''Surround'' is a video game programmed by Alan Miller and published by

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

for the Atari Video Computer System (later known as the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

). It was one of the nine Atari VCS launch titles released in September 1977. ''Surround'' is an unofficial port of the

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...

Blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

'', released the previous year by Gremlin Industries. It is the first home console version of the game that became widely known across many platforms as ''

Snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

''. Atari licensed it to

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

which released it under the name ''Chase''.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor ''Blockade'', the object of ''Surround'' is to maneuver a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

across the screen, leaving a trail behind. A player wins by forcing the other player to crash into one of the trails.''Surround'' manual, "1. Introduction (Game Play Objective)",

, 1977 Twelve game variations include options allow for speed-up, diagonal movement, wrap-around, and "erase" (the choice to not draw at a given moment). In addition, the sprites can be set to operate at a slower speed, or progressively speed up through five speeds.''Surround'' manual, "Game Program",

, 1977 Two additional variations provide a

non-game Non-games are a class of software on the border between video games and toys. The term "non-game game" was coined by late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who describes it as "a form of entertainment that really doesn't have a winner, or eve ...

mode called "Video

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

" in which players use the joysticks to draw pictures on the screen.''Surround'' manual, "4. Game Variations/Features",

, 1977

Reception

The cartridge and its individual games were reviewed twice in ''

Video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

'' magazine. In the Winter 1979 issue of ''Video'', the cartridge was reviewed as part of a general review of the Atari VCS. Collectively games 1-12 were given a review score of 9 out of 10 and described as "complex and challenging" whereas games 13-14 were collectively scored a 5 out of 10 and were described as "fine as a substitute for Soletaire but basically pretty dull". A more thorough review appeared in ''Videos "Arcade Alley" column in the Summer 1979 issue where variations #4 and #6 were singled out individually for specific praise. Variation #4 was described as the best solo-play version, though the reviewers noted that the computer employed a particularly conservative (non-aggressive) strategy. Variation #6 (which allows diagonal movements) was identified as the best tournament game, and was praised for "an elegance of design that promotes frequent replay".

References

{{Atari 2600 1977 video games Atari 2600 games Atari games North America-exclusive video games Snake video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in the United States

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References