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Released in 1972 and produced until 1974, the Magnavox Odyssey was the world’s first commercially available video game console. It was the brainchild of Ralph Baer, who is frequently referred to as “The Father of Home Video Games.” Baer conceived of the idea of playing games on a television set years earlier, and by 1967 had created his legendary “Brown Box,” a crude unit that played simple games and was light rifle compatible. Magnavox bought the rights to the system in 1971, redesigned the unit into a sleek, black and white console, and made it available to the public the following year.

Unlike subsequent video game systems, the Odyssey doesn’t have microprocessors. Rather, it contains transistors and diodes. The games are plug-in cards that essentially reconfigure the system’s internal circuitry to make minor adjustments to the basic onscreen objects, which consist of a pair of paddles, a ball, and a line. The controllers contain two side-mounted rotary knobs (for vertical and horizontal movement), an English knob (positioned on the left rotary knob), and a reset button in the middle. Several of the titles in the Odyssey library are variants of a game that players would come to know as Pong , but the beginnings of the Odyssey predate Pong , giving the system yet another feather in its cap in terms of video game history.

Due to the barebones nature of the Odyssey system (the unit produced no color, no scorekeeping, and no sound), the games were usually packaged with a variety of extras, such as game boards, dice, play money, tokens, tiles, cards, and/or other items. The games also came with overlays (for 13 and 19–25 inch television sets) to provide color and visual detail. Since the graphics and on-screen action were so basic, these peripheral items were important in distinguishing the games from one another. Some of the best games for the console, including Shooting Gallery , Prehistoric Safari , Dogfight , and Shoot-out , were produced for the system’s Shooting Gallery light rifle.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Ball-and-Paddle/Board Game, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

A pack-in cartridge with the Odyssey system, Analogic has players using the controller’s English knobs to keep a ball between two paddles (referred to as maintaining “interstellar contact”) while moving dots around a “computerized charted galaxy” (a numbered grid depicted via the screen overlay). Players from the planet “Even” can move to squares that, when added to the square occupied by the “Odd” player, total an even number, while players from Odd can move to squares that, when added to the square occupied by the Even player, total an odd number. For example, if the Even player is sitting on square 4, the Odd player could move to number 9 (since four plus nine equals 13). Diagonal movement is allowable only when a player spends a diagonal chip. Chips are earned when the ball gets past a player or when a dot lands on a certain square. The objective in the game is to reach the other player’s planet.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Sports/Baseball/Board Game, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Packaged with a game board, scoreboard, 48 playing cards, 12 runner tokens, dice, and a color overlay depicting an overhead view of a horizontal baseball diamond, Baseball is a solid effort to recreate America’s pastime within the limited capabilities of the Odyssey system. The pitcher uses the English control knob to maneuver the ball toward home plate while the batter tries to deflect the ball. If the ball is hit (deflected off the bat), the player can use the English control knob to maneuver the ball into the outfield to one of several marked areas indicating whether the batter got a hit or whether the batter needs to draw a card. Meanwhile, the pitcher/fielder can try to catch the ball by deflecting it back. Batting averages, which are determined by dice and subsequent hits made, and speed of players, which is determined by dice and a chart on the game board, play fairly substantial roles, adding to the game’s relative degree of realism.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Sports/Basketball, 2 players (simultaneous). 1973.

Like Baseball , Basketball for the Odyssey tries hard to emulate the real sport within the severely restricted confines of the system. Each player moves a dot around the screen, deflecting a ball off of walls (dribbling) and into their respective basket (shooting). Steals are allowable, and the oddly configured Odyssey controls are put to clever use, making for a competitive, highly enjoyable game. Basketball is packaged with home and visitor score cards and a blue screen overlay depicting an overhead view of a vertical basketball court.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Board Game, 2 players (simultaneous). 1973.

