Bally Astrocade Games - LaunchBox Games Database

280 Zzzap / Dodgem

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1978

The title was named after the US advertising campaign for the Datsun 280Z. Players can drive up to 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) while navigating a tricky road course at night. Players must watch out for treacherous turns, nasty competitors, and the ever-present time limit. It is one of the earliest games, if not the earliest, with authorized branding.

Amazing Maze / Tic-Tac-Toe

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1979

Two mind-boggling challenges! Amazing Maze is a race through a maze between you and the computer or another player. The maze is truly amazing because it changes every time you play. Select easy ones or hard ones to match any skill level. Tic-Tac-Toe is the traditional game with a diabolical twist. You get to play against the computer! 1 or 2 players.

Artillery Duel

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1982

In this two player game each player controls an artillery gun set in a mountain landscape with the goal of destroying the other player. Players take turns firing at each other; on each turn you have a limited amount of time in which the barrel angle and powder level can be set in order to control the direction and distance of the shot. When deciding on your shot, you will need to take the current conditions into account, which includes wind speed/direction and any mountains that may get in your way. Successfully destroying your opponents gun will earn you a point, and the first player to reach the set number of points wins the game. There are multiple skill levels available which set the amount of time you have to make a shot.

Astro Battle 2009

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1979

Astro Battle 2009 (or sometimes just Astro Battle) is a Space Invaders clone published by Bally Manufacturing in 1978 for the Bally Astrocade arcade system. The aim is to defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon and earn as many points as possible. Unlike Space Invaders, Astro Battle 2009 is in color.

Bally BASIC

Bally Astrocade - Released - 1978

Bally BASIC is a programming interface for the Bally Astrocade. The first version of Bally BASIC did NOT include the 300 tape interface to save and load programs; the tape interface had to be purchased separately. This cartridge is often just referred to as BASIC. The second version of the Bally BASIC cartridge is notably set apart from the original because it has a built-in 2000 baud interface that connects to a standard cassette recorder; there are also some additional commands added for the programmer. It's visually different from the original release as well. This cartridge was packaged with some Astrocade consoles (these consoles were designated as Arcade Plus).

Bally Pin

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1979

Bally Pin is a pinball game featuring two different tables. The game is played with two joysticks, with one controlling the two left flippers and the other controlling the two to the right. The game can be played by up to four players who take turns until all player have used up all of their five balls. The aim is simply to get the highest score. The two tables are similar but with slightly different layouts and both feature six bumpers (lit or unlit), drop targets, upper kicker targets and a spinner. The ball is meant to react as a real ball would when struck by a flipper with the speed and angle of it being affected by where on the flipper it is hit.

Biorhythm

Bally Astrocade - Released - July 1, 1981

Enter your birthdate and watch as the computer calculates your physical, emotional and intellectual cycles. The screen displays your highs, lows and critical days. This program can be great fun at parties. Biorhythm can help you develope a new awareness of your moods and personal interaction with the world. 1 or 2 players.

Blackjack / Poker / Acey-Deucey

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1979

Blackjack/Poker/Acey-Deucey is a game compilation, that features 3 card games. Blackjack and Acey-Deucey can be played 1 or more players, while Poker doesn't feature single-player.

Blast Droids

Bally Astrocade - Released - December 1, 1983

Blast Droids has players flying a ship around a horizontal arena, firing at alien vessels while being careful to avoid shots that ricochet off of the walls.

Bowling

Bally Astrocade - Released - December 1, 1985

It's like actually being at the alley. The game has all of the action and sounds of the real thing. Direct your ball with as much hook as you want. Make strikes, spares, but watch out for splits and gutter-balls! Keeps score according to official rules. Try your hand at a perfect game! Can be played alone or by up to 4 players.

