''Clowns'' is a black and white arcade game released by

Midway Manufacturing Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included '' Mortal Kombat'', '' Rampage'', ''Spy Hunter'' ...

in 1978. It is similar to Exidy's ''

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

'' from the prior year, in which the player controls a

seesaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...

to propel two

clowns A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in t ...

into the air, catching balloons situated in three rows at the top of the screen. It was released on

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

for

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...

in 1982 and for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

in 1983.

Gameplay

Players start with two clowns and they get to control where they go with a seesaw. The goal is to prevent them from falling to the ground, or else the level is lost. Players get three lives and can earn more after getting a certain number of points. Getting to the center ring at the top of the sky, while gaining points from popping balloons, will help players complete levels. As the player advances to the next level, hazards and objects will start appearing in the air trying to hurt the clowns.

References

1978 video games Action video games Arcade video games VIC-20 games Commodore 64 games Video game clones Video games developed in the United States Video games about clowns {{action-videogame-stub