Spy vs Spy (1986). Play online

Summary

Spy vs. Spy feels like a slap‑slap‑fun duel from the pages of Mad Magazine, tossed onto the NES with a split‑screen twist. Two spies—the iconic black and white operatives—race around an embassy grid, rifling desks and file cabinets for money, a passport, secret plans, and a door key, then jam everything into a briefcase and make a break for the airport door before the timer dings.

I love how each room doubles as a trap‑making workshop; a bomb can sit in a dresser drawer, while a water bucket hidden in a firebox lets you defuse it later. The inventory of booby‑traps is limited, and the same furniture can hide the exact tools you need to disarm them, turning each clash into a cartoon‑ish cat‑and‑mouse ballet of deaths and detours.

Originally written by Mike Riedel for First Star Software in 1984, the game landed on the NES and moved over 300,000 units in North America, proving that the absurd rivalry between two cartoon spies still clicks with gamers today.

Storyline

Spy vs Spy, the NES adaptation of Mad magazine’s long‑running cartoon, pits two rival agents against each other in a slapstick battle of wits. Each player sets up improbable traps and quirky weapons across the map, constantly trying to out‑maneuver and eliminate the opponent. The game’s humor comes from the over‑the‑top contraptions and the endless cycle of sabotage, reflecting the cartoon’s chaotic rivalry. Victory is achieved when one spy successfully defeats the other with one of these elaborate schemes.