HSC Season 5 Week 19: Circus Atari

[Ze_ro]

Important Note - This weeks competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

POP! POP! POP! Pop the balloons and score points. A wall of red, blue, and white balloons will appear at the top of the screen. You must pop balloons by catching a clown on the teeter-totter and bouncing him up to the balloons. Use the controller to move the teeter-totter across the screen to catch the clowns. Each time a clown pops a balloon, the balloon will disappear and you score points.

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Circus Atari
• Released By: Atari, 1980
• Left Difficulty: A / Expert - Clowns Bounce Faster
• Right Difficulty: N/A
• Game Mode: Game 2 - Extra Row of Barriers
• Chosen By: theking21083

Post your scores right here in this thread, and I will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone elses. The deadline for posting scores is Wednesday, Jan 23rd at 1:00 AM (CST).

 

Current High Scores 10,000 (toymailman) [+11] 10,000 (Deteacher) [+11] 10,000 (phaxda) [+11] 8737 (keilbaca) [+10] 7847 (aftermac) [+9] 6231 (Captain Beard) [+8] 5830 (midnight magicman) [+7] 4570 (Mister VCS) [+6] 3813 (MrBeefy) [+5] 3561 (Impaler_26) [+4] 2522 (theking21083) [+3] 2104 (chuckwalla) [+2] 1445 (doctorclu) [+1] 1398 ([d2f]Iggy*SJB) [+1] 927 (Kurt_Woloch) [+1] 625 (lucifershalo) [+1] 516 (HatNJ) [+1] 437 (LarcenTyler) [+1] 369 (PressureCooker2600) [+1] Best Tips aftermac [+2] Challenges None TwinGalaxies Top 3 24,789 (Terence O'Neill) 1,657 (Troy Whelan) 529 (David B Yancey) (Game 2, Difficulty A)

Current Standings Deteacher [178] toymailman [155] keilbaca [112] PressureCooker2600 [83] theking21083 [83] Impaler_26 [60] homerwannabee [59] Kurt_Woloch [59] rheffera [57] Captain Beard [54] Recycled [44] SpiceWare [39] DarthCalvin [36] Blackjack [35] Christophero Sly [35] phaxda [29] Nathan Strum [29] shadow460 [25] Rom Hunter [23] LarcenTyler [22] midnight magicman [19] Butterwasp [18] theKLT [11] godzillajoe [11] Artlover [9] Dauber [9] lucifershalo [9] Mister VCS [8] ed1475 [8] keitaro [7] Omegamatrix [6] Nognir [5] Goochman [4] atari2600land [4] SeaGtGruff [3] doctorclu [2] Crazy Climber [2] aftermac [2] gospeedde [2] chuchwalla [2] Phantom [2] Snider-man [2] RJ [1] KaeruYojimbo [1]

 

Scoring Points in Circus Atari

• The first point is scored as the clown leaves the trampoline. Once the clown starts the bouncing motion, one point is scored each time he hits the trampoline or the teeter-totter.
• Pop a White Balloon - 2 points
• Pop a Blue Balloon - 5 points
• Pop a Red Balloon - 10 points
• Clear All White Balloons - 20 points
• Clear All Blue Balloons - 50 points
• Clear All Red Balloons - 100 points + 1 Extra Life (Only one at a time)

 

Hints and Tips

The Manual

As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a typed copy available online for your viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, the manual does not contain any tips.

keilbaca

My biggest hint: Never restart if you have a bad game. You may score big on your last life.

toymailman

If you clear a row of red balloons then you get to reply the guy you are on after he goes splat (essentially a free life). After doing this then do not fully clear another red row while you still have your bonus reserve guy. Leave only a few reds left (preferably 1) and then crash on purpose. Your next guy will only have to pop the one (or very few) reds to get the bonus life again. With this method you can stay on the same life for quite a while. However, I understand all too well that this is one of those "zone" games. It is hard to make yourself crash if all is going well, but this perpetual life trick is worth a try.

aftermac

Tip: I've noticed that the closer to the edge of the teeter-totter you catch your guy, the higher he will go. Tip: If your clown starts moving too fast, try to bounce him closer to the center of the teeter-totter a couple times (but, not TOO close), this will slow him down. Tip: If you're clowns are stuck against the side try turning your teeter-totter around (as long as he is bouncing far enough away from the wall, so he doesn't fall) this will usually change the direction of the bounce.

Deteacher

If the clown starts to move too fast, try to lead him onto one of the side trampolines. That will slow him down and let you gain some control again.

 

--Zero

[keilbaca]

I'll start this week off ^_^

 

3153

 

My biggest hint: never restart if you have a bad game. 2k+ of this score happened on ball 5.

 

I never knew fast clowns was this fun ^_^

[Lauren Tyler]

439

 

I remember when I was about five, my mother brought this, along with a bunch of other new cartridges, home to show me. I remember back then, not being able to read made for some interesting name interpretations. I thought this was called 'Curious Atari!'

 

I also thought Bowling was 'Blowing' as in blowing bubbles or something, but nowadays you'd think it meant something else!

 

And Night Driver I read as 'Night Diver!' XD

[Kurt_Woloch]

OK, here's mine...

 

927.

 

 

I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do... for now.

 

Maybe I'll get better until the end of this competition week...

[Mister VCS]

4570

 

first hint: play this game in the evening, in a bad illuminated room with a cold beer next to you, and good music in the

background...

[aftermac]

536

 

Not great, but I'm improving.

 

[Impaler_26]

Oh boy, i totally suck at this!! I see a lot of clowns dying during this week!

 

659.

[aftermac]

1324

 

Think I just had my "breakout" game. (ban pun intended)

 

[toymailman]

IMO This game is great classic! My fisrt submission for the week.

