Xonox was a short-lived video game label of the record company K-tel, based in Minnesota and founded in 1983. Its trademark was the “double-ender”: a cartridge with a different game at each end, so you turned it around to play the other one. Most Xonox games were sold both on their own and in pairs. Spike’s Peak, for example, was paired with Artillery Duel, Chuck Norris Superkicks and Ghost Manor. Some were also released for the ColecoVision and home computers. Xonox closed during the video game crash, and AtariAge rates many of its cartridges as very rare.
The site has eight Xonox games, including:
Ghost Manor (1983): five screens and four minutes to rescue a friend from Dracula’s castle.
Spike’s Peak (1983): a climb from mountain meadows to an icy summit.
Robin Hood: fight through Sherwood Forest into the Sheriff’s castle.
Sir Lancelot: Joust-like battles on the winged horse Pegasus.
Tomarc the Barbarian: look after two characters at once in a cave rescue.
Motocross Racer: three races, each seen from a different angle.
Pick a game below and play it in your browser, no flipping required.
Atari 2600 Chuck Norris Superkicks Instructions Embark on an adventure in an exotic Oriental setting as “Chuck Norris,” on a mission to rescue a prominent leader held captive in an ancient monastery. Begin your quest as a novice with a White Belt, striving to master karate and earn a Black Belt to gain entry into … Read more
Spike’s Peak is a 1983 mountain-climbing game for the Atari 2600, published by Xonox. You guide a climber named Spike from the meadows at the foot of a mountain to its icy summit, dodging animals, falling rocks and avalanches while the cold slowly wears you down. Each stage asks for something different, from hiding and jumping to climbing and fighting, so the climb never feels like the same screen repeated. You can play it here in your browser.
Robin Hood is an Atari 2600 action game published by Xonox, the video game label of the record company K-tel, and developed by Computer Magic. You fight your way through Sherwood Forest and into the Sheriff of Nottingham’s castle to rescue Maid Marian or carry off his gold. It was sold on its own and on one of Xonox’s two-ended cartridges, paired with Sir Lancelot. Both cartridges are hard to find today, so emulation is the easy way to try it. You can play it here in your browser.
Artillery Duel is an artillery game developed by Perkins Engineering and released for the Bally Astrocade in 1982. The gameplay involves two cannons positioned on opposite sides of a hill or mountain with varying heights and shapes. Players take turns controlling the angle and force of their cannon shots, with the objective being to score … Read more
Tomarc the Barbarian is an action game for the Atari 2600 from Xonox, the video game label of the K-tel company. You guide the barbarian Tomarc through a series of caves to rescue Senta, who is held in a magical cage, and the unusual twist is that you look after both characters at once. Original cartridges are hard to find today, so an emulator is the easiest way to try it. You can play it here in your browser.
Sir Lancelot is an Atari 2600 action game published by Xonox, the video game label of the record company K-tel. You ride the winged horse Pegasus, flap your way across the sky and joust with flying monsters and dragons to free a series of captive maidens. It plays a lot like a one-player Joust with a lance, and it was sold on its own and on a two-ended cartridge together with Robin Hood. You can play it here in your browser.
Motocross Racer is an off-road motorcycle racing game from Xonox, the cartridge label of K-tel. It packs three short races into one cartridge, each seen from a different angle: behind the bike in the desert, from above on a mountain road, and from the side on a beach. Your aim is the lowest total time, and every crash leaves the bike a little slower. You can play it here in your browser.
Ghost Manor is a 1983 Atari 2600 adventure published by Xonox and developed by Beck-Tech. A friend has been locked up by Dracula in a castle, and you have until sunrise to get in, set them free and get back out. The game packs five very different screens into a four-minute run, from a game of tag among the tombstones to a final chase with Dracula, and the spooky theme is played for fun rather than for scares. You can play it here in your browser.