved to Atari in the late 1970s. One of his first
Basketball. With others, he co-authored the operat- successes was to combine an entire breadboard of
ing system for the Atari 400/800/1200 computers in components into a single chip, known as the TIA.
late 1978 and early 1979. His last game for Atari, The TIA was the display hardware for the Atari 2600,
Basketball, was one of the first ROM games for the which would go on to sell millions. After working on
Atari computers. Miller did not work on any Atari the TIA he headed up the design of the follow-on
2600 cartridges during his last year with Atari. chip set known as ANTIC and CTIA. These chips
would be used for the Atari 8-bit family of home
In late 1979, Miller left Atari with three other pro-
computers and the Atari 5200 video game system.
grammers, David Crane, Larry Kaplan and Bob
Whitehead. They were disillusioned and disappoint- In the early 1980s Jay, along with other Atari staff-
ed with Atari’s refusal to give them screen credit ers, had become fed up with management and de-
for any of the games they worked on. With music camped. They set up another chipset project under
industry executive, Jim Levy, they formed Activi- a new company in Santa Clara, called Hi-Toro (later
sion, the first independent video game developer and renamed to Amiga Corporation), where they could
publisher. Activision rapidly grew to USD$159 mil- have creative freedom. There, they started to create
lion in revenue in 1983, its third year of sales. Miller a new Motorola 68000-based games console that
acted as Vice President of Product Development could be upgraded to a computer. To raise money
and designed several of the company’s first games. for the Lorraine project, Amiga Corp. designed and
Among his games designed while with Activision sold joysticks and game cartridges for popular game
are Checkers, Tennis, Ice Hockey, Starmaster and consoles such as the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision.
Robot Tank. Miller experimented with implement- Atari continued to be interested in the team’s ef-
ing a 3D display for the game Checkers but due to forts throughout this period, and funded them with
technical limitations of both the Atari 2600 and tel- $500,000 in capital in return for first use of their re-
evision sets of the era, the idea was dropped. sulting chipset.
After ten years at Accolade, Miller left in 1994. Jay worked at Commodore-Amiga for several years,
Ironically, Accolade hit hard times and in 1999 was in Los Gatos, California. They made good progress
purchased by Infogrames, which later changed its at the beginning, but as Commodore management
subsidiaries’ names to Atari Inc., Atari Europe, Atari changed, they became marginalised and the original
Australia, and Atari Japan respectively. Amiga staff was fired or left out on a one-by-one
basis, until the entire Los Gatos office was closed.
In September 2001, Miller rejoined David Crane at
Crane’s company, Skyworks Technologies, a leading Jay endured kidney problems for most of his life, ac-
developer of custom branded online games for For- cording to his wife, and relied on dialysis. His sister
tune 100 companies, where he served as Vice Presi- donated one of her own. Miner died due to compli-
dent of Business Development for four years. cations from kidney failure at the age of 62.
 People of Atari • 25

Warren Robinett Carol Shaw

Joseph Warren Robinett, Originally an Atari em-
Jr. is a designer of inter- ployee, Carol Shaw is
active computer graphics said to be the first female
software, notable as the video game designer (for
developer of the Atari her unreleased Polo game
2600’s Adventure — the in 1978, and 3-D Tic-Tac-
first graphical adventure Toe game in 1979).
video game — and as a
Born in 1955, Shaw was
founder of The Learning
born and raised in Palo
Company, where he de-
Alto, California. Her fa-
signed Rocky’s Boots and
ther was a mechanical en-
Robot Odyssey.
gineer and worked at the Stanford Linear Accelera-
Robinett graduated in 1974 with a B.A. from Rice tor Center. Shaw first became interested in comput-
University, with a major in “Computer Applications ers in high school when she used a computer for the
to Language and Art”. After graduating from Rice first time and discovered she could play text-based
University, he was a Fortran programmer for West- games on the system. Shaw attended the University
ern Geophysical in Houston, Texas. He received of California, Berkeley and graduated with a B.S.
an M.S. from University of California, Berkeley in in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in
1976, and went to work at Atari in November 1977. 1977. She went on to complete a master’s degree in
Computer Science at Berkeley.
His first effort at Atari was Slot Racers for the Atari
2600. While he was working on it, he had discov- At Atari, Shaw’s official job title was Microproc-
ered and played Crowther and Woods’ Colossal essor Software Engineer. She left Atari in 1980 to
Cave Adventure at the Stanford Artificial Intelli- work for Tandem Computers.
gence Laboratory, and decided that a graphical video
After 16 months she was contacted by an employee
game version “would be really cool”. However, with
of Activision (possibly Alan Miller) with a job of-
128 bytes of RAM and 4096 bytes of ROM, Atari’s
fer which would include stock options. She also at-
Adventure was a much simpler program, and with
tended an interview at Imagic but they did not offer
only a joystick for input, the set of “commands” was
her a position at the company on account of a lack
necessarily brief. Adventure was a hit upon its 1979
of experience in writing action games. Shaw joined
release, and eventually sold a million copies.
Activision in 1982. At Activision she programmed
Atari designers at the time were not given credit for her best-known game, River Raid. According to the
their games, because Atari feared having to bargain manual of River Raid, she is a “scholar in the field
with well-known designers. In response to this, Ro- of Computer Science.” With Keith Brewster she
binett placed a hidden object in the game that would worked on the Atari Basic Reference Manual.
allow the player to reach a hidden screen which dis-
Shaw left Activision in 1984 after designing Happy
played the words “Created by Warren Robinett,”
Trails for the Intellivision and River Raid for the
hence creating one of the earliest known Easter eggs
Atari 800 and Atari 5200. Her other credits include
in a video game, and the first to which the name
Video Checkers in 1981 and Super Breakout.
“Easter egg” was applied.
From 1984-90 Shaw worked at her former employer,
Robinett then wrote the BASIC Programming car-
Tandem. She took early retirement in 1990 and sub-
tridge, finishing both BASIC Programming and Ad-
sequently did some voluntary work including a posi-
venture in June 1979, and quit Atari.
tion at the Foresight Institute. She has credited the
He founded The Learning Company in 1980, and success of River Raid as being a significant factor in
worked on several educational games there, includ- enabling her to retire early.
ing Rocky’s Boots for the Apple II series computer.
Shaw lives in California and has been married to
He has since worked on virtual reality projects for
Ralph Merkle, a researcher in nanotechnology since
NASA and the University of North Carolina.
1983.
26 • People of Atari

Howard Scott Warshaw Bob Whitehead

Howard Scott Warshaw, Robert A. “Bob” White-
also known as HSW, is an head is an early game
American psychotherapi- designer and programmer
st and former game desig- for the Atari 2600 who
ner who is best known for co-founded video game
his work at Atari in the companies Activision
early 1980s. and Accolade.
Before entering game Whitehead worked for
design, Warshaw was Atari in the late 1970s
“Colorado born, Jersey developing games for the
raised, and New Orleans Atari 2600. There, he de-
schooled.” He attended Tulane University, where he veloped several games, including a VCS imple-
received a Bachelor’s Degree, with a double major mentation of chess, a feat many other programmers
in Math and Economics. He graduated Phi Beta Ka- considered impossible for the system. He was also
ppa and received a scholarship for his graduate work one of the developers of the operating system for the
in Computer Science. One year later he received his Atari 400/800 computers. Later, Whitehead and a
Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering. few other colleagues left and co-founded Activision.
After graduation, he began work at Hewlett-Packard There, with others, he created a VCS development
as a multi-terminal systems engineer. In 1981, he system with an integrated debugger and minicom-
went to work for Atari. puter-hosted assembler. It was used for most of Ac-
tivision’s VCS titles. He also developed a “venetian
Warshaw’s first success, Yars’ Revenge, first start-
blinds” animation technique: an algorithm that hori-
ed as an Atari 2600 adaptation of the arcade game
zontally reused and vertically interlaced sprites sev-
Star Castle. However, as limitations became clear,
eral times while rendering each frame, to give the
Warshaw re-adapted the concept into a new game
illusion that the system had more than the maximum
involving mutated houseflies defending their world
number of sprites allowed by the hardware.
against an alien attacker. The game’s working title
was Time Freeze. Playtesting by Atari found that In 1984, he and other founders of Activision became
the game was popular with women. The game was a disillusioned with their company. Their stock had
major success and is still regarded as one of the best dwindled in value and morale was low. They thought
games made for the Atari 2600. This led Warshaw that diversification to the home computer market —
to be picked as the designer of the game adaptation such as with the Commodore 64 — was the key to
of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was also success. He left Activision with Alan Miller, and
a commercial success and was critically acclaimed they founded Accolade. Soon after, Whitehead left
at the time. the video game industry for good.
It was his success on Raiders that led to Warshaw be- Whitehead left in order to “give back to God and
ing chosen to design and program the ill-fated Atari spend time with ‘the fam’”. After leaving Acco-
2600 adaptation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Prob- lade, Whitehead says he helped with “low income
lems began early as he was only given five weeks to families, getting non-profit religious start-ups going,
go from concept to finished product. Warshaw was [and] spending time in the garden.”
assisted by Jerome Domurat, a graphics designer at
Of the current state of the industry, Whitehead said
Atari. Although the game was finished on time, it
that it is:
was poorly received and seen as being confusing and
frustrating. “Too dark and derivative for my taste. The console
and computer gaming business is too narrowly
Following the collapse of Atari, Warshaw wrote two
defined by the 14 [year old] male mentality and all
books. The first, The Complete Book of PAN, is a
his not-so-honorable fantasies. It’s being driven by
guide to the card game of the same name. In the sec-
what has worked and afraid of what a 10 million
ond, Conquering College, Warshaw discusses his
dollar development bust will entail. It has lost its
techniques toward academic success, referred to as
moral compass.”
RASABIC (Read Ahead, Stay Ahead, Be In Class).
 People of Atari • 27

Steve Woita Steve Wozniak

Steve Woita is an Ameri- Stephen (or Stephan)
can computer and video Gary “Steve” Wozniak,
game designer, program- known as “Woz”, is an
mer, and electronics hard- American pioneer of the
ware designer with over personal computer revo-
30 years of experience. lution of the 1970s.
He has worked for nota-
Wozniak was born in San
ble high tech companies
Jose, California, the son
such as Apple, Sirius So-
of Margaret Elaine and
ftware, Atari, Sega, and
Jacob Francis “Jerry”
3DO. A majority of his
Wozniak. He is of Polish
career has been focused on designing and creating
and Swiss-German ancestry on his father’s side and
games for various platforms.
of German, Irish, and English descent on his moth-
At Apple (1980-1982), Steve was responsible for er’s.
debugging and fixing Apple II motherboards after
In 1969, Wozniak returned to the Bay area after be-
“burn in”. He was instrumental in diagnosing and
ing expelled from University of Colorado Boulder
coming up with a solution for fixing a “color noise
in his first year for hacking into the institution’s
leak” issue that caused text to appear fuzzy. His solu-
computer system. He later re-enrolled at De Anza
tion, replacing a specific resistor on the motherboard
College and transferred to University of California,
with a different value resistor was approved by Steve
Berkeley in 1971. Following a ten-year stint of em-
Wozniak and put into subsequent production.
ployment at Hewlett-Packard where he and Steve
While at Apple, Bill Budge asked Steve if it were Jobs befriended one another, he went on to complete
possible to hook two Atari-style controllers to the his Engineering degree in 1986.
Apple II for a game called Crazy Climber. He was
In 1973, Jobs was working for arcade game com-
able to create a prototype, then contacted an engi-
pany Atari, Inc. in Los Gatos, California. He was
neer in the Apple R&D lab, Keithen Hayenga, who
assigned to create a circuit board for the arcade vid-
was working on a four paddle device. They com-
eo game Breakout. According to Atari co-founder
bined the two, creating a device that Steve Jobs ap-
Nolan Bushnell, Atari offered $100 for each chip
proved for development by a third party. Sirius Soft-
that was eliminated in the machine. Jobs had little
ware acquired the rights to produce this product, The
knowledge of circuit board design and made a deal
Joyport, which was introduced in 1981. The Joyport
with Wozniak to split the fee evenly between them if
allowed four game paddles and two Atari-style con-
Wozniak could minimize the number of chips. Woz-
trollers to be hooked up to the Apple II.
niak reduced the number of chips by 50, by using
At Atari (1982-1984), Steve designed and created RAM for the brick representation. Too complex to
four published titles for the Atari 2600: Quadrun be fully comprehended at the time, the fact that this
(1983), Taz (1983), Asterix (1983, Europe), and prototype also had no scoring or coin mechanisms
Garfield (1984). meant Woz’s prototype could not be used. Jobs was
paid the full bonus regardless. Jobs told Wozniak
Steve joined the Sega development division Sega
that Atari gave them only $700 and that Wozniak’s
Technical Institute in 1992, when his cousin-in-law,
share was thus $350. Wozniak did not learn about
Scott Chandler, mentioned to his manager, Mark
the actual $5,000 bonus until ten years later, but said
Cerny, that Steve might be available to join the group
that if Jobs had told him about it and had said he
and would be a tremendous asset to the Kid Chame-
needed the money, Wozniak would have given it to
leon project then currently under development. Ste-
him.
ve later went on to contribute to two other notable
Sega titles, Sonic Spinball and Sonic the Hedgehog Wozniak remains an employee of Apple and re-
2, as a designer and programmer. ceives a stipend, estimated to be $120,000 per year.
He is also an Apple shareholder. He also maintained
a fine acquaintance with Steve Jobs until Jobs’ death
in October 2011, although, in 2006, Wozniak stated
that he and Jobs were not as close as they used to be.
28 • 2600 Games

2600 Games
This is the main portion of the book. A collection of every “official” Atari 2600 game with cover art, screen-
shots and some information about the game. The Atari 2600 library was a hard to nail down. As such, the main
portion does include games that had an unofficial release (a release not supported by Atari, like the Mystique
Porn games).

Page Break-Down

C E G B A

7.7 Communist Mutants

from Space
Developer Starpath (Stephen Landrum)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-4 Players

Communist Mutants from Space is a fixed shooter by

Starpath (formerly known as Arcadia). In the game, al-
iens from the communist planet of Rooskee are invad-
ing peaceful, democratic planets and turning their in-
habitants into “Communist Mutants.” The communist
mutant armies are controlled by the Mother Creature,
a strange alien who has gone mad due to irradiated Rarity: 4
vodka.

D F

A. Cover-Art
This represent the cover art, mostly the NTSC version. I used mainly GameFAQs for much of
the pictures.
B. Info
This is the Info box. I used mainly wikipedia and atariage.com for help for information on
the Developers and Publishers. I suspect some of the information is wrong, as often the
developer credited is actually the makers of the original game, e.g. arcades, and not the one
who did the home console port for example. Also, information often differ from different sourc-
es. “Mode” are what the maximum players the game support. I used the information found
on both atariage.com and atarimania.com. In the info or trivia section, I wanted some content
that would reflect on what the game is about, or an interest part of trivia. If I used another site
for information and did a direct transcript, I would try to credit the source material. The credit
is in italic. On the developers I also included the original developer (and not just the company)
on request by AtariAge user, DanOliver. This information is from atariage and atarimania.
C. Title/Screen Screen
This is a screenshot from the title screen of the game if I found it or if it was present (not every
game had one, just a start screen). I most often used atariage.com for pictures.
D. Screen-shot
This is a random screenshot from the game. I mainly used atariage.com.
 2600 Games • 29

E. Web Reviews
The review score SHOULD and MUST be taken with a grain of salt. I used the review score
from “GameFAQs.com”, cause` they can sometimes be seen as fair, as they usually are reviews
by several users. Though, some of the more obscure games often had few reviews, and could
be seen as biased. If the site did not have a review, i would not include one.
F. Rarity
In this section is used the rarity info found on atariage.com. The rarity scale is a general indica-
tor of how easy or difficult it is to come across a game. The scale starts at 1 (very easy to find)
and finishes at 10 (nearly impossible to locate). Thanks to auction sites such as eBay, even
extremely rare games come up for auction frequently enough, but these often command a fairly
high price depending on the rarity. Remember, you should just take these scores with a grain
of salt, and should only be used as a refrence point, and not to be taken all too literally. The
rarity listed are for the NTSC releases. Since the games often had several different releases, the
rarity is simplified. For a more complete rarity guide, please visit atariage.com or see the check-
list at the back of the book.
G. Cassette release
Starpath had several cassette releases. If the game had a cassette release instead of a regular cartridge
release, a cassette tape is listed here.

Collecting for the System.

The Atari 2600 is the system most Atari people collect games for. This is likely due to
more people owning a 2600 than any other classic gaming system. Back in its heyday,
who didn’t have an Atari? This has two effects. First many people have a nostalgia for
the 2600 and pick one up to play all the games they remember from their past. And
second, because so many people had one, it’s one of the easiest systems to collect for
as there are so many games floating around.
Of course, it’s only easy to collect for if you’re a casual collector who’s just looking
for the more common games that most people enjoyed in their youth. Games like
Combat, Air-Sea Battle, Yars’ Revenge, Pitfall!, Adventure, River Raid, Asteroids,
Demon Attack, and Chopper Command bring back fond memories for many and for-
tunately are very easy to come across. But if you’re a serious collector who’d like to
check off every game released for the Atari 2600 (ha!) then you have a serious chal-
lenge, as the 2600 can also be the most challenging system to collect for. At the time
of the big game crash of 1984, the Atari 2600 market was saturated with games, many
of which had low production runs and a short-lived shelf life. Many rare games never
even made it to store shelves, such as those offered by the Atari Club (Swordquest
Waterworld, Crazy Climber, and Quadrun, for instance).
“atariage.com”
30 • The Activision Decathlon

3D Tic-Tac-Toe 5.3
Developer Atari (Carol Shaw)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

3-D Tic-Tac-Toe, also known by the trade name Qubic,

is a board game. It is similar in concept to traditional
Tic-Tac-Toe but is played in a cubical array of cells,
usually 4x4x4. Atari released a graphical version of
the game for the Atari 2600 console and Atari 8-bit
computers in 1979. The program was written by Carol
Shaw, who went on to greater fame as the creator of
Activision’s River Raid. It uses the standard joystick
Rarity: 2 controller.
Sears: 3
It can be played by two players against each other, or

The Activision Decathlon 6.5

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1-4 Players

The Activision Decathlon is a multiplatform sports

game where players compete in the ten different events
of a real-life decathlon, either in sequence or individu-
ally.
The game became somewhat notorious for the amount
of wear or damage inflicted upon console controllers,
namely the Atari 2600 version where rapid back-and-
Rarity: 3 forth movement of the joystick propels the athlete
down the track.

Adventure 7.7
Developer Atari (Warren Robinett)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Adventure was conceived as a graphical version of the

1977 text adventure Colossal Cave Adventure. It took
developer Warren Robinett approximately one year to
design and code the game, during which time he had to
overcome a variety of technical limitations in the Atari
2600 console hardware, as well as difficulties with
management within Atari. In this game, he introduced
the first widely known video game Easter egg, a secret
Rarity: 2 room containing text crediting himself.
Sears Text Labe: 3
Sears Picture Labe: 4
 Air Raid • 31

6.5 Adventures of Tron

Developer INTV (Hal Finney)
Publisher INTV
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Adventures of TRON was based on the Walt Disney

motion picture TRON, and was programmed by APh
for Mattel.
In addition to being sold separately, the game was also
packaged with TRON: Deadly Discs and a special blue
TRON joystick. Consumers who bought the games
separately could also send in proof of purchase and get
a free joystick. Rarity: 3
“atariage.com”

6.1 Air Raid

Developer Men-A-Vision (Garry Kitchen)
Publisher Men-A-Vision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Air Raid is considered to be the rarest game released

for the Atari 2600, only 12 copies known to exist. Its
cartridge is a blue T-handle design with a picture of
flying saucers attacking a futuristic city. It was the only
game released by Men-A-Vision and had an extreme-
ly limited distribution, making it highly sought after
by video game collectors. It is not uncommon for the
game to sell in the thousands of dollars when listed on
eBay. Rarity: 10

6.2 Air Raiders

Developer M-Network (Larry Zwick)
Publisher INTV, M Network
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Air Raiders is an action game released for the Atari

2600 by Mattel in 1982. In the game, players has the
view from the cockpit of a jet fighter. A feature of the
game includes a horizontal tilt that happens when the
jet fighter turns to the left or the right for realistic simu-
lation. The goal is to fire at enemy aircraft. The player
also has to worry about not making a quick dive after
an enemy craft that can lead to a crash landing.
White Label: 3
Black Label: 2
There is also a bar that is located on the width of the
32 • Airlock

Air-Sea Battle 6.4

Developer Atari (Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Designed by Larry Kaplan, it was one of the nine Atari

2600 launch titles. It was also released by Sears as Tar-
get Fun and was the pack-in game with the original
Sears Tele-Games version of the Atari 2600.
There are six basic types of game available in Air-Sea
Battle, and for each type, there are one or two groups
of three games, for a total of twenty-seven game vari-
Rarity: 2 ants.
Alt. Text Label: 3

Airlock 4.9
Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Airlock is an action game developed by Data Age in

which the player is trapped in a crashed nuclear sub-
marine which has begun taking on water. They need to
escape by making their way up the levels of the sub-
marine one at a time. Each floor has two hatch keys
that need to be collected in order to unlock the elevator
to the next level. There is a time limit though; if they
take too long the floor will flood and they’ll be unable
Rarity: 3 to escape.

Alien 4.4
Developer 20th Century Fox (Doug Neubauer)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In this game based (loosely) on the movie of the same

name, players have to move through a maze (the halls
of the ship in the manual), ala Pac-Man, collecting dots
(destroying alien eggs).
The game also got a Xante release. Similar to Romox,
a customer would select a game from a catalog, and a
cartridge would be created on the spot. The game came
Rarity: 4 with a generic box, instruction sheet, and cartridge label.
Xante: 10
 Amidar • 33

7.3 Alpha Beam with Ernie

Developer Atari, Children’s Computer Workshop
(P: Michael Callahan, G:Preston Stuart)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

Alpha Beam With Ernie is an edutainment video game

developed in conjunction with the Children’s Compu-
ter Workshop. The object of the game is to help Sesame
Street’s Ernie pilot a small shuttle, collect fuel tanks
(marked by a letter of the alphabet), and return them to
his space ship so that he can return to Earth.
The game is compatible with the Atari Kid’s Control-
Rarity: 4
ler, which was sold separately.

6.8 Amidar
Developer Parker Brothers (Ed Temple)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1982
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Amidar is a simplified port of a Konami arcade game.

Its basic format is similar to that of Pac-Man: the play-
er moves around a fixed rectilinear lattice, attempting
to visit each location on the board while avoiding the
enemies. When each spot has been visited, the player
moves to the next level.

Rarity: 2

6.3 Armor Ambush

Developer M-Network (Hal Finney)
Publisher INTV, M Network
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Armor Ambush is the Atari version of the Intellivision

Armor Battle cartridge. Armor Ambush expands upon
the simple battles available to players of Combat. The
field of battle occupies a region greater than the size of
the screen. Additionally, players can drop mines on the
battlefield by simultaneously pressing the fire button
and pulling down on the joystick. Players are able to
control two tanks and switch between them on com-
mand. White Label: 4
Black Label: 3
34 • Assault

Artillery Duel 6.5

Developer Xonox (John Perkins)
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

Artillery Duel is a strategy game and artillery clone

for home console and computer systems developed by
Xonox. The game takes gameplay common to many
games of the time and adapts it to the limitations of the
Atari 2600. The game consists of dueling cannons on
either side of a hill or mountain of varying height and
shape. Each player has control of the incline and force
behind the shell launched, the objective being to score
Rarity: 5 a direct hit on the opposing target.

Assault 5.4
Developer Bomb
Publisher Onbase
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Assault is a shoot ‘em up released in 1983. The player

is presented with an alien mother ship, which con-
tinually deploys three smaller ships during play. The
mother ship and the smaller vessels shoot at a weapon
the player is in command of, and the player’s aim is to
eliminate the opposition while preventing the weapon
from receiving enough fire to destroy it. The player
uses a joystick to operate the game, and only one play-
Rarity: 9 er at a time can play.

6.6
Asterix
Developer Atari (Steve Woita)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Asterix is essentially a European adaptation of the Taz

platform game, made by replacing the Taz sprite with a
sprite which vaguely resembles Asterix’s head.
The game was primarily a PAL release with only a
very limited NTSC release

Rarity: 10
 Asteroids • 35

7.2 Asteroids
Developer Atari (Brad Stewart)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1981
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Asteroids, one of the first major hits of the golden age

of arcade games, is an arcade space shooter released
in 1979. It has been ported to multiple platforms, in-
cluding much of Atari’s hardware. The 2600 port was
the first game to use bank switching, a technique de-
veloped by Carl Nielsen’s group of engineers that
increased available ROM space from 4 KB to 8 KB.
Brad Stewart, the programmer tasked to work on the
port, used bank switching to complete the game. Rarity: 1
Silver Label: 3
Sears: 2
36 • Atlantis

Astroblast 7.3
Developer M-Network (Hal Finney)
Publisher M Network, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

This is a cut-down version of the Intellivision game

Astrosmash. It resembles a cross between the early ar-
cade games Space Invaders and Asteroids. The game
involves using a laser cannon to destroy falling mete-
ors, bombs, and other targets.
Astrosmash was originally conceived when a game
called Meteor!, an Asteroids clone, did not fill up the
Black Label: 2 ROM space of an entire cartridge. The extra space was
Silver Label: 3 used to create a variation of the game called Avalanche!

Atlantis 7.0
Developer Imagic (Dennis Koble)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Atlantis is a fixed shooter for the Atari 2600. It was

written by Dennis Koble who also wrote Trick Shot,
Solar Storm, and Shootin Gallery’ for Imagic. The
player controls the last defenses of the City of Atlantis
against the Gorgon invaders.
The Atari 2600 version received a Certificate of Merit
in the “Video Game of the Year” category at the 4th
Rarity: 2 annual Arkie Awards.
Blue Label: 4

Atlantis II
Developer Imagic
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

This is a special contest version of Atlantis. It was sent

to the high scorers of the Defend Atlantis contest so
that they could determine the top four scorers. While
the game graphics are the same, it is much faster and
fewer points are awarded for hits, making the game
much more challenging.
Limited to only 10 copies, the value has been rated at
Rarity: 10 $6,000 by a few websites, but has sold for as much as
$18,000.
 Bachelor Party/Gigolo • 37

3.3 Bachelor Party

Developer Mystique
Publisher PlayAround
Release date 1982
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-2 Players

Bachelor Party, an adult-themed video game, is a sim-

plified version of Breakout where the “ball” is made
to look like a nude man and the “bricks” are made to
look like nude women and the man bounces back and
forth horizontally rather than vertically. The paddle is
controlled by the player using a paddle controller.
The premise of the game is that of an unnamed bach-
elor having his final fling with a room full of inexpli- Rarity: 5
cably nude women.

2.0 Bachelor Party/Gigolo

Developer Mystique
Publisher PlayAround
Release date 1982
Genre Compilation
Mode 1-2 Players

This was a double-ended cartridge that contained

Bachelor Party on one end and a new game, Gigolo,
on the other.
In Gigolo, men will leave the jail and head to various
houses. The player, controlling a female, must collect
some money from the bank and then make their way
to the houses for sex she pays these men for. Once the
money is in hand, the player has to avoid the thief who Rarity: 5
is out to rob all that cash.

3.0 Bachelorette Party/

Burning Desire
Developer Mystique
Publisher PlayAround
Release date 1982
Genre Compilation
Mode 1-2 Players

Bachelorette Party has no difference in gameplay from

Bachelor Party, but has the game sprites reversed.
In Burning Desire, the players girlfriend has been cap-
tured by natives and is being burnt as a sacrifice. The
player are hanging, naked, from a helicopter and must
put the fires out by, it appears, spitting on them.
Rarity: 5
38 • Bank Heist

5.9
Backgammon
Developer Atari (Craig Nelson)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Board game
Mode 1-2 Players

This is the game backgammon and its variant, acey

deucey. For backgammon, the standard rules are used.
Acey Deucey was a variation created by sailors in the
U. S. Navy. As such, the rules for acey deucey will
vary from ship to ship and person to person.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 2
Sears: 3

Bank Heist 8.0

Developer 20th Century Fox (Bill Aspromonte)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Each level in Bank Heist is a maze-like city (similar

to Pac-Man). The objective of the game is to rob as
many banks as possible while avoiding the police. The
player controls a car called the Getaway Car. The car
has a limited amount of fuel, which can be refilled by
changing cities. Robbing a bank will cause a cop car to
appear, as well as another bank. Cars can be destroyed
by dropping dynamite out the tail pipe of the Getaway
Rarity: 5 Car.

Barnstorming 6.6
Developer Activision (Steve Cartwright)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Barnstorming is an Atari 2600 video game designed by

Steve Cartwright. It was his first game. The idea came
to him as he watched a biplane one day while driv-
ing home from work. In the game, players must pilot
a biplane through a series of barns in the shortest time
possible while dodging stuff.
Originally, a player with a time better then 33.4 sec-
Rarity: 2 onds could send Activision a picture of their screen
and receive a Flying Aces patch.
 Basic Programming • 39

5.0 Basic Math

Developer Atari (Gary Palmer)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1 Player

Basic Math, also known as Fun With Numbers, was one

of the nine launch titles of the Atari 2600. The player’s
objective is simple: solve basic arithmetic problems.
Game variations determine whether the player solves
addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division prob-
lems, and whether they could select the top number
(the console randomly selects the lower number).

Rarity: 4
Alt. Label: 3
Fun With Numbers: 3

5.6 Basic Programming

Developer Atari (Warren Robinett)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

BASIC Programming, by Warren Robinett, attempted

to teach simple computer programming on the Atari
2600. It was one of only a few non-gaming cartridges
ever designed for the 2600. The programming lan-
guage was superficially similar to dialects of BASIC,
but differed in many important aspects. The extremely
small RAM size of the Atari 2600, 128 bytes, severely
restricted the possibilities of this cartridge for writing
programs. Rarity: 3

5.6 Basketball
Developer Atari (Alan Miller)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Basketball is an Atari 2600 game loosely based on the

sport of the same name. The game features a simple
game of one-on-one basketball playable by one or two
players, one of the few early Atari 2600 to have a true
single player feature with an AI-controlled opponent.
The game was well received by critics, gaining praise
in Video magazine’s “Arcade Alley” review column.
Reviewers described it as “that rare game that plays Rarity: 2
well solitaire or with a human opponent”. Sears Picture Label: 3
 Beamrider • 41

7.0 Battlezone
Developer Atari (Michael Feinstein)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Commonly considered the earliest progenitor of first-

person shooters, Battlezone is a 3D tank game initially
released in the arcades, and later converted officially to
many systems. Earth has been invaded, and the play-
ers and their tank lead the defensive effort. They drive
around the battlefield from a first-person view, target-
ing and firing at tanks, planes and UFOs. They have a
radar to help you see where the enemies are in direc-
tion and distance. Rarity: 2

7.2 Beamrider
Developer Activision (Dave Rolfe)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Beamrider is a scrolling shooter designed for the Intel-

livision by Activision programmer David Rolfe. The
game was then ported to the Atari 2600 with a slightly
reduced feature set.
The game takes place above Earth’s atmosphere,
where a large alien shield called the Restrictor Shield
surrounds the Earth. The player’s objective is to clear
the Shield’s 99 sectors of alien craft while piloting the Rarity: 5
Beamrider ship.

6.3 Beany Bopper

Developer Sirius Software (Grady Ward)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The object of Beany Bopper is to stun then capture

Beannies. Players can also capture Bouncing Orange
Eyeballs and various Falling Objects. If an unstunned
Beanny touches them, they lose a life.
There are two game options, one where the Beannies
bounce off the walls on screen, the other where they
pass through.
“mobygames.com” Rarity: 4
Xante: 10
42 • Beat ‘Em & Eat ‘Em/Lady in Wading

Beat ‘em & Eat ‘em 2.4

Developer Mystique (Joel H. Martin)
Publisher Mystique
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Beat ‘em and Eat ‘em is a pornographic game where

players control two nude women; the goal is to catch
sperm falling from a masturbating man on a rooftop
without missing. Its gameplay has been compared to
the Atari game Kaboom!.
The game has received negative reception since its re-
lease and is an oft-cited example of pornographic Atari
Rarity: 5 2600 games.

Beat ‘em & Eat ‘em/ 1.6

Lady in Wading
Developer Mystique (Joel H. Martin)
Publisher Playaround
Release date 1982
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

This is a double-ended cartridge that contains a re-re-

lease of Mystique’s Beat ‘em & Eat ‘em on one side
and Lady in Wading on the other.
Lady in Wading is a gender reversed version of Knight
on the Town in which players are a lady knight trying
to get to her prince. The game is otherwise identical,
Rarity: 5 including the sexual ‘reward’ at the end.

Berenstain Bears 7.7

Developer Coleco
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1 Player

This game is unplayable on an Atari 2600 without the

KidVid controller and three accompanying audiotapes.
The game takes cues from the tape about when to
advance. The KidVid controller came with the game
Smurfs Save the Day. Berenstain Bears was the only
additional KidVid title Coleco released, and it was sold
separately from the KidVid controller.
“atariage.com”
Rarity: 9
 Berzerk • 43

5.2 Bermuda Triangle

Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Bermuda Triangle is a side scrolling action game for

one or two players. Players is the pilot of a mini-sub
exploring the waters in the Bermuda Triangle. The
goal is to earn as many points as possible by collecting
treasures and destroying the various enemies they’ll
encounter. The mini-sub is equipped with a tractor
beam which can be used to collect treasures and lasers,
which can be used to destroy enemies, , including gi-
ant squids, man-eating sharks, enemy ships, and more. Rarity: 4

7.4 Berzerk
Developer Atari (Dan Hitchens)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Alan McNeil, an employee of Universal Research

Laboratories (a division of Stern Electronics), had a
dream one night involving a black-and-white video
game in which he had to fight robots. This dream, with
heavy borrowing from the BASIC game Robots, was
the basis for Berzerk, which was named for Fred Sab-
erhagen’s Berserker series of science fiction novels.

Rarity: 1
Sears: 3

6.6 Big Bird’s Egg Catch

Developer Atari, Children’s Computer Workshop
(Christopher Omarzu)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

In Big Bird’s Egg Catch, the player controls Big Bird

of Sesame Street fame as he saves eggs produced by
chickens at the top of the screen. These eggs travel
down variously contorted chutes to land safely in the
basket perched on Big Bird’s head. Most eggs count
for a single point, but a golden egg will periodically
appear that is worth five points.
Rarity: 4
44 • Blackjack

Birthday Mania
Developer Robert Anthony Tokar
Publisher Personal Games Company
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This extremely rare game was sold somewhere in the

mid-north part of the U.S. by Personal Games Com-
pany. The company marketed it as a great birthday gift.
About ten copies of the game were sold. The cartridge
was sold with a three folded manual sheet.
Rarity: 10 Each game was personalized to the boy or girl cele-
brating his or her birthday. When the game loads up it
shows their name on the opening screen.
“atarimania.com”

Blackjack 5.2
Developer Atari (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Cards
Mode 1-3 Players

Blackjack, one of the nine launch titles, is a video sim-

ulation of blackjack. The objective is identical to the
card game: to beat the dealer’s card total, without go-
ing over 21, to win a bet. One to three players can play
against the computer dealer.
It was reviewed favourably in Video magazine as part
of a general review of the Atari VCS. It was described
Rarity: 2 as “a good game for adults with several variations for
51 blackjack Label: 3 single or double players”, and was scored a perfect 10.
Sears Picture Label: 4

5.5
Blueprint
Developer Bally Midway (Tom DiDomenico)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Blue Print, is a port of the arcade maze game released

in 1982. The player controls J.J., a man whose girl-
friend Daisy is being chased by Ollie Ogre. To defeat
him, J.J. must find the pieces of a machine based on a
blueprint.

Rarity: 3
 Boing! • 45

8.5 BMX Airmaster

Developer Sculptured Software (Adam Clayton)
Publisher Atari, TNT Games
Release date 1989
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

In this game, players ride their BMX doing various

tricks. The tricks are done in events of half-pipe, quar-
ter pipe and ramps.
Atari purchased the rights to this game from TNT at
one point, and released a small quantity under their
own label. Very hard to find, as not many were pro-
duced and even fewer were ever sold.
Rarity: 10
White Label: 4

8.5 Boing!
Developer First Star Software (Shirley Russell, Alex Leavens)
Publisher First Star Software
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Boing!, reminiscent of Q*bert, players control a

bubble named Bubble. The object here is to bounce
on each of the thirty-six squares and turn them all on.
They start at the bottom left. On the bottom right starts
the Bubble Eater. He will chase them around the play
field and if he catches Bubble, players lose one of their
five lives. Pin starts at the top of a row and moves
down. If they are hit by Pin, they pop and a life is lost.
Rarity: 8
“mobygames.com”

6.2 Bowling
Developer Atari (Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Bowling, designed by Atari programmer Larry Kap-

lan, is based on the game of bowling. Games last for
10 frames, or turns. At the start of each frame, the cur-
rent player is given two chances to roll a bowling ball
down an alley in an attempt to knock down as many
of the ten bowling pins as possible. The bowler may
move up and down his end of the alley to aim before
releasing the ball.
Rarity: 2
46 • Brain Games

Boxing 6.1
Developer Activision (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1980
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Boxing is an Atari 2600 video game interpretation of

the sport of boxing developed by Activision program-
mer Bob Whitehead. The game is based on Boxer, an
unreleased 1978 arcade game from Whitehead’s previ-
ous employer, Atari.
The game shows a top-down view of two boxers, one
white and one black. When close enough, a boxer can
Rarity: 2 hit his opponent with a punch (executed by pressing
Blue Label: 3 the fire button on the Atari joystick).

Brain Games 3.8

Developer Atari (Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Edutainnent
Mode 1-2 Players

Brain Games, programmed by Larry Kaplan, feature

a series of memory-related games, most of which re-
quire players to repeat from memory certain sequences
or patterns.
The game received an “F” from The Video Game Crit-
ic, saying that it was reminiscent of “those cognitive
learning tests given to first graders”. The reviewer
Rarity: 3 went on to say that Brain Games was “not my idea of
a good time”.

Breakout 7.1
Developer Atari (P: Brad Stewart, D: Steve Jobs)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-4 Players

Breakout is an arcade game developed and published

by Atari. It was conceptualized by Nolan Bushnell and
Steve Bristow, influenced by the 1972 Atari arcade
game Pong, and built by Steve Wozniak “aided” by
Steve Jobs. The original arcade version of Breakout
has been officially ported to several systems, such as
the Atari 2600. The Atari 2600 port was programmed
by Brad Stewart.
Rarity: 2
Orange Label: 4
Sears Label: 3
 Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom • 47

4.4 Bridge
Developer Activision (Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Cards
Mode 1 Player

Bridge is a computerized bridge game. Interesting-

ly, the instructions do not teach players how to play
bridge, only how to operate the game on the 2600. Pro-
grammer Larry Kaplan estimates that the 2600 is capa-
ble of dealing 500 million different hands, and while
the game was being play-tested, the same hand was
never seen twice. This is a one-player game in which
the computer controls the actions of the other three
players. Rarity: 4

6.5 Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom

Developer Sega
Publisher Sega
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Loosely based on the Buck Rogers comic strips, Buck

Rogers: Planet of Zoom is a fast-paced arcade racing
game taking place on a futuristic racetrack. Players
guide their spaceship between pylons and shoot down
other enemy racers.
Buck is never seen in the game, and its only real con-
nections to Buck Rogers are the use of the name and
the outer space setting. Rarity: 4

3.6 Bugs
Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The player character have been sent to a long-dead

planet to investigate life sign readings. When players
get there, giant bugs are there and will harm them as
well as a mysterious Phylanx.
As the bugs come out of the ground, players must place
their crosshair below them and fire. If a bug gets all the
way out of its nest or the crosshair is touched by a red
Phylanx, players lose a life. Rarity: 3
“mobygames.com”
48 • Bumper Bash

Bump ‘n’ Jump 7.1

Developer Data East (P: Dave Akers, Jeff Ratcliff)
Publisher INTV, M Network, Telegames
Release date 1983
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Bump ‘N’ Jump is an action racing game played from

a top down point of view. As players race through the
treacherous and ever changing roadways, the numer-
ous enemy cars will be trying to bump them off the
road. They need to make sure they bump the cars out
of the way before they get bumped and crash into the
sides themself. The car also has the ability to jump
quite high if they have enough speed.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”
M Network: 4

6.8
Bumper Bash
Developer Sirius Software (David Lubar)
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Pinball
Mode 1 Player

This is a pinball game for the Atari 2600. Players use

the buttons on a paddle controller.
This game seems to have been sold predominately
in Canada, as were some of the other Spectravision
games.

Rarity: 9

Burgertime 6.6
Developer M Network (P: Ron Surratt, S: Patricia L.D. Long)
Publisher INTV, M Network
Release date 1982
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

BurgerTime is a 1982 arcade game created by Data

East for its DECO Cassette System. It was very suc-
cessful and later ported to several home computers and
consoles.
The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over
hamburger ingredients located across a maze of plat-
forms while avoiding pursuing characters.
Rarity: 4
Black Label: 3
50 • California Games

Cakewalk 6.8
Developer CommaVid (Irwin Gaines)
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In this game, players control a chef who must catch

pastries from six conveyor belts before they fall on the
floor. Each pastry caught is boxed and put behind him.
Sometimes, a knife and fork come down the conveyor
belt. If the chef is hit by the utensils or miss a pastry,
the janitor has to clean it up.
As with all CommaVid games, this is very hard to find.
Rarity: 9 It’s slightly easier to find in PAL format. Early refer-
ences to this game called it “Baker”.

California Games 6.9

Developer Epyx (Peter Engelbrite, Steve Baker)
Publisher Epyx
Release date 1987
Genre Sports
Mode 1-8 Players

California Games is a 1987 Epyx sports video game.

Branching from their popular Summer Games and
Winter Games series, this game consist of sports pur-
portedly popular in 80s’ California including skate-
boarding, freestyle footbag, surfing, roller skating, fly-
ing disc and BMX. The Atari 2600 version of the game
omit the flying disc and roller skating events.

Rarity: 4

Canyon Bomber 6.2

Developer Atari (David Crane)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Canyon Bomber is a black-and-white 1978 arcade

game, developed and published by Atari. The game
was rewritten in color and with a different visual style
for the Atari 2600.
The player and an opponent fly a blimp or biplane over
a canyon full of numbered, circular rocks, arranged in
layers. The player does not control the flight of vehi-
Rarity: 2 cles, but only presses a button to drop bombs which
Sears Picture Label: 6 destroy rocks and give points.
 Casino • 51

6.9 Carnival
Developer Woodside Design (Steve Kitchen)
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Carnival is a fixed shooter arcade game created by

Sega in 1980. It has the distinction of being the first
video game with a bonus round. The game was ported
to the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and Intellivision.
The goal of the game is to shoot at targets, while care-
fully avoiding running out of bullets. Three rows of
targets scroll across the screen in alternating direc-
tions; these include rabbits, ducks, owls, and extra- Rarity: 2
bullet targets, with higher rows awarding more points.

5.1 Casino
Developer Atari (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Cards
Mode 1-4 Players

Casino was programmed by Bob Whitehead. Dis-

played from an overhead perspective, there are three
card games to choose from: blackjack, five-card stud
poker, and poker solitaire. Except for poker solitaire,
each game always has the computer as the dealer, and
bets are made by rotating the wheel on the controller
and then pressing the button.
It was later released by Sears as Poker Plus. Rarity: 1
Sears: 3

7.2 Centipede
Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Centipede was designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey.

Bailey was one of the few female game programmers
in the industry; Logg stated that the game was intended
to attract women players, and Bailey said “I really like
pastels ... I really wanted it to look different, to be vis-
ually arresting”. Bailey and Logg succeeded in their
goal; Centipede was one of the first arcade coin-op-
erated games to have a significant female player base
after Pac-Man. Rarity: 2
52 • Challenge of Nexar

Challenge of Nexar 5.3

Developer Sirius Software (David Lubar)
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Object of the game is to become a Spectra-Warrior.

To do this, players must fly through the levels of warp
zones, destroying radioactive beacons. The higher the
level, the more beacons must be destroyed. These bea-
cons are guarded by impact exploding saucers. Play-
ers can destroy these saucers for points or avoid them.
They have ninety-nine seconds to destroy the number
of beacons indicated by the number on the bottom right
Rarity: 4 of the screen per level.

Championship Soccer 4.7

Developer Atari (Steve Wright)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Championship Soccer, also released as Pelé’s Soccer

and Soccer, features basic graphics, realistic (for that
time) ball-handing and goal-keeping techniques using
the Atari joystick.
Each team has one forward, two defenders, and a goal-
keeper on the field at all times. There are 54 different
game variations (27 single-player and 27 multiplayer)
Rarity: 2 that allow for different speeds, game lengths, and goal
Soccer: 3 sizes.
 Checkers • 53

5.4 Chase the Chuck Wagon

Developer Spectravision (Mike Schwartz)
Publisher Purina
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Chase the Chuck Wagon is a 1983 promotional video

game distributed by Purina for the Atari 2600/VCS
home console. It was available only via mail order by
sending in proofs of purchase to Purina.
The object of each maze screen is to move Chuckie the
dog through mazes of four different designs and escape
through the opening directly below the chuckwagon.
Rarity: 8

5.0 Checkers
Developer Activision (Alan Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Board game
Mode 1-2 Players

Checkers is a computerized version of the Checkers

board game and follows the same rules. The object of
the game is to remove all of the opponents pieces from
the 8x8 game board. This is accomplished by moving
the pieces diagonally forward on the board; an oppo-
nent’s piece is removed from play if one of the pieces
jumps over it (if any of the pieces are able to jump an
opponent’s piece, players must make that move).
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”
Text Label: 3

4.9 China Syndrome

Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The Spectra Island reactor provides power for millions

of residents. Ordinarily, there is no problem but there
has been an earthquake. This has damaged the reactor,
causing it to release radioactive particles. Players must
use the robot arm to retrieve these particles before the
radiation builds too much and have a meltdown.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 5
54 • Chuck Norris Superkicks

Chopper Command 6.7

Developer Activision (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

In Chopper Command the player controls a military

helicopter in a desert scenario protecting a convoy of
trucks. The goal is to destroy all enemy fighter jets and
helicopters that attack the player’s helicopter and the
friendly trucks travelling below, ending the current
wave. A radar, called a Long Range Scanner in the in-
struction manual, shows all enemies, including those
not visible on the main screen.
Rarity: 2
Blue Label: 3

Chuck Norris Superkicks 5.2

Developer Xonox (Robert Weatherby)
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Chuck Norris Superkicks, is an action game where the

player takes control of Chuck Norris. It was later sold
as Kung Fu Superkicks when the license for the use of
the name Chuck Norris expired.
The player is a martial arts expert that has to liberate a
hostage. The game combines two types of gameplay:
moving through a map, and fighting against enemies.
Rarity: 5

Circus Atari 6.7

Developer Atari (Mike Lorenzen)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-2 Players

Circus was first released as a arcade game by Exidy in

1977. The game is an arranged version of Atari’s Brea-
kout, where the player controls a seesaw and clown in
order to destroy all of the targets in the level.
The Atari 2600 version by Mike Lorenzen was color-
ized unlike the arcade version and it supported the pad-
dle controller.
Rarity: 2
Sears: 3
 Codebreaker • 55

6.3 Coconuts
Developer Telesys ( Jim Rupp)
Publisher Telesys
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In CocoNuts Stanley the intrepid jungle explorer is

under attack from Coco the monkey. Coco is up in
the trees throwing coconuts at Stanley. The player, as
Stanley, needs to dodge the incoming coconuts. He be-
gin the game equipped with a helmet and an umbrella
to protect himself. Each time he is hit by a coconut,
he lose one of these items. Players may also regain an
item by scoring enough points.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

4.1 Codebreaker
Developer Atari (Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

In Codebreaker the goal is to guess a 3 or 4 digit se-

cret code which is generated by either the computer
or another player. Depending on the difficulty setting,
the player has either 8 or 12 guesses to figure out the
code by entering in values with the keyboard control-
ler. After each guess, the computer analyzes the input
and displays results which indicate if players have a
correct digit in the correct position, a correct digit in
the wrong position, or no correct digits at all. Rarity: 3
Sears: 4
56 • Commando

Combat 6.9
Developer Atari (Larry Wagner, Joe Decuir)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Shooter
Mode 2 Players

Combat, released as one of the nine launch titles, was

based on two earlier black-and-white coin-operated ar-
cade games produced by Atari; Tank in 1974 and Jet
Fighter in 1975. Combat boasted having 27 games in
one, which were all variations on the tank, biplane, and
jet gameplay.
The game was later re-released as Tank Plus by Sears.
Rarity: 1
01 combat Label: 2
Sears: 2

Commando 6.2
Developer Activision (Mike Reidel)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1988
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Commando was originally released as a run & gun,

vertically scrolling arcade game in 1985. The player
takes control of a soldier named Super Joe, who starts
by being dropped off in a jungle by a helicopter, and
has to fight his way out single-handedly, fending off a
massive assault of enemy soldiers. At the end of each
level players will encounter an enemy base, at which
point they must defeat a certain number of soldiers be-
Rarity: 3 fore they will be able to enter the base.

Commando Raid 6.4

Developer Wickstead Design (Wes Trager, Henry Will IV)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players must defend a city which is under attack by

commando raiders. The player control a large gun at
the bottom of the screen. Choppers will be flying in
paratroopers, both of which need to be destroyed. If
a paratrooper makes it past the fire and lands, it will
damage and eventually destroy one of the buildings in
the city. After a building is destroyed, the paratroopers
will then begin tunneling towards the gun in an effort
Rarity: 2 to destroy it.
 Condor Attack • 57

7.7 Communist Mutants from Space

Developer Starpath (Stephen Landrum)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-4 Players

Communist Mutants from Space is a fixed shooter by

Starpath (formerly known as Arcadia). In the game, al-
iens from the communist planet of Rooskee are invad-
ing peaceful, democratic planets and turning their in-
habitants into “Communist Mutants.” The communist
mutant armies are controlled by the Mother Creature,
a strange alien who has gone mad due to irradiated
vodka.
Rarity: 4

5.4 Condor Attack

Developer Ultravision
Publisher Ultravision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Players

Condor Attack is a clone of Demon Attack, which it-

self was inspired by another game, the 1980 arcade
game Phoenix.
There are bare cartridges showing up on eBay fairly
regularly, but a complete, boxed copy rarely shows up.
In late 2012, a boxed, albeit roughed-up copy, sold for
$1340. A more pristine copy sold a month earlier for
over $1800. Rarity: 9
K-Tel Vision: 9

7.1 Congo Bongo

Developer Beck-Tech (Phat Ho, Steve Beck)
Publisher Sega
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Congo Bongo is an isometric platform arcade game re-

leased by Sega in 1983. The player takes the role of a
red-nosed safari hunter who tries to catch an ape named
Bongo. The hunter seeks Bongo to exact revenge for
an apparent practical joke in which Bongo set fire to
the hunter’s tent, giving him a literal “hotfoot.”
Despite being a commercial failure when it was ini-
tially released Congo Bongo has been ported to nearly Rarity: 4
every major gaming platform of the day.
 Cosmic Ark • 59

6.1 Cookie Monster Munch

Developer Atari, Children’s Computer Workshop
(Gary Stark)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

The objective of Cookie Monster Munch is to guide

the Sesame Street monster through a simple maze, col-
lecting cookies and placing them in a cookie jar at the
bottom of the screen.
The game uses an Atari Kid’s Controller (sold sepa-
rately), although the regular keyboard controller will
also work.
Rarity: 4

7.4 Cosmic Ark

Developer Imagic (Rob Fulop)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1-2 Players

Cosmic Ark is a 1982 Atari 2600 video game, released

by Imagic as the sequel to the Atlantis. It is believed
to be the first-ever console game sequel. The objective
is to gather specimens from different planets aboard a
cosmic ark.
There are two versions of Cosmic Ark. One allows the
player to toggle starfield display by changing the Atari
2600’s “TV Type” switch. The other version features a Rarity: 2
starfield display that cannot be disabled.

5.7 Cosmic Commuter

Developer Activision (John Van Ryzin)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Cosmic Commuter was programmed by John Van

Ryzin before H.E.R.O., but released a year afterwards.
The game takes place in the year 2075. Players work
for the Galactic Travel Agency, and need to help the
citizens commute to and from work.
The game was released in 1985, a year after the great
videogame crash, and is one of the rarer Activision
games for that reason. Rarity: 5
60 • Cosmic Creeps

3.1
Cosmic Corridor
Developer BitCorp
Publisher Zimag, (eu) Puzzy
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Cosmic Corridor is just another space shooter on the

Atari 2600. It is the NTSC release of Bit Corpora-
tion’s Space Tunnel. The PAL release is also known as
Weltraumtunnel.

Rarity: 6
Space Tunnel: 9

Cosmic Creeps 5.9

Developer Telesys ( Don Ruffcorn)
Publisher Telesys
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The player must save a doomed Civilization and pro-

tect the Cosmic Kids from the Cosmic Creeps as they
escape the orbit-decaying planet.
The first part of the game is The Voyage. Players be-
gin on the bottom in their Orbinaut and must move to
the space station at the top while avoiding plasma. The
second part of the game is The Rescue. Players must
Rarity: 4 save a kid from two Cosmic Creeps by shooting them.
“mobygames.com”

Cosmic Swarm 4.2

Developer CommaVid (John Bronstein)
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The player are at the Waypoint Interstellar Trade De-

pot, a quiet outpost in space, when suddenly a dormant
group of alien, mineral-eating termites awakens. They
then begin haphazardly making their nest.
Using the probe ship, players must destroy the termites
and their nest blocks. They simply fire at the termites
to destroy them but their nest blocks must be energized
Rarity: 6 before players can destroy them.
“mobygames.com”
 Crash Dive • 61

6.6 Crackpots
Developer Activision (Dan Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Crackpots is an Atari 2600 game designed by Dan

Kitchen. In the game, the player controls Potsy, a gar-
dener. Potsy’s Brooklyn building is being overrun by
spiders trying to climb inside six different windows.
The player moves Potsy back and forth along the roof
to drop pots on the spiders before they get close enough
to enter the windows.

Rarity: 4

6.5 Crash Dive

Developer 20th Century Fox (Bill Aspromonte)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The object of the game is to use the flying sub, Sea

Hunter, to destroy enemies and find treasures. The sub
move fastest when in the air, half speed when in the
water and cannot move forward when on the sea bot-
tom. Players just play until they crash the sub or run
out of fuel. Refuelling can be done by docking with the
sub at the top of the sea called Sea View.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 5

7.4 Crazy Climber

Developer Roklan (Alex Leavens)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Crazy Climber was first released as a 1980 coin-oper-

ated arcade game by Nichibutsu. It is one of Nichibut-
su’s most highly acclaimed video games in its library.
The Atari 2600 version is one of four Atari Club exclu-
sive games, although this one did show up in limited
quantities in toy clearances. This is a highly sought af-
ter version, both because it is hard to find, and because
it is a conversion of a popular coin-op. Rarity: 8
62 • Crossbow

Cross Force 5.7

Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Cross Force is a shooter by Spectravision. In the game,

players have two lasers, one at the top that fires down
and one at the bottom that fires up. Players control both
lasers. Depending on what they select, they can have
both lasers stay parallel to each other or move opposite
of each other. The goal is to fire the laser, which fires
from one laser to the other, and destroy any enemies
caught in the crossfire.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”

Crossbow 6.0
Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1987
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Crossbow is a arcade game released by Exidy in 1983.

Gameplay requires the player to protect a band of ad-
venturers from afar by shooting objects that threaten
them. The adventurers enter from the left-hand side of
the screen and attempt to cross the screen unharmed.
If the player helps them reach the opposite side of the
screen safely, the adventurers survive to the next sce-
nario.
Rarity: 2
, and new adventurers are occasionally granted be-

Crypts of Chaos 5.1

Developer 20th Century Fox (John Marvin)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Adventure, Role-Playing
Mode 1 Player

The object of this game is to kill monsters in the crypts,

get treasures, and get out on the crypts. The players
weapons include a sword (unlimited attacks but use-
less against wizards), wand (limited attacks, depend-
ing on game selection, useless on dragons), ring of
power (limited attacks, depending on game selection),
and peace symbol (unlimited uses but give no points
and only useful on trolls, eyes, wizards and dragons).
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”
Xante: 10
 Custer’s Revenge • 63

6.9 Crystal Castles

Developer Atari (P: Peter C. Niday, G: Michael Kosaka)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Crystal Castles was originally released as a 1983 ar-

cade game by Atari. The player controls a cartoon bear,
named Bentley Bear, who has to collect gems located
throughout trimetric-projected rendered castles while
avoiding enemies out to get him as well as the gems.
Because of the technical limitations of the Atari 2600,
the port was simplified. The port was done by Peter
C. Niday (Programmer), Robert Vieira (Sound), and
Michael Kosaka (Graphics). Rarity: 2

5.0 Custer’s Revenge

Developer Mystique (Joel H. Martin)
Publisher Mystique
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Custer’s Revenge (also known as Westward Ho and

The White Man Came) is an adult video game by Mys-
tique. In the game, the player controls the character of
Custer, depicted as a man wearing nothing but a cav-
alry hat, boots and a bandana, sporting a visible erec-
tion. Custer has to overcome arrow attacks to reach
the other side of the screen. His goal is to rape a naked
Native American woman tied to a pole.
Rarity: 5

Custer’s Revenge quickly gained notoriety upon its release.

Sold in a sealed package labeled “NOT FOR SALE TO
MINORS” and selling for $49.95 (equivalent to $134 in
2020), it acknowledged that children might nonetheless see
the game. The game’s literature stated “if the kids catch
you and should ask, tell them Custer and the maiden are
just dancing.” The makers elected to preview the game for
women’s and Native American groups, an act that many
thought was a publicity stunt. Women’s rights groups criti-
cized the game, stating that it was a simulation of rape;
the back of the packaging states “she’s not about to take it
lying down, by George! Help is on the way. By God! He’s
coming.”
Nevertheless, the focused media attention gener-
ated publicity for the game and caused it to sell approxi-
mately 80,000 copies, twice as many copies as Mystique’s
other adult-only games, Bachelor Party and Beat ‘Em &
Eat ‘Em.
64 • Dark Chambers

Dark Cavern 6.3

Developer M-Network (Hal Finney)
Publisher M-Network, (eu) Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Dark Cavern is an action shooting game originally re-

leased for the Intellivision. The player controls a man
trapped in a hedgerow maze with no exits and many
threats, some natural such as bats and spiders, others
artificial and more deadly in nature such as robots. The
Atari port feature faster gameplay and the ability to
carry more bullets.

Rarity: 2 The game was released as Night Stalker, the original

Night Stalker: 5 Intellivision title, on PAL format.

Dark Chambers 7.3

Developer Sculptured Software (John Palevich)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1988
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1-2 Players

Dandy (later Dandy Dungeon) is a dungeon crawl for

the Atari 8-bit computers. When Atari reentered the
game console business, they made a new Dandy-like
game named Dark Chambers.
The game takes place in a maze-like dungeon, seen
from an overhead view. The dungeon has multiple lev-
els, connected together using stairwells. Portions of
Rarity: 4 the mazes are blocked by locked doors, which can be
opened with keys scattered through the maze.

Deadly Duck 5.4

Developer Sirius Software (Ed Hodapp)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Deadly Duck is an Atari 2600 game designed by Ed

Hodapp for Sirius Software. In the game, cranky crabs
are attempting to get the ducks out of their ponds. The
crabs fly in the air while throwing bricks and bombs at
the ducks. To fight back, the ducks are armed with a
bill that is also a gun barrel that shoots a limitless sup-
ply of bullets straight up. The player starts with four
lives and a bonus life is awarded when all eight crabs
Rarity: 4 in a level have been shot.
 Defender • 65

5.2 Death Trap

Developer Avalon Hill (Jim Jacob)
Publisher Avalon Hill
Release date 1983
Genre Action, Strategy
Mode 1 Player

Players have been sent to deliver a message. Suddenly,

they run into the giant ship IT, who doesn’t want that
message to get to the Galactic Emperor. They must de-
stroy all three power generators to escape. One genera-
tor is hidden until the other two are destroyed.
Players start with six ships at the bottom of the screen.
Each time a fireball hits them, a ship is lost.
“mobygames.com” Rarity: 8

6.8 Defender
Developer Atari (P: Bob Polaro, G: Alan Murphy)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Defender was first released as a 1981 arcade game by

Williams Electronics. It was one of the most important
titles of the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games.
Versions like the Atari 2600 port distinctly changed the
gameplay and graphics to comply with the system’s
specifications. The Atari 2600 version, along with
Space Invaders and Asteroids, is said to have helped
the system gain a dominant market share. Rarity: 1
Sears: 2

7.4
Defender II
Developer Atari (P: Bill Aspromonte, S:Andrew Fuchs)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1988
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Defender II is a renamed re-release of Stargate. The

name was presumably used due to legal issues (ac-
cording to the bonus material for Midway Arcade
Treasures, Williams wanted to “make sure they could
own the trademark” on the Defender name).

Rarity: 4
66 • Demon Attack

Demolition Herby 5.6

Developer Telesys (Don Ruffcorn)
Publisher Telesys
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Players control Demolition Herby who’s out to own

the roads. Players must drive around a square section
to black it out; the object being to black out all sec-
tions. There are only three things in the way: the chase
cars. When they drive over a line players have turned
red, it turns white again. They will also try to ram play-
ers off the track, but players can ram them from be-
hind, which will make them run them off the track for
Rarity: 6 a few seconds.
Color Handle: 7

Demon Attack 7.3

Developer Imagic (Rob Fulop)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Demon Attack is a video game written by Rob Fulop

and published by Imagic. The game is supposedly
based on the 1979 arcade shooter Galaxian, though it
closely resembles several waves from the 1980 arcade
game Phoenix. The similarities prompted a lawsuit
from Atari, who had purchased the latter’s home video
game rights. Imagic settled out of court, and Demon
Attack became Imagic’s best-selling game.
Rarity: 2
Blue Label: 5
Xante: 10

Demons to Diamonds 6.2

Developer Atari (P: Nick Turner, G: Alan Murphy)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Demons to Diamonds was programmed by Nick

Turner with graphics designed by Alan Murphy. In the
game, players attempt to shoot demons in a “cosmic
carnival” and then pick up the diamonds left behind by
them, while dodging shots from enemy skulls.
The manual states that the game was “primarily de-
signed for children in the 6 to 12 age range.”
Rarity: 2
Sears: 3
68 • Dice Puzzle

Desert Falcon 6.4

Developer Atari (Bob Polaro)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1987
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Desert Falcon is an arcade-style shooter. Many of

the Pharaoh’s great treasures are lost throughout the
desert, and the goal is to steal as many as possible to
earn points. The game features a scrolling, isometric
point of view as players control their falcon through
the various desert landscapes. Desert creatures includ-
ing vultures, warriors, flying fish, sphinxes among oth-
ers.
Rarity: 4

7.0
Dice Puzzle
Developer Panda Computer Games
Publisher Panda Computer Games
Release date 1983
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Dice puzzle has 16 squares of random numbers be-

tween 1-6. The object is to change all the numbers
to 6 in the shortest amount of time, using the fewest
number of turns. When all the dice are changed to 6,
the game will automatically end displaying time used
and numbers of turns taken.

Rarity: 6

Dig Dug 7.4

Developer Atari (Douglas B. Macrae)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Dig Dug was first released as a 1982 arcade game by

Namco. The objective of the game is to eliminate un-
derground-dwelling monsters by either inflating them
with an air pump until they explode, or by dropping
rocks on them. The monsters normally crawl through
the tunnels in the dirt but can turn into ghostly eyes
and travel slowly through the dirt. The last enemy in a
round will try to escape off the top left of the screen.
Rarity: 2
 Dodge ‘Em • 69

4.6 Dishaster
Developer Zimag
Publisher Zimag
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Dishaster is Zimag’s NTSC release of Bit Corpora-

tion’s Dancing Plate. The game is inspired by the cir-
cus tradition of keeping spinning plates suspended on
poles. The player controls a girl attempting to keep
a group of several spinning plates balanced on poles
from falling.
The game received negative reviews; criticism focused
on the game’s repetition and monotony. Rarity: 5

6.3 Dodge ‘Em

Developer Atari (Carla Meninsky)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Dodge ‘Em, programmed by Carla Meninsky, is an ac-

tion game based on a single screen of four concentric
roadways, the same as in Sega’s Head On (1979).
The player controls a car and has to drive counter-
clockwise, avoiding computer-controlled cars whose
sole aim is to produce a head-on collision. Each road-
way of the maze has four gaps in it. The player can use
the gaps to change lanes in order to pick up dots, or to Rarity: 2
avoid the computer-controlled cars. Sears Text Label: 3
Sears Picture Label: 4

5.7 Dolphin
Developer Activision (Matthew Hubbard)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The player assumes the persona of a dolphin attempt-

ing to flee from a giant squid. It must not only navigate
packs of seahorses which, if a collision occurs, slows
the dolphin’s speed, the player must navigate both for-
ward-moving currents (indicated by an arrow pointed
in the direction of the player’s movement) and, con-
versely, backward-moving currents. The former per-
mits the player to accelerate while the latter slows the
player’s rate of progression. Rarity: 3
 Donkey Kong Junior • 71

7.0 Donkey Kong

Developer Imaginative Systems (Garry Kitchen)
Publisher Atari, Coleco
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Donkey Kong, first released as a 1981 arcade game by

Nintendo, is an early example of the platform game
genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the
main character across a series of platforms while dodg-
ing and jumping over obstacles.
Sound effects from the Atari 2600 version often serve
as generic video game sounds in films and television
series. Rarity: 3
Coleco: 1

6.8 Donkey Kong Junior

Developer Atari (Harley H. Puthuff, Jr.)
Publisher Atari, Coleco
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Donkey Kong Jr. first appeared in arcades in 1982, and,

over the course of the 1980s, was later released for a
variety of platforms. Like its Donkey Kong predeces-
sor, Donkey Kong Jr. is an arcade-style platform game.
Its eponymous star is trying to rescue his father Don-
key Kong, who has been imprisoned. Donkey Kong’s
cage is guarded by Mario, in his only appearance as an
antagonist in a Nintendo video game.
Rarity: 4

5.4 Double Dragon

Developer Activision (Dan Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1989
Genre Beat ‘em up
Mode 1-2 Players

Double Dragon was first released as a 1987 arcade

game by Technōs Japan. The game is the spiritual suc-
cessor to Technos’ earlier beat ‘em up, Renegade.
The 2600 port made many sacrifices, most notably
with the graphics, which means that the characters
look very bizarre in terms of the colors used for them.
In addition, the one-button setup required Activision
to compress many of the fighting moves by combining Rarity: 5
button presses with joystick movements.
72 • Dragonfire

Double Dunk 6.1

Developer Atari (Matthew Hubbard)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1989
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Double Dunk is a basketball-based video game for the

Atari 2600. Programmed by Matthew Hubbard, it was
one of the last games produced by Atari for its most
well-known console.
The game is a simulation of two-on-two, half-court
basketball. Teams have two on-screen characters, a
shorter “outside” man and a taller “inside” man.
Rarity: 4

Dragonfire 6.9
Developer Imagic (Bob Smith)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Dragonfire is a 1982 video game by Imagic in which

the player grabs treasure guarded by a dragon while
avoiding fireballs. Each level consists of two stages.
The first stage is a side view of the character trying to
cross a drawbridge to reach a castle. To traverse the
bridge, the player must duck under high fireballs and
jump over low fireballs. The second stage has a more
top-down point of view where the player must guide
Rarity: 2 the character around a room.

Dragonstomper 7.8
Developer Starpath (Stephen Landrum)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Role-playing
Mode 1 Player

Dragonstomper is a role-playing game programmed by

Stephen Landrum. Making use of the Starpath Super-
charger, Dragonstomper was perhaps the truest RPG
for the Atari 2600.
The game follows the adventures of a dragon hunter
who is given a quest by the king to defeat a dragon
and reclaim a magical amulet that was stolen. Play-
Rarity: 5 ers makes their way over the countryside vanquishing
various adversaries and gaining gold and experience.
 Dragster • 73

4.9 Dragster
Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1980
Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players

Dragster was the first game developed by Activision

for the Atari 2600 console, and released in 1980. It is
an unauthorized adaptation of the 1977 Kee Games
coin-op, Drag Race.
The object of the game is to either beat the player’s
opponent across the screen, or to race against the clock
for best time, depending on the settings used.
Rarity: 2
74 • Earth Dies Screaming

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 3.6

Developer Atari (P: Howard S. Warshaw, G: Jerome Domurat)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is based on the film of the

same name, and was designed by Howard Scott War-
shaw. The objective of the game is to guide the epony-
mous character through various screens to collect three
pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow
him to contact his home planet.
The game was negatively received by critics, with
Rarity: 1 common complaints focused on the plot, gameplay,
and visuals.

