Crackpots © 1983 Activision
We're infested! A bug barrage is swarming out of the sewer, chomping away at every building in town. Entire neighborhoods are now crumb piles! Over in Brooklyn, Potsy, the rooftop gardener, is defeating his beloved building with his only weapon - potted petunias. Be a good neighbor. Help him take potshots at the insect invaders... Quick! When too many bugs crawl into the windows, they'll start eating you out of house and home!
Model AX-029
Back in the 80s, if you helped Potsy pitch pots at pests for points totaling 75,000 or more, you could consider yourself an official Activision Crackpot by sending to Activision a photo of the TV screen showing your qualifying
score, along with your name and address. They send you in return the official
Crackpot emblem.
Tips from Dan Kitchen, designer of Crackpots
Dan Kitchen grew up in a family of game designers and computer pros (Garry and Steve are his brother designers). It's no wonder that he was designing games right out of high school - in 1979! In his spare time, he plays folk guitar, tinkers with electronics and jogs.
"Crackpots is a game that requires balance, advanced planning, good aim and the ability to remain calm when things appear hopeless. Follow these tips and you'll soon be a smashing success."
"Play the sidewalk - that is, try to hit the bugs while they're crawling along the sidewalk or when they're just coming out of the sewer. The closer they get to the windows, the less time you'll have to react."
"When you're up in the higher levels, the bugs will crawl too fast for you to get them all. You're better off playing, say, three selected windows in the middle. It's OK if a few crawlers get in on the extreme right or left. You only have to get seven out of twelve bugs to go to the next level."
"Notice that the red bugs end up 2 windows away from where they began their diagonal climb. And, while the building is still pretty high, the green bugs will end up at the window over the spot they started from below. Keep this in mind and you'll soon be dropping the right pot at the right time."
"Then, if you still can't stamp out bugs, you can always buy the original, inner-city bug killer - a pair of shoes with pointed toes. Know what I mean? Drop me a line if you do. God bless!"
Programmer: Dan Kitchen
CONSOLES:
Sony PlayStation (sept.30, 1998) "A Collection of Activision Classic Games for the Atari 2600 [Model SLUS-00777]"
Sony PlayStation 2 (nov.19, 2002) "Activision Anthology [Model SLUS-20588]"
Sony PlayStation 2 (2003) "Activision Anthology [Model SLES-51313]"
HANDHELDS:
Nintendo Game Boy Advance (dec.9, 2003) "Activision Anthology [Model AGB-BAVE-USA]"
Sony PSP (nov.8, 2006) "Activision Hits Remixed [Model ULUS-10186]"
Sony PSP (feb.9, 2007) "Activision Hits Remixed [Model ULES-00640]"
Sony PSP (feb.14, 2007) "Activision Hits Remixed [Model ULES-00640]"
COMPUTERS:
PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (jan.1, 1994) "Activision's Atari 2600 Classics"
PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (apr.4, 1995) "Atari 2600 Action Pack
PC [Microsoft Windows, CD-ROM] (oct.2003) "Activision Anthology: Remix Edition"
Apple Macintosh [CD-ROM] (2003) "Activision Anthology: Remix Edition"
OTHERS:
Android (aug.30, 2012) "Activision Anthology"
Apple iPhone/iPad (aug.30, 2012) "Activision Anthology [Model 542727742]"
"Atari Flashback 8 Gold Edition" (sept.22, 2017) by AtGames
"Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition" (sept.22, 2017) by AtGames
Game's ROM.