Toobin'
1988 · Action / Sports · Arcade
Overview
Toobin' is a 1988 action game developed and published by Tengen for Atari Games and arcades. Based on the recreational activity of tubing, it sees players traveling down Colorado, Nile, Styx, Canals of Mars and Jurassic, steering around obstacles and throwing cans at such enemies as alligators, hunters, and cavemen.
Deep Dive
Toobin' is a 1988 action game developed and published by Tengen for Atari Games and arcades. Based on the recreational activity of tubing, it sees players traveling down Colorado, Nile, Styx, Canals of Mars and Jurassic, steering around obstacles and throwing cans at such enemies as alligators, hunters, and cavemen.
Developer Story
Toobin' was developed by Atari Games in 1988. Players navigated rubber inner tubes down river courses, throwing cans at enemies and collecting items. The gentle, summery aesthetic was a counterpoint to the military and fantasy games dominating arcades. The game used a paddle controller for intuitive river navigation. It was one of Atari Games' last genuinely successful arcade productions.
Did You Know?
- Toobin' was one of the few arcade games with a genuinely relaxing premise — summer tubing rather than combat or racing.
- The can-throwing weapons (Pepsi cans in the original, generic in some releases) could be used to hit floating enemies or boost speed.
- Current and eddies in the river affected tube movement — physics simulation in a 1988 arcade game.
- The two-player competitive format let friends race down the same river, throwing cans at each other as readily as at enemies.