 

8,806

 

 

I can't think of many tips as the gameplay is so simple, but very fun nonetheless. Keep bouncing the man up and don't let him go splat! However, I do have one suggestion that is tip worthy.

 

TIP: If you clear a row of red balloons then you get to reply the guy you are on after he goes splat (essentially a free life). After doing this then do not fully clear another red row while you still have your bonus reserve guy. Leave only a few reds left (preferably 1) and then crash on purpose. Your next guy will only have to pop the one (or very few) reds to get the bonus life again. With this method you can stay on the same life for quite a while.

 

However, I understand all too well that this is one of those "zone" games. It is hard to make yourself crash if all is going well, but this perpetual life trick is worth a try.

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

284!! WOOT!

 

Hint: After launching your little dude, the button will turn your teeter-totter around. (I honestly discovered this by accident)

[aftermac]

2497

 

I can't believe I never played this game before yesterday! I keep telling myself, "Ok, this is the last game...", then when the game ends... "well, maybe one more..."

 

 

 

284!! WOOT!

 

Hint: After launching your little dude, the button will turn your teeter-totter around. (I honestly discovered this by accident)

 

LOL! I did the same thing. After about 10 games I started thinking that it would be nice if there was some way to turn that thing around, so I decided to try pushing the button during a game.

[MrBeefy]

3813

 

It's a good thing I like the splat animation because I'm getting to see alot of it

[aftermac]

3813

 

It's a good thing I like the splat animation because I'm getting to see alot of it

 

Looks like you've got a bit of RF interference going on. How in the world did you manage 3813 with all that fuzz??

[Captain Beard]

After two days of attempts, the best score I've mustered is 999 (quite a bit shy of my 4100ish personal high score, which I still hope to beat this week.)

 

I've been increasingly frustrated by a recurring problem I don't recall having in the past: My occasional inability to get my clowns high enough to actually hit anything. I've had a few games where this has gone on for a minute or more - is there a simple way to break this pattern? Also, any advice on getting your clowns off the sides and back into the middle would be greatly appreciated.

[aftermac]

After two days of attempts, the best score I've mustered is 999 (quite a bit shy of my 4100ish personal high score, which I still hope to beat this week.)

 

I've been increasingly frustrated by a recurring problem I don't recall having in the past: My occasional inability to get my clowns high enough to actually hit anything. I've had a few games where this has gone on for a minute or more - is there a simple way to break this pattern? Also, any advice on getting your clowns off the sides and back into the middle would be greatly appreciated.

 

Tip: I've noticed that the closer to the edge of the teeter-totter you catch your guy, the higher he will go.

 

Tip: If you're clowns are stuck against the side try turning your teeter-totter around (as long as he is bouncing far enough away from the wall, so he doesn't fall) this will usually change the direction of the bounce.

[aftermac]

Tip: If your clown starts moving too fast, try to bounce him closer to the center of the teeter-totter a couple times (but, not TOO close), this will slow him down.

[lucifershalo]

scond attempt 625

third attempt 82, lol

it keeps bouncing but no score!!!

for a "first generation" atari game, it's quite fun

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

After two days of attempts, the best score I've mustered is 999 (quite a bit shy of my 4100ish personal high score, which I still hope to beat this week.)

 

I've been increasingly frustrated by a recurring problem I don't recall having in the past: My occasional inability to get my clowns high enough to actually hit anything. I've had a few games where this has gone on for a minute or more - is there a simple way to break this pattern? Also, any advice on getting your clowns off the sides and back into the middle would be greatly appreciated.

 

Tip: I've noticed that the closer to the edge of the teeter-totter you catch your guy, the higher he will go.

 

Tip: If you're clowns are stuck against the side try turning your teeter-totter around (as long as he is bouncing far enough away from the wall, so he doesn't fall) this will usually change the direction of the bounce.

 

I've noticed that the "edge" of the teeter totter is a deathtrap. Somehow, I doubt the fact of playing it on the 7800 as opposed to the 2600 will make any difference there. I'll be honest, this game is challenging...more challenging than I had thought.

[Deteacher]

My first submission: 4,312.

 

My tip is if the clown starts to move too fast, try to lead him onto one of the side trampolines. That will slow him down and let you gain some control again.

 

It was said earlier that this is definitely an "in the zone" game. I can see several people rolling the score on this one. I hope to be one of them.

[MrBeefy]

3813

 

It's a good thing I like the splat animation because I'm getting to see alot of it

 

Looks like you've got a bit of RF interference going on. How in the world did you manage 3813 with all that fuzz??

 

Pure talent of course, actually my AtariJr is pretty fuzzy on any tv. I don't know if its my rf cord or what b/c my 7800 is crystal clear. However it looks a little worse on the picture than what it really is.

Edited January 19, 2008 by MrBeefy

[doctorclu]

1445!

Edited January 19, 2008 by doctorclu

[keilbaca]

8737

 

So close... got up to 7k on clown 2, then just bombed the game.

 

I never knew bouncing clowns could make me want to punch a tv so bad.

[toymailman]

Hooray! I just rolled it!!

 

I started playing with two players to keep the action going. I actually rolled it with both players.

 

Player 1: 10,057

Player 2: 10,016

 

You can tell this is rolled because the balloon pattern shown would be impossible to have with a score of only 57 or 16.

 

Here is a screen shot of Player 2 just before rolling it.

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

WOOT! 1398!

 

(I'll add a pic later...I wanna try for higher.)

[aftermac]

4968

 

After getting almost 4000 on clown 1, I had hoped for a bit better... but that's how this game goes. Regardless, this may be my last score submission this week, but I'll keep trying.