How to play Halloween online
- Move the babysitter: arrow keys
- Pick up a child or the knife: Space bar, while standing over them
- Start the game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
The Select and difficulty switches are not used.
Gameplay
The game takes place in a two-storey house with 16 rooms. Children are hiding somewhere inside. When you find one, stand over the child and press the button, and the child will follow you. Your job is to bring them to one of the safe rooms at each end of the house; there are two on each floor. Once a child reaches a safe room, you score points and the child disappears.
The intruder roams the house, and you can hear the film’s theme music whenever he is near. A knife is hidden somewhere in the house, and you can pick it up to defend yourself. It only works when the intruder has his own weapon raised. A successful hit drives him away for a while, and the knife moves to a new spot. You cannot pick up a child while you are carrying the knife, so you often have to choose between protecting yourself and rescuing someone.
The house also has its surprises. The lights sometimes go out on the upper floor, and some doorways in the hall rooms take you two rooms across. You move up a level by rescuing five children or by hitting the intruder twice. Each new level makes the intruder faster. You have three lives, and the game ends when they are gone.
| Action | Points (level 1) |
|---|---|
| Bring a child to a safe room | 675 |
| Hit the intruder with the knife | 325 |
Points are doubled on level 2, tripled on level 3, and so on.
Tips
- Listen for the music. The theme tells you the intruder is close before you see him, which gives you time to change direction.
- Rescue children for points. A rescue is worth more than twice as much as a knife hit, and five rescues also take you to the next level.
- Time your knife attack. A hit only counts while his weapon is raised, so wait for that moment instead of running straight at him.
- Learn the shortcut doorways. The doors that jump two rooms can get you away from the intruder quickly.
The story behind Halloween
Wizard Video released Halloween in October 1983, alongside a second horror licence, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The game was developed by VSS/MicroGraphic Image and programmed by Tim Martin, a former Games by Apollo employee. Apart from the box art, which used the film’s poster, and the theme music, the game has little direct link to the movie, and none of the characters are named. The on-screen effects when you lose a life are more graphic than anything in the film.
Both Wizard Video games arrived during the 1983 video game crash and sold few copies. Wizard Video was soon clearing its stock, and many Halloween cartridges were shipped without a printed label, just a strip of tape with the name written in marker. Collectors now look for both the labelled and the handwritten versions. Reviewers have called the game repetitive but noted that it does build some suspense.
Similar games to play next
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Wizard Video’s other 1983 horror licence
- Haunted House – Atari’s dark mansion search, lit only by matches
- Ghost Manor – a spooky rescue game set in a haunted mansion
- Frankenstein’s Monster – a monster-themed race against time in a castle
- Night Stalker – a maze chase where you hunt for a gun while being pursued