Brickyard / Clowns

Bally Astrocade - Released - October 1, 1978

This cartridge offers a pair of games based upon the arcade classics Breakout and Clowns. Each game may be played by up to four players taking alternating turns. Up to 99 balls or clowns may be played. Brickyard is the Breakout influenced title. It features the familiar game play of using a paddle at the bottom of the screen to bounce a ball against bricks at the top of the screen. There are four different difficulty levels which adjust the speed of the ball and size of the paddle. Unlike Breakout, the ball in Brickyard builds up momentum with each hit. Clowns adapts the essence of Breakout to a circus setting. A pair of clowns bounce up and down on a teeter-totter trying to pop rows of balloons at the top of the screen. The clowns pick up speed each time they bounce off the teeter-totter.

Candy Man

Bally Astrocade - Released - 1981

This factory is in a mess since the two jokers have scattered life savers all over the floor. The Candy Man must eat them up as quickly as possible while avoiding the jokers. Be careful the jokers will get their buddies, the gremlins, to help them keep the life savers. Are you up to it? This game will give you all the enjoyment of it's cousin of coin-up fame. With Blue Screen Bonus Scoe & Bonus Lives.

Checkers / Backgammon

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1985

The all-time board classics are here to challenge your skills and your mind. See if you can match wits with the computer or a friend. It's a battle of the mind - be careful your next move may be your last!

Claim Jumpers

Bally Astrocade - Released - 1981

Claim Jumper is a strategy game for the entire family. The goal of this game is to strategically place your lines on the board and claim as much area as you possibly can by closing in a square. Be careful not to let someone else grab your claim! Your claim marker will go in the box that you complete. This game can be played by one to four people, and if you wish you can even let "Bally" in on the fun. That's a total of five players at one time.

Coloring Book

Bally Astrocade - January 1, 1985

Tickle your creative fancy with all the tools of a professional graphics machine. People of all ages can enjoy the thrill of creating beautiful art. Use the optional Light Pen or Joystick control to draw boxes and circles, fill enclosed areas, draw free-hand, create your own brush, or draw a line between any two points. Record your pictures on a cassette tape, overlay more than one picture on a screen. Choose from 256 colors, 4 at any one time.

Conan the Barbarian

Bally Astrocade - Unreleased - January 1, 1985

Fearsome monsters give chase through a series of mazes as Conan, armed with his sword, battles them. Various levels allow you to play this adventure game with skills ranging from novice to professional. See how many monsters you can get. This cartridge was a prototype and never officially released. However, the unfinished game was given limited distribution in 1985 through Dave Carson Software. Astrocade was unable to secure the naming rights and the game code was eventually merged into the development of Quest for the Orb which also never saw official release.

Cosmic Raiders

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1983

Cosmic Raiders is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up similar to Defender. Like in that game the player's space ship can move both left and right and there is also a radar showing the locations of enemies. The game takes place in the alien sector Larkin and the player's objective is to defend a planet under attack while also collecting energy sources from an evil alien race called the Larkins. In every level four bombs are dropped along with a number of fighters to ensure the bombs reach the surface of the planet. The objective of the game is simply to clear all the enemies and get the highest score possible. For every two bombs destroyed an energy star that the player can collect will appear. By picking it up the player's ship is energized with an invincible energy shield. Once all enemies have been cleared from one level the game moves on to the next. Before starting out it's possible to choose the number of players (1-4), number of lives (1-9) and the intensity of the game (0-9). Level 0 is the easiest one and the only one where enemies do not get harder as the game goes on. Each player can have a different intensity level.

Crazy Climber

Bally Astrocade - Homebrew - 2011

Crazy Climber for the Bally Astrocade which is a homebrew game with a limited release in 2011 by Bally Alley. It's a port from the arcade game developed by Nichibutsu in 1980. In Crazy Climber you must climb the sides of buildings, each having near 200 stories. Each building offers a variety of different challenges and obstacles that make the passage to the top more difficult. On this upward journey, you will encounter "mad potters", bald-headed scoundrels who open and close windows and drop items to knock Crazy Climber from the building. By hanging on tightly it is possible to protect Crazy Climber from the flower pots, iron dumbbells, bottles and condor excrement. You'd better move fast, because the higher you climb and the more buildings you face, the quicker the pace becomes. The original 2-joystick control scheme has been implemented as well as a single-controller mode.

