Play Dark Mage Online

Game Overview

Dark Mage on the Atari 2600 is one of those "what did I just get myself into?" kind of games. You start off by royally screwing up—losing King Roland’s prized black rose in a drunken card game with, well, the Dark Mage. Now you’re banished, and the only way back is to track down that stupid flower.

It plays like a stripped-down version of those old Infocom text adventures, except instead of typing commands, you use the joystick to pick actions from a menu at the bottom of the screen. Grab items, talk to weird characters, and wander through locations that look like they were drawn in five minutes (in a charmingly janky Atari way).

Fair warning: the first time I played, I spent way too long just trying to figure out how to pick up a loaf of bread. But once it clicks, there’s something oddly satisfying about piecing together where that rose might be hiding.