Attack of the Timelord!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1982

The player has just attracted the attention of Spyrus the Deathless, the Timelord of Chaos, and his only defense is his Time Machine's laser cannon. The Timelord will now send his fleet of Time Ships to destroy the player. In this space shooter the player controls the Time Machine horizontally with the directional stick and shoots its laser with the action button. The Timelord's Time Ships have four kinds of weapons to assault the player, and they will be introduced in the game's first four levels. In the first level, the Time Ships will shoot missiles, which travel in straight lines toward the bottom of the screen. In the second level, the fleet will also use antimatter mines, which will follow the player's Time Machine movements. In the third level, the fleet will also use annihilators, weapons that will go straight to the bottom of the screen, and then try to hit the player from the sides. In the fourth level, the Timelord will also send Nucleonic Time killers, robot-piloted destroyers which can anticipate human actions. The game has 256 stages of progressively increasing difficulty, with faster and better armed enemies. Each level is beaten after all Time Ships are destroyed. The player scores 2 points for each missile destroyed, 4 points for each antimatter mine, 5 points for each Time Ship, 8 points for each annihilator and 16 points for each Time killer destroyed. The Timelord appears at the start of each level, but his transmission can be jammed by starting the game pressing 0 (zero). This way he'll not reappear each time the player destroys a fleet of his Time Ships.

Backgammon

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1982

Backgammon is a translation of the board game to the Odyssey². The object of the game is to move all checkers off the board. The first player to do so wins. For technical reasons the board is drawn with parallel lines instead of triangles. Points are scored in the following way: a straight win is awarded with 1 point. A "gammon" is awarded with 2 points and a "backgammon" with 2 points. Players can challenge the opponent for doubling and redoubling the amount of points won. The game can be played using the electronic dice in game or using hand dice.

Blobbers

Philips Videopac+ - 1983

In Blobbers the player controls a mobile laser unit trying to defend itself from the Blobbers, fearsome, giant, amoeba-like creatures that will devour anything they encounter. The mobile laser unit moves grounded to the sides of the screen area. The Blobbers will also move along the same sides, and as the laser gun can only shoot straight forward, the mobile laser unit has to be in the opposite side of the screen to hit the Blobbers. A Blobber borns as a harmless small yellow spot, growing to a bigger and purple mass, to a bigger and white one until it reaches its red adult form. Only when it is red it can do harm to the mobile laser unit, if they are of any other color, they will only stick to the mobile laser unit until it moves and releases itself from the Blobber. As the time passes, an adult Blobber will multiply, releasing a new small yellow spot which will eventually grow into another adult Blobber. When Blobbers are hit, they are reduced to the immediate previous stage of development (from red to white, then purple, then yellow, then deceased). In the middle of the screen, moving blocks called Magic Transporters move up and down randomly. They are called Magic Transporters because they can be used to transport the mobile laser unit from one side of the screen to the other, if the mobile laser unit moves onto one of them while they touch the top or bottom of the screen. The Blobbers will also be transported by them. Also, they are impenetrable by the laser gun, meaning the player will only be able to hit one Blobber when there are no Magic Transporters in the laser's way. The Blobbers will become faster every 90 seconds until finally reaching the mobile laser unit's speed. The player has only one life and no continues.

Catch the Ball / Noughts and Crosses

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1978

Two titles are available in this cart: Catch the Ball puts one or two players in the role of a circus clown who has to catch a while ball which comes rolling down a maze of obstacles. The clown has to try to follow the ball as it falls its unpredictable path. A time limit of three "game minutes" is counted down and the player with more balls caught by the end of the time wins. The joystick is used to move the clown left or right and the "action" button accelerates his movements. There are 6 possible variations, with the players taking turns after each ball caught, taking turns after each miss or in a single player mode, with the time limit on or off for each mode. Noughts and Crosses is also known as tic-tac-toe. Players move a "+" cursor over the 9 square matrix and place either blue noughts or red squares. The first to get three symbols in a straight line wins. If all six symbols have been placed and there's no winner, they can be removed by placing the cursor over and pressing the action button and then be replaced.

Chess Master

Microsoft MSX - Released - 1985

Chinese Logic

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1980

In Chinese Logic the player has to move a sequence of numbers (9 to 0) from the point A of a pattern of lines to point D (or B in the variations). The numbers must be placed in point D in the same descending order. There are two other points to which the numbers can be moved, B and C. If one or more numbers are parked in one of the points, the player can only additionally move to that point numbers which are lower than the last one already parked. The numbers can be moved one by one only and to do so the player has to type the letter of origin and then type the destiny letter. Moves can be undone by pressing the "clear" key. The computer keeps track of the time elapsed and the number of moves made by the player, also showing the minimum amount of moves to solve the puzzle. There are 9 other possible variations, with the difference of having the way to point D blocked and different amounts of numbers to move. Those variations can be selected by pressing "reset" and the desired number, as follows: one figure - minimum number of moves: 1 two figures - minimum number of moves: 3 three figures - minimum number of moves: 7 four figures - minimum number of moves: 15 five figures - minimum number of moves: 31 six figures - minimum number of moves: 63 seven figures - minimum number of moves: 127 eight figures - minimum number of moves: 255 nine figures - minimum number of moves: 511

