Task: Play Bowling on the Atari 2600 Needed: Bowling cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction Everyone has played classics like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Missile Command on the Atari 2600. But, have you played Bowling? If not, you are missing out on one
Read moreTry BASIC Programming on the Atari 2600 (15-30 mins)
Task: Try BASIC Programming on the Atari 2600 Needed: BASIC Programming cartridge, keyboard controllers, Atari 2600 Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Programming in BASIC on the Atari 2600 is one of the most interesting things I have done with that machine. The BASIC Programming cartridge was
Read morePlay Haunted House on the Atari 2600 (15-30 mins)
Task: Play Haunted House on the Atari 2600 Needed: Atari 2600 or emulator Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Last year for Halloween I did a post on drawing pumpkins on the Atari 8-bit computer using re-defined characters sets in BASIC. This year I thought I would
Read moreWatch the Documentary “Atari: Game Over” (1 hour)
Task: Watch the Documentary “Atari: Game Over” Needed: Web browser Time: 1 hour Introduction One of the great stories of Atari was the “rumor” that they buried tons of E.T. cartridges for the 2600 in a desert landfill after the video game crash of 1983.
Read morePurchase New Power Supplies (5-10 mins)
Task: Purchase New Power Supplies Needed: Web browser Time: 5-10 minutes Introduction I have previously posted about the need to go through your collection and purge dangerous power supplies that can fail and take your Atari out. Further, you may not trust the ones that
Read moreRead “Atari Force” Mini Comic Books (15-60 mins)
Task: Read “Atari Force” Mini Comic Books Needed: Web browser Time: 15-60 mins Introduction I have a large stack of Atari 2600 manuals and catalogs that I accumulated over the years. In this stack there are several Atari mini comic books which shipped in boxes
Read moreWatch Joe Decuir on YouTube (1-2 hours)
Task: Watch Joe Decuir on YouTube Needed: Web browser Time: 1-2 hours Introduction Joe Decuir was hired by Atari to debug the prototype for the Atari 2600 and then went on to help design and build the Atari 400 and 800 computers. He has had
Read moreLoad Cassette Games on Your Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Load Cassette Games on Your Atari 2600 Needed: Arcadia / Starpath Supercharger, compatible cassette game Time: 10-15 mins Introduction One of the many limitations of the Atari 2600 video console system (VCS) was that it only had 128 bytes of RAM. This and the
Read moreCompile Assembly Code for the Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Compile Assembly Code for the Atari 2600 Needed: DASM cross-compiler, assembly code Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I had an Atari 2600 in the late 1970s before we got our first Atari 400 and 800 computers. I recall standing in line at Sears to purchase
Read morePlay Atari 2600 Christmas Music (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Atari 2600 Christmas Music Needed: Atari 2600 or Stella emulator, A Very 2600 Christmas binary file Time: 10-15 mins Introduction The Atari 2600 had a 6502 series processor like the Atari 8-bit computer line but lacked additional hardware to make it a powerful game
Read morePlay Atari 2600 Games in Your Web Browser (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Atari 2600 Games in Your Browser Needed: Web browser and Atari 2600 ROMs Time: 10-15 mins Introduction Emulation has been a lifesaver for bringing Atari goodness to the masses without the need for original hardware. The Stella emulator for the Atari 2600 is
Read morePurchase a Harmony Cartridge for the Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase a Harmony Cartridge for the Atari 2600 Needed: Harmony Cartridge With SD or microSD Card Time: 10-15 mins Introduction When I was programming my Atari 2600 game “Gene Medic” I wanted to be able to test it on original hardware since there are
Read moreRead the Book “Racing the Beam” by Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (3-6 Hours)
Task: Read the Book “Racing the Beam” by Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (3-6 Hours) Needed: The book Time: 3-6 hours Introduction I had an Atari Video Computer System (VCS) or 2600 before I owned an Atari 400 and then 800 computer. The 2600 was
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