Armor Battle

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Follow this link for info about the review system. 1 = Terrible, 5 = Awesome!

Two-player tank battle fun! More simulation-oriented than Atari's Combat. Check out the tanks game in Triple Action for that kind of tank action.

Armor BattleGraphics: 4
Sound: 3
Replay Value: 4
Notes: 2-player game; steering variation exists (ROM variation); Easter Egg
Screen Shots

The only knock I have on Armor Battle is that it plays slow. It's one of the oldest Intellivision games (part of the very first market test), and it's surprising that a suggestion such as "allow players to select number of tanks to play" was not adopted. The terrain maps are fun, and the graphics are nice and clean. It was the game that ushered in the Intellivision's infamous explosion sound effects and animations - which we all grew weary of over the years. The ability to damage your own tanks, and the piles of debris left by dead tanks were wonderful touches - as were the mines. One fun game.




ROM "Slow" and "fast" steering ROM variants exist.
Box So far, twelve variations have been found.
Manual Seventeen variants have been identified.
Overlays Mattel 'font variation' exists, but is questionable. Five different overlay variations are known to exist.
Label To date, six labels have been recorded.
Easter Eggs Two different title screen Easter eggs exist, depending on which ROM version you have.




A total of twelve Armor Battle box variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0910) Mattel Electronics 1121-0910 1979 U.S.A. Plastic tray; part number on top in black characters on red background; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom; refers to Keyboard Component on cover; FOR COLOR T.V. VIEWING ONLY text within artwork, above game title; first noted by JasonLikesINTV
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0910) Mattel Electronics 1121-0910 1979 U.S.A. Plastic tray; part number on top in black characters on red background; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom; refers to Keyboard Component on cover
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0910) Mattel Electronics 1121-0910 1979 Hong Kong Plastic tray; part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom; refers to Keyboard Component on cover
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0910-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0910-G1 1979 Hong Kong Plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0710-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0710-G1 1979 U.S.A. Trayless pocket; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 1121-0910 1979 Hong Kong Plastic tray; part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom; refers to Keyboard Component on cover; has sticker on bottom indicating overlays and catalog printed in U.S.A.
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0510) Mattel Electronics 1121-0510 1979 Hong Kong French-Canadian; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada on back
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0410) Mattel Electronics 1121-0410 1979 Hong Kong International Edition; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne CA on bottom of box; slots in back for extra manual(s); slots inside for overlays
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 1121-0410 1979 Hong Kong International Edition; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne CA on bottom of box; NO SLOTS in back; slots inside for overlays; reported by Intellivotion
Armor Battle Box (Mattel Electronics 1121-0840) Mattel Electronics 1121-0840 1979 Hong Kong Plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. on sticker on bottom of box from Lifestyle Electronics; Australian release?
Armor Battle Box (Intellivision Inc. 1121) Intellivision Inc. 1121 1979 U.S.A. Standard Intellivision, Inc. box
Armor Battle Box (Sears 3861-0910) Sears 3861-0910 1978 Hong Kong Plastic tray; blue game title on top and back




Two different versions of this game exist - the original "slow-steering" version, as well as a faster version released later. In my collection, my Sears copy is the fast version. You can identify which version you have both by the gameplay speed (specifically, the rotation speed of the tanks) or by checking which Easter egg works.





A total of seventeen Armor Battle manual variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0920(A)) Mattel Electronics 1121-0920(A) 1979 U.S.A. Full color
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0920(B)) Mattel Electronics 1121-0920(B) 1979 Hong Kong Green artwork; note the somewhat confusing U.S.A. also printed on the cover
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0920(B)) Mattel Electronics 1121-0920(B) 1979 Taiwan Green artwork
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0920-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0920-G1 1979 U.S.A. Blue artwork; this version seems to be quite uncommon; submitted by Hankster
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0920-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0920-G1 1979 Hong Kong Green artwork; this manual has also surfaced in some PlayCable packages (at least two known sightings)
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0920-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0920-G1 1979 U.S.A. Green artwork; this version seems to be quite uncommon; submitted by Hankster
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0720) Mattel Electronics 1121-0720 1979 Hong Kong French-Canadian; green artwork; longer than standard manual size
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0720) Mattel Electronics 1121-0720 1979 Hong Kong French-Canadian; blue artwork; longer than standard manual size
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0820-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0820-G1 1979 Hong Kong Green artwork; Australian release?
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0121) Mattel Electronics 1121-0121 1979 Hong Kong German title Panzermanöver; green artwork; part number lower right; note that it also lists U.S.A. on the cover!
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics 1121-0161-G1) Mattel Electronics 1121-0161-G1 1979 Hong Kong Dutch; noted, and image contributed by cmart; need confirmation of part number, other appearance details
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 1121-0111 1979 Hong Kong French release; blue artwork; longer than standard manual size - similar to French-Canadian version
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 1121-0131 1979 Hong Kong Italian; blue artwork; sadly, the cover is torn off my copy, and it's tattered
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 1121-0131 1979 Hong Kong Italian; green artwork, but localized title 'Battaglia di Carri' is in black; need confirmation of part number
Armor Battle Manual (Mattel Electronics PC-1121-0920) Mattel Electronics PC-1121-0920 1979 U.S.A. Green artwork; part number on back; submitted by Hankster
Armor Battle Manual (Intellivision Inc. 1121-0920-G1) Intellivision Inc. 1121-0920-G1 None U.S.A. Stapled along top edge
Armor Battle Manual (Sears 3861-0920) Sears 3861-0920 1979 Hong Kong  