Clay Pigeon

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - January 1, 1982

As the name implies, Clay Pigeon! is a clay pigeon shooting game. At the left corner, a trap launches targets toward the shooter. The player controls the shooter which stands in the right corner of the screen. In order to proceed to the next level, the player has to hit at least eight of the ten plates thrown. While he's shooting, some ducks will appear flying over his head. They'll drop "bombs" over him, and if he doesn't avoid them, he'll be stunned for some time. If he fails to shoot the minimum plates necessary, an eagle will appear and attack him. He needs to shoot the eagle twice to avoid its attack. If he fails, the game is over. The shooter has two shots per row; after those two shots, he has to reload the gun, by putting it down. He can be moved left and right, but if he exceeds the left mark, he'll fall to the ground, being subject to lose plates. The player earns five points per each plate, ten points per each duck and 100 points per eagle (50 per shot).

Comando Noturno

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1982

Comando Noturno! (Night Commando!) is a combat flight simulator. The player controls a fighter plane on a night mission, and his task is to take off, destroy the target, avoid enemy attack and return to base. The plane is controlled both with the joystick and the keyboard. With the joystick, the player controls the plane's direction (up, down, left or right) and weapon (with the action button). With the keyboard, he controls the several plane's instruments. The game is seen from the plane's cockpit in a first person perspective. There's a main display, which will show (by player's request via keyboard) the plane's speed (M key), height (H), fuel (F), distance to target (T), distance to base (B), ammunition amount (W), weapon selected and friend/foe status. Above the main display, four lights can be seen, showing which weapon is selected: cannon (C), bomb (B), ground missile (G) and air missile (A). To the right, a direction and level indicator can be seen, and below it an infrared sensor. After taking off, the player must raise the landing gear (U) before the plane exceeds Mach 0.5 speed, or else the plane will be destroyed. Once in the air, after locating a target the player must identify (I) if it is a friendly or enemy aircraft. Shooting friendly airplanes or vehicles will terminate the mission. After destroying the targets, the player must land the plane. To do so, he needs to be at low speed, with the landing gear down and aligned to the ground. After touching the ground, the plane must hit the end of the runway as slow as possible. Failing to achieve these conditions will make the plane crash. The plane will be also destroyed if it gets hit by an enemy, hits the ground, or runs out of fuel.

Conquest of the World

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1981

CONQUEST OF THE WORLD represents a significant departure from traditional game design. The components have been designed to provide you with a very realistic model of the real world to both electronically and graphically simulate strategic and tactical confrontation between world powers. Electronic land, sea and air forces can be deployed against each other in any combination and are totally dependent on supplies which are represented by energy units. The game board is a true-to-life model of the relationships between countries of the real world in the early 1980's. Forty-three countries have been divided into eleven "politectonic" or geo-political zones. Each country has been weighted with a power base figure that reflects its capability to persuade other nations to conform to its wishes - by diplomatic coercion or by direct military force. These figures are based on the formula created by Ray S. Cline, formerly Deputy Director of Intelligence for the C.I.A. Pp = (C+E+M)x(S+W) PERCEIVED POWER = (Critical Mass (Population + Territory) + Economic Capability + Military Capability) x (Strategic Purpose + National Will). Future shifts in world power and change in governments will - of course - make changes in these numeric weightings appropriate. Players can feel free to sustain realism by changing the numbers assigned to each country as life goes on. If you play other war games such as those published by Avalon Hill and SPI, you will find that the computer cartridge interfaces very effectively with them. The onscreen combats will generate much more excitement and realism than the usual dice provided to resolve conflicts. Onscreen energy units can be programmed into the computer to reflect the relative strength between different forces. The differential between the onscreen energy units at the end of each battle can also be applied to the combat results tables that come with these games. Conquest of the World is the first game of its kind, so be ready for many unusual features. Take the rules one step at a time and you will find it to be a fascinating game of endless challenge - which, once learned, is not at all difficult to explain to others. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME is to lead your Homeland to world domination through negotiations, conquests and alliances. Each successful conquest and alliance you make will strengthen your country's power base. The country with the strongest power base at the end of the game is the winner.

Depth Charge / Marksman

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1979

Two titles are available in this cart: Depth Charge is a single-player BattleShip variant. The player controls a cannon in a top-down view trying to destroy 7 submarines hidden in the area of water shown on screen. The area is a 8x8 grid, and the player controls a white cross-hair over it with the joystick. Pressing the action button will shoot the cannon. If a submarine is hidden in that particular area, a blue square will appear, marking it. If there are no submarines, the game will warn the player with a sound and that area will continue unmarked. There are submarines of 4 different sizes, with there being 3 with one section each, 2 with 2 sections each, 1 with 3 sections and 1 with 4 sections. The game keeps track of the number of shots tried by the player, and the total is shown at the end of the game, when all submarines are destroyed. Marksman is a shooting gallery game. The player can choose between 2 game durations: 1 minute or 3 minutes. The game is played in a first person perspective, with the player seeing the rifle and the targets in front of it. A line of targets will scroll from right to left, bouncing up and down in front of the rifle and the player has to aim at them and shoot. There are 9 different targets which grant the player scores from 1 to 9 points each. When the player reaches 100 points, the targets start to move faster. The game ends when the time reaches 0:00 or when the player runs out of shots (starting with 24).

