Check My Cartridge: 5 Atari Games You Should Definitely Not Donate

Before you drop that old box at the op shop, check these cartridges first.

Some are worth hundreds. A few are worth thousands.

Most Atari 2600 cartridges are common. Titles such as Combat, Pac-Man and Asteroids were produced in enormous numbers and still turn up regularly at garage sales, charity shops and estate clearances.

But not every cartridge followed that path.

A handful of Atari 2600 games were released by tiny publishers, sold through limited distribution channels, or produced in numbers so small that very few survive today. In some cases, the cartridge itself is unusual. In others, the packaging is worth more than the game inside.

The problem is that many of these rarities don't immediately look valuable. They can sit unnoticed in a box of old toys, mixed in with dozens of ordinary games, waiting for somebody who knows what they're looking at.

This guide isn't intended to be a complete list of Atari rarities. Instead, it's a practical collector's checklist highlighting five cartridges that deserve a second look before they're donated, discarded or sold for pocket change.

Let's start with perhaps the most recognisable rarity of them all: Air Raid.

5 Atari 2600 Games You Should Definitely Not Donate

The Atari 2600 was one of the most successful home consoles ever released. Millions of cartridges were sold, and most remain common today.

A few are different.

Some were produced in tiny numbers. Others were promotional releases, regional oddities or games from publishers that disappeared almost overnight.

If you're cleaning out a cupboard, sorting through a deceased estate or filling a donation box, these are five Atari 2600 cartridges worth checking first.

1. Air Raid

Why collectors want it

If you find an Atari cartridge with a strange blue T-shaped handle, stop immediately.

Air Raid is one of the most recognisable cartridges ever produced. Released by obscure publisher Men-A-Vision, it was distributed in very small numbers and remained largely unknown for years.

Today it is considered one of the holy grails of Atari collecting.

Before You Celebrate

2. Red Sea Crossing

Why collectors want it

For decades collectors weren't even sure this game existed.

Produced by a small Christian publisher, Red Sea Crossing had an extremely limited release and survives in tiny numbers today.

Most people would walk straight past it at a garage sale.

Collectors won't.

Before You Celebrate

3. Birthday Mania

Why collectors want it

Birthday Mania wasn't sold in shops.

Customers ordered personalised copies directly from the publisher, resulting in very small production numbers.

That unusual history has made surviving examples highly desirable among Atari collectors.

Before You Celebrate

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4. Gamma Attack

Why collectors want it

Gamma Attack occupies a unique place in video game history.

Only one confirmed copy is known to exist.

If another genuine example surfaced tomorrow it would instantly become one of the most significant discoveries in retro gaming.

Before You Celebrate

5. Chase the Chuck Wagon

Why collectors want it

Unlike most Atari games, Chase the Chuck Wagon was a promotional item distributed by Purina dog food.

Because it wasn't sold through normal retail channels, far fewer copies survive than mainstream Atari releases.

It remains one of the first cartridges experienced collectors look for in a box of Atari games.

Before You Celebrate

Key Takeaway

Most Atari 2600 cartridges are common.

These aren't.

Before donating, selling in a bulk lot or dropping a box at the op shop, take a few minutes to check cartridge labels, unusual cartridge shapes and publisher names.

A five-minute inspection could save you from giving away one of the rarest video games ever made.