Comprehensive List: No-Button Games

[phitter]

Pondering the purported evils of Atari’s Pac-Man got me thinking (and I apologize if this has been covered previously) what a comprehensive list would look like for:

 

Games That Can be Played Without the Need for the Button

 

With these parameters:

 

1. It is OK if the button is used only in order to start gameplay.

2. A game will count if ANY version/option is meant to be played without the need to use the button. (i.e. Super Breakout without the sticky feature.)

3. Points can be scored without the need to use the button.

4. A game will NOT count if it can be played without the button (i.e. Circus Atari) but no one plays without the button.

 

The List

1. Pac-Man

2. Ms. Pac-Man

3. Surround

4. Maze Craze

5. Frogger

6. Jr. Pac-Man

7. Warlords

8. Kaboom!

9. Q*Bert

10. Q*Berts Qubes

11. Skiing

12. Kool-Aid Man

13. Breakout

14. Super Breakout

15. Rabbit Transit

16. Fast Food

17. Tapeworm?

 

Homebrews

1. Ladybug

2. Vault Assault

3. Go Fish!

 

 

-phitter

Edited September 23, 2006 by phitter

[Christophero Sly]

I don't think you need the button to start a game of Freeway.

 

Jr. Pac-Man?

[+SpiceWare]

Warlords w/option of ricochet doesn't use buttons.

[ATARIPITBULL]

How about AMIDAR.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2006 by ATARIPITBULL

[BrianC]

How about AMIDAR.

 

It uses a button for the jump bomb thing.

[+FujiSkunk]

Jr. Pac-Man for sure, which means homebrews like Pesco and hacks like Hack 'Em should also be on the list.

 

Kaboom is arguable. It requires the button to start each level or turn, but the button is not used during actual game play. The same arguments could be made for Midnight Magic (but not really Video Pinball, since it has the nudge feature).

[Dauber]

Q*Bert

Q*Bert's Qubes

Vanguard (assuming difficulty switch set properly/improperly, depending on your feelings)

The running-only games in The Activision Decathlon

Edited September 21, 2006 by Dauber

[128bytes]

Activision Skiing - so long as you don't change the difficulty settings to require jumping over moguls.

 

Vault Assault (I believe)

[vdub_bobby]

Go Fish! only requires the button to start a game.

[ATARIPITBULL]

How about AMIDAR.

 

It uses a button for the jump bomb thing.

 

That's right, after I posted here, I pluged it in and realized that it does uses the fire button to stun the bad guy's.

 

[Urchlay]

Kaboom is arguable. It requires the button to start each level or turn, but the button is not used during actual game play.

 

Same goes for Breakout and Super Breakout, then.

 

Hm, the button doesn't do anything in Tapeworm, does it?

 

Heh, if you were feeling lucky, you could try to play River Raid or Berzerk without the button

 

(Actually, my brother can get pretty far in River Raid without shooting anything except the bridges at the end of the levels..)

Edited September 22, 2006 by Urchlay

[ewomack]

Did "Kaboom!" use a button? I can't remember...

[Gregory DG]

How about the homebrew Fall Down?

[+atari2600land]

Kool-Aid Man!

[Feralstorm]

Ladybug

[godzillajoe]

Fast Food

 

Fall Down uses the button to activate the power-ups.

Edited September 22, 2006 by godzillajoe

[Gregory DG]

Fall Down uses the button to activate the power-ups.

It has power-ups!? Shoot, I've been playing it "straight" this whole time!!

[godzillajoe]

What did you think those glowing do-dads were there for?!

[shadow460]

How 'bout Rabbit Transit? I'm surprised that wasn't mentioned with Frogger, actually.

 

I think Finshing Derby fits the list, too.

[A.J. Franzman]

Games That Can be Played Without the Need for the Button

 

4. Maze Craze

How do you want to handle variations? Some Maze Craze games allow use of the button (Blockade and Player Peek variations), though none require it.

[nester]

Hey, this is a neat list. I was going to make a list like this when I had that pile of broken Ataris. I wanted to make lists of games that would still work with certain problems in systems or controllers. There should also be a list of games that don't require the reset button. This is a problem I used to live with.

[phitter]

Games That Can be Played Without the Need for the Button

 

4. Maze Craze

How do you want to handle variations? Some Maze Craze games allow use of the button (Blockade and Player Peek variations), though none require it.

 

 

How about these parameters:

 

1. It is OK if the button is used only in order to start gameplay.

 

2. A game will count if ANY version/option is meant to be played without the need to use the button. (i.e. Super Breakout without the sticky feature.)

 

3. Points can be scored without the need to use the button.

 

4. A game will NOT count if it can be played without the button (i.e. Circus Atari) but no one plays without the button.

 

-phitter

[phitter]

 

I think Finshing Derby fits the list, too.

 

Fishing Derby can be played without the button but pressing the button reels the fish in faster which (IMO) is an integral component of competitive game play.

 

As an aside, I love that game and it is my top 15.

 

-phitter

[+Propane13]

No, no no.

 

You've got it all wrong.

 

You should do something interesting like "Only button games".

And there's only one I can think of.... and that's Pressure Gauge.

That's why I'm proud. One button of input, one thousand times pushing the reset button for more!

 

Or, was there another "only-button game" that beat me to it?

 

-John

[A.J. Franzman]

How do you want to handle variations? Some Maze Craze games allow use of the button (Blockade and Player Peek variations), though none require it.

How about these parameters:

Sounds good! Maybe you should edit the first post to include the parameters, as well as keeping the list of games current.

Edited September 22, 2006 by A.J. Franzman