Dynasty!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1979

DYNASTY! The origins of Dynasty predates chess by more than a thousand years. This venerable ancestor is the ancient Chinese strategy game of Go, which was first played by the nobility. Dynasty is a computerized descendant of this legendary war game which was actually a required course in the Japanese military academy as late as 1600. Dynasty is deceptively easy to learn, but its infinite variations make it profoundly addictive. Play against the computer or another player. A digital timing handicapping system gives a newcomer a good chance to upset an experienced player.

Electronic Table Football

Philips Videopac+ - Released - 1980

Known in some places as foosball or table football, this is a game loosely based on Soccer or Football. Each row of players is a single control. See if you can get it in the goal and score!

English Holidays

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - 1986

Freedom Fighters!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1982

As a pilot of the Earth Federation, the player has to rescue prisoners in orbiting confinement crystals, while avoiding the Empire's Pulsar warships attacks. The starship is controlled using both joysticks. The left hand joystick controls the conventional space drive system. While in this drive system, the ship will move only to the limits of that specific screen. The right hand joystick controls the hyperspace drive system. When using this drive system, the ship will travel at a much higher speed, and it will side-scroll to the direction given. Flying toward the top or bottom of the screen will still make the ship travel to the position it is positioned toward. The action button in both joysticks controls the ship's laser cannon. The Empire's Pulsar warships attack releasing drone mines. Any contact with either the warships or the drone mines will disintegrate the player's ship. There are two possible variations to this game. In the attack mode, the laser cannon is active and the player score points as he destroys the enemy ships (5 points) or mines (1) and as he rescues the prisoners (20). In the evasion mode, the laser cannon is inactive, and the longer the player evades the Pulsar warships, the higher the score. Extra points (20) are given for each prisoner rescued. The game can be played by one or two players. In two players mode, player two acts as a copilot, controlling the ship's hyperspace drive and cannon.

Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - January 1, 1982

THE GREAT WALL STREET FORTUNE HUNT is an authentic computerized model of the real investment world. The opportunities for investment in the game represent the thousands of alternatives available on the various exchanges. You'll find conservative blue chips like IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) and high risk high flyers like WOW (Wildcat Oil Western). You'll find the fast food industry represented by McDonald's Corporation and high technology manufacturers represented by Texas Instruments. Each of the companies available for investment not only represents itself but other similar companies as well. Therefore the Standard Oil Company (Indiana) also represents Shell, Mobil, Arco and the other large petroleum companies. Each of the investments has a different sensitivity to the news flashes which come across the TV screen. For example - some investments will go up at a time of world crisis and others will go down. The inherent sensitivity of each investment to the various categories of news is graphically displayed on the gameboard. Your ultimate objective is to anticipate investment fluctuations swiftly enough to take full advantage of the many buying and selling opportunities which will occur in a different way every time you play. The rules of The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt are designed to replicate real life as closely as possible. You can play it at four levels. It is highly recommended that you feel thoroughly comfortable at one level before incorporating the next level as part of the game. Have fun! Make money!!!

Gunfighter

Philips Videopac+ - Released - 1979

In an authentic acre of the old west, two gunslingers (human or android) duel for their lives. Each one has six bullets in his gun, and trees are placed all around. Each player has to hit his opponent ten times in order to win. At each hit, both players get their guns reloaded. They can also reload their guns anytime by taking the hidden bullets in the tree that matches their outfit. The bullets will ricochet in the trees and the top and bottom edges of the screen, thus the players can hit themselves with their own bullets, scoring a hit to the opponent. It can also be used as a strategy to hit the opponent in a non direct trajectory.

Helicopter Rescue

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1983

Games back in the early 1980s often had descriptive titles. Helicopter Rescue is one of them: you have to use an helicopter to rescue stranded pilots in the desert and in the sea. The player controls the helicopter with the joystick, moving up to fly up and down to land. Once the helicopter is in the air, the player can choose to go left or right. Going left takes the player to a desert scenario, where the game field is in 2.5D. Moving the joystick up flies the helicopter ahead, moving it down lands the helicopter to pick up pilots. In the desert, tanks will try to shoot the helicopter down and capture the pilots before the player can rescue them. To shoot them, the helicopter must be moving vertically. Flying to the right of the main screen takes the player to a sea scenario, where the same rules as the desert apply, but as expected, instead of tanks the enemies here are ships. The helicopter has a fuel meter which, when depleted, will make the helicopter crash. The helicopter gets refueled when the player lands on the home base and returns rescued pilots. Each round has the player trying to rescue 8 pilots. The round ends when all 8 pilots are either rescued or killed.

