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The Atari 2600 was first released in North America in September 1977 and featured 9 launch titles: Air-Sea BattleBasic MathBlackjackCombatIndy 500Star ShipStreet RacerSurround 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

Word Zapper

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


TRANSCRIBED ORIGINAL ATARI GAME MANUAL AND INSTRUCTIONS
USG (R)   vidtec (TM)                        VC 1003

word
zapper (TM)

INSTRUCTIONS

U.S. Games Corporation
A Subsidiary of The Quaker Oats Company
1515 Wyatt Drive
Santa Clara, California 95054


WORD ZAPPER

Word Zapper is a one or two-player, full color, action game with 24
variations, designed to be played on the ATARI (R) Video Computer
System (TM) or Sears Video Arcade.

The Joystick Controller links you with a most profound vehicle of
amusement, the rotary wing Word Zapper. It is armed with vertical and
horizontal firing lasers and capable of incredible maneuverability.

Opposing you is the Scroll -- a diabolic device designed to wear out
the wrist an boggle the mind. The Scroll parades the alphabet across
the screen, taunting you to duplicate a word or scrambled letters
flashed at the bottom of the screen.

You must shoot each letter in perfect order, and you must match three
words or letter combinations within 99 seconds.

Sounds easy? Wait until you meet the Scroll's friend, the Asteroids.

{screenshot, pointing out: Word Zapper, Score, Game Number, Timer,
Scroll, Freebie (on Scroll, weird symbol), and asteroids: Doomsday
(orange arrow-head), Scroller (brown football shape), Bonker (3
squares), and Zonker (4 squares)}


INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Connect the ATARI Video Computer System or Sears Video Arcade
    following the manufacturer's instructions.
2.  Install the Left Joystick for one player games or both Joystick
    controls for two player games.
3.  Insert the cartridge, making certain that the POWER switch is OFF.
4.  Move the POWER switch to ON.
5.  Select the game of your choice.
6.  Select a one or two player game with the TYPE switch.
7.  Turn the Doomsday and Scroller Asteroids on or off with the Left and
    Right Difficulty Switches. (See Game Selection.)
8.  Push the Red Fire Button on the Joystick to begin the game.


GAME SELECTION

1.  In order to activate the game SELECT switch, push the game RESET
    switch at any time during game play or while the score is displayed.
2.  Push the game SELECT switch to select the game of your choice. See
    game chart.
3.  Select one or two player game with the TV TYPE switch.
      COLOR = 1 PLAYER GAME
      B&W   = 2 PLAYER GAME
    Changing this switch will not harm your ATARI Video Computer System
    or your TV.
4.  Select DOOMSDAY and SCROLLER meteors.
    LEFT DIFFICULTY SWITCH/SCROLLER CONTROL
      A (Expert) = ON
      B (Novice) = OFF
    RIGHT DIFFICULTY SWITCH/DOOMSDAY CONTROL
      A (Expert) = ON
      B (Novice) = OFF
5. Push Red Fire Button to begin game.

NOTE: If the ATARI Video Computer System is not used for four minutes,
      then the screen will go blank to protect your TV set. To restore
      the game, just move the Joystick.


GAME VARIATIONS
(See Game Chart)

1.  METEOR DENSITY
      SPARSE    --Fewer meteors on screen
      DENSE     --Many meteors on screen
2.  METEOR SPEED
      SINGLE    --All meteors travel at slow speeds.
      MULTIPLE  --Meteors travel at fast and slow speeds.
3.  MATCH
      WORDS     --Try to spell English words.
      LETTERS   --Try to spell scrambled letters (This must be an
                  alien language.)
4.  SCROLL SPEED
    (Speed of scrolling letters)
      SLOW      --For beginners.
      MEDIUM    --Good for people with Honorary Rank of Zapper.
      FAST      --Don't blink your eyes!


SCORING

The game ends when (a) you shoot down all three words, or (b) you are
struck by a Doomsday asteroid, or (c) you run out of time. When any of
these occurs, the Zapper will land and your score will be displayed.
The level you obtain will be based on how many words you shoot down.

        NUMBER OF WORDS         LEVEL
               0                Rookie
               1                Champ
               2                Ace
               3                Zapper (Honorary Rank)

Of course, the time remaining will be zero unless you are able to get
all three words in less than 99 seconds (thus obtaining the Honorary
Rank of Zapper).

When playing a two-player game, Player One uses the Left Joystick
control and plays until his game ends. Player Two then plays using the
Right Joystick control until his game ends. Both scores and levels will
then be displayed.