Earth Dies Screaming 3.4

Developer Sirius Software (Dan Thompson)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players control a space destroyer defending Earth against

the Trillians. The Trillians are using attack bases to
launch Kamikaze satellites and Trillian fighters at Earth.
When a satellite or a fighter gets close, the weapon
will automatically track their vertical motion. Players
must track them horizontally and fire at the right time.
They lose energy when a fighter shoots them or when
Rarity: 5 a fighter or satellite explodes on Earth.
“mobygames.com”

Eggomania 5.1
Developer Wickstead Design
(Todd Marshall, Wes Trager, Henry Will IV)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-4 Players

Eggomania is an arcade-style video game. The objec-

tive of the game is to catch eggs in a hat, which are
thrown by a chicken, without letting any of the eggs
hit the ground and break. At the end of each round,
the player has a chance to throw the eggs that they
have caught back at the chicken in order to win bonus
points. The speed of the game increases as the player
Rarity: 4 progresses.
 Encounter at L-5 • 75

5.2 Eli’s Ladder

Developer Simage
Publisher Simage
Release date 1982
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

Eli’s Ladder is an educational game aimed at children,

where math problems needs to be solved in order to
help Eli and his crew climb a ladder to his space ship
so they can then journey to the Moon. The game in-
cluded a wall chart and stickers designed to help moti-
vate children progress through the problems.
This is one of the rarest Atari 2600 games and saw Rarity: 10
fairly limited distribution.
“atariage.com”

5.7 Encounter at L-5

Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Using an anti-matter launcher, players must defend the

starbase L5 against a non-stop horde of blue Mega-
lyte warrior ships and their death ships. As the war-
riors reach the bottom, they fire on the base. It does
not hurt the base but will lose players one of their four
lives. Sometimes the death ship takes a dive towards
the base, firing as it goes. If it reaches the base, it will
destroy the generator, losing players a life.
Rarity: 3
“mobygames.com”

7.4 Enduro
Developer Activision (Larry Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Enduro is a racing game designed by Larry Miller. The

object of the game is to take part in an endurance race
and pass a certain number of cars each day as to con-
tinue the race the next day.
On its release if a player succeeded to race five days or
more, an on-screen racing trophy would pop-up on the
screen. If the player sent a photograph of this achieve-
ment to Activision, they would receive a patch declar- Rarity: 2
ing them an “Activision Roadbuster”. Blue Label: 3
76 • Entombed

Entombed 6.6
Developer Western Technologies
(Paul Allen Newell, Steve Sidley, Tom Sloper)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action, Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

A team of archaeologists is trapped in an underground

maze of dark, winding tunnels. All around them, zom-
bies are emerging from the crypts. The archaeologists’
only hope of survival (apart from some very fast run-
ning) is an ancient device known as the ‘make-break’,
which can be used to either create or destroy pieces of
wall.
Rarity: 4 “mobygames.com”
 Espial • 77

7.3 Escape From the Mindmaster

Developer Starpath (Dennis Caswell)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

The player’s goal in the game is to solve the maze con-

sisting of a series of hallways and rooms. The rooms
either is empty, contain puzzle pegs, or has a bonus
game that allow the user to collect more points. Each
level has its own individual bonus game. To solve the
maze, players has to collect keys that are designed as
shapes to find their corresponding sockets. Only one
key can be held on to one at a time. This must be done
all the while avoiding the stalker roaming the maze. Rarity: 4

6.0 Espial
Developer Tigervision
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1984
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role as a space attack pilot flying at

death range over a gigantic space ship. They must fight
through the never ending waves of enemy craft while
also firing missiles at the ship itself. Players can fire
lasers and missiles simultaneously. The missiles will
strike where the crosshair in front of the ship is at the
time they are launched.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 6

5.5 Exocet
Developer Panda Computer Games
Publisher Panda Computer Games, Froggo
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players use a UFO to shoot tall and short towers above

ground. They can shoot the short ones on any part of
them but the tall ones must be shot at the firing spot.
To shoot, players move in the direction they want to
shoot, and press fire. After they destroy ten towers, a
tunnel will open so they can get underground.
Froggo released the game as Cruise Missile.
Rarity: 6
Cruise Missile: 4
78 • Fast Eddie

Fantastic Voyage 6.5

Developer Sirius Software (David Lubar)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Fantastic Voyage is a vertically scrolling shooter for

one player. The premise of the game follows that of the
1966 movie of the same name; players and their sub-
marine have been miniaturized and injected into the
blood stream of an ill patient. The goal is to prevent the
patient from dying by locating deadly blood clots and
destroying them.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 4

Fast Eddie 6.6

Developer Sirius Software (Mark Turmell)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

As Fast Eddie, players must go from floor to floor, col-

lecting prizes. Up to two prizes will be on the screen at
any one time on any floor but the top one. There are a
max on ten prizes per screen. On each floor, a Sneaker
stands or roams back and forth. Eddie can move to an-
other floor or jump to avoid the Sneakers. On the top
floor is High-Top, the tallest Sneaker.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 4

Fast Food 6.9

Developer Telesys (Don Ruffcorn)
Publisher Telesys
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Fast Food is an Atari 2600 game written by Don Ruff-

corn. In the game, the player controls a pair of disem-
bodied lips, similar to a Chattery Teeth toy. The game’s
manual gives the name of the lips as Mighty Mouth.
Various fast food menu items fly across the screen
and the teeth earns points by catching them. The play-
er must avoid eating the purple pickles. After eating
6 purple pickles, the screen is replaced by large text
Rarity: 3 reading “BURP”, followed by “CLOSED”.
Color Handle: 4
 Final Approach • 79

6.8 Fathom
Developer Imagic (Rob Fulop)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Neptina, Neptune’s daughter, has been imprisoned at

the bottom of the sea by Titans. The goal is to rescue
her by locating the scattered pieces of a magical tri-
dent. Players will need to take the form of a dolphin
and a bird in order to locate the pieces that are hidden
in the ocean and clouds. When flying in the air, there
are several screens that have clouds flying by. When
they touch all of the clouds, the trident piece appears.
Rarity: 4

5.6 Final Approach

Developer Apollo
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1982
Genre Simulation, Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

Players take the role of an air traffic controller at an in-

ternational airport. They must guide planes in to land-
ing safely. The first screen is the Approach Control
Radar screen, or ARC. Players must guide the aircraft,
using the cursor, until they are headed left to right along
the yellow line headed towards the black stripe. They
will then be on the Ground Control Approach screen.
Here they must center the plane’s nose on the glide
slope and localizer before it arrives at the runway. Rarity: 4

6.0 Fire Fighter

Developer Imagic (Brad Stewart)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

A local warehouse has caught fire. The goal is to save

the worker who is trapped in the warehouse; on the
right side of the screen is a firetruck with an adjustable
ladder. Players can move the ladder to the appropriate
floor of the building to climb up and rescue the trapped
worker. Depending on which floors have caught fire,
the worker will move to the lowest floor he can which
isn’t burning; the players need to estimate which floor
they’ll be on when they position the ladder. Rarity: 3
80 • Fireball

Fire Fly 4.9

Developer Mythicon (P: Bruce de Graaf, S: Bill Bryner)
Publisher Mythicon
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

After the players interplanetary craft accidentally en-

ters a black hole, they find themself in a different uni-
verse. This world is inhabited by strange, mechanical
bug-like creatures. This world contains both bad and
good bugs; the good bugs have asked for help, and the
player agree to defend them. Players will need to fight
off a variety of enemy creatures including a flaming
pumpkin, demons, and coiled serpents.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

Fireball 5.6
Developer Starpath (Scott Nelson)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-4 Players

Fireball is an arcade action game similar to Breakout.

The player controls a juggler who needs to keep multi-
ple fireballs within the play field. The juggler can hold
on to two fireballs at a time, but must be careful because
if he tries to catch a third it will fall off the screen. The
goal is to destroy the bricks at the top of the screen by
hitting them with the fireballs. When all the bricks are
destroyed, the player moves on to the next round and is
Rarity: 4 given one additional fireball to keep in play.

Fishing Derby 5.9

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1980
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Fishing Derby is a fishing game created by Activision

programmer David Crane. In it, two fishermen sit on
opposite docks over a lake filled with fish (and a shark
that passes through). Using the joystick the player is
able to move his line left right and up and down in the
water. When a fish is hooked, the line slowly comes
up to the surface of the water. The objective for both
fishermen is to be the first to reach 99 pounds of fish.
Rarity: 3
 Flash Gordon • 81

6.0 Flag Capture

Developer Atari (Jim Huether)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

Flag Capture is an action/strategy game for one or two

players. The goal is to locate a flag hidden somewhere
on a 9x7 grid. Using the joystick players can move their
explorer around the grid; on any square they can press
the button to see if the flag is located in that square, or
if not to receive a clue as to the flags location. If the
square doesn’t contain the flag, one of several items
may appear, including an arrow indicating what direc-
tion the flag is. Rarity: 4
Picture Label: 5

5.3 Flash Gordon

Developer Sirius Software (David Lubar)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Players take the role of Flash Gordon. Many spacemen

have entered Spider City but never returned. Flash`s
job is two fold. Rescue any spacemen he find in the
tunnels of Spider City and destroy all the hatching
pods.
Every time Flash conquer a city, players get an extra
man.
“mobygames.com” Rarity: 4

6.2 Football
Developer Atari (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players

Football is a American football game for two players.

The game is played from a top down point of view of
the field and features two skill levels and three game
variations. Using the joystick players can choose from
one of five different offensive or defensive plays. In all
of the game variations the timer begins at 5 minutes,
and is active only during plays. The team with the most
points when the timer runs out wins.
Rarity: 1
“mobygames.com”
Sears: 2
82 • Frankenstein’s Monster

Football - Realsports Soccer 4.8

Developer Atari (Michael Sierchio)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

The game is played from an angled overhead point of

view of the field which scrolls to follow the action. If
the players team has the ball, they control whichever
player is currently dribbling the ball, otherwise they
can control any one player at a time while the compu-
ter controls the rest of the team. Various time lengths
can be selected for each game, players can kick the ball
low, medium or high, and there are throw-ins, corner
Rarity: 4 kicks, goal kicks.
1982 Label: 3

Frankenstein’s Monster 5.6

Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1983
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1-2 Players

In this game, based on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein,

the player must attempt to stop Frankenstein’s monster
from coming to life by building walls around it. To do
this, the player must retrieve bricks by crossing pits of
acid and other obstacles. To fully imprison the monster
(and thus, win the game), the player has to make a total
of six trips to the lower part of the screen. With each
successful trip, more obstacles are placed before the
Rarity: 5 player.

Freeway 6.3
Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Freeway is a Atari 2600 game designed by David

Crane. One or two players control chickens who must
run across a ten lane highway filled with traffic in an
effort to “get to the other side.” Every time a chicken
gets across a point is earned for that player.
Comparisons may be made to Frogger, which has also
features crossing a street filled with moving vehicles.
Rarity: 2 Both games were developed independently at the same
Blue Label: 3 time.
 Frogger II: Threeedeep! • 83

7.4 Frogger
Developer Parker Brothers (P: Ed English, S: David Lamkins)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Frogger was originally released as a 1981 arcade game

by Konami. It is regarded as a classic from the golden
age of video arcade games, noted for its novel game-
play and theme. The object of the game is to direct
frogs to their homes one by one by crossing a busy
road and navigating a river full of hazards. Parker
Bros. produced cartridge ports of Frogger for the Atari
2600, Intellivision, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Atari
8-bit computers, Commodore VIC-20 and 64. Rarity: 1

6.7 Frogger II: Threeedeep!

Developer Parker Brothers (Mark Lesser)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Frogger II: ThreeeDeep! is a sequel to the original

Frogger from 1981, and features similar gameplay.
The goal of Frogger II: ThreeeDeep! is to maneuver
each frog to a berth at the top of the screen. Once all
of the berths are filled the player progresses to the next
level. Unlike its predecessor, the game features three
consecutive screens for each level rather than one
screen per level, with berths at the top of each of the Rarity: 6
three screens that need to be filled.

8.6 The Official Frogger

Developer Starpath (Stephen Landrum)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The Atari 2600 received two releases of Frogger; a

cartridge from Parker Bros. and a cassette for the Su-
percharger from Starpath. This was possible because
Parker Brothers only owned the cartridge rights to the
game, but not the magnetic media rights. Although
Parker Brothers version is said to be a good conver-
sion, Starpath’s version is closer to the arcade.
“atariage.com”
Rarity: 6
84 • Front Line

Frogs and Flies 7.2

Developer M Network (Dave Rolfe)
Publisher M Network, INTV
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Frogs and Flies is a 1982 video game by Mattel for the

Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 platforms. In this game
the player control a frog sitting on a lily pad. One frog
is green and the other frog is red. The game can be
played either by one or two players. The object of the
game is to eat the most flies.
A version of this game was also released for Mattel’s
Rarity: 2 IntelliVision system, titled Frog Bog; though it was
INTV: 5 graphically superior, its controls were less fluent.

Front Line 7.0

Developer Individeo (Ed Temple)
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1984
Genre Run and gun
Mode 1-2 Players

Front Line is a military-themed run & gun shooter

game first released by Taito for arcades in 1982. Fol-
lowing its release in the coin-op arcade platform, the
game was ported to a number of platforms, including
the Atari 2600.
Playing as a lone soldier, the player’s ultimate objec-
tive is to lob a hand grenade into the enemy’s fort, first
Rarity: 4 by fighting off infantry units and then battling an ar-
mada of tanks before finally reaching the compound.

Frostbite 7.1
Developer Activision (Steve Cartwright)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Frostbite is a 1983 action game designed by Steve

Cartwright for the Atari 2600. The game combines el-
ements of Frogger and Q*bert in an arctic setting.
The object of the game is to help Frostbite Bailey build
igloos by jumping on floating blocks of ice, while try-
ing to avoid deadly hazards like clams, snow geese,
Alaskan king crabs, polar bears, and the rapidly drop-
Rarity: 4 ping temperature.
86 • Galaxian

G.I. Joe - Cobra Strike 5.5

Developer Parker Brothers (John Emerson)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-3 Players

G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike is loosely based on the G.I. Joe

franchise of the same name. In the single-player mode,
the player controls a G.I. Joe training camp on the bot-
tom of the screen protected by a barrier and armed with
two laser cannons. The goal is to keep the giant Cobra-
operated robot snake from destroying the shield.
A variant of the game was released in Europe as Action
Rarity: 4 Force.
Gray Label: 3

Galaxian 7.1
Developer Atari (Mark Ackerman, Glenn Parker)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Galaxian, first released as a 1979 arcade game by

Namco, was one of the most popular games during the
golden age of arcade video games. The gameplay is
relatively simple. Swarm after swarm of alien armies
attack the player’s ship that moves left and right at the
bottom of the wraparound screen.
The original arcade game has spawned several follow-
Rarity: 2 up games. The most popular of these was its immedi-
ate successor, Galaga.

Game of Concentration 5.2

Developer Atari (Jim Huether)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

Game of Concentration, also known as just Concen-

tration, and originally titled Hunt & Score, was pro-
grammed by Jim Huether, and is a video version of
the classic memory game. It was one of a handful of
games that used Atari’s keypad controllers.
The game was also rereleased as Hunt & Score and
Memory Match by Sears.
Rarity: 3
Sears: 4
Hunt & Score: 3
 Gangster Alley • 87

Gamma-Attack
Developer Gammation (Robert L. Esken Jr.)
Publisher Gammation
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The only game released by company Gammation,

programmed by Robert L. Esken, Jr., and seeing only
a handful of cartridges produced, Gamma-Attack re-
mains one of the rarest video games ever made. There
is only one copy known to exist, in the hands of col-
lector Anthony DeNardo. Racketboy value the game
between $20,000 and $50,000 making it arguably the Rarity: 10
most valuable video game of all time (as of 2016).
“racketboy.com”

5.6 Gangster Alley

Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The goal of the game is to snipe gang members. Play-

ers move the joystick to aim at a gangster and push the
button to fire. Ammo is limited. Occasionally, Nitro
Ed, on the roof, will hold up a grenade. Players must
shoot him to disarm him. Money are earned for each
gangster shot.
Froggo released a version of Gangster Alley, titled
Task Force. Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

6.9 Gas Hog

Developer Spectravision (Mark Turmell)
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players control a vehicle which has terrible fuel effi-

ciency. The goal is to avoid ships above who are trying
to bomb the players ship. There are also holes in the
road and other ships players need to shoot so as to not
ram them.
A rare game which seems to have been sold predomi-
nately in Canada, making it a rare find in the US. The
PAL release, Piraten-Schiff, is much easier to find. Rarity: 8
88 • Ghost Manor

Gauntlet 6.6
Developer Answer Software
Publisher Answer Software
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Despite the title, this game has nothing to do with

Atari’s Gauntlet arcade game (which was actually in-
spired by the 7800 version of Dark Chambers). This
game was never sold with a box, just a flimsy foam
casing. It was only available via mail order direct from
the company, making it one of the hardest games to
Rarity: 10 find.
“atariage.com”

Ghost Manor 4.4

Developer Beck-Tech
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Ghost Manor is a horror game for the Atari 2600. It

was generally packaged in a double ended cartridge
along with one of three other games in an effort to ap-
peal to budget conscious buyers who would purchase
two games for the price of one cartridge and one cas-
sette tape. This was the more limited release contain-
ing Ghost Manor by itself.

Rarity: 6

Ghostbusters 4.8
Developer Activision (D: David Crane, P: Dan Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1985
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Ghostbusters is a licensed game produced by Activi-

sion based on the movie of the same name. Most ver-
sions of the game had a similar basic format to the ini-
tial Commodore 64 and Atari 800 game, which David
Crane wrote in six weeks. He based it in part on an
incomplete game called Car Wars. While pleased with
the game, Crane later stated that he regretted not being
able to include a better victory screen.
Rarity: 4
 Glib • 89

4.3 Glacier Patrol

Developer VSS (Ed Salvo)
Publisher Telegames
Release date 1989
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Sunrise Software created Glacier Patrol for the Atari

2600 but never released it. Telegames released it years
later.
In the game, player will defend the earth from an alien
mother ship with a sinister plot to cover the surface of
the planet with ice. Players must dodge snowballs by
jumping over them as they blast the ice blocks.
Rarity: 8

5.0 Glib
Developer Qualtronic Devices
Publisher Selchow and Righter
Release date 1983
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

This is a version of Scrabble for the Atari 2600. The

letters on the top row are shuffled and then players use
them to make words on the bottom row. If the bottom
row shows all spaces in pink or red, then the points for
the word are doubled or tripled, respectively.
The game had very limited distribution, probably be-
cause there wasn’t much interest in word games for a
videogame system. As with many rare games, the box Rarity: 9
and manual for this are harder to find than the cartridge.

4.9 Golf
Developer Atari (Tom Rudadahl)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

This game features a simplified type of golf. The area

of the hole is rendered in light green, all areas outside
the hole are rendered in a medium blue. On the larger
holes the green is rendered as a dark green hole circle
with the hole near the center. There are several obsta-
cles that can appear, including trees, sand traps, and
water features.
The game was rereleased on Microsoft’s Game Room Rarity: 2
online service in 2010. Sears: 3
 Gorf • 91

6.3 Gopher
Developer US Games (Sylvia Day, Henry Will IV)
Publisher US Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Gopher is an Atari 2600 game written by Sylvia Day.

The player controls a farmer with a shovel who must
protect his three carrots from the gopher.
The gopher tunnels left and right and up to the surface.
When he makes a hole to the surface he will attempt to
steal a carrot. The farmer must hit the gopher to send
him back underground or fill in the holes to prevent
him from reaching the surface. Rarity: 4

6.5 Gorf
Developer Roklan (Alex Leavens)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Gorf was first released as a 1981 arcade game by Mid-

way, whose name was advertised as an acronym for
“Galactic Orbiting Robot Force”.
The player controls a spaceship. The ship can fire a
single shot, which travels vertically up the screen. Un-
like similar games, where the player cannot fire again
until the existing shot has disappeared, the player can
choose to fire another shot at any time; if the previous Rarity: 3
shot is still on screen, it disappears.

6.1 Grand Prix

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Grand Prix was the first Atari 2600 game to feature

shaded objects in color. When David Crane developed
a technique for painting large, multicolored sprites on
the 2600, he made a color pattern that reminded him of
Grand Prix racing stripes. This inspired him to design
a Grand Prix racing game to apply his new technique.
The player drives a Formula One car in a time trial on
one of four race tracks, each of which has a different Rarity: 2
difficulty level. Blue Label: 3
92 • Great Escape

Gravitar 5.8
Developer Atari (Dan Hitchens)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Gravitar was first released in 1982 for the arcades. Us-

ing the same rotate-and-thrust controls as Asteroids,
Gravitar was known for its difficulty.
The silver label version of Atari 2600 Gravitar was
originally only available to Atari Club members. It
was later sold in stores in limited quantities. Atari later
released it in the red box and label style in large quanti-
Rarity: 8 ties. The silver label is very desirable to collectors for
Red Label: 2 its rarity and association with the Atari Club.

Great Escape 7.8

Developer Bomb
Publisher Bomb
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In the space shooter, players move their ship by moving

the joystick in the direction they want to go. They fire
by holding down the button and moving the joystick in
the direction they want to shoot. They can shoot from
the front of their ship, from the back or from either
side. Players must avoid or shoot the meteorites, shoot
the aliens, and always run from the super alien.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 9

Gremlins 4.5
Developer Atari (G: Mimi Nyden, S: Robert Vieira, P: Scott Smith)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Gremlins is a tie-in to the 1984 film Gremlins. Atari

released another, substantially different game based on
the film for the Atari 5200. Atari first previewed the
2600 version of the game at the 1984 Consumer Elec-
tronics Show in Chicago; it was released in limited
numbers later that year, and became moderately rare.
The 5200 version did not receive its release until 1986.
The 2600 version is generally considered the inferior
Rarity: 6 of Atari’s two Gremlins games.
 Gyruss • 93

6.0 Guardian
Developer Apollo (Larry Martin)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Guardian is an arcade action game for one or two

players. In an intergalactic war, an enemy ship called
Dromeda is attacking the players home planets and
they need to defend them. The planets are located at
either the top or the bottom of the screen, and are de-
fended by a shield. Dromeda is in the middle of the
screen, and will be launching explosive devices at
the planets. Players must shoot the explosives as they
come in. Rarity: 8

6.0 Gyruss
Developer Parker Brothers
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1984
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Gyruss is a shoot ‘em up arcade game designed by

Yoshiki Okamoto and released by Konami in 1983.
Gyruss was licensed to Centuri in the United States,
and was ported to contemporary home systems.
In the game, the entire solar system is being attacked
by the vicious Gyrusians, and it’s up to the players to
save the day. They will need to fly their spaceship to
each of the nine planets and then clear three stages of Rarity: 4
enemies to rid that planet of the Gyrusians.
94 • Halloween

H.E.R.O. 8.1
Developer Activision (John Van Ryzin)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Considered by many to be one of the finest games for

the 2600, H.E.R.O. (standing for Helicopter Emergen-
cy Rescue Operation) was released in 1984, the year
of the great videogame crash. For that reason, it wasn’t
able to reach the same large audience as that of Ac-
tivision’s earlier masterpieces. In the game, the player
uses a helicopter backpack and other tools to rescue
victims trapped deep in a mine.
Rarity: 5

Halloween 5.1
Developer VSS, MicroGraphic Image (Tim Martin)
Publisher Wizard Video
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Halloween, based on the movie, the player is a ba-

bysitter who has to protect her children from Michael
Myers, who had managed to get inside the house.
As Wizard Video was liquidating their inventory and
trying to minimize costs, many copies of Halloween
were sold with no label. The word “Halloween” is sim-
ply written across the cartridge in black marker. The
Rarity: 7 label version is more sought after by collectors, but it
No Label: 8 is unclear which version is more rare.

Hangman 6.0
Developer Atari (Alan Miller)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

Hangman is an electronic version of the game hang-

man. The goal is to figure out a word that the computer
has generated by guessing one letter at a time. Players
guess a correct letter, and it will appear on the screen in
the proper location, but if they guess a letter that isn’t
in the word then they are one step closer to being hung.
Guess eleven incorrect letters, and the game is over.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 2
Spelling: 4
96 • Haunted House

Harbor Escape 5.5

Developer Panda Computer Games
Publisher Panda Computer Games
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Players have just dropped off a group of commandos

on the inland coast of Russia for a search and destroy
mission. As commander of one of the finest nuclear
submarines, the main objective is to safely escape the
many harbors they secretly must pass to report the suc-
cess of the drop. Unfortunately, an alert Russian Har-
bor Commander has picked up the sub on sonar and
has dispatched roving nuclear mines and submarines
Rarity: 6 as well as closed up all channel locks.

Haunted House 6.5

Developer Atari (James Andreasen)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Survival horror
Mode 1 Player

Haunted House is an Atari 2600 video game in which

the player (represented by a pair of eyes) must navi-
gate the haunted mansion of the late Zachary Graves
to recover the three pieces of an urn. The game has
been identified as one of the earliest examples of the
survival horror genre by a GameSpy article.
Electronic Games in 1983 stated that Haunted House’s
Rarity: 2 graphics were “on the simple side, but the effect of
creeping through the darkened rooms is very well done”.

Home Run 4.5

Developer Atari (Bob Whitehead, Dave Rolfe)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

The game can be played against the computer or with

another player. Players have the option to have 1, 2 or
3 players in the field. As a pitcher, they use the joystick
to throw the ball and to control its speed and curve.
After the ball is hit, they control all their men (they all
move together since they follow the orders of a single
joystick) in the field to catch the ball. As a batter, they
can control the position of the baseball bat with the
Rarity: 2 joystick.
Sears: 2
Sears Picture: 5
 Human Cannonball • 97

6.6 Human Cannonball

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

In Human Cannonball the goal is to fire a man out of

a cannon and have him land in a bucket of water. To
do this players need to adjust their cannon so the posi-
tion, angle, and firing speed are just right. They score
a point for each successful landing, and the game ends
after seven attempts. Several game variations are in-
cluded which allow players to have the position, angle
and speed all set by the player, or have one or more of
these in a fixed position. Rarity: 2
98 • Ice Hockey

I Want My Mommy 2.9

Developer Zimag
Publisher Zimag
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

I Want My Mommy is a video game for the Atari 2600,

released exclusively to North America. It is a platform
game where teleportation beams connect upward on
the playing field. Monsters can be faked out by partial-
ly going up a teleporter then coming back down again.
The game was given the KidStuff panel on the cover
art; meaning it was aimed at gamers under the age of
Rarity: 5 nine. It has been listed by IGN as having the ninth best
cover art of all time.

Ice Hockey 6.2

Developer Activision (Alan Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Ice Hockey, designed by Activision programmer Alan

Miller, is a game of two-on-two ice hockey. One player
on each team is the goalie, and the other plays offen-
sive (although, the goalie is not confined to the goal).
As in the real sport, the object of the game is to take
control of the puck and shoot it into the opposing goal
to score points. When the puck is in player control,
it moves left and right along the blade of the hockey
Rarity: 2 stick.
Blue Label: 3

Ikari Warriors 5.3

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1989
Genre Run and gun
Mode 1-2 Players

Ikari Warriors is a vertically scrolling, run & gun shoot

‘em up arcade by SNK. Originally titled Ikari in Japan,
Ikari Warriors was SNK’s first major breakthrough US
release and became something of a classic.
The player takes the role of commando-like warriors,
who must try to reach the village of Ikari. Enemy units
attempting to kill the player include tanks, enemy sol-
Rarity: 5 diers and helicopters.
 Infiltrate • 99

6.0 Indy 500

Developer Atari (Ed Riddle)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players

Indy 500, one of the nine launch titles, is themed

around the Indianapolis 500, and is based on Atari’s
earlier 8-player arcade game, Indy 800.
Though the packaging material claims it to have
fourteen games, this number treats each of the vari-
ous tracks as a “game”. There are actually only three
unique game modes. Each can be played with one or
two players, and with either a time limit or a score Rarity: 2
limit. Atari Text #: 3
Sears Picture Label: 4

6.2 Infiltrate
Developer Apollo
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1982
Genre Action, Strategy
Mode 1-2 Players

Players take the role as a secret agent sent on an im-

portant mission to recover enemy documents. There
are enemy assassins trying to stop him. When players
are next to an elevator, they will automatically board it
when it gets to their level unless they are pushing to-
wards it, in which case they will walk across it. If play-
ers are on the same level with an assassin and there is
no elevator between them, they can shoot him.
Rarity: 3
“mobygames.com”

4.8 International Soccer

Developer M Network (Kevin Miller)
Publisher M Network, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players

International Soccer, also known as NASL Soccer, is

an action soccer game for two players. The game fol-
lows typical soccer rules; attempt to score more goals
than the opponent in the two 45 minute periods (this is
in simulated time). Players control one player on their
team at a time while the computer takes control of the
rest. The game allows players to dribble and pass, and
features throw ins, corner kicks, goal kicks, and in the
event of a tie the game goes in to overtime. Rarity: 2
Silver Label: 4
100 • James Bond 007

James Bond 007 6.0

Developer On-Time Software (Joe Gaucher)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

James Bond 007 was the first video game to be based

on the James Bond film series. Players control British
spy James Bond in his multi-purpose vehicle that can
travel both land and sea. Players can shoot lasers up-
ward towards aerial opponents or bullets downwards
at other enemies. They must also jump over obstacles
and dodge enemy attacks. There are four missions,
each based on a Bond movie.
Rarity: 6
 Journey Escape • 101

7.8 Jawbreaker
Developer Sierra On-Line (John Harris)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Unlike the Apple II and Atari 8-bit versions, the Atari

2600 version of Jawbreaker is not a Pac-Man clone.
Instead, players have a screen with nine horizontal lev-
els. There are dots on each level. they must eat all the
dots (candies) to get a teeth brushing and advance to
the next, harder, level. Also on the levels are happy
faces. They are happy to knock the players teeth out,
which they will do if they touch them. This will lose
them a life. When all lives are lost, the game is over. Rarity: 5

5.7 Journey Escape

Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Journey Escape stars the rock band Journey, one of the

world’s most popular acts at the time, and is based on
their album Escape.
The player must lead the band members to their “Scar-
ab Escape Vehicle” (as featured on the cover) and
protect the concert cash from “love-crazed” groupies,
sneaky photographers, stage barriers and “shifty-eyed”
promoters. Rarity: 2

6.8 Joust
Developer Atari (Michael Feinstein, Kevin Osborn)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Joust was first released as a 1982 arcade game by Wil-

liams Electronics. The game is a platforming game
where the player controls a yellow knight riding a fly-
ing ostrich or stork, from a third-person perspective.
The player flies the knight amidst the floating rock
platforms and above pools of lava. The objective is to
defeat groups of enemy knights riding buzzards that
populate each level, referred to as a “wave”.
Rarity: 2
102 • Jungle Fever/Knight on the Town

Jr. Pac-Man 7.0

Developer Atari (Ava-Robin Cohen)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1986
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Jr. Pac-Man is based on Pac-Man and its derivatives,

but is not officially part of the Pac-Man series. The
game was created without the authorization of Namco.
Because of the somewhat limited popularity of the
game, initially the only released port was for the Atari
2600 console; this version features different mazes that
scroll vertically rather than horizontally, but is other-
Rarity: 2 wise a faithful adaptation.

Jungle Fever/ 1.8

Knight on the Town
Developer PlayAround
Publisher PlayAround
Release date 1982
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

This is a double-ender cartridge with Jungle Fever on

one end and Knight on the Town on the other.
Jungle Fever is just a gender-reversed version of Burn-
ing Desire in which the boyfriend is being held for
sacrifice. Knight on the Town involves the player (the
knight in question) building a bridge over the moat to
Rarity: 5 reach the princess.

Jungle Hunt 7.1

Developer Atari (John Allred, Michael Feinstein)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Jungle Hunt is side-scrolling arcade game first released

by Taito in 1982. It was initially released as Jungle
King and was one of the first video games to use paral-
lax scrolling.
The player controls a jungle explorer who attempts
to rescue his girl from a tribe of hungry cannibals by
swinging from vine to vine, swimming a crocodile-
Rarity: 2 infested river, jumping over or ducking beneath rolling
rocks, then releasing his girl.
 Kangaroo • 103

7.2 Kaboom!
Developer Activision (G: David Crane, P: Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Kaboom! is an unauthorized adaptation of the 1978

Atari coin-op Avalanche. The gameplay of both
games is fundamentally the same, but Kaboom! was
re-themed to be about a mad bomber instead of fall-
ing rocks. As an ex-Atari programmer, Larry Kaplan,
originally wanted to port Avalanche to the Atari 2600.
It was well-received and successful commercially,
selling over one million cartridges by 1983. Rarity: 2
Blue Label: 3

6.5 Kangaroo
Developer Atari (Kevin Osborn)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Kangaroo was one of the first arcade games similar in

style to Donkey Kong without being a direct knock-
off. The player takes the role of a mother kangaroo
wearing boxing gloves, who is trying to rescue her son
from fruit-throwing monkeys.
Kangaroo was ported to the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200.
The 5200 version was also ported to the Atari 8-bit
computers and published through Atari Program Ex- Rarity: 2
change.

4.2 Karate
Developer Ultravision (Joseph Amelio)
Publisher Ultravision, Froggo
Release date 1982
Genre Fighting
Mode 1-2 Players

Karate is a video game for the Atari 2600 produced by

Ultravision and later released by Froggo. Designed by
black belt Joseph Amelio, the game was released in
late 1982. The Froggo release is more widely available
and better known, so many sources miscredit Karate as
an original Froggo title. This is one of the earliest fight-
ing games to earn a re-release, which became common
to Capcom and SNK ones. The game is considered by
some to be one of the worst 2600 games of all time. Rarity: 10
Froggo: 4
104 • Killer Satellites

Keystone Kapers 6.8

Developer Activision (Garry Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Inspired by Mack Sennett’s slapstick Keystone Cops

series of silent films, the object of the game is for Of-
ficer Keystone Kelly (the player) to catch Harry Hooli-
gan before he can escape from a department store.
As with most early video games, there is no end to
the game; each level gets progressively harder, adding
more and/or faster hazards until Kelly loses all of his
Rarity: 2 lives.
Blue Label: 3

Killer Satellites 4.8

Developer Starpath (Kevin Norman)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

For decades, the weapons satellites have orbited Earth

harmlessly. Now, for unknown reasons, they have
dropped from the sky to obliterate mankind. Players
take the role as a test pilot with an experimental craft
that can stop the satellites. It is up to him to protect his
home town.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 4

King Kong 4.0

Developer Tigervision (Karl T. Olinger)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

This game is a clone of Donkey Kong, except instead

of barrels, players must avoid bombs. They must make
their way across the floors and up the ladders while
jumping over bombs for points and holes in the floor.
There is also a timer in the upper right. It starts at nine-
hundred ninety and counts down ten points per second.
If players are hit by a bomb or fall through a hole in the
floor or the time reaches zero, they lose a life.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”
 Krull • 105

5.4 Kool Aid Man

Developer M-Network (Steve Tatsumi)
Publisher M-Network
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Kool-Aid Man is centered around the long time tel-

evision mascot of the popular beverage Kool-Aid. The
game made up of very simple 2D graphics. The setting
of the game is a simple pool of water, and the object
of the game is to quench the “thirsties”. Thirsties are
round creatures that try to drink up all of the water in
the pool.

Rarity: 4

6.4 Krull
Developer Atari (Dave Staugas)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Krull is a video game based on the film of the same

name. The home adaptation similar to the arcade ver-
sion was planned for the Atari 5200, but poor sales of
that console prompted the decision to release the game
on the Atari 2600 instead.
The Atari version of the game was generally well re-
ceived and is today considered one of the better early
film-to-game adaptations, with some of the best graph- Rarity: 4
ics and sound featured on the system.

6.3 Kung Fu Master

Developer Activision (Dan Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1987
Genre Beat ‘em up
Mode 1-2 Players

Kung-Fu Master is a fair port of the arcade game of

the same name. The players control Thomas, the titular
Kung-Fu Master, as he fights his way through the five
levels of the Devil’s Temple in order to rescue his girl-
friend Sylvia from the mysterious crime boss Mr. X.
The arcade game was initially released in Japan under
the title of Spartan X as a tie-in based on the Jackie
Chan film Wheels on Meals, however, the game has no Rarity: 4
bearing on the plot of the film.
106 • Laser Gates

Laser Blast 6.3

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Designed by David Crane, one of Activision’s co-

founders, Laser Blast places players in control of fly-
ing saucers attacking land targets. The object of of the
game is to destroy a series of land-based enemies.
The game was well-received, earning an Honorable
Mention for “Best Science Fiction Game” in 1982 at
the Third Annual Arkie Awards.
Rarity: 2

Laser Gates 6.6

Developer Imagic (Dan Oliver)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Laser Gates is a side scrolling shooter. Failsafe detona-

tors inside the cryptic computer have malfunctioned,
and the players job is to pilot a spaceship to destroy
them before they explode. The narrow passage they’ll
need to fly through is well guarded: deadly force fields
appear and disappear, rocket launchers attack, and
deadly byte bats will get in their way. The ship has a
limited shield; each time it get hit by one of these en-
Rarity: 5 emies, the shield loses energy.

Lochjaw 5.6
Developer Apollo (Steve Stringfellow)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1981
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Players take the role as a diver in an underwater maze.

Throughout the maze are valuable diamonds, and the
goal is to retrieve as many as they can, while avoiding
the shark.
This game was later released as Shark Attack. The
name was changed due to a lawsuit over the name’s
similarity to the movie “Jaws”. There are some subtle
Rarity: 9 differences between this and Shark Attack.
Shark Attack: 3
Shark Attack Blue: 4
 London Blitz • 107

6.6 Lock ‘N’ Chase

Developer M Network (Bruce Pedersen)
Publisher M Network, INTV, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

The game’s main character is a thief. The object of the

game is to enter a maze and collect all the coins and, if
possible, any other treasure that may appear. The thief
must then exit the maze (a vault) without being ap-
prehended by the Super D (policemen). The thief can
close doorways within the maze in order to temporar-
ily trap the Super D and allow him to keep his distance
from them. Only two doors can be closed at a time.
Rarity: 3
Black Label: 2

6.2 London Blitz

Developer Avalon Hill (William J. Sheppard)
Publisher Avalon Hill
Release date 1983
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

The game is set during WWII. German bombers has

turned daily existence in London into a nightmare.
Most bombs exploded on impact, yet some would sit
inactive for hours, days, or weeks before detonating. It
is up to the Royal Engineers to find and defuse these
bombs before they explode. As a lance corporal in the
Royal Engineers, it is the player’s job to defuse these
bombs.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”

8.0 Lost Luggage

Developer Apollo
(P: Ed Salvo, Ernie Runyon, S: Larry Minor)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Lost Luggage is a action game by Apollo. The player

controls skycaps working at an airport and tries to col-
lect pieces of luggage that fall overhead from a frantic
luggage carousel.
Programmer Ed Salvo was inspired to make Lost Lug-
gage when he was waiting for his luggage at the Dal-
las/Fort Worth International Airport.
Rarity: 4
108 • M.A.D.

M*A*S*H 5.8
Developer 20th Century Fox (Frank Cohen, Doug Neubauer)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In this game, based on the successful television show,

players take the the role of “Hawkeye Pierce,” a sur-
geon stationed at the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
#4077 during the Korean War. There are two main
stages in the game. The first mission involves rescuing
injured soldiers from the battlefield with a helicopter.
The second mission takes place in the operating room
while players are required to carefully remove bullets
Rarity: 3 and shrapnel from wounded soldiers.

M.A.D. 5.0
Developer US Games
Publisher US Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

M.A.D. (Missile Attack and Defense) is an arcade ac-

tion game somewhat similar to Missile Command.
Players control a photon cannon at the bottom of the
screen, and the goal is to protect six energy stations
located to the left and right. Waves of rockets and other
ships will fly by on the screen, and occasionally one
will drop in an attempt to destroy one of the stations.
Players need to shoot it before the energy station is
Rarity: 4 destroyed.

Malagai 6.0
Developer Answer Software
Publisher Answer Software
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Players are Commander Harrington “Harry” Crag of

the starship “Endless Search”. He is put into a Malagai
base for repairs but now the Malagai are holding him
ransom. They want his advanced technology.
There are three airlock doors per starbase. Harry must
get the correct key for each door. Each is held by one of
three Malagai. The order of which Malagai is holding
Rarity: 9 which key is shown by the pictures above the starbase.
 Marauder • 109

6.0 Mangia
Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Mangia’s gameplay has been described as “bizarre.”

The player gets to control a young boy, who must eat
plates of pasta placed in front of him by his mother,
who will keep feeding him until his stomach explodes
on-screen.
The North American version is one of the rarest games
for the 2600.
Rarity: 10

6.3 Marauder
Developer Sierra On-Line (Rorke Weigandt)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players has landed on an alien planet and penetrated

the enemy base defended by armed attack robots. The
mission is to find their way to the heart of the base
and to destroy the power center of the enemy’s weap-
on system. Players start on the right side of a room,
randomly selected. They must make their way though
various rooms, killing or avoiding the four robots as
they go. They need to find the power center and shoot
it to clear that level. Rarity: 6

6.2 Marine Wars

Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Players is a battleship firing shells at attacking battle-

ships and/or attacking bomber planes. The game has
four scenes: fighting ships at day, fighting ships by
night, fighting planes and ships by day, fighting planes
and ships by night. Players move left or right and press
the button to fire. In the night scenes, they cannot see
the ships or planes in the distance unless something
explodes.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”
110 • Master Builder

Mario Bros. 7.1

Developer Atari (Dan Hitchens)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Mario Bros. features two plumbers, Mario and Luigi,

having to investigate the sewers of New York after
strange creatures have been appearing down there. The
objective of the game is to defeat all of the enemies
in each phase. The mechanics of Mario Bros. involve
only running and jumping. Unlike future Mario games,
players cannot jump on enemies and squash them, un-
less they were already turned on their back.
Rarity: 4

Master Builder 7.7

Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Action, Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Players are shown what they are to build for 5 seconds.

To get the bricks, they must go to either side of the
screen and press in that direction. To lay a brick, press
fire then down. When Spectradog comes on the screen,
they must jump over him by pushing the joystick to the
upper right or upper left or he will make them lose one
life. As the building gets higher, the kid will steal the
ladder. When the brat appears on the screen, they must
Rarity: 8 get off the ladder or they will fall and lose one life.

Masters of the Universe: 4.4

The Power of He-Man
Developer M-Network (Jossef Wagner, Mike Sanders)
Publisher M-Network
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

In this game, based on the cartoon show, players control

He-Man as he battles Skeletor in two different types of
arcade action scenes. In the first part of the game, He-
Man controls the Wind Raider flying towards Castle
Grayskull. The second part of the game takes place on
foot. When the He-Man lands near the castle, he needs
to pursue Skeletor.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”
112 • Maze Craze

Math Gran Prix 5.0

Developer Atari (Suki Lee)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

This game is a math race. The fuel, correctly answer

math questions. Thw car, a carefully tuned racing car
that can move 2 to 3 spaces depending on how hard
the math problem is. The track contains many triggers
that can give extra spaces, extra turns, and even keep
the car on the track. There are areas in the track where
a car coming from behind can knock players off, to get
back answer a math problem correctly.
Rarity: 3
“mobygames.com”
Sears: 4

Maze Craze 7.2

Developer Atari (Rick Maurer)
Publisher Atari
Release date Maze
Genre 1978
Mode 1-2 Players

In Maze Craze, the goal is to be the first of two players

to make it out of a maze. Each player controls a cop
that starts on the left, and the first player to make it out
the exit on the right wins. The game also includes of
variety of options. The maze can be completely visible,
completely invisible, or have just a few parts invisible.
With invisible mazes players can optionally have the
computer provide a sneak peak at the complete maze
Rarity: 2 periodically.

Mega Force 5.6

Developer 20th Century Fox (Doug Neubauer)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players is a member of MegaForce and have been sent

to the city of Sardoun. Sardoun is under attack and they
must defend it. They are armed with the Moto-Fighter,
a sort of armed motorcycle with flight ability.
The object is to destroy enemy fighters, destroy or
avoid ground-launched rockets, destroy fuel depots
and destroy the enemy headquarters. Any enemy fight-
Rarity: 2 ers that get past players will head to Sardoun and bomb
a building.
 Midnight Magic • 113

7.4 Megamania
Developer Activision (Steve Cartwright)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Megamania gameplay resembles that of Astro Blaster,

but ather than being aliens or spaceships the enemies in
are various objects such as hamburgers, bow ties, and
steam irons. The object is to shoot them down before
the energy bar at the bottom of screen is depleted, all
while avoiding the oncoming enemies and their own
projectile attacks. Each of the enemies fly in select pat-
terns and as soon as they hit the bottom of the screen,
they re-appear at the top until shot by the player. Rarity: 2
Blue Label: 5

6.3 Midnight Magic

Developer Atari (Glenn Axworthy)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1986
Genre Pinball
Mode 1-2 Players

Midnight Magic, programmed by Glenn Axworthy,

suffered from a delay. This is most likely due to the
video game crash of 1983. As Atari’s second attempt at
a video game simulation of pinball, the game features
more realistic ball physics and graphics than the old-
er Video Pinball. The game was the first home video
game pinball simulation to feature four flippers instead
of two (two sets of two).
Rarity: 3

7.2 Millipede
Developer Atari (Dave Staugas)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1984
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Millipede is the sequel to the arcade hit, Centipede.

Similar to Centipede, the object of the game is to de-
stroy a millipede that advances downward from the
top of the screen. The millipede travels horizontally
until it either hits an obstacle or reaches the edge of
the screen, after which it drops one row and reverses
direction. Once it enters the player’s gray maneuvering
area, it stays there and extra heads appear at intervals
until both they and the millipede are destroyed. Rarity: 3
114 • Miner 2049er II

Miner 2049er 6.3

Developer Tigervision (Bill Hogue)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Miner 2049er is a platform game originally created

by Bill Hogue for the Atari 8-bit family. It was widely
ported to other systems.
As Bounty Bob, the player’s goal is to inspect every
section of each mine in search of the evil Yukon Yohan
while avoiding the various radioactive creatures that
inhabit the mine. As Bounty Bob walks over a section
Rarity: 5 of flooring, it fills with color. To complete the level,
every section of flooring must be colored.

Miner 2049er II 6.6

Developer Tigervision (Bill Hogue)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Bounty Bob has tracked Yukon Yohan into Nuclear

Ned’s uranium mine. Bob must ‘claim’ each section of
each part of the mine...but cannot take too long in each
area, or the radiation will kill him.
Taking the role of Bob, players must traverse through
different types of areas inside the nuclear mine. Like
in the first game, Bob must walk on each part of the
Rarity: 7 screen to ‘claim’ it.
“mobygames.com”

Mines of Minos 5.3

Developer CommaVid (Irwin Gaines)
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role as the last mining robot on the Mi-
nos mine. Monsters have destroyed all it`s comrades.
As the last robot, players must traverse the mine’s vari-
ous levels, gathering spare parts to make more robots
(extra lives). They must either avoid the monsters or
blow them up with a bomb. After a few seconds, if the
monster hasn’t hit the bomb, it will explode harmless-
Rarity: 6 ly. If a monster is killed, it will regenerate somewhere
in the maze.
 Missile Command • 115

5.9 Miniature Golf

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Rather than a full 18 holes, this miniature golf vari-

ation has a nine-hole half-course. The goal is clear:
taking the various obstacles into account, hit the ball
through the course and complete each hole by knock-
ing the ball into the cup. The number of attempts play-
ers make for a single hole is tallied as strokes. While
total strokes are unlimited, each hole still has a specific
par assigned to it. So ideally, players should make it
their goal to not exceed the par assigned to each hole. Rarity: 3

7.3 Missile Command

Developer Atari (Rob Fulop)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1981
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The player’s six cities are being attacked by an end-

less hail of ballistic missiles, some of them even split-
ting like multiple independently targetable reentry ve-
hicles. As a regional commander of three anti-missile
batteries, the player must defend six cities in their zone
from being destroyed.
Missile Command is considered one of the great classic
video games from the Golden Age of Arcade Games. Rarity: 1
Sears Text Label: 2
Sears Picture Label: 5

3.3 Mogul Maniac

Developer VideoSoft
Publisher Amiga
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Mogul Maniac is a 1st-person perspective skiing game

where the objective is to get through the open and and
closed gates as quickly as possible. The gates consists
of 2 poles of the same color: either red or blue of which
the objective is to ski between those poles.
The game was sold with the Joyboard Power Body
Control.
“Mobygames.com” Rarity: 4
116 • Moon Patrol

Montezuma’s Revenge 6.9

Developer Wickstead Design (Robert Jaeger)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1984
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Montezuma’s Revenge was designed and programmed

by Robert Jaeger. In 1983, Jaeger’s friend Mark Sun-
shine suggested Jaeger make a game with a Meso-
American theme and call it Montezuma’s Revenge.
Jaeger, who was only 16 at the time, exhibited the still-
unfinished game with his father at a consumer elec-
tronics convention. Parker Brothers officials expressed
interest and quickly convinced Jaeger to sign the rights
Rarity: 5 over to them.

Moon Patrol 7.3

Developer Atari (Mark Ackerman, Noellie Alito)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The player takes the role of a Luna City police offic-

er assigned to Sector Nine, the home of the “tough-
est thugs in the galaxy”. The player controls a moon
buggy that travels over the moon’s surface, viewing
it from the side as it moves towards the right side of
the screen. While driving it, obstacles such as craters
and mines must be avoided, and various enemies such
as UFOs from above and tanks on the ground must be
Rarity: 2 shot down.

Moonsweeper 6.7
Developer Imagic (Bob Smith)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Moonsweeper the goal is to rescue miners from the

moons in Star Quadrant Jupiter. Players begin their
mission in space where they must avoid deadly aurora
flares, photon torches and space bullets from the sun in
this quadrant. From time to time they will see a moon
pass by, and by flying near it they can descend to the
surface. As they sweep along the surface, they will see
stranded miners which need to be rescued by flying
Rarity: 4 over them.
 MotoRodeo • 117

6.5 Motocross Racer

Developer Xonox (Anthony R. Henderson)
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1984
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Motocross Racer is a bike racing game where players

need to race through three different scenes in the short-
est amount of time possible. Each scene takes place in
a different location with a different perspective. First
players will race through the desert with a 3-D behind
the bike point of view. Next they’ll race a winding path
uphill through the woods. The final segment of the race
takes place on the beach with a side scrolling point of
view. Rarity: 7

7.2 MotoRodeo
Developer Axlon (Steve DeFrisco)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1990
Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players

This is a monster truck race that features true split

screen action on an Atari 2600. Players press the joy-
stick button to accelerate. Move the joystick down to
do a wheelie when on the ground. Move the joystick
left and right when in the air to control your spin. Move
the joystick left and right quickly to escape mud bogs.
Press the joystick button and push forward to use a
nitro burst if they collected them.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”

7.4 Mountain King

Developer VSS, Inc. (D: E. F. Dreyer, P: Ed Salvo)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

The player takes the role of an explorer searching a

diamond mine and the temple of an ancient civiliza-
tion. The object of the game is to discover and collect
the Golden Crown and take it to the peak of the moun-
tain.
The mountain environment is made up of platforms
and ladders, with the Perpetual Flame located on the
top of the summit. This is where the Golden Crown Rarity: 4
must be taken.
118 • Mr. Do!

Mouse Trap 6.3

Developer Wickstead Design (Sylvia Day, Henry Will IV)
Publisher Atari, Coleco
Release date 1982
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Mouse Trap is a 1981 arcade game released by Exidy.

The game design is similar to Pac-Man, replacing Pac-
Man with a mouse, the dots with cheese, the ghosts
with cats, and the power pills with bones. The game
was ported by Coleco as a ColecoVision launch title
in 1982, then later to the Intellivision and Atari 2600.
The original release was unsuccessful because arcade
Rarity: 2 owners viewed it “as basically another maze game”, as
Red Label: 3 reported by Electronic Games in 1983.

Mr. Do! 6.5

Developer Individeo (Ed English)
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Mr. Do! is an arcade game created by Universal in

1982. Similar in some ways to Namco’s popular Dig
Dug title, Mr. Do! was also popular and saw release on
a variety of home video game consoles and systems.
The object of Mr. Do! is to score as many points as
possible by digging tunnels through the ground and
collecting cherries. The title character, Mr. Do, is con-
Rarity: 5 stantly chased by red monsters resembling small dino-
saurs, and the player loses a life if Mr. Do is caught.

Mr. Do!’s Castle 5.0

Developer Parker Brothers
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1984
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Though marketed as a sequel to the original Mr. Do!

released one year earlier, the game bears a far closer
resemblance to Space Panic. It is the second of the Mr.
Do series of video games, although it wasn’t intended
to be. It began life as a game called “Knights vs. Uni-
corns”, but the U.S. division of Universal persuaded
the Japanese arm to modify the graphics into a Mr. Do!
game, taking into account the first game’s popularity.
Rarity: 8 The Asian title of the game is Mr. Do! versus Unicorns.
 Ms. Pac-Man • 119

7.6 Ms. Pac-Man

Developer Atari (Mark Ackerman, Glenn Parker)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Ms. Pac-Man was originally conceived as an enhance-

ment kit for Pac-Man called Crazy Otto, created by
programmers employed at the General Computer Cor-
poration (GCC). While Crazy Otto was under develop-
ment, GCC settled a lawsuit with Atari over their Mis-
sile Command conversion kit Super Missile Attack.
Part of the settlement terms barred GCC from selling
future conversion kits without consent from the origi-
nal game manufacturer. Rarity: 2
120 • Night Driver

Name This Game 4.7

Developer Wickstead Design
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

US Games decided to create a contest around the game,

releasing it as Name This Game and Win $10,000 with
a cash prize to be awarded to the winning name after
April 30, 1983. However, before the contest was com-
pleted, US Games closed its doors. (In 1994 Digital
Press held its own naming contest for the game; the
winning title, coined by Russ Perry Jr., was Going Un-
der - referencing not only the game’s content, but the
Rarity: 3 fate of its publisher.)
Beveled Case: 4

Night Driver 6.0

Developer Atari (Rob Fulop)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Night Driver was originally released as a 1976 arcade

game by Ted Michon. The Atari 2600 version uses the
paddles to control the vehicle. The player pushes the
fire button to accelerate the car forward, and uses the
paddle to steer the vehicle, although it was not possible
to shift gears in this version. Every frame the program
toggles drawing either the vehicle and road hazards or
the road posts that defined the track. This causes the
Rarity: 1 game graphics to flicker continually.
Sears Text Label: 2
Sears Picture Label: 6

No Escape! 6.8
Developer Imagic (Michael Greene)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-2 Players

Jason has taken the Golden Fleece from the gods. They
are naturally upset and have imprisoned Jason in the
Temple of Aphrodite with deadly Furies running over-
head. Players control Jason and the goal is to elimi-
nate all of the Furies to move on to the next level. The
Furies can be destroyed if they are hit with a magical
brick from the roof of the temple. Jason are armed with
an unlimited supply of stones, throwing a stone at the
Rarity: 4 roof will cause a brick to fall.
Xante: 10
 Off The Wall • 121

6.6 Obelix
Developer Atari (P: Suki Lee, G: Dave Jolly)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This is a classic Asterix & Obelix game where players

simultaneously play as Asterix and Obelix maintain-
ing their favorite Gaulish sport of thumping the living
daylights out of Roman soldiers.
The objective of the game is to help Asterix “stun” Ro-
man soldiers (simply by running into them, and they
turn white from blue) while players command Obelix
to throws his oversized Menhirs down at stunned Ro- Rarity: 7
mans with a splat.

5.5 Off The Wall

Developer Axlon (John Vifian)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1989
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-2 Players

Off the Wall is essentially a Breakout clone with a Chi-

nese theme. It was developed by Axlon, a game devel-
opment studio owned by Atari founder Nolan Bush-
nell.
Players take control of the hero Kung Fu Lu, and the
objective is smash through an evil wall to kill a dragon
that has been tormenting villagers. In the game, Lu re-
ceives several power-ups to achieve his goal, and he Rarity: 5
must overcome a bat that stands in his way.

6.8 Oink!
Developer Activision (Mike Lorenzen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Designed by Mike Lorenzen, Oink! is inspired by the

fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs” and casts the player
as a pig defending his home from a wolf bent on de-
stroying it.
The wolf attempts to break through the three-layer-
deep wall of the pigs’ homes by blowing away pieces
of the wall. Simultaneously, the pig must collect patch-
es from the top of the screen and drop them into holes Rarity: 3
in the wall at the bottom.
122 • Omega Race

Omega Race 6.0

Developer CBS Electronics
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Set in the year 2003, the game involves using a space-

ship to destroy enemy droid ships. The enemies that
the player must destroy or avoid are drone ships, com-
mander ships, two types of space mines, and shooting
star ships. The ship bounces off an invisible barrier on
the edges of the screen that briefly appears when hit.
The 2600 cartridge came bundled with a special 2-but-
Rarity: 3 ton, “booster grip” controller.
 Othello • 123

7.4 Oscar’s Trash Race

Developer Atari (P: Christopher Omarzu, G: Preston Stuart)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

In this game, the player helps Oscar the Grouch collect

the trash. First, the player picks the numbered trash can
that matches the number of items on the street. Then
the player guides Oscar in his can to collect the items
and race back to the starting line before Slimey reaches
the other end of the screen. It rains in later levels, and
Oscar has to jump over mud puddles that appear in his
way.
Rarity: 4
“muppet.wikia.com”

5.6 Othello
Developer Atari (Ed Logg)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Board game
Mode 1-2 Players

Othello is a conversion of the board game. Each player

tries to fill the game board with as many discs of their
color as possible. On each turn the players places a disc
on the board by selecting a location where the oppo-
nents discs will become trapped between two of their
discs. The trapped discs are flipped over to the players
color. The game ends when the board is filled or time
runs out, and the player with the greatest number of his
color discs on the board wins. Rarity: 2
Sears: 4

3.0 Out of Control

Developer Avalon Hill (Jim Jacob)
Publisher Avalon Hill
Release date 1983
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

The point of this game is to weave the ship through

space buoys and pop several balloons before executing
a perfect landing in a space station.
The game had the unfortunate problem of releasing in
the middle of the video game crash of 1983, so manu-
factured amounts were very little, and the game didn’t
sell very well, hence why it’s so difficult to find now.
A boxed copy can fetch well over $2,000 on ebay. Rarity: 9
“racketboy.com”
124 • Outlaw

Outlaw 6.5
Developer Atari (David Crane)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Outlaw simulates an Old West fast draw duel between

the player and the computer. The original 1976 arcade
game was a response to Gun Fight, released by Mid-
way in North America the year before.
The home console port was developed by then-Atari
employee David Crane. This version is more direct-
ly comparable to Midway’s Gun Fight, allowing two
Rarity: 2 players to engage in a shoot-out using 2600’s joysticks.
Sears: 3
Sears Picture Label: 5
 Party Mix • 125

5.6 Pac-Man
Developer Atari (Tod Frye)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

In 1982, Atari released a port of Namco’s hit arcade

game Pac-Man for its Atari 2600 video game console.
Like the original arcade version, the player controls
the titular character with a joystick.
Anticipation for the game was high. Atari stated in
1981 that it had preorders for “three or four million”
copies of the Atari 2600 version. However, many buy-
ers returned the games for refunds, and Atari was left Rarity: 1
with 5 million excess copies in addition to the returns. Sears: 3

8.0 Party Mix

Developer Starpath (Dennis Caswell)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1983
Genre Compilation
Mode 2-4 Players

Five games in one, Party Mix is a collection title devel-

oped in 1983 by Starpath. Being one of the first party
video games, it became notable for its inventive one-
on-one and two-on-two split-screen multiplayer game-
play types.
The anthology consists of the following titles:
• Bop a Buggy • Down on the Line
• Tug of War • Handcar Rarity: 7
• Wizard’s Keep

6.6 Pengo
Developer Atari (Mark R. Hahn)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1984
Genre Maze, Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

The player controls Pengo, a red penguin that resides

in the Antarctic. The game takes place in an overhead
maze made of ice blocks, where Pengo fights the troll-
ing, blob-like Sno-Bees. The objective of the game is
for Pengo to survive a series of rounds by eliminating
all Sno-Bees, while amassing bonuses by bringing to-
gether the three diamonds dispersed in the maze.

Rarity: 6
126 • Pete Rose Baseball

Pepsi Invaders 7.3

Developer Atari (Christopher Omarzu)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Pepsi Invaders (also known as Coke Wins) is a video

game for the based on the popular Space Invaders. It
was commissioned by Coca-Cola for their 1983 sales
convention, and developed by Atari as a modification
of the original Space Invaders cartridge (essentially, an
official ROM hack).
The game was packaged in a black cartridge without a
Rarity: 10 label, and only released at the 1983 sales convention,
where it was given to the 125 sales executives attending.

Pete Rose Baseball 5.0

Developer Absolute Entertainment (Alex DeMeo)
Publisher Absolute Entertainment
Release date 1988
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

The game was a notable improvement over previous

Atari 2600 baseball games such as Home Run and
RealSports Baseball. The game features a “behind the
pitcher” viewpoint for pitching and batting, a view-
point which was introduced by the classic computer
game Hardball. In addition, the game features different
“bird’s eye” views of the field depending on where the
ball is hit; there are two infield views and three outfield
Rarity: 5 views.

Phaser Patrol 8.8

Developer Starpath (Dennis Caswell)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Simulation, Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Phaser Patrol is the first numbered release by Starpath

for the Atari 2600. The game simulates a space flight
in which players must pilot their ship to destroy the
Dracon invaders. The game can be compared to other
2600 space flight games such as Atari’s own Star Raid-
ers and Star Ship, Imagic’s Star Voyager, and Activi-
sion’s Starmaster.

Rarity: 4 It was originally sold along with the Starpath Super-

charger.
 Phoenix • 127

1.9 Philly Flasher/Cathouse Blues

Developer Playaround (Joel H. Martin)
Publisher Playaround
Release date 1982
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

This is a doubled-ended cartridge with Philly Flasher

on one end and Cathouse Blues on the other.
Philly Flasher is a graphically altered version of Beat
‘Em & Eat ‘Em with guys doing the catching and what
they are catching looks to be milk from a witch’s tit.
Cathouse Blues is a graphically altered version of Gig-
olo in which players are a guy going to various whore-
houses to get “serviced”. Rarity: 5

7.1 Phoenix
Developer Atari (Michael Feinstein, John Mracek)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Phoenix is an outer space-themed, fixed shooter simi-

lar to Taito’s Space Invaders. The Phoenix mother-
ship is one of the first video arcade game bosses to be
presented as a separate challenge. This was before the
term boss was coined.
The Imagic game Demon Attack closely resembled
Phoenix, so Atari sued Imagic, who settled out of court.
The home version of Phoenix is one of the more ac- Rarity: 2
curate arcade ports of the time.

4.0 Picnic
Developer Western Technologies (Tom Sloper)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Players are out enjoying a picnic, when suddenly a

swarm of flies arrive. They control a fly swatter at the
bottom of the screen; the goal in this game is to protect
the hamburgers (located on the left and right bottom of
the screen) from the attacking flies. When a fly is close
enough, it will stick out its tongue to eat the food. If
players can swat the fly right when it has its tongue
out, it will be knocked out and fall into their fly trap.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”
128 • Pigs in Space

Piece o’ Cake 5.0

Developer U.S. Games
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Piece o’ Cake players take the role of a chef, and

their goal is to successfully build cakes. At the bottom
of the screen is a conveyor belt and a platter will ap-
pear at the left side moving towards the right. Players
are at the top of the screen and need to take cake layers
from the oven and drop them onto the platter. The cake
layers are different sizes and they must drop them such
that each layer is the same size or smaller than the one
Rarity: 5 beneath it.

Pigs in Space 6.1

Developer Atari (Rob Zdybel, John Russell, Bill Aspromonte)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Compilation
Mode 1-2 Players

Pigs in Space was the last game in Atari’s Children’s

line to be released. The game is a sequence of three
mini-games, each starring one of the members of the
Swinetrek crew
The three games featured are Chicken Invaders, Pas-
taroids, and Escape from the Planet of the Gonzoids.
Atari produced a prototype for a second Muppet game,
Rarity: 5 Miss Piggy’s Wedding. The Children’s line was can-
celled before that game could be produced.

Pitfall! 7.3
Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Pitfall! is a platform game designed by David Crane.

In the game, the player controls Pitfall Harry, and is
tasked with navigating a jungle and collecting treas-
ures while avoiding obstacles and hazards, with lim-
ited time to complete the game.
The game received very positive reviews upon release,
and is one of the best-selling games made for the Atari
Rarity: 2 2600, with over 4 million copies sold.
 Planet Patrol • 129

7.4 Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1984
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

The original Pitfall! has Harry exploring a jungle, col-

lecting treasures, and avoiding danger in the forms
of crocodiles, scorpions, cobras, and quicksand. Lost
Caverns stays true to the gameplay of the original but
greatly expands the scope of the environment, as Harry
now descends deep into the catacombs. In addition to
the scrolling style of the first, this game adds the ele-
ment of vertical scrolling, as when Harry falls from a
cliff or flies around after grabbing onto a balloon. Rarity: 4

6.4 Planet Patrol

Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Players are on patrol to find and destroy enemy fuel

depots. Their ship flies to the left, while they control
their up and down motion. Initially, they must shoot
the oncoming larger, red ships but avoid the smaller,
blue missiles. Players must not shoot the black ship.
They can dock with it so they can land and refuel later.
As they move into night, the enemy ships become too
dark to see. They can then create light, temporarily, by
firing off shots. Rarity: 3

6.8 Plaque Attack

Developer Activision (Steve Cartwright)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Plaque Attack is a 1983 video game for the Atari 2600

that was made by Activision. Loosely based on Space
Invaders, the player must prevent food from destroy-
ing teeth in a person’s mouth. Steve Cartwright, who
designed the game, said that game was meant to help
people develop good dental habits.
Skilled Plaque Attack players who scored more than
35,000 points could send a screenshot to Activision, Rarity: 4
which would send a promotional patch.
130 • Pole Position

Polaris 6.8
Developer Sierra On-Line (Robert H. O’Neil)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

In Polaris, players control a submarine which can

only shoot missiles upward. The goal of the player is
to destroy all of the planes in each level while avoid-
ing bombs dropped from the aircraft, as well as mines
launched by enemy submarines and depth charges
dropped from boats that speed by.
The game was well received, gaining a Certificate of
Rarity: 6 Merit in the category of “1984 Best Action Videog-
Green Label: 7 ame” at the 5th annual Arkie Awards.

Pole Position 6.6

Developer Atari (Doug Macare)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Pole Position was designed by Tōru Iwatani, who had

also designed the Gee Bee games and Pac-Man. In this
game, the player controls a Formula One race car, and
has to complete a time trial lap within a certain amount
of time to qualify for an F1 race at the Fuji Racetrack.
After qualifying, the player races against seven other
CPU-controlled cars in a championship race. The play-
ers must also avoid going off the road so that they will
Rarity: 2 not crash into the billboards.
Pole Posit’n Label: 4

Pooyan 7.0
Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The player controls “Mama”, a pig whose babies have

been kidnapped by a group of wolves. Mama Pig de-
fends her home and rescues her “Pooyan” (the kid-
napped piglets) riding an elevator car moved by two
“Buuyan” (controlled by the player with a Y-axis joy-
stick), and uses a bow and arrow with slabs of meat
against the balloon-riding wolves and their boss.

Rarity: 5
 Popeye • 131

5.8 Popeye
Developer Parker Brothers (Joe Gaucher)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Popeye was first released as a 1982 arcade game by

Nintendo. Unlike most platform games, the player
cannot jump; the only button is “punch.”
The Popeye characters were originally going to be used
in the game that later became Donkey Kong. However
at that time on the development of the game, Nintendo
could not get the licenses to use the characters.
Rarity: 2
132 • Pressure Cooker

Porky’s 3.5
Developer Lazer MicroSystems (Randall Hyde)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1983
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role as Edward “Pee Wee” Morris,

who, despite his shortcomings, strives to get revenge
on Porky, the owner of the bar that dissed Pee Wee and
his friends.
There are four basic scenarios Pee-Wee must go
through: The County Line, The Swamp, The Shower,
and Porky’s Bar. The task is to help Pee Wee blow up
Rarity: 4 Porky’s bar and obtain as many points as possible.

Pressure Cooker 6.6

Developer Activision (Garry Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The player is a short-order cook at a hamburger stand

who must assemble and package hamburgers to order
without letting ingredients or hamburgers fall to the
floor. Hamburgers go through an oven and are placed
on a conveyor belt headed in the player’s general di-
rection. In order to satisfy customers’ orders (seen on
a chart at the bottom of the screen), the player must
catch the flying toppings for a particular order and
Rarity: 4 place them on the burger.

