The first computer to sell a million. Commodore’s VIC-20 put colour, sound and a real keyboard under America’s televisions for $299.95, with William Shatner asking why you’d buy just a video game. This page is its complete story.
The big brother it made inevitable: the Commodore 64 hub.
Its four-chip British contemporary: the ZX81 hub.
Beyond Gridrunner and Jelly Monsters lies the VIC-20’s second shelf — Minter’s Hellgate, a Dracula rescue, a periscope classic and seven more gems worth your slot time.
What a VIC-20 costs in 2026, which version to hunt, the power-supply trap to avoid, and the expansions and storage that turn a $299 legend into a daily driver.
No sprites, no scrolling — just characters, colour and three square-wave voices. How the original VIC chip gave Commodore’s smallest computer its unmistakable character.
The VIC-20 shipped with 5K and a slot that could fix it — 3K, 8K and 16K expansions, a cartridge library of instant-loading classics, and an ecosystem that defined the machine.
Before the C64 fame, Jeff Minter built Llamasoft on the VIC-20 — Andes Attack, Abductor, Gridrunner and Hellgate, written on the machine that taught him speed.
At $299, with a Star Trek captain asking ‘Why buy just a video game?’, the VIC-20 became the first computer to sell a million — the friendly computer that started it all.
Commodore’s cartoon whack-a-mole for the VIC-20’s first wave — nine holes, one mallet, and moles with no respect for your reflexes. Simple, silly, surprisingly tense.
Adventure No. 2 in Scott Adams’ series reached the VIC-20 as Pirate’s Cove — build a boat, mind the crocodiles, and dig where the treasure sleeps.
Jeff Minter’s second VIC-20 blast for Llamasoft — defend the helpless humans at the bottom of the screen from descending alien abductors in a frantic rescue shooter.
Dan and Kathe Spracklen’s championship chess program on the VIC-20 — a serious, patient opponent that turned the friendly computer into a thinking machine.
HAL Laboratory’s VIC-20 Pac-Man was so faithful it had to be withdrawn. What remains is the best maze chase on the machine — and one of its great legends.
Commodore’s second Pac-Man-alike for the VIC-20 — a blue hero, four pursuers and a maze of energy dots. Competent, colourful, and forever in Jelly Monsters’ shadow.
Commodore’s Lunar Lander for the VIC-20’s first wave — one thruster, a fuel gauge, three landing pads and the gentlest white-knuckle ride in the early library.
Commodore’s Rally-X-inspired maze chase swaps race cars for rats, oil slicks for star traps and adds a radar, a cheese trail and an unforgettable musical loop.
Commodore’s own Space Invaders for the VIC-20’s launch era — faithful, colourful and unpretentious, Avenger is the baseline every later VIC shooter was measured against.
Dan Gorlin’s hostage-rescue classic on the VIC-20 — fewer pixels, same heart-in-mouth landings. Judged strictly as the VIC version, this port earns its stripes.
Jay Sullivan’s Crossfire traps you in a city grid with aliens closing in from every edge — and the rare ability to move and shoot in different directions. A VIC-20 essential.
Before Lode Runner there was Apple Panic — Ben Serki’s platformer of ladders, shovels and murderous apples, brought to the VIC-20 by Creative Software.
Creative Software’s VIC-20 edition of David Snider’s snake classic turns the maze chase inside out — grow longer, corner your rivals, and never meet one head-on.
HES brought Synapse’s Berzerk-inspired maze shooter to the VIC-20 with its android detective, deadly lair and lurking Shadow intact — fast, twitchy and tough.
Scott Adams’ fifth adventure sends you into a vampire’s castle with a two-word parser, a three-day deadline and almost no memory to spare — a VIC-20 text classic.
Midway’s multi-stage arcade shooter squeezed onto a VIC-20 cartridge — several games in one, from Invaders-style ranks to a duel with the Gorfian flagship.
Commodore’s conversion of Midway’s vector arcade game rebuilds its bouncing, ricochet arena shooting in chunky raster colour — one of the VIC-20’s finest arcade ports.
Jeff Minter’s Gridrunner began life on the VIC-20, and it still crackles — a frantic Centipede-inspired grid war that turns 5K of memory into pure arcade adrenaline.