It seems the older, full-color manual had an error, showing the title screen of the game to be simply TANK.

Tank Title Screen from rev. A manual

The rev. A manual referred to the game by the title: TANK

Armor Battle Title Screen from rev. B manual

Rev. B and later copies of the manual showed the correct title

There were also some variations of the 'Running Man' and Mattel logo on the back cover.

Running Man Logo and Text on Back (rev. A (U.S.A.))

Back cover of rev. A (U.S.A.)—note ® next to Mattel Electronics logo in the center of the 'running man' rectangle

Running Man Logo and Text on Back (rev. B (Hong Kong, Taiwan))

Back cover of rev. B (Hong Kong, Taiwan)—note ™ next to Mattel Electronics logo in the center of the 'running man' rectangle

Running Man Logo and Text on Back (rev. G1 (Hong Kong))

Back cover of rev. G1 (Hong Kong)—note ™ next to Mattel Electronics logo in the center of the 'running man' rectangle and missing ® in the 'available from Mattel Electronics' text





A total of six Armor Battle overlay variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Armor Battle Overlay (Mattel Electronics 1121-4289) Mattel Electronics 1121-4289 1979 U.S.A.  
Armor Battle Overlay (Mattel Electronics 1121-4289) Mattel Electronics 1121-4289 1979 U.S.A. Larger font used in portions of the overlay's text
Armor Battle Overlay (Mattel Electronics 1121-4289) Mattel Electronics 1121-4289 1979 U.S.A. Larger font used in portions of the overlay's text; the material of this overlay seems like Imagic on the back, but is not textured like Imagic's overlays - it is smooth and shiny like Mattel's
Armor Battle Overlay (Intellivision Inc. 1121-4289) Intellivision Inc. 1121-4289 None   Mattel copyright removed
Armor Battle Overlay (Phil Boland 49 75211) Phil Boland 49 75211 1979 U.S.A. Part of the Sears Super Video Arcade Overlay Set (2013)
Armor Battle Overlay (Intellivision Productions) Intellivision Productions N/A 2014 U.S.A. Part of the Supplemental Overlay Pack for Intellivision Flashback




A total of six Armor Battle label variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
Armor Battle Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None   Blue tank with black outline; ™ upper right
Armor Battle Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None   Blue tank; no origin, ™ upper right
Armor Battle Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None Hong Kong Blue tank; origin lower left, ™ upper right
Armor Battle Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None Hong Kong Black tank; origin lower left, ™ upper right
Armor Battle Label (Intellivision Inc.) Intellivision Inc. N/A 1979 U.S.A. Origin lower right; © I.I. 1979 to left of origin; ™ small, centered vertically on right edge; smaller label, rounded corners
Armor Battle Label (Phil Boland) Phil Boland N/A None   Part of the Sears Super Video Arcade Overlay Set (2013)




Title Screen Title screen for Armor Battle.
Battle Terrain The terrain can vary substantially from one round to the next. Like Space Battle, this game was sped up to be more fast-paced—the slower ROM version is soooo pokey when you get stuck in the water.





Slow-Steering ROM Easter Egg

Credit: Joe Zbiciak's post to the intvprog group on Yahoo on 23. March, 2001. The Digital Press' Intellivision Easter Eggs page gives credit for this one to Chris Hawley's "Copyright Kludge" file, which is contained in the aforementioned post by JZ.

Left Controller: Press and hold: [3]
Right Controller: Press and hold: [9]
Press Reset
Easter Egg: The title screen has the infamous Mattel Crowd Cheer and shows the following - the copyright date is kind of Orwellian:

Armor Battle Easter Egg (Slow-Steering ROM)

Fast-Steering ROM Easter Egg

Credit: Carl Mueller

Left Controller: Press and hold: [0], either upper action button, and WNW (position 7) on the disc
Press Reset
Easter Egg: The title screen has the infamous Mattel Crowd Cheer and shows the following:

Armor Battle Easter Egg (Fast-Steering ROM)



If you find new, contradictory, or other information you wish to share, please send a message!