This early and somewhat limited game for the Atari 2600 places you in the role of an explorer in a, guess what, haunted house. You are represented by a pair of eyes in the overhead view that also shows walls and enemies. A small status bar at the bottom of the screen displays your points (number of matches used), extra lives, what floor you're on and any items you may be carrying.

The basic idea is to avoid being scared to death by the monsters as you collect pieces of an heirloom urn and then exit the mansion. This game is actually difficult to win quickly, due to the number of factors involved: You must keep lighting matches to see items. There are several monsters that will chase you. Some will even go through walls. There are many doors on each floor, some of which are deadends. The high number of extra lives provided compensates for these factors. I found that the trickiest part was to locate the exit once I had completed the urn. Pay attention to where you enter the game.

The small playing area makes for repetitive games, although the difficulty levels actually change the rules and the map (at the highest level). The left front switch toggles whether lightning helps you out. Another cute touch is that your character's eyeballs point in the direction you are moving to maximize feedback.

Date: 1981
Rarity:2 Common+ / C
Model Number: CX2654
Programmer: James Andreasen