Dig Dug (NTSC) - MAME software

Atari 7800 cart. published 37 years ago:

Dig Dug © 1987 Atari Corp.

Dig Dug starts each game with five lives. After he burrows on his own, use your controller to send him where you want. When he enters a tunnel where Pooka is lurking, the monster begins to chase him. Explode Pooka quickly by pressing and holding the controller button, or by pumping it repeatedly. Pumping the button just once or twice will stun the monster so Dig Dug can slip past.a Touching Pooka when he's not stunned will knock Dig Dug out.

Dig Dug can handle Fygar in almost the same way, but dragons breathe fire, so be careful if Dig Dug approaches him while he's looking. It's not enough to be just outside his tunnel when he's looking, either, because his fire is so powerful that it burns a short distance through the earth. Still, attacking him from the side is worth more points than attacking from above or below.

Another way to handle the monsters is to drop rocks on them. To do this, make Dig Dug tunnel underneath a rock when one or more monsters are chasing him. If he's tunneling upward, have Dig Dug make a sharp turn just before he reaches the rock so it falls on them! If Dig Dug is tunneling sideways, time him so the rock falls just as the monsters run underneath!

After two rocks have fallen in any round, a veggie or fruit appears at the center of the earth for ten seconds. If Dig Dug can gobble it up, he earns extra points.

But there's something very strange about Pooka and Fygar. Unless Dig Dug destroys them quickly, they turn into ghosts and move through the ground directly toward him. As soon as they enter a tunnel completely they become solid again, but while they're still ghosts, Dig Dug can only drop rocks on them.

The last monster left in any round gets scared of Dig Dug and turns to the surface, turning into a ghost if necessary to make his trip as fast as possible. Once on the surface he scampers to the left of the screen. To catch him, Dig Dug has to race toward the surface himself.

TECHNICAL
Model CX7803

TRIVIA
Atari 7800 conversion of the 1982 Namco coin-op classic.

SCORING
The flowers at the top of the screen tell the number of the round you are playing on. Each small flower counts as one; each large flower counts as ten.

Dig Dug scores points in several ways:
Digging Up Dirt
Each chunk: 10 points

Blowing Up Pooka and Fygar from Above or Below
Surface: 200 points
Top level of earth: 200 points
Second level down: 300 points
Third level down: 400 points
Bottom level: 500 points

Blowing Up Fygar from the Side
Surface: 400 points
Top level of earth: 400 points
Second level down: 600 points
Third level down: 800 points
Bottom level: 1000 points

Dropping Rocks on Monsters (score per rock)
One monster: 1000 points
Two monsters: 2500 points
Three monsters: 4000 points
Every extra monster: 2000 points

Gobbling Fruits and Veggies
Carrot: 400 points
Turnip: 600 points
Mushroom: 800 points
Cucumber: 1000 points
Eggplant: 2000 points
Bell Pepper: 3000 points
Tomato: 4000 points
Onion: 5000 points
Watermelon: 6000 points
Galaxian: 7000 points
Pineapple: 8000 points

TIPS AND TRICKS
Bonus Lives: At 20,000 points, 50,000 points, and every 50,000 points following, Dig Dug earns an extra life.

CONTRIBUTE
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