Built-In Games: Hockey / Tennis

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Fairchild

Hockey and Tennis were built into the Fairchild Channel F console. To play these games, all you had to do was boot up the console without a cartridge in it. Both games are variations of Pong, but with a slight twist on them to make them feel like their own games. You can play both games unlimited or with a time limit. First is Hockey, a pretty excellent game for its time. In Hockey, you and a friend (I assume…unless you let strangers in your house) battle it out in a Pong-style hockey game. The single paddle is considered one of the offensive players on the ice and the double paddle would be the goalie. You have control of both of them. In regards to the offensive player, I mean you've got free range control. Unlike in Pong where you can only move up and down, in this game, you can move in all directions, which can lead to you and your opponent bouncing the puck back and forth at a rapid, chaotic rate. Also unique is that, unlike in Pong, it doesn't matter where the puck hits your player - it will always go straight forward. But that's not very fun, is it? Well, in this game, you can actually rotate the player 45 degrees forward or backward, which will allow you to bounce the puck at an angle…and, again, with the ability to move players pretty much right on top of each other, it can lead to some chaotic, fun times on the ice. While all of this is going on, pulling up or down on the controller will control your goalie, so if it looks like your opponent is about to score, you can still prevent a goal if you've got some quick reflexes. Another neat addition is that if a timed game ends with a tied score, pressing the start button will give you an additional minute of play…yes, the programmers allowed players to go into overtime in order to break a tie and try to get a clear-cut winner. The other game is Tennis, and this is more like basic Pong, honestly, so I won't rave about it like I did with Hockey. The only real gameplay feature here that's different from Pong is that, like in Hockey, you can move the paddle in all directions, not just up and down. You do also have some extra options at the start of the game, like to add a time limit, or to adjust the speed of the ball…but for the most part, Tennis is simply Pong with color graphics and a little more movement….and quite honestly, since Pong was still popular back in 1976, that's really all it needed to be. It's not bad at all, but it's nowhere near the frantic fun of Hockey. Overall, both games are solid games to play if you've got a Fairchild Channel F, and it's nice that you don't actually need a cartridge plugged in to play anything on this console. The downside is that Hockey can be so fun that I don't know if any other game made for the console could ever really match it. Hockey genuinely may be the best game that I've played from 1976 or earlier.

Hockey

My Score

9.5

Avg Score

7.3

Placement on the List

Tennis

My Score

7.0

Avg Score

6.5

Placement on the List

Review added: 11/21/2025

Videocart 1: Tic-Tac-Toe / Shooting Gallery / Doodle / Quadra Doodle

Also known as: Videocart 1: Muhle / Tontauben Schiessen / Kreatives Malspiel / Videoscope (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

If Videocart 1 for the Fairchild Channel F is any indication of what the rest of the Channel F library is, it's a sign that there may be a few gems buried in this console, but you'll have to dig through a bit of manure to find them. Videocart 1 contains four different options to play…and only one of them is worthwhile. The first option is Tic-Tac-Toe, an annoying game to play against people, let alone a computer - get ready to see lots of ties, with wins for you scattered within, unless you purposely lose or are very, very bad at tic-tac-toe. Next is Shooting Gallery, the only worthwhile game on this cart. In Shooting Gallery, you set a timer for yourself, then the goal is to hit as many targets as possible, with the highest accuracy possible within a time limit. The catch? The targets drop from the ceiling and you have no control over the position or angle of your shot…so, you'll usually have to bounce your bullets off of the walls and time your shot just right so you can hit your target. It's a simple game, but there's plenty of fun in its simplicity. Then for option 3, we're back to the dumpster. Doodle gives you the option to "draw" on screen with very, very limited variety. It wears thin mere seconds after playing it. The fourth and final option is Quadra Doodle…which is legitimately nothing but a screensaver. You just watch the computer draw patterns on the screen, showing off after you played Doodle and attempted a drawing of a penguin that looked more like the food that a mother sparrow would regurgitate into the mouths of her children. It does, however, allow you to stop and edit the computer-drawn image, though. So you can make their drawing just as bad as yours, if you desire. Anyway, Videocart 1 is worth playing for Shooting Gallery alone…if Shooting Gallery wasn't present, though, then I'd urge you to find the nearest dumpster and drop this cart in it.

