circus (thing)

Circus (thing)

Circus was an old arcade game released by Exidy back in 1977. You have probably never seen a Circus machine, but I am willing to bet that you have played the home version (which was called Circus Atari).

In Circus you control a pair of clowns who jump up and down on a see-saw in an attempt to pop three rows of colored balloons. You control the action with a spinner controller.

Circus came in an upright dedicated cabinet, and may have also been available in a cocktail configuration as well. Circus machines had white sides with red painted sideart of several balloons in flight. The front of the machine was decorated with a large ornate monitor bezel that also doubled as a marquee (or nameplate), this bezel showed several clowns in a circus scene and had the game title spelled out with multicolored balloons. The control panel was unadorned, save for an analog spinner and a start button. The whole machine was finished off in black t-molding.

Once inside the machine, you can see that it uses a black and white monitor with a colored overlay (to make the balloons have color). The game itself uses a M6502 processor running at a white-hot 706 khz (not megahertz, but kilohertz).

This is a fun title with a lot of replay value. It is rather difficult to find, but is likely to be cheap once it is located. Examine the monitor carefully, as the old black and white monitors like that are rather difficult to find parts for.

Circus (thing)

Unauthorized clone of the Atari 2600 game Circus Atari by the Canadian firm Zellers. The box, and manual were different but the game itself was identical, (except for the cartridge art).

This game is valued at around $15 USD. Games with boxes and manuals are worth more.