activision
challenge
In the early 1980s, Activision turned high scores into real-world glory. Each game came with a special challenge—hit a target score or pull off a tough feat—and if you proved it with a photo of your TV screen, Activision mailed you an official embroidered patch.
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These patches became badges of honor, proudly displayed by players who mastered Pitfall!, Barnstorming, and other classics. Long before online achievements, Activision’s challenges created one of gaming’s first fan communities—where bragging rights arrived in the mailbox.
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Now, some 40 years later I will see if I'm worthy of collecting every Activision patch ever released. There are 33 games with a total of 43 patches as some games had different patches for different levels of greatness. I will start with getting a patch from all 33 games and then go back for the remainder of the patches. This is more than a commitment...it's a lifestyle​
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25 GAMES COMPLETED
8 GAMES LEFT
In Activision’s Skiing, players were challenged to blaze through the slalom course number 3 and beat Activision’s target time of 28.2. If you nailed a clean, fast run at the bottom of the hill was the coveted Activision Ski Team patch—a badge proving you were one of the quickest skiers on the Atari slopes.
In Pitfall!, Activision challenged players to survive the jungle’s 255-screen gauntlet and score of 20,000 to prove true treasure-hunting mastery. Snap a photo of your qualifying score, mail it in, and you’d earn the iconic Pitfall! Harry’s Explorer Club patch—proof that you braved the pits, snakes, and scorpions and came out a legend.
In Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Activision pushed adventurers to dive deep into the underground maze and hit the game’s qualifying score of 99,000 to prove their skill. Capture your final screen, mail it in, and you’d earn the Pitfall Explorers Club patch—recognition that you navigated the caverns, rescued the treasures, and mastered one of the era’s toughest quests.
In Freeway, Activision challenged players to guide their chicken across ten lanes of traffic again and again, racking up enough crossings to hit the qualifying score of 20. Send in a photo of your performance, and you’d earn the Official Activision Freeway patch—sprinting through rush hour like a pro for immortality.
In Stampede, Activision dared players to rein in runaway cattle and rope enough steers to hit the qualifying score of 3,000. Capture your best round on screen, mail it in, and you’d earn the Activision Trail Drive patch—your badge of honor for taming the wildest herd on the range.
In Activision Tennis, the challenge was simple: outplay your opponent with precision shots, quick reflexes, and flawless court coverage. Rack up a qualifying score by winning a set with at least a two-game lead, snap a photo of your victory screen, and you could earn the Official Activision Tennis patch—athleticism skill, stamina, and finesse to dominate the baseline like a true champion.
In Activision’s Spider Fighter, players were challenged to defend their precious fruit silos from relentless waves of buzzing, skittering invaders. Score 40,000 points or more, snap a photo of your triumph, and you could earn the Official Activision Spider Fighter patch—aim, agility, and nerves of steel to stand tall against the swarm were all it took.
In Activision’s River Raid, pilots were challenged to blast through twisting canyons, dodge enemy fire, and manage every drop of precious fuel. Hit a qualifying score of 15,000 points, capture a photo of your run, and you could earn the Official Activision River Raid patch—but only if you had the precision, daring, and steady nerves to rule the river skies.
In Activision’s Laser Blast, players were challenged to strike swiftly from above—vaporizing ground bases before they could lock on and return fire. Score 100,000 points, snap a photo of your blazing victory, and you could earn the Official Activision Laser Blast patch—documentation you had the reflexes, firepower, and unstoppable focus to dominate the galaxy.
Face-offs, fast breaks, and fearless checks—Ice Hockey pushed players to outskate, outshoot, and outsmart their rivals on the frozen Activision rink. Win a game by at least two goals, snap a photo of your championship moment, and you could earn the Official Activision Ice Hockey patch—reward for those with the speed, strategy, and cold-blooded precision to rule the ice.
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Barnstorming put pilots to the test, demanding flawless timing as you dove through barns, dodged windmills, and skimmed past flocks of geese. Finish your flight in under 33.3 seconds, snap a photo of your perfect run, and you could earn the Official Activision Barnstorming patch—reserved exclusively for those who had the daring, control, and barn-busting precision of a true stunt ace.
Chopper Command challenged players to patrol the desert skies, blasting enemy fighters and protecting the convoys racing below. Score 10,000 points or more, capture a photo of your mission success, and you could earn the Official Activision Chopper Command patch—confirmation you had the skill, nerve, and aerial dominance of an elite gunship pilot.
The Activision Decathlon turned living rooms into full-blown sports arenas—minus the fresh air and plus a whole lot of joystick gymnastics. To earn the Official Activision Decathlon patch, players had to hit 10,000 points, proving they had the pixel-powered stamina of a true 10-event legend. Snap a photo of your high score and you could proudly show the world you were an 8-bit Bruce Jenner.
