Pitfall! Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1982

"Pitfall!" was released on August 20, 1982 and was originally designed for the Atari 2600. The original version of the game won "Best Adventure Video Game" at the 4th annual Arcade (Arkie) Awards in 1983. The same year, "Demon Attack" won for Video Game of the Year.

Answer: Pitfall Harry

The game was designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision. In it, a player must lead Pitfall Harry through the jungle while navigating potential disasters and collecting various treasures by running through them or jumping up to collect them.

Answer: lightning

Players must also navigate tarpits, waterholes, campfires, rolling logs, and swinging vines. Crocodiles may be crossed by swinging over them with a vine or landing on their eyes when jumping across a waterhole. If their mouths open while Pitfall Harry is on one, a life is lost.

Answer: The player loses points

Logs are about the only thing that won't kill Pitfall Harry. Instead, the player simply loses points. Creator David Crane told the video game magazine "Edge" that it took about 1,000 hours to program the game.

Answer: scorpions

Pitfall Harry must jump over scorpions successfully or lose a life. Underground tunnels allow players to run forward three screens at a time, which makes it possible to collect treasures more quickly, but players can also run into brick walls, which will eventually force them to climb up a ladder to get out of the tunnel.

Answer: 20

The player has twenty minutes and three lives in which to collect the treasures. The game ends either when all three lives or lost, when all treasures have been collected, or when they players twenty minutes are up, whichever comes first. The player loses points if Pitfall Harry touches logs or runs into holes. The player gains points for collecting treasures.

Answer: 114,000

Every player begins "Pitfall!" with 2,000 points. If a player were to avoid all hazards, and never lose any points by running into a log or falling into a hole, and were also to collect all thirty-two available treasures, he or she would score 114,000 points.

After the initial release of the video game, as a promotional incentive, if a player scored 20,000 points or more and sent a photo of his or her screen to Activision, Activision would send a Pitfall Harry Explorer Club patch to the player.

Answer: Jack Black

In a 2012 "Fresh Air" interview, Jack Black told NPR that the "Pitfall!" commercial was his "big break." It was first time the child actor had been paid for a gig. "I was so proud of that," he told NPR. "Before I got that commercial, I just prayed to the heavens that if I could just be on television and the kids could see me from school, that would be the answer to all my prayers and I wouldn't need anything more." He went on to tell NPR, "And I remember all the lines still, to this day."

Answer: true

According to "GameRant," as of 2020, "Pitfall!" was the second best selling cartridge for the Atari 2600, with 4.5 million copies sold. The number one best seller was "Pac-Man", with 7.81 million copies sold. Other big sellers include "Asteroid", "Missile Command", "Space Invaders" and "Frogger".

Answer: Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

A sequel, "Pitfall II: Lost Caverns", was initially released in 1984 and originally designed for the Atari 2600. In 1987, "Pitfall II" was reworked as "Super Pitfall" for the NES. In 1994, "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure" was released for the Sega Genesis. A 1998 spin-off called "Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle" was released for the PlayStation.