Artillery Duel, published by Xonox in 1983, pits two tanks against each other, separated by a mountain: each player adjusts angle and firing power, factors in the wind, and waits for the impact, in a formula that traces directly back to the old computer artillery games of the '70s. It's one of the few games on the console designed explicitly for two players sharing the same terrain, rather than for real-time action. Its unhurried pace and emphasis on calculation set it apart from the rest of the Atari 2600 library, dominated by reflex-based action: it remains a curiosity for anyone who wants to see how the console also housed turn-based strategy games.
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