Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Reference library/Computer Entertainer

As of 2024, intellectual property rights for Computer Entertainer are owned by the Video Game History Foundation who released it into the creative commons, proper citations should link back to VGHF's scans which can be found here. Scans for Computer Entertainer are also available on the Internet Archive here. This newsletter may also be known as The Video Game Update or Video Take-Out Newsletter.

Review Index

Every January Issue (Issue 10) contains an index of every review from the previous year:

• 1982 Year End Index (December Issue)
• 1983 Year End Index (December Issue)
• 1984 Year End Index
• 1985 Year End Index
• 1986 Year End Index
• 1987 Year End Index
• 1988 Year End Index
• 1989 Year End Index

Availability Update

Starting in September 1982 (volume 1, issue 6), issues of the newsletter contain an Availability Update section with release dates for upcoming or recently released games, typically on page 14 or the last page. An "x" printed next to a title indicates that that title had "shipped to retailers" by the newsletter's press date but might not have been in national distribution. According to the newsletter:

"We've had a number of our readers ask questions about how the Availability Update is compiled. We gather the information from the software companies themselves, and we do not alter it in any way, regardless of how unlikely the delivery dates appear to be"

— "Notes on the Availability Update", in Computer Entertainer, volume 3, issue 7, p. 15

As seen above, Computer Entertainer is quick to criticize their own dates. "Availability Updates" often also contain errors both obvious and non-obvious, and titles may sometimes be misspelled or mislabeled. Sometimes an "x" may appear one month then disappear the next month or appear for multiple months in a row. What these events indicate about these releases is unclear.

Still, these dates are often far better than you are likely to find anywhere else. Most other magazines of this era do not list release dates at all. For some platforms like the Atari 7800, you are unlikely to find any other reliable source for release dates.

1982 Reviews

Issue	Platform	Titles
vol.1 no.4 July 1982	Atari 2600	Chopper Command Defender Lost Luggage Skeet Shoot Space Cavern Space Chase Space Jockey Starmaster
	Intellivison	Space Hawk Star Strike
vol.1 no.5 August 1982	Atari 2600	Astroblast Atlantis Super Challenge Baseball Cosmic Ark The Empire Strikes Back Super Challenge Football Racquetball Word Zapper
	Intellivison	Night Stalker
vol.1 no.6 September 1982	Atari 2600	Berzerk Demons to Diamonds Donkey Kong Firefighter Frogger Infiltrate King Kong Le Stick Megamania Pitfall! Riddle of the Sphinx Shark Attack Sneak 'N Peek Space Attack
	ColecoVision	ColecoVision Donkey Kong
	Intellivison	Lock 'n Chase Reversi Sub Hunt Utopia
	Odyssey2	Pickaxe Pete
	Hardware	BC Blaster (2600) Le Stick (2600)
vol.1 no.7 October 1982	Atari 2600	Airlock Bugs Coconuts Communist Mutants from Space Earthworld Encounter at L-5 Fast Food (1982 video game) Fireball Gangster Alley Lock 'n Chase Math Gran Prix Challenge of Nexar Phaser Patrol Planet Patrol Room of Doom Sssnake Star Raiders Tapeworm Threshold Venture Warplock
	ColecoVision	Cosmic Avenger Lady Bug Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle Venture
	Intellivison	Atlantis B-17 Bomber Beauty and the Beast Demon Attack Frog Bog Microsurgeon Space Spartans
	Hardware	Wico Joystick (2600)
vol.1 no.8 November 1982	Atari 2600	Beany Bopper Commando Raid Condor Attack Dark Cavern Deadly Duck Fast Eddie Final Approach Frogs and Flies International Soccer Mouse Trap Sky Jinks Spider-Man Towering Inferno Turmoil Wabbit Worm War I
	Atari 5200	Centipede Defender Galaxian RealSports Soccer Super Breakout
	ColecoVision	Zaxxon
	Intellivison	Bomb Squad Donkey Kong Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain Pitfall! Stampede Tron: Deadly Discs
	Odyssey2	K.C. Krazy Chase Nimble Numbers Ned Type Tell
	Vectrex	Berzerk Clean Sweep Hyperchase Mine Storm Scramble Solar Quest
	Hardware	Atari 5200 Vectrex Pointmaster Joystick (2600) Redball Joystick (2600) Wico Trackball (2600)
vol.1 no.9 December 1982	Atari 2600	Carnival Cosmic Creeps E.T. Escape from the Mindmaster Gorf Jawbreaker Marauder Raiders of the Lost Ark RealSports Baseball RealSports Football RealSports Volleyball Suicide Mission Wizard of Wor
	Atari 5200	Missile Command Pac-Man Space Invaders
	Intellivison	Carnival Royal Dealer Tron: Maze-A-Tron
	Odyssey2	Attack of the Timelord
	Hardware	Fingertip Controller (2600) Gamemate 2 Remote Joystick (2600) Quick Shot Joystick (2600) Slik Stik Joystick (2600) Starfighter Joystick (2600)

