Codebreaker (video game)
{{short description|1978 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Codebreaker
| image = Codebreaker_cartridge_cover.jpg
| caption =
| developer = Atari, Inc.
| publisher = Atari, Inc.
| designer =
| platforms = Atari 2600
| released = {{vgrelease|NA|1978}}
| genre = Puzzle
| modes = Single-player, two-player
}}
Codebreaker is a video game released in 1978 by Atari, Inc. for the Atari VCS (later renamed the Atari 2600).{{cite book |last1=Weiss |first1=Brett |title=Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide |date=2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0786487554 |pages=45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzxTtml8Jq4C&dq=%22Human+Cannonball%22&pg=PA42 |accessdate=8 August 2019}} It was in the first wave of Atari VCS games to follow the original nine launch titles. It was one of three cartridges to accompany the introduction of the Atari keyboard controller, an add-on launched in response to claims of false advertising that the VCS is a "computer" (the other two were Hunt & Score and Brain Games).{{cite book |last1=Lendino |first1=Jamie |title=Adventure: The Atari 2600 at the Dawn of Console Gaming |date=2018 |publisher=Ziff Davis |isbn=978-1732355200 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkaoDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22codebreaker%22&pg=PA46 |accessdate=2 September 2019}}
The cover art for the game is by Chris Spohn, who created the cover art for many early Atari games.{{cite book |last1=Lapetino |first1=Tim |title=Art Of Atari |date=2016 |publisher=Dynamite Entertainment |isbn=978-1524101060 |page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z50oDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22backgammon%22+%22atari%22&pg=PA97 |accessdate=2 September 2019}}{{cite book |last1=Guins |first1=Rayford |title=Game After: A Cultural Study of Video Game Afterlife |date=2014 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0262320184 |page=188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ijOkAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22codebreaker%22+&pg=PA350 |accessdate=2 September 2019}}
Gameplay
File:Codebreaker (Nim) Atari 2600.jpg
There are three games, each with six variations: Bagels, Nim, and Mastermind.{{cite journal |last1=Ahl |first1=David H. |title=Atari Video Computer System |journal=Creative Computing Magazine |date=July 1978 |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1978-07/page/n40 37]–38 |url=https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1978-07 |accessdate=2 September 2019}} In each game the player must take turns to guess a numerical code and enter it using the keyboard controller.
The games may be played in single-player mode, or in a two-player mode where the players play together.
Reception
Contemporary reviewers were relatively positive about the game but all mentioned its similarity to Mordecai Meirowitz's Mastermind. The British computer games magazine TV Gamer, described it as "not the most original game" but also described it as an enjoyable brain-teaser.{{cite journal |title=Codebreaker |journal=TV Gamer |date=Autumn 1983 |issue=2 |page=22 |url=http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/magazines/tv_gamer/tv_gamer_autumn83.pdf |accessdate=2 September 2019}} Personal Computing Magazine described it as "[b]ased on the Mastermind concept".{{cite journal |title=Codebreaker |journal=Personal Computing Magazine |date=1983 |volume=7 |page=367 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgJWAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Codebreaker%22+%22atari%22 |accessdate=2 September 2019}}
See also
{{Portal|Video games}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{atarimania|id=8158}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Codebreaker}}
Category:Atari 2600-only games