Human Cannonball

Human Cannonball is a classic Atari 2600 puzzle game where players must adjust the angle, position, and speed of a cannon to launch a man into a bucket of water. With multiple game variations and increasing difficulty levels, the goal is to successfully land the human cannonball within seven attempts. The game offers a strategic challenge as players fine-tune their settings to achieve the perfect trajectory.

Human Cannonball (Atari 2600)

Release Date: March 1979 (Atari VCS/Atari 2600)
Developer: Atari, Inc.
Publisher: Atari, Inc.
Genre: Artillery, Puzzle
Perspective: Side view, Fixed/flip-screen
Players: 1-2 (hotseat)

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Gameplay Mechanics

The goal is to fire a human cannonball (a person) from a cannon into a bucket of water atop a tower. Players adjust:
– Cannon position: Fixed or movable (varies by game mode).
– Angle: 20–80 degrees.
– Speed: 0–45 mph.
– Water tower size: Adjustable via difficulty switches (wider = easier).

Game Modes (8 total):
1. Fixed cannon/position + adjustable angle/speed.
2. Adjustable cannon + fixed tower + angle/speed.
3. Moving window: Cannonball must pass through a barrier to hit the target.
4. Randomized parameters set by the computer.

Scoring:
– Single-player: Score 7 successful shots before missing 7 times.
– Two-player: Race to 7 points; trailing player gets one final turn to tie.

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Reception & Legacy

Contemporary Reviews

• TV Gamer (1983): Praised “nice” graphics.
• Creative Computing (1979): Called it “good fun” but easy to master, likened to Shoot.

Modern Criticisms

• Brett Weiss (Classic Home Video Games): “Limited in nature and in scope.”
• Jamie Lendino (Adventure: The Atari 2600…): “Good quality” but niche due to slow pacing.

Commercial Performance

• Discounted from $20 (1981) to $5 (1983).
• Sears version Cannon Man is ultra-rare; boxed copies fetch hundreds today.
• Atari Corp. sold only 666 units in 1987 (24 returns).

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Trivia & Development

1. Arcade Predecessor: Based on Owen Rubin’s unreleased 1976 arcade game Cannonball, which featured firing a daredevil at a wall (canceled for “violence”). The “splat” sound was a wet towel on tile.
2. Art: Cover art by Cliff Spohn (creator of early Atari box art).
3. Physics Simulation: Inspired by 1969’s artillery game POTSHOT (Arthur Luehrmann), with trajectory calculations.
4. Discontinuation: Among the first Atari 2600 games to be retired.

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Gameplay Video

Watch the game in action:
Human Cannonball – Atari Archive

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Bottom Line: A quirky, physics-based artillery title with charming pixel animations (“ouch” on misses, victory poses on hits). Though simplistic and short-lived, it remains a cult curiosity for early console collectors.