Dog Patch

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1980

A real down-home skeet shoot! The target spins through the air as you raise your shotgun and fire. Good shooting keeps the target bouncing between the players. An explosive 12-gauge juggling act builds a big score! Blast the target past your opponent to score points. Play long or short games and vary the number of targets. 1 or 2 players.

Elementary Math / Bingo Math

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1978

Two fun-packed, fast-paced games sharpen basic math skills. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are the key ingredients. The faster you answer, the more points you get. As the score grows higher, the problems get harder. The computer automatically adjusts the skill levels to challenge players equally. A great teaching tool!

Football

Bally Astrocade - Released - October 1, 1978

Complete a pass up the middle for a first down. Eight offensive play options including the end run, screen pass, long bomb, short or long passes up the middle and some elegant razzle dazzle. Offensive players have direct control of the cornerbacks. The computer controls the rest! Up to 4 players.

Galactic Invasion

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1981

Alien ships come at your missile launcher from every direction. They peel off from their formation singly or in groups of twos or threes. The more aliens you destroy, the more of their reinforcements attack. Each ship is piloted by a highly skilled captain capable of maneuvering with incredible agility. Realistic sounds add to the intensity. Up to 4 players. The original title of Galactic Invasion was Galaxian after the arcade classic programmed by Bally (Midway). However, Midway only possessed arcade distribution rights and wasn't able to distribute home console versions of the game. The game was retitled and released as Galactic Invasion for the Astrocade. That said, there are some revisions of the game that do feature the title Galaxian on the title screen or on the physical cartridge itself.

Galaxian

Bally Astrocade - Released - 1981

Alien ships come at your missile launcher from every direction. They peel off from their formation singly or in groups of twos or threes. The more aliens you destroy, The more of their reinforcements attack. Each ship is piloted by a highly skilled captain capable of maneuvering with incredible agility. Realistic sounds add to the intensity! Up to 4 players. This is the original title of Galactic Invasion. The arcade classic Galaxian was programmed by Bally (Midway), but because Midway only possessed arcade distribution rights and wasn't able to distribute home console versions of the game, it was instead released with the title Galactic Invasion for the Astrocade. That said, there are some early revisions of the game that do feature the title Galaxian on the title screen or on the physical cartridge itself.

Grand Prix / Demolition Derby

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1981

Grand Prix is a formula racing game played from a top down perspective. There are three different tracks that are all one screen in size. The controls simply involve accelerating and steering left and right with the aim of reaching the finish line first. The number of laps (1-99) and the difficulty level (pro or beginner) can be selected before a race. Pro differs in the speed of the cars. Demolition Derby is similar to Grand Prix but here the objective is to ram into the other cars until only one remains in the arena. Each car has a number of points (which is chosen by the players) and for each hit one point is lost. When a car reaches zero points it loses and cannot move any further.

Gunfight / Checkmate / Calculator / Scribbling

Bally Astrocade - Released - October 1, 1977

The Astrocade was one of the early cartridge-based systems, using cartridges known as Videocades that were designed to be as close in size and shape as possible to a cassette tape. The unit also included two games built into the ROM, Gunfight and Checkmate, along with the simple but useful Calculator and a "doodle" program called Scribbling.

ICBM Attack

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1982

ICBM Attack is a variant of the arcade game Missile Command. Like in the arcade game the player's task is to protect a number of cities on the ground but here the attack does not come from missiles. Instead there are enemy ships that enter the screen one at a time and drop bombs on the cities. The player has access to three outposts on the ground that are fired individually and are used to shoot down the ships as well as their bombs. Each outpost has limited ammo and when it has run out no further shooting can be done from it. Points are scored for hitting bombs and ships and for completing levels and at 10,000 points an extra city is given. The game ends when all cities have been destroyed.

