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Lunar Lander

Arcade

Arcade

The objective of Lunar Lander is to pilot a lunar landing module as it prepares to touch down on the moon. The terrain is very jagged and has only a few flat areas appropriate for landing. These areas are highlighted with a flashing bonus multiplier, which is higher for smaller areas. If the play...

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Developer
Atari

Released on
1979

Size
1 Player

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Action

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

The objective of Lunar Lander is to pilot a lunar landing module as it prepares to touch down on the moon. The terrain is very jagged and has only a few flat areas appropriate for landing. These areas are highlighted with a flashing bonus multiplier, which is higher for smaller areas. If the player successfully lands the module, he or she is awarded points based on how good the landing was and the difficulty of the landing site. If he or she crashes, points are awarded based on the severity of the crash and sometimes the player receives a fuel penalty. In either case, the game starts another round with a different set of terrain and the player’s remaining fuel. The game is over when the player has run out of fuel and crashes on the moon’s surface.

Lunar Lander

Overview & History

Released by Atari, Inc. in November 1979, *Lunar Lander* holds the distinction of being the first vector-graphics arcade game. Designed by Howard Delman and Rich Moore, the game emerged during the golden age of arcade gaming, capitalizing on public fascination with the Apollo moon missions. Unlike the chaotic alien-blasting of *Space Invaders*, Atari delivered a cerebral, physics-based simulation. The original cabinet featured a unique, custom monaural throttle lever instead of standard buttons, immersing players in the tense reality of piloting a descent module. It was later adapted to include a coin-op mechanism where players could insert more quarters to buy additional fuel, making it a pioneer in monetization models as well as physics simulation.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Players pilot the Lunar Module (LM) downward toward the rugged, crater-potted surface of the moon, with the singular objective of achieving a safe, gentle touchdown on designated flat landing pads. The game operates under realistic physics; gravity relentlessly pulls the craft downward, and inertia dictates that every thrust carries momentum that must be manually countered. Fuel is your most precious and strictly limited commodity; every burst of the thrusters depletes your reserves, and running out means certain, fiery destruction against the jagged terrain. The landing pads offer varying point multipliers based on their size and difficulty to reach—smaller pads yield higher scores. Landing too fast, hitting a slope at an improper angle, or crashing outside a designated pad results in an explosive failure animation complete with a sobering statistical breakdown of your descent velocity and angle of impact.