Blackjack
31K plays #Others
Blackjack is a video game simulation of the card game blackjack. It was designed by Bob Whitehead for the Atari Video Computer System (later known as the Atari 2600). The game allows up to three players to play a variation of blackjack. All players are given 200 chips which they can use to bet 1 to 25 during each round. The game ends for a player when they either run out of chips or earns 1000 chips or more.
Computer simulations of blackjack have been developed since the 1950s with all the home video game consoles released in the 1970s having a variation of the game released for their system. Whitehead developed the game following his work on Star Ship (1977). He was responsible for specific development choices, such as controlling the game via the paddle controllers, and initially planned to include other card games on the cart.
On the game's release in September 1977, it was the most well received game of the system's launch titles by Video magazine. Blackjack was no longer promoted by Atari following the release of Whitehead's Casino in 1979, but still continued to sell in small amounts as late as 1989. Retrospective reviews were generally dismissive, with Brett Weiss and AllGame noting low-quality sound and graphics while Kevin Bunch in Atari Archive: Vol.1 1977-1978 found that the release of Casino made Blackjack a relatively superfluous game for the Atari 2600.
From Wikipedia's article Blackjack (Atari 2600 video game), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Keyboard controls
| NES | Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|
| D-pad | ↑↓←→ | IKJL |
| B | Z | N |
| A | X | M |
| Select | Shift | B |
| Start | Enter | Space |
Hotkeys
- 1 Quick save state
- 2 Quick load state
- 3 Change save slot
Gamepads are detected when you press a button. Remap any key from the emulator’s Controls menu (gear icon).
Online, both players use the Player 1 keys (or a gamepad) on their own computer. Saving, loading and pausing are off while you play online.
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Keyboard controls
| NES | Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|
| D-pad | ↑↓←→ | IKJL |
| B | Z | N |
| A | X | M |
| Select | Shift | B |
| Start | Enter | Space |
Hotkeys
- 1 Quick save state
- 2 Quick load state
- 3 Change save slot
Gamepads are detected when you press a button. Remap any key from the emulator’s Controls menu (gear icon).
Online, both players use the Player 1 keys (or a gamepad) on their own computer. Saving, loading and pausing are off while you play online.
1.5 Wake me up when it's over
Players 46 · 26 votes
No critic scores found for this game: this is the players' rating.
Review scorecard
- Graphics 1.5 out of 5 Overall fallback
- Sound 1.5 out of 5 Overall fallback
- Control 1.5 out of 5 Overall fallback
- Fun Factor 1.5 out of 5 Overall fallback
Overall fallback: Players 46 · 26 votes. The same 46/100 overall rating fills missing categories using the face scale; these are not separate category scores. Player rating; no critic scores available.
What the reviews talk about
Key wordscreativeprimitivefun
What the critics said
Michael Schwartz and Joan Dykman of AllGame dismissed the game, noting poor graphics, irritating audio, and specifying that the worst feature was its slow pace, concluding that "Blackjack is just not a fun video game, even by 1977 standards."
— AllGame (Michael Schwartz and Joan Dykman)
From the Reception section of Wikipedia's Blackjack (Atari 2600 video game) article, under CC BY-SA 4.0. The words are the critics'; their full reviews are on the publishers' pages.
Full reviews
Play online
Play with a friend on another computer. Host a room and send them the link, or list it in Open rooms for anyone to join; they play as Player 2 and you both see the same game.
Press Start Game first.
Go live
Let anyone watch you play, live in their browser. They see your game as you play it, and your online game when you host a room.
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