Carnival

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Coleco

Coleco doesn't exactly have a stellar record when converting their games over to the Intellivision. I've always wondered if that was intentional. "Look how awesome these games are on the Colecovision! Now look at how poor they are on the Intellivision…It's clear to see which console is better." Of course, it could also be because the Intellivision hardware was just something that Coleco developers never were able to fully grasp, in terms of how to make the most of what they had - their ports to the Atari 2600, for example, were often decent enough. Anyway, I mention all of that because their conversion of Carnival wasn't bad. It's a tad on the slow side compared to other versions, but otherwise I really can't complain much about it. The bear-shootin' mini game between rounds is here…it'd be awkward if it wasn't since the bear is on the cover of the manual that comes with the game. The bear is missing from the Atari 2600 version, which gives this one a little bit of an edge over the one Atari got. Giving it a little more of an edge, the Intellivision version of Carnival also has background music, with "The Loveliest Night of the Year" playing as you shoot away at your targets. You've also got four difficulty levels to choose from. That variety in difficulty can help new players ease in, but still give a challenge to veterans. Anyway, if you enjoyed Carnival in the arcades and wanted a faithful port to console, the Colecovision version is the one that I'd direct you to. If the Intellivision version is your only option, however, it's still a decent port that fans of the arcade original will likely enjoy.

Review added: 05/19/2026

Centipede

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atarisoft

Just before the video game industry crashed, Atari started porting its games (and/or games that it had the license to publish on consoles, like Pac-Man) over to the consoles of some of its competitors. Centipede was one of the games that seemed to be pretty solid no matter where it got ported to, and this Intellivision port is no exception. Despite the lack of a trackball, the game controls well, and Atari even added some control aspects specifically for the Intellivision controller, like an autofire button and an ability for "turbo" speed movements. This version of Centipede may also be good for beginners - I think it may have the lowest difficulty of all of the Centipede ports that I've played so far. New players still aren't going to dominate their way through this, but they'll likely get further along in the game before their game is over than they would in other variations of Centipede, and there's still enough of a challenge for veterans to find some fun here, too. It should also be noted that the graphics, while simple, work well here…and much like other variations of the game, the colors change with each stage, giving you the illusion of variety in the visuals as you make your way through each stage. Overall, if you're looking for a solid, slightly easier variation of Centipede to play at home, the Intellivision version is a solid choice….though, in honesty, I don't believe I've played a bad port of this game yet.

Review added: 05/25/2026

Checkers

Also known as: N/A

Developer: APh Technical Consulting

I was ready to give Checkers a worse score…I wasn't sure if it was going to be a two-player-only game. If it was, then I was going to dock the score a bit and  mock it. I was going to be like a schoolyard bully and give this game a wedgie, stick its head in the toilet, and steal its lunch money. My reasoning is that if it's only for two players, you've eliminated the appeal for anyone getting this game - a real checker board is cheaper to obtain and more fun to use. However, for the folks that want to play a game of checkers, but don't happen to have a friend nearby, Mattel had you covered with the option to play against a computer here. That's the entire appeal of getting this game, honestly. If you want to play this with a friend, you can…but it's probably more fun with a real checker board and real checker pieces….or, back in the days where I loooooved sugar, swapping the checker pieces out with candy, with you and your pal getting to eat the pieces that you take….I miss those Reese's cups….Anyway, I'm getting off track. Aside from having an electronic pal to play against, Checkers can actually help you learn how to play the game better, too. If you get stuck, and aren't sure what move to make, you can use the "Bail Out" option to allow the computer to recommend your next move. There are also different skill levels, so if you find that you're a bit rusty with your strategy, you can try the lower difficulty setting and ease your way back into the advanced setting. Overall, Checkers is a decent attempt at bringing the board game to the television screen. With an intelligent computer that seems to calculate its moves quicker than on Video Checkers on the Atari 2600. and with the ability to actually teach the player how to be better at the game, Mattel did a good job here…and now I need to try to find something else to mock.

Review added: 11/28/2025