Kramer vs. Kramer

A two-player game reminiscent of Pong, Kramer vs. Kramer (Winter 1980) differed in that it was played in a court rather than on one. Sadly, few people outside of New York and LA ever got the chance to play this title. Columbia Pictures only distributed the game to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of its 1980 Oscar promotions.

Players could choose either Ted Kramer (left player) or Joanna Kramer (right player) and argue their case in front of a digitized judge. Players "argued" by shooting evidence and insults at each other. Each hit removed a point from the player's case; when a player's score hit zero, he or she loses the trial and custody of the child. To add to the challenge, Billy Kramer (their child) ran up and down the screen between the two parents. If the child is hit too many times, the child is scarred for life and put up for adoption. At the end of the game a "For your Oscar Consideration" title would appear on the screen until the game was reset.

Despite its limited release, the game was lauded by hard-core gamers and members of the U.S. Bar Association. In fact, a group of lawyers filed a motion in U.S. District Court to have the game released to the general public.

Why all the fuss? In the words of the lawyers' brief, "this title promised to finally bring the excitement of family court and the thrill of litigation to dens all across America." A noble plan, but it was shot down by Judge Dennis P. Brewerton, a technophobe who once berated two litigants for fighting over a Commodore 64.

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