Keatah Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 (edited) Yup, like the title says.. What's your favorite Black and White game? The answers are likely to be early arcade games, or perhaps the home consoles. Flipping the Color/B&W switch on the VCS does not count! To kick it off, mine are Lunar Lander and Sprint 2. Lunar Lander because I remember 1st playing it in a museum, and the deep rumbling bass was pretty atmospheric. Loved it. And it would become the "centerpiece" of many of my childhood flights of fancy. I liked the text versions, the programmable calculator versions, the Apple II versions.. Playing those in our blanket forts was loads fun! And naturally now, the arcade played through M.A.M.E. too. Sprint 2 was interesting, it was likely (can't exactly remember) one of the first arcade games I played. I would go to Dispensa’s in California, and the druggies that hung out there would hoist me up so I could see what was going on. And occasionally I would swear and do stupid stuff to make them laugh. I thought of it as payment. Seemed to work. In the “era” of Sprint 2, it was America’s bi-centennial year, and everything was festive and decorated in red, white, and blue. Seemed like there was no escape! But we weren’t complaining. The Dispensa’s toy store and arcade wasn’t that far from Magic Mountain. And of course riding the Revolution was a real treat for a kid. The way the coaster dove through the forest and skimmed the ground at top speed was a real rush. Then it’d climb out atop a hill and you could see the whole park and some sort of valley IIRC. The Antonov Schwarzkopf loop was pretty much designed to present you with a steady g-force throughout. I learned about gravity and all sorts of science by riding that coaster. Ahem.. getting back on track! These games are rather simplistic. But they're what we had and full of memories and good times for those of us that played them back in the day. Edited October 18, 2017 by Keatah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 For multiplayer its hard to beat pong. For single player its pretty close between asteroids, or lunar lander. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 I agree, Pong remains the B&W champ after 45 (?) years. It is a game that despite its blockyness and simplistic controllers, people still like a challenge against someone else. It is also a game that simply adding colours to it really doesn't make much of a difference. Sprint really can use colours though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Some of the old 70s era b&w games held their own in the early 80s arcades but Pong wasn't one of them. Lunar Lander was an impressive machine with its control panel, so was the Night Driver cockpit machine. Space Invaders and Asteroids were great games but if I had someone to play with I'd go for Fire Truck or Biplanes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 The second game. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Star Trek arcade on the Vectrex, arcade Asteroids, and I do recall that Sprint you linked being fun ages ago with some fuzzy memory of it. Lunar Lander I've tried to like for years but I never got really all that good at it but it is fun briefly before the fuel runs out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Asteroids probably, though Cinematronics' Space Wars offers up some never ending 2-player fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Rip Off, especially if you've got a second player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 (edited) My favorite B&W game is an obscure early arcade game called Wheels by Midway. It's one of the first racing video games, debuting in 1975. Funspot used to have this one (and the two player Wheels II) and I would always play it every time I made a pilgrimage there. As a car guy, I really liked that the cabinet had a real, working Sun tachometer and a muscle car-style aluminum T-handle shifter. It's similar to games like Street Racer and Grand Prix in that you have to dodge as many oncoming cars as you can within a time limit. Having two gears plays into the strategy as well. Edited October 18, 2017 by Silverfleet 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thanatos Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Atari's Red Baron arcade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 (edited) For me it's Super Breakout by a mile. Some time around the age of 6 or so, which would have been in 1991, I remember sitting on a barstool in a pool hall playing a Super Breakout arcade machine for the first time. At the time I didn't realize that it was a black and white game since the screen had an overlay that gave the illusion of color, but those one or two minutes of playing kicked off a life long love of brick breaking games for me. I've since made it a point to buy every Breakout style game available for every system I've ever owned, and I still love the classic Super Breakout arcade game just as much as I did when I was 6 years old. Edited October 18, 2017 by Jin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 I would have to go with Asteroids, if only because I do not recall playing any of the other early, B&W games. I have never actually seen a Lunar Lander or Red Baron arcade machine. Looking at the screenshot for Sprint 2, I seem to recall that my local arcade had one in about the early-1980s. As I do not much like racing games, I probably never played it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyluli Wolf Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Asteroids and Night Driver. Who doesn't love that giant plastic car at the bottom of the screen? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 WOW, I did not know black and white games ever existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trinity Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Asteroids, Coin-op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ransom Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 There are so many great ones. I love Asteroids, Lunar Lander, and Night Driver. Avalanche and Space Invaders are both awesome, and underneath the overlays they're B&W. Canyon Bomber and Skydiver are a lot of fun. But you know what I play a lot of? Amazing Maze! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 (edited) Do you mean "B/W Era" games (essentially, from the 1970s) or just any game that happens to be B/W? In any case, here are a few of my silver-screen favorites: Hockey, Tennis, Smash - Odyssey 100/200/400 Hockey, Tennis, Smash - Odyssey 300/2000, APF TV Fun, TV Scoreboard, etc. Starship 1 - Arcade Anti-Aircraft - Arcade Tank - Arcade Adventureland - TRS-80/Apple II/TRS-80 Model II Pirate Adventure - TRS-80/Apple II/TRS-80 Model II Strange Odyssey - TRS-80/Apple II/TRS-80 Model II Voodoo Castle - TRS-80/Apple II/TRS-80 Model II The Count - TRS-80/Apple II/TRS-80 Model II Scramble - Vectrex Minestorm - Vectrex Berzerk - Vectrex Armor Attack - Vectrex Space Wars - Vectrex Rockaroids - Vectrex Asteroids - Arcade Bowling - Studio II Air Raid - TRS-80 (clone of "Target" for Sol-20; later adapted by Radio Shack as "Flying Saucers") Paddle Pinball - TRS-80 Sea Dragon - TRS-80 Robot Attack - TRS-80 Galaxy Invasion - TRS-80 Sprint 2 - Arcade 280 Zzzap - Arcade (never played the arcade version of Night Driver) Death Race - Arcade Space Invaders - Arcade (B/W with color overlays) Breakout - Arcade (ditto) Video Pinball - Arcade (B/W against color foreground playfield) Gunfight - Arcade WOW, I did not know black and white games ever existed. Seriously? Edited October 18, 2017 by BassGuitari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 18, 2017 Author Share Posted October 18, 2017 I agree, Pong remains the B&W champ after 45 (?) years. It is a game that despite its blockyness and simplistic controllers, people still like a challenge against someone else. It is also a game that simply adding colours to it really doesn't make much of a difference. Sprint really can use colours though. Sprint 8 has minimal color. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 18, 2017 Author Share Posted October 18, 2017 Do you mean "B/W Era" games (essentially, from the 1970s) or just any game that happens to be B/W? In any case, here are a few of my silver-screen favorites: Mostly from the the 70's B/W era when "Color" was a new thing. Monochromatic TRS-80 & Vectrex games sort of count, they're later in time, but their hardware and software/programming was still B/W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Star Castle and Space Wars were great in the arcade. But the best memories come from the 2 player Atari football in the arcade with trackballs. It was just Xs and Os, but I would love to find one to play today (and find room for it in my house). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfleet Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 The more I think about it, the more this thread brings me back! A lot of the "Bronze Age" games that Atari/Kee Games and Midway released were a lot of fun. I don't know what it was, but I gravitated toward them when I was a kid even though they were way past their prime by then. I remember going to Six Flags over Georgia back in the late 90's when on a trip with the High School Band for a competition, and I stumbled upon an older arcade on the premises. IIRC, they had two arcades there: one with newer games (like Die Hard Arcade and Gauntlet Legends) and this older arcade with ancient relics. It was AWESOME. In there, they had games like Canyon Bomber, Sky Diver, Atari Football, Atari Basketball, Breakout, some of the Sprint games, and Fire Truck. It was like getting a history lesson. My friends were puzzled as to why I was so fascinated by these old games, but it was a very cool experience. I really need to get back to Funspot soon. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Flipping the Color/B&W switch on the VCS does not count! My first thought was VCS PAC-MAN with the color turned off. It's way more playable that way. Asteroids is far and away my favorite early B&W game, sorry that's so obvious. I had a Mac SE as my first real computer, and it had a little monochrome screen with decent resolution for the time. There was a wonderful port/re-imagining of Lunar Lander called Lunar Rescue that was a ton of fun. Also NetTrek, Continuum, Apache Strike, Dark Castle, Tetris, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Virtual Valerie, Welltris, Mission Thunderbolt, Dungeon of Doom, Crystal Quest, Sky Shadow, HyperCard World Builder, Shufflepuck Cafe, SimCity, Lode Runner ... and so many more. Here's my pick for this thread, it should be familiar to most people, though maybe not in this form: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 I have to go with others and say Asteroids is my favorite. Haven't played much with other black & white "classics". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I'd say my favorites are all arcade games: Asteroids, Space Invaders, Rip Off (with two players, it's not as fun by yourself), and Atari Football with those huge trackballs that sometimes pinched the "cheek" on your palms. Oh yeah, also Tail Gunner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StopDrop&Retro Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Downwell, if that counts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.