Sky Jinks
Sky Jinks is a vertically scrolling, air racing-themed video game developed by Bob Whitehead for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1982.
Sky Jinks
- Date
- 1982
- Genre
- racing video game
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Documentary summary
Sky Jinks is a vertically scrolling, air racing-themed video game developed by Bob Whitehead for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1982.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q16267626 · wikipedia · Sky Jinks
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Programmer — Bob Whitehead • Developer — Activision • Publisher — Activision • Platforms — Atari 2600 • Genre — Racing • Modes — Single-player
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Sky Jinks on the Atari 2600 In Sky Jinks, the player pilots a low-flying Seversky XP-41 airplane through a time trial. To complete a game level, the player must bank around a prescribed number of pylons (left for blue and right for red). The XP-41 can bank left and right, as well as accelerate and decelerate. Flying into a pylon (which counts), tree, or hot air balloon slows down the plane. The game has four courses: Polo Grounds, Aero Race, Love Field, and Speedy Meadows. There is also a pseudo-randomly-generated course called Thompson Tourney.
Places
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Places
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- United States
Named but not plotted · 1
Sky Jinks is associated with United States.
Country
Legacy
In the mid-1980s, social psychologist Roy Baumeister used the game in his psychological research into performance anxiety. Activision anthologized Sky Jinks in the PlayStation title A Collection of Activision Classic Games for the Atari 2600 (1998) and in the multi-platform collection Activision Anthology (2002).
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Sky Jinks”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q16267626: Sky Jinks
General reference · Wikidata
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.Hague, James. The Giant list of Classic Game Programmers.
- 2.Sky Jinks. Atari Age.
- 3.Weiss, Brett. Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984: A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland & Company. 105. 2007. 9780786432264.
- 4.Beilock, Sian. Choke: Use the Secrets of Your Brain to Succeed When It Matters Most. Free Press. 244–45. 2010. 9781416596172.
References
Citations
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reference work
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General reference
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 18 August 2026.
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