How to play Winter Games online
- Go from the opening ceremony to the main menu: F3 (Reset) or Z
- Move through menus: arrow keys or F2 (Select); confirm with Z
- Enter your name and choose a country: arrow keys and Z; pick END when you are done
- Event controls: arrow keys and Z (fire), as explained for each event below
- Back to the main menu at any time: F3 (Reset)
- Full screen: F9
For several players on one keyboard, set the “Number of Joysticks” option to 1 and take turns.
Gameplay
After the opening ceremony, a menu lets you compete in all four events in a row, in a few chosen events or in a single one, or just practise an event without medals. Each player, up to eight, enters a name and chooses one of 18 countries. After every event the results are listed and gold, silver and bronze medals are handed out.
- Biathlon: cross-country skiing with a rifle. Move the joystick left and right in a steady rhythm to ski, faster on uphill stretches. Going downhill, pull down while the skier’s hands are in front to push with both poles. At the shooting range you have five shots for five targets, and each miss adds a five-second penalty. Pull back to open the rifle, push forward to load, then fire. Your heart rate affects your aim, so cool down before each shot. Fastest total time wins.
- Speed skating: two skaters race side by side. Press fire when your name appears to start the countdown, then swing the joystick left and right in a smooth rhythm to skate. Fastest time wins.
- Ski jump: press fire to start down the ramp and again at the take-off point. In the air, faults show in the top right corner: push up if your knees are bent, left if you lean too far forward, right if you lean too far back, and down if your skis cross. Your score is three times the distance plus style points. The manual calls 60 metres with 20 style points, for 200 in total, a respectable jump.
- Bobsled: press fire to start, then steer left and right down the ice run. A bar at the bottom shows your speed. Fastest time wins.
Tips
- Use the practice option. Every event has its own controls, and practice runs don’t count, so learn each one before you go for medals.
- Rhythm beats speed. In the biathlon and speed skating, a steady left-right beat that matches the athlete’s legs works better than frantic waggling.
- Calm down before you shoot. Waiting a moment at the range steadies your aim, and a miss costs five seconds.
- Steer against the curve. In the bobsled, push hard away from the outside of each turn, and steer harder the faster you go, or the sled tips over.
The story behind Winter Games
Epyx released Winter Games for the Commodore 64 in 1985 as a snowy follow-up to its hit Summer Games. It had no official Olympic licence, but it borrowed the feel of the Winter Olympics, with opening ceremonies, national flags and medal tables. It was Epyx’s best-selling Commodore game by late 1987 and was converted to many computers and consoles, including the Atari 2600 and the 7800.
Atari published the 7800 cartridge in 1988, and its manual sets the scene at the Winter Games in Calgary, which took place that year. Computer versions offer more events, such as figure skating and the “Hot Dog” aerial skiing event, while the 7800 manual describes four: biathlon, speed skating, ski jump and bobsled.