Keyboard Creations!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1981

KEYBOARD CREATIONS! It turns your words into a light show that travels across your TV screen. There's a myriad of applications! You can make professional looking titles for your videotape recordings. (a special "date line" even includes a computerized digital clock that displays the actual time the recording was made.) It turns your TV set into a message center that can't be missed! KEYBOARD CREATIONS televises birthday, anniversary and holiday greetings at parties - and telecasts your own commercial messages for business! This immensely versatile cartridge even plays word games to make spelling practice fun for kids and to present totally unique challenges at the adult level. Full sync-sound action! Digital clock! Background color control!

Killer Bees

Philips Videopac+ - Released - 1983

The Beebots from the insect civilization of BEM are invading the Earth, protected by swarms of Killer Bees, and it's up to a swarm of white bees to stop them. The player control the white bees swarm, trying to kill the Beebots by flying over them and stinging them. The longer the swarm flies over a Beebot, the slower it moves, until it finally stops and dies. When a Beebot dies, a grave marker will be raised in its place, making the movement of the remaining Beebots more difficult. The red Beebots move clockwise, the blue ones move counterclockwise. The Beebots are protected by swarms of Killer Bees. If a swarm of Killer Bees attacks the player's swarm, it will lose its bees gradually, until none are left and the game is over. The longer the Killer Bees stay on screen, the stronger they get. They'll change their colors gradually, from green (the less harmful) to blue and then finally to red (the most dangerous). The only defense the player has against the Killer Bees is the bug-zapping RoSHa Ray, released by pressing the action button. It is recharged each time a Beebot is killed, and it follows the white bees swarm vertical movement. Once all Beebots are killed, the round ends, and a new one starts with a new level of difficulty. There are 26 difficulty levels. The player scores one point per sting, ten points per zapped swarm and 100 points per Beebot killed. At the end of each round, a bonus is also given, consisting in ten points per each survivor bee, multiplied by the number of the round.

Killer Bees!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1983

The Beebots from the insect civilization of BEM are invading the Earth, protected by swarms of Killer Bees, and it's up to a swarm of white bees to stop them. The player control the white bees swarm, trying to kill the Beebots by flying over them and stinging them. The longer the swarm flies over a Beebot, the slower it moves, until it finally stops and dies. When a Beebot dies, a grave marker will be raised in its place, making the movement of the remaining Beebots more difficult. The red Beebots move clockwise, the blue ones move counterclockwise. The Beebots are protected by swarms of Killer Bees. If a swarm of Killer Bees attacks the player's swarm, it will lose its bees gradually, until none are left and the game is over. The longer the Killer Bees stay on screen, the stronger they get. They'll change their colors gradually, from green (the less harmful) to blue and then finally to red (the most dangerous). The only defense the player has against the Killer Bees is the bug-zapping RoSHa Ray, released by pressing the action button. It is recharged each time a Beebot is killed, and it follows the white bees swarm vertical movement. Once all Beebots are killed, the round ends, and a new one starts with a new level of difficulty. There are 26 difficulty levels. The player scores one point per sting, ten points per zapped swarm and 100 points per Beebot killed. At the end of each round, a bonus is also given, consisting in ten points per each survivor bee, multiplied by the number of the round.

Kinder im Verkehr 1

Philips Videopac+ - 1981

Control a kid and help him cross the street by looking left then right then left again.

Labyrinth / Supermind

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1982

Two titles are available in this cart: A Labyrinth Game is exactly what the title defines. The player has to move a pawn from the left side of a labyrinth to the exit on the right side. Each match consists in a series of 10 and the labyrinth always changes when starting a new game. The pawn is controlled with the joystick and the "action" makes it move faster. There are 16 possible variations, including stationary and moving patterns and exits, for one player, two players or one player against the computer (a "Cat and Mouse" game where the computer plays a pawn which tries to catch the player's pawn) Supermind is a code breaking game. Four question marks will be displayed, along with the number of symbols left to be entered (4 at the start). The player enters four symbols of choice and if they're correct but misplaced, a red number will appear in the right of the screen (with the number of correct symbols guessed). If the symbol is correct and placed in the right order, it will be displayed in white. The computer keeps track of the number of tries taken and the game ends when all symbols were discovered and placed in the right order.

Loony Balloon

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1982

In Loony Balloon, the player controls a kid carrying a swaying balloon crossing a playground. To get out of the playground, he must reduce the balloon's sway, or it will burst when he crosses the exit. To do so, he must earn 50 points by playing in the various amusements of the playground. There are four kinds of amusements: a rocking horse, a slide, a roundabout and trees. The boy will also find threats to his balloon along the way, like birds that will cross the screen from left to right, trying to burst it, and sudden gusts of wind, which will take the balloon out from the boy's grasp if he stands still for too long. The boy can release the balloon at any time and grab it again by its string (by pressing the action button). If the balloon hits a wall, it will burst and the game is over. The longer the game is played, the quicker the balloon rises if released. The player scores: 2 points by catching the balloon; 5 points by playing at a tree; 7 points by playing at the rocking horse; 8 points by evading a bird; 10 points by playing at the slide; 12 points by playing at the roundabout; 25 points by leaving the playground. There are 10 difficulty levels. From levels 0 to 4, the playground layout is fixed. From levels 5 to 9, the walls in the playground will appear, disappear and change places.

