Sparring (cassette 1) plays Squash in its simplest form: only vertical player motion, fixed wall (no difficulty setting) and no on-screen scoring. However, the ball speed increases as far as the player catches the ball (a beep is produced when this happens). If lost, a manual serve restarts the game.

Interesting detail: the serve button also resets the ball speed circuit, which stores the ball speed as an electric charge in a capacitor. Because it takes about a second until the capacitor gets its initial charge, a fast game can be start with a short press on the serve button. A longer press will allow the capacitor to get its initial charge, thus starting a game at slower speed.

The circuit board of this cartridge contains very few components, since the game involves one player, the ball, and a vertical line. The resistors set the players size (normal for player 1, infinite for player 2 so as to form a wall), the player field, and the ball motion type. This game differs from Badminton by only one difference: the second player is replaced by the wall. For this reason, both Sparring (Squash) and Badminton use the same circuit board, with only a few resistors placed differently to configure either the wall or the second player.

Sparring (Squash) game. No on-screen scoring.



Sparring cassette 1 with box and user manual.


Inside the Sparring cassette.

Interton Video 2000 cassettes: