Overview
The missiles fall. You can’t stop them all. Missile Command turned Cold War terror into a game where players defended six cities against nuclear annihilation. The trackball controlled a cursor placing defensive explosions, but the attacks never stopped—eventually, every game ended with cities in ruins.
Fast facts
- Developer: Atari.
- Designer: Dave Theurer.
- Control: Trackball (arcade).
- Ending: No victory—only delayed defeat.
Gameplay mechanics
| Element |
Function |
| Trackball |
Aim crosshair |
| Three batteries |
Fire anti-missiles |
| Explosions |
Create defensive clouds |
| Cities |
Must protect six |
Threat types
| Enemy |
Behaviour |
| ICBM |
Falls straight down |
| MIRV |
Splits into multiple warheads |
| Smart bomb |
Evades explosions |
| Bomber |
Crosses screen horizontally |
Technical features
| Aspect |
Implementation |
| Colour display |
Raster graphics |
| Trackball precision |
Analogue control |
| Explosion timing |
Strategic depth |
| Wave progression |
Escalating difficulty |
Cultural impact
| Aspect |
Detail |
| Theme |
Nuclear war anxiety |
| Designer nightmares |
Theurer had nuclear dreams |
| No happy ending |
Intentional design choice |
| Political commentary |
Cold War reflection |
Home conversions
| Platform |
Notable feature |
| Atari 2600 |
Joystick adaptation |
| Atari 8-bit |
Near-arcade quality |
| Game Boy |
Portable version |
See also