Tic-Tac-Toe

My Score

3.0

Avg Score

4.7

Placement on the List

Shooting Gallery

My Score

8.5

Avg Score

6.9

Placement on the List

Doodle

My Score

1.0

Avg Score

4.1

Placement on the List

Quadra Doodle

My Score

1.0

Avg Score

4.1

Placement on the List

Review added: 11/21/2025

Videocart 2: Desert Fox / Shooting Gallery

Also known as: Videocart 2: Wustenfuchs / Tontaubenschiessen (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

Well, when I played Videocart 1, I thought that Shooting Gallery was included in that cartridge because of the poor quality of everything else on the cart…even if it did seem out of place, sharing the cart with Tic-Tac-Toe, Doodle, and Quadra Doodle. To my surprise, I pop in Videocart 2, and Shooting Gallery is back. As far as I can tell, it's the exact same game with the same options and same features. It's still an addicting game to play to kill some time, and it's still fun trying your best to both calculate the angles that your bullets will bounce off of the walls while also timing your shots to hit the moving target. I genuinely enjoy Shooting Gallery and having it on any cart automatically makes that cart better. Now that I've gushed over Shooting Gallery, let's talk about Desert Fox. Desert Fox is a two player game where both players control a tank and the goal is to hit the opposing tank as many times with bullets or acrobats or whatever the devil tanks shoot out of their cannons. The rules are a little more complex than that, though. There are two barriers, one in the upper left and one in the lower right corner. The tanks can drive through these barriers, but bullets cannot shoot through them. So, the player can use this barrier as a way to avoid enemy fire, but at the cost of not being able to return fire as long as they're behind the barrier. There are also five mines in the middle of the screen. Bullets also can't shoot through the mines, so that makes it another nice hiding spot. However, if you drive your tank into a mine, trying to line up a shot against your opponent or trying to dodge enemy fire, then you've scored a point for the opponent. Desert Fox wasn't a game that would set the world on fire, but it was okay for what it was. It's a better compliment on the cart for Shooting Gallery than the games in Videocart 1 were, but Shooting Gallery is still the star here.

Desert Fox

My Score

6.5

Avg Score

5.8

Placement on the List

Shooting Gallery

My Score

8.5

Avg Score

6.9

Placement on the List

Review added: 11/21/2025

Videocart 3: Video Blackjack

Also known as: Videocart 3: Black Jack  (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

Video Blackjack let me know that I have a gambling problem…I gambled away all 500 dollars that it gave me at the start of the game, and once my total hit 0, the game didn't know how to react. I think the cart had a conniption fit since the dealer kept dealing cards, but then threw their cards away when it was my turn to bet (with the money I didn't have), then dealt again, and this happened on an endless loop until I turned the game off. Anyway, this is your typical game of blackjack, honestly. You can play by yourself or against a friend, but aside from that, it's just standard blackjack. The dealer gives themselves two cards and each player two cards. The goal is to have a total of 21. If you don't have 21, you can ask to receive another card in hopes that it will get you there. If the total of your cards goes over 21, you automatically lose, so if you end up with 19 or 20, you're better off staying and seeing what the other players or the dealer gets. If you've got the highest hand without going over 21, you win. Graphically, the game doesn't look too shabby - in fact, this came out a year before Blackjack on Atari 2600 and it looks lightyears better. So, if you're looking for a video game version of blackjack from the 1970's, then this game may be your best choice.

Review added: 11/21/2025

Videocart 4: Spitfire

Also known as: Videocart 4: Luftkampf  (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

