Now that video game “easter eggs” – secret messages hidden in the games by their designers – are public knowledge, Atari releases its first game in which finding these messages is an integral part of the game. Swordquest: Earthworld kicks off a four-game cycle whose hidden secrets, when found, will allow the first player sharp enough to find and decipher the clues to claim a prize. A downturn in Atari’s financial fortunes will keep the contest from being completed, and the fourth game is never actually released.

Imagic releases the
Imagic releases one of its first games for the Mattel Intellivision home video game console, Rick Levine’s