Private Eye 6.8

Developer Activision (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Designed by Bob Whitehead, Private Eye requires

players to track down clues and recover items stolen
by a master criminal, ultimately leading to his capture
and arrest.
The game consists of four separate cases. Using a
specially-built Model A that can jump over obstacles,
players must search the city for a specific clue to the
Rarity: 5 crime and for the object stolen in the crime.
 Q*bert’s Qubes • 133

6.9 Q*bert
Developer Parker Brothers (P: Dave Hampton, G: Tom Sloper)
Publisher Parker Brothers, Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action, Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Q*bert, first released a arcade game in 1982, is a 2D

action game with puzzle elements that uses “isomet-
ric” graphics to create a pseudo-3D effect, and serves
as a precursor to the isometric platformer genre.
On the Atari 2600 version, the Escher-inspired visual
style of the pyramid could not be preserved and the
pyramid was shortened by one row. The discs that
transport Q*bert to the top of the screen are represent- Rarity: 2
ed as simple horizontal lines. Red Label: 3

5.2 Q*bert’s Qubes

Developer Parker Brothers (Todd Marshall)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1984
Genre Action, Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

The game features Q*bert, but introduces new en-

emies: Meltniks, Soobops, and Rat-A-Tat-Tat. The
player navigates the protagonist around a plane of
cubes while avoiding enemies. Jumping on a cube
causes it to rotate, changing the color of the visible
sides of the cube. The goal is to match a line of cubes
to a target sample; later levels require multiple rows
to match. Despite the popularity of the franchise, the
game’s release was hardly noticed. Rarity: 9
134 • Quest for Quintana Roo

Quadrun 7.3
Developer Atari (Steve Woita)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Quadrun was one of the four Atari Club games avail-

able exclusively via mail order, this title may have
been available later in stores in very limited quantities.
Quadrun is the first Atari 2600 game to feature voice
synthesis (“Quadrun! Quadrun! Quadrun!”); the only
other is Open Sesame, made by Bit Corp.
This is one of the rarest games from Atari, as only ap-
Rarity: 9 proximately 10,000 were initially made.

Quest for Quintana Roo 5.3

Developer VSS
Publisher Sunrise, Telegames
Release date 1983
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of Yucatan Sam on a quest to ex-

plore the temple of Quintana Roo. The goal is to find
the vault which is hidden somewhere within and re-
turn with the treasure that is inside. Players begin their
quest outside the temple; climb their way up the side
of the temple in order to get inside. Poisonous snakes
and deadly lightning bolts will block the progress here.
Once inside the temple, they have a limited air supply
Rarity: 8 so they need to explore quickly.
Telegames: 3

Quick Step! 6.3

Developer Imagic (Dave Johnson)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In Quick Step a kangaroo and squirrel are competing

against each other to earn points by jumping on tram-
polines. The screen is made up of an array of trampo-
lines which scroll downward. As trampolines appear
at the top of the screen, they will be grey in color; as
soon as it turns pink, the trampoline is now in play.
Each time a critter jumps on a trampoline, the color
will change to that critters color (green for the kanga-
Rarity: 5 roo, or blue for the squirrel).
 Racquetball • 135

8.2 Rabbit Transit

Developer Starpath (Brian McGhie)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of a rabbit who is just trying to

get a mate. First it must get through the meadow and
across the ledges without losing life and limb.
In the first level, Meadow Meanies are trying to pre-
vent players from passing through the fence and reach-
ing the turtle at the bottom of the screen. The Land of
Ledges forces them to hop from ledge to ledge in order
to change them all to the same color. Rarity: 6

3.8 Racquetball
Developer Apollo (P: Ed Salvo, S: Bryon Parks)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1981
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

To serve, players press the red button. They hit the ball
by moving their player to where the shadow of the ball
is about level with their feet. The racquet will swing
automatically. When they serve, the ball must hit the
front wall before it hits the floor. The opponent can
then hit the ball before it lands on the floor or he can
let it bounce but players can only let it bounce once. It
cannot bounce twice. They serve every time until they
miss. Rarity: 4

6.4 Radar Lock

Developer Atari (Doug Neubauer)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1989
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Radar Lock is an arcade style action game. The player

is the pilot of a delta-wing fighter and the objective
is to destroy the enemy fleet. There are five missions
of increasing difficulty, each with a unique variety of
enemies to destroy.
The player’s jet is equipped with machine guns, guided
missiles, and, in later levels, proximity mines, which
can be used to destroy the Drones, Interceptors, Patrol- Rarity: 4
lers, Bombers, and other enemy fighters.
136 • Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raft Rider 5.2

Developer U.S. Games (Dave Hampton)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Raft Rider players are floating down a river on a

raft made out of logs. The goal is to guide the raft as
far down the river as possible while avoiding the many
obstacles. Players will come across dangerous rocks,
trees, beavers (which chop down trees), and even a
moose, all of which can sink the raft. For each seg-
ment of river you travel 125 points are earned, and ad-
ditional bonus points may be earned by collecting gold
Rarity: 6 nuggets which players will encounter.
Beveled Case: 5

Raiders of the Lost Ark 6.0

Developer Atari (Howard Scott Warshaw)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

The player controls Indiana Jones as he searches for

the lost Ark of the Covenant. The game requires the
player to use two different controllers: controller 2
moves Jones and its button uses an item; controller 1
selects the item to use and its button drops the item.
This control scheme anticipated later game controllers
with more buttons and games where buttons would
allow the player to switch items without interrupting
Rarity: 2 gameplay.
Raiders Lost Ark Label: 5

Ram It 7.0
Developer Telesys ( Jim Rupp)
Publisher Telesys
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The player takes on the role of the Ramroid, which is

on a track in the center of the screen. The Ramroid can
fire to the left and right. On both sides are colored bars
that begin to randomly advance towards the center.
The player must shoot these bars to drive them back,
preferably off the screen. If a bar starts flashing, it is a
bonus bar and shooting it gets the player larger points
as well as clearing it from the screen completely.
Rarity: 6
“mobygames.com”
Color Handle: 7
 Reactor • 137

6.0 Rampage
Developer Activision (Bob Polaro)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1989
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Rampage is a port of the Midway arcade game with

the same title. This version was programmed by Bob
Polaro, who programmed several other 2600 games.
The premise of Rampage is simple: Players have been
turned into a gigantic mutant creature, either a giant
ape, a giant lizard, or a giant wolf, and are now bent on
wreaking havoc across the entire United States. They
must destroy buildings and eat anyone that stands in
their way. Rarity: 5

6.1 Reactor
Developer Parker Brothers (Charlie Heath)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The object of the game is to cool down the reactor core

without being hurled by magnetism and repulsion by
enemy swarms of nuclear particles. The reactor core
at the center of the screen is surrounded by a deadly
kill wall. Roaming throughout the available space are
positrons, neutrinos, and photons, all of which will be
trying to knock the player’s ship into the wall. To sur-
vive, the player will need to knock all of these attack-
ing particles into the kill wall to destroy them. Rarity: 2

5.4 RealSports Baseball

Developer Atari (Joseph Tung)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

RealSports Baseball is an action game which can be

played by two players or one player against the com-
puter. The game allows players to bunt the ball or try
for a homerun, steal bases, and throw several types of
pitches from a fast ball to a curve ball. Several game
variations are included which allow them to select
whether the home or visiting team is at bat first, and
whether or not a player can swing only at pitches that
are a strike, or they can swing at any pitch. Rarity: 2
138 • RealSports Football

RealSports Boxing 5.2

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1987
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

RealSports Boxing has a side view of the ring, allow-

ing the player to move up and down, as well as from
left to right. There are four selectable characters in the
game, Lefty O’Leary, Jabbin’ Jack, Macho Man, or
Iron Fists. The aim of the game is to knock out the op-
position by filling up a bar at the bottom of the screen
which allows the player to deliver the knock out blow.
The game can be played with two players simultane-
Rarity: 3 ously.
[citation needed]

RealSports Football 6.0

Developer Atari (Robert Zdybel)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

RealSports Football presents a greatly simplified ver-

sion of football for play. Players in the game cannot go
out of bounds or fumble the football, and there are no
penalties in the game. Also, touchdowns automatically
score 7 points; there is no kicking for extra points.
The game was well received, gaining a Certificate of
Merit in the category of “1984 Best Sports Videog-
Rarity: 2 ame” at the 5th annual Arkie Awards.

RealSports Tennis 6.9

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

RealSports Tennis is a tennis game for two players or

one player against the computer. The game follows
standard tennis rules, and allows players to hit fore-
hand or backhand shots to all areas of the court as well
as serves and lobs. They can play a game of singles or
doubles, and multiple skill levels are included.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 3
 Rescue Terra I • 139

6.6 RealSports Volleyball

Developer Atari (G: Alan Murphy, P: Bob Polaro)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

The game follows traditional volleyball rules; the first

team to score 15 points wins. Players control both
players on the team, which have the ability to serve,
set, spike, and block. There are several game varia-
tions included; two game difficulties and two player
speeds. In the easier version of the game, the ball will
automatically be sent back over the net when hit. In the
advanced version, the game also allows players to set
the ball between teammates. Rarity: 3

5.5 Rescue Terra I

Developer VentureVision (Dan Oliver)
Publisher VentureVision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Terra I supplies Earth with Zenbar crystals, which is

used to supply 72% of the power to Earth. Ordinarily,
a computer controls the defense systems but it looks to
have been sabotaged. Space pirates are in the area and
the robot interceptors are working against the players.
The orders are to fly the F-117 Starwarrior to Terra I,
destroying anything that tries to harm it.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 9

5.9 Revenge of the Beefsteak Tomatoes

Developer 20th Century Fox (John Russell)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players must build three walls above the tomato plants

at the bottom. They must also dodge tomato bombs
shot by the tomato plants, shoot tomato vines that
grow on any part of the wall, shoot cherry tomatoes
and shoot or dodge beefsteak tomatoes.
It is believed that title and the concept of this game are
inspired by the cult movie Attack of the Killer Toma-
toes. Rarity: 4
140 • Riddle of the Sphinx

Riddle of the Sphinx 6.3

Developer Imagic (Bob Smith)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

As the Pharoh’s Son, it is up to the player to lift the

curse of Anubis, God of the Dead, by reaching the
Temple of Ra, and solving the riddle of the Sphinx.
Armed with a sling and a pile of rocks, the Prince must
navigate past thieves and scorpions on his journey. He
can trade with wandering nomads, dig for buried treas-
ure, make offerings to the gods, or seek counsel and
Rarity: 2 healing with Isis, the goddess of fertility and mother-
hood.
 River Raid • 141

2.2 River Patrol

Developer Tigervision
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of the captain of a river patrol

ship in this top-down game. Their mission: to save the
poor souls who fell into the river. In the ship’s way lay
boulders, crocodiles, and tree logs, all waiting to sink
the vessel. The Atari 2600 version has the distinction
of being one of the games with music.
This game is one of the more rare Atari 2600 games,
and very sought after by collectors. Rarity: 9

8.0 River Raid

Developer Activision (Carol Shaw)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

River Raid is a scrolling shooter video game designed

and developed by Carol Shaw, and published by Activ-
ision in 1982 for the Atari 2600. Over a million game
cartridges were sold.
Viewing from a top-down perspective, the player flies
a fighter jet over the River of No Return in a raid be-
hind enemy lines. Unlike later scrolling shooters, there
is little or no enemy fire in River Raid. Rarity: 2
Blue Label: 3

6.9 River Raid II

Developer Imagineering (David Lubar)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1988
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

David Lubar’s River Raid II is much more technical

than the original. This time around players have to take
off and land their F-14 assault jet, use radar and refuel
in mid air. Their jet’s altitude factors into this game, as
they use missiles to attack helicopters and jets and your
torpedoes on enemy sea vessels, tanks, water towers,
landing strips, buildings, and bridges.
“panda_racer@atariage.com”
Rarity: 6
142 • Robin Hood

Road Runner 6.6

Developer Atari (Bob Polaro)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1989, 1992
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Road Runner is a variant of the platformer genre, based

on the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts. The
player controls Road Runner, who is chased by Wile
E. Coyote. In order to escape, Road Runner runs end-
lessly to the left. While avoiding the coyote, the player
must pick up bird seeds on the street, avoid obstacles
like cars, and get through mazes. Sometimes Wile E.
Coyote will just run after the Road Runner, but he oc-
Rarity: 6 casionally uses tools like rockets and roller skates.

Robin Hood 5.8

Developer Xonox
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Robin Hood is an action game where players need to

rescue Maid Marian who is being held by the Sheriff
of Nottingham in a castle. Gameplay takes place on
several different screens which have different objec-
tives. First he will need to make his way through Sher-
wood Forest. The next section takes place outside of
the castle. Inside the castle he will be able to find Maid
Marian behind one of the many doors, and gold behind
Rarity: 8 another.

Robot Tank 7.1

Developer Activision (Alan Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Simulation, Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The player remotely controls a robot tank in 2019.

The mission is to locate enemy rebel tanks rampaging
across the countryside with radar, then destroy them
with a cannon to stop them from reaching downtown
Santa Clara, California, United States.
As tanks are damaged, radar, speed, firepower and/or
visual display capabilities are irreparably worsened.
Rarity: 3 Enough damage will eventually destroy a tank.
Blue Label: 4
 Room of Doom • 143

4.6 Roc N Rope

Developer Individeo (Ed English)
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1984
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Roc’n Rope was originally released as a 1983 arcade

game by Konami. The player, a flashlight- and harpoon
gun- equipped archaeologist, has to ascend a series of
rocky platforms in a Lost World scenario to reach a
Phoenix bird, the object of his quest.
Roc’n Rope was ported to the Atari 2600 and Coleco-
Vision. The ColecoVision version was more faithful
to the original, while the Atari port was rudimentary Rarity: 5
at best.

6.4 Room of Doom

Developer CommaVid (Irwin Gaines)
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players are trapped in a room with a monster. Outside

the room, gunmen are shooting at the players. To ad-
vance, they must shoot the gunman when the portals
are open. They can shoot the monster but it will only
be stunned and if they stay in the same room too long,
the monster becomes immune to the weapon.
There are sixty-four game variations. In some, the
gunmen shoot in a straight line only, others they aim at Rarity: 6
where ever players are, others are slow and others fast.

5.4 Rubik’s Cube

Developer Atari (Peter C. Niday)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

The game utilizes a Pocket Cube, Rubik’s Cube, and

the Rubik’s Revenge, but instead of rotating the sec-
tions of the cube, the player runs around, switching
out the colors. However, the player cannot run onto a
square of the same color that is being switched.
Rubik’s Cube is a rare re-release of the game.

Rarity: 8
Atari Video Cube: 7
144 • Sea Hawk

4.0
Scuba Diver
Developer Panda
Publisher Panda, Froggo
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The action begins aboard a boat, and players must

jump overboard, avoid and/or harpoon fish, enter a
shipwreck on the ocean floor (which takes them to
another screen), avoid crabs, grab three treasures, and
then return to the ship unscathed.

Rarity: 6
Sea Hunt: 4

Sea Hawk 5.7

Developer Froggo
Publisher Froggo
Release date 1988
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Sea Hawk is a fast-paced shooting game that has play-

ers in control of a fighter jet named the Sea Hawk,
blasting away at enemy helicopters and ships. Two
weapons are at their command: Missiles and bombs. If
an enemy missile hits the plane, the pilot will eject and
use his parachute. If they guide him to a friendly ship
and a life won’t be lost. There are no levels to complete
or bosses to beat, and gameplay can continue for as
Rarity: 4 long as players can last.
Panda: 6

Seamonster 6.8
Developer Puzzy
Publisher Puzzy
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In Sea Monster players control a ship out in the open

seas. Beneath the waves are numerous sea monsters,
many of which are attacking their ship. The ship is lo-
cated at the top of the screen, and the goal is to earn
as many points as possible by shooting the various sea
monsters that swim by. The deeper in the ocean the
monster is, the more points it is worth. Gameplay is
for one or two players, and several game variations are
Rarity: 9 available which control the speed and difficulty.
 Secret Quest • 145

7.7 Seaquest
Developer Activision (Steve Cartwright)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Seaquest is an Atari 2600 game designed by Steve

Cartwright. The game is a submarine combat game
in which the player controls a water vessel and must
avoid, collect, or destroy various objects at different
levels of depth. The player must pick up divers under
water and must get air from the surface before the air
meter drains out.
The game was made available on Microsoft’s Game Rarity: 2
Room service for its Xbox 360 and for PCs in 2010.

7.1 Secret Quest

Developer Axlon (D: Nolan Bushnell, P: Steve DeFrisco)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1989
Genre Adventure, Role-Playing
Mode 1 Player

Made by Axlon, Nolan Bushnell asked Steve DeFrisco

to create something in reaction to Nintendo’s Zelda ad-
venture game. Steve’s solution was to place the game
in a futuristic scenario and use simple color coding
tricks on the rooms (like Adventure and Superman) to
give the impression of an expansive world.
The game is most notable in being the final licensed
Atari 2600 game released in North America. Rarity: 4
“atariage.com”

5.0 Sentinel
Developer Imagineering (David Lubar)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1990
Genre Light-gun
Mode 1 Player

Sentinel is a side scrolling action game. Several worlds

have fallen victim of an alien attack, and players need
to free them. To do this, a glowing orb called the Senti-
nel has been sent which can absorb the alien energy. As
the Sentinel floats above the various, scrolling land-
scapes, players need to protect it from attacks by using
the light gun to destroy enemies and enemy fire. If they
don’t destroy an enemy, it will deplete the Sentinels
energy supply which will eventually destroy it. Rarity: 5
146 • Shuttle Orbiter

Shootin’ Gallery 6.5

Developer Imagic (Dennis Koble)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Shootin’ Gallery is a target shooting game similar to

Sega’s Carnival. Players control a gun at the bottom of
the screen while various types of targets move left and
right above. Given a limited amount of ammo, they
need to earn as many points as possible by shooting the
targets (which include trains, snails, frogs, kangaroos,
monkeys, and more). Naturally more points are award-
ed for targets that are further away or tougher to hit.
Rarity: 5
“mobygames.com”

Shuttle Orbiter 3.5

Developer Avalon Hill (Bill Hood)
Publisher Avalon Hill
Release date 1983
Genre Action, Simulation
Mode 1 Player

Players must get ten parts from an orbiting factory to

an incomplete space station. Unfortunately, a comet
passed near Earth and left a space debris field that they
will need to avoid.
The difficulty switches and select switch are not used.
After players press fire on the joystick, move the stick
up or down to select the difficulty level, from 0 to 3.
Rarity: 7 Game 0 has no space debris.
“mobygames.com”

Sir Lancelot 4.5

Developer Xonox (Anthony R. Henderson)
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

A damsel in distress is being held in a castle by a fire

breathing dragon. As Sir Lancelot, players need to ride
their winged horse Pegasus to the rescue. Each level in
this action game consists of two screens. First they are
outside the castle which is guarded by numerous fly-
ing creatures. They need to fly around the screen and
destroy all of the creatures by hitting them with their
lance. After all of the creatures are gone, they enter the
Rarity: 7 second screen which is inside the castle.
 Skeet Shoot • 147

7.3 Skate Boardin’

Developer Absolute Entertainment (David Crane)
Publisher Absolute Entertainment
Release date 1987
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

The player must locate and successfully negotiate thir-

ty hidden tricks in the form of ramps and pipes within
a time limit of five minutes. To save time it is possible
to skitch on the back of moving vehicles. The fire but-
ton makes the player jump, although there is no need to
do this in the game, other than to jump back on to the
skateboard after falling off.
One of the first ever skateboarding based video games, Rarity: 4
it is widely regarded as a poor attempt at the genre.

4.2 Skeet Shoot

Developer Apollo (Ed Salvo)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1981
Genre Shooter, Sports
Mode 1 Player

Players assume the role of a skeet shooter shooting

clay pigeons. There is a two-player mode where the
players alternate. It was developed by programmer Ed
Salvo in his Iowa home and purchased by Pat Roper
for release in December 1981 under the newly formed
Apollo. Despite negative reviews, it was a financial
success, and led to Salvo’s continuation with the com-
pany, where he became Director of Development.
Rarity: 5

5.7 Skiing
Developer Activision (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1980
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Skiing, authored by Bob Whitehead, is a single player

only game, in which the player uses the joystick to
control the direction and speed of a stationary skier
at the top of the screen, while the background graph-
ics scroll upwards, thus giving the illusion the skier is
moving. The player must avoid obstacles, such as trees
and moguls.

Rarity: 2
Blue Label: 3
 Sky Jinks • 149

6.7 Sky Diver

Developer Atari (Jim Huether)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Action
Mode 2 Players

Sky Diver is an arcade video game designed by Owen

Rubin, and released by Atari in 1978. It was ported to
Atari 2600 in the same year by Jim Huether.
The object of the game is to jump out of a plane, re-
lease a parachute and land on the landing pad. To get
higher points, the player must release the parachute
closer to the ground. The player has nine jumps. If
the landing pad is missed, the player loses points. The Rarity: 2
highest score possible is 99 points.

6.2 Sky Jinks

Developer Activision (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Sky Jinks is a vertically-scrolling, air racing-themed

video game developed by Bob Whitehead for the Atari
2600. It is one of the first video games to simulate a
drop shadow with 2D computer graphics.
In Sky Jinks, the player pilots a low-flying Seversky
XP-41 airplane through a time trial. To complete a
game level, the player must bank around a prescribed
number of pylons. The XP-41 can bank left and right, Rarity: 2
as well as accelerate and decelerate.

6.6 Sky Skipper

Developer Parker Brothers
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Sky Skipper was first released as a 1981 arcade game

by Nintendo R&D1. The game look and feel is very
similar to Popeye which was released the following
year, suggesting that the same development team were
involved in both releases. The arcade version was re-
leased only in Japan while the Atari 2600 version was
released only in North America.
Today, this is a very rare cabinet, as many of the origi- Rarity: 3
nal Sky Skipper boards were converted into Popeye.
150 • Slot Racers

Slot Machine 3.9

Developer Atari (David Crane)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Casino
Mode 1-2 Players

Slot Machine is an electronic slot machine simulation

for one or two players. Players start with twenty five
coins, and can bet up to five coins on each turn. The
game ends when one of the players goes broke. There
are two different slot machines, and several game vari-
ations are available which affect the level of difficulty.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 3
Sears: 4

Slot Racers 5.5

Developer Atari (Warren Robinett)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Action
Mode 2 Players

Slot Racers is a joystick-controlled action game, with

a total of nine game variations programmed within
the cartridge. The object of the game is to pilot a car
through a maze, while attempting to fire missiles at the
opponent’s car, as well as evading the missiles the op-
ponent fires at players car. Each time one of the respec-
tive cars is struck by a missile, the player controlling
the other car receives one point. Victory is achieved
Rarity: 2 through the scoring of twenty-five points.
Sears: 3
Sears Picture Label: 2

Smurfs Save the Day 5.2

Developer Coleco
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1 Player

This game is unplayable on an Atari 2600 without

the KidVid controller and three accompanying audio-
tapes. The game takes cues from the tape about when
to advance. This cartridge was sold in a large box that
included the tapes and KidVid controller. The other
KidVid game, Berenstain Bears, was sold with just the
accompanying tapes.

Rarity: 8
 Sneak n’ Peek • 151

6.1 Smurfs:
Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle
Developer Wickstead Design (Henry Will IV)
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Gargamel has kidnapped Smurfette. As a Smurf, the

player has to walk from the Smurf village through a
forest and a cave on the way to Gargamel’s castle,
where Smurfette awaits rescue. The player has an en-
ergy bar that slowly depletes over time.
Each side-scrolling screen presents various obstacles
that the player must precisely jump over or land upon. Rarity: 4

5.6 Sneak n’ Peek

Developer Wickstead Design (Paul Willson)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Simulation
Mode 1-2 Players

Sneak ‘n Peek is a computerized version of the game

hide and seek. The game is played by two players (or
one player against the computer); one player will close
his eyes while the other player hides somewhere. After
the second player is hidden, the first player needs to lo-
cate him in the shortest time possible. After the second
player has been located, the roles will then be reversed.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 2

7.6 Snoopy and the Red Baron

Developer Atari (Nick Turner, Richard Dobbis)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

Snoopy and the Red Baron is a single player game

with the player guiding Snoopy on his doghouse with
four variations of difficulty to play. The objective is to
shoot down Snoopy’s rival, the Red Baron, controls
being the stick to maneuver Snoopy and the button to
fire. The game starts out with the player having four
doghouses, otherwise known as lives. It takes eight
hits to destroy the Red Baron, and eight hits from the
Red Baron to have the player lose a doghouse. Rarity: 5
152 • Solar Storm

Solar Fox 7.2

Developer CBS Electronics (Bob Curtiss)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1983
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

The players job is to pilot a starship through a series of

squared solar cell matrixes inside a rack. While captur-
ing the cells they must dodge waves of fireballs that
are being thrown by Sentinels. These Sentinels move
continuously along the perimeter of each cell forma-
tion. When they clear an entire field of squares (by
flying through each square), they go on to the next
level (rack). The faster players clear a matrix, the more
Rarity: 3 points they receive.

Solar Storm 6.5

Developer Imagic (Dennis Koble)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Solar Storm is an arcade style action game where play-

ers control a spaceship to defend their home planet.
Deadly Deltoid ships will be flying in trying to destroy
the planet; in addition to this danger, a far off sun has
exploded sending debris towards it. The job is to shoot
everything that is heading their way before it reaches
the planet. Each time an enemy ship or some debris
makes it past players, the planets shield absorbs the en-
Rarity: 4 ergy and heats up; if it overheats, it will be destroyed.
Xante: 10

Solaris 7.1
Developer Atari (Doug Neubauer)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1986
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Solaris was programmed by Doug Neubauer, who

owns the copyright to the game and the Solaris trade-
mark. Solaris is a sequel, and in many ways superi-
or, to Neubauer’s Star Raiders, and has some of the
best graphics on the Atari 2600. Both games feature
an enemy race known as “Zylons.” Solaris was at one
point going to be based on The Last Starfighter, while
the Atari 8-bit version of The Last Starfighter was re-
Rarity: 2 named Star Raiders 2.
 Sorcerer’s Apprentice • 153

4.6 Sorcerer
Developer Mythicon (P: Bruce de Graaf, S: Bill Bryner)
Publisher Mythicon
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Sorcerer is an arcade action game which takes place

long ago when wizards and sorcerers ruled the earth.
The evil wizards have decided to attempt to conquer
the earth, and have sent numerous waves of creatures
to stop all of the good sorcerers. The players goal is to
destroy the various creatures. The longer you survive,
the faster the enemies become. Two levels of difficulty
as well as a practice mode are available.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

5.0 Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Developer Atari (Peter C. Niday)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Based off the animated Disney classic “Fantasia”, Sor-

cerer’s Apprentice puts players in charge of Mickey
Mouse as he collects and shoots stars and meteors on
the mountaintops to keep the walking brooms from
filling the Sorcerer’s cavern below.
For every caught star, a bucket appears to remove
some of the water from the cavern. Mickey also has
the opportunity to catch the brooms before they get to Rarity: 4
the bottom of the stairs and flood the cavern further.

6.6 Space Attack

Developer M-Network (Hal Finney, Bruce Pedersen)
Publisher M-Network, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Space Attack is a one player game that pits players

against the computer. Five alien fleets of different sizes
are attacking their mothership, and it’s up to the play-
ers to defend it using their three squadrons. Alien ships
will dodge their attacks and will attack them with pho-
ton blasts.
There are two game modes; Radar Mode, which is
more strategy, and Battle Mode, which is all out action. Rarity: 2
“mobygames.com” Telegames: 3
154 • Space Cavern

6.0
Space Canyon
Developer Panda
Publisher Panda
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Space Canyon is a modified version of Apollo’s Space

Cavern. Players move their tank and shoot up at aliens.
But the aliens can also rush in from the sides, so the
tank can shoot sideways too.
“atariguide.com”

Rarity: 6

Space Cavern 6.6

Developer Apollo (Dan Oliver)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Company founder Pat Roper had flown programmer

Ed Salvo to a Consumer Electronics Show to show
him the Imagic video game Demon Attack. Impressed
with Imagic’s game, Roper told developer Dan Oliver
he wanted a game in similar fashion. Oliver, having
learned MOS Technology 6502 just a few weeks previ-
ous, made his first Apollo game out of inspiration from
Demon Attack.
Rarity: 3

Space Invaders 7.7

Developer Atari (Rick Maurer)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Space Invaders is an arcade game originally created by

Tomohiro Nishikado and released in 1978. The 1980
Atari 2600 version was the first official licensing of an
arcade game and became the first “killer app” for video
game consoles by quadrupling the system’s sales. It
sold over two million units in its first year on sale as
a home console game, making it the first title to sell a
million cartridges.
Rarity: 1
Sears: 2
 Space Shuttle • 155

6.0 Space Jockey

Developer Wickstead Design (Garry Kitchen)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Space Jockey is a side scrolling shooter for one play-

er. The goal is to earn as many points as possible by
having players attack saucer shoot down the varied
enemies which fly by. Tanks, jet planes, prop planes,
helicopters, and weather balloons will all pass by on
the screen and try to destroy the players saucer. There
are even some trees and houses on the ground that can
be shot for extra points.
Rarity: 2
“mobygames.com”

6.0 Space Shuttle

Developer Activision (Steve Kitchen)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1983
Genre SImulation
Mode 1 Player

Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space is a space flight

simulator game designed by Steve Kitchen. It is one of
the first realistic spacecraft simulations available for
home systems. The player controls the most critical
flight phases such as Launch, Stabilizing Orbit, Dock-
ing, Deorbit Burn, Reentry, and Landing, each with its
own set of instructions to follow. The original Atari
2600 version came with an overlay since it made use
of all the switches. Rarity: 3
Blue Label: 4
White Label: 6

5.8 Space War

Developer Atari (Ian Shepard)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

This game is an Atari 2600 port of Spacewar!, the fa-

mous 1962 computer game by Steve Russell. The car-
tridge comes programmed with 17 game variations.
Variations 1–13 are duels between two ships and 14
to 17 are for one player. In some of the variations the
ships fight near a planet which has gravitational attrac-
tion. This concept was used in the Star Control series
of games.
Rarity: 2
Sears: 3
156 • Spacemaster X-7

Spacechase 5.2
Developer Apollo (P: Ed Salvo, S: Bryon Parks)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1981
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

In orbit of an unnamed “moon,” the player uses a

Starcruiser to destroy formations of alien enemy raid-
ers that attack from above. The lunar surface rotates
in the background, but has no effect on gameplay. The
player’s ship can maneuver in eight directions within
the lower third of the game screen. As the game ad-
vances, the aliens attacks begin to include “Lazer-Di-
rected Heat-Seeking Proton Missiles”.
Rarity: 3
The game went on to become Apollo’s best selling title.

Spacemaster X-7 8.0

Developer Sirius Software (David Lubar)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players use an assault ship that was designed to de-

stroy Hyperion military bases. They must shoot the
bases enough so that the energy meter at the bottom
goes from the “+” to the “-”. Once the meter gets to “-”
the base will explode. The base has a force field that
expands and contracts, base defenders and, in higher
rounds, shields. The force field has a gap in it that play-
ers can shoot through or they can maneuver inside the
Rarity: 6 field and shoot the base up close.

Spider Fighter 7.3

Developer Activision (Larry Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Spider Fighter is a fixed shooter designed by Larry

Miller for the Atari 2600. The manual states that “Larry
is the newest addition to the Activision design team.”
He went on to create the Atari 2600 racing game En-
duro for Activision, released in 1983.
The object of Spider Fighter is to protect an orchard
containing fruit—grapes, strawberries, oranges, and
Rarity: 2 bananas—from four kinds of bugs.
 Spiderdroid • 157

5.4 Spider-Man
Developer Parker Brothers (P: Laura Nikolich, S: David Lamkins)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Spider-Man was the first video game to feature Spi-

der-Man and also the first Marvel Comics based video
game.
The game involves players controlling Spider-Man to
scale a building using his web shooters in order to de-
fuse bombs planted by the Green Goblin. Spider-Man
is only able to use his web lines to move up the build-
ing either vertically or diagonally. Rarity: 3

2.0 Spiderdroid
Developer Froggo
Publisher Froggo
Release date 1987
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Spiderdroid is a clone of Amidar (a more popular game

that was both for the arcades and the Atari 2600) with
a more futurisic setting. The object of the game is to
fill in boxes that have to be made by moving by its four
corners. There is similarity to Pac-Man also. Instead of
ghosts, spiders chase players while they are trying to
complete their task (tribesmen and pigs are the foes in
Amidar).
Rarity: 3

4.1 Spike’s Peak

Developer Beck-Tech
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Spike’s Peak is an action game where players need to

climb to the top of a mountain. Gameplay takes place
on five different screens. The first screen shows them
approaching the mountain. The next screen is a zig zag
path through meadows at the base of the mountain.
If they make it to the top of the path, they begin the
next screen. Here you climb up a rocky ledge. The last
screen takes place at the mountain summit where they
need to climb to the top and plant a flag before freezing. Rarity: 9
158 • Springer

Spitfire Attack 4.2

Developer Milton Bradley
Publisher Milton Bradley
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Both of the games that Milton Bradley released on the

Atari 2600 came with special controllers. Spitfire At-
tack came with the Flight Commander and Survival
Run was shipped with the Cosmic Commander.
In the game, players take the role of an American fight-
er pilot. The mission is to shoot down enemy planes,
shoot enemy ammo dumps and enemy anti-aircraft
Rarity: 4 guns.

Springer 4.6
Developer Software Electronics
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

As Springer the rabbit, players must jump from cloud

to cloud, collecting everything they can, to reach the
sun. They must jump from cloud to cloud and touch
any items or eggs to collect them. If an egg hatches
into a dragon, they can kick the dragon to collect him.
There is a bonus timer that counts down on the screen
so players should not delay. Once they reach the sun at
the top, then it is off to a more challenging screen.
Rarity: 7
“mobygames.com”

Sprintmaster 6.1
Developer Atari (Bob Polaro)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1988
Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players

Sprintmaster is an action racing game similar to Su-

per Sprint. The game is played with an overhead view
of the racetrack, and the first of two players to race
around the track for the required number of laps wins.
Occasionally a bonus will appear in the roadway; col-
lect these to increase the traction capabilities of the car
or gain a temporary speed boost. Other obstacles, such
as oil slicks, may also appear in the roadway which
Rarity: 4 will cause players to lose control and speed.
160 • Squeeze Box

Spy Hunter 6.3

Developer Syndein Systems (Jeff Lorenz)
Publisher Sega
Release date 1984
Genre Vehicular combat
Mode 1 Player

Spy Hunter draws inspiration from the James Bond

films and was originally supposed to carry the James
Bond license. The object of the game is to drive down
roads in the technologically advanced “Interceptor”
car and destroy various enemy vehicles with a variety
of onboard weapons.
Because of its success, Spy Hunter was ported to sev-
Rarity: 6 eral home video game systems and home computers,
including the Atari 2600.

Squeeze Box 6.8

Developer Wickstead Design (Henry Will IV)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Squeeze Box the goal is to escape from prison. To

escape, players will need to blast their way through
the wall. Once a hole large enough to walk through is
formed, they can use it to escape to the next screen. To
make the game more difficult, the walls are constantly
growing, and if players touch a wall they will lose a
life.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 4

3.2
Sssnake
Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Sssnake is a video game for the Atari 2600 produced

by Data Age. Its gameplay is similar to Centipede, ex-
cept the player moves in the center of the screen and
fires towards the top, bottom and sides.
In 1991, Digital Press included the game on a list of
the ten worst Atari 2600 games.
Rarity: 4
 Star Fox • 161

6.6 Stampede
Developer Activision (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The objective of Stampede is to round up all of the cat-

tle players encounter. To do so, the player must lasso
each one in order to capture it. The player is initially
only allowed to let two cattle pass; if a third one slips
by, the game is over.
Stampede was favorably reviewed in 1982 by Video
magazine where it was described as a “thrilling repre-
sentation of rope ridin’” boasting “charming visuals”. Rarity: 2

3.1 Star Fox

Developer Mythicon (P: Bruce de Graaf, S: Bill Bryner)
Publisher Mythicon
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The game takes place in the year 4024 AD. The sto-
ry begins as a robot freighter carrying a cargo of ex-
tremely valuable trimetalisium energy crystals crash
lands on the planetoid Beta-7. An enemy star cruiser,
escorted by a squadron of fighter drones, is en route to
the planetoid to seize the crystals.
The player’s objective is to recover the crystals before
the enemy while doing battle with the fighter drones. Rarity: 4

6.0 Star Raiders

Developer Atari (P: Carla Meninsky, D: Doug Neubauer)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Action, Strategy
Mode 1 Player

Star Raiders simulates combat in 3D between the play-

er’s powerful ship and an invading fleet of alien “Zy-
lon” vessels. The game was distinctive for its graphics,
which (under most conditions) represented an out-
the-cockpit, first-person view from a fictional combat
spaceship traveling through a streaming 3D starfield in
pursuit of enemy spacecraft. The game is commonly
referred to as the platform’s killer app.
Rarity: 1
Sears: 3
162 • Star Strike

Star Ship 5.1

Developer Atari (Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Star Ship, one of the nine launch titles, is a first-person

shooter designed and programmed by Bob Whitehead.
It was based on the Atari arcade game Starship 1.
The game was reviewed in Video magazine as part of
a general review of the Atari VCS where it was given
the low review score of 4 out of 10, and its individual
games were described as “look[ing] nice but [being]
Rarity: 3 hard to get a handle on”.
Sears Picture Label: 4

Star Strike 6.5

Developer M-Network (P: Dave Akers, S: Patricia L.D. Long)
Publisher M-Network, INTV
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In Star Strike, invading aliens have targeted a super-

weapon on planet Earth. As soon as Earth moves into
range, the weapon will be fired and destroy the planet.
The player controls a spaceship launched at the invad-
ers in an attempt to destroy the weapon before it can
be fired.
The Intellivision version was their best-selling game in
Rarity: 5 1982, with over 800,000 copies sold.

Star Trek: 7.2

Strategic Operations Simulator
Developer Sega (Jeff Lorenz)
Publisher Sega
Release date 1983
Genre Simulation, Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator was first re-

leased in 1983 by Sega as a space combat simulation
arcade game based on the original Star Trek television
program. In the game, players controls the Starship
Enterprise, and must defend sectors from invading
Klingon ships.
Rarity: 4
 Star Wars: Death Star Battle • 163

5.2 Star Voyager

Developer Imagic (Bob Smith)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In Star Voyager, the player has to save the Capital Star-

port (although the player never sees it in the game). A
two-player mode allows two people to become either
the Star Voyager or the enemy fleet. The commander
of the Star Voyager has the ability to use photon torpe-
does or a laser beam in order to stop the enemy. Star
portals play a role in transporting the Star Voyager into
another part of the galaxy.
Rarity: 2

5.9 Star Wars: Death Star Battle

Developer Wickstead Design (Todd Marshall, Ray Miller)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In the game, the player controls the Millennium Fal-

con with the aim of destroying the second Death Star.
The game is split into two stages. In the first, the
player must shoot enemy TIE-fighters while waiting
for an opportunity to pass through an energy shield.
In the second stage, the player must shoot at parts of
the Death Star until there is a clear path to the reactor.
Once the reactor has been destroyed, the player must
survive the resultant explosion. Rarity: 4

5.3 Star Wars: Jedi Arena

Developer Parker Brothers (Rex Bradford)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

In the game, two Jedi Knights, one blue and one red,
face each other during lightsaber training. The player
controls his lightsaber with the paddle controller, de-
fending himself from the laser blasts coming from the
Seeker ball, fired by the opponent. The Seeker will
regularly go wild and fire laser blasts randomly. The
aim of the game is to fire laser blasts from the Seeker at
the opponent’s shield and finally the opponent himself.
Rarity: 3
The game has four difficulty levels, changing the
 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back • 165

6.6 Star Wars: The Arcade Game

Developer Imagic (Bob Smith)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1984
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The player assumes the role of Luke Skywalker (“Red

Five”), as he pilots an X-wing fighter from a first-
person perspective. Players does not have to destroy
every enemy in order to advance through the game;
they must simply survive as their fighter flies through
the level, which most often means they must avoid or
destroy the shots that enemies fire. Each hit on his craft
takes away one shield, and if they runs out of shields
and takes another hit, the game ends. Rarity: 5

6.4 Star Wars:

The Empire Strikes Back
Developer Parker Brothers (Rex Bradford)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The player, as Luke Skywalker, use a snowspeeder to

battle against Imperial AT-AT walkers on the planet
Hoth. The objective is to hold off the walkers as long
as possible before they blow up the power generator
at the Rebels’ Echo Base. The difficulty levels includ-
ed several variables, including the initial speed of the
walkers, whether or not the walkers were solid, and
Rarity: 2
whether or not the walkers included a “smart bomb”.

7.4 Stargate
Developer Atari (P: Bill Aspromonte, S: Andrew Fuchs)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1984
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Stargate is a sequel to the 1980 game Defender. The

player flies a small spaceship above a long, mountain-
ous landscape. The land is inhabited by a small number
of humanoids. The player is armed with a beam-like
weapon which can be fired rapidly in a long horizontal
line ahead of the spaceship, and also has a limited sup-
ply of smart bombs, which can destroy every enemy
on the screen.
Rarity: 4
The player also has a limited supply of “Inviso” cloak-
166 • Starmaster

Stargunner 6.3
Developer Telesys (Alex Leavens)
Publisher Telesys
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of a stargunner for the Yarthae

Empire. The Empire is being invaded by the Sphyzygi.
The stargunner must destroy their invading ships but
beware of the bombs dropped by the Sphyzygi droid,
Bobo.
This game is similar to Defender without the human-
oids to rescue. Players must fly around the screen,
Rarity: 6 shooting any incoming ships that appear.
Color Handle: 7 “mobygames.com”

Starmaster 6.9
Developer Activision (Alan Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In the game the player pilots a starfighter, with the

purpose of destroying a number of enemy ships be-
fore they destroy four friendly starbases. Gameplay is
presented mostly in first person cockpit view, which
is achieved with surprisingly good effect given the
2600’s primitive graphics capabilities.
The game is very similar in many respects to Atari’s
Rarity: 2 8-bit computer game Star Raiders.

Steeplechase 5.4
Developer Atari (Jim Huether)
Publisher Sears
Release date 1980
Genre Simulation, Sports
Mode 1-4 Players

Steeplechase simulates a steeplechase-style horse race.

Up to four players can play against each other, each
choosing a horse while the computer controls the sev-
enth horse on the bottom. Each player’s horse begins
galloping, and the players must jump over obstacles
in their lanes by pressing their colored buttons. The
horse that successfully jumps all obstacles smoothly
becomes the fastest horse and wins.
Rarity: 4
 Strategy X • 167

6.1 Stellar Track

Developer Atari (Robert Zdybel)
Publisher Sears
Release date 1981
Genre Simulation, Strategy
Mode 1 Player

This is an Atari 2600 version of a Star Trek game found

on many college mainframes. Like those mainframe
programs, it has no graphics, only text.
The game is a unique text based space simulation that
often gets overlooked. The gameplay revolves around
hunting down and engaging enemy war ships around
the galaxy.
Rarity: 4
Stellar Track was programmed by Atari but was only

6.2 Strategy X
Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

As a tank, players must get past obstacles and avoid

enemy fire to reach a base at the far end on the course.
They must not delay, however, as they will run out of
fuel. There are fuel depots along the course that can
refill them, but sometimes the enemy guns will destroy
these before players can grab it.
In a two player game, players alternate tanks each time
they die. Rarity: 5

4.4 Strawberry Shortcake

Musical Matchups
Developer Parker Brothers (Dawn Stockbridge)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Strawberry Shortcake Musical Match-Ups is a puz-

zle game where players try to straighten out mixed up
Strawberryland characters within a given time limit.
When the game begins, a mixed up character will ap-
pear on the screen and players need to change the head,
body, and legs until they are all from a single character.
If a complete character is correctly formed, the charac-
Rarity: 4
ter will perform a dance with a musical theme.
; if an incomplete character is formed, the musical
168 • Stronghold

Street Racer 5.6

Developer Atari (Larry Kaplan)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Racing
Mode 1-4 Players

Street Racer is an early racing game for the Atari 2600.

It was programmed by Larry Kaplan and released as
one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles.
The game offered 27 game variations, grouped into the
following sub-games: 1–6: Street racer. 7–12: Slalom.
13–16: Dodgem. 17–20: Jet shooter. 21–24: Number
cruncher. 25–27: Scoop ball. Each of the sub-games
Rarity: 2 has roughly the same gameplay: the player controls a
Atari “12 street racer”: 3 vehicle that must avoid or collect certain objects.
Sears: 3

Stronghold 5.6
Developer CommaVid (Joseph Biel)
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players are sent to check out an abandoned asteroid

base called Stronghold. As they approach, drones are
launched from the surface. It may be abandoned but
apparently the automatic defense system still works.
Players must shoot or avoid the drones. If the drones
are cloned, and traveling in sets, shooting any drone
in the set destroys all the ones in the set, if they are
destroyable.
Rarity: 9
“mobygames.com”
the bottom of the screen. Also, interceptor and patrol

Stuntman 4.0
Developer Panda
Publisher Panda
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

As an action stunt man, the goal is to climb up a se-

ries of ropes to reach the helicopter that flies by. Play-
ers must avoid the birds which will knock them to the
ground where a snake is waiting to devour them. In
higher levels, they must collect balloons and beat up
demons before they can board the helicopter.
This was Panda’s NTSC release of Sancho’s Night-
Rarity: 6 mare.
“atariguide.com”
 Submarine Commander • 169

6.2 Sub Scan

Developer Sega
Publisher Sega
Release date 1983
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

In Sub Scan, Sega’s release of its “Deep Scan” arcade

game, players are the destroyer and must drop depth
charges onto passing submarines. They time their
drops so as they sink, they will hit the sub.
The amount of bonus players get per sub varies de-
pending on how many subs they have hit before hitting
the bonus sub. Once they hit the bonus sub, the bonus
per sub amount resets to the lowest amount and begins Rarity: 4
climbing again.

6.0 Submarine Commander

Developer Atari (Matthew Hubbard)
Publisher Sears
Release date 1982
Genre Simulation
Mode 1-2 Players

As the commander of a submarine in enemy waters,

players must use their skills, radar, and luck to take
down the enemy ships. With 8 difficulty settings there
is a lot of the game to master as players must start to
keep an eye on their fuel, torpedoes, radar, and enemy
while avoiding depth charges as the difficulty rises.
Players can fire up to two torpedoes at a time.
“mobygames.com”
Rarity: 5

8.0 Subterranea
Developer Imagic (Mark Klein)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Subterranea is a side scrolling shooter. The goal is to

locate treasure crystals within the Hexuplex Caves.
Controlling a cave ranger, players need to blast the
various types of aerobots which are guarding the cave.
When all of the bots on a cave level have been de-
stroyed, a passageway opens allowing them to travel
deeper into the caverns. When they reach the last level
of the cavern, they can collect the treasure crystal and
be transported to the next set of caves. Rarity: 6
and try for another crystal. In addition to the deadly
170 • Summer Games

Suicide Mission 7.0

Developer Starpath (Stephen Landrum, Steve Hales)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Suicide Mission is an arcade action game similar to

Asteroids. Players control a microscopic submarine
navigating the bloodstream of someone who has been
infected by a virus. The goal is to destroy the virus.
Each time players shoot a cell infected with the virus,
it will split up into smaller pieces. Eventually the piec-
es will be small enough that they can be destroyed.
When everything has been destroyed, they can move
Rarity: 4 on to the next, more difficult level.

Summer Games 7.4

Developer Epyx (Peter Engelbrite)
Publisher Epyx
Release date 1987
Genre Sports
Mode 1-8 Players

Summer Games is a sports game based on sports fea-

tured in the Summer Olympic Games. The game is
presented as a virtual multi-sport competition called
the “Epyx Games” (there was no official IOC licens-
ing in place) with up to eight players each choosing a
country to represent, and then taking turns competing
in various events to try for a medal.

Rarity: 4

Super Baseball 5.0

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1988
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

This game is an altered version of the Atari 2600 ver-

sion of RealSports Baseball. The game controls are
identical. The alterations are that the graphics and
colors were changed. Also, the options were reduced
to one or two player and whether, in one player, the
human player is up first at bat or not. Otherwise, every-
thing else is the same. Players still can throw fastballs,
curve balls, sinkers, etc. and they can still bunt, hit fly
Rarity: 2 balls, etc.
 Super Challenge Baseball • 171

7.5 Super Breakout

Developer Atari (Nick Turner)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Breakout
Mode 1-2 Players

Super Breakout features similar gameplay to the origi-

nal, but with several new game variations. The goal is
to earn as many points as possible by destroying the
bricks at the top of the playfield. To do this, players
need to use the paddle at the bottom of the screen to
keep a bouncing ball within the playfield. There are
four different game variations included; Breakout,
Progressive, Double Breakout and Cavity.
Rarity: 2
“mobygames.com”
Sears: 3

6.5 Super Challenge Baseball

Developer M-Network (Dave Rolfe)
Publisher M-Network, INTV, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players

Super Challenge Baseball is an action baseball game

for two players. The game follows most professional
baseball rules and allows players to control all of the
players on the team. They can throw a variety of pitch-
es (from curve balls to fast balls), steal bases, tag play-
ers out, bunt, try for a home run, and in the event of a
tie the game goes into extra innings. Several difficulty
levels are available which control the game speed and
whether or not stealing bases is allowed. Rarity: 3
M-Network: 2

6.2 Super Challenge Football

Developer M-Network (Ken Smith)
Publisher M-Network, INTV, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players

Super Challenge Football contains almost all the ele-

ments of a real football game. The game consists of
four quarters, fifteen minutes each. There are four dif-
ficulty levels; high school, college, semi-pro, and pro.
There are nine different plays to call, including run-
ning plays, field goals, passing plays, and punting. The
only thing that’s not realistic about Super Challenge
Football is the teams only have five players on offense
and on defense. Rarity: 3
172 • Super Cobra

Super Cobra 6.7

Developer Parker Brothers (Mike Brodie)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Super Cobra, first released in 1981 as a arcade game by

Konami, is the sequel to popular horizontally scroll-
ing shooter Scramble. The player controls a helicopter
through tight caverns, and the slightest misstep will re-
sult in the loss of a life.
The Atari 2600 version was awarded a Certificate of
Merit in the category of “Best Action Videogame” at
Rarity: 3 the 5th annual Arkie Awards for 1983.
 Superman • 173

7.3 Super Football

Developer Atari (Doug Neubauer)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1988
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

This is an American football game with an isometric

view. Player one always starts as offense and are in the
red jerseys. The computer (or player two) starts as de-
fense and are in blue jerseys. Players have the choice
to pass or run. On the offense, they control the quar-
terback until he passes the ball. They then control the
receiver. The quarterback cannot pass after he crosses
the line of scrimmage. On defense, they control the
corner. Rarity: 2

5.0 Superman
Developer Atari (John Dunn)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1978
Genre Action-Adventure
Mode 1-2 Players

The player takes control of the DC Comics character

Superman, who must repair the bridge destroyed by
Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his criminal under-
lings, enter a phonebooth to turn back into Clark Kent,
then return to the Daily Planet in the shortest possible
time.
Superman was built using the prototype code for War-
ren Robinett’s Adventure, and ended up being pub- Rarity: 2
lished before Adventure was finished. Sears: 4

6.6 Surround
Developer Atari (Alan Miller)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Surround, one of the nine Atari 2600 launch titles,

was an unofficial port of the arcade game Blockade,
released the previous year by Gremlin. As such, it was
the first home console version of the game that would
become widely known on other platforms as Snake.
As with other early Atari games, it was licensed to
Sears, which released it under the name Chase.
Rarity: 2
“41 surround” Label: 3
Sears Picture Label: 5
174 • Survival Run

Survival Island 8.5

Developer Starpath (Scott Nelson)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1983
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Players are headed to a mysterious island to study a

temple when their ship is sunk. Now they must get to
the island while collecting supplies, get through the
dangerous jungle then explore the temple. All in a days
work.
This game is in three sections. They are called Ship-
wrecked, The Wilderness Island and The Secret Tem-
Rarity: 8 ple.
“mobygames.com”

Survival Run 6.8

Developer Milton Bradley
Publisher Milton Bradley
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In this game players have entered some underground

caverns on another planet. As they try to navigate their
way through, they must destroy enemy space ships and
force fields. Players can see the ships coming in the
distance but if they get too close they will fire on them,
causing them to lose energy.
The game was shipped with the Cosmic Commander
Rarity: 4 controller.

Sword of Saros 8.0

Developer Starpath (Jon Leupp)
Publisher Starpath
Release date 1983
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Players have entered a wizard’s dungeons in search of

the fabled Sword of Saros. They must avoid the wiz-
ard, his hunter bat and other nasties while gathering
treasure. Then they must escape from the dungeons.
The player begins in a maze. The narrow areas are cor-
ridors and the wider areas are rooms. The player must
move from room to room, avoiding the wizard and his
Rarity: 8 bat, gathering treasure, items and keys.
“mobygames.com”
178 • Swordquest

Swordquest
Swordquest is an unfinished series of video games produced by Atari in the
Dan Hitchens 1980s as part of a contest, consisting of three finished games and a planned but
never released fourth game. Each of the games came with a comic book that ex-
plained the plot, as well as containing part of the solution to a major puzzle that
had to be solved to win the contest, with a series of prizes on offer whose total
value was $150,000. The series had its genesis as a possible sequel to Atari’s
groundbreaking 1979 title Adventure, but it quickly developed a mythology and
system of play that was unique. The comic books were produced by DC Com-
ics, written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, and drawn and inked by George
Pérez and Dick Giordano. A special fan club offer was provided, allowing those
who wanted the game, to also get a T-shirt and poster for each game.
The games of the Swordquest series (along with Atari 2600 Raiders of the Lost
Ark) were some of the earliest attempts to combine the narrative and logic el-
ements of the adventure game genre- with the twitch gameplay of the action
Rarity:2 genre, making them some of the very first ‘action-adventure’ games. However,
the series was unable to hold the last two contests along with the grand finale
Tod Frye contest, as well as release the final game in the series, due to Atari’s financial
problems leading up to and being a part of the Video Game Crash of 1983.
Atari planned four interrelated Swordquest games, one each based on earth, fire,
water, and air. The company intended that playing all four games would be nec-
essary to win the final prize. Each had essentially the same gameplay: Logic
puzzle adventure style gaming interspersed with arcade style action gaming. The
character wanders through each screen, picking up and dropping items, playing
simplified variants of then-current “twitch” games between screens. If the cor-
rect items are placed in a room, a clue shows up, pointing the player to a page
and panel in the comic book included with the game. There, the player would
find a word that was hidden in that panel. If the player found all five, or in the
case of Waterworld, four, correct clues, amongst all the hidden words (hinted at
by a hidden clue in the comic), they could send the sentence to Atari and have
Rarity: 3 a chance to compete in the finals and win a prize. During the playoff, which
ran on special versions of the games, the person who managed to find the most
Tod Frye
clues within 90 minutes would be considered the winner. The winners of the four
game contests would go on to a final competition where they would compete for
a sword valued at $50,000. However, only two of the competitions actually took
place before Atari cancelled the contest in 1983.

Earthworld
Earthworld was the first of the four games. Its room structure was based on the
signs of the zodiac.
While the basic creative direction of the game was provided by Swordquest Lead
Tod Frye, the game was coded by Dan Hitchens.
Sounds from Swordquest: Earthworld were used in the 2002 film Solaris di-
Rarity: 9 rected by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney. The sounds are used
to represent the spaceship breaking up.
Plot
The games follow twins named Tarra and Torr. Their parents were slain by King
Tyrannus’s guards, prompted by a prophecy by the king’s wizard Konjuro that
the twins would slay Tyrannus. The twins were then raised as commoners by
 Swordquest • 179

thieves to avoid being slain by the king. When they go to plunder Konjuro’s sea 5.6
keep, they accidentally reveal their identities to him. The twins then start running Swordquest: EarthWorld
from a demon summoned to kill them, but it appears that a jewel they stole attracts
it. After smashing the stone to avoid the demon, two of Tyrannus’s old advisers ap-
pear and tell the two about the “Sword of Ultimate Sorcery” and the “Talisman of
Penultimate Truth.” They are then transported to Earthworld.
Contest
Out of 5,000 entries, only eight people managed to find all five of the correct clues.
Of those eight, Steven Bell, who was 20 and lived near Detroit at the time, took
first place and won the “Talisman of Penultimate Truth.” The talisman was made
of 18K solid gold, with 12 diamonds and the birthstones of the twelve Zodiac signs
embedded in it, as well as a small sword made of white gold attached to the front.
At the time of the contest, the Talisman was valued at $25,000.

4.6
Fireworld
Swordquest: FireWorld
Fireworld’s room structure was based on the tree of life.
Plot
After defeating many beasts of the Zodiac and another thief (Herminus) in Earth-
world, the twins are transported to the “central chamber” where the “Sword of Ul-
timate Sorcery” and the “Talisman of Penultimate Truth” are kept. Upon reaching
them, the sword burns a hole through its altar all the way to Fireworld.
In Fireworld, the twins split up to look for water, and Torr, with the aid of the talis-
man, summons Mentorr who shows Torr the “Chalice of Light,” which will quench
his thirst. The twins reunite eventually and find the chalice. However, Torr drops
it after he is startled, and it is revealed that the one they found was not the true
chalice. Herminus then gives them the chalice, and it grows until it becomes large
enough to swallow the twins and transports them to Waterworld. 4.8
Contest Swordquest: WaterWorld
As there were more than the 50 planned participants, a much larger turnout than the
previous contest, they held a second preliminary round where the contestants were
told to write what they liked about the game. From there, Atari chose fifty of the
entries to continue on.
The Chalice of Light was won by Michael Rideout. The chalice itself was made
of gold and platinum and was adorned with citrines, diamonds, green jade, pearls,
rubies, and sapphires. Like the Talisman of Penultimate Truth, the Chalice of Light
had a value of $25,000. In a 2005 interview Rideout said he still was in possession
of the chalice.

Waterworld
The room structure of Waterworld was based on the seven centers of chakra. It was originally released only
through the Atari Club.
Plot
Upon reaching Waterworld, the twins become separated. Tara travels to a ship made of ice, somehow forgets
her name, and meets Cap’n Frost, who desires to find the “Crown of Life” and rule Waterworld. Meanwhile,
Torr travels to an undersea kingdom, forgets his name as well and meets the city’s ex-queen Aquana, who
desires to find the “Crown of Life” in order to regain her throne.
After a brief war between the ex-queen and captain, Herminus sets the twins to duel each other. They then
180 • Swordquest

pray to their deities for guidance, which summons Mentorr who allows them to
regain their memories. The twins throw down their swords, causing the crown to
Gold Chalice
be revealed and split in half. The halves are given to the ex-queen and the captain,
who then rule as equals. The “Sword of Ultimate Sorcery” then transports the twins
to Airworld where they would have to do battle with King Tyrannus and Konjuro.
Contest
The winner of this contest was supposed to receive the “Crown of Life,” which
was made of gold and encrusted with aquamarines, diamonds, green tourmalines,
rubies, and sapphires. It was valued at $25,000 when the game came out. As the
contest was never held, it is not known what became of the crown.
The overall contest (including the one for the yet-to-be released Airworld) was
cancelled at the last minute due in part to Atari’s financial troubles during the video
game crash occurring around this time. Two preliminary rounds had been con-
ducted prior to this, with the winners of those rounds receiving $2,000. Steven Bell
and Michael Rideout, the winners of the Earthworld and Fireworld competitions,
received $15,000, as they could not advance to the final competition between the
winners of all four contests.
Talisman of
Penultimate Truth
Airworld
Plot
Airworld was never finished, though two prototypes are widely rumored to exist.
According to programmer Tod Frye, its room structure was going to be based upon
the I Ching. Additionally, Tod Frye was planning on representing each room from 1
to 64 with a six-bit number. Each bit would control a different aspect of the rules for
that room (e.g., whether the player had to avoid or capture the enemies, whether the
enemies attacked or avoided the player, whether the player or the enemies moved
Philosopher’s Stone fast or slow) but this concept never got out of the design phase, and yielded some
unplayable combinations, such as a slow player that had to capture fast moving
enemies that avoided the player.
Contest
The winner of the Airworld contest was to receive a Philosopher’s Stone encrusted
with diamonds, emeralds, citrines, and rubies, that like its counterparts was valued
at $25,000. That player was also scheduled to face off against Bell, Rideout, and
whoever won the Waterworld contest for the grand prize, a sword with a gold han-
dle encrusted with jewels and a blade made of pure silver. The sword, called the
“Sword of Ultimate Sorcery”, was valued at $50,000.

Postscript
As noted above, Michael Rideout has said that he is still in possession of the chalice he won in the Fireworld
competition. In 2005 he sent pictures to the gaming website Digital Press, who posted them along with an in-
terview he gave to the website Atari Headquarters in 1999. In the course of the interview, Rideout mentioned
that he had heard that the medallion won by Steven Bell had been melted down by a coin dealer for scrap, and
that Bell had made $15,000 by selling it, but that Bell had kept the baubles that were part of it.
Years after the contest, the remaining three prizes (the crown, philosopher’s stone, and sword) were assumed
to have been in the possession of Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore International, who purchased the
remnants of Atari after the video game crash and his ouster from Commodore. However, Atari historian Curt
Vendel has stated that the remaining prizes, which were owned by The Franklin Mint and on loan to Atari, Inc.
for the Swordquest contests, were not part of the sale of Atari’s consumer division to Tramiel, and ownership
of the remaining prizes reverted back to The Franklin Mint, who melted them down to be used for other items.
182 • Tank Brigade

Tac-Scan 7.3
Developer Sega (Jeff Lorenz)
Publisher Sega
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Tac/Scan is a 1982 space combat shooter video game

originally released as an arcade game, and later ported
to the Atari 2600. The game is unique in that the player
controls just how many resources (in this case, ships)
are put into play. The game starts with seven individual
ships in play. Those ships can be lost in any of the three
stages. The player is able to “collect” and earn these
ships back as the game progresses.
Rarity: 3
The squadron can drop down to one ship in the game,

Tank Brigade 5.0

Developer Panda
Publisher Panda
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Tank Brigade is Panda’s NTSC release of Bit Corpora-

tion’s Phantom Tank.
The object of this Combat-like game is to protect the
base from the advancing enemy tanks. Players drive
around in their tank destroying the other tanks, as they
come after players four at a time. The game ends when
they run out of tanks or the base is destroyed.
Rarity: 6 “atariguide.com”
Zimag: 5

Tapeworm 6.6
Developer Spectravision
Publisher Spectravision
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

As Slinky the tapeworm, players must move about the

bean patch, eating beans. Each time they eat a bean,
they grow longer and the bean count goes down by
one.
Beans appear randomly in the patch and players must
eat them before the beetle at the bottom get from left to
right to get the count down to zero.
Rarity: 3 “mobygames.com”
 Tax Avoiders • 183

7.1 Tapper
Developer Beck-Tech
Publisher Sega
Release date 1984
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Tapper, also known as Root Beer Tapper, was a 1983

arcade game by Bally Midway. Tapper puts the player
in the shoes of a bartender. The player must serve ea-
ger, thirsty patrons before their patience expires. The
original arcade game was produced in association with
Budweiser.
The game was an inspiration for the programmers of
Plants vs. Zombies, which presents several rows of Rarity: 6
characters to defend against.

5.6 Tax Avoiders

Developer Dunhill Electronics (John Simonds, Todd C. Holm)
Publisher American Videogame
Release date 1982
Genre Action-platformer
Mode 1 Player

Tax Avoiders was conceived by Darrell Wagner at

Dunhill Electronics; he was billed on the packaging as
a “Licensed Tax Consultant and former IRS Revenue
Agent”.
The object of the game is to help “John Q” become
a millionaire within one game year by collecting in-
come and avoiding taxes. If players is caught by the
IRS agent, they is audited, and always loses the audit, Rarity: 5
which takes 50% of their income.

6.6 Taz
Developer Atari (Steve Woita)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Taz features the Looney Tunes character the Tasma-

nian Devil in a food frenzy. Within the game, Taz only
appears as a tornado. The player guides Taz between
the stage lines in order to eat hamburgers and avoid
the dynamites.
The same game was released outside the United States
featuring Asterix instead of Taz.
Rarity: 4
 Texas Chainsaw Massacre • 185

6.0 Tennis
Developer Activision (Alan Miller)
Publisher Activision
Release date 1981
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Tennis offers singles matches for one or two players;

one player is colored pink, the other blue. The game
has two user-selectable speed levels. When serving
and returning shots, the tennis players automatically
swing forehand or backhand as the situation demands.
The first player to win six matches is declared the win-
ner of the tournament. This differs from professional
tennis, in which player must win at least two out of Rarity: 2
three six-game sets.

3.5 Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Developer VSS (Ed Salvo)
Publisher Wizard Video
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In the game, the player assumes the role of Leather-

face, and attempts to murder trespassers while avoid-
ing obstacles such as fences and cow skulls. As one
of the first horror-themed video games, The Texas
Chain Saw Massacre caused controversy when it was
released due to the violent nature of the video game
and sold poorly as many video game stores refused to
carry it. The limited number of copies sold has made
the game highly valued items among Atari collectors. Rarity: 7

6.3 The Music Machine

Developer Christian Software Development (Glenn Stohel)
Publisher Sparrow, HomeComputer Software
Release date 1983
Genre Action, Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

This game was only sold in religious bookstores. It is

based on a line of The Music Machine products that
also included LP’s sold by Sparrow. Some collectors
claim to have purchased the 2600 game in a bundle
with the album, but that has never been proven.
“atariage.com”

Rarity: 10
186 • Thunderground

Threshold 6.3
Developer Sierra On-Line (Warren Schwader)
Publisher Tigervision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Threshold is a simple shoot’em up game. Players are

in control of a spaceship at the bottom of the screen
and have to shoot several formations of enemies at the
top of the screen.
To make things more difficult players have limited time
in form of a fuel tank which will get refilled after they
cleared a number of waves. Besides that, their space-
Rarity: 6 craft is equipped with a laser that tends to overheat.
“mobygames.com”

Thunderground 8.2
Developer Sega (Jeff Lorenz)
Publisher Sega
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

There are six Core nuclear bases on the planet’s sur-

face. Players must burrow underground to each of
these bases and destroy them. But they are guarded by
patrolling Core Ranger tanks that if they get players in
their line of fire, will destroy them.
The PAL release was titled Tank City.

Rarity: 4

Time Pilot 5.6

Developer Coleco (Harley H. Puthuff, Jr.)
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Time Pilot is a multi-directional scrolling shooter and

free-roaming aerial combat arcade game designed by
Yoshiki Okamoto, and released by Konami in 1982.
The player assumes the role of a pilot of a futuristic
fighter jet, trying to rescue fellow pilots trapped in
different time eras. The player must fight off hordes
of enemy craft and defeat the mother ship (or “boss”)
present in every level. Like many games of the era, the
Rarity: 5 game was ported to game consoles for personal use.
 Tomarc the Barbarian • 187

5.4 Title Match Pro Wrestling

Developer Absolute Entertainment (Alex DeMeo)
Publisher Absolute Entertainment
Release date 1987
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Title Match is a wrestling game which can be played

by one or two players. There are four different wres-
tlers players can choose from, and two modes of game-
play (one on one, or tag team). Each wrestler can kick,
punch, and perform several moves such as the airplane
spin, body slam, power lift, and more. Using the avail-
able moves players need to deplete your opponents en-
ergy and pin him for three counts.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

8.0 Tomarc the Barbarian

Developer Xonox (Anthony R. Henderson)
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Tomarc the Barbarian Senta is being held captive in

a magical cage, and Tomarc needs to rescue her. In this
action game players will control both Tomarc and Sen-
ta simultaneously. Tomarc is lost in a series of caves
somewhere searching for his magic sword, and then
must locate Senta to set her free. Deadly rats and other
dangers must be avoided as he run and jump around the
caves. Meanwhile, Senta must defend herself from gi-
ant bats and other creatures while trapped in the cage. Rarity: 7

8.2 Tomcat: The F-14 Fighter Simulator

Developer Absolute Entertainment (Dan Kitchen)
Publisher Absolute Entertainment
Release date 1988
Genre Simulation, Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In this game, players become a F-14 Naval Aviator un-

dergoing seek and destroy missions while dodging and
gunning enemy bogeys in deadly dogfights with their
20mm cannon and air-to-air missiles.
The cockpit comes with state of the art technology:
Display and main computer, Bogey Alert Indicator, G-
Force Indicator, Electronic Counter Measures, and a
Cannon Overheat Indicator. Rarity: 4
188 • Towering Inferno

Tooth Protectors 7.3

Developer DSD/Camelot (Michael Doherty, Clyde Hager)
Publisher Johnson & Johnson
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Tooth Protectors is a rare video game for the Atari 2600

video game console. It was released exclusively via
mail order in 1983 by American pharmaceutical and
consumer goods manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.
The gameplay is similar to that of Activision’s Ka-
boom!, in which the player must prevent objects drop-
ping from the top of the screen from reaching the bot-
Rarity: 9 tom by positioning their character directly under the
falling objects.

