I was first introduced to the world of Atari 2600 games through a system made by Coleco called the Gemini.  I received this little machine on Christmas day in 1982.  Prior to that I had no idea what home videogame systems even were.  I knew what videogames, I used to play arcade games in convenience stores all the time (whenever my Mom gave me quarters that is) but I didn't know it was possible to play them at home.

The Gemini came with two games, Donkey Kong and Mouse Trap.  When I first plugged in Donkey Kong, I was a little perplexed.  It didn't really look anything like the arcade game, but the idea was the same.  I still had a blast playing it of course.  Mouse Trap is a different story, I was (and still am) very addicted to this game.  I'm not really sure why, but this game was pure fun for me, and that is, after all, what playing videogames is all about.

As time went on, I received more and more games.  Arcade classics like Asteroids, Missile Command, Pole Position and more made it in to my home.  Of course, more and more of my friends had Atari's by this time so it made it even more fun.  Now we would all go over to each other's house and play all sorts of games that we didn't have at home.  The Atari became a great vehicle to socialize with others, something that hasn't been repeated to often since by any other console (except with the NES).

Fast forward to 1984, when the videogame market began to crash heavily.  Being just a kid at the time, that didn't mean anything to me.  All I knew was that the Atari 2600 games were being sold at the stores for amazing prices like $1.00 or $2.00 per game.  This was a boon to me.  My collection grew from 20 some games, to well over a hundred, I was having a complete blast.  Then my friends were all trading games like trading cards, we even started an Atari club at school, thanks to a great Principal we had at the time, who saw an opportunity to form a club for everyone at school doing something that they enjoyed.

1987.  The NES is in full swing, dominating the console market.  I had a NES, but my Gemini was still hooked up, even though the controllers were starting to fail.  By this time, I had a paper route and had a little spending money of my own.  I walked into a local Zellers and lo and behold what was staring me in the face?  A new version of the Atari 2600, dubbed the junior, and it was incredibly cheap to boot.  I bought one right away to replace the Gemini, along with a game called Crystal Castles (my favorite Atari 2600 game ever).  Now I was a full time Atari 2600 gamer again, despite the archaic graphics that coulsdn't hold a candle to the NES.  I continued playing with the system well into the early 90's.  Unfortunately, I did pack it away eventually.  My Mother took this as a sign to sell the system in a Garage Sale.  Needless to say, without me knowing, my Atari 2600 jr, Gemini and all of my games went for $50 Canadian.

Today, I've reacquired an Atari 2600 jr, and I am slowly starting to piece a new collection back together again.  So far it has been incredibly fun.  I hope you'll check back in once in a while to follow my progress, I'll be making notes when I go out game hunting.  Who knows, maybe I'll find something incredibly valuable.