The manual of Videocart 4: Spitfire describes this game as "The Red Baron meets the Blue Max in an aerial dogfight all over the screen." Unfortunately, Spitfire feels like less of a dogfight and more like a air show at times while you and a friend, or one player and a computer opponent, try to hit each other while looping around on the screen. The controls are pretty simple - the planes both move forward on their own…your task is to steer the moving plane and shoot. If you push forward on the controller, the plane will move down on the screen. If you pull backward on the controller, the plane will move upward. Pushing or pulling for extended times will make the plane just loop around in a circle…and the battles, against people or against the computer, always seem to end up having at least a few spots where the planes chase each other for a bit while looping in a circle. It's also worth noting that these controls are relative to the plane…so if you pull back long enough to make the plane upside down, now you've just reversed the controls on yourself. I will say, though, that for the single-player game, they did do a good job of making a computer that reacts to your skill level. If you keep losing, then the computer gets worse. If you keep winning, then the computer opponent gets tougher. I liked this because I found a way to exploit the computer pretty early on…and after getting a few easy points, the computer started catching on, which made me change strategies. Anyway, Spitfire isn't the greatest game I've ever played, but it's not a bad game by any stretch, and the computer opponent that adjusts to your skill level is a nice touch for folks looking for a single player experience.

Review added: 11/21/2025

Videocart 5: Space War

Also known as: Videocart 5: Kampf im Weltraum  (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

This is the first cart for the Channel F that I don't really find anything redeeming in. Space War is another two player battle where each player is controlling a space ship and the goal is to destroy the other ship. Each player has energy listed on the bottom of the screen in the form of a number - each player starts at 90. Each time you fire a shot, you lose 2 points of energy. Each time you get hit by an opponent's shot, you lose 5 points of energy. Only 40 points of energy can be used to fire lasers…after that, you've got to return to a base to replenish your health again and regain the ability to defend yourself. That sounds interesting enough, right? Well, unfortunately, going to EITHER base will replenish your energy, not just the base that you start out at. That's a bit too much, and it makes these fights go on forever (or at least feel like they are) unless you self-regulate the fight by having a third friend serve as referee and limit the number of times that each player is allowed to replenish their energy. In that scenario, this game can be mildly fun…but it also requires the player to do things that the game should already have covered. I should also mention that there are also stars on the playing field…they can be used as cover against your opponent, and if you fly into one, it looks like your ship exploded, but it doesn't seem to have any sort of penalty or cause any damage to your ship. Anyway, Space War is a nice try from Fairchild, but it just has too many flaws for me to recommend it.

Review added: 11/22/2025

Videocart 6: Math Quiz I

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Fairchild

Math Quiz I is…well, exactly what it says it is. It's two different math quizzes - an addition quiz and a subtraction quiz. That's it. That on its own wouldn't necessarily bother me…I didn't give Basic Math on the Atari 2600 this low of a score, but I also feel like that game did arithmetic exercises better. I think what really puts a wrinkle in my underoos, though, as the kids would say, is that the instruction manual actually has a list of activities for you to do to find more enjoyment in this game. Some of the ideas sound fun, but absolutely none of them are programmed into the game. Yes, Fairchild was aware of how dry and bland this game was and rather than improve the software, they simply devoted eight pages out of twelve in their manual to giving you ideas on how to play this game and not have it make you want to throw yourself out of the closest window. Eight pages out of twelve…that leaves four pages left in the manual for other stuff. Well I'll be a son of a food truck driving platypus…this game actually made me do some math. Anyway, to their credit, some of the ideas on how to play this game are kind of neat and fun to try, but they also have zero to do with the actual gameplay - it's stuff that you have to do to make a sub-par game feel less sub-par. I'm not against educational games when they're done well, but if I had showed up to school and was told that I'd need to play Math Quiz I, I would have tried by best to get detention instead.

Review added: 11/22/2025

Videocart 7: Math Quiz II

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Fairchild

Math Quiz II is…well, exactly what it says it is. It's two different math quizzes - a multiplication quiz and a division quiz. That's it. That on its own wouldn't necessarily bother me…I didn't give Basic Math on the Atari 2600 this low of a score, but I also feel like that game did arithmetic exercises better. I think what really butters my bunions, though, as the kids would say, is that the instruction manual actually has a list of activities for you to do to find more enjoyment in this game. Some of the ideas sound fun, but absolutely none of them are programmed into the game. Yes, Fairchild was aware of how dry and bland this game was and rather than improve the software, they simply devoted eight pages out of twelve in their manual to giving you ideas on how to play this game and not have it make you want to throw yourself out of the closest window. Eight pages divided by twelve…that means 66.6% of the manual is about non-game related stuff. Well I'll be a son of a pole dancing trout…this game actually made me do some math. Anyway, to their credit, some of the ideas on how to play this game are kind of neat and fun to try, but they also have zero to do with the actual gameplay - it's stuff that you have to do to make a sub-par game feel less sub-par. I'm not against educational games when they're done well, but if I had showed up to school and was told that I'd need to play Math Quiz II, I would have tried by best to get detention instead. Also, please note - if you found that this was the exact same review as Math Quiz I, but with minor changes added, that's because I put as much effort into making these reviews different as Fairchild did in making Math Quiz I and Math Quiz II different…and that effort is minimal.