Towering Inferno 6.3

Developer Western Technologies (P: Paul Newell, D:Tom Sloper)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The player controls a fireman going through a burning

skyscraper to save victims and put out the fires. On
each floor of the building, the player must put out the
flames and reach the panel that opens the doors to get
back out. While doing so, there is a meter at the top
showing how many people are on that floor. The object
is to work as fast as the players can while avoiding and
putting out flames to open the doors and escape with
Rarity: 3 the most people remaining on the meter.

Track & Field 5.7

Developer Atari (Seth Lipkin, Jaques Hugon)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

One of the best coin-op conversions available for the

Atari 2600, this one must be played with the Track and
Field controller for the best experience (it is compat-
ible with a standard joystick however). It was sold in
an oversized box that included the controller, although
the controller was also sold separately for use with
other systems such as the Commodore 64 and various
Atari computers.
Rarity: 6
“atariage.com”
 Trick Shot • 189

6.9 Trick Shot

Developer Imagic (Dennis Koble)
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Trick Shot was released alongside Demon Attack and

Star Voyager as Imagic’s first three titles. Trick Shot
is the only pool simulation available in the 2600’s li-
brary, but it does its job quite well. However, the Atari
2600’s limitations do come into play in that Trick Shot
only displays three balls in addition to the cue ball on
screen at once. There are three different types of games
available: Trickshot, Pool, and English Billiards.
Rarity: 3
“atariage.com”
Trick Shot was programmed by Dennis Koble, who
190 • Tron: Deadly Discs

Tron: Deadly Discs 7.0

Developer M-Network (Brett Stutz, Jeff Ronne)
Publisher M-Network, INTV, Telegames
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Tron: Deadly Discs, the player takes the role of

Tron, fighting successive waves of enemy Disc-throw-
ers and Recognizers in a never-ending quest to achieve
the highest score.
As Tron, the player controls a red man with a yellow
Disc. He is pitted in a square arena with black walls.
Enemies will appear through doorways and throw their
Rarity: 3 Discs at him. The player has to eliminate all the en-
emies with his own Disc.
 Turmoil • 191

7.2 Tunnel Runner

Developer CBS Electronics (Richard K. Balaska Jr.)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Created in 1983 Tunnel Runner was one of the very first

3D first person view games ever, long before Wolfen-
stein 3-D. It was one of three games for the Atari 2600
featuring RAM Plus (the other two being Omega Race
and Mountain King), where the cartridge itself con-
tained an additional 256 bytes of RAM to supplement
the console’s 128 bytes.
Probably the hardest CBS game to find, especially Rarity: 4
with the box.

6.9 Turmoil
Developer Sirius Software (Mark Turmell)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Turmoil is a fast-paced shooter. Players pilot a ship that

is trapped within a chamber of seven tunnels. The ship
can only move up and down along a vertical corridor
connecting the tunnels. They are not alone, however. A
variety of enemies travel along these tunnels, focused
on destroying the players. Therefore, the ultimate ob-
jective of “Turmoil” is to zoom up and down the center
alley and blast aliens as they streak by.
Rarity: 3
“mobygames.com”
Keep shooting and keep moving, and you will survive

6.1 Tutankham
Developer Parker Brothers (Dave Engman)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Release date 1983
Genre Maze, Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Tutankham was first released as a 1982 arcade game.

The game was originally titled Tutankhamen, but it
was discovered that the full name could not fit on the
arcade cabinet, so the title was shortened.
Tutankham is a combination of maze and shoot ‘em
up. Taking on the role of an explorer grave robbing
Tutankhamun’s tomb, the player is chased by creatures
such as asps, vultures, parrots, bats, dragons, and even Rarity: 3
curses, all that kill the player on contact.
192 • Up n’ Down

Universal Chaos 6.3

Developer Telegames
Publisher Telegames
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players take control of a tank in enemy territory. As

they navigate the columns and rows, they’ll need to
avoid crashing into enemy tanks while they blow them
to up.
This game is actually CBS Electronic’s Targ with some
minor changes. Besides the different enemy graphics
and slightly different sound effects, the screen changes
Rarity: 5 color with each level. Also, most of the bugs present in
Targ are absent, and the Spectar does appear.

Up n’ Down 5.2
Developer Beck-Tech (Phat Ho)
Publisher Sega
Release date 1984
Genre Racing, Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Up’n Down was first released in 1983 by Sega as an

arcade game, then later ported to the Atari 2600. In it
the player drives a car forward and backward along
a branching, vertically scrolling track, collecting flags
and jumping on other cars to destroy them.
The AtariAge rarity guide gives the 2600 version of
Up’n Down a rating of “7 - Very Rare”, the most rare
Rarity: 7 rating of any game released by Sega for the 2600.
 Venture • 193

7.1 Vanguard
Developer Atari (Joseph Biel)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Vanguard, first released as a 1981 arcade game by

TOSE, is similar to Scramble, in that the player con-
trols a ship urged along a surrounding conduit and with
a limited amount of fuel that constantly depletes.
The Atari 2600 version was reviewed by Video maga-
zine in its “Arcade Alley” column where it was de-
scribed as “a marvelous home-arcade translation” of
the original arcade version. Rarity: 2

6.9 Venture
Developer CommaVid (Joseph Biel)
Publisher Atari, Coleco
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The goal of Venture is to collect treasure from a dun-

geon. Winky is equipped with a bow and arrow and
explores a dungeon with rooms and hallways. The
hallways are patrolled by large, tentacled monsters
named Hallmonsters, which cannot be killed, injured,
or stopped in any way. Once in a room, Winky may
kill monsters, avoid traps and gather treasures. If they
stay in any room too long, a Hallmonster will enter the
room, chase and kill them. Rarity: 2

5.7 Video Checkers

Developer Atari (Carol Shaw)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Board game
Mode 1-2 Players

In this classic game of checkers players can play with

a friend or many different levels of computer AI. Mas-
tering all of them will take skill and strategy, as well
as a bit of luck. Video Checkers follows the standard
checkers rules with the following rules: if there is a
jump available, players must take it and if they get to
king’s row and are promoted, they cannot move again
that turn but must wait for their next turn.
Rarity: 2
“mobygames.com”
Sears: 3
194 • Video Jogger

Video Chess 5.3

Developer Atari (Bob Whitehead, Larry Wagner)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1979
Genre Board game
Mode 1 Player

Video Chess was developed by Larry Wagner (AI) and

Bob Whitehead. The box art of the first production run
of the Atari Video Computer System (or VCS) featured
a chess piece, even though Atari at the time was not
contemplating designing a chess game. A man from
Florida supposedly sued Atari over the box art; how-
ever, in an interview, Video Chess programmer Bob
Whitehead said he was not aware of such a lawsuit.
Rarity: 3

Video Jogger 5.0

Developer Exus
Publisher Exus
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

New Family Fun & Fitness: Video Jogger and Video Reflex
contained cartridges for Video Jogger and Video Reflex as
well as the Foot Craz controller.
Video Jogger is a game to help players exercise. Once
around the track is approximately thirty-five yards. To be-
gin, players step on the green dot on the pad. There are two
tracks. The upper one is slower and the lower is faster. To
play, they step, alternately, on the blue and orange dots to
Rarity: 9
make the smiley go around the track.

Video Life 8.3

Developer CommaVid (D/P: John Bronstein D: Gaines, Biel)
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1981
Genre Simulation
Mode 1-2 Players

Video Life is a version of the zero-player cellular au-

tomaton known as Conway’s Game of Life. Video Life
was only available through a special mail order offer
to owners of CommaVid’s Magicard, which itself is
considered to be one of the rarest Atari 2600 cartridges
ever released. According to original CommaVid co-
owner Irwin Gaines, only 20 cartridges or less of Vid-
eo Life were ever made. Editors of AtariAge estimate
Rarity: 10 approximately 500 cartridges were produced.
 Video Pinball • 195

6.5 Video Olympics

Developer Atari (Joe Decuir)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1977
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Video Olympics, one of the nine original launch titles,

is a port of Atari’s popular Pong series. The games are
a collection of “bat and ball” style games, including
several previously released by Atari as coin-ops in the
early 1970s. The games are played using the 2600s
paddle controllers, and are for one to four players.
The game includes 50 games and variations. Some of
note are; Handball, Foozpong, Volleyball, Super Pong, Rarity: 2
Pong Doubles, Ice hockey and Quadrapong. “21 video olympics”: 3
Sears: 3

7.1 Video Pinball

Developer Atari (Bob Smith)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1980
Genre Pinball
Mode 1-2 Players

Arcade Pinball feature actual simulations of a pinball

machine ball shooter, flippers, bumpers and spinners.
The game implemented a simulation of a real ball’s ac-
tual physics. The game also features a unique rollover
bonus with an Atari logo on the playfield; hitting the
logo four times results in an extra ball.
Most of the gameplay involves learning how to per-
form specific functions, such as launching the ball or Rarity: 1
activating the flippers, with the Atari 2600 joystick. Sears: 3

5.0 Video Reflex

Developer Exus
Publisher Exus
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This was the second game in the New Family Fun & Fitness
package.
Players must step on the dot the same color as square the
bug is on. If they wait too long or step on the wrong dot,
they lose one of their eight lives. In later levels, they will
have a bug and a butterfly. They must step on the bug but
not the butterfly.
“mobygames.com” Rarity: 9
196 • Wall Ball

Wabbit 4.7
Developer Apollo (Ban Tran)
Publisher Apollo
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In Wabbit players control farmer Billie Sue who needs

to protect her carrot crops. The field is being overrun
by rabbits, and the players need to chase them away.
On each side of the screen are five rabbit holes; the
rabbits will come running out of the holes and try to
steal the carrots. They need to throw rotten eggs at the
rabbits to scare them away. Several game variations
are included which allow one, two, or three rabbits to
Rarity: 4 appear at a time.

Wall Ball 3.6

Developer Avalon Hill (Duncan Scott)
Publisher Avalon Hill
Release date 1983
Genre Breakout
Mode 1 Player

Wall Ball, also known as 3-D Brickaway, is a racquet-

ball-like game that is best described as a 3D variation
of Breakout.
Players are at the end on a rectangular room. On the
other end is a wall made of bricks or blocks. The ball
travels down to the wall and knocks out a brick. It then
returns to the players end where they must use a squar-
Rarity: 7 ish paddle to send the ball back to the wall. If the ball
gets past the paddle, they lose a ball.

Wall Defender 6.2

Developer Bomb
Publisher Bomb
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players are on the outer wall of a space fortress and

must defend it from aliens.
Aliens will come from any of the four sides of the
screen and players must shoot them before they ram
the wall. If ten aliens or one super alien hit the wall,
the outermost wall and the bridges connecting it to the
next wall in will collapse. Players can only shoot in the
Rarity: 9 direction on the wall side they are on.
“mobygames.com”
 Warplock • 197

7.7 Warlords
Developer Atari (Carla Meninsky)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1981
Genre Action
Mode 1-4 Players

Warlords is a battle between four warlords, 1-4 of

which can be controlled by the player(s). The goal of
the game is for one player to break down the walls of
the surrounding warlords and destroy the icon at the
center. This is accomplished by bouncing a fireball off
of a cursor that the player moves around the outer layer
of their castle. When an opponent’s icon is destroyed it
releases another fire ball onto the game field.
Rarity: 1
Sears: 2

4.2 Warplock
Developer Data Age
Publisher Data Age
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The players are warping along when suddenly, space

pirates approach attempting to disable the players so
they can board. The only thing they have left is their
tachyon launcher that moves back and forth and fires a
tachyon beam. Players must hold off the space pirates
for as long as they can.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 3

7.3 Winter Games

Developer Epyx (Steve A. Baker, Peter Engelbrite, Tod Frye)
Publisher Epyx
Release date 1987
Genre Sports
Mode 1-8 Players

A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly suc-

cessful Summer Games, Winter Games was released
in 1985 for the Commodore 64 and later ported to sev-
eral popular home computers and video game consoles
of the 1980s.
The game was presented as a virtual multi-sport carni-
val called the “Epyx Winter Games” (there was no of-
ficial IOC licensing in place) with up to 8 players each Rarity: 4
taking turns competing in various events.
198 • Word Zapper

Wizard of Wor 6.8

Developer Roklan (Joe Hellesen, Joe Wagner)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Release date 1982
Genre Action, Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Wizard of Wor is an action game for one or two play-

ers. The game takes the form of several maze-like dun-
geons infested with monsters. The players’ characters,
called Worriors, must kill all the monsters by shooting
them. In a two-player game, the players are also able to
shoot each other’s Worriors, earning bonus points and
causing the other player to lose a life. Team-oriented
players can successfully advance through the game by
Rarity: 3 standing back-to-back and firing at everything.

Word Zapper 5.2

Developer Wickstead Design (Henry Will IV)
Publisher U.S. Games
Release date 1982
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In Word Zapper the goal is to zap three words in 99

seconds. First, the current word will appear at the bot-
tom of the screen. Players then have to recreate this
word by controlling their spaceship and zapping letters
in the correct order which will be scrolling by at the
top of the screen. To make this task more challeng-
ing, various asteroids will fly by horizontally; some as-
teroids will cause players to lose time, others destroy
Rarity: 3 their ship ending the game.

Worm War I 6.9

Developer Sirius Software (David Lubar)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Worm War I, written by David Lubar, is a hybrid fixed

shooter and vertically-scrolling game. The game plays
like a fixed shooter, with the player controlling a tank
firing at large worms. The screen auto scrolls up as
the worms and blocks move down. Every time all the
worms are wiped out, a new set spawns at the top of the
screen. Mushrooms can be shot to clear all the worms.
There are 99 waves.
Rarity: 3
 Xenophobe • 199

3.6 X-Man
Developer Universal Gamex (D: Roberts, P: Poon, G: Castillo)
Publisher Universal Gamex
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This game has nothing to do with the similarly named

Marvel comic book. Rather, it is a pornographic vid-
eogame, the only title made by this company. It faced
protest from women’s groups when it was released,
and most retailers declined to carry it. It is consequent-
ly very hard to find today. It is easier to find in PAL
format, so readers should note that the rarity value is
for the NTSC version.
Rarity: 9
“atariage.com”

6.5 Xenophobe
Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1990
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Starbases, moons, ships, and space cities are infested

with aliens, and the players have to kill the aliens be-
fore each is completely overrun. The goal of each level
is to defeat all the aliens before time runs out. Some
rooms routinely display the percentage of alien infec-
tion and time remaining until self-destruct when the
level ends. Levels may contain more than one floor,
and players use elevators to move between floors to
defeat all of the aliens. Rarity: 7
200 • Yars’ Revenge

Yars’ Revenge 7.7

Developer Atari (Howard Scott Warshaw)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

The player controls an insect-like creature called a Yar

who must nibble or shoot through a barrier in order
to fire his Zorlon Cannon into the breach. The objec-
tive is to destroy the evil Qotile, which exists on the
other side of the barrier. The Qotile can shoot at the
Yar, even if the barrier is undamaged, by turning into
the Swirl. The player is warned before the shot is fired,
and can retreat to a safe distance to dodge the enemy’s
Rarity: 2 energy blast.
Red Label: 5
Sears: 4
 Zaxxon • 201

6.6 Z-Tack
Developer Bomb (Robert L. Esken Jr.)
Publisher Bomb
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Players is a flying saucer trying to destroy cities be-

low. The cities will fire missiles at them to stop them.
In later levels, the missiles turn into balloon bombs
that they mustn’t run into and later levels, the balloon
bombs turn into horizontally travelling missiles if they
are level with the balloon.
There are four game variations. Games one and two
are one or two player at a beginner level. Games three Rarity: 9
and four are one or two player at advanced level.

6.6 Zaxxon
Developer Coleco
Publisher Coleco
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

In the adaptation of Sega’s hit arcade game, players pi-

lot a space ship through a 3-dimensional fortress. Play-
ers shoot stuff and avoid running into anything and try
to defeat the robot Zaxxon at the end. They only have
a limited time to hit Zaxxon in his weak spot several
times before he launches a missile at them that can not
be avoided.
“atariguide.com”
Rarity: 3
202 • Overseas Releases

Overseas Releases
These pages include games released in regions other than North-America. Some these
games were released in North-America though, through publishers like Zellers, Panda
and “Taiwan” publishers. Most of the games listed here may fall in the “unlicensed”
category.
I have tried to only list each unique game once, even if it has been released under dif-
ferent names and by different companies. I used AtariMania.com alot in this process.

Acid Drop 4.0

Developer Salu (Dennis M. Kis)
Publisher Salu
Release date 1992
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Acid Drop is a falling block game similar to Columns.

The object of the game is to create a horizontal or ver-
tical line of three or more blocks of the same color,
which will then disappear. The remaining blocks will
fall down, but won’t disappear if they form another
line. Every 10,000 points a special block will appear
(the Acid Drop) which removes three columns of
blocks and marks the beginning of the next level.

5.2
Asteroid Fire
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Asteroid Fire is a space-shooter for the Atari 2600 that

was released in Europe.
Other versions with a different title: Asteroid Belt,
Great Escape, and Time Machine.
 Overseas Releases • 203

Astrowar
Developer Dimax
Publisher Dimax, Sinmax
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

This space shooter was released as a bootleg (but in

official packaging) for the Atari 2600.
Other versions with a different title: Astro War, Astro-
War, Dead-Ray, Kampf im Asteroiden-Gürtel, Meteor
Defense, Missile War, Sternen-Kampf, Sternkrieg, and
War 2000.

5.2 Bobby is Going Home

Developer Bit Corp
Publisher CCE
Release date 1983
Genre Action-platformer
Mode 1 Player

The player controls a boy named Bobby who has to

pass through seven screens, jump over animals like
butterflies, ducks and other hazards. The game play re-
sembles Pitfall!. At the end of the game all the player
has to do is get Bobby into the house, and there the
next level will show. Hitting reset and select change the
style of flowers that show at the bottom of the screen.

Rarity: 3
204 • Overseas Releases

Dancing Plate 5.2

Developer Zimag
Publisher Bit Corp.
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Dancing Plates is the PAL version of Dishaster. The

game feature oriental-themed graphics and adds eight
game variations.
In both Dishaster and Dancing Plate, players have a
plate spinning on top of a skinny stick. After a time,
the plate begins to wobble. When this happens, play-
ers must move under the plate and press the button,
repeatedly, to get the plate up to speed again.

4.5
Dragon Defender
Developer n/a
Publisher Hi-Score, Home Vision, Suntek
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Other versions with a different title: Arena Fight,

Dragon Attack, and Im Schutz der Drachen. The Arena
Fight version is shown in a Home Vision ad, but still
not found. It’s most probably the same game as Drag-
on Defender.
“atarimania.com”

The End of the World

Developer Dimax, Sinmax
Publisher Dimax, Sinmax
Release date n/a
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

End of the World is a space shooter

Other versions with a different title: Invasion aus der
Galaxis, Laser Base, Mid-Time, Space War, War Stars,
Weltuntergang, and World End.
“atarimania.com”
 Overseas Releases • 205

Frisco
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This game is based on the code of Pac-Man.

It’s still not known what the initials R.J.P.G. stand for.
Other versions with a different title: Jagd auf Diaman-
ten-Frisco, Peter Penguin, Seal to Whales, and Square
Game.
“atarimania.com”

7.2 Fatal Run

Developer Sculptured Software (Steve Aguirre)
Publisher Atari
Release date 1990
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

In this post-apocalyptic driving/racing game play-

ers must travel to various towns delivering medicine,
while on their way to a missile base which houses a
rocket that can save the world. While driving through
the 32 levels, they’ll meet countless enemies who want
to stop them from achieving their goal. The car boasts
many weapons to help them out, including dynamite,
rockets, oil slicks, smoke screens, and machine guns.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

4.5 Forest
Developer Sancho
Publisher Sancho
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Forest players must make their way two screens

to the right to get to the tree. Animals will come at
them from either side of the screen. Players must either
jump over the animal or press the button and push the
joystick in the desired direction to chop them with the
axe. Snakes cannot be chopped, only jumped over.
“mobygames.com”
206 • Overseas Releases

3.6
Ghostbusters II
Developer Activision
Publisher Salu
Release date 1992
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Ghostbusters II was only released in Europe. Activi-

sion originally programmed it, but it was decided that
the US market for 2600 games was dying, so they only
sold it overseas where the 2600 still had a reasonably
strong presence. Salu distributed it overseas.
“atariage.com”

Rarity: 3

Go Go Home
Developer Dimax, Sinmax
Publisher Dimax, Sinmax
Release date 1983
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

In the game an alien crashed on Earth and to get back

to his planet he must find the four pieces of his space-
craft.
Other versions with a different title: Alien’s Return,
Col ‘N’, E.T Go Home, E.T. Will nach Hause, Go Go
Home Monster, Das Raumschiff, UFI und Sein Ge-
fährlicher Einsatz.

Immies & Aggies 4.5

Developer ZiMAG
Publisher ZiMAG
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The goal of the game appears to be to shoot the proper

colored marble (square) with the little blaster. On the
top of the screen there is colored box that displays the
current color, while several different shaped squares
will appear in a random pattern in the middle of the
screen. As the colored box slowly disappears, players
must shoot as many squares matching the current color
as they can.
“Jason Scott”
 Overseas Releases • 207

Inca Gold
Developer Funvision
Publisher Funvision
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

Inca Gold plays very similar to Donkey Kong. The

player controls an ‘adventurer’ (called Kong in some
versions of the game) and has to reach the treasures the
evil octopus hid away.
Other versions with a different title: Donkey Kong,
Pac Kong, Pac-Kong, Spider Kong, Spider Maze, Spi-
der Monster, and Tonky Kon.
“retrogames.cz”

6.0 IQ 180
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

IQ 180 is a matching game. While the music plays,

players have to remember the positions of all the let-
ters in two panels. Then they have to match up letters
in the first panel with letters in the second.
The game was also released as I.Q. Memory Teaser.
“supercat@atariage.com”

KLAX
Developer Axlon
Publisher Atari
Release date 1990
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

An action/puzzle game, the object is to catch assorted

color falling tiles and create rows, columns, or diago-
nals of a single color. Each level requires a different
pattern to be made, and the tiles fall faster, more at
a time, and in an increasing number of colors as the
game progresses.
“mobygames.com”

Rarity: 4
208 • Overseas Releases

Lilly Adventure 5.0

Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Lilly Adventure is a platform game developed by

Home Vision and released on Atari 2600. The game
appears to be either a remake or a hack of Bobby Geht
Heim, which was also remade or hacked as Jumping
Jack.
Other versions with a different title: Alices Abenteuer,
Jacky Adventure, Lily, Lily Adventure, and Wilma
Wanderer.
“venturebeat.com”

Magic Carpet
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

This game is shown in a Home Vision ad, but still not

found....
“atarimania.com”

Megaboy Compact
Developer Dynacom
Publisher Dynacom
Release date n/a
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1 Player

This was the pack-in game for the Megaboy. It is a 64K

educational game. The cartridge contain quiz games in
four disciplines: Math, English, Music and Science.
The console was released in Brazil and many were
sold to schools.
“atarihq.com”
 Overseas Releases • 209

5.0 Mission 3,000 A.D.

Developer Bit Corporation
Publisher Bit Corporation
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Mission 3000 is an arcade action game where players

control the space ship Thunderhawk on a mission to
destroy enemy starbases. On each level, there are six
heavily guarded starbases which they need to locate
and destroy. To help out, at the bottom of the screen
is a scanner which shows the location of the Thunder-
hawk as well as the starbases.
“mobygames.com”

Missile Control
Developer Video Gems
Publisher Video Gems
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Missile Control is a Missile Command-style game.

The player has to defend their cities from incoming
bombs fire by alien spaceships.
Other versions with a different title: Laaser, Raketen-
Angriff, and Star Force.

3.5
Mission Survive
Developer Video Gems
Publisher Video Gems
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In Mission Survive, a blatant Moon Patrol clone, play-

ers control a car that is driving on a planet while being
shot at by enemy ships. Players need to destroy ships
and avoid obstacles.
“atari2600.com.br”
210 • Overseas Releases

Motocross
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Suntek, Quelle
Release date n/a
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Motocross is a motorcycle racing game viewed from a

top-down perspective. Players rides a bike against an
endless number of opponents on a straight road, trying
to avoid running into them. In addition, the player has
to watch the amount of gas left in the tank. The fuel
gauge can be restored by driving over fuel cans. The
goal of the game is to overtake a specified amount of
bikes. Once this is accomplished, a new “scene” starts,
and the difficulty is increased.

Mr. Postman 7.0

Developer Bit Corporation
Publisher Bit Corporation
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Mr. Postman is an original climbing game. Players try

to exit the room. The game is part puzzle part strategy.
Other versions with a different title: Carrier Pigeon,
Der Geheimkurier, Mr. Postman - Der Postmann, Mr.
Postman - O Carteiro, Postman, and Señor Cartero.
“atarimania.com”

6.0
My Golf
Developer Imagineering (David Lubar)
Publisher HES
Release date 1990
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

My Golf is a Sports game, developed by Imagineering

Inc and published by HES Interactive, which was only
released in Europe in 1990.
The game was also released by Salu with the same title.

Rarity: 4
 Overseas Releases • 211

A Mysterious Thief
Developer ZiMAG
Publisher ZiMAG
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players

The goal is to steal as many items from the building

before the timer expires. However to accomplish this
task players have to be sneaky. Unfortunately the killer
guard dogs and the local security man have been alert-
ed to the thiefs presence and are out to put and end to
the one man crime spree.
Other versions with a different title: Criminal Persuit,
Criminal Pursuit, Criminal Run, Eddy Langfinger, der
Museumsdieb, and A Misterious Thief.

4.2 Nightmare
Developer Sancho
Publisher Sancho
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Nightmare, at it’s core, is a haphazardly put togeth-

er, unfair attempt at making a fast paced platforming
game. The goal of each level is not always understood.
Unfair enemy placement can cause unavoidable deaths.
Timers for each level are unfair as they vary greatly
and the player must guess what needs to be done.
Other versions with a different title: Dream Flight, and
Stunt Man.
“mediahindsight.com”

5.0

Nuts
Developer TechnoVision
Publisher TechnoVision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In Nuts players shoot squirrels who try to steal their

nuts.
212 • Overseas Releases

Open Sesame 4.6

Developer Puzzy, Bit Corporation
Publisher Puzzy, Bit Corporation
Release date 1982
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Open, Sesame! is an action platform game. Players

control Ali Baba, and the goal is to reach the cave of
treasures. The treasury entrance is at the top of the
screen, and they begin each level at the bottom and
need to climb their way up. To do so, they will need to
find a good location where they can throw a rope up to
the next platform and climb up. To hinder the progress,
there are guards wandering each of the floors. If the
players is caught, they’ll lose a life.

3.0
Panda Chase
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

In Panda Chase the player controls a small panda in his

search for bamboo in the forest.
Other versions with a different title: Der Hungrige
Panda, Panda, Panda (Quest), Panda Rescue, and UFO
Attack.

Parachute 6.3
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Parachute puts the player in the role of parachutist who

is falling gently from the sky. In order to land safely,
the player must evade aeroplanes, helicopters, birds
and hot air balloons.
Other versions with a different title: Sky Drive, Sky-
diver, and Vom Himmel durch die Hölle. It was also
pre-copied on the Repro Cart that came packed with
the Repro Game Kit.
“atarimania.com”
 Overseas Releases • 213

8.5
Pharaoh’s Curse
Developer TechnoVision
Publisher TechnoVision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Only released in Europe, this Dig Dug rip-off has play-

ers burrowing their way though an underground Egyp-
tian tomb in an attempt to collect treasure and shoot (or
squish) an evil snake and the mummy of the Pharaoh.
“classicgames.about.com”

Pick ‘n Pile
Developer Ubisoft
Publisher Salu
Release date 1990
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Pick ‘n Pile is a Tetris-style puzzle game. On each lev-

el there are a variety of symbols arranged in columns
on the screen. By moving the symbols around, players
need to create columns which contain identical sym-
bols; once all the symbols in a column are the same,
that column disappears. The goal is to earn points and
complete the levels by making all of the symbols on
the screen disappear.
Rarity: 4
“mobygames.com”

Pizza Chef
Developer ZiMAG
Publisher CCE
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1 Player

Pizza Chef was a game supposedly programmed by

Zimag, but was never released by them. Somehow
CCE got their hands on this title and released it in Bra-
zil.
“atariage.com”
214 • Overseas Releases

Play Farm
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This game is shown in a Home Vision ad, but still not

found. It’s most probably the same game as Farmyard
Fun from Suntek.
“atarimania.com”

Pumuckl I
Developer ITT Family Games
Publisher ITT Family Games
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

This game was most likely never released by ITT Fam-

ily Games. The game is based on the code of Panda
Chase from Home Vision (a little panda heads show up
when players run out of time).
Other versions with a different title: Aufruhr im Zoo,
and Zoo Fun.
“atarimania.com”

2.0
Racing Car
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

The white cartridge version of Racing Car is extremely

rare.
Other versions with a different title: Car Racing, Free
Way, Grand Prize, and Hell Driver.
“atarimania.com”
 Overseas Releases • 215

3.0 Save Our Ship

Developer TechnoVision
Publisher TechnoVision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of a captain of a capital ship, sail-

ing the Spanish Main. Suddenly they’re attacked by
hordes of ruthless, cut-throat Pirates. Dozens of them
swarm aboard and only the captain, with his trusty cut-
lass, can Save his Ship. Players have to out-think, out
manoeuvre and out-fight them all. Otherwise they’re
sunk.
“retrogames.cz”

5.0
Ski Hunt
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Ski Hunt is a sports game developed by Homevision

and released on Atari 2600.
Other versions with a different title: Mountain Man,
Ski-Dodge’m, Ski-Jagd, Sky Hunt, Winter Vocation,
and Winterjagd.

Ski Run
Developer Suntek
Publisher Suntek
Release date n/a
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Ski Run has similarities with “Skiing”. However, the

gameplay is really quite simple and the game looks un-
finished.
Other versions with a different title: Abfahrtslauf.
“Theshadowsnose@youtube.com”
216 • Overseas Releases

3.0
Sky Alien
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Sky Alien is another space shooter from Home Vision.

Other versions with a different title: Assault, Cosmic
Free Fire, Fire Birds, Invasion der UFO’S, Monster
aus dem All, Orbit-Base, Scorpion, and Space Raider.

Snail Against Squirrel 5.2

Developer Bit Corporation
Publisher Bit Corporation
Release date 1983
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Snail Against Squirrel was a weird little game. Players

take the role of a squirrel that is hoarding acorns and
snails get in the way.
Other versions with a different title: Ardilla, La Chioc-
ciola e Lo Scoiattolo, Schnecke gegen Eichhörnchen/
Schnecke und Eichhörnchen, Snail against Squirrel -
Schnecke gegen Eichhörnchen, Squirrel, Squirrel &
Snail, and Squirrel - O Esquilo.
“Tyler_@gamefaq.com”
 Overseas Releases • 217

Space Tunnel
Developer Puzzy
Publisher Puzzy
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The Brazillian release of SpaceMaster X-7 was also

named Space Tunnel there, so Brazil ended up having
two games with the same title.
Other versions with a different title: Baja Buggies,
Corredor Cosmico, Cosmic Corridor, Cosmic War,
Space Robot, Space Tunnel - Le Tunnel de L’Estace,
Space Tunnel - O Túnel Espacial, Space Tunnel -
Weltraum-Tunnel, Tunnel Spaziale, and Weltraum- Rarity (Puzzy): 9
Tunnel/Weltraumtunnel.

Stone Age
Developer CCE
Publisher CCE
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Stone Age, a clone of Pengo, is the same game as the

never released Stone Age from TechnoVision.

5.3 Surfer’s Paradise

Developer Video Gems
Publisher Video Gems
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Surfer’s Paradise, the player’s objective is to stay on

top of a wave as long as possible. From time to time, a
shark will approach the player who can in turn jump to
try to avoid the shark.
The underwater sequence makes up the second part of
the game. Here, the player has to get from the left side
of the screen to the right side and back onto their surf
board. However, there’s a sunken galleon in their way.
“mobygames.com”
218 • Overseas Releases

Time Warp
Developer Funvision
Publisher Funvision
Release date 1982
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Time Warp has players placed in a spacecraft flying

through what looks like a cave, while taking on sev-
eral enemies that attack them from the right side of the
screen. After surviving a few rounds, they’ll go into an
‘underground’ cave where they fly through a treacher-
ous corridor and attempt to dock with a refueling sta-
tion.

Rarity (zellers): 5 The blue labelled version of this game owns a Holy
Grail status.

Topsy/Topy 6.0
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Hole Hunter is a whack-a-mole-style game. Players

control a man with a hammer, who seems to be in the
desert, and is surrounded by holes. Periodically the
holes will light up and then some sort of rodent ap-
pears popping out of it and players need to smash him
back down his burrow. If they don’t hit him in time
then he will escape and run around the screen trying to
bite the players.
“Jason Scott@archive.org”

4.0
Treasure Below
Developer Video Gems
Publisher Video Gems
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Treasure Below, players dive for the golden treasure.

They got their trusty knife and speargun for protection
from the jelly fish, octopus and sharks. The action gets
faster the longer players are in action.
 Overseas Releases • 219

Treasure Discovery
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Treasure Discovery players take the role of a pirate

in search of treasure. To get these treasures he must
destroy other ships for to collect the treasures. The
game has complicated gameplay, because when play-
ers shoot, they need to set the angle of the shoot.
Other versions with a different title: Kampf um die
Schatzinsel, and Treasure Island.
“atari2600.com.br”

Walker
Developer Home Vision Cart is of
Schussel, der Polizistenschreck
Publisher Suntek
Release date n/a
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

The goal of the game is to walk down the street and

reach the other end of the screen before the time run
out. This does not appear in the form of bars, but by
the number of points. With every second that passes,
points are continuously withdrawn, and if it is reduced
to zero, the game ends.
Other versions with a different title: Robin, and Schus-
sel, der Polizistenschreck. The game Robin is shown in
a Home Vision ad, but still not found.

2.0 Wall Break

Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1983
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role as the lone defender of a space

fortress from a wave of hostile aliens. Aliens will come
from any of the four sides of the screen and players
must prevent them from raming into the walls of the
fortress.
Other versions with a different title: Break-Down,
Capture, Wall Defender, and Wall-Defender.
“Game Bitz Atari@youtube.com”
220 • Overseas Releases

Wing War 9.0

Developer Imagic
Publisher Imagic
Release date 1983
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Wing War is a rather unique game that was only avail-

able in Europe, even though it was announced for the
US market. The gameplay is a little like the classic ar-
cade game Joust, except it’s a bit more complex and
involves a lot of exploration. In the game, players con-
trol a dragon. Beginning in a underground cave, the
goal is to capture a sparkling diamond. To do this, it
will first need to unlock the secret passage by bringing
Rarity: 7 a fire, water and air crystal back to the cave.

Words-Attack
Developer Sancho
Publisher Sancho
Release date 1983
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1-2 Players

This is am extremely rare Sancho prototype. Only one

cartridge is known to exist.
The game seems to be unfinished, because it still has
over 1K of free space left that could have been used for
a valid ‘word pool’. It was most probably originally
made by Home Vision, because a Home Vision logo
has been found inside this ROM.
“atarimania.com”

X Mission 5.0
Developer Home Vision
Publisher Home Vision
Release date 1984
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In X Mission players take the role of a UFO. What

they have to do is shoot the enemy’s in their path.
Other versions with a different title: Raumpatrouille,
amd UFO Patrol.
 Overseas Releases • 221

Double-Game Package:
Fox & Goat / Pygmy
Developer n/a
Publisher Otto Versand
Release date n/a
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

Fox & Goat, a shooter, is the same game as Nuts.

Pygmy, a clone of Lock’N’Chase, is a maze game.

Double-Game Package:
Mr. T / My Way
Developer n/a
Publisher Otto Versand
Release date n/a
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

Mr.T is a clone of Fast Eddie, a platform game in which

players must collect hearts.
In My Way, players maneuver their duck through the
maze, while avoiding the rodents that move back and
forth. The game was also released as Challenge by Zel-
lers.

Home Vision
Home Vision was a Belgian brand used by the company VDI for the dis-
tribution of Atari 2600 video games created by the Taiwan-based compa-
ny Gem International Corporation. Several games with the Home Vision
brand were later released by other companies like ITT Family Games
(from Germany) or RainbowVision (from Taiwan). VDI also manufac-
tured its own video game system and a personal computer and released
them with the Home Vision label.
222 • Multicart

Multicart
In video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate
games are available individually for purchase or were previously available individually. For this reason, col-
lections, anthologies, and compilations are considered multicarts. Although most commonly associated with
NES and SNES, multicarts, both authorized and unauthorized, have appeared for many cartridge-based sys-
tems, including the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Odyssey 2, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis and Game Boy.
Due to the relative ease of duplicating Atari 2600 cartridges, a large number of pirate multicarts were devel-
oped for the system. Most of these were released outside the US and EU (most commonly Brazil).
Hundreds of multicarts were released, and if you are interested, I would recommend checking out AtariMania.
I only included the NTSC games by Atari and Xonox (and one PAL-only Atari game), as the pages could go
into the hundreds featuring only different versions of multicarts.

32 in 1 Double Ender
Developer Atari Original Xonox
Publisher Atari Publisher Xonox
Release date 1988 Release date 1983

This was a PAL pack-in This multicart feature Con-

game with some versions of tains Artillery Duel and Ghost
the 2600 in the UK and else- Manor.
where, and is not terribly hard
to find in those countries.
However, the Red label style
are very difficult to find.
Rarity: 3 Rarity: 5

Action Pak Double Ender

Developer Atari Original Xonox
Publisher Atari Publisher Xonox
Release date 1981 Release date 1983

This package contains Break- This multicart feature Con-

out, Othello, and Dodge ‘Em, tains Artillery Duel and Spike’s
originally sold at a value price. Peak.
There is a large blue outer box
that contains the three games
inside, each in their own ge-
neric white box.
Rarity: 6 Rarity: 6

Double Ender Back To School Pak

Original Xonox Original Atari
Publisher Xonox Publisher Atari
Release date 1983 Release date 1978

This multicart feature Con- This package contains Basic

tains Artillery Duel and Chuck Programming, Brain Games,
Norris Superkicks. and a set of Keyboard Con-
trollers, originally sold at a
value price. There is a large
yellow outer box that contains
the two games and controllers
Rarity: 5 Rarity: 6
inside.
 Multicart • 223

Double Ender Double Ender

Original Xonox Original Xonox
Publisher Xonox Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983 Release date 1983

This multicart feature Chuck This multicart feature Robin

Norris Superkicks and Ghost Hood and Sir Lancelot.
Manor

Rarity: 7 Rarity: 8

Double Ender Double Ender

Original Xonox Original Xonox
Publisher Xonox Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983 Release date n/a

This multicart feature Chuck This multicart feature Moto-

Norris Superkicks and Spike’s cross Racer and Tomarc the
Peak Barbarian

Rarity: 6 Rarity: 9

Double Ender
Original Xonox
Publisher Xonox
Release date 1983

This multicart feature Ghost

Manor and Spike’s Peak

Rarity: 4

Racing Pak
Original Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date 1982

This package contains Indy

500, Slot Racer, and a Driving
Controller, originally sold at
a value price. There is a large
green outer box that contains
the two games and controller
inside.
Rarity: 6
224 • Unlicensed NTSC Releases

Unlicensed NTSC Releases

Unlicensed games generally refer to games that are not licensed for development by the original console man-
ufacturer. This kind of practice started back 1977 when the only developers at the time were working for the
original console manufacturer. When Activision began making their own games and cartridges for the Atari
2600 and due to the lack of any kind of lockout for the Atari 2600, it was easy for anyone to make games. Atari
had trouble keeping up with all these third-party companies and due to the lack of quality control, the market
became over-saturated with 3rd-party titles and it ultimately led to the video game crash.
These few pages, as with the multi-cart pages, consist of only a fraction of what is considered “unlicensed”
Atari 2600 games. I also suspect that a few unlisenced games show up on the “official” games pages also.
Since unlicensed games were a new thing when the system was active, things get a little muddled.

Busy Police Dragon Treasure

Original Keystone Kapers Original Dragonfire
Publisher Zellers Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Platformer Genre Action
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

Busy Police was Zeller’s re- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

lease of Activision`s Key- tion of Dragonfire.
stone Kapers.

Rarity: 5 Rarity: 5

Challenge Earth Attack

Developer Funvision Original Defender
Publisher Funvision, Zellers Publisher Zellers
Release date 1980 Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

Challenge was a PAL origi- This is an unlicensed repro-

nal title that got converted to duction of Defender.
NTSC by Zellers. The game
feature the Ghostbusters on
the artwork, but the game has
Rarity: 4 nothing to do with this. Rarity: 5

Circus Farmer Dan

Original Circus Atari Original Gopher
Publisher Zellers Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Breakout Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This was Zeller’s release of This is an unlicensed repro-

Atari`s Circus Atari. duction of Gopher.

Rarity: 4 Rarity: 5
 Unlicensed NTSC Releases • 225

Freeway Ocean City Defender

Original Freeway Original Atlantis
Publisher Zellers Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This was Zeller’s release of This is an unlicensed repro-

Activision`s Freeway. duction of Atlantis.

Rarity: 5 Rarity: 6

Frontline Pinball
Original Combat Original Video Pinball
Publisher Zellers Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Pinball
Mode 2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Combat. duction of Video Pinball.

Rarity: 4 Rarity: 6

Inca Gold Radar

Original Inca Gold Original Exocet
Publisher Zellers, K-Tel Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Platformer Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This was Zeller’s NTSC re- This is an unlicensed repro-

lease of Funvision’s Inca duction of Cruise Missile.
Gold.

Rarity: 6 Rarity: 5
K-Tel Vision: 9
Laser Volley Scuba Diver
Original Innerspace Original Skindiver
Publisher Zellers Publisher Zellers
Release date 1983 Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Action
Mode 1 Player Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed repro- Scuba Diver is a Canadian-re-

duction of Laser Gates. leased copy of Panda’s Scuba
Diver.

Rarity: 4 Rarity: 5
226 • Unlicensed NTSC Releases

Sea Hawk
Original Seahawk
Publisher Zellers Founded 1931
Release date n/a Defunct 2013
Genre Shooter
Industry Discount retail store
Mode 1 Player
Headquarters Ontario, Canada
This was Zeller’s release of Parent Hudson’s Bay Company
Sancho’s Seahawk.

Zellers Inc. was a major Canadian chain discount de-

partment retailer based in Brampton, Ontario. It was
Rarity: 6 founded in 1931, and was acquired by Hudson’s Bay
Company (HBC) in 1978.
Space Adventure
The company was founded in 1931 by Walter P.
Original Flash Gordon Zeller as “stores for thrifty Canadians”. The chain
Publisher Zellers began with the purchase of the fourteen Canadian
Release date n/a
Genre Shooter locations of American retailer Schulte-United, all
Mode 1 Player of which were in Southern Ontario. Almost imme-
diately, Zellers initiated an aggressive expansion
This is Zellers’ release of 20th strategy. Within 25 years, Zellers operated 60 stores
Century Fox’s Flash Gordon. and employed 3,000 people. In 1952, in a move to
expand into Atlantic Canada, it acquired the Federal
Stores chain of variety stores, adding more than 12
new Zellers locations.
Rarity: 6
Counterfeit video games for the Atari 2600 were
Time Warp manufactured and sold by Zellers in the 1980s. All
games were clones of titles created either by Atari it-
Original Time Warp
self or by third-party developers such as Activision.
Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Zellers was eventually forced by Atari to stop selling
Genre Shooter these games. Zellers released 18 games for the Atari
Mode 1 Player 2600 in the early 1980’s.
This is an unlicensed repro- A series of acquisitions and expansions allowed Zel-
duction of Time Warp. lers to reach its peak in the 1990s, with 350 stores
across the country at one point. However, fierce
competition by Walmart Canada and an inability to
adjust to the increasing volatile retailing industry re-
Rarity: 5 sulted in Zellers significantly losing ground in the
2000s and the subsequent acquisition of most of its
Turmoil stores by Target Canada in 2011. The history of Zel-
lers, as a discount store, came to an end on March
Original Turmoil
31, 2013, when its remaining stores closed.
Publisher Zellers
Release date n/a Although Zellers lives on today as a store liquidator
Genre Shooter
for Hudson’s Bay and Home Outfitters, the Zellers
Mode 1 Player
chain proper had also operated a few liquidation cen-
This was Zeller’s release of tres for its own merchandise. Those were typically
20th Century Fox’s Turmoil. former regular Zellers stores that had been converted
as liquidation centres for a limited time before clos-
ing down for good. The Zellers Family restaurants
continued to operate in these liquidation centres.
Rarity: 5
 Unlicensed NTSC Releases • 227

Air Wolf Bermuda

Original Barnstorming Original River Raid
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Activision`s Barn- duction of Activision`s River
storming. Raid.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Astro War Bobby is Going Home

Original Astrowar Original Bobby Is G. Home
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Dimax`s Astrowar. duction of Bit Corporation`s
video game.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Baseball Boom Bang

Original Home Run Original Crackpots
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Sports Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Atari`s Home Run. duction of Activision`s Crack-
pots.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Beat ‘Em & Eat ‘Em Bowling

Original Beat.E&Eat’Em Original Bowling
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

These cartridges carry the This is an unlicensed repro-

name “Beagle Brothers” on duction of Atari`s video game.
the label, although they were
not produced by the similarly
named Beagle Bros software
Beagle Brothers developer. Taiwan Cooper
228 • Unlicensed NTSC Releases

Boxing Cobra 104

Original Bowling Original Worm War I
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Sports Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Activision`s video duction of 20th Century Fox`s
game. Worm War I.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Chess Coconuts
Original Video Chess Original Coco Nuts
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Board game Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Atari`s Video Chess. tion of Telesys`s Coco Nuts.

Green Beagle Brothers

Chess Custer’s Revenge

Original Video Chess Original Custer’s Revenge
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Board game Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Atari`s Video Chess. tion of Mystique`s video game.

Taiwan Cooper Beagle Brothers

Circus Demond Attack

Original Circus Atari Original Condor Attack
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Breakout Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Atari`s Circus Atari. duction of Ultravision`s Con-
dor Attack.

Green Taiwan Cooper

 Unlicensed NTSC Releases • 229

Donkey Kong Enduro

Original Donkey Kong Original Enduro
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Platformer Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Coleco`s Donkey duction of Activision`s video
Kong. game.

Beagle Brothers Taiwan Cooper

Donkey Kong Fire Bird

Original Donkey Kong Original MegaMania
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Platformer Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

This is another unlicensed re- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

production of Coleco`s Don- tion of Activision`s MegaMa-
key Kong. nia.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

E.T Go Home Fishing

Original Go Go Home Original Fishing Derby
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Maze Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Dimax`s Go Go Home. tion of Activision`s Fishing Der-
by.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Enduro Football
Original Enduro Original Football
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Racing Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed repro-

duction of Activision`s video duction of Atari`s video game.
game.

Beagle Brothers Taiwan Cooper

230 • Unlicensed NTSC Releases

Free Way King Arthur

Original Racing Car Original Dragonfire
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Racing Genre Action
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Home Vision`s Racing tion of Imagic`s Dragonfire.
Car.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Frog Man Missile Command

Original Frogs and Flies Original MissileCommand
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of M-Network`s Frogs and tion of Atari`s video game.
Flies.

Taiwan Cooper Beagle Brothers

Frogger Motocross
Original Frogger Original Around World
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is (probably) an unli-

tion of Parker Brothers`s Frog- censed reproduction of Home
ger. Vision`s Around the World.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Ice Hockey Motocross

Original Ice Hockey Original Around World
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Sports Genre Racing
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is (probably) an unli-

tion of Activision`s Ice Hockey. censed reproduction of Home
Vision`s Around the World.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

 Unlicensed NTSC Releases • 231

Mr. Postman Pele’s Soccer

Original Mr. Postman Original Champ. Soccer
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Action Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Bit Corporation`s video tion of Atari`s Championship
game. Soccer.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

My Way Pitfall
Original Challenge Original Pitfall!
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Sports Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Funvision`s Challenge. tion of Activision`s Pitfall! -
Pitfall Harry’s Jungle Adven-
ture

Taiwan Cooper Beagle Brothers

Pac-Kong Pitfall
Original Inca Gold Original Pitfall!
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Platformer Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Funvision`s Inca Gold. tion of Activision`s Pitfall! -
Pitfall Harry’s Jungle Adven-
ture

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Paris Attack Popeye

Original M.A.D. Original Popeye
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of U.S. Games`s M.A.D.. tion of Parker Brothers video
game.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

232 • Unlicensed NTSC Releases

Puzzled World River Raid III

Original Maze Craze Original Sub-Scan
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Maze Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Atari`s Maze Craze - A tion of Sega`s Sub-Scan.
Game of Cops ‘n Robbers.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Pyramid War S.O.S.

Original Chopper Command Original Fire Fighter
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Activision`s Chopper tion of Imagic`s Fire Fighter.
Command.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

River Raid Sea Quest

Original River Raid Original Seaquest
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

duction of Activision`s video tion of Activision`s Seaquest.
game.

Beagle Brothers Taiwan Cooper

River Raid See Saw

Original River Raid Original Circus Atari
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Breakout
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

duction of Activision`s video tion of Atari`s Circus Atari.
game.

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

 Unlicensed NTSC Releases • 233

Space Robot Tom Boy

Original Missile Com. Original Pitfall!
Publisher n/a Publisher n/a
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Platformer
Mode 1-2 Players Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Atari`s Missile Com- tion of Activision`s Pitfall! -
mand. Pitfall Harry’s Jungle Adven-
ture

Taiwan Cooper Taiwan Cooper

Space Tunnel Video Pinball

Original Space Tunnel Original Video Pinball
Publisher n/a Publisher Fotomania
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Pinball
Mode 1 Player Mode 1-2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduction of Atari`s

tion of Bit Corporation`s video video game.
game.

Taiwan Cooper Fotomania

Spider The Year 1999

Original SpaceMaster X-7 Original Condor Attack
Publisher n/a Publisher Suntek
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Shooter Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player Mode 1 Player

This is an unlicensed repro- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

duction of 20th Century Fox`s tion of Suntek`s Condor Attack.
SpaceMaster X-7.

Taiwan Cooper Suntek

Super Man Zaxxon

Original Superman Original Zaxxon
Publisher n/a Publisher Dynacom
Release date n/a Release date n/a
Genre Adventure Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player Mode 1 -2 Players

This is an unlicensed reproduc- This is an unlicensed reproduc-

tion of Atari`s Superman. tion of Coleco`s Zaxxon.

Taiwan Cooper Dynacom

234 • Homebrew

Homebew
An Atari 2600 homebrew is a video game designed
for the Atari 2600 by an independent developer fol-
lowing the discontinuation of the console in 1992.
The Atari 2600 game console was introduced to the gauge interest among fellow retro game enthusiasts;
market by Atari in 1977 as the Atari VCS, or Video like Dodgson, Federmeyer advertised his creation on
Computer System. Since the console’s release, hun- Usenet, ultimately receiving over 50 responses. Fol-
dreds of different game titles, by dozens of game man- lowing SoundX, Federmeyer created an unlicensed
ufacturers, have been released for the console, with port of the game Tetris, titled Edtris 2600.
the most popular titles, such as Pac-Man, Pitfall! and
Since then, over 100 homebrew games
Missile Command, selling millions of
for the Atari 2600 have been released,
copies each. Atari 2600 consoles con-
many by AtariAge, a website that fea-
tinued to be manufactured throughout
tures “information on game cartridges,
the 1980s, but by 1992 production had
consoles, Atari artwork and all other
ceased. The last new Atari 2600 game
topics Atari”. Many 2600 homebrews
title to be commercially released that
feature original concepts. SCSIcide,
year was Acid Drop–a puzzle game
Duck Attack! (2010) released by Joe Grand in 2001, is a
sold by Salu Ltd.
paddle-based game (the first among
The next year, hobbyist Harry Dodg- homebrews) in which the player acts
son released the first homebrew car- as a hard drive read head picking up
tridge, titled 7800/2600 Monitor Car- color-coded data bits as they fly past.
tridge. The cartridge was not a game, Oystron, released by Piero Cavina
but rather a diagnostic tool that Dodg- in 1997, is an action game in which
son hoped to persuade Atari Corp to “space oysters” are opened and pearls
market to customers interested in collected to earn ammunition. Duck
Thrust by Thomas Jentzsch (2000)
programming their own Atari 7800 Attack! allows the player to battle gi-
games. As Atari no longer manufactured the keyboard ant, fire-breathing ducks in a quest to save the world
controller required by the cartridge, they declined, so from a mad scientist.
Dodgson decided to manufacture and market the car-
Many 2600 homebrews are unofficial ports of arcade
tridge on his own.
and PC games that were popular during the 1980s but
Dodgson purchased a batch of Atari 7800
not ported to the 2600 at the time. Lady Bug, released
Hat Trick games at Big Lots for a dollar or less each,
by John W. Champeau in 2006, is a port of Universal
and cannibalized the parts to create the new monitor
Games’ 1981 arcade game of the same name. Juno
cartridge. He then advertised the cartridge on Usenet
First, released by Chris Walton in 2009, is a port of a
and in a catalog for video game store Video 61, ul-
1983 Konami arcade game; and Thrust, released by
timately selling around 25 cartridges. With the rela-
Thomas Jentzsch in 2000, is a port of a 1986 compu-
tively small number of hand-made cartridges, the title
ter game originally designed for the BBC Micro and
is considered a rarity among homebrews. The rights
later ported to the Atari 8-bit family and the Com-
to the cartridge were later purchased by Video 61.
modore 64.
In 1995 – three years after Atari’s withdrawal of the
A popular activity among Atari 2600 enthusiasts is
2600 from the marketplace–independent developer
hacking existing ROM images. Modifications typi-
Ed Federmeyer released another Atari 2600 home-
cally include new graphics and game colors, but may
brew project, titled SoundX, a cartridge that dem-
also include more complex changes such as game-
onstrated the sound capabilities of the Atari 2600.
play modifications and the ability to use a different
Federmeyer used the term “homebrew” to describe
controller (e.g. joystick or paddle) than the controller
this type of hobbyist-driven development, inspired
for which the game was originally designed. A pop-
by the California Homebrew Computer Club of early
ular hack target is the 2600 version of Pac-Man, in
computer enthusiasts that included Apple founders
which ROM hackers re-work the graphic elements to
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Originally designing
more closely resemble the arcade version.
the cartridge for his own use, Federmeyer decided to
 Homebrew • 235

Several homebrew games have taken the basic con-

cepts of earlier games, and expanded them with im-
proved graphics or additional gameplay options. Ex-
amples include Warring Worms by Billy Eno (2002),
which took the basic premise of Surround and added
new gameplay modes, such as the ability to fire shots
at the opponent; and Medieval Mayhem by Darrell
Spice Jr., a re-imagining of the game As the 2600 uses the 6507, a variant
Warlords with enhanced graphics and of the MOS Technology 6502 chip,
additional gameplay options. as its CPU, most homebrews released
are written in 6502 assembly lan-
Another type of 2600 homebrew is the guage. However, in 2007, developer
“demake”, a port from a more power- Fred X. Quimby released a compiler,
ful system. Recent demakes include “batari Basic,” which allows develop-
Halo 2600, a 4 KB game inspired by ers to create 2600 games in BASIC,
Medieval Mayhem by Darrell Spice Jr.
the Halo series of games. Halo 2600 a high-level programming language.
was written by former Microsoft vice Game designer and Georgia Institute
president Ed Fries, who was involved of Technology associate professor Ian
in Microsoft’s acquisition of Halo cre- Bogost has used batari Basic in his
ators Bungie Studios. Other 2600 de- classes to teach students video game
makes include a Portal-inspired game concepts and history. An integrated
titled Super 3D Portals 6 and a demo development environment (IDE),
based on the Mega Man franchise. Visual batari Basic, is also available.
Screenshot of Euchre (aka Video Written by Jeff Wierer and released in
The Atari 2600 is generally considered Euchre) by Erik Eid, one of the Atari
to be a very demanding programming 2600 homebrews featured in the 2003 2008, it runs on Microsoft Windows
environment, with a mere 128 bytes of
Activision Anthology and requires .NET Framework 3.0.
RAM available without additional hardware, and no
video frame buffer at all. The programmer must pre- Notable homebrews
pare each line of video output one at a time as it is be- In 2003, Activision selected several homebrew 2600
ing sent to the television. The only sprite capabilities titles for inclusion in the Game Boy Advance version
the 2600 offers are one-dimensional 1-bit and 8-bit of their Activision Anthology: Climber 5 by Dennis
patterns; creating a two-dimensional object requires Debro, Okie Dokie by Bob Colbert, Skeleton+ by
changing the pattern between each line of video. Eric Ball, Space Treat Deluxe by Fabrizio Zavagli,
Vault Assault by Brian Prescott, Video Euchre by
Creating a homebrew Atari 2600 game involves
Erik Eid, and Oystron.
many steps: learning the system specifications, de-
signing, writing, and testing the game, and creating Medieval Mayhem by Darrell Spice Jr. has been fea-
the physical cartridge. Atari 2600 emulators such as tured in several retro-gaming tournaments. Other
Stella and z26 are often used by homebrewers to test 2600 homebrews that have received attention outside
their games as they are being developed. Unlike later the homebrew community include Halo 2600, Duck
consoles, the Atari 2600 does not require a modchip Attack!, and A-VCS-tec Challenge by Simon Quern-
to run homebrew cartridges; it will run any properly horst, an unofficial port of the Atari 8-bit game Aztec
written program without checking for a digital signa- Challenge.
ture or performing any other type of authentication.
It was this aspect of the hardware design that enabled
third-party companies such as Activision and Imagic
to develop Atari 2600 games without Atari’s consent
in the 1980s. This led Atari to incorporate authentica-
tion features in its later console, the Atari 7800, to
prevent other companies from creating and selling
their own 7800 titles without Atari’s permission.
236 • Homebrew

2003 AtariAge Holiday Cart

Developer AtariAge
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The Holiday GreetingCart is an Atari 2600 cartridge

with a unique, holiday-themed label created by artist
Dave Exton. When plugged into an Atari 2600, the car-
tridge displays a rendition of the same image, courtesy
of Interleaved ChronoColourtechnology. These carts
were individually numbered and there were only two
ways of getting one: By placing an order of $50 or
more in the AtariAge Store, or by winning the 2003
AtariAge Holiday GreetingCart Contest.

2004 AtariAge Holiday Cart:

Holiday Qb
Developer AtariAge
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2004
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

Following in the footsteps of 2003 Holiday Greeting-

Cart, for 2004 we released the 2004 Holiday Qb Cart,
a collaboration between AtariAge, Andrew Davie, and
Dave Exton. Qb is an original game written by Andrew
Davie for the Atari 8-bit computers (back in 1984) and
later ported to the Atari 2600 where it was released in
2001.
Limited: n/a
“atarigage.com”

2005 AtariAge Holiday Cart:

Reindeer Rescue
Developer AtariAge
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The 2005 Holiday Reindeer Rescue Cart, was a collab-

oration between AtariAge, Bob Montgomery, Nathan
Strum, and Dave Exton. Reindeer Rescue is an original
homebrew game written by Bob Montgomery, author
of the homebrew game Go Fish. In Reindeer Rescue
players must help Santa rescue his lost reindeer.
“atarigage.com”
Limited: n/a
 Homebrew • 237

2005 Minigame Multicart

Developer Matley, Montgomery, Quimby, Walton
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

Atari 2600 fans Chris Walton (cd-w), Fred Quimby

(batari), Bob Montgomery (vdub_bobby), and Zach
Matley (Zach) submitted several 1K entries for the
2005 Minigame Competition. They teamed up to re-
lease their seven 1K games in a single 2005 Minigame
Multicart, complete with an on-screen menu that al-
lows easy selection of the games as well as instruc-
tions.

2006 AtariAge Holiday Cart:

Toyshop Trouble
Developer Payson, Matley, Montgomery, Jentzsch, Strum
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

For the fourth year in a row, AtariAge created an annu-

al holiday cartridge as part of our annual holiday sale.
The cartridge for 2006, Toyshop Trouble, was a col-
laboration between several homebrew authors and art-
ists, including John Payson, Zach Matley, Bob Mont-
gomery, Nathan Strum, Dave Exton, Fred Quimby,
Thomas Jentzsch, and others.
Limited: n/a
“atarigage.com”

2007 AtariAge Holiday Cart:

Stella’s Stocking
Developer AtariAge
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Compilation
Mode 1-2 Players

The 2007 cartridge, Stella’s Stocking, was a collabora-

tion between several homebrew authors and artists, in-
cluding John Payson, Darrell Spice Jr., Fred Quimby,
David Weavil, Robert Mundschau, Chris Read, Nath-
an Strum, David Vazquez, Dave Exton, and others.
Stella’s Stocking features in-game artwork by Nathan
Strum and David Vazquez, and included a illustrated
Limited: n/a
label and eight-page manual by Dave Exton.
238 • Homebrew

A-VCS-tec Challenge
Developer Quernhorst, (music) Slocum
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

A-VCS-tec Challenge is a video game developed for

the Atari 2600 video game console. The game was in-
spired by the 1980s Commodore 64 game Aztec Chal-
lenge. A-VCS-tec Challenge was written by Atari 2600
homebrew developer Simon Quernhorst, with music
by Paul Slocum.
The game was first released as a limited run of 55
boxed, numbered and signed copies. Following the run
of the limited edition, the game was sold unboxed.

Alfred Challenge
Developer Eric Bacher
Publisher Ebivision
Release date 1998
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Alfred Challenge was sold in a limited edition of 100

copies that included a box and full color manual. It
quickly sold out, but players may still purchase the
standard edition from Best Electronics (no box includ-
ed). Ebivision also held a contest involving this game,
in which the first person to discover the secret room
would win a mystery game from Ebivision.
“atariage.com”
Limited: 100
Regular: Yes

Allia Quest
Developer Igor Barzilai
Publisher Ebivision
Release date 2001
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Allia Quest, programmed by Igor Barzilai, is a clas-

sic shooter style game in the same vein as Megama-
nia. It’s a fast-paced game that seems easy at first but
quickly gets more difficult, challenging even the most
seasoned 2600 veterans.
The game was released in limited quantities at Classic
Gaming Expo 2001 and included a box, manual, and
limited edition label.
Limited: 100
“atariage.com” Regular: Yes
 Homebrew • 239

AStar
Developer Aaron Curtis
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

AStar is a puzzle game for the Atari 2600 by Aaron

Curtis, whose first homebrew endeavor was the highly
popular Fall Down. AStar is inspired by an old calcula-
tor game called DStar. The basic idea is to collect all
the items, but it’s not as easy as it may seem at first.
Players can only move in a straight line until they hit
something. They can then change their direction and
again move forward until they hit a wall.
“atariage.com”

Backfire
Developer Chad Lare
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Backfire is a homebrew by Chad Lare. In Backfire

players have two guns, one on the top of the screen
and one on the bottom. To control the gun on the top of
the screen, press up, to switch to the other gun, press
down. Once players are controlling a gun, they can
move horizontally and shoot. If they have a clear shot
all the way across the screen, they can accidentally
blow up their own gun.
“atariage.com”

Bee-Ball
Developer Ivan Machado
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

In the competitive sport of Bee-Ball, players must

score 10 points against their opponent to win a match.
They can swing at the ball to send it flying over to the
net or block when the opponent is trying to get the ball
past them. If the ball is about to fly over their head, they
can head butt the ball in an attempt to prevent a point
from being scored against them. Points are scored if
the ball touches the floor or the ball flies out of bounds,
but in order to score they must first successfully serve.
240 • Homebrew

BLiP Football
Developer Galloway, Montgomery x2, Hirschberg
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Sports
Mode 2 Players

In BLiP Football players control a running back and

must get by the defenders trying to stop his progress.
Players can see nine yards of the playing field at any
time--when they go beyond one edge of the field, the
player wraps around to the opposite edge, showing an-
other nine yard segment of the field. The game is com-
prised of four 15-second quarters. On the fourth down
they can optionally kick the ball instead of running it.
“atariage.com”

Boulder Dash
Developer Thomas Jentzsch, Andrew Davie
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2011
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Boulder Dash is a 2600 port of the classic Atari 8-bit

game originally published by First Star Software in
1984. In Boulder Dash players take on the role of
Rockford, who must collect a set number of diamonds
in each level before progressing to the next. To do so,
Rockford must dig through caves while avoiding fall-
ing boulders, contact with creatures that inhabit the
caves, and other dangers.
Limited: 250
“atariage.com”

Climber 5
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2004
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Climber 5 is a port by Dennis Debro of an Atari 8-bit

computer game that originally appeared in COM-
PUTE! magazine back in 1987. In Climber players take
the role of a baseball player. The baseball has been hit
to the upper rafters of a building under construction.
The job is to climb the ladders and retrieve the ball. Of
course, there are obstacles along the way that players
need to avoid or they lose a life and must start over at
the bottom right corner.
 Homebrew • 241

Colony 7
Developer Manuel Rotschkar
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Colony 7 was created by Manuel Rotschkar, whose

previous Atari 2600 homebrew games include Gun-
fight, Seawolf, Star Fire, and Crazy Balloon. It is mod-
eled after the 1981 arcade game of the same name.
The mission is to defend Colony 7 from the evil Jarvi-
ans. The player is in command of the Colony’s defen-
sive guns, unleashing a converging stream of laser fire
at the attacking hordes.

Conquest of Mars
Developer John W. Champeau
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Conquest of Mars is an accurate translation to the Atari

2600 of a popular Atari 8-bit computer title. Players
must destroy the Martian rebellion by descending
through the six caverns of Mars to activate the main
energy reactors and escape to the surface before they
blow up.
The game may be purchased in cartridge form from the
AtariAge Store.

Crazy Balloon
Developer Manuel Rotschkar
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Author Manuel Rotschkar initially wrote this game to

submit it for the 2005 Mini Game Competition, where
the goal is to write an enjoyable game in the smallest
space possible. Crazy Balloon includes all 16 levels
from the arcade game, and players might find some
surprises they’re not expecting. All the obstacles from
the arcade have been reproduced as faithfully as possi-
ble, with only a few elements replaced with Atari 2600
exclusive obstacles.
242 • Homebrew

Crazy Valet
Developer Brian Prescott
Publisher Brian Prescott
Release date 2000
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

This is a shifting-pieces puzzle game where players

move the white cars out of the way so the horizontal
white car, in line with the exit, has a clear path. Once
players have cleared a path, they must put the cursor
on the car they need to leave with and drive it to the
exit. Free the car in the fewest moves in twenty-six
levels.
The game was also released as a Limited Edition with
a run of 99 copies.

Crazy Valet CGE

Developer Brian Prescott
Publisher Brian Prescott
Release date 2001
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Brian Prescott released another run of Crazy Valet car-

tridges at the 2001 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
This version has a unique title screen, levels unique to
this version and a different easter egg from previous
versions.
“atariage.com”

Limited: n/a

Cubis
Developer Eckhard Stolberg
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 1997
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

Cubis is a Tetris clone for the Atari 2600 created in

1997 by Eckhard Stolberg.
The cart, originally sold for $11, is out of print but the
ROM is available for download.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
 Homebrew • 243

Cuttle Cart
Developer Schell’s Electronics
Publisher Schell’s Electronics
Release date 2001
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The Cuttle Cart is a rather unique cartridge. It’s not a

game, but a special cartridge with built-in RAM and an
audio cable that connects to a CD player or computer.
Users then use an included Windows program that al-
lows them to load normal binary images into the Cut-
tle Cart. The Cuttle Cart supports games up to 64K in
size and will load just about every 2600 game imagi-
nable. The main exception is Pitfall II, which includes
a sound chip that isn’t supported by the Cuttle Cart.

