In Montezuma’s Revenge, you play as Panama Joe, an explorer navigating the underground pyramid of the Aztec emperor Montezuma. Published by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600 in 1984 and originally designed by teenager Robert Jaeger, it is a room-by-room action-platformer: each screen is a single chamber filled with ladders, ropes, rolling obstacles, and enemies to avoid while you collect jewels and the items needed to push deeper into the pyramid.
How to Play
Use the arrow keys to walk left and right and to climb ladders and ropes (↑ ascends, ↓ descends). Press Spacebar to jump — well-timed leaps across gaps and over enemies are the core skill. Walk over items to pick them up: keys unlock colour-matched doors, torches reveal invisible floor tiles in dark rooms, swords let you kill enemies on contact, and amulets grant brief invincibility. Press F12 to reset the console or Alt+P to pause.
Tips
- Keys are colour-coded to their doors — collect the matching key before approaching a locked door, or you will face a dead end with no way forward.
- Rolling skulls can be jumped over cleanly; spiders reverse direction when they hit a wall, so watch a couple of cycles before you commit to crossing.
- If a room looks impossible to traverse, search nearby chambers for a torch — carrying one reveals invisible floor tiles that open new routes through dark areas.





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