I'm not really playing any 80s games this month (I'm still trying to weed my collection) but I am doing the 80s in other media this month, so I thought I'd at least write something about the games I played from this decade.
In 1980 I was just becoming a teenager. I loved my bike and traveled everywhere within about 20 miles of my house to go to arcades and music and book stores. Arcades were popping up all over even single machines in pizza shops and department stores. My dad bought an Atari 2600 (four-switch) at Christmas that year. My neighbors got an Intellivision since their family was so into sports. I would play my Atari but also go over to the neighbors to play Intellivision.
Let's take a closer look at the games of 1980.
Arcade
Pac-Man - You couldn't go anywhere without running into a Pac-Man cabinet. When I went to an arcade it was on my regular rotation of games I'd play.
Missile Command - Also this, everywhere. The trackball controller was a must for the authentic experience. Funny how this is basically an upside down mouse.
Berzerk - One of, if not the first, game with a synthesized voice. "Get the Humanoid" haunts my dreams to this day.
Rally-X - A maze game with cars. Throw that smoke screen to get your pursuers off your trail.
Battlezone - Vector graphics were all over 80s arcade games, Asteroids and Lunar Lander already ubiquitous. Battlezone was unique at the time by being in first-person moving in a landscape full of enemy tanks. I was never very good at it but the visuals were compelling at the time.
Phoenix - An interesting take on fixed screen shooters with more than one screen of gameplay and a boss to tackle.
Home Console
Atari 2600 - I played many of the previously released games plus Adventure, Space Invaders, Golf, and Night Driver. Also the first Activision developed games like: Boxing, Fishing Derby and Skiing. I'd say Golf was probably the one I played the most.
Intellivision - ML Baseball, NFL Football, Armor Battle, Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, NHL Hockey, Sea Battle, Horse Racing and PGA Golf. Strategy game Sea Battle was my favorite.
PC
I played Zork on an IBM PC my aunt had.
No new board games that I can see but I was into D&D and Squad Leader still. I was still building model kits and moving into more complicated ones like big sailing ships and even balsa wood based kits. I might have started guitar lessons this year as well.
There are, of course, more games released one could talk about, but these are what I played at the time. It's kind of amazing to me I found time for all this on top of school work, sports and general messin' about in the neighborhood with my friends. Games were of short duration back then, I guess.