Stone Sling

Stone Sling is the 20th official game released by Philips for the Videopac console. In the United States, it was published under the title Smithereens! in 1982 for the Magnavox Odyssey² console.

Stone Sling (Europe) Smithereens! (US)
Developer(s)	Philips
Publisher(s)	Philips / Magnavox
Designer(s)	Robert L. Cheezem[1]
Platform(s)	Philips Videopac (Europe) Magnavox Odyssey² (US)
Release	EU: 1981[2] NA: 1982[3]
Genre(s)	Artillery game
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multi player

The game allows for two player simultaneous gameplay where both players have a fortress as well as a catapult used to fire each other. With each hit the fortress' size decreases by a bit. However, sometimes if your aim is off, the catapult will miss the fortress and instead hit one of the opposing soldiers.

This is one of the few games which supports The Voice add-on module. With the module, there are explosion sound effects, and a voice which commentates the game, taunting or praising players depending on how well they aimed their boulder (using dated phrases like "Come on turkey, hit it!"). It also makes a gurgling noise if your stone lands in the water.

Gameplay

Screenshot (Plus version)

Stone Sling's gameplay consists of aiming the catapults at each other's fortress in a colorful environment with yellow walls, green valleys, blue mountains, and a bright blue river in between the two fortresses. As said above the game can be played among two different people with its multiplayer capabilities.

References

1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
2. "Stone Sling". The Odyssey2 Homepage!.
3. "Smithereens!". The Odyssey2 Homepage!.