Dark Mage
Developer Greg Troutman
Publisher Hozer Games, Packrat Games, AtariAge
Release date n/a
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Greg Troutman managed to squeeze a text adventure

into an 8K Atari 2600 cart, and although it’s much sim-
pler in execution than Infocom’s early 80s offerings,
it’s an enjoyable game nonetheless.
In Dark Mage, players take the role of a jester banished
from his kingdom and the goal is to find and return the
king’s black rose.
“atariage.com”

E.T. Book Cart

Developer Charles F. Gray, Michael Rideout
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

AtariAge, in conjunction with Gray Games, brings

players a e-book, retrograded for the Atari 2600. E.T.
The Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600 - the game
that some say brought down an industry - is looked
at through various means, and is immortalized even
further by a cartridge book focused on the game that
helped bring about the video game crash.
“atariage.com”
244 • Homebrew

Euchre
Developer Erik Eid
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2002
Genre Cards
Mode 1 Player

Euchre is an adaptation of the card game of the same

name that is popular in the midwestern and northeast
United States.
The original card game is the game responsible for
introducing the joker into modern packs; this was in-
vented around 1860 to act as a top trump or best bower.
It is believed to be closely related to the French game
Écarté.
Limited: 100
Regular: Yes

Fall Down
Developer Aaron Curtis
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Fall Down pits the ever-opposed forces of Red and

Blue against each other in an ultimate battle to capture
scrolling platforms. The first player to fall past a plat-
form captures it and scores a point.
This is one of the first homebrew games to support the
AtariVox. The game uses the AtariVox to save high
score for each game mode, as well as for some in-game
speech.
“atariage.com”

FlapPing
Developer Kirk Israel
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

FlapPing features two primary game variations, a

“classic pong” mode which resembles the classic Pong
arcade game, and “poorlords”, where each player must
defend a wall in a manner similar to the arcade game
Warlords.
The game is descended from JoustPong, the name
Kirk Israel originally chose for his original homebrew
game.
“atariage.com”
 Homebrew • 245

Four-Play
Developer Zach Matley, (music) Bob Montgomery
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Board game
Mode 1-2 Players

In Four-Play, Red and Blue take turns dropping mar-

bles into an upright board. The first player to align four
marbles horizontally, vertically, or diagonally wins.
Players can pit their wits against the computer A.I. at
four difficulty levels, or play against another player.
The game may be purchased in cartridge form from the
AtariAge Store.
“atariage.com”

Gingerbread Man
Developer Fred Quimby
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

In Gingerbread Man players must fight their way

through 20 levels consisting of five unique game-play
screens, facing a variety of obstacles and challenges in
order to survive.
Gingerbread Man includes three game variations:
• Selection 1 is the default.
• Selection 2 is expert mode.
• Selection 3 is a special mode for children.
Limited: 50
Regular: Yes “atariage.com”

Go Fish!
Developer Bob Montgomery, (music) Tommy Montgomery
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Go Fish! is an original game loosely based on the In-

tellivision game Shark! Shark! - players take the role
as a wee fish and, to survive, it must eat other, smaller
fish to grow. But the shark is also on the hunt for food
and the fish could be his next meal. Go Fish! features
extensive, continuously-playing music (with an option
to turn it off), as well as a two-player battle mode.
“atariage.com”
246 • Homebrew

GoSub
Developer Chris Read, Michael Rideout, Fred Quimby
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

GoSub is a Atari 2600 homebrew game by Chris Read.

Players pilot a submarine and must navigate a perilous
maze to reach the exit. Touching the walls will destroy
the submarine, so they must pilot their craft with great
skill. And as if the narrow passages were not enough
danger, in the maze lurks a monser octopus determined
to crush the sub with its mighty grip
The game also features a GoSub 500 game that pits
two players in a counter-clockwise submarine race.

Gunfight
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2001
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

Gunfight is the first release from Manuel Polik and

is heavily inspired by the 1975 Midway arcade game
Gun Fight.
AtariAge sponsored a contest to see who could cre-
ate the best label for Gunfight. The winner was David
Exton. The game is available in cartridge form in the
AtariAge Store, complete with David Exton’s winning
label and a eight-page, full-color manual.

Hunchy II
Developer Chris Walton
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Hunchy II is a sequel to the 1982 classic arcade game

Hunch Back which is loosely based on the novel “The
Hunchback of Notre Dame”. The task is to guide the
hunchbacked Quasimodo in his quest to rescue the gyp-
sy girl Esmeralda from the cathedral of Notre Dame.
To succeed, players must collect all of the bells in each
cathedral room. They must also avoid any incoming
missiles and the fearsome cathedral guards. Hunchy II
contains 14 levels of increasing difficulty.
 Homebrew • 247

INV
Developer Piero Cavina, Erik Mooney
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 1998
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

This is a homebrew of Space Invaders designed to

have eleven rows of invaders. It also adds three colors
to the invaders and a different color for player two.
In the game, strange aliens from space are threaten-
ing the earth. Attempts to communicate have failed.
These bizarre silicon-based lifeforms are oddly square
and blocky in appearance, but their goal is clear: the
conquer the planet.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

INV+
Developer Piero Cavina, Erik Mooney
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2004
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

INV+ is the successor to INV, with several improve-

ments over the original game:
• Scoring more closely matches the original arcade game
• PAL support has been added
• Added an Invisible Invaders mode
• Player death sequence improved and animated
• Hidden easter egg added
• New, full-color manual
• Several bugs were fixed

Jammed
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2001
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Jammed is a conversion of the board game Rush Hour

for the Atari 2600, programmed by Thomas Jentzsch.
In this version, players must steal the car of their
dreams from a crowded parking lot, but the must first
move all the cars that stand in their way. Jammed con-
tains a 600 unique puzzles.
248 • Homebrew

JoustPong
Developer Kirk Israel
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2004
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

JoustPong features two primary game variations, a

“classic pong” mode which resembles the classic Pong
arcade game, and “poorlords”, where each player must
defend a wall in a manner similar to the arcade game
Warlords. The game feature a two-player mode and a
single player. The Pterodactyl of Joust also makes an
appearance in JoustPong, adding an unpredictable ele-
ment to the gameplay.
“atariage.com”

Krokodile Cartridge
Developer Armin Vogl
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The Krokodile Cartridge is a programmable game car-

tridge for the 2600 game console. The cartridge con-
tains 512K of Flash ROM that can be programmed by
connecting the cartridge to a Windows PC with a serial
cable. Once connected to a PC, the Windows-based
Krokodile Commander software is then used to down-
load software into the Krokodile Cartridge. Users can
directly download Atari 2600 ROM images to the car-
tridge and play them on their console.

Lady Bug
Developer John W. Champeau
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

The object of Lady Bug is to clear the maze of all the

dots while avoiding up to four insects. Once all four in-
sects have entered the maze, a bonus vegetable appears
in the middle. Eating this veggie not only earns big
points, but also freezes the insects for a few seconds.
Also appearing in the maze are hearts that increase the
bonus multiplier and letters that can be used to spell
EXTRA for a bonus ladybug or SPECIAL to earn a
round in the bounty harvest maze full of vegetables. Limited: (C.E.) 100
Limited: (NWCGE ) 14
Regular: Yes
 Homebrew • 249

Lord of the Rings:

Fellowship of the Ring
Developer Adam Thornton
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2002
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

This a modified version of the Dark Mage text adven-

ture engine, incorporating the entire plot of Fellow-
ship of the Ring into a 4K Atari 2600 ROM. Adam
Thornton created this highly compressed version of
the J.R.R. Tolkien classic as his entry into the 2002
Interactive Fiction IntroComp. This is twice as much
story as contained in Parker Brothers’ unreleased Jour-
ney to Rivendell game.

Marble Craze
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

The concept for Marble Craze arose from those wood-

en games that have two knobs used to tilt a board, roll-
ing a marble through a maze in an attempt to avoid
the holes. To properly simulate one of these games,
both paddle controllers are utilized, one to control the
vertical movement and the other to control horizontal
movement. A simultaneous two-player mode is also
available.
“atariage.com”

Medieval Mayhem
Developer Darrell Spice Jr., David Vazquez, Erik Ehrling
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-4 Players

Medieval Mayhem is an updated take on Warlords.

While the original version from Atari is still a blast
to play, Medieval Mayhem adds arcade features such
as the launch dragon, multiple fireballs and a level of
polish missing from the original 2600 release. It also
includes a menu to select options before starting the
game. Medieval Mayhem is a frenetic multi-player
game that players can enjoy against their friends or
against the computer AI.
250 • Homebrew

Melbourne Tatty
Developer Edward Griffiths, Fred Quimby
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Melbourne Tatty features 20 levels where the goal

sounds pretty straightforward: Collect treasure. But
this is no ordinary dungeon. Every few seconds the
walls move, potentially trapping players until they
move again. Also a dangerous wolf is pursuing players
relentlessly, guarding the treasure and trying to thwart
their attempts at taking it. And while the walls will
block them, they won’t stop the wolf.
Limited: 20
“atariage.com”
Regular: Yes

Mental Kombat
Developer Simon Quernhorst
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre Puzzle
Mode 2 Players

Mental Kombat is a two player puzzle game based on

a concept developed by Simon and a friend originally
for the Commodore 64. The goal of the game is to con-
nect tiles of the player color vertically or horizontally.
They can move every tile of every color, this means
that they could connect a row of tiles of their oppo-
nent’s color if they don’t move carefully enough.
The AtariAge cover is a variation from the movie En-
emy Mine.

Merlin’s Walls
Developer Ebivision
Publisher Hozer Video Games, AtariAge
Release date 1999
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Merlin’s Walls is a game that use the TV sideways.

Meant to take advantage of a narrow/tall screen in-
stead of narrow/side, the authors suggest the best way
to play is either to put the TV on its side or... lay on the
couch.
This cart was exclusively sold by Hozer Video for
many years, and later through AtariAge.
Limited: 100
Regular: Yes
 Homebrew • 251

Mine Sweeper
Developer Soren Gust
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date n/a
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

A game most know already since the days of Windows 3x. Players see
a board filled with mines and they don’t know what fields exactly they
occupy. By clicking on a field a number appears on it, which indicated
how many mines are located on the nearest fields to it. Then they try
and click on those fields they consider free of mines. If they make a
mistake, the mine will explode and the game is over.
“vizzed.com”

Mondo Pong
Developer Piero Cavina
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date n/a
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Mondo Pong was Piero Cavina’s first programming

effort on the Atari 2600 and is an evil variation on
the game that started it all, Pong. In this version there
are two balls and they each have a mind of their own.
Sometimes the ball will double back at players after
they hit it, other times it might just spin around in cir-
cles for a bit, keeping them on their toes as they wait
for it to shoot off in some direction.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Poker Squares
Developer Brian Watson
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Cards
Mode 1 Player

In Poker Squares the goal is to place 25 playing cards

(from a deck of 52), one at a time, in a 5x5 grid. The
goal is to make the best ten (or twelve) poker hands,
five horizontally, five vertically, and optionally the two
diagonals, scoring as many points as possible.
Poker Squares can be ordered in cartridge form in the
AtariAge Store. Includes a label and manual designed
by Dave Exton.
252 • Homebrew

Okie Dokie
Developer Retroware
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 1985
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Okie Dokie is a fast moving puzzle game that chal-

lenges players with 30 preset puzzles and 435 ran-
dom puzzles. It seems simple enough, turn off all of
the squares. Every time players select a square, it gets
“flipped” - if it was on it turns off and vise versa. To
complicate things further, any square directly to the
left, right, above, or below the square is also “flipped”.
The game was also released as a limited edition, lim-
Limited: 100
ited to 100 copies. Regular: Yes

Oystron
Developer Piero Cavina
Publisher XYPE
Release date 1997
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Oystron is an action game developed for the Atari

2600 by Piero Cavina and released in 1997. It is one
of the earliest homebrew games for the console. The
game, Cavina’s first, was initially made available as a
freeware 4 KB binary file designed for use on the Star-
path Supercharger and with Atari 2600 emulators such
as Stella and PCAE. It was later released in cartridge
form by XYPE, an independent group of Atari 2600
homebrew developers.

Pac-Man
Developer Eric Bacher, Igor Barzilai
Publisher Ebivision
Release date 1999
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Ebivision had a contest for another game of theirs

called Alfred Challenge stating the first person to find
the secret room would win a copy of Ebivision Pac-
Man.
This game was never released commercially. Only one
original cart exists. However, Hozer Video makes re-
production carts of it.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
 Homebrew • 253

Pac-Man Arcade
Developer Rob Kudla
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Rob Kudla has modified a (said by some) much bet-

ter Ms. Pac-Man and turned it into the Pac-Man Atari.
This is a fairly significant hack, and here are the chang-
es Rob made to Ms. Pac-Man:
• Changed the graphics
• Altered the theme music
• Changed audio code to improve authenticity
• Changed playfield color and layout
• Got rid of extra tunnel and three extra mazes

Pesco
Developer Ebivision
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Little Pesco must find a new place to live. It seems that

he found a good home, with lots of plankton to eat, but
it seems that there are three crabs that are determined
to eat him. The game is a classic maze game with a
special challenge : to reach the ninth level.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Limited: 100
Regular: Yes

Phantom II / Pirate
Developer David Weavil
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Compilation
Mode 1-2 Players

Phantom II/Pirate is a homebrew cartridge featur-

ing two games written by David Weavil. Phantom II
is based on an old Bally Midway arcade game of the
same name, where the goal is to patrol the unfriendly
skies and shoot down enemy bombers. In Pirate, play-
ers must explore a dangerous island and find the treas-
ure of evil pirate Chuck DeLuc. The cartridge features
a menu that lets players select which game to play
upon powering up their system.
254 • Homebrew

Power Off!
Developer Ebivision
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2004
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of Brian Mareck, who must deac-

tivate a computer that has run amuck. This new super
computer, designed by his father, was created to help
mankind with its instantaneous computing abilities.
But something went catastrophically wrong when his
father switched the machine on and now he must run
through level after level of the giant laboratory and de-
activate all the energy pills before it’s too late.
Limited: 100
“atariage.com”
Regular: Yes

Pressure Gauge
Developer John K. Harvey
Publisher Packrat Video Games
Release date 2000
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Pressure Gauge, players take the part of a hot shot

plumber left in charge of controlling a water system in
dire circumstances.
Pressure Gauge was released in 2000 by John K. Har-
vey. It received a limited release at that time of less
than 20 cartridges. The game was later released through
Packrat Video Games, and was their first boxed home-
brew release.

Qb
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Qb was originally written for the Atari 800 by Andrew

Davie back in 1984. Many years later, Andrew decided
to port the game over to the 2600, and he finished his
project in March 2001. The object of Qb is to move the
blocks around in the lower frame so that they match
the upper frame.
The PhillyClassic Edition, limited to 50 copies sold
only at the PhillyClassic 2001, was the first release of
Limited: (P.C) 50
Qb. The game was later released by AtariAge. Limited: (L.E) n/a
Regular: Yes
 Homebrew • 255

Rainbow Invaders
Developer Silvio Mogno
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Rainbow Invaders is a Space Invaders style game

from Italian developer Silvio Mogno. While many
games of this nature have been released for the 2600,
Silvio’s game adds a breath of fresh air to the genre.
Players are shooting at descending waves of alien in-
vaders, attempting to finish them off before they reach
the ground. However, the aliens also periodically drop
one of 16 random Special Shots, some of which will
help and some of which will hinder the players efforts.

Raster Fahndung
Developer Simon Quernhorst
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

Raster Fahndung is a puzzle game where players must

locate patterns of 6 by 6 squares inside a playfield of
32 by 20 squares. The timer is ticking down in the
background so players won’t have the luxury of care-
fully scrutinizing the playfield to locate the patterns.
Players can sneak a peek at the pattern (by pressing the
fire button on the joystick) but it will make the timer
count down faster.
Limited: 75
“atariage.com”
Regular: Yes

Reindeer Rescue
Developer Bob Montgomery, (Graphics) Nathan Strum
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Reindeer Rescue is the “unlimited” release of the 2005

Holiday Cart. Reindeer Rescue is an original home-
brew game written by Bob Montgomery. In Reindeer
Rescue players must help Santa rescue his lost reindeer
in a journey that has them starting at the North Pole,
racing through frozen tundra, ice caves, suburbia, and
the big city. Along the way Santa will encounter many
objects in the air and on the ground - some will help
and some will hinder.
256 • Homebrew

SCSIcide (1.30)
Developer Joe Grand
Publisher Joe Grand (CGE 2001)
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In this game, players is a hard drive read head and must

gather the bits in their correct color-coded order. There
are ten tracks and bits of various colors will race along
from left to right.
Joe Grand created a website where people could fol-
low the progress of the game’s development. This cre-
ated quite a demand for the game at Classic Gaming
Expo 2001, where the 50 copies of SCSIcide that Joe
Limited: 50
produced at $20 each for the show quickly sold out.

SCSIcide (1.32)
Developer Joe Grand
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This was the general production release sold through

Hozer Video Games.
Similar to how new hard drives are packaged, the SC-
SIcide game and instruction manual were also pack-
aged in a static-free bag further playing off the theme
of the game.

SCSIcide PhillyClassic3 (1.31)

Developer Joe Grand
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This was the post-CGE release. The game was released

through Hozer Video Games in a limited release of 50
copies.
Now that the final SCSIcide binaries have been re-
leased, players can download all three final versions
from the SCSIcide website, along with all the earlier
development versions: http://www.grandideastudio.com/
“atariage.com” Limited: 50
 Homebrew • 257

Seawolf
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2004
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Seawolf is influenced and inspired by the Midway

Sea Wolf and Sea Wolf II arcade games as well as the
Astrocade and 8-bit home versions, but is not a direct
port. Seawolf also borrows elements from Broder-
bund’s Seafox.
In Seawolf players command a submarine lurking be-
low the surface of the ocean, where they need to at-
tack enemy convoys while avoiding depth charges and
other dangers.

Skeleton
Developer Eric Ball
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre First-person shooter
Mode 1 Player

Skeleton is a 3D maze game written by Eric Ball. In

order to escape this labyrinth players need to hunt
down and eliminate 80 skeletons lurking about without
being killed themself. There are eight mazes, with each
maze containing 10 skeletons. If the players complete
all eight mazes they’ll gain their freedom.
“atariage.com”

Skeleton+
Developer Eric Ball
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre First-person shooter
Mode 1 Player

Skeleton+ contains several improvements over the

original release of Skeleton. The major differences are:
• Life and Kill Counters
• New Undead Locator to help track Skeletons
• Five vs Ten Skeletons per level (selectable)
• Various difficulty settings
The new difficulty settings allow players to customize
the game to their liking, and maximize replay value.
258 • Homebrew

Solar Plexus
Developer Jess Ragan
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

What starts out as a routine hunt for salvage in the far

reaches of the galaxy turns into a white-knuckle fight
for survival. Players need sharp reflexes to keep their
starskimmer full of fuel and away from the wildly un-
predictable artificial sun which threatens to make eve-
ry move their last.
The Solar Plexus increases in speed and mutates into
new, more dangerous forms as players continue to play.

Space Battle
Developer Dave Neuman
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In Space Battle, players must defend a remote Earth

outpost from attacking invaders. But before they can
even face the enemy onslaught, they must first land
their ship on the outpost’s defense platform while
evading an enemy sentry. Once on the platform, they
will then face the first wave of enemy fighters.
After players destroy the first wave, they’ll then be
faced with two morphing Kh’rylian Destroyers.
“atariage.com”

Space Instigators
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Space Instigators is a version of the popular arcade

game Space Invaders that can be seen as more faithful
to the original than Atari’s 2600 port. This version fits
nine invaders in a row without flicker, an impressive
feat on the Atari 2600. The graphics, colors and sounds
are truer to the original version than Atari’s effort.
Players can purchase Space Instigators in cartridge
form, complete with an instruction card and plastic
Limited: 50
storage case, from the AtariAge Store. Regular: Yes
 Homebrew • 259

Space Treat
Developer Fabrizio Zavagli
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Space Treat, players control a ship that must reach

the top of the screen, collect the tasty treat located
there, and get it back to its base at the bottom.
Space Treat made its debut at the 2002 Classic Gaming
Expo. The game came in a limited quantity of only 75
copies.
“atariage.com”
Limited: 75

Space Treat Deluxe

Developer Fabrizio Zavagli
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The original version of Space Treat was released at

the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo. This new version adds
several improvements to the original, including:
• Scoring
• Hi-Score feature
• More stable graphics
• 7800 compatibility
• Wider emulators compatibility
• Various cosmetic and audio improvements

Squish ‘Em
Developer Bob Montgomery
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The objective in Squish ‘Em is to climb those 48-floor

buildings to grab the cash-filled suitcase at the top of
each one. Players also have to be on alert for falling
bricks from above and watch out for creepy critters
who’ve made these buildings their home. Once play-
ers reach the top of each building, they can grab the
suitcase and continue to the next building.
“atariage.com”
260 • Homebrew

Star Fire
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Star Fire is a Atari 2600 game programmed by Manuel

Polik. The game is a port of the 1979 arcade game of
the same name created by David Rolfe and Ted Mi-
chon and released by Exidy. The game is a wave-based
space shoot’em-up, with several surprises that players
won’t find in the original arcade game. It carefully tries
to not only adopt most features of the original, but to
enhance the gameplay whereever possible as well.
“atariage.com”

Stell-A-Sketch / Okie Dokie

Developer Bob Colbert
Publisher Retroware
Release date 1997
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

Stell-A-Sketch is an Atari 2600 program that simu-

lates the popular Etch A Sketch toy. It was written for
the Supercharger, and would not be possible without
the extra memory provided by the Supercharger. Both
CD-ROM and Cassette versions were released, and
Stell-A-Sketch was bundled with Okie Dokie. Unfor-
tunately, the maker of the real Etch A Sketch, Ohio Art,
forced Bob Colbert to stop selling Stell-A-Sketch.
“atariage.com”

Stell-A-Sketch / Okie Dokie

Developer Bob Colbert
Publisher Retroware
Release date 1997
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

This is the CD-ROM version of the game.

Stell-A-Sketch supports input via an Atari joystick,
driving controllers, Amiga mouse, or Atari ST mouse.
 Homebrew • 261

StickyNotes Cart
Developer John K. Harvey
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2006
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The StickyNotes cartridge displays a custom message

on the Atari 2600, up to 990 characters in length. Play-
ers custom message will scroll by in a colorful dis-
play when their 2600 is powered up with this cartridge
inserted. Optionally, two messages may be included,
each 490 characters in length, toggled by pressing the
joystick button.
Messages may be composed of letters, numbers, and
most other characters found on a normal keyboard.

Strat-O-Gems Deluxe
Developer John Payson
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Strat-O-Gems Deluxe is a Atari 2600 game by John

Payson, originally created for the 2005 Minigame
Competition that bears similarities to Columns, Jewel
Master, and Salu’s Acid Drop. In Strat-O-Gems De-
luxe, colored gems fall from the top of the screen in
groups of three. Any time three or more adjacent gems
of the same color line up vertically, horizontally, or
diagonally they will disappear. Any gems above them
will then fall down.

SWOOPS!
Developer Thomas Jentzsch
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 player

SWOOPS! is a collection of three 1K minigames that

Thomas Jentzsch submitted in the 2004 Minigame
Competition. Two of the games in this collection won
first and second place in the 1K competition: Cave 1K
won the category, and Splatform came in second place.
The games are: Cave 1K, Splatform 2600 and Crash
‘n’ Dive.
“atariage.com”
262 • Homebrew

Sync
Developer Simone Serra
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

Sync is a unique collection of puzzle and rhythm games

that require players to think fast and improve their dex-
terity to get higher scores. Sync includes seven games
in total. Many of the games have a wide variety of set-
tings for players to try to keep them interesting.
The games are; Mantra, Jitter (4K), Flow (4K) and
Four.

Synthcart
Developer Paul Slocum
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The Synthcart is a rather unique title for the 2600 that

allows players to play music using a pair of keyboard
controllers. Each keyboard controller controls one of
the two oscillators in the Atari 2600.
AtariAge sponsored a Synthcart Beat Programming
Contest in early 2002 to allow people to create and
contribute beats to be included with the Synthcart.
“atariage.com”

Testcart
Developer Paul Slocum
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2001
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The Testcart is a cartridge that allows users to test Atari

2600 consoles and controllers. When they power up a
2600 with this cartridge inserted, it first displays a test
pattern and plays some music to verify that the sound
and video are working. It then switches to a screen
where the controller switches, joysticks, keyboard
controllers and paddles may all be tested.
The Testcart may be purchased in cartridge form com-
plete with manual from the AtariAge Store.
 Homebrew • 263

Thrust
Developer XYPE
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2000
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

As a Resistance fighter, the player must fly into enemy

lines in order to steal Klystron Pods to power more ad-
vanced starships, using your tractor beam to take them.
A network of mounted guns are aiming to shoot the
player down – these can be disabled by shooting their
power source, but eventually this will explode, forc-
ing the player to flee. Some of the later levels feature
reverse gravity, which increases the difficulty of the
gameplay.

Thrust+ DC Edition
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Thrust+ DC Edition is an iteration of Thomas Jentzsch’s

popular Atari 2600 conversion of the Commodore 64
game Thrust. Fans of Gravitar will feel right at home
in Thrust+, and this is a sophisticated and challenging
game for the 2600. Thrust+ DC Edition also supports a
wide range of controllers, including joysticks, driving
controllers, CBS Booster Grip, and a 2600-compatible
foot pedal controller.
“atariage.com”

Thrust+ Platinum
Developer XYPE
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2003
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

XYPE programmers Thomas Jentzsch and Paul Slo-

cum joined forces to create Thrust+ Platinum, an up-
dated version of Thomas Jentzsch’s Atari 2600 port of
the Commodore 64 classic. Thrust+ Platinum is now
enhanced with a great title theme composed by Paul
Slocum, as well as several other audio enhancements.
These audio enhancements add further polish to what
was already a great homebrew game.
“atariage.com”
264 • Homebrew

This Planet Sucks

Developer Greg Troutman
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 1998
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This Planet Sucks was Greg Troutman’s first game for

the Atari 2600 and is based on the Taito arcade game
Lunar Rescue. The goal of the game is to rescue colo-
nists trapped on the planet’s surface, while avoiding
the asteroid belt between the players mother ship and
the colonists. In addition to fighting gravity and avoid-
ing the asteroids, care must also be taken not to squash
the poor colonists they’re trying to save.

Toyshop Trouble
Developer Payson, Matley, Montgomery, Jentzsch, Strum
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2007
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Toyshop Trouble is the 2007 re-release of the 2006

AtariAge Holiday Cart. In the game, Toyshop elves
Patrick, Quincy, and Robert are laying on the beach,
relaxing in the sun. Unfortunately for players, Patrick’s
idea of “painting” toys was dumping them all in a
bucket of gray paint. While this technically fulfilled
his associates’ obligations, the toys still have to be
painted properly.
“atariage.com”

Ultra SCSIcide
Developer Joe Grand
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Ultra SCSIcide is another version of SCSIcide, and

contains several improvements over the original:
• Added support for joystick controllers.
• Fixed flicker.
• Changed background and data bit color palette.
• Reduced track size from 10 to 8 bits.
• Changed speed increase per level.
• Added a PAL version of the game.
Including several other changes.
 Homebrew • 265

Vault Assault
Developer Brian Prescott
Publisher Brian Prescott
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Vault Assault is a game based on the old arcade game

Space Zap, written by Brian Prescott for the Atari
2600. Brian released Vault Assault in cartridge form
at the 2001 Classic Gaming Expo, selling out all the
copies he brought with him. The source code for Vault
Assault is available on the Vault Assault home page.
“atariage.com”

Limited: n/a
Regular: Yes

Vault Assault
Tournament Edition
Developer Brian Prescott
Publisher Brian Prescott
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In the game players are stationed in a vault in the cent-

er of the screen, and must protect their base from an
onslaught of enemy ships coming at them from four
different sides. As the game progresses, the difficulty
increases.
The Tournament Edition version was sold at Philly-
Limited: n/a Classic3.

Video Simon
Developer Mark De Smet
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date 2000
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Video Simon was made by Mark De Smet as a pro-

gramming excersize. He did not have an actual Simon
to imitate, so he had to go off of his memory of seeing
one a decade or so ago.
The final version was released through Hozer Video
Game.
“maxwell.fief.org”
266 • Homebrew

Vong
Developer Rick Skrbina
Publisher Rick Skrbina
Release date 2008
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Vong is a homebrew game that plays like the classic

arcade game Pong, but vertically instead of horizon-
tally. Vong features six gameplay modes, two of which
are hidden.
The normal modes are:
Game 1 = Single Player
Game 2 = Two Player
Left Difficulty A = Small Paddles
Limited: 30
Left Difficulty B = Large Paddles

Warring Worms
Developer Baroque Gaming
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Warring Worms is like an advanced version of the clas-

sic Atari game Surround. While avoiding walls, each
worm can shoot a cannon that will destroy a single
block on the playing field, or kill the opposing worm.
There are ten starting playfields, a single player and
two player mode, and hostile environment games with
a total of 80 game variations in all.
Warring Worms is the first release from Baroque Gaming.
Limited: 100
Regular: Yes

Warring Worms:
The Worm (Re)Turns
Developer Baroque Gaming
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2005
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

This version of Warring Worms sports several sig-

nificant improvements over the original game and the
game has been doubled in size from 4K to 8K. Warring
Worms: The Worm (Re)Turns includes a new game se-
lection screen, where players can see all the original
options as well as several new ones.
“atariage.com”
:
 Homebrew • 267

Yahtzee
Developer Russell Babylon
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date n/a
Genre Strategy
Mode 1 Player

The game follows standard Yahtzee rules. The only ex-

ception is that players can only score extra Yahtzees
as a Yahtzee (some versions of the rules allow play-
ers to score extra Yahtzees as combinations less than a
Yahtzee). The game control is very intuitive. They use
the left joystick to play the game.
“atariage.com”

Z-Blocks
Developer Alex G.
Publisher Hozer Video Games
Release date n/a
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1-2 Players

Ed Federmeyer became the first independent hobby-

ist to bring Tetris for Atari 2600 to life with Edtris in
1995, then Colin Hughes’ impressive Tetris26 sprung
to life three years later. Now, with Z-Blocks, Alex G.
did both of them one better by creating a Tetris clone
with multiplayer capabilities. In this adaptation of the
classic puzzler, gameplay is pretty much like any other
clone of Tetris.
“atarihq.com”
268 • Homebrew

2014 AtariAge Holiday Cart:

Stay Frosty 2: Stay Frostier
Developer Darrell Spice Jr
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Stay Frosty 2 marks the return of the AtariAge Holi-

day Greetings Cart. The initial run of the game was
numbered, but the game is now sold in an “Unlimited”
form, and the labels were changed to remove the “Hol-
iday Greetings” text and the space for the number.
In the game players extinguish fireballs, either by
throwing snowballs or simply running over them. Limited: n/a

The 2nd Dimension

Developer Gray Games and Snailsoftware
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2015
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players, as Todd, with their laser rifle have entered the

2nd Dimension. There they must do battle with various
flying 2nd Dimensional Entities to save Earth from a
most hostile invader.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

2048 2600
Developer Chesterbr
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2014
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

In this sliding block puzzel game, players must slide

numbered tiles on a grid to combine them and create
a tile with the number 2048. It may be compared to
Candy Crush for math geeks.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
 Homebrew • 269

A Slow Year
Developer Ian Bogost
Publisher Ian Bogost
Release date 2010
Genre Other
Mode 1 Player

A Slow Year is a collection of four games, one for

each season, about the experience of observing things.
These games are neither action nor strategy: each of
them requires a different kind of sedate observation
and methodical input. The game attempts to embrace
maximum expressive constraint and representational
condensation. One can call them game poems.
“bogost.com”
xxx

Ature
Developer Beoran
Publisher Beoran, Cowlitz Gamers For Kids
Release date 2011
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

Ature is a action adventure game that resembles the

NES game Zelda. Players takes the role of Signe, the
youngest in the line of the Gemma. Her father, Dyon,
trained her in the arts of sword fighting, and when she
reached 20 years of age, she were handed the Mystic
Medallion, sign that henceforth she would be the Pro-
tector of the Tree.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
Limited: (T.M.G) 15
Limited: (C.G.K) 30

Balloon Protest
Developer Bill Osmulski
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2011
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

During the Madison protests, protesters started bring-

ing heart shaped balloons into the Capitol and releas-
ing them in the rotunda. Their goal was to fill up the
dome with these balloons. One day a staffer, who was
going crazy from the months of protest chanting and
singing in the building, snapped. He grabbed a letter
opener and tried to pop these balloons. So in the game,
players try to navigate heart shaped balloons up into
the Capitol dome, while dodging the enraged staffer.
270 • Homebrew

Blinky Goes Up
Developer Jan Hermanns
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2013
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Blinky Goes Up is an original platform game by Jan

Hermanns. The goal is to ascend through each level in
this vertical scrolling platformer, collecting every gold
nugget along the way. Players receive an extra life for
every four told nuggets they collect. And they may
need them, as there are villains working to block their
path: Tooby, Bolly, and Shooty. To compound matters,
if players fall or jump from a platform and don’t land
on another, they’ll lose a life.

Bomb on Pixel City

Developer Gamopat Studio
Publisher Hozer Video Games, Good Deal Games
Release date 2012
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players is a crazy retina fanboy and they want to de-

stroy the old Pixel City. They have to pilot their bomber
over 10 levels to destroy all the buildings (and maybe
flatten a tree or two).
“atari2600homebrew.com”

The Byte Before Christmas

Developer Kitchen, Holcomb, Hardin, Saarna
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2014
Genre Compilation
Mode 1 Player

The Byte Before Christmas is a collection of four hol-

iday-themed games for the Atari 2600. When players
fire up The Byte Before Christmas, they’ll be present-
ed with a menu that allows them to select from one of
the four games;
• Santa’s Scabs
• Christmas Adventure
• Bell Hopper
• Naughty List
“atariage.com”
 Homebrew • 271

Cave In
Developer Steve Engelhardt
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2010
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of an adventurer who has set out

to find an ancient lost crown. Legend says the crown
broken into three pieces and hidden in an old aban-
doned mine. The crown can only be reassembled in
the ancient throne room, which is also hidden in the
mine. As players enter the mine, the entrance caves in
and they realize that they’re stuck - now they have two
things on their mind, finding the lost crown and finding
a way out of the mine.

CGE Adventures
Developer RetroGaming Roundup
Publisher Game Gavel
Release date 2013
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

The game is based on a true story from CGE 2010

when the RetroGaming Roundup crew were interview-
ing a classic gaming celebrity while a strange fellow
made off with not one, but a whole spindle of 100 of
the Podcast Promo CDs. Through investigation and
deduction the thief was identified and has now come to
be famously known as the Deaf CD Thief.
“retrogamingroundup.com”
Limited: 100

Chase It!
Developer Alan W. Smith
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2010
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In Chase It!, red squares appear upon the screen, and

it is the players job to collide with them before the op-
ponent. Some variations of the game have barriers that
complicate the race. This 16k game is complete with
twenty game variations and a demo mode. The first
nine variations are two-player games, and games ten
through fifteen are single player challenges.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
Limited: 30
272 • Homebrew

Chetiry
Developer Chris Walton, Fred Quimby, Zach Matley
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2012
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Chetiry is a puzzle game for the Atari 2600. The objec-

tive is to combine falling shapes of 4 squares (tetromi-
noes) into continuous horizontal lines of 10 squares,
which will remove them from the grid. “Chetiry” is a
loose translation of the Russian word “Four”.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Desert Bus 2600

Developer n/a
Publisher Clever Machine Studios
Release date 2013
Genre “Racing”
Mode 1 Player

This is a remake of the legendary unreleased SegaCD

gaming classic. The goal of the game is drive a bus
from Tucson, Arizona all the way to Las Vegas, Ne-
vada.
The game was released in a limited quantity. It came
with a cartridge, manual, box and a air fresherner.

Limited: n/a
 Homebrew • 273

Dungeon
Developer David Weavil
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2009
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

Dungeon is a turn-based assault in a dark and dan-

gerous multi-level labyrinth. Along the way players
encounter a variety of creatures hell-bent on their de-
struction. Aiding them in their quest is their spell book,
chests containing magical items, and many wonders
hidden in the dark depths of the dungeon. The goal
of the game is to rescue the princess and make it out
alive.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Endless Snow
Developer Rudy J. Ferretti
Publisher Rudy J. Ferretti
Release date 2013
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players find themself in survival mode, shoveling

snow, dodging hail and deadly icicles. Players have a
freeze bar indicator to the right on the screen. Periodi-
cally they must grab the hot chocolate from the win-
dow. If the freezer bar runs out they freeze to death.
As the waves and difficulty increases the freezer bar
will deplete quicker and objects will become harder to
avoid. The only escape is to get 999,999 points.

Epic Adventure
Developer Red Knight Games
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2012
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

The mission is to recapture the Golden Chalice and re-

turn it to the castle gate. The quest will be an arduous
one, as the Chalice is protected by Orcs, a Cave Troll,
and a Winged Dragon. If players manage to best these
creatures, they’ll have to seize the Chalice from the
Evil Magician himself. But before players can actually
see the Chalice, they must first snuff out the shadowing
magic of the Dragon, as the Chalice will only appear
once the Dragon has been slayed.
274 • Homebrew

Escape It!
Developer Alan W. Smith
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2011
Genre Maze
Mode 1-2 Players

Escape It! is based on the European VideoPac (Odys-

sey2) game “Labyrinth.” It is a two-player race to the
exit game through a maze that is constantly changing
while players navigate through the maze.
The game had a limited run of only 30 copies.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Limited: 30

Explosive Diarrhea
Developer Chris Read
Publisher Packrat Video Games
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Someone at the Redneck family reunion forgot to

check if the clams were any good before serving them.
Turns out they weren’t. So now everyone has to go
to the bathroom. Unfortunately for the Rednecks, they
held their family reunion next to a minefield and the
outhouse is on the other side of it. The goal is to guide
the Rednecks to the outhouse.
“packratvg.com”

Flappy
Developer Michael Hass
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Flappy is an Atari 2600 take on the popular (and some-

what infamous at this point) Flappy Bird game that first
appeared on the iPhone. Like its iOS brethren, Flappy
is a fairly simple game. Pressing the joystick button
causes the bird to flap, and the more it flap, the higher
it climb. The goal is to line up the bird so it passes
through the oncoming pipes. If it run into a pipe, it’s
game over.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
 Homebrew • 275

Gate Racer 2
Developer Steve Engelhardt
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2013
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Gate Racer II is a racing game. Players must avoid the

oil slicks and dodge their way through openings. The
game is compatible with the SaveKey which allows
users to save high scores.
It had a limited release of 20 copies.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Limited: 20

Goblin Chaser
Developer Gray Games and Snailsoftware
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2014
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

In this game, Lord Gray has requested the players at-

tendance at his Castle. He requests their help push-
ing back the goblin invasion before it is too late. The
players are a great warrior who must seek out and slay
the evil goblins who are infesting the Kingdom of
Zumwalt.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Guru Meditation
Developer Ian Bogost
Publisher Ian Bogost
Release date 2009
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Legend has it, Amiga’s developers became so frustrated

while programming the Amiga computer operating sys-
tem, as a relaxation technique, they practiced sitting ab-
solutely still on the company’s Atari Joyboard peripheral
- and from that came Amiga’s Guru Meditation fatal error
messages. Paying homage to the lore, Ian Bogost created
Guru Meditation, a relaxation game for Atari VCS that
has players sitting cross-legged on a Joyboard. So long
Limited: 10 as the player sits still, an on-screen character will levitate.
276 • Homebrew

Halo 2600
Developer Ed Fries
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2012
Genre Adventure
Mode 1 Player

Players, as Master Chief, is all that remains of a clas-

sified military project to build a series of genetically
enhanced super-soldiers. He is hunamity’s last and
best hope against the Covenant - but Master Chief is
woefully out-matched, and survival is not guaranteed.
Players must battle their way through the massive
world that is halo, defeat the Covenant, and save hu-
manity.
Limited: 50
“atari2600homebrew.com” Regular: Yes

Incoming!
Developer Ben Larson
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2008
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

‘Incoming!’ is an artillery shooting game that can be

played between two players, or between one player
and the computer. The game is played in rounds. Each
round of the game features two tanks, one red and one
green, squaring off against one another across a side-
view 2-dimensional battlefield. The object is to destroy
the other player’s tank by lobbing shells across the
board and hitting him.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Juno First
Developer Chris Walton
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2009
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Juno First is an Atari 2600 version of the 1983 Konami

arcade game of the same name. The objective of the
game is very simple: destroy the aliens, capture enemy
astronauts, and survive for as long as possible.
If players have an AtariVox or AtariVox+ connected,
they will pick up enemy communications over the ra-
dio. Some of it may be useful, but some of those aliens
can be downright rude.
“atariage.com”
 Homebrew • 277

K.O. Cruiser
Developer Devin Cook
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2010
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

K.O. Cruiser is a boxing game that harkens back to

the arcade classic Punch-Out!. Players control the
transparent outline of a boxer, throwing punches and
dodging blows from the opponents. They win by ei-
ther knocking them out or going the distance and get-
ting the judges’ decision. If players get knocked down,
they have only seconds to get back up before they’re
counted out.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Kite
Developer Simon Quernhorst
Publisher Simon Quernhorst
Release date 2009
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Players control a kite with lines attached to handles

in both of their hands. Pulling each line makes the
kite turn into this direction. They must try to collect
as many dots as possible and avoid any collision with
lightning, the bird and of course the ground. The kite
can take three hits of the lightning or the bird before it
crashes.
This game is PAL only, Currently there is no NTSC
Limited: 30
Regular: Yes version.

The Last Ninja

Developer Ryan Cope
Publisher Atari2600.com
Release date 2007
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Players take the role of the Last Ninja. Hunted to ex-

tinction by the Emperor, the ninja stood alone against
his army. After many long battles, the ninja have driv-
en the Emperor to his maze garden for refuge. Players
must hunt him down and destroy him to rebuild the
proud heritage.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Limited: 20
Regular: 150
278 • Homebrew

Lead
Developer Simone Serra
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2008
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Lead is a fast paced Atari 2600 shooter that will keep

players on their toes. There are four types of stag-
es: “Fire”, in which they must shoot enemies down.
“Dodge” where they must dodge asteroids plummet-
ing towards them. “Scramble” where they must avoid
sentinels. And “Catch” stages where they must catch
satellites.
The game features two variations: Lead 1K and Lead 4K.

Mean Santa
Developer John K Harvey
Publisher 2600 Connection
Release date 2010
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Instead of leaving lumps of coals in the stockings of

the naughty children, Santa has decided to teach them
a lesson - and no rogue wind currents, bad weather, or
guard dogs are going to get in his way.
The game consist of two screens. On one, the object is
to fly Mean Santa’s sleigh through the night sky and
safely land on a house roof. Once inside the house, it’s
time for Mean Santa to get to work. Here, he is stealing
Limited: 100
all the wreaths in the house. Regular: Yes

Miss It!
Developer Alan W Smith
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2011
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In the fast-paced game of MISS IT!, players must

avoid all the enemies moving and bouncing around the
screen. As time passes, the speed and quantity of en-
emies grow until it becomes an impossible frenzy. The
game ends upon a collision.
The game had a limited run of 50 copies through Hoz-
er Video Games.
“atari2600homebrew.com” Limited: 50
 Homebrew • 279

MMSBC
Developer Jason Santuci
Publisher Bitpop
Release date 2012
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In MMSBC, a strange visitor from another planet has

granted a band of Cincinnati natives extraordinary
powers to fend off an incoming invasion from Queen
Amista and her horde of evil. The Periodical Cicadas
appear, simultaneously, only once every 17 years, and
Queen Amista has had her sights set on building the
ultimate insect army. Now, it’s up to the players to fend
off an invasion, and save the city before Amista and
Limited: 30 her crew enslave the planet.

MMSBC II
Developer Jason Santuci
Publisher Bitpop
Release date 2013
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

In this sequel, Queen Amista has invaded Louisville

with space mutants bred for negativity. Players must
keep the cities morale intact by sending her fleet back
into therapy.
The game was first Offered at the ArcadeRX 2013 in a
limited releases of 30 copies.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
Limited: 30

Monster Ball
Developer Gray Games and Snailsoftware
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

It is Halloween and a living crazy jackolatern is on the

loose gobbling up candy and people in the quiet town
of Foster. Greg decides to go to the local graveyard
and cast the spell Animate Dead. Through the black
dirt came forth two drunk zombies Charles and Derek.
Since Greg has mind control over these undead crea-
tures he send the zombies Charles and Derek to bounce
out this wicked jackolatern out of town once and for
all.
280 • Homebrew

Muncher
Developer Rick Skrbina
Publisher Rick Skrbina, 2600connection
Release date 2013
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

After the players spaceship crashes on an alien planet,

they discover that the only edible things are the food
from their own ship. Unfortunately, during the wreck,
the food was scattered around in separate piles. Play-
ers must collect and eat all the food while avoiding the
native aliens.
The game was released as a limited self-published
edition (red cart) of 40 copies and a regular edition
Limited: 40
through 2600connection (purple cart). Regular: Yes

N.E.R.D.S
Developer Sam Deiter
Publisher Atari2600.com
Release date 2007
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

As the most elite and newest member sof the Govern-

ment’s recently created unit BH-24 the job is simple;
players are to protect the President and other key mem-
bers of Government from foreign attack by genetically
engineered super viruses. If a person is attacked by a
rogue viral agent players will be called upon to com-
mand the recently created Nano Emersion Recovery
Device and pilot it through the infected person’s body
taking out the viruses and saving their life. Limited: 20
Regular: 150

Omicron
Developer Simonne Serra
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

A team of four agents, each a specialist in one of the

four elements - water, fire, air and earth - have been
miniaturized to microscopic size in order to investi-
gate a mysterious new virus that appears to be of alien
origin. Something went wrong, and contact with the
team was lost. Now the virus threatens to grow out-of-
control. The players are the last hope to stop it. Having
been miniaturized themself, they now board the Omi-
cron, specifically designed to counter the virus.
 Homebrew • 281

Princess Rescue
Developer Chris Spry
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2013
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Princess Rescue (2013) is a “de-make” of Super Mario

Bros. for the Atari 2600. Players must save the Prin-
cess in this platform game through 16 challenging
scrolling levels. Collect Power-Ups and other items to
help them complete their quest while avoiding, jump-
ing, kicking, or whatever other method to get by the
boss’ minions along the way.
The game was sold for a little while on AtariAge be-
fore, sadly, being pulled.

Road Duel
Developer Stephen Smith
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2014
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

In Road Duel, players must navigate their vehicle in a horizontal racer.

Players move up and down with the joystick while avoiding all other
cars. Collect fuel canisters marked as a “F” and once five have been
obtained players can race to victory and to the next level, where faster
action and a greater challenge awaits.
“gooddealgames.com”

Road Warriors
Developer Chris Trimeiw
Publisher Lost Classics
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Set in the near future, Road Warriors is a post apoca-

lyptic battle for survival. Gas is the rarest and most
valuable commodity left on earth and many will die in
pursuit of it. Players must drive their car through the
wasteland while destroying enemy vehicles in order to
obtain their gas. Not only are the enemies out to get
the players, but the car will continuously use fuel as
players drive. Run out of gas or hit an enemy and it’s
Limited: 41 game over.
Regular: Yes
282 • Homebrew

Seaweed Assault
Developer Duane Alan Hahn
Publisher AtariAge, (L.E) Duane Alan Hahn
Release date 2011
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Seaweed Assault is an engaging and original homebrew

title for the Atari 2600 by Duane Alan Hahn. Players
must deftly pilot their Manatee, avoiding seaweed that
can damage the vessel, as well as Wrothopods, a pro-
tected species of cephalopods that travel deep to feed
on parasites that attach to mature seaweed. The goal is
to keep the sea lanes free of seaweed, and to that end
players must blast the seaweed with their torpedos.
Limited: 45
“atari2600homebrew.com”
Regular: Yes

The Shaman
Developer Gray Games and Snailsoftware
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2014
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The players, as the Shaman Quinten Todd Mandryk, is

living peacefully on Earth with his seven cats. He have
been teleported in his terracraft from his forest home
on Earth to the far away Galaxy ST41. There he must
do battle against the evil forces of the undead overlord
Darrel the Lich of Whyte.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Shield Shifter
Developer John Reder
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2009
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Players must shoot their way through the Alien shift-

ing shields to give themself a clean shot at the attack-
ing Alien Queen. The Alien Queen shoots lasers and
drops sticky bombs. Sticky Bombs will block the ships
path for a few moments. The spaceship moves closer
to the shield each time 10 alien Queens are destroyed.
Players can play against the computer or duel against a
friend in the 2-player Battle Mode.
Limited: 50
“atari2600homebrew.com”
 Homebrew • 283

Space Raid
Developer Oscar Toledo Gutierrez
Publisher CollectorVision Games
Release date 2014
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

In this shooter, players guide their fighter through en-

emy territory. Players can drop to ground level to blow
up fuel tanks and gun turrets. They must also encoun-
ter and destroy enemy squadrons in space, but avoid
their missiles.
The game include the cartridge, manual and a box, and
has a selling price of $50.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Space Rocks
Developer Darrell Spice Jr
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2013
Genre Shooter
Mode 1-2 Players

As the pilot of a ship players must maneuver instantly,

rotating left, right and energizing the thrusters to avoid
destruction. A direct hit on an asteroid with the laser
cannon breaks it in two. A hit on one of these breaks it
into two smaller asteroids, a final hit on a small aster-
oid destroys it completely. The ship is also equipped
with a special defensive option to help players avoid
collisions when the action gets intense.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Star Castle
Developer Scott D Williams
Limited Edition cart
Publisher AtariAge, (L.E.) Scott D Williams
Release date 2012
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

The Primary Objective is to pilot a ship to defeat the

Star Castle by firing missiles at the Energy Cannon.
First players must blow holes in the rotating shields
while avoiding the ever pursuing Space Mines. Players
must be cautious since the Energy Cannon will blast
back through openings in the shields. The secondary
objective is to score as many points as possible.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
Limited: (K.S.) 287
Regular: Yes
284 • Homebrew

Strangeland
Developer Jason Santuci, Scott Dayton
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2014
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In this game, Captain Howdy must eliminate his per-

sonal demons. If his outstretched hand touches a de-
mon points are awarded. Greater awards are given
if the demon is eliminated while the arm matches its
color. Demons who touch his arm will do one point
of damage to his health. Only one arm can appear on-
screen at a time. Fully retract the arm to enable the op-
posite appendage. Players can change their off-screen
arms color by pressing the FIRE button. Limited: 60

Sunset Drive
Developer Greg Zumwalt
Publisher Good Deal Games
Release date 2015
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This is the first Atari game featuring a high resolution

96x96 scrolling bitmap. It uses just about every VCS
trick in the book from bank indexing to interlacing and
even flicker display to achieve the first game of its kind
on the Atari 2600 console.
Players, as the Candyman, drive a F-150 Pick-Up
Truck into the country. Players will encounter all sorts
of crazy things on the lonely country road.
 Homebrew • 285

Three.s
Developer Thomas Jentzsch
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2014
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Three.s is an addictive puzzle game based on the popu-

lar iOS game THREES, in which the goal is to slide
numbered tiles around a grid in order to create ever-
increasing multiples of three.
Cartridges come in 5 similar but different styled labels.
The label will be random when the buyer order.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Titan Axe
Developer Jay “Papa” Caraway
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2015
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In Titan Axe, players control their chosen character

with stick-and-move tactics along with jump-and-
magic to work their way through nine levels and up to
64 screens. They can press Fire with directions to per-
form magic, special, and side attacks. Press and hold
Fire to jump, and release it to perform a jump attack.
When players hold Fire at the Game Over Screen, they
can continue their game.
“atariage.com”

Zippy the Porcupine

Developer Chris Spry
Publisher AtariAge
Release date 2015
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Players run around at high speed with Zippy the Por-

cupine through 16 different stages. Collect the rings
and pop the enemies with their spin jump. Getting hurt
by an enemy will cause them to lose all their rings,
but they can get some of them back popping the same
one. Find the bonuses as they move along, including
the springboard at the top of the levels that will take
them to a bonus ring collection stage. Finish a level by
flipping the sign by running by it at the end of a stage.
286 • Reproduction

Reproduction
A reproduction cart is not a homebrew game. Games listed here falls mostly in the prototype repro cat-
egory.
Generally, repro carts fall into three categories: the first, and perhaps least common, is a broad umbrella
of prototypes or games that never made it to official home release at all. Fan Translations are the second
most common. The most famous tend to be “counterfeits games”. As the process to produce a cartridge
and print custom labels and boxes have gotten easier and easier over time, the more dubious dealers in
the repro scene will make complete new packages for games like the infamous Nintendo World Champi-
onship cartridge. The uninitiated may not know that there are only a handful of legitimate World Cham-
pion carts floating around, so the $100 you might pay from an unscrupulous dealer seems like a steal.
In the Atari-scene, most repro sellers have made some alterations on the cart where they put a text that
say “reproduction” or something, so the game can not be sold as an original, but scammers will still try
to steal your money. So please, buyer beware.
“John Learned@usgamer.net”

Bugs Bunny
Developer Bob Polaro
Publisher Atari2600.com
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Players have three levels on the screen. They must se-

lect a level then press their button to steal the carrot.
Once the carrot is stolen, Elmer’s hound will dig where
the carrot was, forcing players to come above ground.
They must then make their way to the hole the hound
dug and dive in to safety before Elmer blasts them.
The game had a limited run of 250 copies.

Combat Two
Developer Retrodesign
Publisher Retrodesign
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Combat Two is the sequel to Combat, but never saw

the light of day like so many other Atari prototypes.
Retrodesign decided to release Combat Two to the
public in grand style by creating an Atari style box,
manual, and label for the game.
200 copies of the game were made available at Classic
Gaming Expo 2001 and were sold for $30 each. An
additional 50 copies were made available to collectors
outside of the United States.
 Reproduction- • 287

Crack’ed
Developer Zip Technologies
Publisher Zip Technologies
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This game was developed concurrently for the Atari

2600 and 7800, but only the 7800 version was released.
The 2600 version only has three levels as opposed to
six on the 7800, but those three levels are well utilized
considering the limitations of the 2600.
This version of Crack’ed was released at the 2002
Classic Gaming Expo, complete with a unique label,
box and instructions.

Elevator Action
Developer CGE Services Corp.
Publisher CGE Services Corp.
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Elevator Action is an unreleased prototype that is about

95% complete. There are some issues with collision
detection, but overall it is quite playable.
At Classic Gaming Expo 2001, CGE Services Corp.
released Elevator Action with an Atari-style box and
label. Around 200 copies of the game were available
at the show and they were sold out by the day’s end.
“atariage.com”

Holey Moley
Developer Bob Polaro
Publisher Atari2600.com
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Holey Moley is an unreleased prototype written by

Bob Polaro. The game was originally programmed
back in 1983, but was never commercially released
due to ownership changes at Atari. This game requires
the use of the Kid’s Controller, although the keyboard
and touch pad controllers work fine with it also.
A version of Holey Moley complete with a cartridge,
manual, box and Kid’s Controller overlay was sold at
the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo.
288 • Reproduction

Pick Up
Developer Mark Klein
Publisher Mark Klein
Release date 2002
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Pick-Up appears to be a completed game, one can only

guess that 20th Century Fox decided the game was too
racy to release. This is an adult themed game in which
players attempt to take a girl to a hotel for intimate
encounters. They control the male character at the bot-
tom of the screen, and the girl is on a platform to the
left. In get to her, they must shoot various objects that
are falling from the sky such as a heart, a wine glass, a
car, and other items that are deemed as assets to the girl.

Polo
Developer Carol Shaw
Publisher n/a
Release date 2002
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

Polo, developed as a promotional game for Ralph Lau-

ren’s Polo cologne, is a finished game that never made
it to market. Players charge their horse around the field
and try to knock the ball into the opponents goal.

RealSports Basketball
Developer Joe Gaucher
Publisher Rokland
Release date 2002
Genre Sports
Mode 1-2 Players

RealSports Basketball is an unreleased prototype de-

veloped by Atari, which would have filled out Atari’s
RealSports lineup (Baseball, Football, Soccer, Tennis,
and Volleyball titles were released). This version of the
game is about 90% complete and fully playable.
A version of this game with box, manual, and cartridge
was sold at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo.
 Reproduction- • 289

Revenge of the Apes

Developer John Marvin
Publisher n/a
Release date 2003
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This unreleased prototype was reproduced from an

original prototype owned by Marc Oberhäuser with
permission granted to reproduce by the original pro-
grammer. The game is fully playable and has been
enhanced from 4KB to 8KB with additional graphics
and soundtrack added by Thomas Jentzsch and Paul
Slocum.
“atariage.com”

Saboteur
Developer Jerome Domurat, Howard Scott Warshaw
Publisher n/a
Release date 2004
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Saboteur is a multi-level shooter written by Howard

Scott Warshaw, the Atari programmer and designer re-
sponsible for Yars’ Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
and E.T. Saboteur was never released by Atari, and
at some point was modified to be released as a game
based on the A-Team.
“atariage.com”

Save the Whales

Developer Beck-Tech
Publisher n/a
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Save the Whales was intended to be part one of a trio

of games whose proceeds were to benefit various en-
vironmental groups. Save the Whales was going to
benefit Green Peace, but the game was never released
and no funds were raised. The other games were Dutch
Elm Defender and Attack of the Baby Seals, although
neither of those two were ever programmed.
Save the Whales was released at the 2002 Classic Gam-
ing Expo, complete with a label, box and instructions.
290 • Reproduction

Sea Battle
Developer Larry Zwick, Bruce Pedersen
Publisher Intellivision Productions
Release date n/a
Genre Action
Mode 2 Players

Sea Battle was finished at MNetwork in the 1980’s, but

never released. In 2000, Intellivision Productions re-
leased this game complete with a simple box and man-
ual. It is still available from their web site. The game
is the Atari 2600 version of the Intellivision game of
the same name. At one point it was called High Seas,
which was consistent with MNetwork’s policy of
changing the name of a game when it appeared on a
different system.

Secret Agent
Developer Data Age
Publisher Atari2600.com
Release date 2001
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Secret Agent is a game that was being developed by

Data Age for the 2600 but was never published.
Atari2600.com released 50 copies of Secret Agent in
cartridge form with custom, Data Age style labels, at
the 2001 Classic Gaming Expo for $30 each.
“atariage.com”

Snow White
Developer Greg Easter
Publisher n/a
Release date 2002
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Snow White is an unreleased prototype developed by

Atari, using the licensed Disney Snow White property.
This version of the proto is about 50% complete, so
it’s not as enjoyable as a game, but interesting from a
historical perspective.
A version of this game with box, manual, and cartridge
was sold at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo.
“atariage.com”
 Reproduction- • 291

Swordfight
Developer Patricia Lewis Du Long, Steve Tatsumi
Publisher Intellivision Productions
Release date n/a
Genre Action
Mode 2 Players

This game was finished at MNetwork in the 1980’s,

but never released. In 2000, Intellivision Productions
released this game complete with a simple box and
manual. It is still available from their web site. Sword-
fight requires two players, which is possibly why the
game was not released in the first place.
“atariage.com”

Turbo
Developer Michael Green, Garry Littleton
Publisher AtariAge
Release date n/a
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Turbo is based on the popular 1981 Sega arcade game

of the same name, but was never commercially released
by Coleco for the 2600. Turbo was demonstrated at the
1983 Consumer Electronics Show but was never to be
seen again, even though it was roughly 80% complete
at the time. Only when former Atari 2600 programmer
Anthony Henderson discovered a copy of Turbo in his
attic many years later did Turbo finally see the light of
day.
292 • Other

Other
These two pages include different non-game carts sold for the
Atari2600. Some were test carts for people to test their systems, some
were cheat devices, and some were carts for users to copy games to.
Most of these carts are very hard to come by today.

Copy Cart
Developer VidCo
Publisher VidCo
Release date n/a
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

Copy Cart was sold in a bundle with the cartridge du-

plicator and the game Dishaster. Basically, the copier
is a double-ended apparatus in which users would in-
sert the copy cart in one end and the source cart in the
other. Press a button, and the code is copied to the copy
cart. The cartridge could be erased and reused. This
item is very difficult to find.
“atariage.com”
Rarity: 10

Diagnostic Cartridge
Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Release date n/a
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

Diagnostic carts are really an oddity. They’re not real-

ly prototypes (although they do contain EPROMs), yet
they weren’t available to the general public (usually
only to Atari hardware techs and Atari service centers).
Almost every Atari system from the 2600 to the 7800
had a diagnostic cart, each with several different tests.
Most gamers have little interest and even less use for
diagnostic carts, but they are still an important part of
Rarity: 8 Atari history.
 Other • 293

ECPC Cartridge
Developer Romox
Publisher Romox
Release date n/a
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

This is an example of the ECPC cartridge (Edge Connector Program-

mable Cartridge), in this case loaded with Deadly Duck. The ECPC
cartridge is a blank re-programmable cartridge that could be taken to
a Romox “Software Center” to load a game selected from their cata-
log. The catalog included many popular 2600 games from a variety
of companies. Rarity: 10
“atariage.com”

7.3 MagiCard
Developer CommaVid
Publisher CommaVid
Release date 1981
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

This is not a game, but a programming tool for the

Atari 2600. It was probably only available via mail or-
der, and the label is a simple white paper with some
typed text that says MagiCard and either CommaVid
or “Computer Magic”, which was CommaVid’s origi-
nal name. The cartridge also came with a 100+ page
manual, and no box. The MagiCard manual includes
five sample programs users can type in to demonstrate
how the MagiCard works. Rarity: 10

6.8 Color Bar Generator

Developer Videosoft
Publisher Videosoft
Release date 1984
Genre non-game
Mode 1 Player

The Color Bar Generator is a utility made for the Atari

2600. This simple cartridge was used to attempt to pro-
duce NTSC color bars and other test pattern designs
for calibrating television sets. As a diagnostic tool it
was pretty versatile. There are 15 different patterns it
can generate as well as an option to toggle oscillation
between 1kHz and 3kHz. The included patterns al-
lowed users to test all aspects of the video signal.
Rarity: 9
294 • Prototype

Prototype
by: atariprotos.com

Due to its enormous popularity the 2600 enjoyed an unusually long life span (1977-1992), long outlasting all
of its rivals. Because of this longevity, there are a large number of 2600 prototypes in existence, making them
easier to obtain than prototypes on other systems.
Despite its popularity, the 2600 was not immune to the great crash. The market crash of 83-84 is considered by
many to be one of the darkest events in video game history, however to prototype collectors the crash is quite
fascinating. For you see the crash produced a large number of unreleased games, and it is these games that
are of greatest interest. Unreleased games run the gambit of completion, ranging from non-playable demos to
completed games ready for release. These prototypes have been known to cause quite a bit of controversy, as
many remain unreleased. The debate rages on whether collectors have a duty to release rom files of unreleased
games, or have the right to keep them private.
Of course prototype collecting is not without its risks. Companies such as Best Electronics have been accused
of copying prototypes in the past and selling them to unwitting collectors. Although these copies are virtu-
ally identical to their official counterparts (same boards, same EPROMs), they are largely considered to be
worthless by collectors. With the rise in popularity of Ebay, these once rare counterfeits are becoming more
and more common. Remember when it comes to buying prototypes, Caveat Emptor (“Let the buyer beware”).

by: 2600connection.com

The original “lab label” was a blank 1st-style label, with sim-
ply a white sticker on it with the game’s title.

The large majority of Atari prototype carts will have this

type label. “Loaner Cartridge” is printed across the top of the
front label, with the game title below that (usually on a white
sticker or white area) in the center. A date (or date code) may
also appear here. Under that, a “Return to….” info section
appears, stating to return it to either Jan Boehm or the Pro-
totype Lab (although one has been found with a typed label
attached instructing for it to be returned to Guy Hollingbury).
Sometimes the game title is not attached, or it might be the
only thing printed on the front label. Be wary of fake repro-
ductions that look very similar.

Prototypes from the 86-91 usually have the complete opposite

scheme - an all-white label with some text on it.

Prototype carts from GCC are the other exception to the

black-only labels. The text layout is similar to the type B la-
bels, except the background is blue, with white areas to write
information in. Often there are copies of the same game with
the type B label.

Several fake “Lab label” carts have shown up. Most often these
are made with a laser printer, and are affixed over a production
cart label, such as Centipede. Notice the slight differences in
the text size and font used: A few have also been found with
the date 02-08-83 on them. If it has a later date (11-17-83)
there may be a label underneath it with the earlier date. The
board inside is an actual production board (not an EPROM).
296 • Prototype

3-D Genesis
Developer Videosoft (Dan McElroy, Jerry Lawson)
Publisher Amiga
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

According to the manual that came with the reproduction sold a few
years back, it is the far future and the planet has been overrun by enor-
mous super insects. However in an aversion to the standard plots of the
time, the players are not a lone hero out to save the world from these
deadly insects. Instead, they ARE one of those insects. The goal is to
destroy all the insects who are invading the players crevice and win the
battle for the planet.
“atariprotos.com”

A-Team
Developer Atari (Howard Scott Warshaw)
Publisher Atari
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Designed by Howard Scott Warshaw, this game was

originally created under the name Saboteur with
slightly different graphics. Atari decided that the A-
Team would be a more marketable cartridge, but ulti-
mately it wasn’t released either. The game is very play-
able and appears nearly complete, with three levels of
gameplay.
“atariage.com”

AD&D: Tower of Mystery

Developer M-Network (Connie Goldman, Mike Sanders)
Publisher M-Network
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This game was shown at Classic Gaming Expo and is owned by Intel-
livision Productions. It will probably never be released due to copy-
right reasons involving the AD&D name. That’s unfortunate, because
the game appears to be finished and quite good. The ROM has not yet
been released, but the game was released as Tower of Doom for the In-
tellivision. This is a 16K cartridge with 2K onboard RAM, an impres-
sive piece of software that features 8 different game screens.
“atariage.com”
 Prototype- • 297

AD&D: Treasure of Tarmin

Developer M-Network
Publisher M-Network
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This game was shown at Classic Gaming Expo and is owned by

Intellivision Productions. It will probably never be released due to
copyright reasons involving the AD&D name. It’s a 3D dungeon
crawl similar to the Intellivision version, and it’s remarkably good
considering the 2600’s limitations. The ROM has not yet been re-
leased.
“atariage.com”

Alligator People
Developer 20th Century Fox (John Russell)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Alligator People is an unreleased prototype based on the movie

of the same name. This prototype, discovered by Ben Liashenko,
appears to have been completed and unlike some prototypes that
never saw the light of day, this one is quite enjoyable to play!
In the game players are lost in the deepest part of the jungle. Six
of their friends have fallen under the spell of the Alligator People.
They are slowly being transformed into alligators and the players
are the only one who can save them.

Androman on the Moon

Developer Western Technologies (Michael Case)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Androman on the Moon was one of several planned games for the
unreleased Androman robot. Although a few of the games were
rumored to have been programmed, Androman on the Moon is the
first one to actually surface. Although the game itself may not look
like much, one has to remember that it was only part of the pack-
age. The real magic was with Androman himself.
“atari2600homebrew.com”
298 • Prototype

Aquaventure
Developer Atari (Gary Shannon)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Aquaventure is a bit of a mystery in the prototype

world. It was never mentioned in any Atari press re-
leases nor does it show up on any internal part lists.
Aquaventure seems to have popped out of the wood-
work one day without any public fanfare nor any his-
tory behind its mysterious origins. In any case, Aqua-
venture seems to be complete and ready for release,
one can only speculate as to why it was shelved.
“atari2600homebrew.com”

Bionic Breakthrough
Developer Atari (Paul Donaldson)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This prototype is unplayable without the Mindlink controller. It’s an

interesting idea, but it doesn’t quite work. In theory, the game is con-
trolled by the player’s thoughts, and the Mindlink controller has sev-
eral sensors that rest on the player’s head. It’s more likely that facial
movements or biorhythmic feedback controlled the action on-screen.
“atariage.com”

Bloody Human Freeway

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

According to David Crane, he got the idea for Freeway

from watching a man trying to cross Lake Shore Drive
during rush-hour traffic while attending Chicago’s
Consumer Electronic Show.
Freeway originally featured people crossing the road
instead of chickens since that was the scenario that in-
spired David Crane. However some people at Activi-
sion complained that they didn’t like the idea of people
being struck by cars, so chickens were substituted for
people before the game was released.
 Prototype- • 299

Boggle
Developer Atari (David Crane)
Publisher Atari
Genre Strategy
Mode 2 Players

Boggle is an unreleased game for the Atari 2600 pro-

grammed by David Crane while he was still working
at Atari. In Boggle, which is based on the popular word
game of the same name, players must form as many
words as possible from a random 4x4 grid of letters.
The 2600 version of the game is for two players only,
and each player can form a maximum of eight words.
The game appears to be fairly close to completion, al-
though there are some glitches, such as all the letters
not appearing in the grid right away.

Cabbage Patch Kids:

Adventures in the Park
Developer Individeo
Publisher Coleco
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

This was a long-lost unreleased prototype discovered

by Alex Handy at a flea market in California. Alex lo-
cated a cache of old EPROMs, later realizing he had
come across a copy of Cabbage Patch Kids: Adven-
tures in the Park for the Atari 2600, a title released
for the ColecoVision but which never saw the light of
day on the 2600. With the help of Atari enthusiast Joe
Grand, all of Alex’s finds were dumped. The game is a
side-scrolling game, similar to Pitfall!.

Care Bears
Developer Parker Brothers (Laura Niklich)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The Atari 2600 was no stranger to games designed

specifically for children. Although Atari had capital-
ized on the idea that young children could play video
games just as well as their older siblings, almost no
other companies decided to follow suit. Parker Broth-
ers was one of the few exceptions to this rule.
Although Laura Niklich described the game as being
almost finished, the only known prototype to surface is
nothing more than a graphics demo.
“atariprotos.com”
300 • Prototype

Cat Trax
Developer UA Limited
Publisher UA Limited
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Cat Trax is a game originally written for the Emerson Arcadia 2001 by
UA Ltd., and apparently slated to be released on the Atari 2600. While
it was never commercially released by UA Ltd., it did appear on a Eu-
ropean multi-cart under the name Cat N Mouse. It’s unknown why this
game (and the other UA prototypes) were never released commercially.
“atariage.com”

Computer Chess
Developer Atari (Larry Wagner, Bob Whitehead)
Publisher Atari
Genre Board game
Mode 1 Player

Computer Chess is a bit of an oddity among prototypes.