1983 Reviews

Issue	Platform	Titles
vol.1 no.10 January 1983	Atari 2600	Armor Ambush Dragonfire Dragonstomper Journey/Escape Mines of Minos Phoenix Rescue Terra I River Raid Spider Fighter Vanguard
	Atari 5200	Star Raiders
	ColecoVision	Carnival Turbo
	Odyssey2	Smithereens!
	Vectrex	Armor Attack Blitz! Cosmic Chasm Rip Off Star Trek: The Motion Picture
	Hardware	Expansion Module 1 (CV)
vol.1 no.11 February 1983	Atari 2600	Adventures of Tron Bermuda Triangle Crypts of Chaos Eggomania Flash Gordon Gopher M.A.D. Name This Game Picnic Ram It Reactor Revenge of the Beefsteak Tomatoes Seaquest Squeeze Box Stargunner
	Atari 5200	Countermeasure
	Intellivison	Dragonfire Shark Shark Sharp Shot
	Odyssey2	Sid the Spellbinder!
	Hardware	Injoy-A-Sticks (CV)
vol.1 no.12 March 1983	Atari 2600	Centipede Cosmic Corridor Dishaster I Want My Mommy Ms. Pac-Man Star Wars: Jedi Arena Tanks but No Tanks
	Atari 5200	Qix
	ColecoVision	Donkey Kong Jr.
	Intellivison	Dracula Mouse Trap Swords & Serpents Tron: Solar Sailer
vol.2 no.1 April 1983	Atari 2600	Demolition Herby Enduro Fire Control Swordquest: Fireworld Frankenstein's Monster G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike Killer Satellites No Escape! Oink! Polaris RealSports Soccer RealSports Tennis Shootin' Gallery
	ColecoVision	Space Fury
	Intellivison	Chess Ice Trek Nova Blast Tropical Trouble Truckin' Venture
	Odyssey2	Demon Attack Killer Bees!
	Vectrex	Bedlam
	Apple II	Critical Mass
	Atari 8-bit	Cat-Nap Collision Course Gypsy Nineball Qix River Rat Stun Trap Thrax Lair
	TI 99/4A	Alpiner
	Hardware	Atari 1200XL Triga Command (2600) Videoplexer (Multiplatform)
vol.2 no.2 May 1983	Astrocade	Treasure Cove
	Atari 2600	Dolphin Galaxian Keystone Kapers Plaque Attack Sky Skipper Smurf Rescue Strawberry Shortcake: Musical Match-ups Sub-Scan Tac/Scan Zaxxon
	ColecoVision	Gorf Looping Pepper II Space Panic
	Intellivison	Happy Trails
	Odyssey2	Turtles
	Atari 8-bit	Caterpiggle Diggerbonk Getaway
	Hardware	Avenger Joystick (Intellivision)
vol.2 no.3 June 1983	Atari 2600	Cakewalk Jungle Hunt M*A*S*H Miner 2049er Robot Tank Star Strike
	Atari 5200	Kangaroo Miner 2049er RealSports Tennis Space Dungeon Vanguard
	Intellivison	Burgertime Buzz Bombers Frogger Lady Bug Mission X Vectron
	Vectrex	Fortress of Narzod Web Wars
	Atari 8-bit	Boulders & Bombs David's Midnight Magic E.T. Phone Home! Final Orbit Mountain King Repton
	VIC-20	Pipes
	Hardware	Koala Pad (Apple II) Power Stick (2600)
vol.2 no.4 July 1983	Atari 2600	Death Trap Earth Dies Screaming London Blitz
	Atari 5200	Frogger
	ColecoVision	Ken Uston Blackjack/Poker
	Intellivison	Safecracker White Water!
	Atari 8-bit	Dig Dug Donkey Kong Frogger Miner 2049er
	VIC-20	Arachnoid Gold Fever Grand Master
	Hardware	Boss Joystick (2600)
vol.2 no.5 August 1983	Atari 2600	Bank Heist Blueprint Crackpots The Activision Decathlon Kangaroo Moonsweeper Pole Position Q*bert Solar Fox Solar Storm Tutankham Wall Ball
	Atari 5200	Ms. Pac-Man Pole Position
	Intellivison	The Dreadnaught Factor
	Vectrex	Spinball
