Tapper (Budweiser, 12/9/83) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 41 years ago:

Tapper © 1983 Bally Midway.

Taking on the role of an overworked bartender, the player must serve beer to the ever-thirsty patrons that populate his bar. All customers must be served before they work their way up to the beer kegs. Empty glasses must also be collected before they slide off the end of the bar and smash to the floor. Extra points are awarded for collecting tips, while bonus rounds involve locating the one beer that has not been shaken, and serving it. The game features four different levels:

• Cowboys
• Athletes
• Punk Rockers
• Aliens

TECHNICAL
Game No. 0A11
Bally Midway MCR 3 hardware

Main CPU: Zilog Z80 (@ 5 Mhz)
Sound CPU: Zilog Z80 (@ 2 Mhz)

Sound Chips: (2x) General Instrument AY8910 (@ 2 Mhz)

Players: 2
Control: 4-way joystick
Buttons: 1

TRIVIA
Tapper was released in December 1983 in the USA.

There were two other versions of Tapper: "Root Beer" (January 1984) and "Suntory" (Japan, Game ID: 834-5385 / 834-5387). The Suntory version was a Sega board, Suntory is a Japanese beer (see "Updates" section for more information).

The main character in the game (as well as the main character of two other Bally Midway games; "Domino Man", and "Timber") is based on a Marvin Glass employee called Mike Ferris, who had the same distinctive mustache and bald head and reputedly wore a red T-shirt all of the time.

The music for the third stage (the punk bar) was loosely inspired by new wave music group Devo's song 'Workin' in the Coal Mine'.

Tapper was play tested in a Chicago-area Rush Streetbar called 'The Snuggery' and received much positive feedback from the bar's patrons. Digitized belches were originally going to be used in the game, but, perhaps thankfully, they never made it into the final version.

The cabinet is designed to resemble a real bar - replete with a brass foot rail and two brass drink or ashtray holders (one on each side of the control panel). The cabinet and gameplay on the beer version features the Budweiser logo. The pour spouts have mock-up Budweiser handles that closely resemble the Budweiser taps that appear in real bars throughout the world.

Approximately 3300 Tapper uprights were made and around the first 100 or so were released with colour side art. About 300 cocktail machines were also made.

The main character appears on the 2012 Disney animated movie Wreck-It Ralph, during the Bar scene. It should also be noted that despite the game in the movie being Root Beer Tapper, the main character wore his outfit from the Budweiser version.

UPDATES

• Suntory version has different graphics and most likely different music.

SCORING
Serving a cowboy/girl patron with beer: 50 points.
Serving a sports bar patron with beer: 75 points.
Serving a punk patron with beer: 100 points.
Serving an alien patron with beer: 150 points.
Collecting an empty beer glass: 100 points.
Collecting a tip left on the bar: 1,500 points.
Guessing the correct can on the bonus screen: 3,000 points.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Easter Egg: In the attract mode, wait until the word Tapper is filling up with beer, and hold down the joystick, both taps, and the player 1 & 2 buttons. You will then see the names of the game designers.
• Take your time in the first few levels. You can make a high score by leaving one person and waiting for more people.
• The last guy in the row will almost always leave a tip.
• If a person leaves the bar in the first level you get 50 points but, if you let them get close to the end of the bar, they will drink the beer and stay. It's 100 for getting the empty mug.
• The longer you stay in the level, the faster the people and mugs move.

STAFF
Designed and programmed by: Steve Meyer
Graphics by: Scott Morrison
Sounds by: Rick Hicaro
Support by: Elaine Ditton

PORTS
NOTE: All ports released in 1997 and later feature the 'Root Beer' version.

• CONSOLES:

[US] Atari 2600 (1983) "Tapper [Model 010-01]"
Colecovision [US] (1984) "Tapper [Model 2616]"
Atari XEGS

• COMPUTERS:

BBC Micro [EU] (1983)
PC [Booter] [AS] (1983)
[EU] Commodore C64 (1983)
[US] Commodore C64 (1983) "Tapper [Model 010-05]"
[EU] Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1985)
[US] Atari 800 (1984)
[US] Apple II (1984)
[EU] Amstrad CPC (1987) "Tapper - Official Arcade Game"

CONTRIBUTE
Edit this entry: https://www.arcade-history.com/?&page=detail&id=2834&o=2