How to play Human Cannonball online
- Raise or lower the cannon by 10 degrees: up or down arrow key
- Fine-tune the angle by 1 degree: the diagonal directions (arrow keys pressed together)
- Change the speed by 1 MPH: left or right arrow key
- Fire the cannon: Space bar
- Second player: T/F/G/H to move, A to fire
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Wide or narrow water tower: F4 (Player 1 difficulty switch); F9 for the second player
Gameplay
Every shot depends on three things: the angle of the cannon (anywhere from 20 to 80 degrees), the speed of the launch (up to 45 MPH) and the distance between the cannon and the tower. Depending on the variation, you set some of these yourself and the computer sets the rest at random, so each shot becomes a small puzzle.
In a one-player game you score a point for every successful landing, and the computer scores a point against you for every miss. The game ends when either side reaches seven. In a two-player game the players take turns, misses do not count, and the first to seven hits wins, although the other player still gets one last turn.
Variations and switches
There are eight game variations, and each one can be played by one or two players. In games 1 to 4 you can steer the water tower left and right with the joystick while the man is in the air. Games 5 to 8 fix the tower in place and add a moving “window” in front of it. The man has to fly through the window to reach the tower, so timing matters as much as aim. The cannon’s position also depends on the variation: it may stay fixed, be placed at random by the computer, or be moved by you.
The difficulty switch changes the size of the target. In position B the water tower is twice as wide as in position A, which makes B the better choice while you learn. In one-player games, use the left switch (F4).
Tips
- Trust the numbers. The angle and speed are shown at the top of the screen; the cannon picture only roughly shows the real angle.
- Change one thing at a time. If a shot falls short, keep the angle and add a few MPH, or the other way round.
- Use the tower in games 1 to 4. Watch the man’s arc and slide the tower under him rather than relying on the shot alone.
- Watch the window, not the tower. In games 5 to 8, fire when the window is about to line up with the man’s path, not when it already has.
History
Human Cannonball belongs to the first wave of games for the Atari VCS, as the 2600 was called at the time. It is based on Cannonball, an arcade game designed by Owen Rubin that was never released. Who programmed the home version is not known.
Reviews in 1979 were friendly. Creative Computing called it good fun but easy to master. Later writers have been less kind about how little there is to it. It was also one of the first 2600 games that Atari stopped making.
