Basketball

Visualize that you are sitting at center court about six rows back. The bottom of the playfield is the near side of the court. The goals are in the center of the two end lines, while the top of the court is the side farthest away.

So you press him hard. Force a wild shot. Leap high for the rebound. Then make a spectacular break for the winning baskets.

Use the difficulty switches to arrange great matches between pros and double dribblers.

Don’t let those tall skinny people have all the fun!

About the Game

As one of the first sports games to release on the Atari, it was an extremely momentous time for gaming. Although the game is somewhat simple in its gameplay, having a video game that allowed you to play something that you only knew as a physical sport was mind-boggling at the time.

What made Basketball stand apart from other similar games was the way that the player shot the ball. Even to this day, there are games with even less complex controls. Your success at making a shot depended on how long you held the fire button in relation to your player’s distance from the basket

Although not readily apparent on the surface, there is a lot of strategy involved in playing Basketball on the Atari 2600. Playing defense against your opponent is much more important than being the best shot on the court. Obviously, being a good shot is important but it’s also crucial to keep the ball out of your opponent’s hands by either stealing the ball or blocking a shot.

Object of the Game

Score more points than your opponent during one four-minute period.

Game Options

Game 1 (2-player Game)

In this version, you play against an opponent. To make your game more interesting, try playing two four-minutes halves and change joystick controllers at halftime!

Game 2 (1-player Game)

Using the right joystick controller, it’s you against the computer. Note that the computer is programmed to play tougher as the game progresses.

The closer the score, the better the computer’s defense gets,

plus the computer will unleash more offensive moves. Don’t let the computer get more than an 8-point lead; once the score gets closer, the computer’s defense will get stronger.

How to Play

Controller Action

Moving your joystick controller in various directions moves your player around the court.

The player with the ball will dribble automatically, always facing in the direction of the goal. The defending player, on the other hand, will always face the player dribbling the ball.

To shoot, press the red controller button. This causes your player to stop dribbling and hold the ball over his head. When the controller button is released, the player will shoot. When a shot is taken as the ball is over a player’s head, it results in a long, high-arching shot. When a shot is taken when the ball is held low in front of the player, it results in a short, easy shot. Every shot will always go toward the correct player’s goal.

To defend against an opponent’s shot, place a player between the ball and the basket. When the shooter releases the ball, depress your red controller button to make your player jump in an attempt to block the shot and recover the ball. You can only block a shot when the ball is in its upward arc. Note there is no “goaltending” in this game.

To steal the ball, put your player’s feet even with your opponent’s feet while he’s dribbling the ball. When the ball leaves your opponent’s hand while dribbling, take the ball and race toward your own basket. Stealing the ball gets much easier with practice and becomes an integral part of any defensive strategy.

Game Difficulty

When the difficulty is set in the B position, your player moves quicker from one basket to the other compared to the A position. That said, a beginning player playing the game with the difficulty set to the B position will be able to better defend and will be outrun his opponent.

Number of Players

There are two options and the difference lies between the two game variants. Choosing to either play against the computer or another player.

Scoring

In both 1-player and 2-player games, the scoring works exactly the same. During each of the four-minute halves, the goal it to score more points than your opponent. Each made basket results in two points.