CHIPS'S CHALLENGE (c) EPYX ----------------- GO BIT BUSTER Chip would do anything for Melinda the Mental Marvel. More than anything becoz he wanted to join Melinda's exclusive computer club - the Bit Busters. So you can imagine how Chip felt when Melinda sat down next to him in the school cafeteria and offered him membership.... on one condition. Take control of Chip as he does some heavy interfacing with a few interesting puzzles. Melinda will monitor your progress as you enter and work your way through 144 levels of challenging maze- like paths and puzzles. Once you accept the challenge, there is no escape. Monsters, traps and the ticking of the clock all conspire to delete you before a level is completed. You must ram blocks of soil together to create bridges over water traps, or use them as buffers against cherry bombs. Invisible partitions will impede your progress. Colored keys will open doors that lead to other keys that will open still more doors! To make it through, you must keep puzzle sequences stored in your memory. Most levels have a specific number of chips that you must collect before you can progress to the next level. Sometimes you must snatch those chips from under the very noses of deadly bugs who are just aching to take a byte out of you! Well Chip, are you still up for the challenge? You can't get that Bit-Buster T-shirt out of your system, can you? Ok buddy, make tracks for level one of: "CHIP'S CHALLENGE!" PLAYING THE GAME: ----------------- The object of the game is to enter and explore each level, solve the puzzle (usually involving the collection of a number of microchips) and progress to the next, slightly more difficult, level. As you wander through each maze, there will be items to collect and objects to use. For example, keys to open doors and teleport squares to move you from place to place. Each level contains challenges such as obstacles, traps, and monsters, with the additional challenge on some levels of a race against the clock. The first eight levels intoduce you to most puzzle components and they give you a chance to gain experience of the game's basic concepts. A question mark appears next to Chip at the beginning of each level. Move Chip over the question mark to receive information about that level. For more detailed information about the obstacles and special items you can find, see HELPFUL ITEMS below. Useful items such as keys and shields must be picked up and added to Chip's inventory. To pick up items, move Chip over them. The item will disappear from the action window and an icon representing it will appear in the inventory section of the information window. Most levels have a specific number of microchips that must be collected as part of the puzzle's solution before you can pass the microchip socket and progress to the next level. When you first enter a level, the number of microchips to be collected appears under CHIPS LEFT in the status panel. On these levels you must solve part of the puzzle to gain access to the chips. On some levels the CHIPS LEFT indicator is set to zero when you enter the level. This means that no microchips are needed to solve the puzzle. The Information window (left to right) ---------------------------------------- CHIPS LEFT- Number of chips to be found TIME - Seconds left to solve puzzle LEVEL - Number of current level The INVENTORY BOX displays icons of the items you have picked up and have not yet used. HELPFUL ITEMS: -------------- KEYS open doors of the key color. Most keys will disappear from inventory after use. DOORS (see keys) once opened a door stays open. MICROCHIPS enable you to pass each level's microchip socket. Most levels have a required number of microchips you must collect before you can pass through the microchip socket to the exit square. EXIT SQUARES are flashing squares found on every level. Step on an exit square to proceed to the next level. Exit squares are usually blocked by microchip sockets. DIRT BLOCKS can be linked together to form a bridge over water, pushed against a bomb to explode it harmlessly, or used as blocks against monsters, deadly lightning balls, and other moving obstacles. You can only move one dirt block at a time. If you place a dirt block to make a bridge over water, you must stamp down the dirt to turn it into a regular floor square. Do this by stepping on the block after pushing it into the water. NOTE: You may find things hidden under some dirt blocks. Sometimes the things are valuable, like microchips. However you may find that a block is covering something unpleasant... TRIP BUTTONS are linked to toggle blocks, clone machines, and other obstacles. A trip button's color matches the color of the linked trap or obstacle. Stepping onto a trip button triggers the linked item. For example, moving over a green trip button square will open (or close) all linked green toggle blocks or moving over a red trip button square will cause a red linked clone machine to begin releasing fireballs! MAGNETS neutralize the effect of force floor traps. With a magnet in the inventory, you can walk over a force floor normally! FIRE SHIELDS - Walk through fire WATER SHIELD - Walk on water CLEATS:Travel over ice without slipping NOTE: Magnets, Fire & Water shields, and Cleats stay in inventory. They do not disappear after use. TRAPS, MONSTERS, and OBSTACLES -------------------------------- TRAPS must be disarmed before you can pass through them. There are various sorts of traps. For example some hold you prisoner until your time runs out, while others destroy you as you step on them. You can disarm traps with strategic placement of dirt blocks. FORCE FLOOR TRAPS propel you with lightning speed from one area to another without allowing you to stop. Sometimes you can use this force to propel you to a desired location, however most of the time you will need to collect a magnet to neutralize the effect. FIRE TRAPS are impassable bonfires laid out to block your progress. Use a fire shield to walk through fire traps. WATER TRAPS can be crossed in two ways. Either build a bridge of dirt blocks or have a water shield in your inventory. ICE TRAPS are slippery obstacles that make you slide right past your goal. Cleats are required to be able to walk over ice traps. MONSTERS want to destroy you and will show no mercy. One touch from a monster and you'll cash in your chips. TANKS block the way through crucial paths in some levels. Tanks are always linked to trip buttons, activate the correct trip button, so they move out of your way. THIEVES: Touching a thief wipes your inventory of all items. Make sure you use the tools you need to collect micro-chips before trying to pass a thief. TELEPORT SQUARES move you to another location on the level. Some squares teleport you in the direction you were facing when you stepped on them. Others teleport you in random directions. Beware! if you step on the only teleport square that is accessible, you will be trapped. TOGGLE BLOCKS are outlined with broken colored lines. These block can be solid or transparent. When the toggle block is solid, you cannot pass through. These blocks are linked to trip buttons. When you activate a trip button, the toggle blocks linked to it will switch to the other state (solid or transparent). BLUE BLOCKS can be real walls or just an illusion. To figure out what a block is, try to pass through it (illusions vanish). MICROCHIP SOCKETS are special obstacles found on most levels. You must (usually) pass through a microchip socket to reach the Exit Square, but only after you have collected the required number of microchips for that level. CLONE MACHINES discharge fireballs, dirt blocks and other items. Most clone machines are linked to trip buttons. If you wish to start/stop a clone machine, activate the linked trip button. STRATEGY -------- Take notes and draw maps of difficult levels. Leave yourself an escape route whenever possible. Timing is crucial on some levels. Use the PAUSE key to give you time to think. If the obvious solution doesn't work, try a bizarre solution. The later will usually put you through! Monsters often move in predictable patterns. Most objects affect monsters the same way, as they affect you. Finally, if you get stuck in an impossible situation, use RESTART to resume the level. CONTROLS: ----------- Use joystick to move Chip. R - Restart level X - Exit game F1/F3 - Music on/off Run/Stop - Pause Game -------------------------------------- *********Manual typed by QED************** Even though, the graphics suck and the music is not that great I actually think this is one of the best "thinking man's" games released in a long time........ (Hey U.S. Gold, where is the Mandelbrot plotter hidden in the ATARI-LYNX version ?!?!)