Once thought to simply be an early name for Video
Chess, it turns out that Computer Chess is actually a
slightly different game. While its not a large difference
(Chess is Chess), its different enough to take notice.
The most obvious difference is that the coordinates for
the chess board is displayed at the bottom of screen.
When a piece is selected, a picture of the piece and the
coordinates of the move are displayed on screen.
“atariprotos.com”

Confrontation
Developer Answer Software
Publisher Answer Software
Genre Strategy
Mode 2 Players

Confrontation is a strange strategy game which was never commer-

cially released, but was available directly from Answer for a short time.
Only people who saw it on display at the 1983 CES show would have
know about it and ordered it so while it’s not technically a prototype,
it’s close enough. The game is a very unique game which can only be
played by two opposing players.
“atariprotos.com”

The blue player’s pawns are lined up vertically along the left border of
 Prototype- • 301

Cubicolor
Developer Imagic (Rob Fulop)
Publisher Rob Fulop
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Cubicolor was written by Rob Fulop while he was

working Imagic, but the company refused to publish it.
Nevertheless, he proceeded to sell it himself in a very
limited amount of cartridges. He first sold these in the
80’s for $100 each, and then released the remainder in
the mid-90’s when there was renewed interest. Most
copies have a simple white label and are signed and
numbered by Rob Fulop. It is unknown exactly how
many copies exist, although it is believed to be less
than 100.

Donald Duck’s Speedboat

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

One of the lost Disney games (along with Snow White

and Dumbo), Donald Duck’s Speedboat was ready for
release before being cancelled for reasons unknown. It
was cancelled so late in fact that a prototype box and
several screenshots had already been shown in Euro-
pean 2600 catalogs. In another strange twist the Bra-
zilian company Polyvox may have actually licensed
and released the Donald Duck complete with an offi-
cial looking silver label (instead of the normal Disney
blue).

Dumbo’s Flying Circus

Developer Atari (Peter Niday)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Dumbo’s Flying Circus was scheduled to be part of

Atari’s children’s series, but for one reason or another
it never saw the light of day. Atari advertised Dumbo
in European Atari catalogs and even had a prototype
box made, so the decision to shelve it must have been
made quite late. Even though Dumbo was developed
as a children’s game, the gameplay is quite difficult
which may be the reason why it was never released.
“atariprotos.com”
302 • Prototype

Dukes of Hazzard
Developer Atari (Mark R. Hahn)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Dukes of Hazzard is an oddity among prototypes in

that it’s really not a prototype at all. Dukes of Hazzard
was actually burned onto regular ROM chips that were
just about to be put into carts and shipped when Atari
abruptly decided to cancel the game. According to the
programmer the game was still being worked on, so
it is a mystery as to why Atari would go through the
expense of manufacturing ROM chips.
“atariprotos.com”

Dukes of Hazzard version 2

Developer Atari (Bob Polaro)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This is another prototype with the Dukes of Hazzard name. However,

this is a modified version of Stunt Cycle, another unreleased game.
In this case, the graphics have been changed to a Dukes of Hazzard
theme. It’s unknown why Atari abandoned the Stunt Cycle version,
but it may be because it was too outdated by the time it was ready for
release (Atari had moved onto 4K games).
“atariage.com”

Dune
Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

Dune is an unreleased prototype based on the 1984 movie of the same

name. It appears that it was to be an action/adventure style game simi-
lar to Atari’s classic Adventure, but given as the game was never fin-
ished, we’ll never know for sure. This prototype appears to be only
about 30% complete--the game engine seems to be done, but many of
the gameplay elements and graphics are missing. Presumably this title
was canceled with the Tramiels shut down 2600 game development
and fired most of the staff.
“atariage.com”
 Prototype- • 303

Elk Attack
Developer Atari (Mark R. Hahn)
Publisher Atari
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

Elk Attack is a port of the obscure Taito arcade game Electric Yo-Yo.
Programmer Mark Hahn named the game Elk Attack as a joke, and
probably would have changed the name had it been published.
Elk Attack is really a Pac-Man type game but without a maze. Players
control a Yo-Yo type machine, which must use its string to latch onto
and destroy all the colored blocks on the screen.
“atariprotos.com”

Frog Demo
Developer CommaVid (Joseph Biel)
Publisher CommaVid
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This prototype was recently found in a box of EPROMs given to Dig-

ital Press by Dr. John Bronstein, one of the co-founders of Commavid.
This EPROM was simply labeled “Frog”, and is really just a one-screen
demo featuring a frog and some stationary moths. When the fire button
is pressed, the frog will shoot out its tongue (looks suspiciously like the
laser beam).
According to Dr. Joseph Biel, this demo was used to test some graphi-
cal theories that he later used in his game Stronghold.

Frog Pond
Developer Atari (Nick Turner)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The history behind Frog Pond is a little hazy, it’s either

a victim of bad timing or of management/program-
mer dispute. The premise behind Frog pond is simple,
players control a frog who must try and catch vari-
ous insects with its tongue in a race to see how many
points they can score. The game subject and total lack
of difficulty almost guarantee that it was to going to be
aimed at small children, much like Nick Tuner’s previ-
ous game Demons to Diamonds.
“atariprotos.com”
304 • Prototype

Funky Fish
Developer UA Limited
Publisher UA Limited
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Funky Fish is a port of the 1981 arcade game by Sun Electronics. It

was programmed by UA Ltd., the same company that programmed all
the games for the Emerson Arcadia 2001. It’s unknown why this game
(and the other UA prototypes) was never released commercially.
“atariage.com”

Garfield
Developer Atari (P: Steve Woita, G: Mimi Doggett)
Publisher Atari
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

While Atari may have thought Garfield had limited ap-

peal, its obvious they didn’t take the time to play the
game. Had they actually taken a close look at Garfield
they would have discovered that while it may feature
a well-known cartoon cat, it was actually a great side
scrolling platform game (something the 2600 library
was sorely lacking). Even in its unfinished state, Gar-
field proves that the 2600 could do a multi-screened
side scrolling game.
“atariprotos.com”

Good Luck, Charlie Brown

Developer Atari (Christopher Omarzu)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

This prototype was found at a flea market in Kenosha,

WI, in a lab loaner cartridge case. The gameplay con-
sists of one screen in which Charlie Brown must fly his
kite while avoiding birds, balloons, rockets, and other
obstacles. There is a wind gauge at the bottom of the
screen that indicates wind speed and direction. A timer
counts up, but doesn’t seem to affect gameplay. Push-
ing up and down on the joystick will let the string in
and out, and moving left and right affect the direction
of the kite flying.
 Prototype- • 305

Grover’s Music Maker

Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Genre Edutainment
Mode 1 Player

Originally the star of Grover’s Egg Catch, the starring

role was quickly given to Big Bird after someone at
Atari woke up and realized that Grover had nothing to
do with eggs and giant yellow bird might be a better
choice. After being booted from the egg catch, Grover
was given the music maker gig.
It’s unknown why Grover got canned, but it may be
due to Atari pulling the plug on the 2600 Children’s
series after its less than stellar performance.
“atariprotos.com”

Harem
Developer Multivision (Michael Case)
Publisher Multivision
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

In this game, the player character must contend with

snipers, dragons, poisonous snake women, and gar-
goyles all in an attempt to get laid. Players starts at the
lower left of a multi-tiered screen and must make his
way to the woman to the right, however they’ll soon
find out that someone is out to stop their conquests at
all costs.
In 2007, Digital Press tracked down the game’s pro-
grammer and released the ROM with his permission.

In Search of the Golden Skull

Developer VideoSoft (Jerry Lawson)
Publisher M-Network
Genre Action-adventure
Mode 1 Player

In Search of the Golden Skull was supposed to be a huge action/adven-

ture game the likes of which the 2600 has never seen. Mattel tapped
Videosoft (makers of the Color Bar Generator) to do Golden Skull in-
stead of their normal 2600 contractor APH.
The game was never completed, and only a playable demo was pro-
duced. The game was cancelled because it would have required the use
of a 16K ROM and 2K RAM cartridge, and was a 2600 product only
(no Intellivision tie-in).
306 • Prototype

Ixion
Developer Sega
Publisher Sega
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Here’s an oddity, an unreleased 2600 game that’s a

port of an unreleased game (an unreleased 8-bit port
exists as well). It appears that although Sega devel-
oped Ixion for multiple platforms, they never released
it for anything.
Ixion is an interesting game that doesn’t seem to play
like anything else in the 2600 library. The goal of the
game is to grab the five white squares scattered across
the screen and spell the word Ixion before the time
runs out.

Kabobber
Developer Activision (Rex Bradford)
Publisher Activision
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Kabobber is one of the lost Activision titles that people

all knew existed somewhere, but it wasn’t until 2001
that a prototype was finally confirmed to exist and the
rom was released. The game was never advertised or
mentioned in any Activision catalogs.
Kabobbers are strange little creatures who love wreak-
ing havoc. The objective is to send in the players Bu-
vskies to krush the Kabobbers before they krush the
players.

Kamikaze Saucers
Developer Syncro (Dan Wolf)
Publisher Syncro
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Kamikaze Saucers was a little known 2600 game that most people as-
sumed was never even started. However after the programmer gave the
rom image to Atari Age to be distributed to the gaming community, the
game proved to be very much real. There was no mention of Kamikaze
Saucers on any game list, but Syncro did take out full page ads for the
game so they must have been close to releasing it. The is the average
shooter along the lines of Atlantis or Demon Attack.
“atariprotos.com”
 Prototype- • 307

KLAX
Developer Atari (Steve DeFrisco)
Publisher Atari
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Klax has the honor of being the last 2600 game to be

developed and released. It was released so late in fact
that it only made it out overseas in PAL format. Sev-
eral years ago Best Electronics uncovered nine NTSC
prototypes that proved to be the final version. This
proves that Atari was planning on releasing it in the
US but the crumbling 2600 market made them rethink
their decision.
“atariprotos.com”

Kyphus
Developer Apollo
Publisher Apollo
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Looking a little like a cross between Racquetball and

Space Cavern, Kyphus is an odd game in which the
player must maneuver a guy through a pseudo-3D
maze of rooms avoiding what appears to be a glow-
ing cloud that shoots lasers, while being followed by a
multi-colored robot.
Unfortunately, this prototype is very incomplete.
There appears to be no collision detection, few sounds,
and almost no gameplay.
“atariprotos.com”

Labyrinth
Developer Starpath (Dennis Caswell)
Publisher Starpath
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Labyrinth was listed in an early Starpath Catalog, but

was eventually released as Escape From the Mind-
master. Labyrinth is an obvious work-in-progress ver-
sion of Escape From the Mindmaster, but with many
changes from what was finally released (different maz-
es, sounds, music, etc.). It was discovered in an eBay
auction with other Starpath titles by a member of the
NorthWest Classic Games Enthusiasts.
“atariage.com”
308 • Prototype

Lasercade
Developer Videa (Lee Actor)
Publisher Videa
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Best described as a 3-D shooting gallery, Lasercade is an odd little game

designed by Videa. The first thing players will be bound to notice upon
booting Lasercade is how nice the graphics look. It’s hard to believe that
the 2600 can do a 3/4th perspective shooting game, but Lasercade is the
proof. The goal of the game is to shoot all the targets in the upper section
of the screen before time runs out.
“atariprotos.com”

Loco-Motion
Developer M-Network (P: Jeff Ratcliff, S: Patricia Lewis Du Long)
Publisher M-Network
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Based off the 1981 Konami coin-op of the same name, Locomotion is
really an update of the old sliding tile puzzle but with a twist. Not only
do players have to slide the various track pieces around to keep the train
from running off the track, but they also have to go through all the sta-
tions to pick up passengers before they riot. With a strict timer and tricky
mazes, this simple task isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds. The game also
feature runaway crazy trains.
“atariprotos.com”

Looping
Developer Individeo (Ed Temple)
Publisher Coleco
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Looping is an unreleased prototype for the Atari 2600 based on the 1981
Venture Line arcade game of the same name. It’s unknown why this
game was never released, as it appears to be complete and would have
been one of the better titles released by Coleco on the 2600. It is fairly
close to the ColecoVision version of the game in terms of gameplay, but
is a difficult game, either of which could be a reason for why it was not
released.
“atariage.com”
 Prototype- • 309

Lord of the Rings:

Journey to Rivendell
Developer Parker Brothers (Mark Lesser)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The Lord of the Rings, Journey to Rivendell has been

the subject of speculation for many years by Atari
collectors. This game was featured in a 1983 Parker
Brothers catalog but was never released.
AtariAge discovered this prototype in 2001 and quick-
ly made the binary image available to fellow Atari en-
thusiasts.
“atariage.com”

McDonald’s
Developer Parker Brothers (D: Isabel Garret, P: Dave Engman)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Curt Vendel of the Atari Museum was able to track

down an early version of the game, as well as chat
with Isabel Garret, the designer at Parker Brothers re-
sponsible for the gameplay. In addition to making this
early work-in-progress available, Curt also secured
copies of documentation and sketches created during
the game’s development.
The game is just an unplayable demo. In fact the gold-
en arches are all players see in this prototype.
“atariage.com”

Meltdown
Developer Videa (David Ross)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Not to be confused with the Atari game by the same

name (which was released for the 7800), Meltdown
was one of the final 20th Century Fox titles to be de-
veloped (Crash Dive was the absolute last) but was
never released. Why TCF decided to cancel Meltdown
is unknown, but was most likely due to the collapsing
video game market. The decision to cancel the game
must have been made at the last moment, as advertise-
ments proudly boasting “Just Released” had already
been printed.
310 • Prototype

Mind Maze
Developer Atari (P: Gary Shannon, D: Howard Scott Warshaw)
Publisher Atari
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

The existence of this prototype has been suspected for

years (often listed as a game for the Mindlink control-
ler), and now Matt Reichert has managed to secure a
copy to confirm its existence. Mind Maze appears to
be some type of memory match game, but is not a ter-
ribly interesting game and does not appear to be com-
plete. Still, it’s an interesting piece of Atari history and
another mystery put to rest.
“atariage.com”

Miss Piggy’s Wedding

Developer Atari (Suki Lee)
Publisher Atari
Genre Maze
Mode 1 Player

The origin of Miss Piggy’s Wedding is a bit of a mys-

tery. Despite being coded in mid-1983 and scheduled
for a Fall release, it appears to be based on the wedding
scene finale of The Muppets Take Manhattan which
wasn’t released until July of 1984. However since
Atari had a deal to produce games based on the Mup-
pets, the mostly likely explanation for this discrepancy
is that they were given an advance copy of the script so
they could start coding the game.
“atariprotos.com”

Monstercise
Developer Atari
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The history of this game is also a bit of a mystery. According to the

copyright message its part of the Children’s Computer Worshop series,
but its part number (CX-26131) and late copyright date (1984) are well
outside the Children’s Series range (CX-26101 - CX-26115). Atari may
have been planning some kind of series for young children and infants
in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.
“atariprotos.com”
 Prototype- • 311

Off Your Rocker

Developer VideoSoft
Publisher Amiga
Genre Action
Mode 1-4 Players

This game was completed, but never officially sold by

Amiga. However, it seems they sent off a large quan-
tity of unlabeled cartridges to a company called Pleas-
ant Valley Video who then sold them to the public. The
label is a simple hand drawn affair.
Off Your Rocker is a Simon Says game in which play-
ers must correctly mimic the sound and color pattern
displayed on the screen. This is accomplished by mov-
ing the little guy in the direction of the proper color.

Peek-a-Boo
Developer Atari (Bill Aspromonte)
Publisher Atari
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

According to Atari, Peek-A-Boo was to be a revolutionary new video

activity based on the familiar concepts of Peek-a-Boo and Hide ‘n’
Seek. It was supposed to teach important concepts such as spatial ori-
entation, direction, and memory that build a child’s self-esteem and
teach them to have fun on the 2600.
Obviously Atari was trying to branch out to all age groups, young and
old with its new line of games. Unfortunately with the collapsing mar-
ket there was no room for niche games like Peek-A-Boo.

Pengo
Developer Atari (P: Mark Hahn, G: Courtney Granner)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

This prototype is from 1983, one year before the finished version of
Pengo was released. The title screen is more stylized in the prototype
version, and according to programmer Mark Hahn it was dropped from
the finished version due to memory constraints. There are some other
small differences in this version as well, such as the placement of the
ice blocks, and it appears to be fully playable.
“atariage.com”
312 • Prototype

Pink Panther
Developer Wickstead Design (Roger Booth, Todd Marshall)
Publisher Probe 2000
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

While Pink Panther was apparently ready to be re-

leased, the March 1983 issue of Electronic Games re-
ports that Probe 2000 did not have enough chips to
actually produce it. Years later this game was found in
a thrift store by a lucky collector. It’s an action game
featuring three screens of gameplay.
The game has complete graphics, gameplay, sound ef-
fects and tunes for each level, including the famous
Pink Panther theme by Henry Mancini.
“atariage.com”

Planet of the Apes

Developer 20th Century Fox (John Marvin)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

For years this prototype has been known as Alligator

People, which AtariAge introduced in 1999 when it
was known as the Atari 2600 Nexus. However, while
Matt Reichert (aka Tempest) was researching his new
AtariProtos.com website, he came to the realization
that this game must instead be Planet of the Apes,
and was simply mislabeled as Alligator People. Given
Matt’s description of the game and the accompanying
screenshots, AtariAge tend to agree.
“atariage.com”

Pleiades
Developer UA Limited
Publisher UA Limited
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Pleiades is a port of the Centuri arcade game of the same name. It was
programmed by UA Ltd., the same company that programmed all the
games for the Emerson Arcadia 2001. Pleiades features three unique
waves of action and seems to be nearly complete in terms of program-
ming. It’s unknown why this game (and the other UA prototypes) was
never released commercially.
“atariage.com”
 Prototype- • 313

Pompeii
Developer Apollo
Publisher Apollo
Genre Platformer
Mode 1 Player

Pompeii was one of the last titles announced by Apollo,

but went unreleased when Apollo became one of the
first 2600 game companies to fold in the wake of the
crash. From box art and a few brief descriptions one
can surmise that the game revolved around an Indiana
Jones like archaeologist who is trying to find treasures
in the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii.
“atariprotos.com”

Rocky and Bullwinkle

Developer M-Network (S: Patricia L. D. Long, P: Steve Crandall)
Publisher M-Network
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Rocky & Bullwinkle is an interesting action game in which players

must fly Rocky around the screen grabbing all the valuables before
they float up to Natasha. R&B sort of plays like Kaboom in reverse,
and resembles Dumbo’s Flying Circus in some respects. Treasures
can be snagged by flying Rocky over them and pressing the button,
but Rocky can only hold two valuables at once. Even though Rocky
& Bullwinkle was complete and passed quality assurance, it was
canceled for unknown reasons.

Rubik’s Cube 3D
Developer Atari (Peter C. Niday)
Publisher Atari
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Rubik’s Cube 3D is a completely different version of the Rubik’s

Cube game that Atari eventually released. The version Atari released
is a pretty simple 2D affair, but this prototype is an astonishing 3D
version of the game. This prototype was found in 2002 by David
Winter and came as a surprise as its existence was not previously
known. This version of the game includes a solve option and will
also allow players to change the colors of individual tiles.
“atariage.com”
314 • Prototype

Rush Hour
Developer CommaVid (Ben Burch)
Publisher CommaVid
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Rush Hour is one of several CommaVid games (Un-

derworld and Mission Omega being the others) that
never saw commercial release. The game appeared in
catalogs and even prototype boxes exist, showing that
CommaVid was close to being released. While Rush
Hour appears to be fairly complete in terms of game-
play, there are some obvious bugs and features not yet
implemented that demonstrate the game was not quite
ready for release.
“atariage.com”

Save Mary
Developer Axlon (Tod Frye)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Save Mary! was one of those 2600 revival titles that

should have been released but was ultimately lost when
Atari closed its Atari 2600 operations in 1990. Save
Mary! may have been in development longer than any
other Atari 2600 game (over two years according to
some sources). One reason for this was Atari manage-
ment constantly making changes to an already com-
plex game, but another reason for the long develop-
ment cycle was that programmer Tod Frye may only
have been working part time for Atari at the time.
and was also working on another unreleased 2600

Shooting Arcade
Developer Axlon (Tod Frye)
Publisher Atari
Genre Light-gun
Mode 1 Player

Shooting Arcade is one of only two 2600 games to use

the light gun, but was never released. This is a shame
because Shooting Arcade is a creative light gun target
game similar to the Point Blank series, and would have
been unique among 2600 games. Interestingly it ap-
pears that Shooting Arcade was not developed in the
US, but rather in Mexico by a company called Heu-
ristica. How Axlon was invovled is unknown, but they
may have simply sub-contracted the game out to Heu-
ristica instead of doing it themselves.
 Prototype- • 315

Sinistar
Developer Atari (Lou Harp)
Publisher Atari
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Sinistar was to be a port of one of the most beloved

(and difficult) arcade games of all time, combining fast
action, mind numbing speed, and evil sounding voice
synthesis into one explosive package. The main object
of the game is to destroy Sinistar, a giant metal crea-
ture bent on destroying the universe and whatever else
that gets in its way. Around the time Sinistar was being
completed, the video game market was crumbling fast
and many new games never got released. This may be
one of the reason the game never got released.

Sky Patrol
Developer Imagic (Brad Stewart)
Publisher Imagic
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Also known as Aerial Ace, Sky Patrol was a hot air

balloon simulator and was the only Imagic title for the
2600 never to be released. The prototype for this game
was shown at the 82 CES show, complete with a mock
up of what the production box and label would have
looked like. The picture on the label, displaying World
War I vintage biplanes attacking a dirigible, is inter-
esting as it shows more of what the final game would
have looked like if it had been completed.
“atariprotos.com”

Squoosh
Developer Apollo
Publisher Apollo
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Much like Apollo’s other famously unfinished game

Pompeii, Squoosh is an unplayable demo showing
what the game screen would have looked like. Players
control a guy who can move left and right around the
screen, and jump with the fire button. In the middle of
the screen is a giant press with a covered pit under-
neath it. The concept of this game was to have the guy
kick or move grapes into the center of the screen where
the press would come down and ‘squoosh’ them into
wine (which would collect in the pit below).
316 • Prototype

Star Wars: Ewok Adventure

Developer Parker Brothers (Larry Gelberg)
Publisher Parker Brothers
Genre Action
Mode 1-2 Players

Star Wars: Ewok Adventure was one of the games every-

one was sure existed somewhere, but didn’t turn up until
1997 when a collector had a friend whose father worked
at Parker Brothers give him one of the most sought af-
ter 2600 games in existence. Unfortunately the rom was
never distributed for various reasons ranging from fear
of lawsuits from Lucasfilm to the possibility of selling
it on Ebay. While this prototype was never seen again
(most likely sold to a collector in a private deal), a PAL
version was discovered in 2001 and released.

Stunt Cycle
Developer Atari (Bob Polaro)
Publisher Atari
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Sometime in 1980 Atari decided that their standalone

console, Stunt Cycle, would make a great 2600 game,
so Bob Polaro was tapped to do the conversion. Using
the paddle controllers to simulate the original consoles
bike grips, Bob made a perfect port of the standalone
console. One change that was made to the game was
the addition of color. Since the original coin-op and
home console were from 1976, the graphics were in
Black and White (which was standard at the time).
“atariprotos.com”

Surf’s Up
Developer VideoSoft
Publisher Amiga
Genre Sports
Mode 1 Player

Surf’s Up was the third and last game to make use

of Amiga’s JoyBoard controller. In the game players
control a little yellow surfboard which they can move
about the screen in an attempt to “ride the wave”. Play-
ers can move towards the top of the wave (represented
by a red line) to score points, but if they stay there too
long they’ll wipe out. Beyond that players can move
left and right along the screen, but they don’t gain any
points for doing so.
“atariprotos.com”
 Prototype- • 317

Sweat: The Decathlon Game

Developer Starpath (Scott Nelson)
Publisher Starpath
Genre Sports
Mode 1-9 Players

Sweat! was to be Starpath’s version of Activision’s Decathlon for the

Supercharger. Given the fact that the Supercharger allowed for more
memory and larger games, Sweat! probably would have been an amaz-
ing game had it been completed.
A lot of effort was being put into this game, so it’s a shame that it never
was finished. Thankfully the concept was saved and used as the basis
for the ever-popular Summer Games series.
“atariprotos.com”

Targ
Developer CBS Electronics
Publisher CBS Electronics
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Port of the of the obscure Exidy coin-op of the same name, Targ is a
simple yet strangely addictive action game that never saw a home port.
Originally planned as a CBS release, Targ fairly far along in the devel-
opment process but shelved due to the crumbling video game market.
Targ was eventually picked up, finished, and released by Telegames as
Universal Chaos. However due to licensing issues, the graphics and
name had to be changed.
“atariprotos.com”

Telepathy
Developer Atari (Dan Oliver)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Telepathy is one of two known prototype games that

were developed for Atari’s failed Mindlink controller.
Telepathy was actually developed as a demo to show
what kind games the Mindlink could do. This “demo”
is made up of seven different action screens held to-
gether by a loose “mine” theme. Thankfully Telepathy
is playable without the Mindlink controller by pressing
the joystick button. It’s unknown if Atari was thinking
of releasing Telepathy sans Mindlink or if the joystick
code was put in the game for playtesting purposes.
318 • Prototype

Tempest
Developer Atari (Carla Meninsky)
Publisher Atari
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

On the list of games that probably should never have

been tried on the 2600, Tempest has to be near the top.
Why Atari decided they could reproduce a 3D vector
game on the 2600 is not know, but the results weren’t
pretty. Sometimes one has to respect the limitations of
the 2600.
“atariprotos.com”

The Entity
Developer 20th Century Fox (Mark Klein)
Publisher 20th Century Fox
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

The Entity is an unreleased 20th Century Fox game

based on a horror movie sharing the same name. It’s
odd that Fox decided to go forward with this project,
given the movie’s disturbing adult theme where a
young woman is raped by a ghost. This could very
well be why Fox didn’t release the game, although
the game itself has little in common with the movie’s
subject matter. The Entity was programmed by Mark
Kline, who was responsible for two other unreleased
Fox games, Pick Up and Look Ahead.

Thwocker
Developer Activision
Publisher Activision
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Thwocker is an unreleased prototype originally pro-

grammed by Charlie Heath at Activision. It was re-
cently discovered by one of AtariAge readers, d8thstar,
who found a copy at a local thrift store. While Thwock-
er looks fairly polished and complete, it reportedly is
only around 80% complete. Which is unfortunate as
it’s a great looking 2600 game with interesting game-
play to boot.
“atariage.com”
 Prototype- • 319

Turbo
Developer Gordon Martin & Associates
Publisher Coleco
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

Turbo is an unreleased prototype that was developed

for the Atari 2600 by Coleco, but was never com-
mercially released. Like most of Coleco’s Atari 2600
games, Turbo is an arcade port, based on the Sega ar-
cade game of the same name. Until its discovery in
2006 by one of the game’s original programmers,
Turbo was considered one of the holy grails of Atari
2600 prototypes. This is due in part to the game being
advertised by Coleco and included in their Atari 2600
catalogs, as well as an appearance at the 1983 CES.

Unknown Game #1
Developer Activision
Publisher Activision
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

Found in a salvage yard in 1998 by Ben Liashenko,

the identity of this mysterious Activision prototype has
eluded collectors for years. This prototype plays like a
cross between a Rubik’s Cube and the old sliding tile
puzzle game. The goal of the game is to line up all the
colors in each row from light to dark. If it`s done cor-
rectly the board should look like the start-up screen
with the colors descending from red to purple. How-
ever lining up all the colors is easier said than done due
to the unique way the squares move across the board.

Unknown Game #2
Developer Activision
Publisher Activision
Genre Puzzle
Mode 1 Player

This mysterious prototype was also found in a salvage

yard in 1998 by Ben Liashenko. In this game players
control a little alien who must use the blocks at the
bottom of the screen to build a tower and escape. As
the blocks come rolling down the conveyer belt, they
must jump up and bump them so they land somewhere
on the screen. Once they have constructed a nice little
tower, they must carefully jump on the conveyer belt
and then climb the tower to the next screen.
“atariage.com”
320 • Prototype

Unknown Universal
Developer Unknown
Publisher Unknown
Genre Racing
Mode 1 Player

This prototype is a complete mystery. No programmer,

no model number, and only a guess on the company
The only information to the identity of this prototype
is the name Universal, which is silk screened onto the
EPROM board. One can speculate that this might have
been a TCF game as another Universal style board was
recently found in a TCF prototype. If this is indeed a
TCF game then it might be the mysterious Six Pack
that was mentioned in early manuals.
“atariprotos.com”

Venetian Blinds Demo

Developer Activision (David Crane)
Publisher Activision
Genre Simulation
Mode 1 Player

As the name implies the Venetian Blinds demo isn’t a game, but a demo that simu-
lates a pair of Venetian blinds. The joystick can be used to raise and lower the
blinds by pushing up or down. When the blinds are raised a nicely done sunset is
visible out the window.
The story behind the Venetian Blind demo is rather interesting. As most people
know, Activision was founded by several ex-Atari employees who had left due
to Atari’s policies on programmer recognition (or the lack thereof). One of these
employees was Bob Whitehead, creator of the “Venetian Blinds” technique, which
was first used in Atari’s Video Chess to display eight objects in a row instead of the
normal six. Even though Activision had never used the Venetian Blinds technique
in any of their games, that didn’t stop Atari from threatening to sue Activision for
“stealing” the technique along with other various proprietary information.
Since Activision knew that they hadn’t stolen anything from Atari, they decided
to play a little joke on Atari. According to David Crane, when the Atari’s lawyers
questioned them about the “stolen” Venetian Blinds technique David showed them
this demo and said “Is this what you guys are referring to?”. Apparently Atari
wasn’t in a laughing mood, and they went through with the lawsuit. In the end
Atari ended up losing the case and Activision went on to become the most success-
ful of the 2600 third party companies.
Although Activision never made a game out of this demo it didn’t go completely to
waste. The sunset was later used in the background of Barnstorming.
“atariage.com”
 Prototype- • 321

Wings
Developer CBS Electronics (Stuart Ross)
Publisher CBS Electronics
Genre Simulation, Shooter
Mode 1 Player

Wings is an air combat simulation that uses a control

scheme of two joysticks. The first joystick controls the
plane and the second controls access to the weapons. It
was originally assumed the game would use the CBS
Booster Grip controller, due to a prototype box that
shows Wings packaged with the controller. Wings fea-
tures a fairly sophisticated control panel (for a 2600
game), containing seven different gauges that let play-
ers keep tabs on their fuel, power, airspeed, altitude,
radar, horizon, and compass.

Wizard
Developer Atari (Chris Crawford)
Publisher Atari
Genre Action
Mode 1 Player

Wizard was supposedly the last of Atari’s last 2K games, but went un-
released in favor of the new 4K games. Since Wizard was never ad-
vertised in any Atari catalogs and it was never assigned a part number,
most people don’t even know if its existence.
Wizard can best be described as a cross between Berzerk and Wizard of
Wor. Players control a wizard who must attempt to destroy the swirling
star shaped creature.
“atariprotos.com”

Xevious
Developer Atari (Tod Frye)
Publisher Atari
Genre Shooter
Mode 1 Player

When Ray Kassar was fired as CEO of Atari in 1983,

James Morgan was hired to take his place. Jim put all
projects on hold for 30 days while he reviewed what
had been going on during Ray’s “reign of terror”.
Since the 7800 was deemed high priority, most 2600
and 5200 projects were put on hold or outsourced to
GCC. It was originally assumed that Xevious was one
of the 2600 titles that were killed off during this time,
but recently a nearly complete version of the game was
found proving that it survived at least until early 1984.
322 • Label Variations

Label Variations
AtariAge

The 2600, by far, has the market cornered when it comes to label variations. Not only were a great deal of
games released for the 2600, but due to the 2600’s long lifespan, many games were sold for several years and
were produced with several different labels. Most label collectors only seek out the major label variations for
any given cartridge, while some go after every minor variation, of which there are quite a few. This list only
contains major variations by each company, along with pictures so you can get a feel for what the differences
are.

20th Century Fox

“Standard”
This is the standard label for 20th Century fox. The top has the game's name
in a stylized font appropriate for the title, and beneath that is the 20th Centu-
ry Fox logo. Below that is some artwork depicting game action. About half
of the 20th Century Fox games have the name of the game on the end label
while the others only have copyright text on the end, making them harder to
identify without looking at the main label.

20th Century Fox

“Red Sirius”
Fox wanted to be in the videogame business in a hurry, so they licensed a
number of games from software company Sirius. These games have a red
label with white lettering, and an artist’s rendering of what the game screen
looks like in the middle of the label. When Fox began producing their own
games, they used their own standard label.

Absolute Entertainment
“Standard”
Absolute cartridges don’t particularly adhere to one standard. They have
stylized fonts appropriate for the title, and have the Absolute Entertainment
logo on the label. Some feature pictures on the label some don’t. The end
label has the name of the game, again in a stylized font. Absolute games
come in an Activision case, complete with the Activision name embossed
on the back. Be careful with F-14 Tomcat for the 2600 - many of these are
mislabeled 7800 versions.

Activision
“Standard”
The standard Activision label has a solid background color with white let-
tering and the Activision logo on top. In the middle is an artist’s rendering
of a game screen with some brief instructions and game options sometimes
shown below the picture. The end label has the name of the game again in
white. The label end of the case is grooved with small lines, and the Activi-
sion name is embossed on the back of the case. Many of these were later
released in the Blue label style.
 Label Variations • 323

Activision
“Special”
Special labels are those that do not adhere to the standard one-color-white-
text style that most Activision cartridges use. These cartridges usually have
artwork that covers most of the label, and the title is in a stylized font. The
Activision logo is still somewhere on the front of the label. The end label
has the name in a stylized font as well.

Activision
“Blue”
These labels came out of Activision’s desire to cut costs late in the life of the
2600. Instead of the normal labels with nice fonts and multicolored pictures,
Activision used a plain blue label with white text and no picture. A double-
line border surrounds the text. The end label has the game title in this same
plain font. Blue labels are slightly harder to find than their standard counter-
parts, but they aren’t particularly rare.

Activision
“White”
Most of Activision’s white labels were released in Europe as PAL variations
of North American NTSC releases. It’s likely they were used for the same
reasons as the Blue labels - to reduced production costs. In fact, they are
exactly like the blue labels except they are white, usually with black text
(some have blue text).

Activision
“Black”
This is the black version of Activision`s releases.

American Videogame
“Standard”
Since American Videogame only produced one game, Tax Avoiders, they
only have a single label variation as well. It features a bright red label that
wraps around to cover the end of the cartridge as well. The bulk of the label
is occupied with a graphic, while the stylized Tax Avoiders name is featured
on the front of the label as well as on the end. Credits for the game are actu-
ally listed in a small white font above the title. The game is contained in a
Sega grip-style cartridge.
324 • Label Variations

Amiga
“Standard”
The Amiga Standard label had one release, the game Mogul Maniac.

Apollo
“Standard”
This was the first style Apollo used for its games - colorful labels with inter-
esting artwork and white text. End labels match the color of the main label
and repeat the title. Later, Apollo moved to cut costs and began releasing
their games with simpler blue labels. Some games were released in both
styles.

Apollo
“Blue”
Apollo Blue labels all follow a similar format - a blue background with
white text and a diagonally slashing picture. The logo is featured promi-
nently on the main label, and the end label has the game title in white text
between two gold bars. Not all games were released with this label, and
some were released in both styles.

Atari
“Text #”
When Atari launched the 2600 in 1977, they offered nine games for sale.
These nine games had plain labels with colored text, and the end label had
a number on it next to the game name. The number referred to the inter-
nal development number of the game. These numbered games were sold in
gatefold boxes - the front of the box opened outward like a book. Atari only
sold their games in this style for a year - after that, they changed to standard
boxes and text labels without the accompanying numbers.

Atari
“Text”
Atari Text labels were the first major standard that Atari used. These labels
are very simple text featuring different colors for different games, on a black
background. There is a gray border around the main label and end label.
Many Text label games were also produced with a Picture Label.
 Label Variations • 325

Atari
“Picture”
Perhaps the most common Atari label style, Picture labels were introduced
in 1981, replacing the older text labels and were used throughout the re-
mainder of the 2600’s lifespan. They feature the same font as the Text label,
but feature a game-related picture in the middle of the label. The end label
simply states the game’s name, and there is no border around either the main
or end label. Many picture label titles also have text counterparts, and there
are a few other anomalies as well.

Atari
“Silver”
Atari Silver labels were used between 1982 and 1985, and were produced
alongside Picture label games that continued to be sold. Most Silver label
games did not appear under other labels, with a few exceptions such as a
Picture label Asteroids and a Red label Gravitar. The silver label variations
of these two games are much harder to find. Silver labels have a silver or
gray background with a picture in the middle, and the name in white letters
across a red stripe. The end label is in red text on a black background.

Atari
“Children’s”
Children’s label games are something of an odd assortment that don’t really
fit anywhere else. All of them have a grid pattern over a solid background
with a picture in the lower middle of the label. The sub-category is shown
on the upper left-hand corner of the cartridge. The CCW games have a yel-
low background with red text. Peanuts games used the grid over a red back-
ground. The Muppets series used the grid over a purple background. The
Disney series used the grid over a blue background.

Atari
“Red”
Atari Red labels were produced from 1986-1990 when Atari was attempt-
ing to revive the system. These labels range in color between dark-red and
red-brown. For the first year, the pictures were monochrome, then Atari
switched to color pictures on the red background. The text is white, and the
end label is red with white text as well. Some Red label games are re-issues
of previous titles such as Gravitar and Space Invaders. Others were only
released as a Red label.

Avalon Hill
“Standard”
Avalon Hill cartridges have an unusual grooved casing with a wraparound
label. There is a solid covered background with a picture and white text. The
Avalon Hill logo appears at the bottom of the picture.
326 • Label Variations

Bit Corp
“Re-release”
The Bit Corp re-release version had nine releases; Bobby Geht Heim, Der
Postman, Mission 3000, Phantom-Panzer, Schnecke Gegen Eichhornchen,
See-Monster, Sesam, Offne Dich, Tanzende Teller, and Weltraum-Tunnel.

Bit Corp
“German”
The Bit Corp german label had nine releases; Bobby Geht Heim, Mission
3000, Open, Sesame!, Phantom Panzer, Schnecke Und Eichhörnchen, See
Monster, Sesam, Offne Dich, Tanzende Teller, and Weltraum-Tunnel.

Bit Corp
“English”
The Bit Corp english label had seven releases; Bobby is Going Home, Danc-
ing Plate, Mission 3000 A.D., Mr. Postman, Phantom Tank, Snail Against
Squirrel, and Space Tunnel.

Bit Corp
“French”
Unknown...

N/P

Bomb
“Standard”
Bomb cartridges are all fairly similar, with really only the title changed on
the label from game to game. The label is blue, with Bomb in red lettering
and the game name in yellow. The casing has the Bomb name embossed on
the back, and there are small grips on the side.
 Label Variations • 327

CBS Electronics
“Standard”
CBS Games come in a gray Activision style casing without the Activision
logo. Labels are black with yellow or white text and a the CBS name in
white text against a red banner.

CBS Electronics
“PAL”
Unknown...

N/P

CBS Electronics
“UK White”
The CBS Electronics UK White label had seven releases; Donkey Kong,
Mouse Trap, Mr. Do!, Roc ‘N Rope, Smurf, Solar Fox, and Zaxxon.

CBS Electronics
“UK Color”
The CBS Electronics UK Color label had seven releases; Carnival, Donkey
Kong, Mouse Trap, Mr. Do!, Smurf, Solar Fox, and Wizard of Wor.

CBS Electronics
“UK Black”
The CBS Electronics UK Black label had only one release; Gorf.
328 • Label Variations

CBS Electronics
“German Color”
The CBS Electronics German Color label had six releases; Blueprint, Car-
nival, Gorf, Smurf, Venture, and Wizard of Wor.

Coleco
“Standard”
Coleco games have a gray or white casing with grooves on the side near the
end label, and a beveled underside with the Coleco logo embossed in the
plastic. Labels have a black background with the game logo in color, and
some informational text in white and yellow below that. The end label is
black and with Coleco in white text along with the game’s logo.

CommaVid
“Standard”
Most (all?) CommaVid cartridge cases are about an inch longer than a
standard 2600 cartridge case. They don’t all follow a set standard, but gen-
erally they have a wraparound label with a color picture and a solid color
background. The CommaVid logo is on the main label. One exception is
Magicard, which has a plain white label with generic CommaVid text on it.
The name Magicard looks like it was simply typed on the label.

Data Age
“Standard”
Data Age cartridges come in a black casing with an angled end for the game
name. The label is silver with a picture in the middle and a stylized game
logo.

DSD/Camelot
“Standard”
The DSD/Camelot label had only one release; Tooth Protectors.
 Label Variations • 329

Ebivision
“Standard”
Ebivision labels are glossy with game artwork and title on the main la-
bel, along with the Ebivision logo on the bottom. The limited edition ver-
sions are numbered in the lower left-hand corner. Alfred Challenge does not
have the Ebivision name on it because it was released before Ebivision was
formed in an official capacity.

Epyx
“Standard”
Epyx games have simple labels on an Activision style case. Labels are white
with blue text and do not feature a picture.

First Star Software

“Standard”
First Star only made one game for the 2600, Boing! It has a silver label with
some pixilated artwork and titling, as well as the names of the programmers
and designers.

First Star Software

“Xonox”
The Xonox version has a casing like a Xonox single ender - the case is wider
at the top and the end is beveled.

Froggo
“Standard”
Froggo labels are of better quality than their games. Labels are white with
monochrome text and a picture appropriate to the game theme.
330 • Label Variations

HES
“Standard”
HES mainly distributed other company’s games, and the labels come in
many different forms. Usually, they are a single color background with the
games name in simple text. Their only original game, My Golf, was appar-
ently distributed by Salu and has a standard Salu label. It’s a white back-
ground with black text. The casing feels like a softer plastic than most cases.

Imagic
“Text”
Imagic text labels have the same casing and style as Imagic picture label
carts, but are a bit more plain in that they are lacking the picture shown on
the box. The label is silver with a multicolored band upon which is written
the game title and other information. The Imagic name is embossed on the
end of the cartridge. Some Imagic games were produced with both types of
labels, and both styles are sought after by label variation collectors.

Imagic
“Picture”
The Imagic picture label style is noticeably different from the text labels in
that they contain a flashy picture in the lower middle of the label. The game
title is written in black across a multicolored band, and the Imagic name
is embossed on the end of the cartridge. Some Imagic picture label games
were also released in the text style. Most people prefer to have the picture
label if given a choice, but some collectors seek both versions.

Intellivision Productions
“Standard”
These recently produced games come in a standard case with colorful la-
bels. The main label has game artwork and the game title, and the end label
has the title again. The Intellivision Productions name appears at the bottom
of the label.

INTV
“White”
INTV purchased the rights to MNetwork games from Mattel and released
them with this white label. It consists only of a small end label, with black
text on a white background. It is identical to the MNetwork version except
for the color. There is no main label for these games. The unusual shape
comes from the fact that the main portion of the case is an Intellivision car-
tridge case with an Atari-sized adapter on the end. INTV games came with
black and white manuals in an attempt to cut costs.
 Label Variations • 331

K-Tel Vision
“Standard”
K-Tel Vision cartridges come in an unusual T-shaped case, similar to Ul-
travision and MenAVision. The labels have the K-Tel name along with the
game name, and four seemingly unrelated pictures. They are very odd.

Konami
“Standard”
Konami only released three games for the 2600 and all have the same style
label. Casings have a rounded end with a black label and some game-related
artwork in the middle of the label. The end label is white with colored text.
These were released in Europe under the name Gakken.

M Network
“Black”
MNetwork labels only cover the end of the cartridge, there is no main label.
It is a small black label with light blue lettering for the game title. The cas-
ing is made from an Intellivision cartridge mold with a 2600-size adapter on
the end. This is almost identical to the INTV label/case except for the colors.

Milton Bradley
“Standard”
Milton Bradley only released two games, Spitfire Attack and Survival Run,
and they both come with labels created in a similar style. However, it is
common to find both of these games without an end label. Apparently Mil-
ton Bradley shipped these games with a set of stickers to be applied to the
controller. On this sticker sheet was also an end label to be applied to the
cartridge, but it would seem that many people never bothered. The cartridg-
es with an end label is a hair more valuable than those without.

Mystique
“Standard”
Mystique games have a grid pattern against a solid background with some
game related artwork in the middle. The Mystique name and game title ap-
pear on the main label, and the name is repeated again on the end. Mystique
packaged their games in oversized gatefold boxes, inside which was a fake
leather case that held the cartridge. There was even a lock and key to keep
the youngsters from playing mom and dad’s game.
332 • Label Variations

Mythicon
“Standard”
Mythicon labels are black with a picture in the middle surrounded by a
white border. The title is in red text on both the main and end label. The
cartridge is numbered in order of release in the upper left hand corner. Too
bad their games aren’t as good as their label artwork.

Panda
“Wraparound Label”
Panda released their cartridges in two formats - one with a single label that
covers the main area and wraps around the end, and one with just an end
label. Wraparound labels are either all white with black text and the Panda
logo or white around the end with a color picture main label. Panda boxes
are blue with white text and the black Panda logo, with some game art on
the lower portion of the box. Panda games are very hard to find with nice
labels, as apparently they used very cheap material.

Panda
“End Label Only”
Some Panda games only have an end label, with no main label at all. These
are either maroon or black with white text. Panda boxes are blue with white
text and the black Panda logo, with some game art on the lower portion of
the box. Panda games are very hard to find with nice labels, apparently they
used very cheap material. Boxes are also very difficult to find.

Parker Brothers
“Standard”
Almost all Parker Brothers cartridges fall into this category. They have an
unusual angular casing with horizontal grooves and a trapezoidal gray label.
There is a color picture of game artwork in the middle of the label, and the
title and copyright information appears on the end label.

Parker Brothers
“Gray”
Only one cartridge falls in this category - G.I. Joe. This game was released
with both a color picture label and a simple gray logo label. The color ver-
sion seems a bit harder to come by and most collectors seem to prefer this
because it’s, well, more colorful.
 Label Variations • 333

Playaround
“Standard”
Playaround cartridges are double-enders, but they are not as long as Xonox’
cartridges. There is game art for each game and arrows to tell which side
is which. There are plugs that cover each end of the cartridge for when it
is not in use, and these have the game title on them as well. The cartridges
were also packaged in small faux-leather cases inside the regular box that
included a small lock and key to keep junior away from the adult games.
Playaround packaging was quite nice, unfortunately their games were not.

Quelle
“Standard”
The Quelle standard label releases had several releases.

Quelle
“Short”
The Quelle short label releases had also several releases.

Salu
“Standard”
Salu was really a distributor of games by other companies, but they typical-
ly used the same label style for all of them. They have a white background,
with black text, and “Distributed by Salu” at the bottom. They usually have
a copyright citing the developer’s name as well, such as Activision in the
case of Ghostbusters II.

Sears
“Text”
Sears was an early supporter of Atari, and they sold Atari merchandise under
their own brand name. This included both hardware and software. All but
three Sears games are simply repackaged Atari games (Steeplechase, Stellar
Track, Submarine Commander). Sears Text labels are black with TELE-
GAMES in large font, followed by a listing of games on the cartridge. Some
people mistakenly call these ‘multi-carts’, but they are just game variations
and not any different from the Atari version.
334 • Label Variations

Sears
“Picture”
Sears Picture labels are typically harder to find than their text counterparts,
but not by much. They have a black background with a picture in the mid-
dle and colored title text on the main and end label. The Sears logo appears
above the title on the main label. What makes some of the Sears games in-
teresting to collect, is that while some of them simply reuse Atari artwork,
others have all new artwork. Sears titles are often harder to find than their
Atari counterparts because they were only sold at Sears.

Sega
“Grip Case”
Sega Grip case games usually have a white label with colorful text and some
game artwork. The Grip case is different from the normal case because it
has the Sega name embossed on the back of the cart, and there are some
large grooves on the side near the end label that make it easier to grip the
cartridge when inserting or removing it. Some Sega games come in Normal
and Grip styles.

Sega
“Standard Case”
Sega Normal case games usually have a white label with colorful text and
some game artwork. The Normal case looks like an Activision case without
any embossed name on the back.

Selchow & Righter

“Standard”
Selchow & Ricther/QDI only made one game, Glib, and it has a red label
with yellow text and some game artwork. The case is similar to that of an
Activision cartridge.

Spectravision
“Standard”
Spectravision labels are silver with colorful text. The cartridges have a main
label and an end label, with some recessed grooves near the end label to give
purchase when one is inserting or removing the cartridge. Outside of North
America, Spectravision was known as Spectravideo.
 Label Variations • 335

Starpath
“Cassette”
All of Starpath’s games were produced on cassettes. They use a standard
cassette case with a colorful insert featuring game art and other information.
The cassette itself also has a label, usually a solid color with black text.

Sunrise
“Standard”
Sunrise only made one game for the 2600. Quest for Quintana Roo has a
silver wraparound label that covers two-thirds of the cartridge front. There
is no picture, just the game name and the Sunrise logo. The end label simply
says “Quest”

Telegames
“Silve”
Telegames labels are silver with black text, featuring a label that covers the
main area and wraps around the end.

Telesys
“Color Handle”
Telesys’ Color Handle case has a color picture of game art on a black back-
ground. The end of the cartridge is beveled so like a handle making it easier
to grab the cartridge. This style has a single label that wraps around the end
of the cartridge.

Telesys
“Color Standard”
Telesys’ Color Square style has the same color label as their Handle style,
but uses a more standard square casing with no handle on the end. This style
has separate main and end labels.
336 • Label Variations

Telesys
“B&W Standard”
The Telesys B&W Square label is the same as the Color Square label except
that it is in black and white with no end label, only a main label.

Tigervision
“Standard”
Tigervision cases come in different colors and feature colorful labels. The
cases are rectangular, with beveling on both sides near the end label. The
main label and end label are separate.

TNT Games
“White”
TNT only released one game, BMX Airmaster, but with two different labels.
One is a fairly plain white label with blue text and the other is a more color-
ful red label with a picture of someone riding a BMX bike.

TNT Games
“Red”
The red label is harder to find. The Atari version of this game is very differ-
ent, and looks like the standard Atari Red label.

U.S. Games
“Beveled Case”
This style is similar to the Standard style, but the main label and end label
are separate pieces. The end of the cartridge near the end label is beveled,
making a handle that can be gripped to insert or remove the cartridge. La-
bels are white with some game art, with the game title in white text against
a blue banner.
 Label Variations • 337

U.S. Games
“Standard Case”
Similar to the beveled style, except the label is a single wraparound piece.
Labels are white with some game art, and the game title in white text against
a blue banner.

U.S. Games
“Black”
These games were released with the US Games and Vidtec names, before
the company switched to US Games only. These labels are black with white
text and some game art. The label is a single wraparound style.

VentureVision
“Standard”
Venture Vision’s single game has a light blue label with dark blue text. The
label wraps around the end and features game art on the main area.

Wizard Video
“Standard”
The Wizard Video label is red with black text. The main and end label are
separate, and there is some artwork on the main label. Wizard boxes are
very hard to find.

CBS Electronics
“No Label”
Halloween was released with a standard Wizard Video label, and also with-
out a label at all. We can only guess that Wizard was trying to cut costs and
shipped out a number of games with no label. “Halloween” is often written
in black marker across the main area of the cartridge (and sometimes mis-
spelled).
338 • Label Variations

Xonox
“Standard”
The standard Xonox cartridge is a single-ender as opposed to the double-
ender that Xonox also marketed. There is a single label, and the end of the
cartridge is beveled down. It is also much wider at this end of the case than
the opposite end. Labels are typically blue with game artwork, and the title
in red is against a yellow banner. All the Standard case games were also
released on Double-Enders.

Xonox
“Double Ender”
The Double-Ender is two games in one - each end of the cartridge has a
different game. These cartridges are about 2.5 inches longer than a standard
cartridge, and the case is wider in the middle. There is one long label that is
typically blue, with game art for both sides split diagonally down the mid-
dle. Titles are printed in red text against a yellow banner. All the titles found
on the Double-Enders can also be found in standard single-ended cases.

Zellers
“Standard”
Zellers games come in plain black cases with a separate main label and end
label. The end label is black with white text, and the main label features
game artwork. The Zellers name does not appear on the cartridge. Zellers
boxes are red with white lettering with a large picture of game artwork. The
Zellers name appears in plain text in the price box.

Zimag
“Standard”
Zimag labels are black wraparound style with game art and b&w text against
a rainbow banner.

Bomb
“Standard”
Bomb cartridges are all fairly similar, with really only the title changed on
the label from game to game. The label is blue, with Bomb in red lettering
and the game name in yellow. The casing has the Bomb name embossed on
the back, and there are small grips on the side.
 Label Variations • 339

Unknown
“Beagle Brothers”
These cartridges carry the name “Beagle Brothers” on the label, although
they were not produced by the similarly named Beagle Bros software de-
veloper who published home computer software in the 1980’s. AtariAge be-
lieve these are pirate carts originating in South America due to the nature of
the circuit boards contained within. The “Beagle Brothers” name was likely
used to capitalize on the popularlity of the brand at the time. The games
themselves are simply repackaged versions of existing titles.

Unknown
“Taiwan Simple”
These unlicensed games have a simple color label in a standard cartridge
case, and the name of the game in white lettering on the end label. This type
of label has shown up all over the world, and was used by several companies
(Zellers for example). These games were either found loose, or in a generic
box with no company name.

Unknown
“Taiwan Cooper”
These games are grouped together because of the similar box and cartridge
styles. All boxes have a drawing on the front with a “New” logo above the
drawing. The back of the box has some simple instructions and a mock
screenshot. These games have been found in the US and in Europe, and they
were made in Taiwan. The font on these cartridges is Cooper Black, hence
the description of these as “Taiwan Cooper”. It is not known of who actually
made them, or if there were any official distribution channels.

Unknown
“V Case”
These cartridges have a simple color label that is shorter than most, because
the label area is smaller. The end label is simple white text on a black back-
ground. The top of the case has a series of ridges with a “V” shape cut out of
them. They appear to be unlicensed games distributed in Europe.

Unknown
“Fantastic Game”
The weird Fantastic Game label had only one release, the game My Way.
340 • Label Variations

Unknown
“Green”
The Green Label had two releases; Chess and Circus.

Unknown
“Video Game SP”
The Video Game SP Label had four releases; Basis-Angriff, Das Raum-
schiff, Raumroboter, and Sternen Kampf.

Unknown
“Pet Boat”
The Pet Boat Label variation came in six different releases; Defender, Don-
key Kong, Enduro, Frogger, Soccer, and Tennis. Every release had the same
strange kid drawing label. The end label had text of the name of the game.

Atari produced more label variations than any other com-

pany, which isn’t terribly surprising given that they pro-
duced more games for the 2600 than any other company.
Quite a few carts produced by Atari are available on at
least two major label variations, one being a Text label
and the other being a Picture label. Other common label
variations include the Blue label carts produced by Activi-
sion in their later years, the White label INTV versions of
M Network carts, and the Sears Text/Picture variations
(similar to Atari).
 Overlays • 341

Overlays
“atariage.com”

Most people don’t think of overlays when it comes to the 2600, but there are actually several for the system,
mainly for use with the various keypad controllers Atari released over the system’s life span. The first over-
lays for the 2600 were packaged with Basic Programming, which made use of two keypad controllers and a
unique overlay for each. Atari later released a keypad packaged with Star Raiders, and it too used an overlay
(no other games ever took advantage of this controller). Atari also released a much larger keypad for use with
their Children’s games (Alpha Beam with Ernie, Big Bird’s Egg Catch, Cookie Monster Crunch and Oscar’s
Trash Race). This controller was actually blessed with several colorful overlays.
Only two third-party companies produced overlays for the 2600, and neither of them is conventional. Ac-
tivision created two overlays for Space Shuttle; one sits over the base of the unit and the other fits over the
switches on the 2600. The other third-party overlay was created by Sega for use with Star Trek: Strategic
Operations Simulation. This overlay sits over the standard Atari 2600 joystick, but in practice was clumsy and
not particularly useful.

Alpha Beam with Ernie Big Bird’s Egg Catch Cookie Monster Munch Holey Moley

Oscar’s Trash Race Star Raiders Star Trek: S.O.S. Synthcart

(Self-Published)

Basic Programming

Space Shuttle
342 • Console Variations

Console Variations
The Atari 2600 had quite a long lifespan, and in that time Atari issued several versions of the console. There
were also some official third party clone systems, as well as some pirate knock-offs.
The information and pictures from these pages are taken from atariage.com.

Atari VCS - CX2600 Sunnyvale Edition

In response to criticism over ergonomic
This isissues in the 1977
the original 7800’s Pro-Line
Atari Video Computer System, and this particular
controllers, Atari later released joypad controllers with European 7800s,
design was only produced for one year. Because it features six chrome-
which were similar in style to controllers found on
like switches andNintendo
has heavy andinternal
Sega RF Shielding, some collectors refer
Systems. The Joypad was not available in as
to this thea United
“HeavyStates.
Sixer”.Although
At first glance it looks just like the CX2600
rare in the US, they are not hard to find
that in Europe.
follows However,
in 1978, but itthey were
is noticably heavier when compared, and has
sold separately in very small quantities
somein their
extraown box,molding
plastic and thisaround
is very the back and sides of the unit. These
hard to find. units were manufactured in Sunnyvale, California, and there is a tag on
the underside from the manufacturing plant to indicate this. There is also
a serial number on the unit itself with a matching serial number sticker on
the box. The later model was manufactured in Hong Kong.

Atari VCS - CX2600

Introduced in 1978, this CX2600 was very similar to the first run of VCS’s,
but there are some cosmetic differences. It is lighter, due to reduced RF
shielding internally. Some of the thick molding around the back and sides
are gone, giving it a slightly more streamlined appearance. This unit was
produced for about two years before Atari redesigned it. It was packaged
with two standard joysticks and a Combat cartridge. Most of these were
made in Hong Kong as opposed the original VCS which was made at
Atari headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.

Atari VCS - CX2600A

Introduced in 1980, the CX2600A model VCS is functionally identical to
the CX2600, but two of the switches have been moved to the top of the
unit, and those two switches are much smaller. The box is slightly differ-
ent and pictures the CX2600A on the front. It still included two joysticks
and a Combat cartridge.

Atari VCS - CX2600A Promotional Console

This looks similar to a standard CX2600A model, with a few minor dif-
ferences. The piping around the switches is yellow instead of orange, and
these models were manufactured in Sunnyvale as indicated on the under-
side of the unit. The box that these came in looks like a normal box except
it has “Not for Resale, For promotional Purposes Only” stamped on the
underside. AtariAge is not sure if there are any technical differences to the
console, or if it was just an early edition of the new style for retailers to
distribute in advance of sales.
 Console Variations • 343

Atari 2600
Introduced in 1982, this model officially uses the name “2600” for the first
time to help differentiate it from the newly introduced 5200 Super Sys-
tem. The 2600 is primarily black with no woodgrain, and otherwise looks
like the VCS CX2600A. It came packaged in a silver box with two joy-
sticks and two pack-in games (Combat and Pac-Man), and is also found in
a more compact silver box without the games and with only one joystick.

Atari 2600 Jr.

The Atari 2600 Jr. was introduced in 1986 with a new ad campaign and
a new design for the aging system. It came in a small silver box, and can
also be found in a red box. Once again it has the same functionally as other
Atari models, just a difference in appearance. This is sometimes called the
“Short Rainbow” version because the rainbow colored bar is shorter than
the revised model.

Atari 2600 Jr. Rev. A

The Atari 2600 Jr. was introduced in 1986 with a new ad campaign and a
new design for the aging system. This is almost identical to the first edi-
tion 2600 Jr. except that the Rainbow on the metal plate is wider. It came
in a small silver box, and can also be found in a red box. Once again it has
the same functionally as other Atari models, just a difference in appear-
ance.

Atari 2600 Jr. - Black

This is an all-black version of the Atari 2600 Jr. There is no silver band,
and there is only a small rainbow, and the Atari Fuji and “Atari 2600” ap-
pear in white above the rainbow. AtariAge believe this version was only
sold in Ireland.

Atari 2800
The Atari 2800 is the Japanese version of the Atari 2600, released in October 1983.
It was the first release of a 2600 designed specifically for the Japanese market,
despite companies like Epoch distributing the 2600 in Japan previously. In fact,
Atari’s name was inspired by the Japanese game ‘Go’.
The 2800 never captured a large market in Japan. It was released a short time after
Nintendo’s Family Computer, which became the dominant console in the Japanese video game market of the
time.
Codenamed “Cindy”, and designed by Atari engineer Joe Tilly, the Atari 2800 had four controller ports instead
of the standard two on the Atari 2600’s. The controllers are an all-in one design using a combination of an 8-di-
rection digital joystick and a 270-degree paddle, designed by John Amber. The 2800’s case design departed
from the standard 2600 format, using a wedge shape with non-protruding switches.
Sears liked the design of the Atari 2800 so much, they opted to sell a version under their Tele-Games label. It
was released in the US in 1983 as the Sears Video Arcade II, and was packaged with 2 controllers and Space
Invaders.
344 • Console Variations

Bit Corporation Amigo

In response to criticism over ergonomic
Sold inissues in the
Australia 7800’s
and Pro-Line
probably Europe, this machine appears to be an 8-bit
controllers, Atari later released joypad controllers with European 7800s,
computer that will also play 2600 games. The instructions also state that
which were similar in style to controllers
there isfound on Nintendo
an “expansion slotand
for Sega
adding on an adaptor to play ATART (sic)
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
VCS 2600 through APPLE II, or VIC-20, IBM PC.....etc. This adaptor
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe.
supported However,
by BIT theybewere
Corp. will available very soon.”
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
hard to find.
Sears Video Arcade Rev. A
Sears purchased the rights to sell the Atari 2600 in their stores, and
changed the name and packaging to a Sears brand, as was typical of them.
This is their version of the Atari VCS CX2600. This unit also comes in the
original “heavy sixer” variety.

Sears Video Arcade Rev. B

In response to criticism over ergonomic
This isissues in theversion
the Sears 7800’sofPro-Line
the Atari VCS CX2600A. It’s almost identi-
controllers, Atari later released joypad
cal to the Atari Model except7800s,
controllers with European that it has the Sears Telegames name on the
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
faceplate.
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is verySears Video Arcade II
hard to find.
The Video Arcade II was Sears’ final version of the 2600. At first glance,
it looks much like a 7800, and features LED’s, but it is just a repackaged/
redesigned 2600. The controllers are also combination paddle/joysticks.

128-in-1 System
In response to criticism over ergonomic
This is aissues in the
128-in-1 7800’s
system Pro-Line
from Australia. This may be an officially licensed
controllers, Atari later released joypad controllers with European 7800s,
product.
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they CCE
were Supergame VG-2800
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
This is a Brazilian clone from licensee CCE. It’s very similar to the Coleco
hard to find.
Gemini and Columbia Arcade.

Columbia Home Arcade

In response to criticism over ergonomic issues in Home
The Columbia the 7800’s
ArcadePro-Line
looks just like a Coleco Gemini, with a dif-
controllers, Atari later released joypad controllers with European 7800s,
ferent logo. This unit is extremely difficult to find as it was only sold
which were similar in style to controllers
throughfound on Nintendo
a mail-order and Segaand not for very long.
club initially,
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very Coleco Gemini
hard to find.
Not only did Coleco release an Atari 2600 adapter for the Colecovision,
they released a full-fledged clone, the Gemini. It features combination
paddle/joysticks and Donkey Kong as a pack-in game. These are some-
what difficult to find because Coleco didn’t manufacture too many.
 Console Variations • 345

Columbia Home Arcade

The Columbia Home Arcade looks just like a Coleco Gemini, with a dif-
ferent logo. This unit is extremely difficult to find as it was only sold
through a mail-order club initially, and not for very long.

Dactar Video Game

In response to criticism overThisergonomic issuesBrazilian
is a clone from in the 7800’s Pro-Line
licensee Dactar.
controllers, Atari later released joypad controllers with European 7800s,
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although Dactar II Video Game
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
This is a clone from Brazilian licensee Dactar. AtariAge believe it was sold
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
with this specially made case.
hard to find.

Funfair 2600
In response to criticism overThisergonomic
is a Funfairissues
2600,in the 7800’s
a clone Pro-Linein Mexico.
manufactured
controllers, Atari later released joypadincontrollers
It is similar appearance with
to European
a 2600 Jr..7800s,
Picture courtesy of Eduardo Torrero.
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were Funvision 224-in-1
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
This clone, found in Finland, includes mostly PAL games with some NTSC
hard to find.
games mixed in.

Rinco 256-in-1 System

In response to criticism over ergonomic issues
This 256-in-1 in theby
system 7800’s
RincoPro-Line
is made of cheap, brittle plastic. It was sold
controllers, Atari later released joypad
with twocontrollers with European
cheap joysticks 7800s,
that look like standard Atari joysticks with pistol
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
style grips. The console looks just like an Atari 2600 unit, except for the state-
Systems. The Joypad was not available
ment “256 inBuilt
the United States.
In” printed onAlthough
the front.
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very 32-in-1 System
hard to find.
This is an unknown 32-in-1 clone featuring 32 built-in games. It appears to be a
remanufactured 2600 Jr.. Picture courtesy of Eduardo Torrero.

210-in-1
In response to criticism overThisergonomic issues
is a clone in with
system the 7800’s Pro-Line
210 games built in.
controllers, Atari later released
Thejoypad controllers
manufacturer with European 7800s,
is unknown.
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were 520-in-1 System
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
This is an
hard to unknown 520-in-1 clone from Australia. This company may have made
find.
other consoles with different game counts.

64-in-1 System
In response to criticism over ergonomic issues in the
This is an unknown 7800’s
64-in-1 Pro-Line
clone featuring 64 built-in games. It looks just like
controllers, Atari later released joypad controllers with European 7800s,
a short-rainbow 2600 Jr., and is sold in a small silver box.
which were similar in style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
346 • Controllers

Controllers
Atari manufactured a number of different controllers for use with the 2600, some of them being game specific.
This gallery showcases 2600 compatible controllers manufactured by Atari in the 1980’s, as well as 3rd party
controllers that were made for specific 2600 games.
Most of the information on these pages are form atariage.com and 2600connection.com.