Mathematician / Echo

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1978

Math-A-Magic! is an "electronic arithmetic teacher". The player can chose up to three variations of mathematical games. In the first variation, the player will have to solve regular math problems. He first chooses the kind of operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division), next the skill level (1-3) and then is presented with the problems. He must type in the answers, and the computer will register the time elapsed and the number of current problems solved. If the player fails twice to solve a problem, the game is over. The second variation displays algebraic problems. The player selects the desired skill level (1-3) and has to enter the missing variable to each problem, and the rules are the same to the first variation. The third variation is a addition or multiplication table game. The player chooses addition or multiplication, then the number he wishes to practice. Echo! is a basic Simon game (as invented by Ralph H. Baer). Four colored numbers (red, blue, green, and yellow) will appear on the screen. One of them will light up, and a tone will be played. Then it is the player's turn: he has to match the lit up number. Then, the first number will be light up followed by a second one. The player has to match the sequence and it will keep increasing indefinitely. If the player fails three times to match a sequence, the game is over.

Morse

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1982

Morse teaches the code to players. There are 4 types of games which can be selected in a menu screen: The first type is a Morse code learning game. The player selects the game speed (4 to 30 words per minute) and level (1 to all 36 characters available). The computer will play the Morse signal for the first symbol (Q) and the player has to type in the symbol. After learning two signals, the game starts properly by introducing a row of trees in the top of the screen. An arrow is also displayed near the 4th tree from the left and a man on the right side. For each 10 correctly responded symbols the man takes down one tree. When he reaches the arrow, a new symbol is introduced and the process starts over again. The sequence of symbols is: Q, 7, Z, G, 0, 9, 8, O, 1, J, P, W, L, R, A, M, 6, B, X, D, Y, C, K, N, 2, 3, F, U, 4, 5, V, H, S, I, T and E. The second type lets the player type individual symbols and listen to their respective codes. The third type is similar to the second one, but in this one the player types a sequence of symbols and then press "enter" to ask the computer to play the respective code. In the fourth type the player uses the "action" button of the joystick to enter codes into and the computer plays them and shows the respective symbol entered.

Musician

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1981

Neutron Star

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1983

In Neutron Star the player controls a spaceship trying to defend a system of satellites from being hit by planet fragments cast by an explosion. The boulders must be collected by placing them in transport platform in front of the ship. Once the boulder is coupled, the player must move the ship toward a neutron star in the left edge of the screen. The neutron star exerts a magnetic force which will draw the ship into it. The ship must be moved carefully as it displays momentum. If the ship is drawn by the neutron star, it will be destroyed. Once close enough, the boulder can be released (by pressing the action button) and it will be drawn into the neutron star. The boulders can also be destroyed with rockets launched by the ship, but they are only available while the ship is not carrying any boulders. As the game progresses, more boulders will appear at the same time. The color of the boulders change as they increase in number: one boulder will be red, 2 will be yellow, 3 will be green, 4 will be blue and 5 will be purple. There are 16 satellites to be protected. If a boulder hits one of them, it will be destroyed. When 12 or more of them are destroyed, the magnetic power of the neutron star increases. The game is over when only 2 satellites are left. The game has 4 skill levels. Levels 1 and 2 have respectively slow and fast boulders. Levels 3 and 4 have respectively slow and fast boulders also, but the satellites will be destroyed for at a time.

Nightmare

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1983

In Nightmare the player controls a visitor to a haunted mansion. The goal is to escape from it through a constantly moving hatch in the attic. His job will be made harder by the ghosts who are still lingering around the house. The player has to climb three floors to reach the attic, and there is one ghost for each floor. The ghosts become invisible as they cross the house's walls. While invisible they are harmless, so they have to make themselves visible to catch the visitor. They'll become invisible again if they cross the house walls again. If they catch the visitor, he'll lose one of his lives. But once the visitor has past the ghost's floor, the ghost will be paralyzed and can be caught by the visitor. Besides the ghosts, other dangers threaten the visitor. A thunderstorm is breaking out and flashes of lightning hit the mansion, creating lightning balls which will roll through the floor the visitor is in. The flashes will also make the invisible ghosts visible while the lightnings strike. Besides, the visitor can't be standing still for too long or a trap door will open and he'll fall through it, losing a life. To make things even more difficult, there will be also a randomly placed obstacle blocking the visitor's way. The player starts with three lives and gains one each time he escapes the mansion. As the player grows on points from reaching the attic or capturing the ghosts, the game gets more difficult. The number of obstacles increase and the exit becomes invisible unless the player captures a ghost. In higher difficulty levels catching a ghost won't be enough, as the player will have to also get the house's ground plan, which appears on a chest after he captures a ghost. The game can be played by 2 players, one of them controlling the ghosts in the house.

