ColecoVision Cartridge Instructions Q*bert's Qubes -------------------------------------------------------------------------- R U L E S Colecovision Game System Commodore 64 Computer Atari Computers Q-bert's Qubes game graphics copyright 1984 Mylstar Electronics, Inc. Q-bert's Qubes is a trademark of Mylstar Electronics, Inc. and used by Parker Brothers under authorization. Rules copyright 1984 Parker Brothers Division of CPG Products Corp. Beverly, MA 01915. Printed in U.S.A. Take several rows of suspended "three-dimensional" qubes that rotate in space. Drop onto them some very weird creatures in pursuit of a guy with a nose for tumbling those qubes to various colors, and what have you got? You've got one of the wackiest games you may ever play! And a most challenging one. You may need to match two or even three rows of qubes in one round. And then there is always someone -- or some thing -- trying to stop you... not to mention undo what you've always done. It's great fun, too. When was the last time you met a Meltnik or a Shoobop? Q*bert's Qubes...it's a video game of another dimension. Object To color-match qubes in a row (or rows) of five. Do so in order to move to the next round. There are four rounds per level, nine levels in all. SETTING THE CONSOLE CONTROLS Colecovision ONLY 1. Place the cartridge firmly into the cartridge slot. 2. Plug the joystick controllers firmly into the controller jacks. For a one-player game, use the joystick controller plugged into jack #1. 3. Turn the ON/OFF switch to ON. You'll see the GAME OPTIONS screen. 4. Select a skill level and number of players by pressing the appropriate keypad button. Games 1-4 are one-player games; games 5-8 are two-player games. Games 1 and 5 are the easiest; games 4 and 8 are the most difficult. As soon as you make your selection, the game begins. At any time during the game, you may start over by pressing REST and following the instructions for game selection. To freeze the action, press keypad #0. To restart, press keypad #0 again. The Joystick Controller Hold the joystick controller in the position shown. Move the joystick in the direction of the arrows - and only in these directions - in order to make Q*bert hop diagonally up and down the rows of qubes. Playing As soon as the game begins, the first screen tells you how many tic-tac-toes you must make in order to win the round. In this game Q*bert has five lives. Remaining Q*berts are shown at the top of the screen. Matching the target qube Look at the qube in the upper left portion of the screen. This is the target qube. The object is to color-match a row (or rows) of five qubes to this target qube. To make a match, Q*bert must tumble the qube in the appropriate direction. (This may have to be done several times.) Once the qube matches the target qube, it appears as an entire outline. In lower levels, a matched qube is locked in place. As you'll see in higher levels, matched qubes can be unmatched by Shoobops - or by Q*Bert himself! Once Q*bert completes the require number of tic-tac-toes to win the round, he is rewarded with a fanfare of lights and sound and proceeds to the next round with his remaining lives. Meltniks Meltniks derive their name from an uncanny ability to sink and disappear into qubes that match the color of their complexions. Although a Meltnik may look harmless, he or she can put an end to Q*bert if he runs into one. (Warning: Although Q*bert can stop other green characters, he can't stop a green Meltnik!) Purple Ball Q*bert mustn't ever play catch with the Purple Ball because Purple Ball will squash him on contact! Also, be warned that when Purple Ball reaches the bottom qubes, it hatches Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat A dirty rat if ever there was one. This rat follows Q*bert like Monday follows Sunday and will finish Q*bert off if Q*bert's not quick. There is, however, a trick to getting rid of the rodent. You see, Rat-a-tat-tat has a terrible sense of balance. When he jumps onto a qube that's tumbling, he loses his balance and falls. Tumble a qube at just the right moment, and Rat-a-tat-tat is off Q*bert's trail! Green Ball Green Ball poses no danger for Q*bert when the two collide. In fact, there is a good reason for doing so: When Q*bert and Green Ball collide, all characters but Q*bert freeze for a moment. During this time, Q*bert may hop about freely until the action resumes. Shoobops Some Shoobops wear shades while others do not. In the long run, they're all the same. They're green and they're mean! Green because Q*bert can make them disappear on contact and mean because they can rotate the qubes -- even ones that have already matched the target! So...see a Shoobop...shoo it away. Sheldon the Turtle (Commodore 64 and Atari Computer versions only!) Sheldon is an influential turtle. When Sheldon and Q*bert collide, everyone (except Q*bert) slows down a bit and new characters are introduced at a slower rate. Bonus Round Upon completion of round 4, Q*bert plays the Bonus Round. During this round, he stands in place and must rotate the qubes underneath him. Once it matches the target qube, Q*bert may tackle another qube. The object is to match as many qubes as he can for bonus points before time runs out. The amount of bonus time allotted depends both on the difficulty level and on how quickly Q*bert completes the first four rounds of the level. In general, the harder the difficulty level and the sooner Q*bert finishes the four rounds, the longer the Bonus Round. For Commodore 64 and Coleco ONLY: You'll notice the Bonus Time clock ticking down in the lower right corner of the screen. End of Round The round ends when you complete the required number of tic-tac-toes. The following round will show you a new target qube. End of Game The game ends when you lose your last Q*bert. To play again at the same level, or to change game options, refer to SETTING THE CONSOLE CONTROLS in the front of this booklet. Game Escalation The longer you stay in the game, the more challenging it becomes: * The characters in pursuit move at a faster rate. * The characters in pursuit are introduced more frequently. * You may be required to make up to three tic-tac- toes per round. * Fewer free qubes are give per round. * Qubes may NOT lock in place once they are matched. Two-Player Games Players alternate turns upon losing a Q*bert. The game ends once both players have lost all their Q*berts. SCORING Landing on a qube...................5 points Matching a qube to the target.....100 points Catching Green Ball...............100 points Catch a Shoobop...................100 points Catching Sheldon..................100 points Eliminating Rat-a-tat-tat with a given Q*bert 1st time..................500 points 2nd time..................400 points 3rd time..................300 points 4th time..................200 points 5th time..................100 points every time thereafter.......5 points Bonus points at end of round.....225 (200 in Colecovision) or more points per matched qube, depending on the level and round completed. Bonus Round.....starting at 100 points the value of each succeeding matched qube increases by 100 additional points Bonus Q*bert.....one every 10,000 points 180-Day Limited Warranty [information deleted]