The Fairchild Channel F is a home video game console released by Fairchild Camera and Instrument in November 1976. It has the distinction of being the first programmable ROM cartridge-based video game console, and the first console to use a microprocessor. It was launched as the Fairchild Video Entertainment System, or Fairchild VES for short, but when Atari released their Atari Video Computer System, Atari VCS, later Atari 2600 the next year, Fairchild renamed its machine.
Twenty-seven cartridges, termed 'Videocarts', were officially released to consumers during the ownership of Fairchild and Zircon, the first twenty-one of which were released by Fairchild. Several of these cartridges were capable of playing more than one game. The Videocarts were yellow and approximately the size and overall texture of an 8 track cartridge. They usually featured colorful label artwork. Industrial designer Nicholas F. Talesforce was responsible for the overall design of the cartridges, while early artwork was created by artist Tom Kamifuji. The console contained two built-in games, Tennis and Hockey, which were both advanced Pong clones. In Hockey the reflecting bar could be changed to diagonals by twisting the controller, and could move all over the playing field. Tennis was much like the original Pong. These games were reviewed by Video magazine in 1978 and Hockey received a score of 7 out of 10 while Tennis received a 6 out of 10.
A sales brochure from 1978 listed 'Keyboard Videocarts' for sale. The three shown were K-1 Casino Poker, K-2 Space Odyssey, and K-3 Pro-Football. These were intended to use the Keyboard accessory. All further brochures, released after Zircon took over Fairchild, never listed this accessory nor anything called a Keyboard Videocart.
One additional cartridge was released numbered Videocart-51 and titled 'Demo 1'. This Videocart was shown in a single sales brochure released shortly after Zircon acquired the company. It was never listed for sale after this single brochure used for the winter of 1979.
Videocarts
Videocart-1: Tic-Tac-Toe / Shooting Gallery / Doodle / Quadradoodle
Videocart-1 released with the system in November 1976 by Fairchild. It contains four games: Tic-Tac-Toe, a rendition of the pen and paper game, Shooting Gallery, in which moving targets must be hit from one of ten fixed positions and angles, Doodle, an art program which lets players draw red, green, and blue lines, and Quadradoodle, in which the game generates its own kaleidoscopic images which can be manipulated by the player. For losing in Tic-Tac-Toe, players receive the message "YOU LOSE TURKEY". Video magazine reviewed the individual games in a 1978 article on the Channel F, scoring Tic-Tac-Toe a 5 out of 10, Shooting Gallery a 7 out of 10, Doodle a 4 out of 10, and Quadra-Doodle a 3 out of 10. Shooting Gallery was described as "challenging" and Doodle was characterized as "not really a game" and criticized for its difficulty of control. Brett Weiss called it "surprisingly versatile".
Videocart-2: Desert Fox / Shooting Gallery Videocart-2 was released in December 1976 by Fairchild. It contains two games: Desert Fox, a competitive tank game similar to Atari's Combat, and Shooting Gallery which is identical to the game of the same name on Videocart-1. Video magazine reviewed the individual games in 1978, describing Desert Fox as "challenging" while scoring it an 8 out of 10, and rescoring Shooting Gallery as a 7 out of 10. Videogames Hardware Handbook said that Desert Fox was missing the full screen mazes of Tank, but thought it "made great use of the Farichild's unique controllers."
Videocart-3: Video Blackjack Videocart 3 is a rendition of the card game blackjack released in December 1976 by Fairchild. Players start with a $500 pot and are not allowed to split pairs or take insurance. Video magazine reviewed the game in 1978, describing it as "adult entertainment" and scoring it a 10 out of 10. Brett Weiss called it "a pretty decent game of '21'" and applauded the clearly marked cards, but noted it had less options than Atari 2600's Blackjack. Videogames Hardware Handbook considered its presentation "impressive for 1976" and compared it favorably to Blackjack for the Atari 2600. They believed it was weighed down by "cryptic command options".
Videocart-4: Spitfire Videocart-4: Spitfire is a one-on-one aerial dogfighting game released in April 1977 by Fairchild. The game uses a side-on perspective, where players pull back on the controller to ascend and push in on the controller to descend. In addition to a two-player mode, the game allows for one player to square off against a CPU, a unique feature for the time. If the player gets too far ahead in points, the CPU will become a more difficult opponent. Video magazine reviewed the game in 1978, scoring it a 6 out of 10 and describing it as "exciting" but noting that "sometimes it's hard to tell if your plane is flying upside down." The cartridge contains an Easter Egg displaying the programmers name (Michael K Glass), it's not possible to show it from an original cart as it lacks some of the needed functionality.
Videocart-5: Space War Videocart-5: Space War is a competitive shoot 'em up released in April 1977 by Fairchild. Two players navigate space craft through an asteroid field attempting to shoot each other with lasers. Shooting and taking damage depletes energy which can be regenerated at star bases. Video magazine reviewed the game in 1978, scoring it a 9 out of 10 and describing it as "exciting" and "fast-moving" with "energetic sound effects". Video Games in 1983 unfavorably reviewed Space War, calling it perhaps "the most antiquated game of its type still on the market". Brett Weiss compared it to the 1962 mainframe game Spacewar! and Cinematronics' Space Wars.