Grand Prix for the Atari 2600, released by Activision in 1982 and programmed by David Crane, puts you behind the wheel of a screaming Formula One racer in a fast, deceptively intense top-down challenge where razor-sharp reflexes and nerve are everything. With four increasingly punishing tracks, traffic closing in from all sides, and your lap time always ticking down, the game turns pure speed into an obsession. Wannabe Andretti's needed to finish the first course in under 0:35, the second in under 1:00, the third in under 1:30, or the fourth in under 2:30 to earn the “Grand Prix Driving Team” patch.
Keystone Kapers on the Atari 2600 was a white-knuckle, split-second pursuit that turned a department store into a playground of pure arcade adrenaline. As Officer Kelly, you sprinted through floors, timed elevator jumps, dodged shopping carts, and outsmarted the clock in a frantic bid to nab the ever-taunting Harry Hooligan as the game relentlessly cranked up the speed. True mastery didn’t just earn bragging rights—it earned hardware: score 35,000 points or more, photograph the proof right off your TV screen, and mail it to Activision to receive the legendary Billy Club patch, a stitched badge that declared you one of the elite mall cops of the joystick era.
Plaque Attack (1983) is one of Activision’s strangest and most fun Atari 2600 games, turning dental hygiene into an arcade-style battle against invading junk food—burgers, fries, donuts, and soda raining down on a set of teeth. Armed with toothpaste, dental floss, and a mouthwash blaster, players fought to keep cavities at bay. True to Activision tradition, bragging rights came with a prize: score 35,000 points and earn the official Plaque Attack embroidered patch.
Sky Jinks is a fast, colorful Atari 2600 racing game from Activision that puts players in control of a stunt plane weaving through pylons, tunnels, and surprise obstacles at breakneck speed. It wasn’t just about flying—you had to master tight turns and perfect timing. Activision sweetened the challenge with a real reward: finish Game 1 in under 37 secondsand earn the official Sky Stars patch. Pulling it off took razor-sharp reflexes, making the patch a true high-flying badge of honor for skilled pilots.
Seaquest on the Atari 2600 was the kind of game that made your thumbs sweat and your imagination run wild—dodging sharks, rescuing divers, and racing back to the surface for air while that iconic blip-blip soundtrack played. Hitting 50,000 points felt legendary in an era before achievements and trophies, that Sub Club patch was bragging rights you could actually wear, a pixel-powered badge of honor earned one diver at a time.
Oink! on the Atari 2600 turned the classic pigs-vs-wolf showdown into fast, frantic fun, with players scrambling to stack bricks and outsmart that sneaky wolf before he blew the house down. Reaching 25,000 points wasn’t easy, but it was totally worth it—scoring the coveted Oinkers patch. Back then, earning a patch in the mail felt like winning a cartoon trophy, proof that your pig-protecting skills were strong and your Atari talents officially certified.
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H.E.R.O. on the Atari 2600 made you feel like a jetpack-wearing superhero, blasting through underground caves with lasers, dynamite, and just enough fuel to keep the tension high. Scoring 75,000 points or more was a serious achievement, and Activision sweetened the deal by sending you an official H.E.R.O. patch if you proved it. Long before digital achievements, that patch was a real-world badge of bravery—earned one rescue mission at a time.
Robot Tank on the Atari 2600 put you behind the periscope of a futuristic tank, battling enemy squadrons while fog, snow, and night conditions kept every fight tense. Instead of chasing a score, the real challenge was destroying 48 enemy tanks—four full squadrons—which earned you the first of three official Activision Robot Tank patches. Getting that patch in the mail felt like proof you’d truly mastered the battlefield, one pixelated tank battle at a time.
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Activision’s Dolphin for the Atari 2600 was a fast, arcade-style splash of fun that let players guide a speedy dolphin through the ocean, leaping over boats and dodging dangers while racking up points. Like many classic Activision games, the bragging rights didn’t stop on the screen—score an impressive 80,000 points and earn the official Friends of Dolphins.patch, a real-world trophy that proved your pixel-powered sea skills were totally fin-tastic.
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Activision’s Megamania for the Atari 2600 was a quirky, fast-paced shooter where everyday objects like hamburgers, bow ties, and steam irons swooped down from the sky in wave after wave of chaos. To earn the coveted Megamania patch players had to prove serious skill by scoring 45,000 points—a fun mix of arcade challenge and real-world bragging rights that made high scores feel truly legendary.
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Activision’s Starmaster for the Atari 2600 was a sleek, ahead-of-its-time space combat game that put players in the cockpit of a starfighter defending friendly bases from relentless alien fleets. With its immersive cockpit view and radar screen, it felt incredibly advanced for its era—earn the official Order of the Supreme Starmaster patch, players had to score 3,500 points on game 1.
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Kaboom! pushed players’ reflexes to the limit as you raced to catch every bomb the Mad Bomber hurled your way. Rack up 3,000 points, snap a photo of your explosive feat, and you could earn the Official Activision Kaboom! patch—but only if you had the focus, precision, and lightning-fast hands to keep chaos under control.