	Atari 8-bit	Blue Max Juice! Jumpman Junior Lifespan Mr. Cool Pinball Construction Set Spider Quake Starbase Fighter Target Practice
	VIC-20	Crossfire
	Hardware	Prostick II (2600) Prostick III (CV)
vol.2 no.6 September 1983	Astrocade	Solar Conquerer
	Atari 2600	Battlezone Donkey Kong Jr Fathom Ghost Manor Mogul Maniac Rabbit Transit Spike's Peak Super Cobra
	Atari 5200	Jungle Hunt
	ColecoVision	Mr. Do Super Action Baseball Time Pilot
	Intellivison	The Empire Strikes Back Q*bert Zaxxon
	Apple II	Apple Cider Spider Lode Runner Oil Barons Sammy Lightfoot Titan Empire
	Atari 8-bit	Astro Chase Dark Crystal Kaboom! Maniac Miner Moon Shuttle O'Riley's Mine River Raid Rosen's Brigade Super Cobra
	TI 99/4A	River City Gambler St. Nick
	VIC-20	Cannonball Blitz Jawbreaker II Lunar Leeper Threshold
	Hardware	Joyboard (2600) Space Age Joystick (2600) Trak Ball (2600)
vol.2 no.7 October 1983	Astrocade	Cosmic Raiders
	Atari 2600	Thunderground Burgertime Crash Dive Glib Kool-Aid Man Porky's Star Trek
	Atari 5200	Astro Chase Q*bert Star Trek
	ColecoVision	Q*bert
	Intellivison	Blockade Runner Sewer Sam
	Vectrex	Spike Star Castle
	Apple II	Axis Assassin Hard Hat Mack
	Atari 8-bit	A.E. Drelbs Major League Hockey Orc Attack Pooyan Q*bert Star League Baseball Star Trek Zeppelin
	VIC-20	Computer War Creepy Corridors Fourth Encounter Fun With Music Star Trek
	Hardware	3-Way Joystick (2600) Power Grip (2600) Prostick Accelerator (2600) Light Pen (Vectrex)
vol.2 no.8 November 1983	Atari 2600	Boing! Donald Duck's Speedboat Joust Laser Gates Moon Patrol Party Mix Pigs In Space Pressure Cooker Quick Step Return of the Jedi Space Shuttle Tac 2 Time Pilot
	Atari 5200	Dig Dug Joust Moon Patrol RealSports Baseball
	ColecoVision	Popeye Rocky Super Action Boxing Sub Roc War Room
	Intellivison	Motocross Pinball Popeye Treasure of Tarmin Worm Whomper
	Apple II	Argos Round About
	Atari 8-bit	Bristles Capture the Flag Cosmic Tunnels Flip & Flop Gateway to Apshai Monster Smash Nightraiders Oil's Well Operation Whirlwind Popeye B.C.'s Quest for Tires Spelunker
	Hardware	Joy Sensor (2600) Wico Analog Joystick (5200)
vol.2 no.9 December 1983	Atari 2600	Big Bird's Egg Catch Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Color Generator Congo Bongo
	Atari 5200	Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Congo Bongo Popeye
	ColecoVision	Centipede Frogger Omega Race B.C.'s Quest for Tires Slither Victory
	Vectrex	Polar Rescue Pole Position
	Apple II	Defender Fax Homeward Pac-man
	Atari 8-bit	Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Congo Bongo Crisis Mountain Drol Fun With Art Learning with Leeper Loderunner Megamania Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory Pitstop Pole Position Tail of Beta Lyrae Zombies
	C64	Blade of Blackpoole Enchanter Infidel Planetfall
	TI 99/4A	Burgertime Donkey Kong Q*bert
	VIC-20	Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Congo Bongo In the Chips
	Hardware	Kid Vid Voice Module (2600) Wico Joystick (CV) Roller Controller (CV)