Norseman

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1983

In Norseman the player controls a Viking warrior trying to defend the magic Golden Viking Helmet. The screen shows a courtyard divided in hexagons. The player has to protect the Golden Viking Helmet, which is at the bottom of the screen, from the attack of five different kinds of enemies. Each wave of enemies is composed of 5 of them. The enemies will appear in the top of the screen and will move toward the bottom of the screen; they can only move down (or diagonally down), and once they reach the bottom or the side of the screen they will reappear on the top or the opposite side. The Viking can move in all six directions, and will also reappear on the opposite side whenever he reaches the border. In order to attack, the Viking has to move inside the hexagon the enemy is in before the enemy moves against him first. As the enemies can only move downwards, approaching them from the 3 upper sides is advised. When an enemy dies, the corpse remains in the hexagon, making it impossible to move through it. Well placed corpses can function as a trap for other enemies, as they can only move downwards. The player can also get trapped by surrounding corpses. Once all 5 enemies are dead, a new wave of enemies comes. Each new wave has different enemies, in the following order: giants, octopuses, dragons, skeletons and bats. Once all waves are beaten, the game restarts from the first wave in a greater difficulty, while retaining the player's score. If the player dies or the Golden Viking Helmet is stolen, the game is over. The game has 10 variations: Game 0: 1 helmet, monsters moving from top to bottom only. Game 1: 2 helmets, monsters moving from top to bottom only. Game 2: 3 helmets, monsters moving from top to bottom only. Game 3: Same as game 0, but this time the Viking warrior can only attack a monster when it appears in flashing, bright red. Game 4: As game 1, but this time the Viking warrior can only attack a monster when it appears in flashing, bright red. Game 5: As game 2, but this time the Viking warrior can only attack a monster when it appears in flashing, bright red. Game 6: 1 helmet, monsters will come from all directions: two monsters moving from top to bottom, and one each from left to right, from right to left and from the bottom to the top. Monsters can stumble onto one single dead colleague and thus commit suicide. Game 7: Same as game 6, but with 2 helmets. Game 8: As game 6, but with 3 helmets. Game 9: This variety combines all handicaps of the previous nine varieties: 3 helmets, monsters coming from all directs and the flashing red monsters.

P.T. Barnum's Acrobats

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1982

P.T. BARNUM'S ACROBATS! (1 or 2 players at a time) SINGLE PLAYER VERSIONS Press 0 on the numeric section of the keyboard. You are under the Big Top at the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus! One of the acrobats is standing on the platform at the left side of the screen. His partner is on the teeter board at the center of the screen. Three rows of balloons are dancing back and forth high above their heads. Use the joystick of the right hand control to move the teeter board from side to side. Use the action button to make the acrobat jump from the platform. If he lands on the high end of the teeter board, the other acrobat will fly into the air. (The closer the first acrobat lands to the high end of the teeter board, the higher the second acrobat jumps. If he does not jump high enough to reach the first row of balloons, he will crash.) If the flying acrobat hits a balloon it will pop and give him a bouncing chance to pop some others. Keep moving the teeter board so he lands on the high end when he finally comes down. A complete game is a series of ten jumps. The number of jumps left in the game is displayed at the lower center of the screen. Scoring: BALLOONS IN BOTTOM ROW - 2 POINTS BALLOONS IN MIDDLE ROW - 4 POINTS BALLOONS IN TOP ROW - 6 POINTS Your score is displayed at the lower right corner of the screen. Bonus scoring: ALL BALLOONS IN BOTTOM ROW - 15 POINTS ALL BALLOONS IN MIDDLE ROW - 20 POINTS ALL BALLOONS IN TOP ROW - 25 POINTS When all of the balloons in a row have been popped, a full row of new balloons will appear automatically. If you score over 999 (Nothing is impossible!), the counter at the lower right of the screen will start again at 000. A line directly over it will indicate you are working on your second thousand points! To play again, press any key except SPACE or RESET! Pressing SPACE will display the best score in a series of games at the lower left corner of the screen. Pressing RESET will permit entry of game variations. SINGLE PLAYER GAME VARIATIONS Stationary shield under moving balloons. Press 3. A shield will appear below the bottom row of balloons at the center of the screen. If an acrobat hits it he will thud to earth faster than he can holler for HELLLLLLPPPPPP! Random shield with moving balloons. Press 6. A shield will appear and disappear at random times and random positions below the balloons. Stationary balloons. Press 9. Stationary balloons with a stationary shield. Press C. Stationary balloons with a random shield. Press F. TWO PLAYER GAMES AND VARIATIONS In the first version, players alternate turns every time an acrobat misses the high end of the teeter board. The scoring indicators signal which of the hand controls is activated. If the right scoring indicator is lighted, the right hand control is activated and vice versa. Moving balloons - no shield. Press 1. Moving balloons with a stationary shield. Press 4. Moving balloons with a random shield. Press 7. Stationary balloons - no shield. Press A. Stationary balloons with a stationary shield. Press D. Stationary balloons with a random shield. Press G. In the second version, players take turns after each jump. Moving balloons - no shield. Press 2. Moving balloons with stationary shield. Press 5. Moving balloons with random shield. Press 8. Stationary balloons - no shield. Press B. Stationary balloons with stationary shield. Press E. Stationary balloons with random shield. Press H. Press SPACE after a game is over to recall the high score in a series. Press any key except SPACE or RESET to play another game of the same variation again. To play a different game variation, press RESET and then the appropriate key. SINGLE PLAYER GAME VARIATIONS Press 0: Moving balloons - no shield Press 3: Stationary shield - moving balloons Press 6: Random shield - moving balloons Press 9: Stationary balloons Press C: Stationary balloons - stationary shield Press F: Stationary balloons - random shield TWO PLAYER GAMES AND VARIATIONS Version I - Players alternate turns every time an acrobat misses the high end of the teeter board. Press 1: Moving balloons - no shield Press 4: Moving balloons - stationary shield Press 7: Moving balloons - random shield Press A: Stationary balloons - no shield Press D: Stationary balloons - stationary shield Press G: Stationary balloons - random shield Version 2 - Players take turns after each jump. Press 2: Moving balloons - no shield Press 5: Moving balloons - stationary shield Press 8: Moving balloons - random shield Press B: Stationary balloons - no shield Press E: Stationary balloons - stationary shield Press H: Stationary balloons - random shield

