Knights on Birdback! There are alien worlds, and then there are Alien Worlds! Who could have predicted that you'd ever find yourself this far from home, astride an alien ostrich under attack by bird-borne avengers! Getting Started 1. Insert the Joust (TM) cartridge into your Atari (R) 7800 (TM) Pro-System as explained in your Owner's Manual, and turn on your console. 2. Plug a controller into the left controller jack for one player, and another into the right controller jack for two players. 3. Move the controller handle forward or backward, or press [Select] to choose a one- or two-player game. In a two-player game, the Knights sometimes battle the opponents together, and sometimes battle both the opponents and each other. 4. Move the controller handle to the left or right to choose a difficulty level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Expert. 5. Use the controller handle to move your bird left and right. The longer you hold the handle to the side, the faster the bird moves. Press the controller button repeatedly to make him fly. 6. Press [Pause] to pause a game; press it again to resume play. Playing the Game As a bird-borne Knight, you ride an ostrich into combat, beginning the game with five lives. For each 20,000 points you score, you earn an extra life. Your opponents are the Buzzard Riders. There are three types, each more fearsome than the one before. The Bounder (least fearsome) wears red; the Hunter wears gray; and the Shadow Lord (most fearsome) wears blue. The Buzzard Riders attack in waves. Both you and the Buzzard Riders materialize for the first time in the gray spaces on top of the ledges. Until a bird and rider fully materialize, they're protected from attack. Once moving, they become fair game for a joust, in which one mounted Knight attacks another. The winner of a joust is the rider whose mount is highest at the moment of contact. If the mounts are at the same level, the joust is a draw. If you lose a joust, you lose a life, and you materialize again (if you have lives remaining) in a gray space. If your opponent loses, his suddenly riderless mount lays an egg in frustration. The egg then sails through space until it comes to rest on a ledge, or falls into the lava and is destroyed. If it's on a ledge, pick it up quickly, or it will hatch another opponent at the Intermediate level, and an even more menacing opponents at the Advanced and Expert levels. Sometimes a fast-moving Pterodactyl tries to eat you. To save yourself, you must be quick and precise, lancing the opponent in the mouth. Beneath the lowest ledge lives the Troll of the Lava Pits. After the second wave of attacking Buzzard Riders, the Troll's fire burns away the bridges that kept the jousters safe from him. Any jouster who falls into the Lava Pits dies. If you fly too near the Pits, the Troll's hand reaches out and draws you toward the deadly lava (except at the Beginner level). If the Troll captures you, you may be able to escape by flying away fast and breaking his grip. When you've vanquished all your opponents and picked up all the eggs in a wave, a new wave with new menaces begins. The waves are: Survival Wave -- If you make it through this entire wave without losing a life, you earn 3000 extra points. Egg Wave -- All your opponents start as eggs. Eat the eggs quickly, before they hatch. Pterry Wave -- This wave starts with the marauding Pterodactyl on the screen. Team Wave (2 players) -- If neither player unseats the other, both earn 3000 points. Gladiator Wave (2 players) -- The first player to unseat the other earns 3000 points. Scoring Unseating a Buzzard Rider: Bounder 500 points Hunter 750 points Shadow Lord 1500 points Picking Up Eggs: First egg per round 250 points Second egg per round 500 points Third egg per round 750 points Fourth or more eggs per round 1000 points Egg grabbed in midair 500 bonus points Displaying Skill Surviving Survival Wave 3000 points Cooperating in Team Wave 3000 points Unseating other player in Gladiator Wave 3000 points Unseating other player at other times 2000 points Destroying a Pterodactyl 1000 points Losing a life 50 points You earn an extra life for every 20,000 points you score. Each player's current score and number of lives left are shown at the bottom of the screen, Player 1 on the left and Player 2 on the right. No more than four lives can be shown, even if more have been earned. Final scores remain on screen during the demonstration sequence that follows each game. Reproduction of this document or any portion of its contents is not allowed without the specific written permission of Atari Corp. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the product documentation in this manual. However, because we are constantly improving and updating our computer software and hardware, Atari Corp. is unable to guarantee the accuracy of printed material after the date of publication and disclaims liability for changes, errors, and omissions. Atari is a registered trademark and 7800 is a trademark of Atari Corp. Joust is a trademark of Williams Electronics, Inc., manufactured under license from Williams Electronics, Inc. Copyright (C) 1982, Williams Electronics, Inc. Copyright (C) 1988, Atari Corp. Sunnyvale, CA 94086. All rights reserved Printed in Hong Kong CO24857-06 Rev. B B.T.7.1988