Brainwave is a fun game of strategy that comes packaged with a game board, two sets of 48 thought tiles, power markers, memory banks, dice, and a color overlay depicting two facial profiles and a grid-like maze. Players take turns rolling the dice to determine how many squares they can move their dot within the maze. The “attacker” tries to make dot-to-dot contact with the “defender” while the defender tries to avoid such contact. Brain power points, which are used to purchase thought tiles, are earned according to where the defender’s dot is in the maze when the attacker’s dot touches it. Thought tiles are used on the actual game board, with each player placing the tiles to form “trains of thought.” This portion of Brainwave could be seen as a precursor of sorts to Surround for the Atari 2600.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Maze, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

This early maze game has one player moving a mouse around the screen toward a mouse house while the other gamer uses a cat to chase the mouse. Each player gets three turns guiding the mouse, with the player earning the most points during his or her mouse turns winning the game. Each animal is represented by a dot, and the blue and white overlay depicts the maze and the mouse house. Players venturing into the blue squares must return to their starting point. Cat and Mouse was a pack-in game with the Odyssey system.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Light Gun Shooter, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

The screen overlay for Dogfight consists of a simple dotted pathway interspersed with circles that act as target points. One player guides an airplane (represented by a dot) through the trails while the player holding the gun tries to shoot the plane. The plane is vulnerable only when it passes through the circles. Like all the Shooting Gallery games for the Odyssey, this one is pretty darned entertaining.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Sports/Football/Board Game, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

The first gridiron home video game, Football was a pack-in title with the Odyssey system. The action, which takes place mostly off screen, has players using 60 different cards to call passing, running, punting, and kicking plays, and a game board and yardage markers to track field position. The game also includes two football tokens and a green screen overlay, the latter of which depicts an overhead view of the field. The on screen activity that does take place consists of each player using the English knob on their controller to try and maneuver a ball past the other player’s dot.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Educational/General, 3 players (simultaneous). 1972.

This simple educational title has players one and two matching animals pictured on the screen overlay with those depicted on 28 Fun Zoo cards, which player three (the “zoo keeper”) calls out. The objective during each turn is to be the first player to guide his or her dot to the correct animal cage, thus winning the card. The youngest of gamers will enjoy Fun Zoo , but only for a short time.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Ball-and-Paddle, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

This mildly enjoyable Pong variant has each player guiding a dot up and down the right side of the screen, taking turns rebounding a ball off their dot and against a wall that is positioned on the left side of the playfield. The English button can be used to try and maneuver the ball past the player’s dot, giving the game a good, competitive element of play. The game includes a white screen overlay depicting a simplistic handball court and outlines of two players.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Action/Adventure, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Not to be confused with the Atari 2600 game of the same name, Haunted House for the Odyssey puts one player in the role of a detective and the other in the role of a ghost. The detective’s mission, which is made difficult by the hiding, disruptive ghost, is to guide a dot through a house and to specific items, avoiding windows along the way. Guiding the dot to the correct item grants the detective the drawn card. The game comes packaged with 30 clue cards, 13 secret message cards (which require the detective to give up a card or take a card that he missed), and a screen overlay depicting a purple, ornately designed house that is filled with cats, bats, skulls, and the like.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Ball-and-Paddle, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Included with the Odyssey system, Hockey is similar to Pong (players rebound a ball off of their “paddles” to keep it in play), but there’s a face-off each time the ball goes out of bounds. During face-offs, players use the English control to try and get the “puck” past their opponent. One unusual feature of the game is that it includes fouls, which occur when a goalie backs into his or her goal. When this happens, the gamer must agree to play using just one hand for the next two plays. The screen overlay depicts a horizontal hockey rink with silhouettes of 12 hockey players.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Flight Combat Simulator/Board Game/ Educational/Science, 1–4 players (simultaneous). 1973.

