.jpg)
You guide Casey across trains, mines, and frontier towns, collecting lost gold while avoiding hazards like bats, lizards, vultures, rattlesnakes, and fire ants. The game blends platforming with exploration and puzzle-solving in ways rarely seen on the system. Players can climb ladders, enter train cars through roof hatches, use TNT to blast through mine walls, and uncover cleverly hidden collectibles in shadowed corners.
The level design is creative throughout. Warp flags allow instant transport across train cars, wells hide underground mines or teleport you across town, and buildings may require keys to enter. Each stage feels layered with secrets, encouraging you to search every nook and cranny. The hidden items—conductor hats for extra lives, pocket watches for time, and balloons for bonus points—add to the fun of discovery (to borrow a phrase found in ColecoVision manuals).
Casey’s Gold is not a quick playthrough. It’s a long, addictive adventure with multiple gold rushes, mine expeditions, and train raids to complete. While fun and rewarding, the game cries out for a password system or save states to preserve progress, since sessions can run long and test endurance as much as skill. Pause would be nice as well. For this reason, playing the digital version, exclusive to the Collector’s Edition, is the preferred method.
From the instantly recognizable train cars to the desert backgrounds and eerie mines, Casey’s Gold looks fantastic for a 2600 title. The character design of Casey himself is memorable—he certainly looks the part of a train conductor—and the locomotive engine is a graphical highlight.
Audacity Games was founded by Dan Kitchen, Garry Kitchen, and David Crane, three of the most important figures from Activision’s legendary Atari 2600 era. In the early ’80s, they created some of the most enduring and inventive games for the console, and with Audacity they’ve reunited to continue that tradition. Their philosophy is unusual in today’s market: every release comes as a deluxe physical cartridge package—complete with box, manual, overlays, and often special extras.
Their debut game, Circus Convoy, proved that the 2600 still had untapped potential even four decades later, and Casey’s Gold carries that torch forward. I’m fortunate to know Dan, Garry, and David personally, and I often see them at retro gaming conventions and events at the National Video Game Museum. Their enthusiasm for preserving the spirit of classic gaming is infectious, and having Dan sign my copy of Casey’s Gold makes it even more meaningful.
Casey’s Gold is a fun, ambitious title that could easily sit alongside Activision’s finest. It rewards exploration and persistence and is one of the most impressive adventures ever created for the Atari 2600.
A big thanks to Dan Kitchen for designing such a creative game—and for signing my copy!
