Meltdown

Summary

Meltdown is essentially a game of hide and seek set within a 4x4 grid of atoms. At the beginning of each round, a rogue quark roams the reactor, disturbing the atoms. Every time the quark makes contact with an atom, it removes some of its electrons, causing the atom to shrink. Once an atom loses all its electrons, it becomes unstable, and if all atoms destabilize, the reactor explodes! The reason 20th Century Fox decided to cancel Meltdown remains a mystery, but it was likely due to the declining video game market. The cancellation must have happened at the last minute, as advertisements boasting 'Just Released' had already been printed. Although Meltdown was showcased at the 1983 CES event, it vanished from public view once the show ended. For years, it was believed to be lost until it resurfaced in a resale shop in 2004, where it was fortuitously discovered by a passing collector.