Screen Games

The average American spends six hours a day gazing passively at television. Soon he will have an opportunity to play a more active role in what appears on the screen of his set. Last week the Magnavox Co. demonstrated a device that will give set owners a chance to engage in electronic table tennis, hockey, target shooting and other competitive games on their TV screens.

Called Odyssey, the game is actually a battery-powered, closed-circuit broadcaster that projects movable squares of light on a TV screen. The light squares--which can be maneuvered in any direction by dials on two small "player control units"--represent players, targets and balls in a wide variety of games.

To start the screen play, it is necessary only to flick a switch that connects the master unit with the VHF antenna terminals on any set with an 18-in. or larger screen. One of twelve translucent overlays that simulate "playing fields," complete with figures of players, is taped to the screen. A circuit card that conjures up from one to three light squares is inserted into the master unit. The squares appear, the players grasp the knobs on their control units, and the game is on.

Odyssey games are designed for all ages. Several, like "Cat and Mouse," are variations on the game of tag. If the cat intercepts the mouse's flight through an overlaid maze of squares, the mouse disappears from the screen. Other games are designed to be educational. In "States," for example, a map of the U.S. is attached to the screen and children are asked the name of the state illuminated by the square of light. In an electronic version of roulette, bets are placed on a separate board and a light square moves around a simulated wheel before coming to rest on one of 32 numbers. Magnavox claims that playing Odyssey games will "improve motor skills." It does indeed take quick reflexes to play the games well. In electronic hockey, for example, players must not only move their "sticks" up and down but also manipulate an "english control," which can simulate slap shots and shift the direction of the "puck" as it crosses the center line. Good concentration and coordination are also essential in games like "Skiing," which requires the player to keep the light square tracking down a curving path on a simulated mountainside in a race against the clock.

All this fun will not come cheap. A basic Odyssey that includes twelve games and has circuitry as complex as that in a black-and-white TV set will go on sale in August for about $100--plus as much as $25 more for such optional attachments as an electronic shooting range. But Magnavox is convinced that it has a winner. The company expects that some 100,000 customers this year will want to buy a piece of the action on their home screens.

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