1984 Reviews

Issue	Platform	Titles
vol.2 no.10 January 1984	Atari 2600	Artillery Duel Chuck Norris Superkicks Color Bar Generator Krull Sorceror's Apprentice Subterranea Tunnel Runner
	Atari 5200	Berzerk Blueprint Gorf K-Razy Shoot-Out Mountain King Pengo Return of the Jedi Wizard of Wor
	ColecoVision	Defender Front Line Nova Blast Pitstop Super Cobra
	Intellivision	Bump 'n Jump Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man River Raid
	Vectrex	Pole Position
	Apple II	Breakthrough the Ardennes Cavern Creatures Dino Eggs Mastering College Board Match Wits Murder by the Dozen Robotron 2084 SAT English I SAT Math I Success with Math Super Bunny
	Atari 8-bit	D-Bug Final Flight! Fire One Joust Ms. Pac-Man Phoenix Lair Silicon Warrior Star Fire Stealth
	C64	Crisis Mountain
	TI 99/4A	Miner 2049er Pac-Man Shamus
	VIC-20	Defender
vol.2 no.11 February 1984	Atari 2600	Bump 'n Jump Dice Puzzle Exocet H.E.R.O. Pitfall II Private Eye Scuba Diver Seahawk Shuttle Orbiter Stuntman Taz
	Atari 5200	Choplifter Mario Bros.
	ColecoVision	Campaign '84 Frantic Freddy Frenzy Pitfall! Quest for Quintana Roo
	Intellivision	Centipede Pac-Man Turbo
	Apple II	Flight Simulator II
	Atari 8-bit	Dragonriders of Pern Encounter! Pitfall! Pogo Joe Rainbow Walker
	C64	Dragonriders of Pern Pogo Joe
	TI 99/4A	Hopper
	Hardware	Masterplay Interface (5200)
vol.2 no.12 March 1984	Atari 2600	Congo Bongo Out of Control
	Atari 5200	Pitfall! Robotron 2048
	ColecoVision	Beamrider Dragonfire Fathom Gust Buster Moonsweeper Wing War
	Apple II	Basic Building Blocks Dig Dug Ken Uston's Professional Blackjack Learning Bridge Mastering the SAT The Heist
	Atari 8-bit	Boulder Dash Dimension X Ken Uston's Professional Blackjack
	C64	Basic Building Blocks Bugaboo Centipede Defender Dig Dug Gateway to Apshai Ken Uston's Professional Blackjack Pac-Man Robotron 2084
	IBM PCjr	Demon Attack
	TI 99/4A	Defender Dig Dug
	VIC-20	Dig Dug Donkey Kong
vol.3 no.1 April 1984	Atari 2600	Beamrider Front Line
	ColecoVision	Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Galaxian Gateway to Apshai Jumpman Jr. Oil's Well Sammy Lightfoot Squish 'Em The Heist
	Apple II	B.C.'s Quest for Tires Oil's Well
	Atari 8-bit	Aquatron Bruce Lee Jupiter Mission 1999 RealSports Football Spare Change Word Flyer
	C64	DragonHawk Flip & Flop Microsoft Multiplan Omniwriter & Omnispell Ultima II
	IBM PCjr	Microsurgeon
	TI 99/4A	Fathom Microsurgeon Moonsweeper Picnic Paranoia Protector II Super Demon Attack
vol.3 no.2 May 1984	Atari 2600	Crystal Castles James Bond 007 Millipede
	Atari 5200	Ballblazer Rescue on Fractalus
	ColecoVision	Aquattack Burgertime Cabbage Patch Kids: Adventures in the Park Destructor The Dreadnaught Factor Facemaker Fraction Fever James Bond 007 Keystone Kapers Learning with Leeper Rolloverture Threshold WarGames
	Apple II	C'est la Vie Caverns of Callisto Delta Squadron Exodus: Ultima III Micro Speedread
	Atari 8-bit	Beat the Beatles Captain Cosmo Donkey Kong Jr. The Dreadnaught Factor James Bond 007 Keystone Kapers Math Mileage Music Construction Set Pengo Sky Writer
	C64	Battlezone The Dallas Quest One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird Flight Simulator II James Bond 007 Jungle Hunt Ms. Pac-Man Murder on the Zinderneuf Pole Position Slamball Summer Games
	VIC-20	Battlezone Galaxian Jungle Hunt Moon Patrol Ms. Pac-Man
vol.3 no.3 June 1984	Atari 2600	MagiCard Video Life
	Atari 5200	Meteorites
	Apple II	Financial Cookbook Ms. Pac-Man Success with Math Wizard of Id's WizType
	Atari 8-bit	The Institute
	C64	Beamrider Big Bird's Special Delivery Bumblebee D-Bug Ducks Ahoy! In the Chips Lunar Outpost 50 Mission Crunch Oil Barons Peanut Butter Panic Pitfall! Sea Horse Hide'n Seek Timebound Webster: The Word Game Wizard of Id's WizType
	TI 99/4A	Jungle Hunt Moon Patrol Ms. Pac-Man Pole Position
	Hardware	Tech-Sketch Light Pen (Atari 8-bit)
