Genre: Action
Publisher: Atari Program Exchange (APX)
Year: 1981
System: Atari 8-bit
Description:
Dog Daze is a two-player arcade-style game designed for the Atari 8-bit family and released via Atari Program Exchange in 1981. Each player controls a dog in a fixed-screen urban environment, aiming to tag fire hydrants before the opponent. When a hydrant is tagged by a player, it changes to that player’s color, and a counter above the screen moves toward their side. Dogs can also pick up and throw a bone to tag hydrants from a distance, but must retrieve the bone if they miss.
Running into an opponent-tagged hydrant penalizes the player by moving the counter toward the other side. As the screen fills with tagged hydrants, the game grows more challenging. After a timed period, a speeding car crosses the screen—if it hits a dog, the game ends. The first player to secure the majority of hydrants wins the round.
Developed by Gray Chang and published by APX in 1981, Dog Daze emphasizes quick reflexes, strategic use of the bone, and competitive two-player gameplay.
