Top 4 best games in 1974. Reviews: Maze War, Pin Pong, Rebound, Teaser

All list top 32 games.

Maze War Mainframe, Terminal, Xerox Alto

This is one of the first-person shooters and the first game with a deathmatch mode, meaning it's multiplayer. It was created at the NASA research center.

You navigate through a maze, turn in any direction by 90 degrees, or can go backward. Other players, your opponents, appear as eyeball-shaped entities that can shoot at you. I understand they shoot lasers from their eyes, like Superman.

Points are awarded for each kill, and deducted if you get killed. There is an option to peek around corners unnoticed.

Pin Pong Arcade

This is a black-and-white pinball game from the well-known arcade machine manufacturer Atari. It was one of the first video games that simulated pinball.

A special ball movement scheme was created and patented. Targets are surrounded by zones that determine the ball's rebound direction. A unique gravity simulation was achieved, realistically simulating the ball's fall for that time.

Rebound Arcade

This is a Pong version of volleyball on arcade machines from Atari.

The ball's rebound depends on the area of impact on the paddle; the closer to the middle, the more vertically it bounces. Points are scored if the ball lands on the opponent's half, after four bounces from the same paddle, if it hits a partition, or if it bounces to the other side of the opponent. The game goes to 11 or 15 points, depending on the machine settings.

If the ball is played without scoring, the partition grows by one level up to 10 times.

Teaser Altair 8800, HP Programmable Calculator, Intel 8008, Intel 8080, KIM-1, Mainframe, Motorola 6800, Sol-20, SWTPC 6800, TI Programmable Calculator

This is a 3x3 bit grid puzzle. Due to its simplicity in hardware requirements and solid gameplay foundation, it was ported to numerous platforms.

Each bit can be either 1 or 0. You can change 1 to 0, but not the other way around. Changing 1 to 0 will also affect neighboring cells. When making changes in a corner, all adjacent numbers, including diagonally, switch their states.

Making a change on one of the four sides alters the entire side. Making a change in the center changes all values except the diagonal. The goal is to have all fields display your symbol except the center.