vol.3 no.4 July 1984	Atari 2600	Roc'n Rope
	Atari 5200	Gyruss
	Atari 7800	Pole Position II
	ColecoVision	Alphabet Zoo Bump 'n' Jump Roc 'n Rope Sewer Sam Super Action Baseball Star Wars
	Atari 8-bit	Baseball's Best Beyond Castle Wolfenstein Financial Cookbook Gyruss Panzer War
	C64	Beach-Head Death in the Caribbean Easydisk Financial Cookbook Gyruss Hes Games Puzzle Panic Star Wars Viking Raiders
	Hardware	Atari 7800
vol.3 no.5 August 1984	Atari 2600	Eli's Ladder Track & Field
	Atari 7800	Centipede Joust Robotron 2084
	ColecoVision	The Dukes of Hazzard Smurf Paint 'n' Play Workshop Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator Tarzan
	Apple II	America: Coast to Coast Dinosaur Dig Mr. Robot & His Robot Factory Story Maker
	Atari 8-bit	Coco-Notes Computer Title Bout Dragon's Keep Halftime Battlin' Bands Movie Musical Madness Syncalc Synfile Syntrend Troll's Tale
	C64	64 Doctor 64 Pak Boulder Dash Cell Defense Chinese Juggler Galactic Conquest The Heist Hideous Bill and the Gi-Gants Labyrinth of the Creator Practifile The Seven Cities of Gold Silicon Warrior Space Ambush Total Health Type'n'Write
	Coleco Adam	Bounty Hunter Flashcard Maker Smart Filer Smart Letters & Forms
vol.3 no.6 September 1984	Atari 2600	Frogger II Montezuma's Revenge
	Atari 5200	Frogger II Montezuma's Revenge Zaxxon
	ColecoVision	The Activision Decathlon Frogger II H.E.R.O. Montezuma's Revenge Mountain King
	Apple II	Summer Games Tapper
	Atari 8-bit	Beach-Head The Dallas Quest One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird Frogger II Juno First Montezuma's Revenge Puzzlepanic Relax, the Stress Reduction System Summer Games Tink!Tonk!: Tonk in the Land of Buddy-Bots
	C64	Adventure Pack Adventure Pack II Blockade Runner C64 Tutor Factactics Frogger II Grave Robbers Impossible Mission Juno First Kwik-Load Montezuma's Revenge Tapper The Trivia Arcade
	Coleco Adam	Adventure Pack Adventure Pack II
vol.3 no.7 October 1984	ColecoVision	B.C. II: Grog's Revenge Congo Bongo Pitfall II Telly Turtle
	Apple II	Archon Boulder Dash The Perfect Score: Computer Preperation for the SAT Skyfox
	Atari 8-bit	Flight Simulator II Imagic 1-2-3 Realm of Impossibility
	C64	9 to 5 Typing Adventure Master Fire Ant Fleet Feet President Elect Questron Raid Over Moscow Rails West! Robots of Dawn Trivia Fever Weather Tamers Word Flyer Zeta-7
	Coleco Adam	Savings & Loan Smartlogo Trek
	Macintosh	Frogger
vol.3 no.8 November 1984	Atari 2600	Tapper
	Atari 5200	Beamrider Pitfall II Zenji Zone Ranger
	ColecoVision	Brain Strainers Dr. Seuss' Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler Fortune Builder Zenji
	Apple II	Blazing Paddles Cutthroats The Print Shop Star League Baseball Take 1
	Atari 8-bit	Computer Baseball Pastfinder Pitfall II Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space Tink!Tonk!: Tink's Adventure Transylvania Tink!Tonk!: Tuk Goes to Town Up'n Down Zenji Zone Ranger
	C64	Breakdance Broadsides Dream House Expedition Amazon Ghostbusters Mask of the Sun On-Court Tennis Pathwords River Raid Spy vs. Spy Tapper Transylvania Up'n Down Zenji
	Coleco Adam	Expertype SmartBASIC Bonanza
vol.3 no.9 December 1984	Atari 2600	Sir Lancelot Tomarc the Barbarian
	ColecoVision	Monkey Academy
	Apple II	Amazon Career Planning Dazzle Draw Dragonfire Fortress of the Witch King King's Quest Party Quiz Shadowkeep Field of Fire
	Atari 8-bit	Field of Fire Whistler's Brother
	C64	Computer Quarterback Dragonfire Dragonworld Fahrenheit 451 Injured Engine It's Only Rock 'n' Roll Mancopter Monty Plays Scrabble Moonsweeper Nova Blast Pitstop II Rendezvous with Rama Slurpy Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space Stealth Toy Bizarre Whistler's Brother Zone Ranger
	Coleco Adam	Richard Scarry's Best Electronic Word Book Ever! Super Zaxxon
	IBM PCjr	Grand Slam Baseball
	Hardware	Adamlink Modem (Adam) Adam Disk Drive (Adam)