The Atari 2600 has a huge library of games where the best sits alongside the worst. The following list contains my own selection.
This page may be updated from time to time. Last edited on : 25.02.2026
Meaning of the columns :
- Controller : tells which controller is required to play the game
| Name | Type | Controller | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asteroids | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | Iconic arcade port. Features selectable game variations for different speeds. |
| Astroblast | Shoot 'em up | Joystick/Paddles | Compatible with both. Paddles offer much higher precision for this fast-paced shooter. |
| Battlezone | First-Person | Joystick | Uses 2D sprites to simulate a 3D tank combat environment. |
| Bentley Bear's Quest | Platformer | Joystick | Sequel to Crystal Castles. Features large sprites and actual level endings. |
| Berzerk | Arcade | Joystick | Fight robots in a maze. Don't let "Evil Otto" catch you! |
| Bumper Bash | Pinball | Paddles | A rare and unique pinball sim. The paddle knob allows for very precise control over the flippers, making it feel more mechanical than joystick versions. |
| Canyon Bomber | Action / Timing | Paddles | A game of skill and timing where you drop bombs into a canyon. The paddle allows you to fine-tune your dropping rhythm with great accuracy. |
| Champ Games Ports | Arcade | Joystick | High-end ports (Galaga, etc.) that achieve pixel-perfection on the 2600. |
| Circus Atari | Arcade | Paddles | You control a seesaw to bounce clowns into the air to pop balloons. Features great physics and a very fun 2-player alternating mode. |
| Circus Convoy | Adventure | Joystick | Modern masterpiece from Audacity Games. High-fidelity visuals and deep gameplay. |
| Cosmic Ark | Action / Shooter | Joystick | Sequel to Atlantis. Features impressive starfield effects for the hardware. |
| Donkey Kong | Platformer | Joystick | Early Nintendo port. Despite simple graphics, it captures the core "climb" gameplay. |
| Draconian | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | Port of Bosconian. Features multi-directional scrolling and voice synthesis. |
| Eggomania | Arcade / Reflex | Paddles | A fast-paced "catch" game similar to Kaboom! but with more detailed graphics. You must catch eggs dropped by a frantic hen. |
| Encounter at L-5 | Shoot 'em up | Paddles | A slide-and-shoot game where your ship’s movement is mapped 1:1 to the paddle, allowing for lightning-fast dodging of alien fire. |
| Enduro | Racing | Joystick | Features day/night cycles and weather effects like snow and fog. |
| Frogger | Arcade | Joystick | Very faithful port with the music intact. Great color palette. |
| Galaxian | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | A very colorful and smooth port that handles multiple moving sprites well. |
| H.E.R.O | Action | Joystick | High technical feat; rescue miners using a jetpack and dynamite. |
| Halo 2600 | Action / Adventure | Joystick | Created by Ed Fries. Successfully demakes Halo into 64 screens of action. |
| Joust | Action | Joystick | Excellent port of the arcade classic. Physics feel surprisingly close to the original. |
| Jungle Hunt | Action / Adventure | Joystick | Port of the Taito arcade game. Features multiple stages (vines, crocodiles, boulders). |
| Junior Pac-Man | Arcade | Joystick | Shows what the Atari can do with scrolling and large, colorful sprites. |
| Kaboom! | Reflex | Paddles | Catch bombs dropped by the Mad Bomber. Impossible to play without Paddles. |
| Kangaroo | Platformer | Joystick | Atari's answer to Donkey Kong. Includes the ability to punch monkeys. |
| Keystone Kapers | Action | Joystick | Chase a robber through a multi-story department store. Very fast-paced. |
| Medieval Mayhem | Combat / Party | Paddles | A homebrew remake of Warlords with arcade-quality graphics and mechanics. |
| Missile Command | Strategy / Shooter | Joystick | Definitive home version. Defend your cities against nuclear ballistic missiles. |
| Moon Patrol | Racing / Shooter | Joystick | Features one of the first uses of parallax scrolling (background layers) on the 2600. |
| Ms. Pac-Man | Arcade | Joystick | The version that fixed the original Pac-Man's reputation. Much more accurate. |
| Night Driver | Racing | Paddles | A first-person night driving sim. Best played with Paddles for steering. |
| Pitfall! | Adventure | Joystick | The platforming standard for Atari 2600. Explore 255 jungle screens. |
| Pole Position | Racing | Joystick | A technical feat for the console, featuring pseudo-3D scaling of signs and cars. |
| Princess Rescue | Platformer | Joystick | A stunning demake of Super Mario Bros; a benchmark for modern 2600 coding. |
| Q*bert | Puzzle | Joystick | Late Atari release. Solid port that requires a "diagonal" hold of the joystick. |
| Realsports TENNIS | Sports | Joystick | Much better than the early Atari 'Tennis' with actual net physics and character movement. |
| River Raid | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | Perfect balance of fuel management and shooting. An Activision classic. |
| Sentinel | Shooter | Paddles | A late-release technical showcase. You defend a planet-sized orb. The paddle provides the necessary speed to intercept incoming projectiles. |
| Smurf: Rescue | Platformer | Joystick | Known for its surprisingly high-quality graphics and large colorful sprites. |
| Solaris | Space Sim | Joystick | Stunning graphics; a complex spiritual successor to Star Raiders. |
| Space Invaders | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | A classic with 112 variations. Supports 2-player co-op or versus modes. |
| Space Rocks | Arcade | Joystick | The definitive version of Asteroids. Supports the DPC+ chip for extra polish. |
| Stay Frosty 2 | Platformer | Joystick | Massive winter-themed game. Graphics look closer to a NES than an Atari. |
| Street Racer | Racing / Arcade | Paddles | A collection of mini-games (Slalom, Dodging, Racing). It is one of the few games that supports 4 players simultaneously (with 2 sets of paddles). |
| Super Breakout | Arcade / Puzzle | Paddles | The definitive version of the brick-breaker classic. Features "Cavity" and "Progressive" modes that are only playable with the speed of a paddle. |
| Super Cobra | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | Konami port. Similar to Scramble; requires tight navigation through cave systems. |
| Tac-Scan | Shoot 'em up | Paddles | Sega port. A vector-style shooter where you control a formation of ships. |
| Warlords | Combat / Party | Paddles | The ultimate 4-player party game. Protect your corner of the castle. |
| Yar's Revenge | Shoot 'em up | Joystick | Howard Scott Warshaw's masterpiece. The "neutral zone" is a unique mechanic. |