Kid Grid
Kid Grid is a grid capture video game which borrows heavily from the 1981 arcade video game Amidar. Written by Arti Haroutunian for Atari 8-bit computers, it was published by Tronix in 1982. A Commodore 64 port from the same programmer was released in 1983.
Kid Grid
- Date
- 1982
- Genre
- action game
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Kid Grid is a grid capture video game which borrows heavily from the 1981 arcade video game Amidar. Written by Arti Haroutunian for Atari 8-bit computers, it was published by Tronix in 1982. A Commodore 64 port from the same programmer was released in 1983.
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wikidata · Q2560084 · wikipedia · Kid Grid
In this article
The object
The object
In Kid Grid, the player moves along the horizontal and vertical lines of the playfield, turning the lines from dotted gray to solid blue. If all the lines around a square are completed, it is filled-in. Deadly creatures chase the player.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Kid Grid • Released — 1982: Atari 1983: C64 • Programmer — Arti Haroutunian • Publisher — Tronix • Developer — Tronix • Platforms — Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64 • Genre — Maze • Modes — Single-player
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — The Kid, just below screen center, trailing a blue line (Atari 8-bit) The objective is to color all of the lines on the grid by moving over them, capturing the 35 squares. Four pursuers kill the player on contact: Moose, Squashface, Muggy, and Thuggy. They are visually unique, but have the same behavior. Question marks randomly appear in some squares which give bonus points when captured. Pressing the joystick button briefly stuns the enemies so they don't move and can be passed through by the player (analogous to "jumps" in Amidar). A fixed number of stuns are available. There are five selectable difficulty levels, and the game can be played with 3, 5, or 7 stuns.
Development
Development
Arti Haroutunian wrote Kid Grid in two months using the Atari Assembler Editor cartridge. He programmed the Commodore 64 port himself. Tronix ran magazine adverts promoting both Kid Grid and another game by Haroutunian, Juice!, mentioning him by name.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Named but not plotted · 1
Kid Grid is associated with United States.
Country
Reception
The reviewer for Antic called it, "the most exciting mutation of Pac-Man I have ever played." David H. Ahl criticized the simplistic sound effects, but concluded, "All in all, we found Kid Grid to be one of the most playable and addictive games around. It is cute, fast, and fun." Electronic Games wrote, "The play mechanic alone makes this one of the most compulsive, utterly addictive contests in the world of computer gaming" and "Kid Grid has play value coming out of its ears and enough speed to give even its inspiration, Amidar, a run for its money." Electronic Fun with Computers & Games also compared Kid Grid to Amidar, calling out three differences: "The grid is square, not irregular...there is no bonus round (or bonus points for finishing a grid) and the monsters are more intent on killing you and less intent on having a good time." Creative Computing went so far as to label it a "good home version of an arcade hit". In a "C−" review, Addison Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 wrote, "the game's utter simplicity works against it after repeated play. There is only one maze and a simple strategy to keep one step ahead of the pursuing creatures."
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kid Grid.
- 2.Tronix magazine ad. Atari Mania.
- 3.Welch, Bryan. Product Reviews: Kid Grid. Antic. 2. 8. 92. August 1983.
- 4.Ahl, David H. Thirteen Great New Games. Creative Computing. 121. May 1984.
- 5.Richardson, Will. Computer Gaming: Kid Grid. Electronic Games. 1. 15. 66–67. May 1983.
- 6.Anderson, John. A Gaggle of Games for Atari. Creative Computing. 114. September 1983.
- 7.Addison Wesley. Addison Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984. 135. 1984.
- 8.Hague, James. The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers.
- 9.Tronix. Kid Grid Atari Manual. archive.org. 1982.
- 10.Ellison, Peter. Interview: Arti Haroutunian. ROM. 5. 8. April 1984.
- 11.van Horn, Shisha. Kid Grid. Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. 65. February 1983.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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