Kaboom!

March 17, 2005 1:37 PM

Play "Kaboom!" (1981) by Activision's Larry Kaplan. [both links feature loud noises] And because you didn't ask, here's a 1984 article about the not-so-legendary 30 secrets of Atari.
posted by Kleptophoria! (20 comments total)

&%&#@! trackpad
posted by leotrotsky at 1:50 PM on March 17, 2005

Thanks - one of my favorite Atari games, along with Pitfall, Night Driver, Asteroids, and Adventure.
posted by swift at 1:52 PM on March 17, 2005

But you really need a paddle.
posted by swift at 1:54 PM on March 17, 2005

Is it just me, or is there some really bad collision detection code when the bombs get really quick? I'm positive I should have bucketed a few that I missed (when getting up around the 2000 point mark).
posted by lowlife at 2:09 PM on March 17, 2005

Thanks! I dug the Atari article. High Score! is a great book on the history of videogames. Not terribly deep, but oh, the memories.
posted by mkultra at 2:12 PM on March 17, 2005

Yeah, I've heard of that book. It is one of those "will read when have free time" books, haha. There are more and more videogame books being published like that these days. One of my dubious claims to fame is that some guy who worked under me at a fansite somehow has a praise quotation on the back of Chris Kohler's book.

I'm very impressed, by the way, with anybody who got as high as 2000 points.
posted by Kleptophoria! at 2:25 PM on March 17, 2005

Dang, I learned new stuff from the 30 secrets of Atari link, and I'm a pretty rabid consumer of old videogame trivia. Like #28. Looks like Jobs was ripping off Woz from the beginning. Bad Jobs, bad!
posted by loquacious at 2:25 PM on March 17, 2005

Always loved the bomber graphic. Second the High Score recommendation.
posted by jcruelty at 2:33 PM on March 17, 2005

I can easily break 1000 but either the game keeps freezing or my mouse does and it's always at the worst possible moment.
posted by loquacious at 2:52 PM on March 17, 2005

Great game --- I remember buying the cartridge.

If only Ice Hockey was out on Flash, I remember earning enough points to obtain an Activision Ice Hockey patch from Activision corporate headquarters!

I also freeze (while the bombs continue to fall :( ), after about the third screen, usually.
posted by quam at 3:27 PM on March 17, 2005

Perhaps we're killing the server. Softly.

(Yes, Ice Hockey is totally the best ever.)
posted by Kleptophoria! at 3:33 PM on March 17, 2005

This is so cool! I haven't played this in 20 years. This and Dodge 'Em were my favorites! Thanks for the trip back in time...
posted by Bear at 3:58 PM on March 17, 2005

Yeah, but when I was a kid, I had the friggin' patch. It's amazing I wasn't beat up more.
posted by fungible at 7:30 PM on March 17, 2005

Oops, the Kaboom patch wasn't on that page. Try this one.
posted by fungible at 7:32 PM on March 17, 2005

fungible, those are awesome. If I had only known back in the day...
posted by mkultra at 7:39 PM on March 17, 2005

I don't know if developers still send out congratulatory letters to high score nerds. Those WERE the days.
posted by Kleptophoria! at 12:05 AM on March 18, 2005

Ah, the Activision patches...I had a blanket with like a dozen of those things lovingly sewed onto it by my mom. It has long since been carted off to the Goodwill, and I like to think it's being used as a curtain by some hipster in NYC.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:32 AM on March 18, 2005

ARGH, Wacom tablet
posted by gorgor_balabala at 8:34 AM on March 18, 2005

I'm over 10,000, with no end in sight. There's a strategy to it, once you conquer the basics of not walking your mouse off the top. It's actually in your favor to drop bombs at the right moment.
posted by NortonDC at 3:36 PM on March 18, 2005

That game crapped out at 14,741. Pausing for a few hours of drinking may have impacted my performance. Maybe.
posted by NortonDC at 9:54 PM on March 18, 2005