Pick Axe Pete!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1982

Pick Axe Pete is in the Misty Mountain Mine, trying to strike it rich. The player controls Pick Axe Pete in a platformed mine. Three doors leading to deeper parts of the mine are displayed, and from them, gold bearing rocks will burst in random intervals. Pete must strike the rocks with his pick, which will break every once in a while. When it happens, Pete must avoid the falling rocks, by jumping over or crawling under them. If two rocks collide, they will uncover a new pick for Pete, which will remain onscreen for a limited amount of time. Also, keys to the other levels of the mine will appear flying occasionally. If Pete catches one of them, he'll be able to unlock one of the doors, going to a deeper level. If he tries to get past through a door without a key, he'll get stuck and will be vulnerable. If a rock hits Pete, the game is over. Pete earns 1 point each rock evaded, 3 points for each piece of gold struck with a pick, 5 points for getting a new pick, 10 points for getting a key and 20 points for going through a door with a key.

Race / Spin-Out / Cryptogram

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1978

Three games are available in this compilation: Speedway! (selected by pressing "1") is a vertical scrolling racing game against the clock. The player controls the car with the joystick, pushing up to accelerate it (the longer, the faster), left and right to control direction and down to break. The faster the car goes, the higher the score. Collisions halt the score, but not the clock. The player has two minutes to run, until the race ends. There are two possible variations: (1) qualifying time trials and (2) the main event (opponent cars are twice faster). Spin-Out! (selected by pressing "2" for a three laps event or "3" for a 15 laps event) is a top-down circuit racing game. Two players race against each other for the amount of tracks selected. Four skill levels are available: clear track/slow speed, clear track/fast speed, barrier track/slow speed and barrier track/fast speed. The car is controlled with the directional stick, and the action button doubles the car speed in straightaways. If the car collides against the wall or barriers, it can break or spin out, losing time. If two cars collide, one of them will spin out. Crypto-Logic! (selected by pressing "4") is a puzzle game. The object is to decipher a scrambled word entered by another player. The word can have up to 14 letters. After entering the word or message, the first player presses the "Enter" key to scramble it. The other player has to guess the original word by typing the letters in the line below it. Letters placed in the right order will stay, wrong placed letters will be displayed for a short period of time and disappear. When the cryptogram is solved, the number of mistakes is displayed on screen.

Secret of the Pharaohs

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1981

Secret of the Pharaohs is a puzzle game for two players. Each player has to find the correct position of stones in the Pharaoh's pyramids. The screen is horizontally divided in the half, and the pyramids have four blocks in the lower layer (or higher for the top player), three in the middle and one at the top (or bottom for the top player). Each block has two possible positions for placing the stones, and after the players place them, a number will appear above (for the up player) or below (for the down player), showing how many of them are correctly placed. Players must then relocate the stones until all of them are placed correctly. When it is done, the higher (or lower) layer of blocks will be liberated. The player who first places all the stones correctly in all the layers wins.