Interplanetary Voyage for the Odyssey comes packaged with the following items: a data screen game board, 40 mission cards, 72 knowledge cards, four message chips, four spaceship tokens, and a screen overlay depicting the solar system and planetary orbits. During a player’s turn, he or she must draw a mission card, directing that player to a planet. The player must then pilot their onscreen spaceship (depicted by a dot, of course) by manipulating the vertical and horizontal knobs on their controller. Players are given three thrusts of the ship to maneuver it to its proper destination, but care should be taken to not fly off the screen or into the sun or to a planet surrounded by a force field, which another player can erect by spending a game piece. Completing a mission grants the player that mission card, and the first player to get a certain number of mission cards is the winner. Also included is University of the Solar System, which is an educational game.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Board Game/Action, 2–4 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Packaged with a game board, four ship tokens, dice, 40 treasure loot cards, a screen overlay (depicting castles), and a whopping 300 army tokens, Invasion is somewhat similar to (but not as fun as) the classic board game Risk , with each player engaged in war, trying to capture the other player’s castles while protecting their own. Players can attack castles in the immediate vicinity, but must use gold to purchase a ship to transport their armies to castles that are farther away. During a “direct attack,” the attacker tries to maneuver their onscreen dot past the opponent’s dot, while a “sneak attack” involves moving an invisible dot to a castle door. Once the dot is inside a castle, an “internal battle” will take place, in which the attacking player tries to maneuver their dot to one of the castle’s four guard towers.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Board Game, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Available only by mail (via a leaflet that came with the Odyssey system), Percepts comes packaged with a red screen overlay (depicting 15 card-shaped windows), 15 green cards, and 15 purple cards. Two game variations are included—Patterns and Symbols—each of which is somewhat similar to Hunt & Score for the Atari 2600. Gameplay involves drawing cards, guessing where specific cards are hidden, matching green cards to their corresponding purple cards, and racing onscreen dots to their corresponding spaces.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Light Gun Shooter, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Designed for the Shooting Gallery gun peripheral, Prehistoric Safari has players firing at an assortment of dinosaurs depicted on-screen by a nicely illustrated overlay, which also includes a lake, a volcano, and a tree. One player moves a little red target light behind each of the creatures while the gunman takes aim and fires. After 15 shots, players alternate roles, and the one with the most hits wins. The Shooting Gallery is the best aspect of the Odyssey system, and Prehistoric Safari makes good use of it.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Gambling/Board Game, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

The screen overlay packaged with Roulette depicts a red, purple, and yellow roulette wheel. When the wheel is “spun,” an onscreen ball will usually land on a number on the wheel, but poor programming means the ball will sometimes land around the edges of the wheel or even in the center. Roulette , which was a pack-in with the Odyssey system, uses poker chips, play money, and a game board for letting players make their bets.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Light Gun Shooter, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Shooting Gallery , which shares the name of the gun peripheral it is designed for, is the most advanced game in the Odyssey library. The player holding the rifle shoots at four horizontal rows of overlay-enhanced targets (planes, rabbits, ducks, and ships) while the other player uses a standard controller to assist in setting up the target light (a large square). Once the target light is set up in a row, it travels back and forth independently, making for a computer-controlled moving target, which was quite a novelty back in 1972.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Light Gun Shooter, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

In Shootout , one player uses a standard controller to move a small white square around the screen (which, via overlay, depicts two houses and some horses and carriages) while the other player holds the Shooting Gallery gun, takes aim and fires. Although abstract in design, the intent is clear: one player runs for their life while the other player tries to shoot them. A guilty pleasure to say the least, Shootout is one of the few video games of the golden age in which the onscreen object being shot at represents a defenseless human being. And it’s a heck of a lot of fun.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Educational/General/Action, 3 players (simultaneous). 1972.

One of six pack-in games with the Odyssey system, Simon Says comes with 28 cards, each depicting a body part. One player says aloud what is on the card, prompting the other two players to race to move their dots on the screen to the body part in question (the screen overlay shows a boy and girl standing with their dog and cat). There’s only one catch: the players should only move their dots if the gamer holding the cards calls out “Simon Says.”

