Serious Atari 2600 collectors

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

So, is anyone here a serious Atari 2600 collector? If so than what rare games should I be hunting to better my collection? Currently I've got 40 2600 titles, mainly they're the standard fare of E.T, Pac-Man, Asteroids, Missile Command, Pitfall, Space Invaders, Atlantis, Boxing, Grand Prix, Dragonfire, Combat, Star Wars games, ect ect....but I'm looking to expand my collection with great games I've never played before or rare gems that would make the collection shine.

Always looking for good 2600 titles, so let me know what I should be hunting! Thanks.

[treismac]

I recommend the following 2600 games:

Seaquest
H.E.R.O.
Jungle Hunt
Yars' Revenge
Frostbite
Frogger
Ms. Pac-Man
Berzerk
Dig Dug
Enduro
Joust
and of course you need Pitfall 2.

[ShinobiMan]

Road Runner
Gremlins
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Spider-Man

Those are some excellent licensed games that were on Atari 2600.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

I recommend the following 2600 games:

Seaquest
H.E.R.O.
Jungle Hunt
Yars' Revenge
Frostbite
Frogger
Ms. Pac-Man
Berzerk
Dig Dug
Enduro
Joust
and of course you need Pitfall 2.

I've got Yars Revenger, SeaQuest, Ms. Pac-Man, Frogger, Pitfall 2, Berzerk, and Dig Dug. I will check out the others though.

[Atarileaf]

You didn't list everything you have so some of these you may already own but I think they're great and a little rarer

Pengo
Jawbreaker
Tunnel Runner
BeamRider
Cosmic Commuter

and these are also great but not really rare

Robot Tank
Solar Fox
Keystone Kapers
Solaris
MoonSweeper
Starmaster
Megamania
Spider Fighter
Turmoil
Pressure Cooker
Circus Atari (paddles)
Warlords (paddles)


Many of the arcade ports like Centipede, Millipede, Phoenix, Vanguard, etc are great despite the graphics, again, you may have those because they're common.

[goldenband]

The nice thing about collecting for Atari 2600 is that most of the rare games aren't among the console's better games. In fact, many of the rarest titles are terrible!

That said, there are some worth checking out, like Rescue Terra I, Crazy Climber, and Shuttle Orbiter. And some are just wonderfully bizarre, like Mangia.

OTOH, prototypes are a different story -- some very good games went unreleased. Lord of the Rings: Journey to Rivendell and Star Wars: Ewok Adventure are two of the most interesting ones. I have a special attachment to both of those since I coveted them as a child, when they were featured in the Parker Bros. catalog as upcoming games. LOTR looked especially amazing, with claims of a huge, open world. Finding out that protos had been found was a treat.

And then there's the wealth of homebrews, the best of which are equal to or (arguably) better than the best games released during the lifetime of the console. In terms of what's "rare", most are still available or are made on demand, but the limited edition releases Star Castle and Boulder Dash are sold out. (There might be a second run of Star Castle, but Boulder Dash is done for good.) But there's still Thrust, Medieval Mayhem, and many more.

[sloan]

Thunderground
Jr. Pac Man
Lock n' Chase
Beamrider
Robot Tank
Battlezone
No Escape
Laser Gates
Dolphin
Xenophobe

[Pantechnicon]

Pitfall 2
Demon Attack
Enduro
Starmaster
Spider-Man
Indy 500
Freeway
Video Pinball
Miniature Golf (funner than it looks)

[Captain_N77]

Surprised no one mentioned River Raid yet. It's a fun one that is very common. Didn't see you mention if this one was in your collection.

Amazingly enough, the Alien game is actually pretty fun. Pick it up if you have a chance, it's not a very rare or expensive game.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

Well, I've added about 15 new 2600 games to my collection over the past couple of days and took some recommendations from those who posted about certain games and also picked up some titles that looked good from YouTube videos as well. This weekend I plan on having a 2600 marathon and playing the hell out of the system, something I haven't done in a couple of years and now I have a ton of new games to enjoy to go along with the classics I've always loved.

[bigbacon]

Do you have Pitfall 2? if not you must get Pitfall 2.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

Do you have Pitfall 2? if not you must get Pitfall 2.

I've got Pitfall 2, I've had that one all along.

[tom]

Serious yeah, suggestions? I like 'em all

[MetalFRO]

^^

That's quite the collection! I'm curious, how many of those are CIB vs. just box & cart? Looks like you're quite the 2600 aficionado!

[tom]

Approx 1/3rd
Many games in box miss the manuals nowadays.

And maybe 10 or 12 games with selfmade box.
for example Mogul Maniac never had a box, it came with the controller:


Some Tigervision are hard to come by cib


So I don't mind making my own box when I have to, but I try to get cib or at least cart and box first.


And I don't mind HES boxed games (AUS origin), as seen here with RR 2, Double Dragon, Rampage:

[StarMan_NES]

Just get the games you enjoy, OP.

I consider myself a fairly serious Atari VCS collector and I've got about 120 games, none of which are the really expensive and rare ones or the porno games like Custer's Revenge. Just get the games you know you enjoy and check out YouTube videos of games that sound appealing to you, if one looks like you'll have fun playing it than go ahead and purchase it. That's how I've gone about collecting games throughout the years.

[Ro-J]

A page full of replies and no one's mentioned Kaboom! yet? How is that possible?

[Atarileaf]

A page full of replies and no one's mentioned Kaboom! yet? How is that possible?

Good point, you're right. The OP doesn't mention if he has paddles or not though, assuming he does, then yes, Kaboom is a must have (if he doesn't have it already)

[sloan]

I loved Kaboom! way back when, and could often score high on it. Then I got older and my reflexes are not what they used to be. That is the only reason it did not make my list on this thread.