The Activision Decathlon is a sports game written by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, Atari 5200, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, and MSX. Up to four players compete in the ten different events of a real-life decathlon, either in sequence or individually. Gameplay The events are: 100-Meter Dash Long Jump Shot Put High Jump 400-Meter Race 110-Meter Hurdles Discus Throw Pole Vault Javelin Throw 1500-Meter Race Activision Decathlon Club patches A player whose score met or exceeded the values below could send photo documentation to receive an Activision Decathlon Club patch in one of the colors of an Olympic medal: 8,600 points: Bronze 9,000 points: Silver 10,000 points: Gold Reception Shortly after release, Activision's Decathlon drew comparisons to Konami's popular arcade game Hyper Olympic (Track & Field), which was introduced at the Amusement Machine Show a month later in September 1983. According to Cash Box magazine, several people claimed there were "cursory similarities" between the two games. The Atari 2600 version of Decathlon was reviewed by Video magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was described as "an absolute triumph of imaginative programming" and as "a masterwork." Computer and Video Games rated the VCS version 92% while giving the ColecoVision version a 93% score. In 1985, the game appeared at number-two on the Atari 8-bit chart in the United Kingdom. Legacy The game was later reissued simply as Decathlon by the UK budget label Firebird. It was included in the 2002 PlayStation 2 compilation Activision Anthology. See also List of Atari 2600 games List of Activision games: 1980–1999 Olympic Decathlon, 1980 computer game with similar concept and controls References External links The Activision Decathlon for Atari 2600 at Atari Mania The Activision Decathlon video capture 1983 video games Atari 2600 games Atari 5200 games Atari 8-bit family games ColecoVision games Commodore 64 games MSX games Olympic video games Athletics video games Multiple-stage competition video games Video games developed in the United States