Videocart-6: Math Quiz I (Addition & Subtraction) Videocart-6: Math Quiz I (Addition & Subtraction) is a math education tool released in May 1977 by Fairchild. Players are given a limited number of addition and subtraction problems to complete. The manual also suggests players use a pencil and paper to play hangman and solve mazes to supplement to problem solving. Video magazine reviewed the individual games in 1978, scoring Math Quiz - Addition and Math Quiz - Subtraction a 2 out of 10 each. The games were criticized for exceptionally poor controls and handling. Brett Weiss considered it to be "barebones".
Videocart-7: Math Quiz II (Multiplication & Division) Videocart-7: Math Quiz (Multiplication & Division) is a math education tool released in August 1977 by Fairchild. It is similar to Videocart-6 but replaces addition and subtraction problems with multiplication and division. Brett Weiss complained that both cartridges didn't contain enough problems, but complimented how the game showed players how to get the right answers after getting a question wrong.
Videocart-8: Magic Numbers Videocart-8: Magic Numbers was released in September 1977 by Fairchild. It contains two games, Mind Reader and Nim. Mind Reader is similar to the board game Mastermind. Players have 20 guesses to correctly guess a number between two and five digits long. On each guess, the game gives player feedback about the correctness of each digit. Nim is based on the aincent game of nim. Players take turns removing any number of items from one of three stacks. The player that picks up the last item loses. Video magazine reviewed the individual games in 1978, scoring Mind Reader a 9 out of 10 and declining to award a score for Nim. Whereas Mind Reader was described as tricky but exciting (especially in "timing mode"), Nim was found be the reviewers to be incomprehensible. After "over an hour" of attempts to play and a telephone call to Fairchild, the reviewers gave up trying. Brett Weiss called the graphics "simplistic" but said it had "much in the way of brain-straining challenges."
Videocart 9: Drag Strip Videocart 9: Drag Strip is a racing video game released in September 1977 by Fairchild. Players compete in a drag race, attempting to drive a car in a straight line faster than their opponent without blowing their engine up. Players are provided with a tachometer for measuring their engine's revolutions per minute and four gear speeds. Video magazine reviewed the game in 1978, scoring it a 5 out of 10 and criticizing its controls/handling and its low level of difficulty but noting that "the sound effects are fun".Video Games magazine in 1983 said it requires "the same deftness and touch" as Activision's Dragster. Brett Weiss in 2007 said it was "surprisingly intricate" but that the audio and visuals were "crude".
Videocart-10: Maze Videocart-10: Maze is a collection of maze games released in November 1977 by Fairchild. Players play as mice trapped in a randomly generated maze. Players must escape the maze without getting captured by an enemy cat. Four different modes are included: Maze, Jailbreak, Blind-Man's-Bluff, and Trailblazer, which provide extra challenge including extra barriers and invisible maze layouts. Brett Weiss in 2007 compared to game favorably to Atari's Maze Craze.}
Videocart-11: Backgammon / Acey-Deucey Videocart-11 is a video game based on the board games of backgammon and acey-deucey. It was released in December 1977 by Fairchild. Brett Weiss considered it a "fairly good" simulation of the two similar board games and more complete than the version for the APF-MP1000, despite "lousy graphics".
Videocart-12: Baseball Videocart-12: Baseball is a sports video game released in September 1977 by Fairchild. It was one of the first console games based on baseball, and offered players a wide variety of pitching options, including fastballs, curve balls, and change-ups. Twisting the controllers steers the pitch, while pushing forward or pulling back varies its speed. If a batter manages to hit the pitch, four fielders can be moved to the left or right to make an out. Strikeouts, walks, and getting hit by the pitch are also included. The game was reviewed by Video magazine in 1978 where it received a score of 10 out of 10. Brett Weiss considered it "highly playable".
Videocart 13: Robot War / Torpedo Alley Videocart 13 was released in January 1978 by Fairchild. It includes two games: Robot War, which is an action game where players attempt to lure four robots into force fields scattered about the screen, and Torpedo Alley, a shoot 'em up where players compete with each other as underwater turrets attempting to shoot down boats at the surface. Video Games in 1983 described Robot War as one of the best Channel F games, calling it "Berzerk without guns". Brett Weiss considered both to be "moderately entertaining".
Videocart-14: Sonar Search Videocart-14: Sonar Search was released in May 1978 by Fairchild. It is very similar to the board game Battleship. Two players take turns guessing the location of and attempting to sink each of an opponent's five ships. Players select a spot on a grid and receive an audio signal depending on how how close the guess was.
Videocart-15: Memory Match Videocart-15: Memory Match is a puzzle video game based on the card game concentration released in May 1978 by Fairchild. 40 cards appear on screen and players take turns flipping pairs of cards looking for potential matches. If a match is found, the two cards are removed. Otherwise, the cards are flipped back over allowing players to memorize their contents for future turns. Brett Weiss thought the interface worked well and the computer scoring was convenient.
Videocart-16: Dodge It