# Kaboom!: an annotated Atari 2600 disassembly

> A labeled and commented 6502 assembly listing reconstructs Kaboom!, Activision's 1981 paddle game for the Atari 2600, as a 2K ROM source on the MiniDig disassembly page. Assembler switches select NTSC or PAL timing and colors and choose between the original back-and-forth Mad Bomber movement and a smooth variant. Labeled constants cover paddle limits, bomb-group sizes and the display kernels, and comments note bomb-group table entries the game never reads.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-10
- Original resource: <https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/kaboom.asm>
- Primary source: <https://web.archive.org/web/20260213080655/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/kaboom.asm>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/kaboom-atari-2600-disassembly-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/kaboom-atari-2600-disassembly-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/kaboom-atari-2600-disassembly-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** A 6502 assembler and the vcs.h header that the listing includes.
- **Scope:** COMPILE_VERSION selects the NTSC or PAL build and MAD_BOMBER_MOVEMENT selects the original or smooth bomber movement; the listing targets a 2K ROM.
- **License:** No licence stated on the project page.

## Primary sources

1. <https://web.archive.org/web/20260213080655/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/disassembly/kaboom.asm>
2. <https://web.archive.org/web/20260714091141/https://www.qotile.net/minidig/>

## More in Games

- [Karateka: a buildable MS-DOS decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/karateka-msdos-decompiled-case/index.md) · Case study
- [keen-clone: a Commander Keen 1 C/SDL2 port](https://awesomerea.org/resources/keen-clone-rea-commander-keen-case/index.md) · Case study
- [KeeperFX: a rewritten Dungeon Keeper game](https://awesomerea.org/resources/keeperfx-case/index.md) · Case study
- [kh-com: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/kh-com-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards — decompiling the Nintendo 64 game](https://awesomerea.org/resources/kirby64-decomp/index.md) · Case study
- [Kirby's Dream Land 3: a US and Japanese SNES disassembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/kirbys-dream-land-3-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.