Letter Match / Spell'n Score / Crosswords

Bally Astrocade - Released - October 1, 1978

Three different games will improve your vocabulary and reinforce spelling skills. Letter match! Pair letters randomly selected by the computer. Spell 'N Score! Create as many words as you can from the letters generated at random by the computer! Crosswords! The computer gives you letters. You turn them into words. 1 or 2 players.

Life

Bally Astrocade - Homebrew - 1982

LIFE is a machine language program originally written by Jay Fenton and coded by Richard C. Degler for the Astrocade to generate a universe of cellular objects on the TV Screen. The population of cells is changed in intervals called generations by a set of rules. These rules are to be applied simultaneously to every cell in the pattern. The application of the rules to every bit in the field constitutes a generation.

Machine Language Manager

Bally Astrocade - Released - 1982

This cartridge, which included an overlay, provides an "easy" way to program the Astrocade in machine language. Though not a Z-80 assembler, MLM does simplify the entry of hex code (which otherwise must be entered using decimal via BASIC. Also, the keypad layout does not require the use of the key-shifts, so typing is faster). Programs can be saved via the Bally BASIC 300-baud interface (later, subroutines were written that allowed the 2000 baud version of Bally BASIC (#6004) to be swapped out for tape saving). "Machine Language Manager" does NOT have a built-in cassette interface.

Mazeman

Bally Astrocade - Unreleased - January 1, 1984

You are captive in a maze of crazy, creepy ghosts. Its a spooky situation, and you can do one of two things: munch or be munched! Score as many points as possible, gobbling up everything in your path - including the ghosts with an appetite for YOU! Do your best to save your soul! This homebrew cartridge is similar in play to Pac-Man. As released, there is no sound in the game. The developer and programmer remained anonymous to avoid legal issues with NAMCO.

Ms. CandyMan

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1983

Ms. Candyman must pick up all of the life savers as quickly as possible while avoiding contact with the Ghosts and Goblins. During the first half of a screen the Ghosts and Goblins will try to catch you. During the second half of a screen the Ghosts and Goblins will take up protective positions to keep you away from the life savers.

Muncher

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1983

You are captive in a maze of creepy ghosts. It's a spooky situation, and you can do one of two things: munch or be munched. Score as many points as possible, gobbling up everything in your path - including the ghosts with an appetite for YOU! Do your best to save your soul.

Music Maker

Bally Astrocade - Unreleased - January 1, 1985

This is a prototype cartridge that never saw official release. The program allowed the user to compose music over a three-octave range using the controller to enter musical notes for replay over the TV speaker. Development started by Bally before 1979 as two cartridges but never released. In 1982, development continued with completion of a 2,000-baud tape interface, instructions, and controller overlay. Final work was completed in 1985 with the engineering of the tape interface circuit boards.

Pirate's Chase

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1982

Yo ho ho and bottle of rum! Race to scoop up as many gold doubloons as you can carry, but watch out! The pirates are on your tail! How much of the treasure can you collect before Long John Silver collects you! Score points for every doubloon and treasure chest you can steal from the pirate crew! A frantic, fast-paced game, and the action never stops. 1 or 2 players.

Red Baron / Panzer Attack

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1978

Red Baron is a dogfighting game played from a side perspective on a single screen. Both planes start rolling on the ground and have to lift before crashing into a barn. Once in the air the planes can be moved in all directions and it's also possible to alter the speed. The aim is simply to get as many kills as possible before the time runs out. The time limit is chosen by the players before starting out. Panzer Attack is a tank game viewed from a top-down perspective. All player share the same single screen which has a few blockades for protections. The tanks can move in all directions and the aim of the game is simply to score points by destroying the other tanks. A battle ends when just one tank remains standing and the player with the highest score when all battle have been played wins. The number of battles can be chosen before starting out from 1-99.

Road Toad

Bally Astrocade - 1981

The old proverbial chicken may have crossed the road to get to the other side but the road toad has slightly different motives. In the tradition of Angels Camp you will prod the toad with the use of your joystick skillfully guiding him through several lanes of traffic that becomes increasingly congested. But watch out for the speed demon in lane 3. He often comes without warning and definitely does not break for toads.