Review added: 11/22/2025

Videocart 8: Magic Numbers

Also known as: Videocart 6: Magische Zahlen (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

After two awful, bland math games (Math Quiz I and Math Quiz II - they were actually skipped over in Europe, making this Videocart 6 there) that were so poorly made that over half of the instruction manuals for both games was devoted to giving players a way to make up their own rules outside of the game to make it even somewhat interesting…instead of just programming some of those rules in-game to make it interesting without the player needing to put effort in to make it a fun game. Then came Videocart 8, and two more number-based games, though neither of them are as bland as the Math Quiz duo were. Granted, these games aren't exactly self-explanatory without the aid of a manual. First is Mind Reader. The concept of this game is that you're given clues on the screen and you need to use logic to try to figure out the number that the computer is thinking of…if you're successful, you can call yourself a mind reader. Get it? Basically, you guess a number. If you see an H on screen, then one digit in your guess is the same as one digit in the computer's number, in the same position. If you see a T on screen, then it means that one digit in your guess is the same as one digit in the computer's number, but it's not in the same position. If it's blank, then it means that you didn't guess a single digit in the number correctly. You can play a game where you try to guess a 2-digit number all the way up to a 5-digit number. It's not a perfect game, but it does a good job of keeping you occupied for a bit if you like logic-based puzzles. Next is Nim, which, I believe is the oldest mathematical game known with variants of the game being played since ancient times. Basically, the concept of the game in this version is that there are several piles of objects. The piles are represented by numbers (of how many items are in the pile) on the screen. Each player takes turns taking any number of objects out of any pile. You always have to take at least one object, and the player that winds up taking the last object off the table wins. The game can feel a bit complicated to folks who have never played it before, but don't worry - the game's manual is here to make it easy to understand by telling you to think of the game in binary numbers…wait, trying to understand that just made my nose bleed a little. I don't think they understood that most players playing this don't know programming languages. Anyway, Magic Numbers does a decent job of making up for the previous math games, but it's still not going to be a game for everyone.

Mind Reader

My Score

7.0

Avg Score

6.2

Placement on the List

Nim

My Score

6.0

Avg Score

5.7

Placement on the List

Review added: 11/22/2025

Videocart 9: Drag Strip

Also known as: Videocart 7: Autorennen (Europe)

Developer: Fairchild

Well…Fairchild tried, at least. Drag Strip is an attempt to give players the ability to have a drag race in their living room without having skidmarks all over the place. The folks playing this may possess skidmarks on a piece of clothing that they're wearing, but that's not Fairchild's fault. Anyway, Drag Strip feels like one of the most pointless, uninteresting games ever made. Basically, you're supposed to drag race another car, preferably controlled by a friend so that you can share the agony of this game together. If you hold down the gas for too long before the green light hits, then you've blown your engine. If you aren't hitting the gas at all when the green light hits, then your engine stalls. If you begin moving before the green light flashes, then you're disqualified. If you manage to time it right and take off for the finish line, then you're bored out of your ever-loving mind for the brief period of time that the race takes place. This simply isn't a good game, even for the time that it was released. The title got it right, this game simply is a drag to play…and it strips your happiness away from you. That's why it's called Drag Strip. This game is a total wreck…pun intended. It's exhaust-ing to play…pun intended. It may make you have a brake-down….pun intended. You should steer clear of this one…pun intended. I wheelie didn't like Drag Strip…pun intended. I don't think the developers had much drive to make this an acceptable game…pun intended……….okay, I'll end this review now and pump the brakes on the puns…pun intended.

Review added: 11/22/2025