How to play Double Dunk online
- Move your player / choose a play: arrow keys
- Fire button (confirm play, pass, jump, shoot, steal): Space bar
- Player 2: T/F/G/H to move, A to fire
- Open the options screen: F11 (the console’s Select switch); use up/down to pick an option and left/right to change it
- Start or restart a game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch) or the fire button
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
Each team has two players: the tall Mr. Inside, who rebounds, blocks shots, dunks and sets picks, and the smaller Mr. Outside, who is better at steals and long shots. On offence you control whoever has the ball. On defence you control the man guarding the ball carrier.
After every basket or turnover, “OFF” and “DEF” flash at the bottom of the screen. Push the joystick in one of eight directions and press fire to choose a play. The offensive plays are pick and roll, give and go, pick, and shots for either Mr. Inside or Mr. Outside, each to the left or right. Each defensive direction is built to stop the matching offensive play. Once play starts, each press of fire moves the play on to its next step, such as a pass, a jump or the shot. If the defence has read your play, pull back and press fire to abandon it and take a jump shot; press fire again at the top of the jump to release the ball.
Normal baskets are worth 2 points, shots from beyond the arc 3 (if that option is on) and free throws after a defensive foul 1 each. Get very close to the basket and your shot becomes a dunk. After a defensive rebound you must take the ball back behind the three-point line before you can shoot.
Game options
- One or two players, either against each other or together against the computer
- Game length: 2, 5, 10 or 15 minutes, or first to 10, 24, 36 or 48 points
- Three-point shots on or off
- 10-second shot clock on or off
- 3-second lane violation on or off
- Foul detection on or off
- Team colours, chosen from six
Tips
- Shoot on the way up. Release the ball while your player is still rising; shots taken on the way down usually miss.
- Mix up your plays. If you keep calling the same play, the defence can pick the matching direction and shut it down.
- Guess the pick. On defence, choosing lower-left or lower-right lets your big man switch onto Mr. Outside when a pick play comes.
- Steal only while the carrier dribbles. A steal attempt only works when the ball is bouncing, and your defender has to be close.
- Stay in bounds when rebounding. It is easy to drift out of the court chasing a loose ball.
History
Atari Corporation was still releasing new 2600 cartridges at the end of the 1980s, and Double Dunk was among the very last of them. The manual notes it also works on the Atari 7800, which could play 2600 cartridges. The game was later included in the Atari Anthology collection in 2003 and added to Atari 50 in 2023.