SID the Spellbinder

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - December 1, 1982

Press 0 on the numeric section of the keyboard. The Voice will ask you to "SELECT SKILL." Choose 1 or 2. Press 1 for the first skill level. Press 2 for the second skill level. (If you don't press either, the computer will automatically deliver skill level 2 after about 15 seconds.) The Voice will immediately announce: "MONSTER ATTACK! OPEN FIRE!" Sure enough! Giant Sid the Spellbinder snakes across the screen. Your only defense is a missile launcher at the bottom of the screen. Use the joystick of either hand control to move your missile launcher to the right or left. Press the action button to fire a missile. Your ammunition supply is indicated by the number at the lower right hand corner of the screen. You get thirty missiles at skill level 1 and twenty missiles at skill level 2. If you do not completely destroy Sid the Spellbinder before it reaches the opening at the lower left and right sides of the screen, it will eat your reserve missile supply starting with the second turn. Sid the Spellbinder consumes five missiles for each of its segments that make it to the opening. Your score appears at the lower left hand corner of the screen. Every segment you hit is worth progressively more points. The first segment you hit is worth 1 point. The second is worth 2 points. The third is worth 3 points - and so on up through ten. If your score is less than 200, Sid the Spellbinder will squeeze its remaining segments together when it goes off the screen. When your score goes over 200, the game gets harder. The gaps will remain open and Sid the Spellbinder moves faster and faster. The spelling fun starts when you hit all ten segments of Sid the Spellbinder - or when it reaches the bottom of the screen. - eats some of your missiles - but leaves you with some in reserve. The Voice will ask you to spell a word. Type in the letters on the alphabet section of the keyboard. If you make a mistake in typing, press CLEAR. When you think you have typed in the correct spelling, press ENTER. You get 10 missiles for every word spelled correctly at skill level 1. You get 5 missiles for every word spelled correctly at skill level 2. You will get a chance to spells three words in each round of the game. If you don't spell a word correctly the first time, the computer will ask you to try again. If you don't spell the word correctly on the second try, the computer will spell it for you so you'll know how to spell it next time. After each series of three words, Sid the Spellbinder will attack and try to eat your missiles. The game ends when you have no missiles left. To start a new game, press RESET and then press 1 (for skill level 1) or press 2 (for skill level 2).

The Mousing Cat

Philips Videopac+ - January 1, 1982

The Mousing Cat is another game about the eternal conflict between felines and rodents. The game consists in a series of six encounters in which the players alternate the roles of cat and mouse (three times each). The winner is the player with most points at the end of the series. The only player to score is the mouse. He does so by eating the cheese pieces scattered through the room. To eat, the player controlling the mouse has to press and hold the "action" button. The longer the button stay pressed, the more it eats. If the mouse eats for a certain amount of time, it will grow bigger than the cat and will be immune for a short period of time. The cat tries to catch the mouse by building a trap around it. To do so, the player controlling the cat has to move the cat around the mouse while pressing the "action" button. The cat has a limited amount of trap parts to use and the used ones can be picked up again by being walked over. The game has 7 skill levels (with less trap parts for the mouse and both cat and mouse moving faster the higher the level is) and 8 possible variations (with stationary and moving cheese and obstacles for the mouse).

Trans American Rally

Philips Videopac+ - Released - January 1, 1983

In Trans American Rally the object is to cover as large a distance as possible with the available fuel. As the name implies, the rally crosses the U.S.A., from the west coast to the east coast. The game has three stages: From Los Angeles to Denver, in straight highways through desert country. From Denver to Chicago, driving during the night, with lots of bends. From Chicago to New York, driving in daytime over ice covered roads. On the road, green cars are oncoming ones and blue cars are going ones. Any collision makes the player lose fuel. The car gets refueled in the stops at Denver, Chicago and New York; when the player reaches New York, the game starts over at a higher difficulty level, with heavier traffic and increased speeds. The game is over when the player runs out of fuel. The game is played using the action button to accelerate, the directional stick to steer right and left and holding back to brake.

Turtles

Philips Videopac+ - Released - 1983

Turtles puts you into the role of the maternalistic turtle who tries to save the kidturtles from a bunch of bad bugs (or, in some versions, bad cars). It takes place in a Pacman-esque labyrinth, with turtle boxes in the centre and corners of the screen. Run into a box to release the turtle kid inside. Opening a box makes a little house show up, and you must go with the kidturtle to the house before you can release the next one. All the while, you must avoid the bugs/cars running around the maze. If they get too close, you can release a mine which will stun them temporarily. When you run out of mines, you must resupply by passing over a star in the centre of the screen. Beware, though, because the simpleminded bugs become smarter as time passes; this is symbolised by their changing colours. On later levels, those sneaky beetles can also come out of the boxes supposed to hold kidturtles. Watch out!

Turtles!

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - Released - January 1, 1983

TURTLES! All the action and excitement of the superhit arcade game! The turtles need your help to find their baby turtles and carry them safely home. But you never know when your turtle is going to be bugged by a beetle. And the longer the beetles are on the screen the smarter and more dangerous they get! There are lots of reasons why TURTLES has been one of the most popular arcade games of all - and they're all here! Full sync-sound action with authentic arcade music when played through The Voice of Odyssey2 module. Advanced digital memory for high score in a series of games. For one or more players.

Type & Tell

Magnavox Odyssey 2 - January 1, 1982

Type & Tell! lets the player type in a word or a message and then have the words spoken back to them by utilizing the Odyssey 2's voice module. The instruction manual suggests the following games that can be played: Garble! - Players take turns typing in one letter at a time, The idea is to form sentences by just using the sounds the individual letters make. Sound Waves! - Players type in random letters trying to create sounds that sound like something that could be heard in real life. Super Star! - Players can use the sounds or dialogue the game makes in their own home movie or radio show. War of Words! - This game requires at least two players. Player take turns typing in words until a sentence is created by one of the players adding a period. Players then take turns inserting words into the sentence, while trying to keep it grammatically correct. The first player to extend the sentence exactly to the end of the available typing space is the winner. If a player extends the sentence beyond the end of that available space, they lose.