An old game for the
Atari 2600, Circus Atari is a
Breakout-style game featuring two circus clowns on a
springloaded see-saw who attempt to pop three rows of rotating balloons. Once all of the balloons are popped in a row, a new row springs up to replace it.
Point levels differ depending on which row is popped. The three rows are colored yellow, blue, and red (or white, gray, and less gray for those with a black & white TV), and are worth 1, 5, and 10 points, respectively. Being the agile circus performers that they are, your see-sawers can stay up in the air for long periods of time, as long as they keep hitting balloons.
As the controller of the see-saw, you must rotate the paddle left and right to assure a soft landing for your acrobatic balloon popping clowns. The button on the side of the paddle will flip the see-saw 180°. But beware! If you fail to position the see-saw correctly, your acrobat will go splat. Three splats, and it's game over (they don't get hazard pay).