Atari Football gave arcade worshippers the first real sports video game and kept them hooked for years. Introducing the innovative Trak-Ball control that eliminated the need for buttons and joysticks, the game was a huge success with American football fans who might have felt torn between the Monday night game and their arcade addiction.

Atari released the two-player game in 1978. It featured a flat top cabinet housing a black and white screen with a bird's eye point of view for both players, who controlled the action on opposite ends. The electronic players on the field were represented by X's for one team and O's for the other. The human players could choose one of four plays detailed in instructions next to the screen and alternate between defense and offense. Via the Trak-Ball, each gamer controlled one player on their team and the computer took care of the rest.

The button was used for game selection and for passing the ball in offensive plays and, after that, players spun that Trak-Ball for all its worth guiding their players through and around the other team. Contact between X's and O's qualified as a tackle and regular football rules applied for yardage and downs.

Atari scored another touchdown (really, there was no way to avoid that metaphor) with a 4-player Football cabinet that gave two-player teams the ability to control the quarterback and wide receiver of the team on offense and two defensive backs on the other side. The Trak-Ball made a repeat appearance because it was just so much darn fun to spin that thing.