Play Marauder Online

You dodge blocky robots in tight rooms, hunting for the flashing power core before time runs out—but each escape just means more, faster bots next round. That invincibility pickup? Pure relief until it vanishes and you’re scrambling again.

Released: 1982

File size: 3.16 KB

Game Overview

Marauder is one of those classic Atari 2600 games that starts simple but gets brutal fast. You’re dumped into a random room on some alien base, and right away these four blocky robots start patrolling—some move in straight lines, others bounce diagonally. At first you think, "Okay, I can dodge this," but then the timer at the bottom starts ticking down and panic sets in.

The goal’s straightforward: find the flashing power center in each room and blast it before time runs out. Succeed, and you get a time bonus—but the next room throws five robots at you instead of four. Then six. Then suddenly they’re fewer but way faster. Sometimes you’ll stumble on this temporary invincibility armor, which feels like cheating until it wears off and you’re back to being fragile again.

Later versions on Apple II and Atari 8-bit add a whole second phase, but the 2600 original is pure, frantic survival. You’ll memorize robot patterns, swear at the clock, and celebrate tiny victories. It’s punishing but weirdly satisfying when you finally clear a room with half a second left.