Armor Battle
Also released as Armor Ambush (Atari 2600, M Network)
Armor Battle — frequently asked questions
- Is Armor Battle on Steam?
- No. Armor Battle is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
- What platforms is Armor Battle on?
- Armor Battle is available on Intellivision, Atari 2600.
- When did Armor Battle release?
- Armor Battle was first released on September 4, 1980.
About Armor Battle
You are on a dangerous tank mission. To reach and destroy your assigned target, you must maneuver through a field filled with enemy mines. Although these are hidden, the mine detection equipment in your tank warns you of their presence by producing a buzzing sound. This is your signal to change course on route to your target. If you should stumble into a mine, your tank will be "destroyed" and returned to its original starting position. If you get through the minefield and successfully engage the target, the built-in computer will automatically set up another challenge with a new starting position, target location, and minefield.
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Intellivision, Atari 2600
- Developer
- Mattel Electronics
- Publisher
- Mattel Electronics
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer, Split screen
- Themes
- Action, Warfare
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Built by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600Details ↓ | 1982 | $5 | $11 | $25 | Graphics ★★½ · Play-Action ★★½ | — |
| IntellivisionDetails ↓ | 1979 | $4 | $9 | $17 | — | Chris Kingsley |
Prices are per version and are not interchangeable, and neither are the reviews: conversions in this era were often built by a different studio than the original, so a score earned on one machine says nothing about how another plays.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06
How often it sells
- Loose: about 2 times a month
- Complete: about once a month
- Sealed: about 6 times a year
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-19.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $1.35 in Oct 2008, $4.64 five years ago, and $5.24 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2009 | $1.35 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $1.00 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $0.49 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $1.45 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.99 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $1.99 | $8.90 |
| Jan 2015 | $3.99 | $5.00 |
| Jan 2016 | $0.50 | $6.97 |
| Jan 2017 | $4.99 | $7.95 |
| Jan 2018 | $3.06 | $8.23 |
| Jan 2019 | $2.86 | $6.94 |
| Jan 2020 | $3.61 | $7.13 |
| Jan 2021 | $2.07 | $6.99 |
| Jan 2022 | $3.78 | $9.90 |
| Jan 2023 | $4.99 | $13.11 |
| Jan 2024 | $3.80 | $9.75 |
| Jan 2025 | $3.80 | $9.75 |
| Jan 2026 | $7.25 | $16.04 |
| Oct 2026 | $5.24 | $10.83 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America INTV | White | MT5661 | Scarce+ |
| North America M Network | Black | MT5661 | Scarce |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1982
- Controller
- Atari Joystick
- Authenticity
- Low
The Atari 2600 version
M Network's 2600 version of Mattel's Intellivision tank game, cheap and on Atari 50.
Armor Ambush is a shoot 'em up that M Network released for the Atari 2600 in September 1982. Mattel first released the game as Armor Battle for its Intellivision console. APh developed the 2600 version, with Hal Finney credited as designer. It is a multiplayer game.
It is a modest cart, and it is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration if you only want to play it.
What the press said at the time
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 1 No. 10 | January 1983 | Graphics ★★½ · Play-Action ★★½ |
“ARMOR AMBUSH is not exciting graphically, but it is more attractive than COMBAT, which is, of course, a much older game.”
“If you've got an Atari 2600, you'll also want to investigate the M-Network cartridge Armor Ambush, which is a slightly scaled-down version of the Intellivision program.”
Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — stars in most years, diamonds in 1986–87 — comparing each game only with other games for the same system.
Cartridge & preservation record
Program size 4 KB, measured from the preserved dump.
Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.
Before you buy
Low risk, with no documented reproductions. Loose carts are inexpensive, and boxed copies cost more. It is listed under both M Network and Telegames, so check the label for the publisher name.
Collector value & authenticity
Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about 2 times a month
- Sealed: about once a month
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $0.94 in Apr 2009, $1.99 five years ago, and $3.84 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2010 | $0.95 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $0.75 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $0.87 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $0.99 | $2.93 |
| Jan 2015 | $5.99 | $3.99 |
| Jan 2016 | $0.99 | $1.49 |
| Jan 2017 | $0.01 | $5.95 |
| Jan 2018 | $4.39 | $4.84 |
| Jan 2019 | $4.36 | $6.50 |
| Jan 2020 | $4.67 | $5.10 |
| Jan 2021 | $3.97 | $4.00 |
| Jan 2022 | $4.26 | $6.69 |
| Jan 2023 | $4.42 | $9.56 |
| Jan 2024 | $4.65 | $10.94 |
| Jan 2025 | $3.00 | $7.03 |
| Jan 2026 | $2.99 | $6.79 |
| Oct 2026 | $3.84 | $9.07 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Product # |
|---|---|
| North America Mattel Electronics | 1121 |
| North America Sears (Tele-Games) | 49 75211 |
- North America: Product number confirmed by a scan of the box.
- North America: Sears catalogue number, printed on the Sears Tele-Games box.
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1979
- Controller
- Both hand controllers
- Players
- 2
- Authenticity
- Low
The Intellivision version
Mattel's tank duel is the original behind M Network's Armor Ambush, and its two-tank switching was praised as more strategic than other tank games of its day.
Chris Kingsley wrote Armor Battle for the Intellivision, and it came out in 1979. Each side commands two tanks and can jump between them at any moment by pressing a marked spot on the overlay. Video's Arcade Alley wrote in 1980 that leaving the reserve tank in the open invites the rival commander to blast it before turning on the active one, and that the game opened strategic vistas for video wargamers. Electronic Games, in a late-1982 roundup, told readers to forget earlier tank games, and praised the varied and detailed terrain seen from overhead.
It is this Intellivision game, not M Network's later 2600 port, that those reviews describe. A running change made the tanks turn faster, so copies may differ in feel.
How it was made
Written by Chris Kingsley, with APh Technological Consulting as developer.
What the press said at the time
“In short, Armor Battle opens stunning strategic vistas for video wargamers. With experts at the controls, this is a fluid struggle for military supremacy that must be played to be believed.”
Worth knowing
- From the Intellivision manual. The computer picks one of 240 possible battlefield maps at random each round, so terrain changes every battle.
- From the Intellivision manual. Pressing a numbered button before the overlay goes in picks a slower game speed; with no button pressed the game runs at the fastest speed.
- From the Intellivision manual. Each player starts with 50 tanks and the player with the most tanks left wins; three hits knock a tank out.
Before you buy
This is a two-player-only cart, so you need two people and two controllers. Tank switching happens on the overlay, so the two Mattel overlays matter more here than on most carts. Sears sold the game under the same name. It is inexpensive in every condition, with the box and manual adding modestly.
Armor Battle screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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