Happy Trails
Happy Trails — frequently asked questions
- Is Happy Trails on Steam?
- No. Happy Trails 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 Happy Trails on?
- Happy Trails is available on Intellivision.
- When did Happy Trails release?
- Happy Trails was first released on December 31, 1983.
About Happy Trails
Happy Trails is an action strategy game for one or two players. Black Bart has robbed the stagecoach, and you need to recover all of the stolen money within the given time limit! The money is located in various locations in a series of maze-like paths. The paths are broken up into tiles, and there is one tile missing so you can rearrange the maze by moving a tile into the empty space. As your character walks through the paths, you need to rearrange the tiles to make sure there is always a connected path in front of him (or you'll lose a life) and to guide him towards the money bags. When all of the money has been recovered, you move on to the next round. On the more difficult rounds, Black Bart will also be wandering around the maze trying to stop you! You should avoid him at all costs, unless you have first collected a star which gives your character temporary invincibility.
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Intellivision
- Developer
- Activision
- Publisher
- Activision
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer
- Themes
- Action
Details via IGDB.
Collector value & authenticity
Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a month
- Complete: about once a month
- Sealed: about 2 times a year
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $40 in Apr 2009, $15.72 five years ago, and $10.99 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2010 | $22 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $4.13 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $4.99 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $10.50 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $7.99 | $19.99 |
| Jan 2015 | $8.22 | $26 |
| Jan 2016 | $7.97 | $25 |
| Jan 2017 | $17.99 | $15.95 |
| Jan 2018 | $8.40 | $13.48 |
| Jan 2019 | $7.92 | $16.49 |
| Jan 2020 | $7.80 | $18.82 |
| Jan 2021 | $10.00 | $21 |
| Jan 2022 | $17.70 | $24 |
| Jan 2023 | $15.14 | $22 |
| Jan 2024 | $9.79 | $18.04 |
| Jan 2025 | $13.50 | $18.95 |
| Jan 2026 | $11.60 | $27 |
| Oct 2026 | $10.99 | $23 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
- Region
- NA
- Released
- 1983
- Controller
- Hand controller
- Players
- one or two
- Authenticity
- Low
Carol Shaw's Old West maze puzzle, a near-clone of Loco-Motion that reviewers liked anyway.
Carol Shaw, who had written River Raid for the Atari 2600, programmed Happy Trails for Activision in 1983. You steer a character through a broken maze collecting gold. It plays much like Konami's Loco-Motion, and reached stores before Mattel's official port of that game.
Period press liked it. Electronic Games said Activision struck gold with it, Electronic Fun with Computers and Games put it among its 30 best and relayed Shaw's comment that the Intellivision had a terrific capacity for background graphics, and Joystik called it an innovative maze game with convincing graphics and audio.
How it was made
Programmed by Carol Shaw for Activision, released in 1983.
What the press said at the time
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 2 No. 2 | May 1983 | Graphics ★★★½ · Play-Action ★★★½ |
| Electronic Fun with Computers & Games Vol. 1 No. 9 | July 1983 | 4 joysticks (of 4) |
| JoyStik Vol. 2 No. 1 | September 1983 | ★★★★★ |
| Video Games Player Vol. 2 No. 2 | November 1983 | B- |
“We found HAPPY TRAILS truly unique and it is the best Activision cartridge available for the Intellivision system.”
“once you've caught the bug you're not going to be able to shake it, and you'll give it to all your friends. This one’s a winner.”
“This is a great game. The strategic possibilities are seemingly endless as random chance and the player's skill increase. Even if you are not up to the challenge of playing, just watching the bad guy and the good guy battling it out is worth the effort.”
“At last, there's an action-strategy contest for Intellivisionaries that ranks with the best in challenge, innovation and chap-splitting humor.”
Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — diamonds through early 1987, stars after — 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. Video Games Player graded games like a report card, A+ down to C-.
Worth knowing
- From the Intellivision manual. There are eight game variations (four one-player, four two-player) that change maze size, speed and whether the trail pattern is fixed or random.
- From the Intellivision manual. Score 40,000 points or more and you could send Activision a photo of your screen for the official Trailblazer patch.
- From the Intellivision manual. A bonus hat arrives at 10,000 points and every 20,000 points after, but only six reserve hats can show at once.
Before you buy
Activision shipped two keypad overlays with its Intellivision cartridges, so a complete copy should include them. The box and manual carry much of the value. Loose carts cost more than most third-party Intellivision titles.
Happy Trails screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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