Astrosmash

A rain of meteors, bombs and falling debris hurtles down from the sky and you have a single task: survive as long as possible and rack up the highest score. Astrosmash is one of the most iconic games for Mattel's Intellivision console, and for many owners of the system it was the title they spent the most hours with in front of the screen.

The principle is brilliantly plain. You control a cannon at the bottom edge of the screen and fire at a relentless stream of objects falling from above. Some you have to destroy, others it's better to let land, and the pace inexorably speeds up. The game has no ending — it's purely about endurance and reflexes, which makes it a perfect machine for repeated play and competition for the highest result.

Astrosmash came out at the start of the eighties, at a time when the Intellivision was locked in a fierce battle with the Atari 2600 for the home market. Mattel promoted its system as technologically more advanced, and titles like Astrosmash were meant to demonstrate smoother graphics and a more serious gaming experience. The game became one of the best-selling pieces of software for the platform and was often bundled with the console itself.

Culturally, Astrosmash captures the spirit of the early home-console era, when the chase for a high score was the heart of the whole gaming experience. No saving, no story, just a pure challenge that families passed between themselves, trying to beat each other's numbers on the screen.

Today Astrosmash works as a fascinating window into the beginnings of the industry. Its simplicity is at the same time its strength, and after decades it can still draw you into a hypnotic rhythm of shooting and dodging.

Why play: A classic shooter that defined the chase for score on the Intellivision and to this day works as an addictive test of reflexes and endurance.