Who made Circus Atari?

Circus Atari was published by Atari, Inc., released in 1980.

What kind of game is Circus Atari?

Circus Atari is a action, platform game for the Atari 2600.

Can two people play Circus Atari?

No. Circus Atari is a single-player game, so it has no two-player mode.

How much data does Circus Atari load?

The Circus Atari ROM is 4 kB. It is fetched once when you press play and then cached by your browser, so returning to the game does not download it again.

Which emulators can run Circus Atari?

Circus Atari runs on Atari 2600 and Javatari / Stella JS Engine. You can switch between them from the emulator list further down this page if one performs better on your device.

Circus Atari Game (1980) - Atari 2600

Name: Circus Atari
Availability: InStock
Author: Atari, Inc.

Action / Button	Keyboard Key
D-Pad (Up / Down / Left / Right)	`Arrow Keys`
Button A	`Z` or `J`
Button B	`X` or `K`
Button X / Turbo A	`A` or `U`
Button Y / Turbo B	`S` or `I`
Select	`Shift`
Start	`Enter`

Gamepad Input	Retro Function	Keyboard Key
D-Pad / Analog	Character Movement / Steering	`▲` `▼` `◄` `►`
Button A (East)	Primary Action / Attack / Fire	`Z` / `K`
Button B (South)	Secondary / Jump / Cancel	`X` / `J`
Button X / Y	Special / Turbo / Extra Fire	`A` / `S`
Select	Insert Coin / Select Option	`Right Shift`
Start	Game Start / Pause Game	`Enter`

Gamepad Input

Retro Function

Keyboard Key

D-Pad / Analog

Character Movement / Steering

▲ ▼ ◄ ►

Button A (East)

Primary Action / Attack / Fire

Z / K

Button B (South)

Secondary / Jump / Cancel

X / J

Button X / Y

Special / Turbo / Extra Fire

A / S

Select

Insert Coin / Select Option

Right Shift

Start

Game Start / Pause Game

Enter

Emulator Core Engine	Technology	Multiplayer	Gamepad	Touch	Ads	Action / Switch
EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)	`WebAssembly / JS`	YES	YES	YES	NO	▶ ACTIVE
Atari 2600 (Recommended)	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡
Javatari / Stella JS Engine	`WebAssembly / Libretro`	YES	YES	YES	NO	PLAY ⚡

Emulator Core Engine

Technology

Multiplayer

Gamepad

Touch

Ads

Action / Switch

EmulatorJS (Default WebAssembly)

WebAssembly / JS

YES

▶ ACTIVE

Atari 2600 (Recommended)

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

Javatari / Stella JS Engine

WebAssembly / Libretro

YES

PLAY ⚡

Released by Atari, Inc. in 1980, Circus Atari is an action arcade game for the Atari 2600 that challenges players to clear the screen of moving balloons. Inspired by the classic Breakout formula, you control a seesaw at the bottom of the screen to bounce clowns upward, aiming for three rows of colored balloons while making sure you don’t miss the falling clown on the return drop.

How to play

Your goal is to clear all the balloons to advance to the next round. Move the seesaw left and right to catch the falling clown, which launches the other clown into the air. If a clown hits the ground, you lose a life.

Joystick control:
	Player 1:	Player 2:
joystick	↑↓←→	TGFH
trigger	Spacebar	A
turbo	Del	.
RESET	F12	F12
SELECT	F11	F11
Pause	Alt+P	Alt+P
black-white / color mode: F2
paddle / joystick mode: Alt+L

Tips

Focus on where the clown lands on the seesaw: catching a clown on the outer edge will launch the other clown at a wider angle than catching it near the center.
Prioritize the top row of balloons when possible, as they are worth more points and move faster, making them harder to hit as the round progresses.
Be ready for erratic bounces; if your clown grazes a balloon on the way down, it can significantly alter its landing trajectory.