Indy 500 (video game)

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This article is for the video game for the race please see Indianapolis 500.

Indy 500 was a video game cartridge developed by Atari for its Video Computer System (later known as the Atari 2600). The game was one of the nine launch titles offered when the Atari 2600 went on sale in October of 1977.

This video car racing game – obstensibly named after the Indianapolis 500 – offered a number of games (listed below).

Included with each game was a set of two driving controllers, which were identical in appearance to the paddle controller except they could rotate continuously.

[edit] Game variations

Among the racing games included:

• Standardized racing games: Players could opt to race against the clock or complete 25 laps around the course the soonest. A number of courses were featured (either dry or "ice-covered").

• "Crash and Score": Players competed – either against each other or a computer opponent – to crash into a white square randomly placed on the track. The square was moved whenever one player crashed into it.

• "Tag": Each player controlled a car. One was blinking and had to avoid being struck by the other car (which was "it").

[edit] Options

Each game allowed the player to determine the following:

• Whether the game had a time limit or continued until a certain score was reached.
• The number of players (one or two). In one-player games, the player competed against a computer opponent.