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Sports/Skiing, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Packaged with the Odyssey console, Ski is a fun, competitive game that has players maneuvering a dot around twisting, turning ski slopes, trying to keep the dot from going off the trail. The screen overlay shows an overhead view of dotted trails, along with a side view of triangular trees and snow-capped mountains. The player with the fewest crashes, which happen when the dot hits a tree or another off-trail object, wins the game. Ski is a nice break from the many Odyssey Pong variants and is the best sports game for the system.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Educational/Geography, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

States is a memory game/trivia contest that comes with a map screen overlay of the U.S., an “affairs of states” study map, and 50 cards. Each card represents a state and contains three questions about that state. Instead of simple, dry questions, the cards contain riddles, rhymes, and other fun ways of helping players remember what they learn. Actual gameplay involves players closing their eyes while using the horizontal and vertical controller knobs to move a dot on the screen to a random state, then selecting the state’s card and answering questions to win that card. The player’s dot frequently lands off screen (forcing a redo), but States is nevertheless a fairly entertaining educational tool for parents to play with their younger children.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Non-Scrolling Shooter, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

This game has one player guiding a ship (represented by a dot) through twisting, turning pathways (depicted by the screen overlay) while the other player maneuvers sub torpedoes (one at a time, of course) toward the ship. The ship will sink if a torpedo makes contact or if the ship veers off course and hits a mine. Players alternate roles after three turns. Submarine offers mild enjoyment for a brief period and is notable for its role as the first nautical console shooter.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Ball-and-Paddle, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

The only Odyssey game that does not come with its own screen overlay, Table Tennis is one of six pack-in games with the system. It is basically Pong (or, one might say, Pong is basically Table Tennis ), but with square paddles, and, like all Odyssey games, no sound and no onscreen scoring (though the first player to 21 is purportedly the winner). After a ball is deflected off a paddle, that player can use the English knob to try and wiggle it past his or her opponent.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Ball-and-Paddle, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Tennis is very similar to Table Tennis , but is supplemented by a green overlay that features an overhead view of a tennis court. Each player guides a paddle up and down on their side of the screen, rebounding a bouncing ball off their paddle and across the court in hopes that the other player misses the ball. As in Table Tennis , players can put English on the ball after it has been hit. Tennis comes packaged with the Odyssey system. The instructions suggest that players score the game like real tennis.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Ball-and-Paddle, 2 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Yet another Pong -like game for the Odyssey, Volleyball offers simplistic ball-andpaddle action, but with a couple of minor differences. Players must hit the ball over a net, in hopes that the other player misses the ball. If the player does miss the ball, it can hit the “floor” (the bottom of the playfield), and if the ball hits the net, the ball will vanish. Volleyball comes packaged with a screen overlay depicting the side-view of a net and outlines of six volleyball players.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Educational/Spelling/Math/General, 1–4 players (simultaneous). 1973.

Packaged with four wax slates, four plastic styluses, 18 word cards, 18 number cards, nine image cards, and a screen overlay, W.I.N. has players moving a dot to one of many letters, numbers, and shapes depicted onscreen via the overlay. When it’s the player’s turn, he or she will draw a card, press the reset button on their controller to make the dot disappear, try to maneuver the invisible dot to an object depicted on the card, then press the reset button again to make the dot appear. Hopefully, the dot will land on the proper object, letting the player use the object to help form the respective word, image (such as a cat, clown, or boat), or number sentence (such as 6 + 3 = 3 x 3). If the dot lands on the wrong item, another player may use it to help complete their objective. The first player to complete two words, one image, and two number sentences wins the game. W.I.N. is an acronym for Words, Images, and Numbers.

PUBLISHER: Magnavox. DEVELOPER: Magnavox. Formula-1/Indy Racing/Board Game, 2–4 players (simultaneous). 1972.

Wipeout , which comes packaged with four car tokens, a game board, 25 pit stop cards, and a screen overlay, is an early racing game in which players “drive” a dot around a track that is outlined by the overlay. One player controls the timer light, which goes back and forth bouncing off a pair of clocks, while the other steers the car. In addition to timing a race, the aforementioned light can also disrupt the driver’s progress around the track. When a player finishes an onscreen race, he or she then moves their car token the appropriate number of spaces on the board. Landing on a pit stop can make the player gain or lose extra spaces.