Atari CX10 Joystick

In response to criticism overThisergonomic
is the typeissues in the 7800’s
of controller Pro-Line
most familiar to people, featuring one (and only one)
controllers, Atari later released joypad
red fire controllers
button. with European
The controller 7800s, by Steve Bristow (patent 4,124,787).
was designed
which were similar in styleThe to controllers found on Nintendo
original version, which was only made and Segafor the 2600’s debut year (1977) uses
Systems. The Joypad was heavy not available
springs inwith
the all
United States. switches,
the contact Although giving it a much looser feel than the
rare in the US, they are notmore-common
hard to find inCX40
Europe. However, they weresay “TOP” in the dotted outline around
sticks. They also don’t
sold separately in very smallthequantities
stick, andinthe
their
topown box,stick
of the and is
this is very to hold a small “ATARI” hex-shaped
recessed
hard to find. plate (there was also a “SEARS” button for the Tele-Games system).
“2600connection.com”

Atari CX40 Joystick

This is the far more common version, featuring a more cost-effective design by
James C. Asher (patent 4,349,708). This was sold separately in several different
box styles. A 3rd version of this venerable controller was also made for the Atari
XE version which is molded in gray plastic, though the boot (stick handle) is still
black. Original retail price $9.95; later $10.95/pair.
“2600connection.com”

Atari CX50 Keypad

In response to criticism over ergonomic
These was soldissues inand
in pairs the is7800’s Pro-Line
functionally identical to the Kid’s Controller and the
controllers, Atari later released
Videojoypad
Touchcontrollers with overlays
Pad. Included Europeanwith
7800s,
commands, it was meant to be used with
which were similar in styleBasic
to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Programming.
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very Atari CX30 Paddles
hard to find.
Standard paddle controller that used a potentiometer and a microswitch for the fire
button. These were manufactured in pairs, with both controllers being connected to
a single plug. The controllers are durable, but the pots require periodic cleaning. 2
different versions exist. The original version released in 1977 has a different label
with the Atari name and logo next to large tennis rackets. The product number is
also different (CX30-04). Retail price $21.95.
“2600connection.com”

Atari Space Age CX43 Joystick

In response to criticism overOneergonomic
of Atari’s issues in theAdvanced
“Pro-Line” 7800’s Pro-Line
Controllers. A compact stick resembling the
controllers, Atari later released joypad
handle controllers
of a pistol with awith European
small knob-like7800s,
stick at the top. There’s only 1 fire button
which were similar in style(theto controllers
red top on found on Nintendo
the joystick is not aand Sega This stick looks identical to Milton
button).
Systems. The Joypad was Bradley’s
not available in the United States. Although
proposed HD2000 joystick. It’s possible that Atari got the stick as part
rare in the US, they are notofhard
theirtodealings
find in Europe. However,
regarding they were
the unreleased Voice Commander Module. A company
sold separately in very small quantities
flyer notes itin their
was own box,
available and
July this is very
1983.
hard to find. “2600connection.com”
 Controllers • 347

CBS Games Booster Grip

Packaged with Omega Race, this attachment adds an additional fire button to a standard
Atari 2600 joystick. It fits over the joystick and has a cable with an inline connector on it;
users plug the joystick into one end, and the other end plugs into the system. The trigger
button is wired up to the Paddle A line (pin 5) and the +5v (pin 7). This becomes the fire
button. The other 2 buttons are for thrust.
“2600connection.com”

Milton Bradley Cosmic Commander

In response to criticismAn over ergonomic
elaborate joystickissues in thethe7800’s
sold with game Pro-Line
Survival Run, meant to appear like a futuristic
controllers, Atari laterspace
released joypad controllers with European
age controller. Functions like a regular 7800s,
controller, not sold separately from the
which were similar ingame.
style Difficult
to controllers found
to find, on Nintendo
especially and Sega
in working condition.
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and Atari
this isDriving
very CX20 Controller
hard to find.
Packaged with the game Indy 500/Race, which was the only game to officially
support it, although a few homebrew games do as well (Stell-A-Sketch, Stella’s
Stocking, and Thrust Plus: Driving Controller Edition). 2 different versions exist.
The original version released in 1977 has a label with the Atari name and logo next
a large Indy car. Retail price $21.95/pair.
“2600connection.com”

Milton Bradley Flight Commander

In response to criticism over ergonomic
Packaged issues
with Spitfire in thean7800’s
Attack, Pro-Line
elaborate joystick meant to look like a fighter plane
controllers, Atari latergun
released
mount.joypad controllers
Similar with European
button/handle 7800s,to the Cosmic Commander, still func-
configuration
which were similar intions
stylelike
to controllers found onNot
a regular controller. Nintendo and Segafrom the game. Difficult to find, espe-
sold separately
Systems. The Joypadciallywas not availablecondition.
in working in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
hard to find.
Exus Foot Craz
The Foot Craz was sold with Video Jogger and Video Reflex, and is sort of a
precursor to Nintendo’s Power Pad. Video Jogger was played by moving the
feet on the pad, much like a primitive Stadium Events. The controller regis-
tered the feet hitting the switches and an on-screen circle made its way around
an oval track, racing another circle. Video Reflex was a proto DDR, with five
colors appearing on the screen. A Noid-like creature would appear in one of
the color blocks and the player stepped on the appropriate color on the Foot
Craz to send the Noid to the grave. It works exactly as well as one would ex-
pect a footpad controller for the Atari 2600 would work. The controller is now
pretty rare and is desired by collectors.
“ign.com”

Amiga Joyboard
In response to criticism overThe ergonomic
full nameissues in the
for this was7800’s Pro-Line Power Body Controller. It’s a large,
The Joyboard
controllers, Atari later released
flat,joypad
black controllers
board with with Europeanthat
red lettering 7800s,
users stand on to control their games. By
which were similar in style rocking
to controllers
back andfound on and
forth Nintendo and Sega
side-to-side, they simulate the joystick motions. An
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
additional port in the Joyboard allows them to plug in a stick for use with games
rare in the US, they are not hard to find
that need in Europe.
a button. However,
It was packaged they were
with the game Mogul Maniac.
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very “2600connection.com”
hard to find.
348 • Controllers

Coleco Kid Vid Controller

The Coleco KidVid was an accessory that hooked to the second
player controller port to allow audio cassettes to play alongside
Atari 2600 games. It’s also a portable cassette player. Only two
official games were ever made for it, Smurfs Save The Day and
Berenstain Bears.
“racketboy.com”

Atari CX23 Kids’ Controller

In response to criticism overAn ergonomic issues incontroller
oversized keypad the 7800’s Pro-Line
similar in function to the Keyboard Controller
controllers, Atari later released joypadTouch
and Video controllers with European
Pad. Designed 7800s,
for use with the Children’s Television Workshop
which were similar in style(CCW)
to controllers
games. found on someone
It seems Nintendo inand Sega marketing department forgot a basic
Atari’s
Systems. The Joypad was rule not available
of grammar in the United States.
in regards Although
to plural possessive - specifically on using an apos-
rare in the US, they are nottrophe
hard tocorrectly
find in Europe.
in pluralHowever, they were
nouns. Early marketing had the name spelled correctly
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
(Kids’) but the released version doesn’t (Kid’s).
hard to find. “2600connection.com”

Atari CX42 Remote Control Wireless joysticks

One of Atari’s “Pro-Line” Advanced Controllers, but not made by Atari. These
are identical to the Game Mate 2 controllers sold by Cynex. Similar in style to the
standard CX40 joysticks but with a huge base, and each one requires a 9v tran-
sistor battery. Antennas encased in plastic transmit a signal to a black box which
hooks into the system’s joystick ports. Maximum range is approx. 20 feet. First an-
nounced in the January 1983 issue of Electronic Games magazine with a suggested
retail price of $100. Later featured in Atari’s 1983 “2nd Half” press kit. Advertised
in the V2N4 issue of Atari Age magazine for $69.95.
“2600connection.com”

Atari CA025462-001 Track & Field Controller

In response to criticism over
The ergonomic issues
controller was in the by
designed 7800’s
WilcoPro-Line controllers,
and is similar to the arcade version. It was
Atari later released joypadsold
controllers
with Track & Field, but was also available separatelyinfor use on other systems.
with European 7800s, which were similar
style to controllers found on Nintendo
It will and Sega
work with Systems.
any game, but The
onlyJoypad was not avail-
offer left/right/fire functions.
able in the United States. Although rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe.
However, they were sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this
is very hard to find.
Atari CX22 Trak-Ball
One of Atari’s “Pro-Line” Advanced Controllers. This was announced in the Jan/
Feb ‘83 issue of the Atari Age magazine as due out by that summer, and a com-
pany flyer notes it was “coming in June ‘83”; the May/June ‘83 issue of the Atari
Age magazine noted it would be available in July for $44.95. The original version
has a white ball, round fire buttons, and an all-black case and includes “Pro-Line”
in the name on the top. Although the case has a hole and markings on the left side
for a Trak-Ball/joystick mode switch, the pcb design doesn’t support it (and the
hole is covered up). The 2nd version has a white base (and no “Pro-Line” text on top) and the pcb has the mode
switch. Since Atari never released a VCS game that actually supported a true Trak-Ball (i.e. analog) mode, the
controller operates the same as a joystick. Designed by Dan Kramer and Levon Mitchell. Early case designs
were done by Tom Palecki.
“2600connection.com”
 Controllers • 349

Atari CX21 Video Touch Pad

In response to criticismAlsoover ergonomic
known issues
as the Star in thecontroller,
Raiders 7800’s Pro-Line
functionally identical to the Kid’s Controller
controllers, Atari laterand
released
Keyboard Controller. Game included an7800s,
joypad controllers with European overlay with commands, for use with Star
which were similar inRaiders.
style to controllers found on Nintendo and Sega
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe. However, they were
sold separately in very small quantities in their own box, and this is very
hard to find.
Atari XE Light Gun
Actually sold under the XE line, but compatible with the two Atari
2600 games that utilize a light gun, Sentinel and Atari’s Shooting
Gallery (prototype).

Atari Mindlink
In response to criticism over ergonomic Theissues in the 7800’s
Atari Mindlink is an Pro-Line
unreleased video game controller for the Atari
controllers, Atari later released joypad2600,
controllers withintended
originally Europeanfor 7800s,
release in 1984. The Mindlink was unique
which were similar in style to controllers found
in that on Nintendo
its headband formand Segacontrols the game by reading the my-
factor
Systems. The Joypad was not available in the United States. Although
oneural signal voltage from the player’s forehead. The player’s forehead
rare in the US, they are not hard to find in Europe.are
movements However, they were
read by infrared sensors and transferred as movement in
sold separately in very small quantitiesthe
in game.
their own box, and this is very
hard to find.
Specially supported games are similar to those that use the paddle controller, but with the Mindlink controller
instead. Three games were in development for the Mindlink by its cancellation: Bionic Breakthrough, “Te-
lepathy”, and Mind Maze. Bionic Breakthrough is basically a Breakout clone, controlled with the Mindlink.
Mind Maze uses the Mindlink for a mimicry of ESP, to pretend to predict what is printed on cards. Testing
showed that players frequently got headaches due to moving their eyebrows to play the game. None of these
games were ever released in any other form. Also known as the Star Raiders controller, functionally identical
to the Kid’s Controller and Keyboard Controller. Game included an overlay with commands, for use with Star
Raiders.
350 • AtariVox

AtariVox+ Speech Synthesizer

atariage

The AtariVox+ is a self-contained speech/music synthesizer and mem-

ory card for the Atari 2600 and 7800, Vectrex, and other video game
consoles with compatible controller ports.
The heart of the unit is the SpeakJet--an amazing chip with phonetic
speech, preset sounds and a five channel music synthesizer. All of these
are controlled by the console via a serial interface emulated through
the driver software.
Similar to chips used in 80s speech synthesizers but with extended
capabilities, the speech retains a nice retro quality, making it a perfect
partner for classic consoles.

Also onboard the AtariVox+ is 32K of non-volatile memory which can

be used as a memory card. The flash memory will retain data without
power for 200+ years.
An allocation scheme has been devised so that no file is ever overwrit-
ten, allowing many different games to store data on just one unit.
The AtariVox+ contains a bank of dip switches that allow you to select
which mode the AtariVox+ will operate in:
• AtariVox - for the Atari 2600 and 7800 (default setting)
• VecVoice - for compatibility with earlier Vectrex speech synthesis - mainly for the speech-hacked version of
Berzerk (Verzerk) and Y.A.S.I.

AtariVox+ Supported Games

Atari 2600: Vectrex (via VecVox):
• AStar • Brecher [2015]
• Circus AtariAge (Coming Soon) • Color Clash
• Duck Attack • Debris Revisited
• Elevators Amiss • Shifted
• Fall Down • Spike's Circus
• Go Fish! • VecFahren
• Juno First • Vectoblox
• Lead • V:Hockey
• Omicron • VecVox X-Mas
• Scramble (Coming Soon)
• Strat-O-Gems Deluxe Vectrex (via VecVoice):
• Sync • B.E.T.H. (Boulder Escape Terror Hazard)
• Three.s • Deathchase [2015]
• Wall Jump Ninja • NOX [2015]
• Pythagorean Theorem
Atari 7800: • Space Frenzy
• b*nQ • Verzerk
• Dungeon Stalker • Y.A.S.I. (Yet Another Space Invaders)
• T:ME Salvo (Coming Soon)
• Worm! The AtariVox+ includes the AtariVox+ and full-
color, four page manual. It can be bought at Atar-
iAge for $45.00.
 Activision Patch Gallery • 351

Activision Patch Gallery

AtariAge

This gallery highlights the fabric patches that Ac-

tivision offered for achieving high scores on their Crackpots
games. Contestants were instructed to photograph “Crackpots”
their TV with the high score showing and mail it 75,000 pts.
in, and Activision would send back a patch. Today,
these are highly collectible items.
All patches have the name Activision atop (or oth- Dragster
erwise set off) on the patch save for those where the “World Class Dragster Club”
name is listed and the higher level patches for Laser 6.0 seconds
Blast and Starmaster. This table only includes the
2600 Activision patches - patches were also made
for the 5200, Intellivision, and Colecovision. Some
Dolphin
of those patches are identical, some are different.
“Friends of the Dolphin”
Not all Activision games offered patches, only those
listed here. 80,000 pts.

Barnstorming Dolphin
“Flying Aces” “Secret Society of the
33.3 seconds/game 1 Dolphins”
51.0 seconds/game 2 300,000 pts.
54.0 seconds/game 3
Beamrider Enduro
“Top Part of Moon” “Roadbusters”
60,000 pts. & Sector 20 Survive 5 game days

Chopper Command Freeway

“Chopper Commandos” “Save the Chicken Foun-
10,000 pts. dation”
20 pts/game 3 or 7

Decathlon Frostbite
“Bronze” “Frostbite Bailey’s Arctic
8,600 pts. Architects”
40,000 pts.

Decathlon Grand Prix

“Silver” “Grand Prix Driving Team”
9,000 pts. 1:00/game 2
1:30/game 3
2:30/game 4
Decathlon Kabobber
“Gold” “Kabashers ”
10,000 pts. This is a modern patch designed
by Dave Giarusso. Activision
never actually created this patch.
352 • Activision Patch Gallery

Kaboom! River Raid

“Activision Bucket Bri- “River Raiders ”
gade” 15,000 pts.
3,000 pts.

Keystone Kapers Megamania

“Badge shaped” “Megamaniacs”
35,000 pts. 45,000 pts.

Laser Blast Laser Blast

“Federation of Laser “1,000,000 Stripe”
Blasters” 1,000,000 pts.
100,000 pts.

H.E.R.O. Robot Tank

“Round” “Medal of Merit”
75,000 pts. 4 Squadrons/48 Tanks

Ice Hockey Robot Tank

“All-Star Hockey Team” “Cross of Excellence”
Beat the Computer 5 Squadrons/60 Tanks

Oink! Robot Tank

“Round” “Star of Honor”
25,000 pts. 6 Squadrons/72 Tanks

Pitfall! Pressure Cooker

“Explorer’s Club” “Fan shaped”
20,000 pts. 45,000 pts.

Pitfall II Private Eye

“Cliff Hangers” “Round”
99,000 pts. Solve Case 3

Plaque Attack Seaquest

“Rounded Hexagon” “Bullet shaped”
35,000 pts. 50,000 pts.
 Activision Patch Gallery • 353

Skiing Sky Jinks!

“Official Member “Activision Sky Stars”
Activision Ski Team” 37.0 seconds/game 1
28.2 seconds/game 3

Stampede Space Shuttle

“Trail Drive ” “Space Shuttle Pilot”
3,000 pts. 4 or 5 missions with 4500

Space Shuttle Starmaster

“Space Shuttle “Order of the Supreme
Commander” Starmaster”
6 missions with 7500 - 3,800 pts./game 1

Spider Fighter Starmaster

“Spider Fighter” “Leader - Wing Com-
40,000 pts. mander - Starmaster”
- 5,700 pts./game 2
- 7,600 pts./game 3
Tennis - 9,000 pts./game 4
“Tennis”
Win one set vs. computer In case you were wondering, Activision does not
have any of these patches left today, so don’t send
them your high scores. Really.
These pages were taken from AtariAge. Rick Weis
and Lee Krueger supplied most of the pictures.
354 • Atari NTSC vs PAL vs SECAM

Atari NTSC vs PAL vs SECAM

“spiceware.org”

There are 3 different TV standards that Atari VCS/2600 consoles have been made for:
• NTSC - North America, Central America, parts of South America, parts of Asia
• PAL - Europe, Asia, parts of Africa
• SECAM - France, parts of Africa, Russia
When programming games for the VCS, there are 2 things to be concerned about - the first is the color palette
the console provides on each TV standard:
• NTSC - 128 unique colors.
• PAL - 104 unique colors
• SECAM - 8 unique colors
The console is what determines the colors that can be displayed. In looking at the TIA Color Chart, it becomes
readily apparent that the colors on each system are different. If a game displays something using color $68, it
gets the following color when displayed on the television:

As such, a cartridge needs to know what system it will be used on so it can select the correct color numbers.
If you want to draw a green tree, an NTSC cartridge could use $C2, a PAL cartridge could use $52 while a
SECAM cartrdige could use $x8(x could be any hexadecimal digit, 0 thru F).
If a cartridge is used on a system it was not designed for, the colors will appear incorrect. spiceware.org used
Stella, an Atari Emulator, to create the following screenshots of what the NTSC and the PAL versions of their
game, Medieval Mayhem, would look like when plugged into different consoles.

NTSC Cartridge PAL Cartridge

NTSC Console

PAL Console

SECAM Console
356 • North American video game crash of 1983

North American video game crash of 1983

wikipedia

The video game crash of 1983, known as Atari shock targeted video game players by offering competitive
in Japan, was a massive recession of the video game upgrades, where rival systems could be traded for a
industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985. Revenues discount toward the purchase of a Commodore 64.
had peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983, then fell Commodore’s ownership of chip fabricator MOS
to around $100 million by 1985 (a drop of almost 97 Technology allowed manufacture of integrated cir-
percent). The crash was a serious event that brought cuits in-house, so the VIC-20 and C64 sold for much
an abrupt end to what is considered the second gen- lower prices than competing home computers.
eration of console video gaming in North America.
The video game crash was caused by a combination
of factors. Although some were more important than
others, all played a role in saturating and then im-
ploding the video game industry.
At the time of the crash, there were many consoles
on the market, including the Atari 2600, Atari 5200,
Bally Astrocade, ColecoVision, Coleco Gemini (a
2600 clone), Emerson Arcadia 2001, Fairchild Chan- The Commodore 64 weathered the crash and went on to be-
nel F System II, Magnavox Odyssey², Mattel Intel- come one of the best selling computers of all time.
livision (recently updated as the Intellivision II), the By 1983, Gutman wrote, “Video games were offi-
Sears Tele-Games systems, Tandyvision (an Intel- cially dead and computers were hot”. He renamed his
livision clone for Radio Shack), and the Vectrex. magazine to Computer Games in October 1983, but
Each of these consoles had its own library of games “I noticed that the word games became a dirty word
produced by the console maker, and many had large in the press. We started replacing it with simulations
libraries of games produced by third-party devel- as often as possible”. Soon “The computer slump be-
opers. Likewise, many of these same companies gan ... Suddenly, everyone was saying that the home
announced yet another generation of consoles for computer was a fad, just another hula hoop”. Com-
1984, such as the Odyssey3, and Atari 7800. puter Games published its last issue in late 1984.
In 1988, Computer Gaming World founder Russell
Adding to the industry’s woes was a glut of poor ti- Sipe noted that “the arcade game crash of 1984 took
tles from hastily financed startup companies. These down the majority of the computer game magazines
games—combined with weak, high-profile Atari with it.” He stated that, by “the winter of 1984, only
2600 games such as Pac-Man and E.T. the Extra- a few computer game magazines remained,” and by
Terrestrial—seriously damaged the reputation of the summer of 1985, Computer Gaming World “was
the industry. Atari’s market-leading 2600, then in its the only 4-color computer game magazine left.”
sixth year, was starting to approach saturation and its
1977-era design was becoming dated. The American game industry lob-
bied in Washington, D.C., for a
In 1982 a price war began between Commodore and smaller $1 coin, closer to the size
Texas Instruments, and home computers became as of a quarter, arguing that inflation
inexpensive as video-game consoles; after Commo- (which had reduced the quarter’s
dore cut the retail price of the 64 to $300 in June spending power by a third in the
1983 some stores began selling it for as little as early 1980s) was making it difficult to prosper. Dur-
$199. Dan Gutman, founder in 1982 of Video Games ing the 1970s, the dollar coin in use was the Eisen-
Player magazine, recalled in 1987 that “As the first hower Dollar, a large coin impractical for coin vend-
wave of the personal computer boom started, the ing machines. The Susan B. Anthony Dollar was
video games market began to taper off. People asked introduced in 1979, and its size fit the video game
themselves, ‘Why should I buy a video game system manufacturers’ demands, but it was a failure with
when I can buy a computer that will play games and the general public. Ironically, the new coin’s simi-
do so much more?’” A newspaper stated in Septem- larity to the quarter was one of the most-common
ber 1983 about the cancellation of the Intellivision complaints. In Canada, existing dollar bills were re-
III, “Who was going to pay $200-plus for a machine moved from circulation and replaced with coins.
that could only play games?” Commodore explicitly
 North American video game crash of 1983 • 357

Arcade machines in Japan had standardized the use ed with products. Activision, Atari, and Mattel all
of ¥100 coins, worth roughly $1, which industry vet- had experienced programmers, but many of the new
eran Mark Cerny proposed as a reason for Japan’s companies rushing to join the market did not have
game industry stability of the time. enough experience and talent to create the games.
Titles such as Chase the Chuck Wagon (about dogs
Activision in 1979 became the first third-party de-
eating food, funded by the dog food company Pu-
veloper. It was founded by Atari programmers who
rina), Skeet Shoot, and Lost Luggage were examples
left the company because Atari did not allow cred-
of games made in the hopes of taking advantage of
its to appear on the games and did not pay employ-
the video-game boom. While heavily advertised and
ees a royalty based on sales. At the time, Atari was
marketed, these games were perceived to be of poor
owned by Warner Communications, and the devel-
quality and did not catch on as hoped, further dam-
opers felt that they should receive the same recogni-
aging the industry.
tion that musicians, directors, and actors got from
Warner’s other divisions. After Activision went into
business, Atari quickly sued to block sales of Activi- Fallout effects
sion’s products, but never won a restraining order The release of so many new games in 1982 flooded
and ultimately settled the case in 1982. This court the market. Most stores had insufficient space to carry
case legitimized third-party development, encour- new games and consoles. As stores tried to return the
aging companies such as Quaker Oats (with their surplus games to the new publishers, the publishers
US Games division) to rush to open video-game had neither new products nor cash to issue refunds
divisions, hoping to impress both stockholders and to the retailers. Many publishers, including Games
consumers. Companies lured away each other’s by Apollo and US Games, quickly folded. Unable to
programmers or used reverse engineering to learn return the unsold games to defunct publishers, stores
how to make games for proprietary systems. Atari marked down the titles and placed them in discount
even hired several programmers from Mattel’s Intel- bins and sale tables. Recently released games which
livision development studio, prompting a lawsuit by initially sold for $35 were in bins for $5. By June
Mattel against Atari that included charges of indus- 1983, the market for the more expensive games had
trial espionage. shrunk dramatically and was replaced by a new mar-
ket of rushed-to-market, low-budget games.
Despite the lessons learned by Atari in the loss of its
programmers to Activision, Mattel continued to try A massive industry shakeout resulted. Magnavox and
to avoid crediting game designers. Rather than re- Coleco abandoned the video game business entirely.
veal the names of Intellivision game designers, Mat- Imagic withdrew its IPO the day before its stock
tel instead required that a 1981 TV Guide interview was to go public; the company later collapsed. The
with them change their names to protect their col- largest third-party developer, Activision, survived in
lective identities. ColecoVision designers worked in part because they also developed games for home
similar obscurity, feeding more departures to upstart computers to offset their console losses. Most of the
competitors. smaller software development houses supporting the
Atari 2600 closed.
In the second half of 1982 the number of cartridges
grew from 100 in June to more than 400 in Decem- Toy retailers, which controlled consumer access to
ber. Experts predicted a glut in 1983, with 10% of games, had concluded that video games were a fad.
games producing 75% of sales. BYTE stated in De- That fad, they assumed, had ended, and the shelf
cember that “in 1982 few games broke new ground space would be reassigned to different products;
in either design or format ... If the public really likes as a result, many retailers ignored video games for
an idea, it is milked for all it’s worth, and numerous several years. This was the most formidable barrier
clones of a different color soon crowd the shelves. that confronted Nintendo, as it tried to market its
That is, until the public stops buying or something Famicom system in the United States. Retailer op-
better comes along. Companies who believe that mi- position to video games was directly responsible for
crocomputer games are the hula hoop of the 1980s causing Nintendo to brand its product an “Entertain-
only want to play Quick Profit.” Unlike Nintendo, ment System” rather than a “console”, using terms
Sega, Sony, or Microsoft in later decades, the hard- such as “control deck” and “Game Pak”, as well as
ware manufacturers in this era lost exclusive control producing a toy robot called R.O.B. to convince toy
of their platforms’ supply of games. With it, they also retailers to allow it in their stores.
lost the ability to ensure stores were never overload-
358 • North American video game crash of 1983

The sales of home video games had dropped consid- Mattel and Coleco implemented lockout measures to
erably during this period, from $3 billion in 1982 to control third-party development (the ColecoVision
as low as $100 million in 1985, leading to bankrupt- BIOS checked for a copyright string on power-up),
cy for many game companies at the time. Following the Atari 2600 was completely unprotected and once
the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System information on its hardware became available, little
in 1985, the industry began recovering, with annual prevented anyone from making games for it. Nin-
sales exceeding $2.3 billion by 1988, with 70% of tendo thus instituted a strict licensing policy for the
the market dominated by Nintendo. In 1986, Nin- NES that included equipping the cartridge and con-
tendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi noted that “Atari sole with lockout chips, which were region-specific
collapsed because they gave too much freedom to and had to match in order for a game to work. In ad-
third-party developers and the market was swamped dition to preventing the use of unlicensed games, it
with rubbish games”. In response, Nintendo limited also was designed to combat piracy, rarely a problem
the number of titles that third-party developers could in the United States or Europe, but rampant in East
release for their system each year, and promoted its Asia.
“Seal of Quality”, which it allowed to be used on
games and peripherals by publishers that met Nin-
tendo’s quality standards.
The end of the crash allowed Commodore to raise
the price of the C64 for the first time upon the June
1986 introduction of the Commodore 64c—a Com-
modore 64 redesigned for lower cost of manufac-
ture, which Compute! cited as the end of the home-
computer price war, one of the primary causes of the Following the crash, Nintendo would become the market
crash. leader in America with the Nintendo Entertainment System,
shifting the market to Japan for years to come.
The North American video game crash had two
long-lasting results. The first result was that domi- Accolade achieved a technical victory in one court
nance in the home console market shifted from the case against Sega, challenging this control, even
United States to Japan. By 1986, three years after though it ultimately yielded and signed the Sega
its introduction, 6.5 million Japanese homes—19% licensing agreement. Several publishers, notably
of the population—owned a Family Computer, and Tengen (Atari), Color Dreams, and Camerica, chal-
the company began exporting it to the US. When the lenged Nintendo’s control system during the 8-bit
US video game market recovered in the late 1980s era by producing unlicensed NES games. The con-
the NES was by far the dominant console, leaving cepts of such a control system remain in use on eve-
only a fraction of the market to a resurgent Atari ry major video game console produced today, even
battling Sega’s Master System for the number-two with fewer “cartridge-based” consoles on the market
spot. By 1989, home video game sales in the United than in the 8/16-bit era. Replacing the security chips
States had reached $5 billion, surpassing the 1982 in most modern consoles are specially encoded opti-
peak of $3 billion during the previous generation. A cal discs that cannot be copied by most users and can
large majority of the market was controlled by Nin- only be read by a particular console under normal
tendo; it sold more than 35 million units in the Unit- circumstances.
ed States, exceeding the sales of other consoles and
Nintendo portrayed these measures as intended to
personal computers by a considerable margin. Other
protect the public against poor-quality games, and
Japanese companies also rivaled Nintendo’s success
placed a golden seal of approval on all licensed
in the United States, with Sega’s Mega Drive/Gen-
games released for the system. These strict licensing
esis in 1989 and NEC’s PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16
measures backfired somewhat after Nintendo was
released the same year.
accused of trust behavior. In the longer run, how-
A second, highly visible result of the crash was the in- ever, many third-party publishers such as Electronic
stitution of measures to control third-party develop- Arts actively supported competing consoles such as
ment of software. Using secrecy to combat industrial the Sega Genesis. Most of the Nintendo platform-
espionage had failed to stop rival companies from control measures were adopted by later console
reverse engineering the Mattel and Atari systems and manufacturers such as Sega, Sony, and Microsoft,
hiring away their trained game programmers. While although not as stringently.
 Atari video game burial • 359

Atari video game burial

wikipedia

The Atari video game burial was a mass burial of un- problem compounded by the high rate of customers
sold video game cartridges, consoles, and computers returning the game for refunds.
in a New Mexico landfill site, undertaken by Atari in
Further to the problems caused by Pac-Man’s under-
1983. The goods buried were believed to be unsold
whelming sales, Atari also faced great difficulty as
copies of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, one of the big-
a result of its video game adaptation of the film E.T.
gest commercial failures in video gaming and often
the Extra-Terrestrial. The game was a result of a deal
cited as one of the worst video games ever released,
between Warner Communications and the film’s di-
and the Atari 2600 port of Pac-Man, which was com-
rector Steven Spielberg. The concept of a video game
mercially successful but critically maligned.
based on a film, instead of porting an arcade coin-op
Atari, Inc. had been purchased by Warner Commu- or building on an established franchise, was unheard
nications in 1976 for $28 million, and had seen its of at the time. It was later reported that Warner had
net worth grow to $2 billion by 1982. By this time, paid $20–25 million for the rights, which was at
the company accounted for 80% of the video gaming the time quite a high figure for video game licens-
market; and was responsible for over half of its par- ing. Atari manufactured 5 million cartridges for the
ent company’s revenues, earning some 65–70% of game; however, upon its release in December 1982,
their operating profits. By the last quarter of 1982, its only 1.5 million copies were sold, leaving Atari still
growth in the following year was expected to be in holding onto over half of the game cartridges. The
the region of 50%. However, on December 7, 1982, game was critically panned, and is now seen as one
the company reported that its earnings had only in- of the worst ever made. Billboard magazine’s Earl
creased by 10–15%, rather than the predicted figure. Paige reported that the large number of unsold E.T
The next day saw Warner Communications’ share the Extra-Terrestrial games, along with an increase
prices fall by a third, and the quarter ended with in competition, prompted retailers to demand official
Warner’s profits falling by 56%. In addition, Atari’s return programs from video game manufacturers.
CEO, Ray Kassar, was later investigated for possible
The failures of these titles were further compounded
insider trading charges as a result of selling some
by Atari’s business dealings from 1981. Confident in
five thousand shares in Warner less than half an hour
strong sales, the company had told its distributors to
before reporting Atari’s lower-than-expected earn-
place their 1982 orders all at once. However, video
ings. Kassar was later cleared of any wrongdoing,
game sales in 1982 had slowed, and distributors who
although he was forced to resign his position the fol-
had ordered en masse in expectation of high turno-
lowing July. Atari, Inc. would go on to lose $536
ver were left to simply return large quantities of un-
million in 1983, and was sold off by Warner Com-
sold stock to Atari. As a result, the company soon
munications the following year.
found itself in possession of several million essen-
Atari’s tendency to port arcade games for its home tially useless video game cartridges, which it would
console had led to some of its most commercially be entirely unable to sell
successful games, including the port of its own coin-
In September 1983, the Alamogordo Daily News of
op Asteroids, and the licensed versions of Taito’s
Alamogordo, New Mexico reported in a series of
Space Invaders and Namco’s Pac-Man. When the
articles, that between 10 and 20 semi-trailer truck-
latter game received its official port to the Atari
loads of Atari boxes, cartridges, and systems from an
2600, Atari was confident that sales figures would
Atari storehouse in El Paso, Texas, were crushed and
be high, and manufactured 12 million cartridges—
buried at the landfill within the city. It was Atari’s
despite having sold only around 10 million Atari
first dealings with the landfill, which was chosen
2600 consoles. It was believed that the game would
because no scavenging was allowed and its garbage
be successful enough not only to earn an estimated
was crushed and buried nightly. Atari’s stated reason
$500 million, but also to boost sales of the console
for the burial was that it was changing from Atari
itself by several million as gamers sought to play the
2600 to Atari 5200 games, but this was later con-
home conversion. However, the finished product, re-
tradicted by a worker who claimed that this was not
leased in March 1982, was critically panned for its
the case. Atari official Bruce Enten stated that Atari
poor gameplay, and although it became the console’s
was mostly sending broken and returned material to
best-selling title after shipping 7 million units, it still
the Alamogordo dump and that it was “by-and-large
left Atari with over 5 million unsold cartridges—a
inoperable stuff.”
360 • Atari video game burial

On September 27, 1983, the news service UPI re- Mindlink controller system were disposed of at the
ported that “people watching the operation said it site, which only further fuels speculation, since Atari
included cassettes of the popular video games E.T., Museum owner Curt Vendel actually currently owns
Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, the consoles used to convey the Mindlink prototypes. Writing for the Pacific His-
the games to television screens and high-priced per- torical Review, John Wills speculated that location’s
sonal computers.” The news service Knight-Ridder place in the public psyche—its proximity to the sites
further reported on the looting of the dump on Sep- of both the Trinity nuclear test and Roswell UFO in-
tember 28 by local kids, stating “kids in this town cident—has aided the popularity of the story.
of 25,000 began robbing the Atari grave, coming up
The conflicting information surrounding the burial
with cartridges of such games as E.T., Raiders of the
has led to the claim of it being an “E.T. Dump” be-
Lost Ark, Defender, and Berzerk.”
ing referred to as an urban legend, which in turn has
On September 28, 1983, The New York Times re- led to a degree of skepticism and doubt over the ve-
ported on the story of Atari’s dumping in New Mex- racity of the dumping story itself, and the relevance
ico. An Atari representative confirmed the story for of conflating the event with the later industry down-
the newspaper, stating that the discarded inventory turn. As recently as October 2004, Howard Scott
came from Atari’s plant in El Paso, which was be- Warshaw, the programmer responsible for the E.T.
ing closed and converted to a recycling facility. The the Extra-Terrestrial game, expressed doubts that the
reports noted that the site was guarded to prevent destruction of millions of copies of the game ever
reporters and the public from affirming the contents. took place. Warshaw also believes that Atari’s down-
The Times article never suggested any of the specific fall was more a result of their business practices—
game titles being destroyed, but subsequent reports including alleged block booking of poorly selling
have generally linked the story of the dumping to the games with successful ones when dealing with dis-
well-known failure of E.T. Additionally, the head- tributors—than any specific failed games. This latter
line “City to Atari: ‘E.T.’ trash go home” in one edi- view has been echoed by Travis Fahs of IGN, who
tion of the Alamogordo News seems to imply some believes that Atari’s problems, including their huge
of the cartridges were E.T., but then follows with a surplus of unsold stock, arose from the company’s
humorous interpretation of E.T. meaning “Extra-ter- overestimation of the sustainability of Atari 2600
ritorial” and never specifically mentions the game. sales, rather than being due to the individual quality
of games being released.
Starting on September 29, 1983, a layer of concrete
was poured on top of the crushed materials, a rare The incident has also become something of a cultural
occurrence in waste disposal. An anonymous work- symbol representative of the North American video
man’s stated reason for the concrete was: “There are game crash of 1983, often cited as a cautionary tale
dead animals down there. We wouldn’t want any about the hubris of poor business practices, despite
children to get hurt digging in the dump.” Eventu- suggestions that the burial allowed the company to
ally, the city began to protest the large amount of write off the disposed-of material for tax relief pur-
dumping Atari was doing, with one commissioner poses.
stating that the area did not want to become “an in-
dustrial waste dump for El Paso.” The local manager Excavation
ordered the dumping to be ended shortly afterwards. On May 28, 2013, the Alamogordo City Commis-
Due to Atari’s unpopular dumping, Alamogordo lat- sion granted Fuel Industries, a Canadian entertain-
er passed an Emergency Management Act and cre- ment company, six months of access to the landfill to
ated the Emergency Management Task Force to limit film a documentary about the burial and to excavate
the future flexibility of the garbage contractor to se- the dump site. Xbox Entertainment Studios planned
cure outside business for the landfill for monetary to air this documentary series as an exclusive to the
purposes. Alamogordo’s then mayor, Henry Pacelli, Xbox One and Xbox 360 in 2014 as part of a multi-
commented that, “We do not want to see something part documentary series being produced by Light-
like this happen again.” box, a US/UK production company. Though the ex-
All of these factors have led to wide speculation cavation was momentarily stalled due to a complaint
that most of the 3.5 million unsold copies of E.T. by the New Mexico Environmental Protection Divi-
the Extra-Terrestrial ultimately wound up in this sion Solid Waste Bureau citing potential hazards, the
landfill, crushed and encased in concrete. It has also issues were resolved in early April 2014 to allow the
been reported that prototypes for the proposed Atari excavation to proceed.
 Atari video game burial • 361

Excavation started on April 26, 2014 as an open The documentary Atari: Game Over, which features
event to the public. E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial de- the burial site and its excavation, was released on
signer Howard Scott Warshaw and director Zak November 20, 2014.
Penn attended the event as part of a documentary
Of the recovered materials, a fraction has been given
about the burial, as did local residents such as Ar-
to the New Mexico Museum of Space History for
mando Ortega, a city official who is reportedly one
display, and another 100 to the documentary produc-
of the original children to raid the dump in 1983.
ers Lightbox and Fuel Entertainment. Galea believes
Ortega stated that although he and his friends found
the remaining cartridges can be sold by the city of
dozens of quality games, they gave the E.T. cartridg-
Alamogordo through the Museum of Space History.
es away because the “game sucked ... you couldn’t
She hopes that the sale of these games can help fund
finish it”. James Heller, the former Atari manager in
recognition of the burial site as a tourist attraction
charge of the original burial, was also on hand at the
in the future. The City of Alamogordo approved
excavation. Heller revealed that he had originally or-
the auction of the games in September 2014, to be
dered the site to be covered in concrete. Contrary to
sold through eBay and the Alamogordo Council
the urban legend that claims millions of cartridges
website. As of September 2015, over $107,000 has
were buried there, Heller stated that only 728,000
been raised through the sales of about 880 unearthed
cartridges were buried.
cartridges, with one E.T. copy selling for more than
$1,500. About 300 cartridges remain to be sold at a
later date given the historical value of the cartridges.

Evidence of E.T., Centipede, and other Atari materials uncov-

ered during the excavation

Remnants of E.T. and other Atari games were dis-

covered in the early hours of the excavation, as re- Excavating the landfill. Boxes of Yars’ Revenge, Star Raiders,
ported by Microsoft’s Larry Hyrb. A team of archae- Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Defender and Warlords can be
ologists was present to examine and document the seen.
Atari material unearthed by excavation machinery:
One of the E.T. cartridges that had been dug up was
Andrew Reinhard (American School of Classical
taken by the Smithsonian Institution for its records,
Studies at Athens), Richard Rothaus (Trefoil Cul-
calling the cartridge both representative of the burial
tural and Environmental), Bill Caraher (University
site but also in terms of video games, how the car-
of North Dakota), with support from video game
tridge represents “the ongoing challenge of making a
historian Raiford Guins (SUNY - Stony Brook) and
good film to a video game adaptation, the decline of
historian Bret Weber (University of North Dakota).
Atari, the end of an era for video game manufactur-
Only about 1300 cartridges of the estimated 700,000 ing, and the video game cartridge life cycle”.
were removed from the burial, as the remaining ma-
The legacy of the burial has led it to be referenced in
terials were deeper than expected, and made them
popular culture.
more difficult to access, according to Alamogordo
mayor Susie Galea. The burial was refilled following The music video for the song “When I Wake Up” by
this event. Joseph Lewandowski, who had worked Wintergreen depicts the band traveling to the landfill
to arrange the unearthing with the city, said that this site and proceeding to dig up cartridges.
was a one-time shot to recover materials from the
In 2015 a fictionalized account of the burial is a key
site, as they do not expect the city to agree to a simi-
element of the episode The Games Underfoot of the
lar event again.
TV series Elementary.
362 • NTSC Checklist

Checklist
To compile these lists I used AtariAge as a master, and included info from AtariMania for missing info. These
lists are not a Master-list, I suspect alot of different variations are missing. For more on each variations, please
visit atarimania.com.

North-America
The first list include games released in North-America.
The Atari 2600 was first released in North America on September 11, 1977 and fea-
tured nine launch titles: Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Blackjack, Combat, Indy 500, Star
Ship, Street Racer, Surround and Video Olympics. The final licensed Atari 2600 game
released in North America was Secret Quest in 1989.

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

3D Tic-Tac-Toe Atari Text CX2618 2 30
3D Tic-Tac-Toe Atari Picture CX2618 2 30
3D Tic-Tac-Toe Sears Text 49-75123 3 30
Action Pak Atari PRO810 6 222
The Activision Decathlon Activision Standard AZ-030 3 30
Adventure Atari Text CX2613 2 30
Adventure Atari Picture CX2613 2 30
Adventure Sears Text 49-75154 3 30
Adventure Sears Picture 49-75154 4 30
Adventures of Tron INTV White MT4317 3 31
Adventures of Tron M Network Black MT4317 3 31
Air Raid MenAvision --- 10 31
Air Raiders INTV White MT5861 3 31
Air Raiders M Network Black MT5861 2 31
Air-Sea Battle Target Fun Atari Text # CX2602 3 32
Air-Sea Battle Target Fun Atari Text CX2602 2 32
Air-Sea Battle Target Fun Atari Picture CX2602 2 32
Airlock Data Age Standard DA1004 3 32
Alien 20CenturyF. Standard 11006 4 32
Alien Xante --- 10 32
Alpha Beam with Ernie Atari Children’s CX26103 4 33
Amidar Spiderdroid ParkerBroth. Standard PB5310 2 33
Arcade Golf Miniature Golf Sears Text 99829 3 115
Arcade Pinball Video Pinball Sears Text 49-75161 3 195
Arcade Pinball Video Pinball Sears Picture 49-75161 3 195
Armor Ambush INTV White MT5661 4 33
 NTSC Checklist • 363

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Armor Ambush M Network Black MT5661 3 33
Artillery Duel Xonox Standard 99004 5 34
Artillery Duel/Superkicks Xonox DoubleEnd 6230 5 222
Artillery Duel/Ghost Manor Xonox DoubleEnd 06004 5 222
Artillery Duel/Spike’s Peak Xonox DoubleEnd 7210 6 222
Assault Bomb Standard CA281 9 34
Asterix Atari CX2696 10 34
Asteroids Atari Picture CX2649 1 35
Asteroids Atari Silver CX2649 3 35
Asteroids Sears 64 Games 49-75163 2 35
Asteroids Sears 66 Games 49-75163 2 35
Asteroids Sears Picture 49-75163 2 35
Astroblast M Network Black MT5666 2 36
Astroblast Telegames Silver --- 3 36
Atari Video Cube Rubik’s Cube Atari Silver CX2670 7 36
Atlantis Imagic Text IA3203 2 36
Atlantis Imagic NightScene IA3203 2 36
Atlantis Imagic Day Scene IA3203 2 36
Atlantis Imagic Blue IA3203 4 36
Atlantis II Imagic NightScene --- 10 36
Bachelor Party Mystique Standard 1002 5 37
Bachelor Party/Gigolo Playaround Standard 205 5 37
Bachelorette P./BurningDesire Playaround Standard 202 5 37
Back to School Pak Atari PRO812 6 222
Backgammon Atari Text CX2617 2 38
Backgammon Atari Picture CX2617 2 38
Backgammon Sears Text 99848 3 38
Bank Heist 20CenturyF. Standard 11012 5 38
Barnstorming Activision Standard AX-013 2 38
Baseball Home Run Sears 49-75108 99819 2 96
Baseball Home Run Sears 6-99819 99819 2 96
Baseball Home Run Sears Picture 99819 5 96
Basic Math Fun Numbers Atari Text # CX2661 4 39
Basic Math Math Atari Text CX2661 3 39
Basic Programming Atari Text CX2620 3 39
Basic Programming Atari Picture CX2620 3 39
Basketball Atari Text CX2624 2 39
Basketball Atari Picture CX2624 2 39
Basketball Sears 49-75113 99826 2 39
Basketball Sears 6-99826 99826 2 39
Basketball Sears Picture 99826 3 39
Battlezone Atari Silver CX2681 2 41
Beamrider Activision Special AZ-037 5 41
Beany Bopper 20CenturyF. Red Sirius 11002 4 41
Beany Bopper Xante --- 10 41
Beat ‘Em & Eat ‘Em Mystique Standard 1003 5 42
364 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Beat‘Em&Eat/LadyInWading Playaround Standard 204 5 42
Berenstain Bears Coleco Standard 2658 9 42
Bermuda Triangle Data Age Standard 116007 4 43
Berzerk Atari Picture CX2650 1 43
Berzerk Sears Picture 49-15168 3 43
Big Bird’s Egg Catch Atari Children’s CX26104 4 43
Birthday Mania PersonalG. --- 10 44
Blackjack Atari Text # CX2651 3 44
Blackjack Atari Text CX2651 2 44
Blackjack Sears Text 99805 2 44
Blackjack Sears Text 99805 2 44
Blackjack Sears Picture 99805 4 44
Blueprint CBS Electro. Standard 80030 3 44
BMX Airmaster Atari CX26190 10 45
BMX Airmaster TNT Games White --- 4 45
Boing! FirstStarSoft. Xonox --- 8 45
Boing! FirstStarSoft. Standard --- 8 45
Bowling Atari Text CX2628 2 45
Bowling Atari Picture CX2628 2 45
Bowling Sears Text 99842 2 45
Boxing Activision Standard AG-002 2 46
Boxing Activision Blue AG-002 3 46
Brain Games Atari Text CX2664 3 46
Brain Games Atari Picture CX2664 3 46
Brain Games Sears Text 99818 3 46
Breakaway IV Breakout Sears Text 99813 3 46
Breakaway IV Breakout Sears Picture 99813 3 46
Breakout Breakaway IV Atari Text CX2622 2 46
Breakout Breakaway IV Atari Picture CX2622 2 46
Breakout Breakaway IV Atari Orange CX2622 4 46
Bridge Activision Standard AX-006 4 47
Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Sega Grip Case 005-01 4 47
Bugs Data Age Standard DA1005 3 47
Bump ‘n’ Jump INTV White MT7045 5 48
Bump ‘n’ Jump M Network Black MT7045 4 48
Bump ‘n’ Jump Telegames Silver --- 5 48
Bumper Bash Spectravis. Standard SA-218 9 48
Burgertime INTV White MT4518 4 48
Burgertime M Network Black MT4518 3 48
Busy Police KeystoneKapers Zellers Standard --- 5 104
Cakewalk CommaVid Standard CM008 9 50
California Games Epyx Standard 19319R 4 50
Cannon Man Hum.Cannon. Sears Text 99841 6 97
Canyon Bomber Atari Text CX2607 2 50
Canyon Bomber Atari Picture CX2607 2 50
Canyon Bomber Sears 6-99828 99828 2 50
 NTSC Checklist • 365

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Canyon Bomber Sears 49-75115 99828 2 50
Canyon Bomber Sears Picture 99828 6 50
Capture Flag Capture Sears Text 99824 3 81
Carnival Coleco Standard 2468 2 51
Casino Poker Plus Atari Text CX2652 1 51
Casino Poker Plus Atari Picture CX2652 1 51
Centipede Atari Silver CX2676 2 51
Challenge My Way Zellers Standard --- 4 221
Challenge of Nexar Spectravis. Standard SA-206 4 52
Championship Soccer Pelé’s., Soccer Atari Text CX2616 2 52
Chase Surround Sears Text 99807 3 173
Chase Surround Sears Text 99807 3 173
Chases Surround Sears Picture 99807 5 173
Chase the Chuck Wagon Spectravis. Standard --- 8 53
Checkers Activision Standard AG-003 4 53
Checkers VideoCheckers Sears Text 49-75156 3 53
China Syndrome Spectravis. Standard --- 5 53
Chopper Command Activision Standard AX-015 2 54
Chopper Command Activision Blue AX-015 3 54
Chuck Norris Superkicks Xonox Standard 99003 5 54
ChuckSuperkicks/GhostManor Xonox DoubleEnd 06002 7 223
ChuckSuperkicks/Spike’sPeak Xonox DoubleEnd 6003 6 223
Circus Circus Atari Sears Text 49-75172 3 54
Circus Circus Atari Zellers Standard --- 4 54
Circus Atari Circus Atari Text CX2630 2 54
Circus Atari Circus Atari Picture CX2630 2 54
Coconuts Telesys Col.Handl. 1001 4 55
Coconuts Telesys Col.Stand. 1001 4 55
Codebreaker Atari Text CX2643 3 55
Codebreaker Atari Picture CX2643 3 55
Codebreaker Sears Text 99815 4 55
Color Bar Generator Videosoft --- 9
Combat Tank Plus Atari Text # CX2601 2 56
Combat Tank Plus Atari Text CX2601 1 56
Combat Tank Plus Atari Picture CX2601 1 56
Commando Activision Special AK-043 3 56
Commando Raid U.S. Games Black VC1004 2 56
CommunistMutantsFromSpace Starpath Cassette AR4101 4 57
Condor Attack Ultravision 1043 9 57
Congo Bongo Sega Grip Case 006-01 4 57
Cookie Monster Munch Atari Children’s CX26102 4 59
Copy Cart VidCo --- 10
Cosmic Ark Imagic Text IA3204 2 59
Cosmic Ark Imagic Picture IA3204 2 59
Cosmic Commuter Activision Special AG-038 5 59
Cosmic Corridor Space Tunnel Zimag Standard 708-111 6 60
366 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Cosmic Creeps Telesys Col.Handl. 1002 4 60
Cosmic Creeps Telesys Col. Stand. 1002 4 60
Cosmic Swarm CommaVid Standard CM003 6 60
Crackpots Activision Standard AX-029 4 61
Crash Dive 20CenturyF. Standard 11031 5 61
Crazy Climber Atari Silver CX2683 8 61
Cross Force Spectravis. Standard SA-203 5 62
Crossbow Atari Red CX26139 2 62
Cruise Missile Exocet Froggo Standard FG1007 4 77
Crypts of Chaos 20CenturyF. Standard 11009 5 62
Crypts of Chaos Xante --- 10 62
Crystal Castles Atari Silver CX26110 2 63
Custer’s Revenge Mystique Standard 1001 5 63
Dare Diver Sky Diver Sears Text 99843 5 149
Dark Cavern Night Stalker M Network Black MT5667 2 64
Dark Chambers Atari Red CX26151 4 64
Deadly Duck 20CenturyF. Red Sirius 11004 4 64
Death Trap Avalon Hill Standard 50010 8 65
Defender Atari Picture CX2609 1 65
Defender Sears Picture 49-75186 2 65
Defender II Stargate Atari Red CX26120 4 65
Demolition Herby Telesys Col.Handl. 1006 7 66
Demolition Herby Telesys B&W Std. 1006 6 66
Demon Attack Imagic Text IA3200 2 66
Demon Attack Imagic Picture IA3200 2 66
Demon Attack Imagic Blue IA3200 5 66
Demon Attack Xante --- 10 66
Demons to Diamonds Atari Picture CX2615 2 66
Demons to Diamonds Sears Picture 49-75140 3 66
Desert Falcon Atari Red CX26140 4 68
Diagnostic Cartridge Atari --- 8
Dice Puzzle Panda End Label 106 6 68
Dig Dug Atari Silver CX2677 2 68
Dishaster Dancing Plate Zimag Standard 711-111 5 69
Dodge ‘Em Dodger Cars Atari Text CX2637 2 69
Dodge ‘Em Dodger Cars Atari Picture CX2637 2 69
Dodge ‘Em Dodger Cars Atari Picture CX2637 2 69
Dodger Cars Dodge ‘Em Sears Text 49-75158 3 69
Dodger Cars Dodge ‘Em Sears Picture 49-75158 4 69
Dolphin Activision Standard AX-024 3 69
Donkey Kong Atari Red CX26143 3 71
Donkey Kong Coleco Standard 2451 1 71
Donkey Kong Junior Atari Red CX26144 4 71
Donkey Kong Junior Coleco Standard 2653 4 71
Double Dragon Activision Special AK-050 5 71
Double Dunk Atari Red CX26159 4 72
 NTSC Checklist • 367

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Dragon Treasure Dragonfire Zellers Standard --- 5 72
Dragonfire Imagic Picture IA3611 2 72
Dragonstomper Starpath Cassette AR4400 5 72
Dragster Activision Standard AG-001 2 73
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Atari Silver CX2674 1 74
Earth Attack Defender Zellers Standard --- 5 65
Earth Dies Screaming 20CenturyF. Standard 11020 5 74
ECPC Cartridge Romox --- 10
Eggomania U.S. Games Beveld.C. VC2003 4 74
Eggomania U.S. Games Stanrd.C. VC2003 4 74
Eli’s Ladder Simage --- 10 75
Encounter at L5 Data Age Standard DA1001 3 75
Enduro Activision Standard AX-026 2 75
Enduro Activision Blue AX-026 3 75
Entombed U.S. Games Beveld.C. VC2007 4 76
Escape From the Mindmaster Starpath Cassette AR4200 4 77
Espial Tigervision Standard 7-012 6 77
Exocet Cruise Missile Panda End Label 109 6 77
Fantastic Voyage 20CenturyF. Standard 11008 4 78
Farmer Dan Gopher Zellers Standard --- 5 91
Fast Eddie 20CenturyF. Red Sirius 11003 4 78
Fast Food Telesys Col.Handl. 1003 4 78
Fast Food Telesys Col. Stand. 1003 3 78
Fathom Imagic Text 03205 4 79
Final Approach Apollo Blue AP2009 4 79
Fire Fighter Imagic Picture IA3400 3 79
Fire Fighter Imagic Picture IA3400 3 79
Fire Fly Mythicon Standard 1002 4 80
Fireball Starpath Cassette AR4300 4 80
Fishing Derby Activision Standard AG-004 3 80
Flag Capture Capture Atari Text CX2644 4 81
Flag Capture Capture Atari Picture CX2644 5 81
Flash Gordon Space Adventure 20CenturyF. Standard 11015 4 81
Football Atari Text CX2625 1 81
Football Atari Picture CX2625 1 81
Football Sears Text 99827 2 81
Football - Realsports Soccer Atari Silver --- 4 82
Frankenstein’s Monster Data Age Standard 116008 5 82
Freeway Activision Standard AG-009 2 82
Freeway Activision Blue AG-009 3 82
Freeway Zellers Standard --- 4 82
Frogger Parker Bros. Standard PB5300 1 83
Frogger II: Threeedeep! Parker Bros. Standard PB5590 6 83
Frogger, The Official Starpath Cassette AR4105 6 83
Frogs and Flies INTV White MT5664 5 84
Frogs and Flies M Network Black MT5664 2 84
368 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Front Line Coleco Standard 2665 4 84
Frontline Combat Zellers Standard --- 4 56
Frostbite Activision Standard AX-031 4 84
Fun With Numbers Basic Math, Atari Text CX2661 3 39
Fun With Numbers Math Atari Picture CX2661 3 39
G.I. Joe - Cobra Strike Parker Bros. Standard PB5920 4 86
G.I. Joe - Cobra Strike Parker Bros. Gray PB5920 3 86
Galaxian Atari Silver CX2684 2 86
Game of Concentration Hunt & Score, Atari Text CX2642 3 86
Game of Concentration Memory Match Atari Picture CX2642 3 86
Gamma-Attack Gammation GA1003 10 87
Gangster Alley Task Force Spectravis. Standard SA-201 4 87
Gas Hog Piraten-Schiff Spectravis. Standard SA-217 8 87
Gauntlet Answer Soft. 1002 10 88
Ghost Manor Xonox Standard 99002 6 88
Ghost Manor/Spike’s Peak Xonox DoubleEnd 6210 4 223
Ghostbusters Activision Special AZ-108 4 88
Ghostbusters Activision Blue AZ-108 4 88
Glacier Patrol Telegames Silver 5667 A106 8 89
Glib Selchow&R. Standard --- 9 89
Golf Atari Text CX2634 2 89
Golf Atari Picture CX2634 2 89
Golf Sears Text 49-751221 3 89
Gopher Farmer Dan U.S. Games Beveled C. VC2001 4 91
Gopher Farmer Dan U.S. Games Standr. C. VC2001 4 91
Gorf CBS Electr. Standard 80010 3 91
Grand Prix Activision Standard AX-014 2 91
Grand Prix Activision Blue AX-014 3 91
Gravitar Atari Silver CX2685 8 92
Gravitar Atari Red CX2685 2 92
Great Escape Asteroid Fire Bomb Standard CA282 9 92
Gremlins Atari Silver CX26127 6 92
Guardian Apollo Blue AP2008 8 93
Gunslinger Outlaw Sears 49-75109 99822 3 124
Gunslinger Outlaw Sears 6-99822 99822 3 124
Gunslinger Outlaw Sears Picture 99822 5 124
Gyruss Parker Bros. Standard PB5080 4 93
H.E.R.O. Activision Special AZ-036 5 94
Halloween Wizard Vid. Standard 007 7 94
Halloween Wizard Vid. No Label 007 8 94
Hangman Spelling Atari Text CX2662 2 94
Hangman Spelling Atari Picture CX2662 2 94
Harbor Escape River Raid Panda Wraparound 110 6 96
Haunted House Atari Picture CX2654 2 96
Haunted House Sears Picture --- 2 96
Home Run Baseball Atari Text CX2623 2 96
 NTSC Checklist • 369

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Home Run Baseball Atari Picture CX2623 2 96
Human Cannonball Cannon Man Atari Text CX2627 2 97
Human Cannonball Cannon Man Atari Picture CX2627 2 97
Hunt & Score Concentration Atari Text CX2642 3 86
I Want My Mommy Open Sesame Zimag Standard 710-111 5 98
Ice Hockey Activision Standard AG-012 2 98
Ice Hockey Activision Blue AG-012 3 98
Ikari Warriors Atari Red CX26177 5 98
Inca Gold Pac-Kong Zellers Standard --- 6 207
Indy 500 Race Atari 11 indy 500 CX2611 3 99
Indy 500 Race Atari Text CX2611 2 99
Indy 500 Race Atari Picture CX2611 2 99
Infiltrate Apollo Standard AP2006 3 99
Infiltrate Apollo Blue AP2006 3 99
International Soccer M Network Black MT5687 2 99
International Soccer Telegames Silver 5687 A279 4 99
James Bond 007 Parker Bros. Standard PB5110 6 100
Jawbreaker Tigervision Standard 7-002 5 101
Journey Escape Data Age Standard 116006 2 101
Joust Atari Silver CX2691 2 101
Jr. Pac-Man Atari Red CX26123 2 102
Jungle Fever/Knight on Town Playaround Standard 203 5 102
Jungle Hunt Atari Silver CX2688 2 102
Kaboom! Activision Standard AX-010 2 103
Kaboom! Activision Blue AX-010 3 103
Kangaroo Atari Silver CX2689 2 103
Karate Froggo Standard FG1001 4 103
Karate Ultravision Square case --- 10 103
Karate Ultravision T-case --- 10 103
Keystone Kapers Activision Standard AX-025 2 104
Keystone Kapers Activision Blue AX-025 3 104
Killer Satellites Starpath Cassette AR4103 4 104
King Kong Tigervision Standard 7-001 5 104
Kool Aid Man M Network Black MT4648 4 105
Krull Atari Silver CX2682 4 105
Kung Fu Master Activision Special AG-039 4 105
Kung Fu Superkicks Chuck Norris Telegames Silver 6082 A145 5 54
Laser Blast Activision Standard AG-008 2 106
Laser Gates Imagic Text 03208 5 106
Laser Volley Laser Gates Zellers Standard --- 4 106
Lochjaw Shark Attack Apollo Standard AP2005 9 106
Lock ‘N’ Chase INTV White MT5663 3 107
Lock ‘N’ Chase M Network Black MT5663 2 107
Lock ‘N’ Chase Telegames Silver --- 3 107
London Blitz Avalon Hill Standard 50020 5 107
Lost Luggage Apollo Standard AP2004 4 107
370 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Lost Luggage Apollo Blue AP2004 4 107
M*A*S*H 20CenturyF. Standard 11011 3 108
M.A.D. U.S. Games Beveled C. VC1012 4 108
M.A.D. U.S. Games Standr. C. VC1012 4 108
MagiCard CommaVid Standard CM001 10
Malagai Answer Soft. 1001 9 108
Mangia Spectravis. Standard SA-212 10 109
Marauder Tigervision Standard 7-005 6 109
Marine Wars Konami Standard RC-102-X 02 5 109
Mario Bros. Atari Silver CX2697 4 110
Master Builder SuperBaumeister Spectravis. Standard SA-210 8 110
Masters of Universe - HeMan INTV White MT4319 4 110
Masters of Universe - HeMan M Network Black MT4319 4 110
Math Basic Math, Sears Text 99808 4 39
Math FunW.Numbers Sears Text 99808 4 39
Math Gran Prix Atari Picture CX2658 3 112
Math Gran Prix Sears Picture 49-75128 4 112
Maze Slot Racers Sears 6-99825 99825 3 150
Maze Slot Racers Sears 49-75112 99825 3 150
Maze Slot Racers Sears Picture 99825 2 150
Maze Craze Maze Mania Atari Text CX2635 2 112
Maze Craze Maze Mania Atari Picture CX2635 2 112
Maze Mania Maze Craze Sears Text 49-75157 2 112
Mega Force 20CenturyF. Standard 11005 2 112
Megamania Activision Standard AX-017 2 113
Megamania Activision Blue AX-017 5 113
Memory Match Concentration Sears Text 99814 4 86
Midnight Magic Atari Red CX26129 3 113
Millipede Atari Silver CX26118 3 113
Miner 2049er Tigervision Standard 7-008 5 114
Miner 2049er II Tigervision Standard 7-011 7 114
Mines of Minos CommaVid Standard CM005 6 114
Miniature Golf Arcade Golf Atari Text CX2626 3 115
Missile Command Atari Picture CX2638 1 115
Missile Command Sears Text 49-75166 2 115
Missile Command Sears Picture 49-75166 5 115
Mogul Maniac Amiga Standard 3120 4 115
Montezuma’s Revenge Parker Bros. Standard PB5760 5 116
Moon Patrol Atari Silver CX2692 2 116
Moonsweeper Imagic Standard 03207 4 116
Moonsweeper Imagic Blue 03207 4 116
Motocross Racer Xonox Standard 99008 7 117
MotoRodeo Atari Red CX26171 5 117
Mountain King CBS Electr. Standard 80080 4 117
Mouse Trap Atari Red CX26146 3 118
Mouse Trap Coleco Standard 2459 2 118
 NTSC Checklist • 371

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Mr. Do! Coleco Standard 2656 5 118
Mr. Do!’s Castle Parker Bros. Standard PB5820 8 118
Ms. Pac-Man Atari Silver CX2675 2 119
Name This Game U.S. Games Beveled C. VC1007 4 120
Name This Game U.S. Games Standr. C. VC1007 3 120
Night Driver Atari Text CX2633 1 120
Night Driver Atari Picture CX2633 1 120
Night Driver Sears Text 49-75114 2 120
Night Driver Sears Picture 49-75114 6 120
Night Stalker Dark Cavern Telegames Silver --- 5 64
No Escape! Imagic Picture IA3312 10 120
No Escape! Xante --- 7 120
Ocean City Defender Atlantis Zellers Standard --- 4 36
Off The Wall Atari Red CX26168 5 121
Oink! Activision Standard AX-023 3 121
Omega Race CBS Electr. Standard 80090 3 122
Oscar’s Trash Race Atari Children’s CX26101 4 123
Othello Atari Text CX2639 2 123
Othello Atari Picture CX2639 2 123
Othello Atari Picture CX2639 2 123
Othello Sears Text --- 4 123
Out of Control Avalon Hill Standard 50050 9 123
Outer Space Star Ship Sears Text 99803 3 162
Outer Space Star Ship Sears Text 99803 3 162
Outer Space Star Ship Sears Picture 99803 4 162
Outlaw Gunslinger Atari Text CX2605 2 124
Outlaw Gunslinger Atari Picture CX2605 2 124
Pac-Man Atari Picture CX2646 1 125
Pac-Man Sears Picture 49-78185 3 125
Party Mix Starpath Cassette AR4302 7 125
Pele’s Soccer Champ.Soccer Atari Picture CX2616 2 52
Pengo Atari Silver CX2690 6 125
Pepsi Invaders Atari --- 10 126
Pete Rose Baseball Absolute Standard AK-045 5 126
Phaser Patrol Starpath Cassette AR4000 4 126
PhillyFlasher/CathouseBlues Playaround Standard 201 5 127
Phoenix Atari Silver CX2673 2 127
Picnic U.S. Games Beveled C. VC2004 5 127
Piece o’ Cake U.S. Games Beveled C. VC2005 5 128
Pigs in Space Atari Children’s CX26114 5 128
Pinball Video Pinball Zellers Standard --- 4 195
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns Activision Special AB-035 4 129
Pitfall! Activision Standard AX-018 2 128
Pitfall! Activision Blue AX-018 3 128
Planet Patrol Spectravis. Standard SA-202 3 129
Plaque Attack Activision Standard AX-027 4 129
372 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Poker Plus Casino Sears Text 99816 3 51
Poker Plus Casino Sears Picture 99816 3 51
Polaris Tigervision Standard 7-007 6 130
Polaris Tigervision Green 7-007 7 130
Pole Position Atari Pole Posit’n CX2694 4 130
Pole Position Atari Silver CX2694 2 130
Pong Sports VideoOlympics Sears Text 99806 3 195
Pong Sports VideoOlympics Sears Text 99806 3 195
Pong Sports VideoOlympics Sears Picture 99806 5 195
Pooyan Konami Standard RC-100-X 02 5 130
Popeye Parker Bros. Standard PB5370 2 131
Porky’s 20CenturyF. Standard 11013 4 132
Pressure Cooker Activision Standard AZ-032 4 132
Private Eye Activision Special AG-034 5 132
Q*bert Atari Red CX26150 3 133
Q*bert Parker Bros. Standard PB5360 2 133
Q*bert’s Qubes Parker Bros. Standard PB5550 9 133
Quadrun Atari Silver CX2686 9 134
Quest for Quintana Roo Sunrise Standard 1603 8 134
Quest for Quintana Roo Telegames Silver 6057 A227 3 134
Quick Step! Imagic Text 03211 5 134
Rabbit Transit Starpath Cassette AR4104 6 135
Race Indy 500 Sears 49-75149 99821 3 99
Race Indy 500 Sears 99821 99821 3 99
Race Indy 500 Sears 49-75149 99821 3 99
Race Indy 500 Sears 99821 99821 3 99
Race Indy 500 Sears Picture 99821 4 99
Racing Pak Atari PRO811 6 223
Racquetball Apollo Standard AP2003 4 135
Radar Exocet Zellers Standard --- 5 77
Radar Lock Atari Red CX26176 4 135
Raft Rider U.S. Games Beveled C. VC2006 5 136
Raft Rider U.S. Games Standr. C. VC2006 6 136
Raiders of the Lost Ark Atari RaidersLostArk CX2659 5 136
Raiders of the Lost Ark Atari Silver CX2659 2 136
Ram It Telesys Col.Handl. 1004 7 136
Ram It Telesys B&W Std. 1004 6 136
Rampage Activision Special AG-049 5 137
Reactor Parker Bros. Standard PB5330 2 137
RealSports Baseball Atari Silver CX2640 2 137
RealSports Boxing Atari Red CX26135 3 138
RealSports Football Atari Silver CX2668 2 138
RealSports Soccer Atari Silver CX2667 3 82
RealSports Tennis Atari Silver CX2680 3 138
RealSports Volleyball Atari Silver CX2666 3 139
Rescue Terra I VentureVis. Standard VV2001 9 139
 NTSC Checklist • 373

