Coleco’s Head to Head Electronic Boxing packs a ten-round bout into a case moulded like a boxing ring, corner posts and ropes included. Two players face each other across it, or one takes on the computer.
The boxers are red LED shapes seen from above, with arms that flick out to punch or hold steady to block. Coleco’s patent for the game, filed on 16 July 1981, names three inventors, among them Eric Bromley, the engineer who went on to lead the ColecoVision console.
Interesting facts
The third man in the ring. Two boxers were not enough for Coleco. Its patent describes a third figure lighting up after a knockdown: a referee, who walks the standing boxer to his corner before the count begins. He returns at the final bell to raise the winner’s arm.
An opponent that sizes you up. The label promises a skill level that “automatically adjusts to your ability”. The patent explains how: eight levels, with Amateur starting at L1 and Pro at L5. Pull too far ahead and the computer sharpens up mid-round; it only eases off between rounds.
A count you can calculate. The count is no stopwatch. According to the patent, the chip takes the standing boxer’s points lead, halves it and adds three. Level on points, the fallen fighter is up at three; reach ten and it is a knockout – which takes a lead of 14 points.