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The Atari 2600 was first released in North America in September 1977 and featured 9 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, and the final licensed game released in Europe was Klax and Acid Drop in 1990 and 1992. Even with their 1980s limited colors and block graphics these games are still entertaining to play today! We have over 500 Atari 2600 games for you to play online for free using our Atari 2600 Javascript Emulator.
This game is mobile device friendly and Iphone compatible. Enjoy!
Instructions and Keyboard Controls towards bottom of page.
Click “Game Reset” or F12 to Start Game
Asteroids
INSTRUCTIONS:
If you grew up in the 80’s you shouldn’t need instructions!! You might find some help at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Atari_2600_games and look up the game you need assistance playing.
CONTROLS:
Click “Game Reset” or F12 to Begin/Restart Game
Arrow Keys – Move
Space bar to fire/action button
ASTEROIDS(tm)
Atari(R) Game Program(tm) Instructions
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. COSMIC SPACE PATROL
2. GAME PLAY
3. OPERATING YOUR SPACESHIP
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS
5. SCORING
6. GAME VARIATIONS
7. HELPFUL HINTS
8. GAME SELECT MATRIX
1. COSMIC SPACE PATROL
On a quiet serene evening the Cosmic Space Patrol sets out for the usual night cruise through the boulevards of
space. This beat was always the same; calm, no action and no excitement. For some reason this night feels
different. Shortly before 0200 hours some form of intergalactic material is sighted through the visual particle
counter. The material is too large a mass to measure. It's drifting closer. Lookout, it's a giant asteroid boulder
and it's headed straight for the Cosmic Spacecraft. The only chance for survival is to dodge the boulder or
destroy it. Destroying it doesn't mean just breaking it up, it means vaporizing it. Small asteroid boulders are
equally as fatal as large ones.
Whew, the boulder just missed colliding with the Cosmic Spacecraft, but suddenly the Cosmic Space Patrol
find themselves surrounded by thousands of the deadly asteroids. The Cosmic Space Patrol must act quickly
to save their spacecraft and spare their lives. The spacecraft is equipped with photon torpedoes, hyperspace,
shields, and flip control.
The Cosmic Space Patrol is highly trained to handle this situation. Could you do as good a job as the Cosmic
Space Patrol? How would you protect yourself if you were caught in a deadly asteroid belt? This is your big
chance to fly throughout the demensions of space and fend against asteroid boulders. The longer you survive,
the more space hazards you'll encounter.
2. GAME PLAY
The object of the game is to destroy as many asteroid boulders as possible and keep your ship in space as
long as possible. Use your Joystick Controller to maneuver your ship through space and press the red
controller(fire) button to shoot photon torpedoes at the asteroid boulders. When an asteroid is hit, it may just
break up into smaller boulders, or it may be completely pulverized. In some game variations you'll face
additional space hazards such as satellites and UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects); both of which may be
firing torpedoes at you.
3. OPERATING YOUR SPACESHIP
THRUST
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COUNTERCLOCKWISE --- --- CLOCKWISE
/|\
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FEATURES
Use your Joystick Controller with this ATARI(C) Game Program(tm) cartridge. Be sure to plug the controller
cables firmly into the jacks at the Video Computer System(tm) Game. Hold the controller with the red fire
button to your upper left toward the television screen. Use the LEFT CONTROLLER jack for one-player
games. See Section 3 of your owner's manual for further details.
Use the Joystick Controller to aim the spaceship and to fire photon torpedoes at the asteroids. Move the
Joystick right to rotate the ship clockwise; move it left to rotate the ship counterclockwise. Push the Joystick
forward to thrust(propel) the ship through space. (The ship moves only in the direction it's pointed.)
Pulling the Joystick down causes the ship to perform different functions such as hyperspace, shields, or flip(see
Section 6, GAME VARIATIONS). After aiming the spaceship with your Joystick, press the fire button to
shoot photon torpedoes at the asteroid boulders. Continue to press and release the fire button as fast as
possible to quickly destroy all the asteroids.
If the game variation you're playing includes satellites and UFOs, use your Joystick to aim and press the fire
button to shoot torpedoes at them just as you would for the asteroid boulders.
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS
GAME SELECT SWITCH
To select an ASTEROIDS(tm) game, press down the game select switch. (See Section 8, GAME SELECT
MATRIX to choose the game you wish to play.) The game number and the number of players appear at the
top of the screen. The game number is on the left; the number of players is on the right as shown in Figure 1.
GAME RESET SWITCH
Once you have selected a game number, press down the game reset switch to start the action. Each time game
reset is pressed down the game starts over. After the game starts, the score appears at the top of the screen as
shown in Figure 2.
NOTE: To change game numbers quickly, hold down game select and game reset together.
DIFFICULTY SWITCHES
The ASTEROIDS game has two difficulty levels, a and b. The b level is normal game play for beginning
players. The a level offers a bigger challenge with the addition of UFOs(Unidentified Flying Objects) and
satellites(see Figures 3 and 4). UFOs are tough to hit, but each one is worth 1000 points. (See Section 5 for
SCORING.)
Satellites are larger and easier to destroy. UFOs and satellites may be firing back at you, so be on the lookout
for their stray artillery. UFOs do not attack until you have reached over 15,000 points. When satellites and
UFOs sneak up to attack you, you'll hear their engines. The satellites have a low pitched engine sound and the
UFOs have a higher pitched sound.
TV TYPE SWITCH
Set this switch to color if your television is color or to b/w if your television is black-and-white. Setting this
switch to b/w will not affect a color television.
