Circus
1977 · Action · Arcade
Overview
Circus (1977) is Exidy's Breakout variant: bounce clowns off a seesaw to pop rows of balloons. Atari licensed it for the 2600 as Circus Atari.
Deep Dive
Circus swaps Breakout's paddle for a seesaw and its ball for a pair of acrobatic clowns. Catch a falling clown on one end of the seesaw and the other is launched upward to burst the rows of balloons drifting across the top of the screen; where he lands on the plank sets the angle of the next launch. Exidy's theme gave a familiar formula real personality, and Atari licensed it for the 2600 as Circus Atari.
Developer Story
Circus was developed by Exidy in 1977 as a Breakout variant with a circus theme — players bounced a clown off a seesaw to pop balloons at the top of the screen. It was licensed to Atari as Circus Atari for the 2600. The game demonstrated how the Breakout formula could be reskinned and given personality through theming, a lesson that the industry applied to dozens of later Breakout clones.
Did You Know?
- Circus replaced Breakout's bricks with balloons and the paddle with a seesaw — a simple reskin that gave the game a completely different feel.
- The bouncing clown could be launched at different angles depending on where he hit the seesaw, adding skill-based shot selection.
- Atari licensed the game and sold it as Circus Atari, one of the more successful early 2600 titles.
- The game showed that the "bouncing ball destroys targets above" formula could be adapted endlessly with new themes.
Sources & further reading
- Circus (video game) — Wikipedia
