Play Surround Online

Surround came out for the Atari 2600 in 1978, published by Atari itself. It was one of those early two player games that felt perfectly suited to the system's straightforward design, a competitive experience built from simple parts.

You control a square block that leaves a solid trail behind it as it moves. The goal is to force your opponent to crash into either your trail, their own, or the edge of the screen. The main mechanics involve quick directional changes to cut off your opponent's path and the ability to play on a grid that wraps around the edges, making escapes and traps unpredictable. The pacing is fast and the difficulty comes from anticipating your friend's next move. It feels like a tense game of digital chicken where one wrong turn ends everything.