A: Atari

Hello and welcome to the A–Z Challenge! If you want to check out all of the other blogs that are participating in the challenge click, here, or on the challenge button on my sidebar.

To see why I chose my 2016 theme (Totally Awesome ’80s), check out my theme reveal post, here. Now, onto the letter “A”.

Today most homes have more than one console to play video games. You have Xbox, Playstation, Wii, computers, iPad, Kindle, even your cell phone. But in the early ’80s every family had one: Atari.

Atari was founded in the early ’70s, but really made its mark in the late ’70s into the early ’80s. Atari was the pioneer in video game consoles and arcade games. You couldn’t go into a movie theatre or skating rink without seeing at least one Atari arcade game. I remember my family going out to dinner at the local Pizza Hut and there were always a couple of Atari arcade games in the restaurant.

I was very fortunate to have had an Atari system in my house. We had it hooked up to our television in the family room and every morning before school and after breakfast I would play a game or two of Centipede. I was the Queen of Centipede. I loved that game! And then after school I would ride my bike down the street to my friend Alisa’s house to play her Atari. She had Donkey Kong, which I thought was super cool.

There were several versions of the Atari console, but I had the Atari 2600.

I really wish I still had mine. But, thanks to the resurgence of Atari, probably thanks to all of the Gen Xers out there, you can get some of the games on the Atari website in their Atari Vault. You can also find your own consoles in toy stores or places like Bed Bath & Beyond or Amazon. And a few months ago I saw an actual Ms. Pac-Man arcade game at Homegoods. If I had $2300 I would have bought it in a second!

If you can’t afford to pick up a new game console or vintage arcade game, you can craft yourself some super fun video game pieces. There are quite a few free and paid video game patterns online. Lattes and Llamas has a cool and free Atari chart and Sassafraskitty has fun and free Pac-Man and Ghost charts that you can use to crochet or knit. Or make this totally awesome Space Invader Piñata by Miss Vicky Viola. If you would prefer to cook your Atari love you can make your own Pac-Man Mini Pancakes thanks to Crackers Art or these amazing Donkey Kong cupcakes by Nom Nom Kingdom. Or for a small fee crochet an adorable Retro Video Game Arcade Console by Crafty is Cool. You can find more ’80s craft fun on my 2016 A–Z Challenge: Totally Awesome ’80s Pinterest board.

Do you have a favorite Atari game? You know mine is Centipede. 🙂 Check back tomorrow for the letter B in the A–Z Challenge.