Escape from the Mindmaster
Escape from the Mindmaster — frequently asked questions
- Is Escape from the Mindmaster on Steam?
- No. Escape from the Mindmaster 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 Escape from the Mindmaster on?
- Escape from the Mindmaster is available on ColecoVision, Atari 2600.
- When did Escape from the Mindmaster release?
- Escape from the Mindmaster was first released on December 31, 1982.
About Escape from the Mindmaster
Are you smart (and fast) enough to escape from the maze of the MindMaster? Featuring realistic first-person graphics, four separate Multi Load segments, maze maps, real-time clock, Alien stalker, direction indicator, sliding force field obstacles, and more!
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- ColecoVision, Atari 2600
- Developer
- Starpath
- Publisher
- Starpath
- Game modes
- Single player
- Themes
- Action, Science fiction
Details via IGDB.
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Built by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600Cassette | 1982 | $11 | $30 | $37 | 5 reviews | Starpath |
Also released on: ColecoVision. We haven’t priced or authenticated that version yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America Starpath | Cassette | AR4200 | Scarce+ |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database
- Region
- NA+EU
- Released
- 1982
- Controller
- Atari Joystick
- Players
- 1
- Authenticity
- Low
A first-person maze puzzle with no shooting, and a fine showcase for the Supercharger.
Dennis Caswell designed Escape from the Mindmaster for the Starpath Supercharger, the add-on that gave the 2600 more memory. You navigate six mazes in first person, avoiding a wandering Alien Invader and moving barriers, and escape each one by finding differently shaped puzzle pegs and placing them in matching slots as fast as you can. Caswell has said he wanted to make a game without shooting and that programming the visuals was particularly hard.
Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, JoyStik and Video Games praised the graphics. Some reviews complimented it as an original maze game, while others found the controls hard to learn or thought it would not hold players looking for more action. It appeared on year-end best-of lists from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Radio-Electronics.
How it was made
Designed by Dennis Caswell and released by Starpath in November 1982 in North America, with a PAL release in 1983.
What the press said at the time
| The Book of Atari Software 1984 | B+ | |
| Electronic Fun with Computers & Games | 3.5/4 | |
| JoyStik | 3/5 | |
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 1 No. 9 | December 1982 | Graphics ★★★★ · Play-Action ★★★★ |
| Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 5 | March 1983 | 3½ joysticks |
“We found this, by far, the most impressive entry so far from Starpath. It will be good for hours of stimulating play.”
“The limited 3-D graphics are excellent. There is something for just about everyone in this game, if you don't let the mental exercise get in the way.”
“If you're a hard-core video action ad- dict, you might find Escape from the Mindmaster a bit slow for your tastes, but, if you like mental challenges, this is the game for you.”
“BEST NEW ADVENTURE GAME: ESCAPE FROM THE MIND MASTER (Starpath for Atari 2600)”
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. Electronic Fun rated games out of four joysticks. JoyStik’s capsule ratings run from one star to five.
Cartridge & preservation record
Program size 33 KB, measured from the preserved dump.
Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.
How the Atari 2600 version differs
The game needs Starpath's Supercharger, which gives a game up to 6,272 bytes of display memory against the 128 bytes of a regular 2600 cartridge.
Even with the Supercharger, 2600 limits meant the Alien Stalker and the sliding force-field panels could not appear on the same screen, and smooth-edged walls were hard to draw.
Also on other platforms
ColecoVision
| Atari 2600 | Starpath |
- ColecoVision. Planned for 1983 but never released, though magazines reviewed it. Electronic Fun said it cleaned up the flickery VCS graphics and redesigned the direction indicator, and its maps reveal themselves only as every corridor is explored.
- ColecoVision. A copy of the unreleased ColecoVision version has since been found, which Brett Weiss described as apparently complete.
How the other versions reviewed
| ColecoVision | Computer Games | A |
| ColecoVision | Electronic Fun with Computers & Games | 4/4 |
These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.
Before you buy
This is a cassette, not a cartridge. You need a Starpath Supercharger and a cassette player with an earphone output to play it; the tape alone does nothing on a standard console. Ask the seller to confirm the tape loads, not just that it plays audio, and to try both sides (Side A is a quick load, Side B a standard load). It is one of the cheaper Supercharger tapes. No fraud cases are documented, but check that the label is printed on the cassette shell.
Authenticity & condition — Atari 2600
Specific to the format this title shipped in
Buying a Starpath Supercharger game
This game is an audio cassette, not a cartridge. It loads through the Starpath (originally "Arcadia") Supercharger, a long cartridge with extra RAM and a cable that plugs into a cassette player, so the tape on its own will not play on a 2600.
- You need three things: the Supercharger, a cassette player with an earphone (or "ear"/"monitor") output, and the Supercharger's built-in cable.
- Ask the seller to confirm the tape LOADS, not just that it plays audio. Side A is the quick-load side and Side B the standard load; Starpath's own manual warns some players will not load the quick side reliably, so a tape that loads from Side B only is normal. A tape that loads from neither side is the real failure.
- Set the player's volume and tone near maximum and keep it away from the TV, as Starpath's manual advises. Expect the occasional reload.
- The Supercharger works on the 2600, 2600 Jr. and Sears Video Arcade, but may fail on some later NTSC Atari 7800s. We found no confirmation that it works on the Atari 2600+, so assume it does not until you have tested it.
- A cassette is trivially copied. On the higher-value tapes, check that the label is printed on the cassette shell itself and that both sides load, and be wary of a blank or home-labelled tape in an original box. (Our inference; we found no documented fraud case.)
- Check the Supercharger's own cable for breaks near the strain relief — it is the single point of failure for every tape you own.
What a complete copy includes
- Cassette
- Instruction booklet
- Retail box or sleeve
- The Supercharger itself shipped with its attached cable, a manual and the Phaser Patrol tape. Early units are "Arcadia"-branded and later ones "Starpath"; both are genuine. The company had to drop the Arcadia name because Emerson's Arcadia 2001 console reached shelves first (Arcade Express, 26 September 1982).
Escape from the Mindmaster screenshots
Watch on YouTube
Listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for Escape from the Mindmaster yet.
Be the first to list →Buyers looking for this
No active want ads for Escape from the Mindmaster yet.
Post a want ad →More games like Escape from the Mindmaster
Latest news mentioning Escape from the Mindmaster
No recent news mentions in our 30-day feed window.