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Revenge Beefsteak Tomatoes 20CenturyF. Standard 11016 4 139
Riddle of the Sphinx Imagic Picture IA3600 2 140
Riddle of the Sphinx Imagic Picture IA3600 2 140
River Patrol Tigervision Standard 7-004 9 141
River Raid Activision Standard AX-020 2 141
River Raid Activision Blue AX-020 3 141
River Raid II Activision Special AK-043-02 6 141
Road Runner Atari Red CX2663 6 142
Robin Hood Xonox Standard 99005 8 142
Robin Hood / Sir Lancelot Xonox DoubleEnd 6220 8 223
Robot Tank Activision Standard AZ-028 3 142
Robot Tank Activision Blue AZ-028 4 142
Roc N Rope Coleco Standard 2667 5 143
Room of Doom CommaVid Standard CM004 6 143
Rubik’s Cube AtariVideoCube Atari Silver CX2698 8 143
Scuba Diver Fisher Price Panda End Label 104 6 144
Scuba Diver Skindiver Zellers Standard --- 6 144
Sea Hawk Seahawk Froggo Standard FG1008 4 144
Sea Hawk Seahawk Panda End Label 108 6 144
Sea Hawk Seahawk Zellers Standard --- 6 144
Sea Hunt Skindiver Froggo Standard FG1009 4 144
Seamonster Puzzy PG201 9 144
Seaquest Activision Standard AX-022 2 145
Secret Quest Atari Red CX26170 4 145
Sentinel Sentinel Red CX26183 5 145
Shark Attack Lochjaw Apollo Standard AP2005 3 106
Shark Attack Lochjaw Apollo Blue AP2005 4 106
Shootin’ Gallery Imagic Picture IA3410 5 146
Shuttle Orbiter Avalon Hill Standard 50040 7 146
Sir Lancelot Xonox Standard 99006 7 146
Skate Boardin’ Absolute Standard AG-042 4 147
Skeet Shoot Apollo Standard AP1001 5 147
Skiing Activision Standard AG-005 2 147
Skiing Activision Blue AG-005 3 147
Sky Diver Dare Diver Atari Text CX2629 2 149
Sky Diver Dare Diver Atari Picture CX2629 2 149
Sky Jinks Activision Standard AG-019 2 149
Sky Skipper Parker Bros. Standard PB5350 3 149
Slot Machine Slots Atari Text CX2653 3 150
Slot Racers Maze Atari Text CX2606 2 150
Slot Racers Maze Atari Picture CX2606 2 150
Slots Slot Machine Sears Text 99823 4 150
Smurfs Save the Day Coleco Standard 2465 8 150
Smurfs: Gargamel’s Castle Coleco Standard 2465 4 151
Sneak n’ Peek U.S. Games Black VC1002 2 151
Snoopy and the Red Baron Atari Children’s CX26111 5 151
374 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Soccer Pelé’s SoccerSears Text 49-75155 3 52
Solar Fox CBS Electr. Standard 80020 3 152
Solar Storm Imagic Text 03206 4 152
Solar Storm Xante --- 10 152
Solaris Atari Red CX26136 2 152
Sorcerer Mythicon Standard 1001 4 153
Sorcerer’s Apprentice Atari Children’s CX26109 4 153
Space Adventure Flash Gordon Zellers Standard --- 6 81
Space Attack M Network Black MT5659 2 153
Space Attack Telegames Silver --- 3 153
Space Canyon Space Cavern Panda Wraparound 100 6 154
Space Cavern Apollo Standard AP2002 3 154
Space Cavern Apollo Blue AP2002 3 154
Space Combat Space War Sears Text 99812 3 155
Space Combat Space War Sears Picture 99812 3 155
Space Invaders Atari Text CX2632 1 154
Space Invaders Atari Picture CX2632 1 154
Space Invaders Atari Silver CX2632 2 154
Space Invaders Atari Red CX2632 2 154
Space Invaders Sears Text 49-75153 2 154
Space Invaders Sears Picture 49-75153 2 154
Space Jockey U.S. Games Black VC1001 2 155
Space Shuttle Activision Standard AZ-033 3 155
Space Shuttle Activision Blue AZ-033 4 155
Space Shuttle Activision White AZ-033 6 155
Space Tunnel Puzzy PG202 9 217
Space War Space Combat Atari Text CX2604 2 155
Space War Space Combat Atari Picture CX2604 2 155
Spacechase Apollo Standard AP2001 3 156
Spacechase Apollo Blue AP2001 3 156
Spacemaster X-7 20CenturyF. Standard 11022 6 156
Speedway II Street Racer Sears Text 99804 3 168
Speedway II Street Racer Sears Text 99804 3 168
Speedway II Street Racer Sears Picture 99804 3 168
Spelling Hangman Sears Text 99811 4 94
Spider Fighter Activision Standard AX-021 2 156
Spider Maze Inca Gold K-Tel Vision Standard --- 9 207
Spider-Man Parker Bros. Standard PB5900 3 157
Spiderdroid Amidar Froggo Standard FG1002 3 157
Spike’s Peak Xonox Standard 99001 9 157
Spitfire Attack MiltonBradley Standard --- 4 158
Springer Tigervision Standard 7-006 7 158
Sprintmaster Atari Red CX26155 4 158
Spy Hunter Sega Grip Case 011-01 6 160
Spy Hunter Sega Standr. C. 011-01 6 160
Squeeze Box U.S. Games Standr. C. VC2002 4 160
 NTSC Checklist • 375

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Sssnake Data Age Standard DA1003 4 160
Stampede Activision Standard AG-011 2 161
Star Fox Mythicon Standard 1003 4 161
Star Raiders Atari Picture CX2660 1 161
Star Raiders Sears Picture 49-75187 3 161
Star Ship Outer Space Atari 03star ship CX2603 3 162
Star Ship Outer Space Atari Text CX2603 3 162
Star Ship Outer Space Atari Picture CX2603 3 162
Star Strike INTV White MT4313 5 162
Star Strike M Network Black MT4313 5 162
Star Trek: Strategic Simulator Sega Grip Case 004-01 4 162
Star Voyager Imagic Text IA3201 2 163
Star Voyager Imagic Picture IA3201 2 163
Star Wars: Death Star Battle Parker Bros. Standard PB5060 4 163
Star Wars: Jedi Arena Parker Bros. Standard PB5000 3 163
Star Wars: The Arcade Game Parker Bros. Standard PB5540 5 165
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Parker Bros. Standard PB5050 2 165
Stargate Defender II Atari Silver CX26120 4 165
Stargunner Telesys Col.Handl. 1005 7 166
Stargunner Telesys B&W Std. 1005 6 166
Starmaster Activision Standard AX-016 2 166
Steeplechase Sears Text 49-75126 4 166
Stellar Track Sears Text 49-75159 4 167
Stellar Track Sears Picture 49-75159 4 167
Strategy X Konami Standard RC-101-X 02 5 167
Strawberry Shortcake Musical Parker Bros. Standard PB5910 4 167
Street Racer Speedway II Atari 12street racer CX2612 3 168
Street Racer Speedway II Atari Red Text CX2612 2 168
Street Racer Speedway II Atari Picture CX2612 2 168
Stronghold CommaVid Standard CM009 9 168
Stuntman Nightmare Panda End Label 105 6 168
Sub Scan Sega Grip Case 01-002 4 169
Submarine Commander Sears Picture 49-75142 5 169
Subterranea Imagic Text 03213 6 169
Suicide Mission Starpath Cassette AR4102 4 170
Summer Games Epyx Standard 08519R 4 170
Super Baseball Atari Red CX26152 2 170
Super Breakout Atari Picture CX2608 2 171
Super Breakout Sears Text 49-75165 3 171
Super Challenge Baseball INTV White MT5665 3 171
Super Challenge Baseball M Network Black MT5665 2 171
Super Challenge Baseball Telegames Silver --- 3 171
Super Challenge Football INTV White MT5658 3 171
Super Challenge Football M Network Black MT5658 3 171
Super Challenge Football Telegames Silver --- 3 171
Super Cobra Parker Bros. Standard PB5320 3 172
376 • NTSC Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Super Football Atari Red CX26153 2 173
Superman Atari Text CX2631 2 173
Superman Atari Picture CX2631 2 173
Superman Sears Text 99845 4 173
Surround Chase Atari 41surround CX2641 3 173
Surround Chase Atari Text CX2641 2 173
Surround Chase Atari Picture CX2641 2 173
Survival Island Starpath Cassette AR4401 8 174
Survival Run MiltonBradley Standard --- 4 174
Sword of Saros Starpath Cassette AR4201 8 174
Swordquest: Earthworld Atari Silver CX2656 2 176
Swordquest: Fireworld Atari Silver CX2657 3 176
Swordquest: Waterworld Atari Silver CX2671 9 176
Tac-Scan Sega Grip Case 01-001 3 182
Tank Brigade Phantom Tank Panda Wraparound 101 6 182
Tank Plus Combat Sears Text 99801 2 56
Tank Plus Combat Sears Text 99801 2 56
Tanks But No Tanks Phantom Tank Zimag Standard 707-111 5 182
Tapeworm Spectravis. Standard SA-204 3 182
Tapper Sega Grip Case 010-01 6 183
Tapper Sega Standr. C. 010-01 6 183
Target Fun Air-Sea Battle Sears 49-75102 99802 2 32
Target Fun Air-Sea Battle Sears 49-75102 99802 2 32
Target Fun Air-Sea Battle Sears 99802 99802 2 32
Target Fun Air-Sea Battle Sears 99802 99802 2 32
Task Force Gangster Alley Froggo Standard FG1003 4 87
Tax Avoiders Americ.Video. Standard --- 5 183
Taz Atari Silver CX2699 4 183
Tennis Activision Standard AG-007 2 185
Texas Chainsaw Massacre WizardVideo Standard 008 7 185
The Music Machine Sparrow GCG 1001T 10 185
Threshold Tigervision Standard 7-003 6 186
Thunderground Sega Grip Case 003-01 4 186
Time Pilot Coleco Standard 2663 5 186
Time Warp Zellers Standard --- 5 218
Title Match Pro Wrestling Absolute Standard AG-041 4 187
Tomarc the Barbarian Xonox Standard 99007 7 187
Tomarc/Motocross Racer Xonox DoubleEnd --- 9 223
Tomcat: F-14 Fighter Simul. Absolute Standard AK-046 4 187
Tooth Protectors DSD/Camelot Standard --- 9 188
Towering Inferno U.S. Games Black VC1009 3 188
Track & Field Atari Silver CX26125 6 188
Trick Shot Imagic Text IA3000 3 189
Trick Shot Imagic Picture IA3000 3 189
Tron: Deadly Discs INTV White MT5662 3 190
Tron: Deadly Discs M Network Black MT5662 3 190
 NTSC Checklist • 377

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Tunnel Runner CBS Electr. Standard 80070 4 191
Turmoil 20CenturyF. Standard 11007 3 191
Turmoil Zellers Standard --- 5 191
Tutankham Parker Bros. Standard PB5340 3 191
Universal Chaos Telegames Silver 7062 A305 5 192
Up n’ Down Sega Standr. C. 009-01 7 192
Vanguard Atari Silver CX2669 2 193
Venture Atari Red CX26145 2 193
Venture Coleco Standard 2457 2 193
Video Checkers Checkers Atari Text CX2636 2 193
Video Checkers Checkers Atari Picture CX2636 2 193
Video Chess Atari Text CX2645 3 194
Video Chess Atari Picture CX2645 3 194
Video Chess Sears Text 99817 3 194
Video Jogger Exus --- 9 194
Video Life CommaVid Standard CM002 10 194
Video Olympics Pong Sports Atari Text # CX2621 3 195
Video Olympics Pong Sports Atari Text CX2621 2 195
Video Olympics Pong Sports Atari Picture CX2621 2 195
Video Pinball Arcade Pinball Atari UpperCase CX2648 1 195
Video Reflex Exus --- 9 195
Vulture Attack Condor Attack K-Tel Vision Standard --- 9 57
Wabbit Apollo Blue AP2010 4 196
Wall Ball Avalon Hill Standard 50030 7 196
Wall Defender Wall Break Bomb Standard CA285 9 196
Warlords Warlords Picture CX2610 1 197
Warlords Sears Text 49-75127 2 197
Warlords Sears Picture 49-75127 2 197
Warplock Data Age Standard DA1002 3 197
Winter Games Epyx Standard 08919R 4 197
Wizard of Wor CBS Electr. Standard 80000 3 198
Word Zapper U.S. Games Black VC1003 3 198
Worm War I 20CenturyF. Red Sirius 11001 3 198
X-Man Univ.Gamex 1005 9 199
Xenophobe Atari Red CX26172 7 199
Yars’ Revenge Atari Picture CX2655 2 200
Yars’ Revenge Atari Red CX2655 5 200
Yars’ Revenge Sears Picture 49-75167 4 200
Z-Tack Base Attack Bomb Standard CA283 9 201
Zaxxon Coleco Standard 2454 3 201
Obelix Atari Silver CX26117 7 121
378 • PAL Checklist

Europe
This list include games released in European regions.
The console became popular in Europe in the early 80s. 250,000 units
were sold in 1977, 550,000 units in 1978 and 2 million in 1980. How-
ever, in 1982 they sold a mind boggling 8 million Atari 2600s.
By the mid to late 80s the Atari was still successful in Europe, South
America and Japan right up until the start of the 90s, making the Atari
2600 one of the longest lasting video games consoles in history. The
final licensed game released in Europe was Klax and Acid Drop in
1990 and 1992.

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

32 in 1 Atari CX26163P 3
Acid Drop Salu Standard --- 4 202
Action Force G.I. Joe Cobra Parker Bros. Standard 931511 4 86
Activision Decathlon, The Activision White EAZ-030-04I 5 30
Air Wolf Barnstorming Quelle Short --- - 38
Airlock Game World 133-004 - 32
Alien’s Return Go Go Home ITT Fam. G. 554-33 391 - 206
Angeln I Fishing Derby Ariola PGP237 - 80
Angriff der Luftflotten M.A.D. Quelle Standard 495.463 2 - 108
Artillery Duel/Super Kung Fu Xonox DoubleEnd 6230 -
Asterix Atari Silver CX2696 5 34
Asteroid Fire Home Vision VCS 83111 - 202
Asteroids Atari Red CX2649 5 36
Astro Attack Time Warp Goliath 83-214 - 218
Astrowar Goliath SM8002 - 203
Aufruhr im Zoo Pumuckl I 719.694 2 - 214
Autorennen Grand Prix Ariola PGP232 - 91
Base Attack Z-Tack Home Vision VCS 83113 - 201
Base Attack Z-Tack ITT Fam. G. --- - 201
Base Attack Z-Tack Quelle Short --- - 201
Baseball Home Run Quelle Short --- - 96
Basis-Angriff Z-Tack --- Vid.G. SP SP-208 - 201
Basketball Atari Red CX2624P - 39
Battlezone Atari Red CX2681 4 41
Beamrider Activision White EAZ-037-04I - 41
BermudaTriangle Game World 133-007 - 43
Billard Trick Shot Quelle Standard 626.610 0 - 189
Black Hole Challenge Nexar Hot Shot 83-311 - 52
Black Hole Challenge Nexar Quelle Short --- - 52
Blueprint CBS Electr. German Col. 4L2482 - 44
 PAL Checklist • 379

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Bobby Geht Heim Bobby Home Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 203
Bobby Geht Heim Bobby Home Bit Corp German --- - 203
Bobby Geht Nach Hause Bobby Home Quelle Standard 0055 - 203
Bobby is Going Home Bit Corp English PG206 - 203
Bogey Blaster Air Raiders Telegames Silver 5861 A030 4 31
Boom Bang Crackpots HES --- - 61
Boom Bang Crackpots Quelle Short --- - 61
Boxen Boxing Ariola PGP234 - 46
Break Down Wall Break Dynamics DY-192004 - 219
Bugs Game World 133-005 - 47
Capture Wall Break Goliath 83-314 - 219
Carnival CBS Electro. UK Color 4L2277 - 51
Carnival CBS Electro. German Col. 4L1718 - 51
Catch Time Plaque Attack Ariola --- - 129
Centipede Atari Red CX2676 4 51
Challenge My Way HES --- - 221
Chess Video Chess Quelle Short --- - 194
Chopper Command Activision White EAX-015-04I - 54
Cobra 104 Worm War I Quelle Short --- - 198
Col ‘N’ Go Go Home Home Vision --- - 206
Commando Salu Standard --- - 56
Commando Raid Carrere Vid. USC1004 - 56
Condor Attack Goliath 4 - 57
Cosmic Town Base Attack ITT Fam. G. 554-33 375 - 201
Cosmic War Space Tunnel Home Vision VCS 83136 - 217
Cowboy Stampede Ariola --- - 161
Criminal Persuit Mysterious Thief Quelle Short --- - 211
Criminal Pursuit Mysterious Thief Ariola --- - 211
Crystal Castles Atari Red CX26110 5 63
Dancing Plate Bit Corp English PG205 - 69
Dancing Plate Quelle Short --- - 69
Das Raumschiff Go Go Home --- Vid.G. SP SP-211 - 206
Deadly Discs TRON - D.D. Telegames Silver --- 5 190
Defender Atari Picture CX2609 6 65
Defender --- Pet Boat --- - 65
Demon Attack Imagic White EIX-006-04I - 66
Der Flinke Architekt Master Builder Quelle Standard 343.373 7 - 110
Der Hungrige Panda Panda Chase Quelle Standard 731.662 3 - 212
Der Kleine Bar Frostbite Quelle Standard 685.640 5 - 84
Der Moderne Ritter Fast Eddie Quelle Standard 700.223 1 - 78
Der Postman Mr. Postman Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 210
Der Vielfraß Fast Food Quelle Standard 176.543 7 - 78
Dice Puzzle Sancho TEC005 - 68
Die Ente und der Wolf Pooyan Quelle Standard 688.383 9 - 130
Die Hungrigen Frosche Frogs n` Flies Quelle 874.382 5 - 84
Die Ratte und die Karotten Gopher Quelle Standard 687.463 0 - 91
380 • PAL Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Die Springteufel Infiltrate Quelle Standard 176.654 2 - 99
Donkey Kong CBS Electro. UK White 4L1802 - 71
Donkey Kong CBS Electro. UK Color 4L2274 - 71
Donkey Kong Quelle Short --- - 71
Donkey Kong --- V Case --- - 71
Donkey Kong Pet Boat --- - 71
Dragon Defender Ariola --- - 72
Dragster Activision White EIX-006-04I - 73
Dragster Activision Black AG-001 4 73
Dschungel Boy Pitfall! Quelle Standard 262.894 9 - 128
Duck Fighting Deadly Duck --- V Case --- - 64
E.T. Go Home Go Go Home Quelle Short --- - 206
Eddy Langfinger, Museumsdieb Mysterious Thief Quelle Standard 732.052 6 - 211
Eggomania Carrere Vid. USC2003 - 74
Eishockey-Fieber Ice Hockey Quelle Standard 873.790 0 - 98
Emdurl Enduro --- Taiwan S. --- - 75
Encounter at L5 Game World Standard 133-001 - 75
Enduro Activision White EAX-026-04I - 75
Enduro Pet Boat --- - 75
Exocet Sancho --- - 77
F-14 Tomcat Tomcat F-14 S. Salu --- - 187
F18 Vs. Aliens Flash Gordon --- Taiwan S. --- - 81
Farmyard Fun Play Farm Ariola Standard TP-617 - 214
Fatal Run Atari Red CX26162 4 205
Felix Return Bobby Go Home Hot Shot Standard 83-116 - 203
Fighter Pilot Tomcat F-14 S. Activision Black EAK-046-04B 5 187
Fire Birds Sky Alien ITT Fam. G. Plastic 554-33 383 - 216
Fire Burg Missile Com. --- V Case 2402-063-01 - 115
Fire Fighter Imagic White EIX-005-04I - 79
Fishing Durbi Fishing Derby --- Taiwan S. --- - 80
Football Quelle Short --- - 81
Forest Hot Shot Standard 83-315 - 205
Forest Sancho Standard TEC006 - 205
Fortress Defense M.A.D. --- V Case 2402-046-01 - 108
Fox & Goat Quelle Short --- - 221
Frankenstein’s Monster Game World Standard 133-008 - 82
Frisco Home Vision Standard VCS 83104 - 205
Frogger --- V Case --- - 83
Frogger Freeway --- Pet Boat --- - 83
Fuchs & Schweinchen Schlau Oink! Quelle Standard 806.174 9 - 121
Fussball Inter. Soccer Ariola Standard PGP235 - 99
Galactic Condor Attack Funvision --- - 57
Galactic Condor Attack Goliath 83-416 - 57
Galactic Condor Attack --- V Case --- - 57
Gangster Outlaw Ariola --- - 124
Gangster Ruine Gangster Alley Spectravis. SA-201 - 87
 PAL Checklist • 381

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Gefecht im All Space Jockey Quelle Standard 147.443 6 - 155
General Retreat/Westward Ho Custer Revenge Playaround Standard 206 - 63
Ghostbusters II Salu Standard --- 3 206
Gogo Home Monster Go Go Home Home Vision VCS 83103 - 206
Gopher Carrere Vid. USC2001 - 91
Gorf CBS Electro. UK Black --- - 91
Gorf CBS Electro. German Col. 4L1752 - 91
Grand Prix Activision White EAX-014-04I - 91
Ground Zero River Raid Hot Shot 83-113 - 141
H.E.R.O. Salu Standard --- - 94
Hell Driver Racing Car ITT Fam. G. Plastic 554-37 729 - 214
Hey! Stop! Keystone Kapers Quelle Standard --- - 104
Hey! Stop! Keystone Kapers Quelle Short --- - 104
Hili Ball Racquetball Quelle Standard 689.302 8 - 135
Hole Hunter Topy Ariola TP-606 - 218
Ice Hockey Quelle Short --- - 98
Ikari Warriors Atari Red CX26177 7 98
Im Reich der Spinne Amidar Quelle Standard 322.773 3 - 33
Im Schutz der Drachen Arena Fight Quelle Standard 719.252 9 - 204
Infernal Tower Tower. Inferno Carrere Vid. USC1009 - 188
Invasion aus der Galaxis End of World Quelle Standard 495.563 9 - 204
Invasion der UFO’s Sky Alien Quelle Standard 731.322 1 - 216
IQ 180 Home Vision VCS 83128 - 207
Jagd auf Diamanten-Frisco Frisco Quelle Standard 875.413 7 - 205
Journey Escape Game World Standard 133-006 - 101
Joust Atari Red CX2691 5 101
Jumping Jack Bobby Go Home Dynamics Standard DY-293005 - 203
Jungle Hunt Atari Red CX2688 4 102
Kampf dem Steinfresser Crackpots Quelle Standard 463.574 4 - 61
Kampf im Asteroiden-Gürtel Astrowar Quelle Standard 719.302 2 - 203
Kampf um die Schatzinsel Treas. Discov. Quelle Standard 719.163 8 - 219
Katastrophen-Einsatz M*A*S*H Quelle Standard 876.013 4 - 108
Keystone Kapers Activision White EAX-025-04I - 104
King Arthur Dragonfire Quelle Standard --- - 72
King Arthur Dragonfire Quelle Short --- - 72
KLAX Atari Red CX26192 4 207
Kreuzfeuer Cross Force Spectravis. Standard 413.223 9 - 62
Krieg der Sterne Atlantis Ariola Standard PGP233 - 36
Labyrinth Maze Craze Quelle Standard 805.784 6 - 112
Landung in der Normandie Commando Raid Quelle Standard 876.482 1 - 56
Laser Base End of World ITT Fam. G. Plastic 554-33 367 - 204
Laser Gates Imagic White EIX-007-04I - 106
Laser Loop Z-Tack Dynamics Standard DY-192003 - 201
Lilly Adventure Home Vision Standard VCS 83117 - 208
Lilly Adventure Quelle Standard --- - 208
Lilly Adventure Quelle Short --- - 208
382 • PAL Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Little Bear Frostbite Quelle Short --- - 84
M.A.D. Carrere Vid. Standard USC1012 - 108
Magic Carpet Home Vision Standard --- - 208
Mariana Seaquest Quelle Short --- - 145
Marine Wars Gakken 011 - 109
Marineflieger Seahawk Quelle Standard 176.764 9 - 144
Mario Bros. Atari Red CX2697 5 110
Mein Weg Challenge Quelle Standard 686.561 2 - 221
Meteor Defense Astrowar ITT Fam. G. 554-33 391 - 203
Millipede Atari Red CX26118 - 113
Millipede Atari Red CX26118 - 113
Missile Control Video Gems VG-01 - 115
Mission 3000 Mis. 3,000 A.D. Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 209
Mission 3000 Mis. 3,000 A.D. Bit Corp German --- - 209
Mission 3000 A.D. Bit Corp English --- - 209
Mission Survive Video Gems VG-04 - 209
Moon Patrol Atari Red CX2692 4 116
Moonsweeper Imagic White EIZ-001-04I - 116
Motocross Around World Quelle Standard 719.383 2 - 210
Motocross Around World Quelle Short 719.383 2 - 210
MotoRodeo Atari Red CX26171 5 117
Mountain Man Ski Hunt ITT Fam. G. 544-37 737 - 215
Mouse Trap CBS Electro. UK White 4L1819 - 118
Mouse Trap CBS Electro. UK Color 4L1819 - 118
Mr. Do! CBS Electro. UK White 4L4478 - 118
Mr. Do! CBS Electro. UK Color 4L4478 - 118
Mr. Postman Bit Corp English PG209 - 210
Mr. T Quelle Standard --- - 221
Mr. T Quelle Short --- - 221
My Golf HES Standard 535 4 210
My Golf Salu --- - 210
My Way Challenge Quelle Short --- - 221
My Way Challenge --- Fantastic G. --- - 221
Nightmare Sancho TEC004 - 211
Nuts Technovis. TVS 1001 - 211
Obelix Atari Silver CX26117 7 121
Ocean City Atlantis --- V Case --- - 36
Octopus NameThisGame Carrere Vid. USC1007 - 120
Open Sesame Goliath 5 - 212
Open, Sesame! Open Sesame Bit Corp German 5 - 212
Orbit Base Sky Alien Dynamics DY-192001 - 216
Overkill Seahawk Hot Shot 83-114 - 144
Pac Kong Inca Gold Goliath 83-414 - 207
Pac Kong Inca Gold --- V Case --- - 207
Pac Kong Inca Gold Funvision --- - 207
Pac Kong Inca Gold Quelle Standard --- - 207
 PAL Checklist • 383

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Pacman Pac-Man --- Taiwan S. --- - 125
Panda Chase Home Vision VCS 83105 - 212
Parachute Home Vision VCS 83123 - 212
Paris Attack M.A.D. Quelle Short --- - 108
Peetfal Pitfall! --- Taiwan S. --- - 128
Pengo Atari Black CX2690 9 125
Peter Penguin Frisco Home Vision --- - 205
Peter Penguin Frisco ITT Fam. G. 554-37 338 - 205
Phantom Panzer Tank Brigade Bit Corp German --- - 182
Phantom Tank Tank Brigade Bit Corp English PG203 - 182
Phantom Tank Tank Brigade Puzzy --- - 182
Phantom-Panzer Tank Brigade Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 182
Pharaoh’s Curse Technovis. TVS 1003 - 213
Pick n Pile Salu Standard --- 4 213
Picnic Carrere Vid. USC2004 - 127
Pigs ‘N’ Wolf Oink! HES --- - 121
Pinball Video Pinball Quelle Short --- - 195
Piraten-Schiff Gas Hog Spectravis. 413.723 8 - 87
Planeten Patrouile Planet Patrol Spectravis. 412.851 8 - 129
Plate Mania Dancing Plate Home Vision VCS 83134 - 69
Pmucki I Pumuckl I ITT Fam. G. --- - 214
Polaris Tigervision Standard 7-007 - 130
Pole Position Atari Red CX2694 5 130
Pooyan Gakken 001 - 130
Popeye Quelle Short --- - 131
Puzzled World Maze Craze Quelle Short --- - 112
Pygmy Quelle Short --- - 221
Racing Car Home Vision VCS 83124 - 214
Raketenangriff Missile Control Ariola --- - 209
Raumbasen-Attacke Base Attack Quelle Standard 732.074 0 - 201
Raumroboter Missile Control --- Vid.G. SP SP-203 - 209
RealSports Soccer Atari Red CX2667 4 82
RealSports Tennis Atari Red CX2680 4 138
RealSports Volleyball Atari Red CX2666 5 139
Repro Cart Home Vision --- -
River Raid Activision White EAX-020-04I - 141
River Raid II Activision White --- - 141
River Raid II Quelle Short --- - 141
Robin Hood Save Our Ship Quelle Standard 684.733 9 - 142
Robin Hood / Super Kung Fu Xonox DoubleEnd 6250 6
Robot Fight Missile Control Home Vision VCS 83101 - 209
Roc ‘N Rope CBS Electro. UK White 4L1751 - 143
Save Our Ship Robin Hood Technovis. TVS 1002 - 142
Schiessbude Carnival Quelle Standard 701.134 9 - 51
Schnapp Die Apfeldiebe Plaque Attack Quelle Standard 429.663 8 - 129
Schnecke Gegen Eichhorn Snail Squirrel Bit Corp Re-release 0079 3 216
384 • PAL Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Schnecke Und Eichhörnchen Snail Squirrel Bit Corp German 0079 - 216
Schussel, Polizistenschreck Walker Quelle Standard 731.273 9 - 219
Sea Hawk Seahawk --- V Case --- 4 144
Sea Monster Goliath 8 - 144
Sea Monster Puzzy PG201 - 144
Sea Quest Activision White EAX-022-04I - 145
Seahawk Sancho TEC002 - 144
Seal to Whales Frisco Datatech S-008 - 205
See Monster Sea Monster Bit Corp German 0073 - 144
See Monster Sea Monster Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 144
Seesaw Circus Atari Quelle Short --- - 54
Sesam, Offne Dich Open Sesame Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 212
Sesam, Offne Dich Open Sesame Bit Corp German 0076 - 212
Ski Skiing --- V Case --- - 147
Ski Hunt Home Vision VCS 83106 - 215
Ski-Run Ariola --- - 215
Skin Diver Skindiver Funvision --- - 144
Skin Diver Skindiver Sancho --- - 144
Sky Alien Home Vision VCS 83112 - 216
Smurf Smurf Gargamel CBS Electro. UK White 4L1768 - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel CBS Electro. 4L1768 - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel CBS Electro. German Col. 4L1769 - 151
Snail Against Squirrel Bit Corp English PG208 - 216
Sneak n’ Peek Carrere Vid. USC1002 - 151
Soccer Champ. Soccer Pet Boat --- - 52
Solar Fox CBS Electro. UK White 4L1853 - 152
Solar Fox CBS Electro. UK Color 4L1853 - 152
Solaris Atari Red CX26136 4 152
Space Envador Space Invaders --- Taiwan S. --- - 154
Space Jockey Carrere Vid. USC1001 - 155
Space Monster Condor Attack Funvision F2001 - 57
Space Raider Sky Alien Goliath 83-211 - 216
Space Raider Sky Alien Hot Shot 83-211 - 216
Space Robot Space Tunnel Dimax SM8001 - 217
Space Robot Space Tunnel Goliath 1 - 217
Space Robot Space Tunnel Quelle Short --- - 217
Space Trip Gas Hog --- Taiwan S. --- - 87
Space Tunnel Bit Corp English PG202 - 217
Space Tunnel Goliath 7 - 217
Space Tunnel Puzzy PG202 - 217
Spider Fighter Activision White EAX-021-04I - 156
Spider Kong Inca Gold Goliath 6 - 207
Spider Monster Inca Gold Funvision --- - 207
Spiderman Spider-Man Quelle Standard 495.663 7 - 157
Squirrel & Snail Snail Squirrel Hot Shot 83-216 - 216
Sssnake Game World 133-003 - 160
 PAL Checklist • 385

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Star Voyager Imagic White EIX-011-04I - 163
Star Warrior Star Wars Empire HES --- - 165
Steeple Chase Video Gems VG-03 - 166
Sternen Kampf Astrowar --- Vid.G. SP SP-204 - 203
Stopp Die Gangster Gangster Alley Quelle Standard 377.943 6 - 87
Strahlen der Teufelsvogel Atlantis Quelle Standard 463.860 7 - 36
Strategy X Gakken 010 - 167
Super Baumeister Master Builder Spectravis. 413.582 8 - 110
Super-Cowboy beim Rodeo Stampede Quelle Standard 874.254 6 - 161
Super-Cowboy beim Rodeo Stampede Quelle Short 874.254 6 - 161
Super-Ferrari Enduro Quelle Standard 402.272 9 - 75
Super-Man Superman --- V Case --- - 173
Suppermen Superman --- Taiwan S. --- - 173
Surfer’s Paradise Video Gems VG-02 - 217
Tank City Thunderground --- Taiwan S. --- - 186
Tank City Thunderground --- Taiwan S. --- - 186
Tanks War Tank Brigade Home Vision VCS 83135 - 182
Tanzende Teller Dancing Plate Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 204
Tanzende Teller Dancing Plate Bit Corp German 0077 - 204
Teddy Apple Open Sesame Home Vision VCS 83137 - 212
Teller-Jonglieren! Dancing Plate Quelle Standard 685.996 1 - 204
Tennis Home Vision VCS 83107 - 185
Tennis Quelle Standard --- - 185
Tennis Pet Boat --- - 185
Theamk Maze Craze --- Taiwan S. --- - 112
Time Race Time Warp Funvision --- - 218
Time Race Space Jockey Goliath 83-212 - 155
Time Race Space Jockey Suntek SS-001 - 155
Time Race Time Warp --- V Case --- - 218
Tom’s Eierjagd Play Farm Quelle Standard 731.503 9 - 214
Top Gun Air Raiders Quelle Standard 626.502 9 - 31
Topsy Home Vision VCS 83126 - 218
Treasure Below Video Gems VG-05 - 218
UFI und gefährlicher Einsatz Go Go Home Quelle Standard 732.174 8 - 206
Ungeheuer Der Tiefe Skindiver Quelle Standard 719.013 5 - 144
Venture CBS Electro. German Col. 4L1803 - 193
Vogel Flieh Dolphin Quelle Standard 465.302 8 - 69
Volleyball RealSports V. Quelle Short --- - 139
Wachroboter Jagt Jupy RealSports V. Quelle Standard --- - 139
Wall Break Home Vision VCS 83114 - 196
Wall Defender Wall Break HES --- - 196
War 2000 Astrowar Home Vision VCS 83102 - 203
War Zone M*A*S*H --- Taiwan S. --- - 108
Warm War Worm War I --- Taiwan S. --- - 198
Warplock Game World 133-002 - 197
Weltraum-Tunnel Space Tunnel Bit Corp Re-release --- 3 217
386 • PAL Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Weltraum-Tunnel Space Tunnel Bit Corp German 0074 - 217
Weltraumtunnel Laser Gates Quelle Standard 292.651 7 - 106
Wilma Wanderer ITT Fam. G.
Lilly Adventure --- - 208
Wing War Imagic White EIZ-002-04I 7 220
Winterjagd Ski Hunt Quelle Standard 343.073 3 - 215
Wizard of Wor CBS Electro. UK Color 4L1720 - 198
Wizard of Wor CBS Electro. German Col. 4L1721 - 198
Words-Attack Sancho --- - 220
World End End of World Quelle Standard --- - 204
World Trap Home Vision --- - X
Wüstenschlacht Chopper Com. Quelle Standard 262.794 1 - 54
X Mission Home Vision VCS 83118 - 220
Yars’ Attack Yars’ Revenge Quelle Short --- - 200
Yars’ Revenge Atari Red CX2655 3 200
Zaxxon CBS Electro. UK White 4L2277 - 201
Zoo Fun Pumuckl I Home Vision --- - 214
 S.A. Checklist • 387

South-America
This list include games released in South-America.
In Brazil, the console became extremely popular in the mid-1980s.
Most of the games released in South-America was bootlegs, but be-
cause of their crazy label designs and creative naming, collectors often
find it fun to collect.

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

16-in-1 J.F. --- -
2-in-1 “Smurf’s, Tennis” Atarimania --- - X
2-in-1 “Spiderman, Outlaw” Dactar --- - X
2-in-1 “Pitfall & Megamania” Digitel --- - X
2-in-1 “Megamania, Pitfall” Digivision --- - X
2-in-1 “Enduro, Tennis” Digivision --- - X
2-in-1 “Volley Ball, Baskett” Digivision --- - X
2-in-1 “GrandPrix, Miss.Com.” Dynacom --- - X
2-in-1 “Basketball & Tennis” Dynacom --- - X
2-in-1 “Frontline, CacadoresArca” Fotomania --- - X
2-in-1 “H.E.R.O., Jungle Hunt” Genus --- - X
2-in-1 “Pole Position, Zaxxon” Genus --- - X
2-in-1 “Priv.Eye, Moto Cross” Genus --- - X
2-in-1 “007, Star Wars Arcade” JVP --- - X
2-in-1 “Lady Wading, X-Man” Pop --- - X
2-in-1 “Frostbite, Pitfall” Shock Vis. --- - X
2-in-1 “Enduro & River Raid” Shock Vis. --- - X
2-in-1 “D.K., KeystoneKapers” Supergame --- - X
4 in 1 “Demon Attack...” Argevision --- - X
4-in-1 “Sky...” Apple Vision --- - X
4-in-1 “Entobed...” Apple Vision --- - X
4-in-1 “Adventure...” Apple Vision --- - X
4-in-1 “Bowling...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Sneak n’ Peek...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Mysterious Thief...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Beany Bopper...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Baseball...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Nexar...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Adventure...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Turmoil...” Dactar --- - X
388 • S.A. Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

4-in-1 “Pac Man...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Combate...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Basket...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Squirrel...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Venture...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Pitfall...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Megaforce...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Pinball...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Ursinho Esperto...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Kung Fu...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “River I...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Mission 3,000 A.D....” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Amidar...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Boxing...” Dactar --- - X
4-in-1 “Lost Lugage...” Digitel --- - X
4-in-1 “Demon Attack...” Digitel --- - X
4-in-1 “Eduro...” Digitel --- - X
4-in-1 “Basketbaal...” Digitel --- - X
4-in-1 “Pitfall...” Dynacom --- - X
4-in-1 “Beamrider...” Engesoft --- - X
4-in-1 “Bermuda Triangle...” Engesoft --- - X
4-in-1 “Donkey Kong...” Engesoft --- - X
4-in-1 “Star Wars Arcade...” Fotomania --- - X
4-in-1 “Flash Gordon...” Gran Match --- - X
4-in-1 “Atlantis...” ImagicInt.G. --- - X
4-in-1 “Chuck Norris...” Rentacom --- - X
4-in-1 “Megamania 2...” Shock Vis. --- - X
8-in-1 “Donkey Kong...” Dynacom --- - X
8-in-1 “Chopper Command...” Fotomania --- - X
Aventura Adventure Polyvox --- - 30
Adventures of Tron Polygram --- - 31
Air Raiders Air Battle CCE C-817 - 31
Air Raiders Air Battle Dynacom --- - 31
Air Raiders Air Battle Polygram --- - 31
Air Raiders Air Battle Supergame --- - 31
Batalha Aero Naval Air-Sea Battle Polyvox --- - 32
Alien Digitel --- - 32
Alieniginas MegaMania Dismac --- - 113
Amidar VGS --- - 33
Amphibious Wars Air-Sea Battle CCE C-852 - 32
Apples and Dolls Open Sesame Polyvox --- - 212
Apples and Dolls Open Sesame Tron --- - 212
Aques Zgames --- - X
Asteroides Asteroids Polyvox --- - 35
Atlantida Atlantis Vidgame VG 0320 - 36
Atlantis CCE C-832 - 36
 S.A. Checklist • 389

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Atlantis Dynacom --- - 36
Atlantis Polygram --- - 36
Bandido E Ladrãdo Video Grow --- - X
Bank Heist CCE C-844 --- - 38
Basketball --- --- - 39
Baskett Basketball Digivision --- - 39
Battle Zone BattleZone Tron --- - 41
Beamrider Polygram --- - 41
Beamrider Polyvox --- - 41
Beany Bopper CCE C-835 - 41
Berzerk Play Video --- - 43
Berzerk Polyvox --- - 43
Bingo Dice Puzzle CCE C-868 - 68
Blueprint Polygram --- - 44
Bobby Is Going Home CCE C-803 - 203
Bomb Bang Crackpots CCE C-849 - 61
Boliche Bowling Polyvox --- - 45
Boxing CCE C-861 - 46
BR 101 Freeway Dismac --- - 82
Breakout Dynacom --- - 46
Buck Rogers Planet of Doom Polygram --- - 47
Bump N' Jump Fotomania --- - 48
Canguru Kangaroo Zirok --- - 103
Castelos E Dragões Dragonfire Video Grow --- - 72
Centopeia Centipede Polyvox --- - 51
Championship Soccer Polyvox --- - 52
China Syndrome Polygram --- - 53
Chopper Command CCE C-827 - 54
Chopper Command Dynacom --- - 54
Chopper Command Polygram --- - 54
Circus Circus Atari Dynacom --- - 54
Combat Dynacom --- - 56
Combat Polyvox --- - 56
Command Raid Commando Raid CCE C-825 - 56
Commando de Misseis Missile Com. Digitel --- - 115
Commando Raid Dynacom --- - 56
Commando Raid Polygram --- - 56
Commando Raid Robby 22 - 56
Condor Attack CCE C-851 - 57
Congo Bongo Polygram --- - 57
Corredor Cosmico Space Tunnel Dactar --- - 217
Cosmic Ark CCE C-831 - 59
Cosmic Ark Digitel --- - 59
Cosmic Ark Dynacom --- - 59
Cosmic Ark Polygram --- - 59
Crack Pots Crackpots Cosmovision --- - 61
390 • S.A. Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Crackpots CCE C-862 - 61
Crackpots Polygram --- - 61
Deadly Poison Eram --- - X
Decathlon Activis.Decathlon Atarimania --- - 30
Decathlon Activis.Decathlon Polyvox --- - 30
Defender Digitel --- - 65
Defender Polygram --- - 65
Defender Polyvox --- - 65
Demmon Attack Demon Attack ActionGame --- - 66
Demon Attack CCE C-823 - 66
Demon Attack Digitel --- - 66
Demon Attack Dynacom --- - 66
Demon Attack Polygram --- - 66
Dodge 'em Polyvox --- - 69
Donkey Kong CCE C-814 - 71
Donkey Kong Dynacom --- - 71
Donkey Kong Play Video --- - 71
Donkey Kong Star Game 001 - 71
Donkey Kong Supergame --- - 71
Donkey Kong Jr. CCE --- - 71
Donkey Kong Jr. Polygram --- - 71
Dragon Treasure Dragonfire CCE C-847 - 72
Duck Fighting Deadly Duck CCE C-865 - 64
Enduro CCE C-810 - 75
Enduro Cosmovision --- - 75
Enduro Cromax --- - 75
Enduro Datavision --- - 75
Enduro Digitel --- - 75
Enduro Digivision --- - 75
Enduro Dynacom --- - 75
Enduro Genus --- - 75
Enduro Intellivision --- - 75
Enduro Maxgames --- - 75
Enduro Microsoft --- - 75
Enduro Play Video --- - 75
Enduro Polygram --- - 75
Enduro Polyvox --- - 75
Enduro Robby 10 - 75
Enduro Shock Vis. --- - 75
Enduro Star Game 022 - 75
Enduro Tron --- - 75
Enduro Video Game --- - 75
Enduro Zirok --- - 75
Espectro Space Cavern Dismac --- - 154
Espial Shock Vis. --- - 77
Fantastic Voyage Polygram --- - 78
 S.A. Checklist • 391

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Fast Eddie Dynacom --- - 78
Fast Food Zirok --- - 78
Fisher Price Scuba Diver CCE C-863 - 144
Fishing Derby Play Video --- - 80
Fishing Derby Polygram --- - 80
Football Intern. Soccer CCE C-854 - 99
Fortress Defense M.A.D. CCE C-864 - 108
Frankenstein Frank. Monster Arte Vision --- - 82
Freeway Polyvox --- - 82
Frogger CCE C-821 - 83
Frogger Dynacom --- - 83
Frogger Microsoft --- - 83
Frogger Polygram --- - 83
Frogger Polyvox --- - 83
Front Line Polygram --- - 84
Frostbite Arte Vision --- - 84
Frostbite Cosmovision --- - 84
Frostbite Digimax --- - 84
Frostbite Digitel --- - 84
Frostbite Polygram --- - 84
Frostbite Polyvox --- - 84
Frostbite VGS --- - 84
Futeball Intern. Soccer Star Game --- - 99
Futebol Intern. Soccer Polygram --- - 99
Galaxian Digimax --- - 86
Galaxian Polygram --- - 86
Galaxian Polyvox --- - 86
Ghost Manor Polygram --- - 88
Gorf Polygram --- - 91
Grand Prix CCE C-826 - 91
Gremlins Polygram --- - 92
H.E.R.O. Digitel --- - 94
H.E.R.O. Mega Games --- - 94
H.E.R.O. Polyvox --- - 94
H.E.R.O. Tron --- - 94
Haunted House Polyvox --- - 96
He-Man Masters Universe Fotomania --- - 110
HERO H.E.R.O. Videomagia --- - 94
Home Run Polyvox --- - 96
Ice Hockey JVP --- - 98
Immies & Aggies CCE C-838 - 206
Infiltrate Polygram --- - 99
International Soccer Dynacom --- - 99
International Soccer Shock Vis. --- - 99
International Soccer Videospot 48 - 99
Jaw Breaker Jawbreaker CCE C-824 - 101
392 • S.A. Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Jawbreaker Datasoft --- - 101
Joust Polygram --- - 101
Joust Polyvox --- - 101
Jungle Hunt CCE C-1007 - 102
Jungle Hunt Polygram --- - 102
Jungle Hunt Polyvox --- - 102
Jungle Hunt Tron --- - 102
Kaboom Kaboom! Dynacom --- - 103
Kangaroo Polygram --- - 103
Kangaroo Polyvox --- - 103
Kangaroo Supergame --- - 103
Keystone Kapers CCE --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Cosmovision --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Digivision --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Polygram --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Polyvox --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Prom --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Shock Vis. --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Supergame --- - 104
Keystone Kapers Tron --- - 104
Keystone Kapers --- --- - 104
Keystone Keypers Keystone Kapers Zirok --- - 104
King Kong Cosmovision --- - 104
Krull Dinamivis. --- - 105
Krull JVP --- - 105
Krull Polygram --- - 105
Laser Gate Innerspace CCE C-860 - 106
Laser Gate Innerspace Future --- - 106
Laser Gates Innerspace Atarimania --- - 106
Laser Gates Innerspace Polygram --- - 106
Laser Gates Innerspace Shock Vis. --- - 106
M*A*S*H Wide Vision --- - 108
Mario Bros. Polygram --- - 110
Mario Bros. Tron --- - 110
MASH M*A*S*H CCE C-859 - 108
Math Grand Prix Polyvox --- - 112
Maze Craze Polyvox --- - 112
Megaboy Compact Dynacom --- -
MegaCart 32 Dynacom --- - X
Megamania CCE C-829 - 113
Megamania Digivision --- - 113
Megamania Dynacom --- - 113
Megamania Polyvox --- - 113
Megamania Tron --- - 113
Megamania Zirok --- - 113
Mil Milhas Grand Prix Dismac --- - 91
 S.A. Checklist • 393

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Mines of Minos Datasoft --- - 114
Missile Command Cosmovision --- - 115
Missile Command Dactar --- - 115
Missile Command Dynacom --- - 115
Commando du Missels Missile Com. Polyvox --- - 115
Monkey Donkey Kong Dismac --- - 71
Montezuma's Revenge Conector --- - 116
Moon Patrol Atarimania --- - 116
Moon Patrol Polygram --- - 116
Moon Patrol Polyvox --- - 116
Moon Patrol Shock Vis. --- - 116
Moon Patrol Tron --- - 116
Moonsweeper Digitel --- - 116
Moonsweeper Polygram --- - 116
Motocross Around World JVP --- - 210
Mouse Trap CCE C-836 - 118
Mouse Trap Dynacom --- - 118
Mouse Trap Star Game 010 - 118
Mr. Chin Dancing Plate Polyvox --- - 204
Mr. Do! Video Game --- - 118
Mr. Postman CCE C-801 - 210
Mr. Postman Digitel --- - 210
Mr. Postman Game Action --- - 210
Mr. Postman JVP --- - 210
Mr. Postman Supergame --- - 210
Ms. Pac-Man Polygram --- - 119
Ms. Pac-Man Shock Vis. --- - 119
Mysterious Thief, A CCE --- - 211
Oink Oink! Polyvox --- - 121
Open Sesame CCE C-804 - 212
Operacao AM-X River Raid Dismac --- - 141
Othello CCE --- - 123
Othello Video Juego --- - 123
Outlaw Dynacom --- - 124
Pac Man Pac-Man Atarimania --- - 125
Pac Man Pac-Man CCE C-812 - 125
Pac Man Pac-Man Digitel --- - 125
Pac Man Pac-Man Dynacom --- - 125
Pac Man Pac-Man Star Game 004 - 125
Pac-Man Canal 3 --- - 125
Pac-Man Cosmovision --- - 125
Pac-Man Supergame --- - 125
Pac-Man VGS --- - 125
Pacman Pac-Man Polyvox --- - 125
Pengo JVP --- - 125
Perereca Frogger Vidgame VG 1960 - 83
394 • S.A. Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Phantom Tank Brigade Zirok --- - 182
Phoenix Polygram --- - 127
Phoenix Tron --- - 127
Phoenix Video Game --- - 127
Pigs in Space Polyvox --- - 128
Pinball Video Pinball CCE --- - 195
Pitfall Pitfall! CCE C-813 - 128
Pitfall Pitfall! Dynacom --- - 128
Pitfall Pitfall! Intellivision --- - 128
Pitfall Pitfall! Polygram --- - 128
Pitfall Pitfall! Tiger Vision --- - 128
Pitfall! Polyvox --- - 128
Pizza Chef CCE C-837 - 213
Planet Patrol CCE C-830 - 129
Planet Patrol Datasoft --- - 129
Planet Patrol Digitel --- - 129
Planet Patrol Jo --- - 129
Plaque Attack Game Action --- - 129
Plaque Attack Supergame --- - 129
Polaris Intellivision --- - 130
Pole Position CCE C-1002 - 130
Pole Position Intellivision --- - 130
Pole Position Polygram --- - 130
Pole Position Polyvox --- - 130
Pole Position Tron --- - 130
Pole Position VGS --- - 130
Pooyan Shock Vis. --- - 130
Popeye Digivision --- - 131
Popeye Polyvox --- - 131
Popeye Star Game 106 - 131
Popeye VortexGame. --- - 131
Popeye Zirok --- - 131
Porky's Polygram --- - 132
Porky's Wide Vision --- - 132
Pressure Cooker Datavision --- - 132
Pressure Cooker Polygram --- - 132
Pressure Cooker Polyvox --- - 132
Private Eye Polygram --- - 132
Q*Bert CCE --- - 133
Q*bert --- --- - 133
R. Hero H.E.R.O. Shock Vis. --- - 94
Radar Exocet CCE C-867 - 77
Raiders of the Lost Ark Digivision --- - 136
Raiders of the Lost Ark Dynacom --- - 136
Raiders of the Lost Ark Polygram --- - 136
Realsports Soccer Polyvox --- - 82
 S.A. Checklist • 395

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

RealSports Tennis Polygram --- - 138
Realsports Tennis Polyvox --- - 138
RealSports Volleyball Intellivision --- - 139
RealSports Volleyball Polygram --- - 139
Voleibol RealSports V. Polyvox --- - 139
Retorno de Jedy Star Wars Jedi Shock Vis. --- - 163
Return of the Jedi Star Wars Jedi Digivision --- - 163
River Raid ActionGame --- - 141
River Raid Atarimania --- - 141
River Raid CCE C-811 - 141
River Raid Cosmovision --- - 141
River Raid Digitel --- - 141
River Raid Digivision --- - 141
River Raid Dynacom --- - 141
River Raid Microsoft --- - 141
River Raid Play Time --- - 141
River Raid Polygram --- - 141
River Raid Polyvox --- - 141
River Raid Robby 18 - 141
River Raid Star Game 003 - 141
River Raid Super 2600 --- - 141
River Raid Supervision --- - 141
River Raid Video Game --- - 141
River Raid Zirok --- - 141
River Raid II Cosmovision --- - 141
River Raid III Sub-Scan Digitel --- - 169
Robot Attack Threshold CCE C-866 - 186
Robot Tank Polyvox --- - 142
Roc N Rope Roc ‘n Rope Shock Vis. --- - 143
Roc'n Rope Roc ‘n Rope Polygram --- - 143
Sapo Papão Frogs n Flies Video Grow --- - 84
Sea Monster CCE C-805 - 144
Sea Quest Seaquest Galaxi --- - 145
Sea Quest Seaquest Microsoft --- - 145
Seaquest CCE C-815 - 145
Seaquest Cosmovision --- - 145
Seaquest Dynacom --- - 145
Seaquest Polygram --- - 145
Seaquest Robby 42 - 145
Seaquest Star Game 018 - 145
Seaquest Tron --- - 145
Sexta 13 Halloween Datasoft --- - 94
Shark Attack Lochjaw Cosmovision --- - 106
Shootin Gallery Shootin’ Gallery Digitel --- - 146
Shooting Gallery Shootin’ Gallery Videospot --- - 146
Skiing Dynacom --- - 147
396 • S.A. Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Skiing Polygram --- - 147
Sky Diver Intellivision --- - 149
Smurf Smurf Gargamel CCE C-1011 - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel Digimax --- - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel Digitel --- - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel Dynacom --- - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel Microsoft --- - 151
Smurf Smurf Gargamel Tron --- - 151
Sneak'N Peak Sneak’n Peek CCE C-848 - 151
Snooker Trick Shot Game Action --- - 189
Snoopy Snoopy Red B. Digitel --- - 151
Snoopy Snoopy Red B. Video Game --- - 151
Snoopy Snoopy Red B. Videomania --- - 151
Snoopy and the Red Baron Intellivision --- - 151
Snoopy and the Red Baron Polygram --- - 151
Snoopy and the Red Baron Polyvox --- - 151
Soccer Champ. Soccer Play Time --- - 52
Space Cavern Genus --- - 154
Space Chase Spacechase Dynacom --- - 156
Space Chase Spacechase Maxgames --- - 156
Space Invaders CCE --- - 154
Space Invaders Cosmovision C-820 - 154
Space Invaders Dynatronic --- - 154
Space Invaders Star Game 019 - 154
Space Invaders & Tron Digitel --- - X
Invasores do espaço Space Invaders Polyvox --- - 154
Space Invaders Game Space Invaders Digitel --- - 154
Space Jockey CCE C-846 - 155
Space Shuttle Rentacom --- - 155
Space Shuttle Uloc --- - 155
Space Tunnel Polyvox --- - 217
Spider Fighter CCE C-853 - 156
Spider Fighter Rentacom --- - 156
Spider Fighter VGS --- - 156
Spiderman Spider-Man Dynacom --- - 157
Spike's Peak Polygram --- - 157
Squirrel Snail Squirrel CCE C-809 - 216
Star Trek Star Trek Sim. Polygram --- - 162
Star Voyager CCE C-818 - 163
Star Voyager Zirok --- - 163
Star War Star Wars Empire CCE C-819 - 165
Star Wars Star Wars Empire Dynacom --- - 165
Star Wars Star Wars Empire Star Game --- - 165
Stone Age CCE C-840 - 217
Subterranea JVP --- - 169
Subterranea Polygram --- - 169
 S.A. Checklist • 397

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Subterrenea Canal 3 --- - 169
Super Bird Master Builder Rentacom --- - 110
Super Football Supergame --- - 173
Super Soccer RealSports S. Digitel --- - 82
Super Tennis RealSports T. Digitel --- - 138
Super Tennis RealSports T. Tron --- - 138
Superman CCE C-857 - 173
SwordQuest: Earthworld Polyvox --- - 178
Tank Combat CCE C-869 - 56
Tank Attack Thunderground Polyvox --- - 186
Tank-man Thunderground Dynacom --- - 186
Tarantula Spider Fighter Video Grow --- - 156
Target Practice Carnival CCE C-833 - 51
Taz Polygram --- - 183
Tennis CCE C-858 - 185
Tennis Digitel --- - 185
Tennis Dynacom --- - 185
Tennis Intellivision --- - 185
Tennis Microsoft --- - 185
Tennis Play Time --- - 185
Tennis Polygram --- - 185
Tennis Shock Vis. --- - 185
Tennis Star Game 007 - 185
Threshold Polygram --- - 186
Time Pilot Digitel --- - 186
Trick Shot Polygram --- - 189
Tron TRON D.Disc Zirok --- - 190
Turbo Enduro Dynacom --- - 75
Turbo Enduro Momo --- - 75
Turmoil CCE C-850 - 191
Vanguard Polygram --- - 193
Vanguard Polyvox --- - 193
Video Chess Polygram --- - 194
Video Pinball Polyvox --- - 195
Volleyball RealSports V. Digivision --- - 139
Worm War I CCE C-843 - 198
X-Man Cosmovision --- - 199
A Vinganca dos Yars Yars’ Revenge Polyvox --- - 200
Zaxxon Auto Game --- - 201
Zaxxon CCE C-1001 - 201
Zaxxon Dynacom --- - 201
Zaxxon Intellivision --- - 201
Zaxxon Joystik --- - 201
Zaxxon JVP --- - 201
Zaxxon Microsoft --- - 201
Zaxxon Polygram --- - 201
398 • NTSC-J Checklist

Japan
The Atari 2800 is the Japanese version of the Atari 2600, released in
1983. It was the first release of a 2600 designed specifically for the
Japanese market, despite companies like Epoch distributing the 2600
in Japan previously.It had a streamlined shape similar to that of the
Atari 7800.
Around 30 specially branded games were released for the 2800. Their
boxes are in Japanese and have a silver/red color scheme similar to the
packaging of Atari’s 2600 branded games of the time. The cartridges
themselves had identical labels as their 2600 branded counterparts.
The Atari 2800’s case style was used as the basis for the Atari 7800’s
case style by Barney Huang.
“gaming.wikia.com”

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Air-Sea Battle Atari CX2602 - 32
Asteroids Atari CX2649 - 35
Battlezone Atari CX2681 - 41
Berzerk Atari CX2650 - 43
Big Bird’s Egg Catch Atari CX26104 - 43
Centipede Atari CX2676 - 51
Defender Atari CX2609 - 65
Demons To Diamonds Atari CX2615 - 66
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Atari CX2674 - 74
Haunted House Atari CX2654 - 96
Joust Atari CX2691 - 101
Jungle Hunt Atari CX2688 - 102
Math Grand Prix Atari CX2658 - 112
Missile Command Atari CX2638 - 115
Pac-Man Atari CX2646 - 125
Phoenix Atari CX2673 - 127
Raiders of the Lost Ark Atari CX2659 - 136
RealSports Baseball Atari CX2640 - 137
Realsports Soccer Atari CX2667 - 82
Space Invaders Atari CX2632 - 154
Spider Spider-Man --- V Case --- - 157
Spider Man --- V Case --- - 157
Star Raiders Atari CX2660 - 161
Super Breakout Atari CX2608 - 171
Swordquest: Earthworld Atari CX2656 - 178
Swordquest: Fireworld Atari CX2657 - 178
Warlords Atari CX2610 - 197
Yars’ Revenge Atari CX2655 - 200
 A.U. Checklist • 399

Australia
Atari 2600 was distributed in Australia by Futuretronics from launch until 1984, when
a local arm of Atari Computers took over. While the system was launched in the late
70s, a relaunch of the system in the late 80s as an option for budget-minded consumers
saw the Atari 2600 have a retail presence until 1993.
“retrogamingaus.com”

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

128 in 1 --- V Case --- - X
2-Pak Special “Motocross+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “Planet Patrol+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “Cosmic Ark+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “Alien Force+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “Challenge+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “DungeonMast.+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “Dolphin+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “Star Warrior+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “CavernBlaster+” HES --- - X
2-Pak Special “SpaceVoyage+” HES --- - X
Aquatak Scuba Diver John Sands JS145C - 144
Atlantis HES --- - 36
Bank Heist Act. Hi-Tech 11012 - 38
Beamrider HES --- - 41
Bermuda River Raid RainbowVis. SS-009 - 141
Bi! Bi! Scuba Diver RainbowVis. SS-013 - 144
Boom Bang Crackpots RainbowVis. SS-016 - 61
Boxing HES --- - 46
Bump N’ Jump HES --- - 48
Catch Time Plaque Attack RainbowVis. SS-015 - 129
Chopper Command HES --- - 54
Commando HES --- - 56
Cosmic Free Fire Sky Alien Act. Hi-Tech --- - 216
Crab Control Crackpots Act. Hi-Tech --- - 61
Curtiss Atlantis RainbowVis. SS-019 - 36
Decathlon Activ.Decathlon HES --- - 30
Demon Attack HES --- - 66
Donkey Kong HES --- - 71
Double Dragon HES --- - 71
Dragon Defender Arena Fight RainbowVis. SS-021 - 204
Enduro HES --- - 75
Exoset Missile Exocet John Sands JS145B - 77
Freeway HES --- - 82
Frogger HES --- - 83
Galactic Challenge Nexar RainbowVis. SS-002 - 52
400 • A.U. Checklist

Title Alt. Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Ghostbusters HES --- - 88
Go For Gold Pak HES --- - X
Grand Prix HES --- - 91
H.E.R.O. HES --- - 94
Hey! Stop! KeystoneKapers RainbowVis. SS-012 - 104
Hot Action Pak HES --- - X
Keystone Kapers HES --- - 104
Kung Fu Master HES --- - 105
Laser Gates Innerspace HES --- - 106
Mafia Gangster Alley RainbowVis. SS-010 - 87
Mariana Seaquest RainbowVis. SS-017 - 145
Mega Fun Pak HES --- - X
Megamania HES --- - 113
Netmaker Amidar RainbowVis. SS-006 - 33
Pac-Kong Inca Gold RainbowVis. SS-003 -
Pitfall! HES --- - 128
Pyramid War Chopper Com. RainbowVis. SS-004 - 54
Rad Action Pak HES ---- - X
Rampage HES --- - 137
River Raid HES --- - 141
River Raid II HES --- - 141
Robot Tank HES --- - 142
Sea Adventure Hi-Score --- - X
Sea Hawk Seahawk John Sands JS145A - 144
Seaquest HES --- - 145
Skate Boardin’ HES --- - 147
Skiing HES --- - 147
Smash Hit Pak HES --- - X
Space Grid Turmoil Act. Hi-Tech --- - 191
Space Raid MegaMania RainbowVis. SS-007 - 113
Spider Fighter HES --- - 156
Sports Action Pak HES --- - X
Star Voyager HES --- - 163
Starmaster HES --- - 166
Summer Games HES --- - 170
Super Action Pak HES --- - X
Super Ferrari Enduro RainbowVis. SS-011 - 75
Super Hit Pak HES --- - X
Tennis HES --- - 185
Time Race Space Jockey RainbowVis. SS-001 - 155
Title Match Pro Wrestling HES --- - 187
Tom Boy Pitfall! RainbowVis. SS-005 - 128
Tomcat: F-14 Fighter Sim. HES --- - 187
Tuby Bird Dolphin RainbowVis. SS-020 - 69
Winter Games HES --- - 197
Year 1999, The Condor Attack RainbowVis. SS-008 - 57
 Homebrew Checklist • 401

Homebrew
The Atari 2600 is a popular platform for homebrew projects. Unlike later systems, the Atari 2600 does not
require a modchip to run homebrew cartridges. Although there is one high-level compiler available — batari
Basic — most development for the Atari 2600 is still done in 6502 assembly language. The 2600 lacks video
memory, has only 128 bytes of RAM, and requires precise timing; homebrews written in assembly are typi-
cally considered programming challenges.
In 2003, Activision selected several homebrew 2600 titles for inclusion
in the Game Boy Advance version of their Activision Anthology.
I used AtariAge rarity list to compile this list, as such, this list is incom-
plete. At the behest of AtariAge users, I have included more games to
the homebrew pages, but these are not listed here. I have made blank
bars open, for people to fill in what they deem an official homebrew.
New homebrews are also made and released every year.

Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

2003 AtariAge Holiday Cart Self-Publish 236
2004 AtariAge Holiday Cart: Holiday Qb Self-Publish 236
2005 AtariAge Holiday Cart: Reindeer Rescue Self-Publish 236
2005 Minigame Multicart Self-Publish 237
2006 AtariAge Holiday Cart: Toyshop Trouble Self-Publish 237
2007 AtariAge Holiday Cart: Stella's Stocking Self-Publish 237
A-VCS-tec Challenge Self-Publish 238
A-VCS-tec Challenge Self-Publish 238
Alfred Challenge Ebivision Standard ebi01 238
Allia Quest Ebivision Standard ebi06 238
AStar Self-Publish 239
Backfire Self-Publish 239
Bee-Ball Self-Publish 239
BLiP Football Self-Publish 240
Boulder Dash Self-Publish 240
Climber 5 XYPE 240
Colony 7 Self-Publish 241
Conquest of Mars Self-Publish 241
Crazy Balloon Self-Publish 241
Crazy Valet Self-Publish 242
Crazy Valet Self-Publish Lim.Ed. 242
Crazy Valet CGE Self-Publish 242
Cubis Self-Publish 242
Cuttle Cart SchellElectro. 243
Dark Mage Self-Publish 243
E.T. Book Cart Self-Publish 243
Edtris 2600 Self-Publish X
Elevators Amiss Self-Publish X
Encaved Self-Publish X
402 • Homebrew Checklist

Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Enigma Machine Self-Publish X
Euchre Self-Publish 244
Eurocon2005 Self-Publish X
Fall Down Self-Publish 244
FlapPing Self-Publish 244
Four-Play Self-Publish 245
Gingerbread Man Self-Publish 245
Go Fish! Self-Publish 245
GoSub Self-Publish 246
Graz2004 Self-Publish X
Gunfight XYPE 246
Hunchy II Self-Publish 246
I Project Self-Publish X
INV Self-Publish 247
INV+ Self-Publish 247
Jammed XYPE 247
JoustPong Self-Publish 248
Krokodile Cartridge Self-Publish 248
Lady Bug Self-Publish 248
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Self-Publish 249
Marble Craze XYPE 249
Medieval Mayhem Self-Publish 249
Melbourne Tatty Self-Publish 250
Mental Kombat Self-Publish 250
Merlin's Walls Ebivision Standard ebi02 250
Mine Sweeper Self-Publish 251
Mondo Pong Self-Publish 251
Okie Dokie Retroware Lim.Ed. 252
Okie Dokie Self-Publish 252
Oystron XYPE 252
Pac-Man Ebivision Standard ebi03 252
Pesco Ebivision Standard ebi04 253
Phantom II / Pirate Self-Publish 253
Poker Squares Self-Publish 251
Power Off! Ebivision Standard ebi05 254
Pressure Gauge Self-Publish 254
Qb XYPE 254
Rainbow Invaders Self-Publish 255
Raster Fahndung Self-Publish 255
Reindeer Rescue Self-Publish 255
SCSIcide Self-Publish 256
SCSIcide Self-Publish 256
SCSIcide PhillyClassic3 Self-Publish 256
Seawolf XYPE 257
Skeleton Self-Publish 257
Skeleton+ Self-Publish 257
 Homebrew Checklist • 403

Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Solar Plexus Self-Publish 258
Space Battle Self-Publish 258
Space Instigators XYPE 258
Space Treat Self-Publish 259
Space Treat Deluxe Self-Publish 259
Squish 'Em Self-Publish 259
Star Fire XYPE 260
Stell-A-Sketch / Okie Dokie Retroware CD-ROM RW-4202 260
Stell-A-Sketch / Okie Dokie Retroware Cassette RW-4203 260
StickyNotes Cart Self-Publish 261
Strat-O-Gems Deluxe Self-Publish 261
SWOOPS! Self-Publish 261
Sync Self-Publish 262
Synthcart Self-Publish 262
Testcart Self-Publish 262
Tetris 26 Self-Publish X
This Planet Sucks Self-Publish 264
Thrust XYPE 263
Thrust+ DC Edition XYPE 263
Thrust+ Platinum XYPE 263
Toyshop Trouble Self-Publish 264
Ultra SCSIcide Self-Publish 264
Vault Assault Self-Publish 265
Vault Assault PhillyClassic3 Self-Publish 265
Video Simon Self-Publish 265
Vong Self-Publish 266
Warring Worms Baroque G. BG-001-00 266
Warring Worms: The Worm (Re)Turns Baroque G. 266
Yahtzee Self-Publish 267
Z-Blocks Self-Publish 267
2014 AtariAge Holiday Cart: Stay Frosty 2 AtariAge 268
The 2nd Dimension GoodDealG. 268
2048 2600 GoodDealG. 268
A Slow Year Self-Publish 269
Ature Beoran 269
Balloon Protest GoodDealG. 269
Blinky Goes Up AtariAge 270
Bomb on Pixel City Hozer Video 270
Bomb on Pixel City GoodDealG. 270
The Byte Before Christmas AtariAge 270
Cave In AtariAge 271
CGE Adventures Game Gavel 271
Chase It! GoodDealG. 271
Chetiry AtariAge 272
Desert Bus 2600 C.MachineS. 272
Dungeon AtariAge 273
404 • Homebrew Checklist

Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

Endless Snow Self-Publish 273
Epic Adventure AtariAge 273
Escape It! GoodDealG. 274
Explosive Diarrhea Packrat V.G. 274
Flappy AtariAge 274
Gate Racer 2 AtariAge 275
Goblin Chaser GoodDealG. 275
Guru Meditation Self-Publish 275
Halo 2600 AtariAge 276
Incoming! AtariAge 276
Juno First AtariAge 276
K.O. Cruiser AtariAge 277
Kite Self-Publish 277
The Last Ninja Atari2600.c 277
Lead AtariAge 278
Mean Santa Atari2600.c 278
Miss It! GoodDealG. 278
MMSBC Bitpop 279
MMSBC II Bitpop 279
Monster Ball GoodDealG. 279
Muncher Self-Publish 280
Muncher 2600conn. 280
N.E.R.D.S Atari2600.c 280
Omicron AtariAge 280
Princess Rescue AtariAge 281
Road Duel GoodDealG. 281
Road Warriors Lost Classics 281
Seaweed Assault AtariAge 282
Seaweed Assault Self-Publish 282
The Shaman GoodDealG. 282
Shield Shifter GoodDealG. 282
Space Raid CollVisionG. 283
Space Rocks AtariAge 283
Star Castle AtariAge 283
Star Castle Self-Publish 283
Strangeland AtariAge 284
Sunset Drive GoodDealG. 284
Three.s AtariAge 285
Titan Axe AtariAge 285
Zippy the Porcupine AtariAge 285
 Homebrew Checklist • 405

Title Company Label Model R Pg. C I B

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