RickR

"Star Raiders" and "Pac-Man" need to be added as well.

I need to give 2600 Crystal Castles a try. I'm not sure I've ever really played it much. The arcade game is awesome, and I have distinct memories of playing it and loving it. It reminds me a lot of another classic track-ball game that didn't get a classic-console port: Marble Madness. I know the Genesis has a really good port, but I can't think of anything earlier than that.

The "Handy" emulator works really nicely and is super easy to install. Find the links (lynx?) at that site.

"Constable" RickR has the same disposition as Constable Odo from DS9: Grouchy yet trustworthy.

Here's some good info on how to emulate the Lynx. The web emulation works fine. If you decide to use an app on your PC, Justin has attached the rom file in the first post. https://atarigamer.com/pages/atari-lynx-emulation

I can assist with emulation if anyone needs help. "MESS" does a fantastic job of Lynx emulation, and it's available for Windows or Mac.

I'm ready. I have my stretchy pants ready to go.

I will get to this as soon as we return fully to normal here from the fire situation. My 5200 is in the attic, but I want to get it out to try the new Tempest cart I just got...

The 5200 version is probably the best of the lot. It's got 8-bit bug fixes and analog controls added.

You gave @nosweargamer a little part of your day, and he taught you to play.

I think it's confusing. I've read that manual several times, yet I'm still not sure I'm playing the game correctly. The little drawings don't really match what you see in the game. Finally, note the lack of color and polish that we expected from Atari. It's a cheap two-color fold-out. They also recycled the Star Raiders art! A great game like that deserved better.

8-bit Star Raiders is so good, I can go years without playing, yet still remember the controls. It's like "Adventure". Same deal. I can get through those mazes no problem even if I don't play it for years. Play the 8-bit version for me before the watered-down 2600 version.

There are FOUR games that are very similar in theme: Star Raiders (Atari), Starmaster (Activision), Space Battle (M-Network) and Star Voyager (Imagic). I'd rate them like this: Star Voyager - This one is all action and looks great. Starmaster - It's simpler and smoother than Star Raiders Space Battle - You don't really fly through space here, but I like the cascading explosions. Pretend you're playing Battlestar Galactica on this one. Star Raiders - hard to control the battle portion. It's the most "Star Trek" of these games. Ooof, that was tough. They are all great games and they all are within millimeters of each other ratings-wise. The one great thing about Star Raiders is you don't need to consult the manual to remember the controls. ;

I found this to be so interesting. Those dang Tramiels! https://dougneubauer.com/atarisolarismanual/

Star Raiders on the Atari computers was the "killer-app" on that system. It was an astounding game for it's time. Absolutely one of my top-5 games of all time. Written by Doug Neubauer. He also created the POKEY sound chip, and Solaris on the 2600. Some really fun reading here: https://dougneubauer.com/atari/ The 2600 version is watered down quite a bit, but still fun. I like that it came with that extra keypad controller. Clearly, that was supposed to be used on other games that never came to be.

53,030 - YES! 50k member. I think this may do it for me. I may try again after dinner though.

Yes. You pretty much nailed it. It's kind of typical for an early game....very crude graphics yet surprisingly fun. I think there's a variation where both players try to hit the same landing pad, and it causes a lot of splats. With two players, the game really is a lot of fun.

I never finished this post! Coming soon -- Dig Dug!

I sold off my magazines a long time ago due to (as you mention) space concerns. It was a full collection of Electronic Games, and several years of Compute! EG issue #1 brought in around $100 back then, which I was happy to get. Do I miss them? Nope. No regrets at all. I think it's cool to buy a few issues to reminisce as you've done. It really can take you back in time and make you feel young again! To be honest, I did keep a few Compute! magazines. I like to tell the tale about almost being published in Compute! I wrote a Pac-Man esque game for the VIC-20 and got all the way to contract stage before they decided not to go forward. I'll be interested to know how you do in typing in the programs. I have several SD card solutions. Let me know if you need help figuring out how to save or anything like that. You should be able to take a DOS ATR file and just save your basic programs to that image. Just make sure to keep a clean copy of it first!

I can vouch for Paul -- he does a great job and is a good person to deal with.

Fantastic! That's a great score for someone new to the game. Don't forget to attach a picture to your score. Let us know if you need help with that.

My life experience is almost identical to @socrates63. From my father buying me a VIC-20 and considering it mostly a toy, to his realization that maybe it wasn't when I ended up at various user group meetings with adults, to ending up with an engineering degree and making a career out of it. Also, both of my kids were heavily into video games (and I was right there with them for the most part). Older son is now a CPA and still gaming. Younger is a senior in college and still gaming. Mostly, it is important to stay as well-rounded as you can. There are social aspects to video gaming. When I was young, there were always other kids over (or me at their house) playing together. And in my kids' experience, it's similar (but only with old retro systems). On-line gaming is a different beast IMO, as there are a lot of creeps out there. It's not easy with the pandemic, as with most things. We can start up a weekly chat on these forums if you think that would help. It's more "live" than just posting.

Interesting. It went south first to San Francisco to an "international processing center". When you get that package, it may smell like a campfire for all it's travel on the west coast.

WOW, @socrates63. Very nicely done! I think you're right about it being a matter of focus. That's what I have trouble with. Focusing for the full time it takes to get to the higher level. I usually do really well, and then someone or something distracts me and I lose all my lives almost at once. Work permitting, I'll try once more today to at least break 50k if I can.