5. SCORING
Points are determined by the size of the asteroid boulders. Obviously, the smaller boulders are harder to hit
and therefore worth more points. With each game or turn you have four spaceships. You can earn extra
spaceships by scoring high as indicated in the GAME SELECT MATRIX.
Points are scored as follows:
SMALL ASTEROIDS 100 POINTS
MEDIUM ASTEROIDS 50 POINTS
LARGE ASTEROIDS 20 POINTS
SATELLITES 200 POINTS
UFOs 1000 POINTS
6. GAME VARIATIONS
ASTEROIDS includes 66 game variations for 1 or 2 players.
FAST/SLOW
FAST/SLOW (F/S) refers to the speed that the asteroids travel.
LIVES
LIVES is a feature which allows you to earn extra spaceships. Game variations provide you with an extra ship
every 5000, 10,000, or 20,000 points, depending on the game number you choose. The tougher game
variations don't provide any extra spaceships. (See Section 8, GAME SELECT MATRIX for extra ship
lives.) You'll hear a beeping sound when an extra spaceship is earned.
FEATURES
Depending on the game variation you choose, you may be able to save your spaceship from destruction by
using one of the game features of ASTEROIDS.
Hyperspace Hyperspace (H) is a feature offered in Games 1 through 8 for one player and Games 34 through
41 for two players. by moving the Joystick down, or towards you, hyperspace makes your spaceship
disappear in space and reappear at some other place on the screen. Hyperspace is helpful as a quick getaway
when an asteroid or boulder is headed toward your spaceship, but it may also be a hindrance if your spaceship
reappears in the path of an oncoming asteroid boulder.
Shields Games 9 through 16 for one player and Games 42 through 49 for two players allow you to protect
your spaceship by surrounding it with protective shields (SH). Pull your Joystick back towards you to put up
shields, but don't use shields for more than two seconds or your spaceship will blow up.
Flip In game variations featuring flip (FL), you can flip your spaceship around 180 degrees which aims it in the
opposite direction. Flip is a fast way to attack asteroids coming from behind. Flip is a feature in Games 17
through 24 for one player and Games 50 through 57 for two players.
Games 25-32 (one-player) and Games 58-65 (two-players) have no optional features (W). This makes these
game variations more challenging and you must depend solely on your quick skill and coordination.
YOUNG CHILDREN'S VERSIONS
Games 33 through 66 are easy versions for young children. These games feature slow asteroids, hyperspace,
and an extra ship each 5000 points.
7. HELPFUL HINTS
After playing ASTEROIDS several times you'll discover which techniques work best for you. Here are some
that the space cadets at ATARI found most helpful.
1. When the screen becomes clear of asteroids (just before a new group of large asteroids appears), try to
avoid placing your spaceship close to the right or left edge of the screen. New asteroids almost always begin
from these edges.
2. It is often helpful to remain in the center of the screen throughout the game, aiming your spaceship right or
left in a circular motion.
3. If you're close to earning an extra ship, and your spaceship is about to crash, you may want to cause your
spaceship to collide with a small asteroid, UFO, or satellite. You'll earn points even if you crash, and this may
be just enough points to earn that extra ship.
4. Try to hit the faster and smaller asteroid boulders. This will give you more protection and more points.
8. GAME SELECT MATRIX HOW TO READ THE GAME SELECT MATRIX SPEED
S = Slow F = Fast
EXTRA LIFE
5 = 1 Extra Ship Every 5000 Points 10 = 1 Extra Ship Every 10,000 Points 20 = 1 Extra Ship Every 20,000
Points N = No Extra Ships
FEATURES
H = Hyperspace SH = Shields FL = Flip W = Without Features
One Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Speed S F S F S F S F S F S F S F S F
Extra Life 5 5 10 10 20 20 N N 5 5 10 10 20 20 N N
Features H H H H H H H H H SH SH SH SH SH SH SH
Two Players 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Player 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speed S F S F S F S F S F S F S F S F | K
Extra Life 5 5 10 10 20 20 N N 5 5 10 10 20 20 N N | I
Features FL FL FL FL FL FL FL FL W W W W W W W W | D
| S
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two Players 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 |66
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTENTION: ATARI(R) ASTEROIDS(tm) Game Program(tm) cartridge owners:
This ATARI ASTEROIDS cartridge is very similar to the famous ATARI coin-operated ASTEROIDS game,
but you may notice some game play differences. You will see that the game playfield on your television is
smaller and has borders on all four sides. The dark border on the left side of the screen does not interfere with
game play. It is a programming characteristic of all ASTEROIDS cartridges. The size of the border varies on
different televisions. You may also notice that as asteroids disappear from the top, bottom, right, or left side of
the playfield, they "wraparound" and reappear at the opposite edge of the playfield.
If you are playing the ASTEROIDS game in the "a" difficulty level, UFOs will sometimes begin to attack after
you have reached 7500 points, and they will always attack after you have over 15,000 points.
We wish you lots of luck in defending your spaceship, and hope you have many hours of fun playing the
ATARI ASTEROIDS game.
ATARI, INC., Consumer Division
PO Box 427
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
>>> Typed and converted to html by gchance@ecst.csuchico.edu <<<
-------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------
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KEYBOARD CONTROLS
Asteroids Arcade Game Emulated on the Atari 2600. Play Asteroids in your web browser or mobile phone. This Atari 2600 console emulator provides very accurate Asteroids gameplay. Asteroids is a classic 1980s Atari 2600 video game.