Sea Devil

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1983

You are the guardian of the 21st century undersea farm. Not only is this important to the survival of the people on earth but the company you work for have risked millions on this venture. Zardos, the evil king of a distant planet, needs this food for his-self and has sent android divers with other sea creatures to steal this food. You are provided with the under sea hi-tech, sub-surface cruiser. Sea Devil, equipped with the latest in sonar screens. You can spot targets at a great distance. As they come into range your laser makes quick work of the poachers and accumulate valuable sub credit points for yourself. Zardos personally is commanding a submarine which will fire cluster bombs to keep you at bay. Can you get Zardos in his sub? Hes worth 1000 points if you can.

Seawolf / Missile

Bally Astrocade - Released - December 1, 1977

Seawolf! From deep beneath the sea, you fire your torpedoes at the tankers, battleships and other targets. Your mission is to sink more enemy ships than any other sub in the wolf pack. Its a race against time and other subs in your own navy. Missile! Launch guided missiles against cargo planes, bombers and fighters! Two complete games. Hours of fun! 1 or 2 players.

Sloshed

Bally Astrocade - Homebrew - 1982

The bar at Joe is always crowded and fun. Picking up beer, you once again turn on the autopilot and go home. As an autopilot are real players. Try not to mess with anything on the way!

Sneaky Snake

Bally Astrocade - Released - September 24, 1983

Sneaky Snake is a 1983 clone of the arcade game "Centipede". The game was published by New Image and developed by Dave Ibach.

Soccer

Bally Astrocade - Unreleased - January 1, 1985

America's fastest growing sport plays on your video screen. Dribble up field, pass to your teamate, shoot for the goal. Watch out for interceptions and blocking by the opposition. Up to 4 players. This prototype game was never officially released.

Solar Conqueror

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1983

The game's release date is 1982 on the game box and 1981 on the cartridge. Solar Conqueror is a top-down viewed shoot 'em up with multidirectional shooting and movement similar to Asteroids or Robotron. The war hungry DEMENS are threatening to wipe out the player's race with a radiation death ray and therefore the player has to conquer their solar systems. Each solar system consists of two or four planets and to conquer them all planets have to be defeated. In each screen a planet is located to the far right of the screen and from it various alien defenders will appear. To defeat the planet and move on to the next one the player has to kill all the enemies while avoiding getting hit by them. There are three different enemies: kamikaze combat ships, ground-to-air missiles and super fighting (killer) satellites. There are also asteroids floating around the planets that has to be avoided. Larger planets have stronger gravity which leads to the spaceship being harder control. The effect of the gravity increases as the ship gets closer to the planet. The game can be played by up to four players. Before starting out it's possible to choose how many lives each player should have and at what levels they should start on, thereby handicapping more skilled players. Any contact with an enemy, a projectile or a planet leads to a lost life but a new one is given for each solar system conquered.

Space Fortress

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1981

Released on the Arcades as Space Zap and for the Bally Astrocade as Space Fortress. This is a fixed screen shoot 'em up where the player is in control of a stationary laser base which is located in the middle of the screen. Alien space ships will appear from the four sides of the screen and launch space mines towards the laser base. The player's task is simply to shoot them down before they reach and destroy the laser base. The game is controlled with five buttons: one for shooting and four for aiming, one for each direction. In addition to the mines and alien ships there are also attack satellites that orbit the laser base before attacking. The mines are worth 250 points, alien ships are worth 500 points and attack satellites are worth 2,000 points. The player starts out with three lives but earns a new one at 75,000, 150,000 and 300,000 points.

