PER-cepts, not PRE-cepts

1972

Entry posted by Guest July 2, 2005

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I can't believe I almost forgot about Percepts!

Percepts was the free Odyssey game you got for registering your Odyssey. You know the drill, you fill out a little slip of paper and mail it in to Magnavox. They get your personal information for nefarious marketing purposes and you get a free game. Not a bad deal!

This game would fall into the "Simon Says" category in that you must determine where to go on the screen and get there before your opponent does. It also uses cards. Percepts comes with two decks (Purple and Green) of 15 cards each, an Überlay (both sizes) and a set of instructions. There are two games described in the instructions.

The first is described as Patterns.

You take the 15 green cards and lay them out, face-up in a 3x5 grid, just like the blank rectangles you see on the Überlay. Study them carefully. Here's one to help you practice.

Next you and your opponent sit facing the face-up cards, with your hands off your stalwart controllers. One of you, the lucky one perhaps, draws a Purple card from the here-to-fore unused Purple deck.

Both of you study the pattern (the 3x3 grid) on the card. Then, find the pattern among the 15 Green cards already laid out, note the position of this Green card. Then it's a race, using the controllers to maneuver the Player Spots to the corresponding position on the overlay! If you get there first, you win the Green card! Do this until there are no more Green cards. Count the cards and the one with the most Green cards gets to gloat. We personally thought it made more sense to win a Purple card. Winning the Green card narrows the field of possible Green card candidates so the game gets easier and easier as you progress.

The second game, Symbols, is similar, but after studying the positions of Symbols on the face up cards you turn them all over. When you draw a Purple card you have to go the corresponding position of the now face down Green card that you suspect hides the Symbol in question. In Theory, one would think this would be more challenging than Patterns, but my son had an much easier time with Symbols than Patterns. This is probably due to the Symbols being easier to recognize and remember. I mean who could forget this adorable kitty cat?

It should be noted that the card sets aren't identical. The Purple card with the same Symbol as the Green card does not have the same Patttern. This is important because the Symbols turned out soo much easier to remember, that it would've been an easy way to cheat on the Patterns game (by ignoring the Patterns and only paying attention to the Symbols.)

I'll give Percepts a point for being a kind of on-screen/off-screen "Memory Match". It took us about 30 minutes to get through both game variations and it was way better than going outside and playing in this intense 98 degree Texas heat. It would have captivated us for an entire episode of Ultraman, only once maybe, but that's enough for the point.

I'm almost starting to feel sorry for Ultraman! His little expiration light is starting to blink. Heh. I wish I had some Ultraman on VHS/DVD then I might be able to blog some Ultraman episodes to do a real comparison.

The Score: Ultraman: 6, The Odyssey 10

Next entry should be about the 1972 Extra Game, Fun Zoo.

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Nelio 288

Posted July 16, 2012

Indeed, how could you forget this one!

Yet another videogame genre debuts on the Odyssey. Memory games! Here again the console is used as a mere accessory, which is a bit poor. But at least it's not as a means to randomize some game element.

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Mezrabad 148

Posted September 29, 2012

Hah, yes! Another example of all of the work being done inside our heads and with the physical elements not on the screen. I agree though, much better than as a randomizer.