Cat Trax

Name:	Cat Trax
Company:	UA Limited
Model #:	1
Programmer:	Unknown
Year:	1983
Released?	Yes (Video Game Brain cart selector only)
Notes:	A retail box, manual, and cartridge were found in 2011

Based of the Arcadia 2001 game of the same name, Cat Trax is really just a Pac-Man clone with a little hint of Mouse Trap thrown in.  It appears that UA Ltd. was going to break into the 2600 market with ports of their Arcadia 2001 games.  For those not in the know, the Arcadia 2001 was an obscure home game system released in 1982.  To say that the Arcadia 2001 didn't take the market by storm would be an understatement, but it was much more popular overseas where dozens of different clones were marketed.  However due to the video game crash UA decided not release any of their games, either in the US or in Europe.

Cat Trax actually started out life as a unauthorized Pac-Man clone called Crazy Gobbler.  This version was actually released overseas for various Arcadia clones, but when UA wanted to market their games in the US, they were forced to alter them or face a lawsuit from Atari.  With Cat Trax, UA decided to change Pac-Man to a cat, the ghost monsters to dogs, and the power pellets to a power up potion which appears randomly in the maze.

Even with these superficial changes, Cat Trax is still Pac-Man at heart.  Your goal is to move your cat around the maze eating the catnip (dots) while avoiding the dogs (ghosts).  If things get out of hand you can grab the potion which appears randomly in order to become a dogcatcher (ala Mouse Trap) and send the dogs back to the doghouse at the top of the screen.  As if this wasn't already a big enough Pac-Man rip off, you can also eat the bonus fruit in the center of the screen for points!  One nice feature is that the game can be paused at any time with the Color/B&W switch.  Atari didn't start adding this feature to games until 1986!

Although Cat Trax was never sold in stores, it actually did get an official release.  Specially marked versions of the Video Game Brain, a device that let players have multiple cartridges plugged into their 2600 at once, came with Cat Trax installed in one of the slots.  This was the only way US gamers would have had to see the game.  So how did Cat Trax end up in the Video Game Brain?  It turns out that the makers of the Video Game Brain (RGA International) were based in Hong Kong and had a relationship with UA, thus they were able to get the rights to include the game.  A similar relationship existed between UA and Leisure Dynamics who were the makers of a Canadian version of the Video Game Brain called the Six Pack.  Unfortunately this version of the Video Game Brain is extremely rare with only a handful of units known to exist.  Cat Trax also showed up on a European multi-cart as "Cat and Mouse" along with several other games and hacks.  This pirate cart is actually how the game was first discovered and determined to be a long lost prototype rom.  If this wasn't enough, no less than two pre-production copies of the game have also been found.  One copy is cartridge only, but the other is complete with a box and manual.  It is assumed that these copies were made for marketing and sales so show off to potential retailers as they seem to be ready for store shelves.  Interestingly the 2600 port has similar but different artwork from the Arcadia 2001 version.  While they use the same unique style (a sort of half painted sketch), the scene depicted is different.

Retail Box (Front)

Retail Box (Side)

Manual and Cartridge

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