Space Invaders

Bally Astrocade - Released

To say that Space Invaders was one of the most successful arcade games ever released would be an understatement. The game was so popular that it actually caused coin shortages in Japan! The unprecedented success of the arcade game made it an ideal killer app for the Atari 2600 in 1978, and it only makes sense that Bally would want a version of their own. An unlicensed version of Space Invaders was released on Bally’s console in 1979, but the game was quickly renamed Astro Battle. It was a blatant clone regardless of what the title screen said. The entire game consists of shooting down alien spaceships and periodically seeking cover behind large barns. Astro Battle on the Astrocade doesn’t feature quite as many gameplay modes as Space Invaders on the 2600, but it does a great job of capturing the spirit of the arcade game it was based on. The aliens are alive with color, the game is fast, and controls are responsive. The biggest downside is how abruptly the game ends. After finishing off the sixth wave of fighters, the game ends suddenly and immediately resets to the menu screen. This is annoying if you want to play the game for more than a few minutes at a time. Astro Battle didn’t exactly make the same splash as Space Invaders did on the Atari 2600, but no console from the era would have been complete without their own take on the classic arcade game.

Star Battle

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1979

Star Battle is a space shooter based on the trench run sequence from the original Star Wars movie. The game is for one or two players and involves a battle between an X-Wing and a Tie Fighter, although since it doesn't carry a license they are not called that. The X-Wing is controlled by player one while the Tie Fighter is controlled by player two or the computer. Before starting out a maximum score (1-999) is entered and the player that first reaches it wins the game. A single hit is enough to bring down the enemy ship and it is worth one point. The game is viewed from a third-person perspective with a pseudo 3D representation of the trench. The colour of the trench changes constantly to illustrate the forward motion of the fighters. By moving the joystick up or down the fighters accelerate or decelerate which means they move to the top of the screen and decreases in size or move to the bottom and get larger. If one moves closer to the camera the other gets further away and vice versa.

Super Slope

Bally Astrocade - Released - 1983

They called him Super Skier though he'd never had a lesson... And now you take up where he left off. Super Slope is a super skiing program from Eosterica. No experience necessary.

The Incredible Wizard

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1982

Wizard of Wor is an arcade shooter played from a top-down point of view. The Bally Astrocade release of the game was titled The Incredible Wizard. It had the game ref number 2017 as a suffix. The player controls a warrior who is trapped in a dungeon. The goal is to earn as many points as possible by shooting the numerous enemy creatures which wander about the maze like corridors. The creatures wander about at various speeds, may shoot darts at the player, and some even have the ability to disappear temporarily. At the bottom of the screen the player has a radar which can be used to locate creatures that are invisible. When the the player completes a maze, a Worluk sometimes appears. This creature moves rapidly and will only be on the screen momentarily. If the player destroys the creature before it escapes, the next dungeon will become a double score dungeon and all creatures will be worth twice as many points. Occasionally the Wizard of Wor himself may appear! He moves quickly and can teleport around the maze. If they destroy him, the player will earn a large amount of points. The game may be played by one player or two players simultaneously.

Tornado Baseball / Tennis / Hockey / Handball

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1978

A combination of four different sports games, the four-in-one cartridge involves largely Pong-style Hockey, Tennis, and Handball, as well as uniquely organized Baseball game, for two players.

Treasure Cove

Bally Astrocade - Released - January 1, 1983

Treasure Cove is an action game that takes place off a small island in the Caribbean where the player has to dive into the ocean and search for the treasure of a lost Spanish galleon. The action takes place on a single screen and the player starts out in a small boat at the top of the screen. At the bottom there are several pieces of treasure that has to be retrieved (one at a time) but the ocean is also full of fishes and other sea creatures that have to be avoided. Any contact with these (including the smallest of fishes) will lead to an immediate loss of life. A life is also lost if the player runs out of oxygen which means it's necessary to plan ahead since it's not possible to go back to the boat (and recharge the oxygen) empty handed. With the press of a button the player can move quicker but at a higher cost of oxygen. After clearing all treasure from the cove the game will move on to a new location with more valuable treasure but also with more fishes. The game can be played by one to four players in hot seat. Before starting out the number of lives for each player can be chosen from one to nine. There is also a tournament level mode where each player has four divers. This mode was meant for players who wanted to mail their high score to the developer for high score verification.

WAR

Bally Astrocade - Homebrew - 2007

This is similar to the Warlords arcade game by Atari. Up to four players can play against each other, or a lesser number against each other and the machine.