In “Carnival” for the Atari 2600, players aim to hit moving targets while managing a finite supply of bullets. The game features both a firing button and left/right controls, with the arcade version offering a two-way joystick for movement.
Targets move across the screen in three horizontal rows, each scrolling in alternate directions. These targets include rabbits, ducks, owls, and special targets that grant additional bullets, with higher rows providing more points. Ducks that descend to the bottom row and are not shot will animate and fly towards the player, consuming the player’s bullets if they reach the screen’s bottom. Periodically, new ducks are added to the top row. A notable feature is a pop-up target above these rows, which can either give or take away bullets or points when hit. Additionally, a rotating wheel with eight pipes is placed above the top row, decreasing in point value for each missed shot. Players can also increase a bonus counter by hitting targets in the rows, which is claimed by shooting the letters in “BONUS” in sequential order as they appear on the screen. Shooting any letter freezes the bonus’s increase.
A round concludes once all targets, including pipes, are eliminated. Players then receive bonus points for remaining bullets and enter a bonus round where they try to shoot a large bear moving across the screen, using infinite ammunition. Hitting the bear makes it pause and then change direction, moving faster. The goal is to hit it as many times as possible before it exits the screen. Each new bonus round introduces an additional bear, up to a maximum of four.
As the game progresses to higher levels, players encounter more ducks, fewer bullet-replenishing targets, quicker targets, and a faster pace at which ducks are added. The game ends once the player runs out of ammunition, either from shooting or from ducks consuming bullets.