Q*BERT
GAME PLAY AND SCORING

HOW TO PLAY
The object of the "Q*Bert" game is to change the color of the top of
the cubes to the designated color by hopping onto them. When all the
cubes in the pyramid have been changed to the designated color, the
screen will advance to the next Round, with "Q*Bert" starting back on
the top cube. At the beginning of each Level, there will be a short
demonstration cycle with the "Q*Bert" character hopping around four
cubes to explain to the player the play action of each Level.

Each Level consists of four Rounds.

The game play starts with the player-controlled "Q*Bert" character
appearing at the top of the pyramid. The joystick will move "Q*Bert"
from cube to cube by hopping in any of four diagonal directions. "Q*Bert"
can move anywhere on the pyramid, but jumping off will kill him. Hopping
on the rotating disk will take "Q*Bert" back to the top of the pyramid.
In the first two Rounds "Q*Bert" will have to avoid touching the red
and purple balls. These deadly objects drop randomly onto the
second-from-the-top level and bounce downwards. The red balls will fall
off the bottom but the purple ball will stop at the bottom and hatch
into "Coily", the snake which chases "Q*Bert". To destroy the snake,
lure him to the edge, then jump unto a disk. The disk will take "Q*Bert"
back to the top and "Coily" will fall off, awarding 500 points.

Starting at the third Round, other characters come into play. The green
characters or objects are safe to hop onto and will award points. All
other objects are deadly to touch. In the third Round the red balls
will stop falling, but two purple characters, "Ugg" and "Wrong-Way",
will appear at the lower portion of the pyramid and travel sideways
and upwards. They will not chase "Q*Bert" but will move randomly to get
in "Q*Bert's" way. In the third Round and every Round after, based on
an internal timer, a green ball will appear and bounce down from the
top of the pyramid. Hopping "Q*Bert" onto the green ball will award 100
points, and freeze all the characters on the screen for a few seconds,
but "Q*Bert" will still be able to move to complete the color changes.

During the third Round of play, two green characters, "Slick" and "Sam",
will appear, based on the internal timer. They will drop onto the
second level from the top and hop randomly downwards, If they hop onto
a cube that "Q*Bert" has already changed the color of, the cube will
change to a different color, to thwart "Q*Bert". Hopping "Q*Bert" onto
"Slick" or "Sam" will stop them and award 300 points.

Throughout the remaining Rounds, all the characters and objects will
appear in random combinations with increasing speed.

To add variety to the game, the disks will change positions every
Round, and in the higher Levels the number of disks will change.
(See Round Progression Chart.)

During Level Two, the play action will increase in difficulty from
changing the cubes to one color, to changing the color of the cubes
twice. This means that each cube would have to be hopped on twice
to change the pyramid to the designated color, completing the Round.

Starting at Level Three and for all remaining Rounds, and Levels,
the play action will become more difficult. The object remains to
change the cubes to the designated color, but if "Q*Bert" hops on
any cube, that cube will change color. So even if the cube has been
changed to the designated color, it will change again.

There are also Bonus points awarded at the end of each Round for
successfully completing the Round. The Bonus for the completion of
the First Round is 1,000 points. This Bonus will progressively
increase each Round by 250 points to a maximum of 5,000 points at
Level Five.


CONTROL PANEL INSTRUCTIONS
Goal: Change the tops of all cubes to a new color by hopping onto them.

* Joystick moves "Q*Bert" from cube to cube. Hopping onto a disk will take you back to the top.
* All green objects are safe to hit. All other objects are deadly.
* Destroy the snake by leading him to the edge, then jumping on a disk.
* Stay on pyramid! Only jump off to use a disk.



ROUND PROGRESSIONS
Commencing with Level V all characters will appear in each subsequent
round. The number of disks and the Round Completion Bonus will remain
the same value for the rest of the game. The characters and play action
will gain more speed with each increased level of play.