PLAYING THE GAME

1.  When the game begins, a word or scrambled letters appear at the
    bottom of the screen. You MUST remember them! They will disappear in
    four seconds. When they disappear, the Zapper will be activated and
    the alphabet will begin to scroll across the top of the screen. You
    must shoot scrolling letters in the exact order found in the word or
    scrambled letters.
2.  To shoot the scrolling letters, depress the Red Fire Button on the
    Joystick. This fires the letter laser.
3.  There are four different types of asteroids that may hit the Zapper.
    When the power is turned on, all four will parade across the screen.
    From top to bottom, these are:

      DOOMSDAY  --If a Doomsday asteroid hits the Zapper, the game is
                  all over. You can identify this asteroid by the
                  distinctively dangerous noise it makes as it approaches
                  the Zapper. For an easier game, this asteroid may be
                  turned off with the Right Difficulty Switch. (See Game
                  Selection.)
      SCROLLER  --If a Scroller asteroid hits the Zapper, the scrolling
                  letters are mixed up for five seconds. For an easier
                  game, this asteroid may be turned off with the Left
                  Difficulty Switch. (See Game Selection.)
      BONKER    --If a Bonker asteroid hits the Zapper, it BONKS it to
                  the side.
      ZONKER    --If a Zonker asteroid hits the Zapper, it ZONKS it to
                  the side.

4.  The Zapper can also shoot asteroids. Holding down the Red Fire Button
    while moving the Joystick to either side causes the Zapper to fire in
    that direction.
5.  If you shoot down five asteroids, you get a "Freebie." A Freebie can
    substitute for any letter, but if you use it you must shoot five more
    asteroids. A "Freebie" MUST be shot to complete a word and advance
    to a new word.


WORD ZAPPER GAME VARIATIONS
 _________________________________________________________
|       |             |           |METEOR|METEOR  |GIFT   |
|       |SCROLL SPEED |   MATCH   |SPEED |DENSITY |OF     |
|_______|_____________|___________|______|________|1st    |
|GAME NO|Slow|Med|Fast|Words|Lett.|S | M |Sprs|Dns|FREEBIE|
|_______|____|___|____|_____|_____|__|___|____|___|_______|
|   1   |XXXX|   |    |XXXXX|     |XX|   |XXXX|   |XXXXXXX|
|   2   |XXXX|   |    |XXXXX|     |XX|   |    |XXX|       |
|   3   |XXXX|   |    |XXXXX|     |  |XXX|XXXX|   |       |
|   4   |XXXX|   |    |XXXXX|     |  |XXX|    |XXX|       |
|   5   |XXXX|   |    |     |XXXXX|XX|   |XXXX|   |       |
|   6   |XXXX|   |    |     |XXXXX|XX|   |    |XXX|       |
|   7   |XXXX|   |    |     |XXXXX|  |XXX|XXXX|   |       |
|   8   |XXXX|   |    |     |XXXXX|  |XXX|    |XXX|       |
|   9   |    |XXX|    |XXXXX|     |XX|   |XXXX|   |XXXXXXX|
|  10   |    |XXX|    |XXXXX|     |XX|   |    |XXX|       |
|  11   |    |XXX|    |XXXXX|     |  |XXX|XXXX|   |       |
|  12   |    |XXX|    |XXXXX|     |  |XXX|    |XXX|       |
|  13   |    |XXX|    |     |XXXXX|XX|   |XXXX|   |       |
|  14   |    |XXX|    |     |XXXXX|XX|   |    |XXX|       |
|  15   |    |XXX|    |     |XXXXX|  |XXX|XXXX|   |       |
|  16   |    |XXX|    |     |XXXXX|  |XXX|    |XXX|       |
|  17   |    |   |XXXX|XXXXX|     |XX|   |XXXX|   |XXXXXXX|
|  18   |    |   |XXXX|XXXXX|     |XX|   |    |XXX|       |
|  19   |    |   |XXXX|XXXXX|     |  |XXX|XXXX|   |       |
|  20   |    |   |XXXX|XXXXX|     |  |XXX|    |XXX|       |
|  21   |    |   |XXXX|     |XXXXX|XX|   |XXXX|   |       |
|  22   |    |   |XXXX|     |XXXXX|XX|   |    |XXX|       |
|  23   |    |   |XXXX|     |XXXXX|  |XXX|XXXX|   |       |
|  24   |    |   |XXXX|     |XXXXX|  |XXX|    |XXX|       |
|_______|____|___|____|_____|_____|__|___|____|___|_______|


Look for more Vidtec (TM) video games wherever you buy game cartridges.
Drop us a note and we'll be glad to add your name to our mailing list
and keep you posted on new Vidtec game cartridges when they become
available.

ATARI (R) and Video Computer System (TM) are trademarks of ATARI, Inc.

VC 1003         (C) 1982 U.S. Games Corporation.        Printed in Taiwan




REQUIRMENTS:
Our Atari 2600 emulator utilizes Javascript to run in your browser. No plugin is required, but a fast modern web browser will enhance the game play.

image 4
SAMPLE IPHONE GAMEPLAY SCREENSHOT

Emulation on mobile devices will drain your battery quite fast. I recommend playing while device is plugged into charger.


KEYBOARD CONTROLS

controls
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WordZapper Arcade Game Emulated on the Atari 2600. Play WordZapper in your web browser or mobile phone. This Atari 2600 console emulator provides very accurate WordZapper gameplay. WordZapper is a classic 1980s Atari 2600 video game.