DIG DUG

BY ATARI, INC.


  • Insert your 5200 game cartridge so the label faces you and reads right-side-up. Be sure the cartridge is firmly seated in the center slot of the console, but do not force it. Then press the POWER switch on. See your owner's manual for further details.

    GAME OBJECTIVE

  • Keep Dig Dug alive on his quest for points and vegetable treasures. You'll score points for digging as well as finding treasure. But beware of Pooka, the renegade balloon, and Fygar, the fire- breathing dragon. They'll stop you in your tracks if they catch you.

  • Earn points in DIG DUG four different ways: by tunneling through the dirt of the underworld, by blowing up Pooka or Fygar with your pump, by dropping rocks on top of Pooka and Fygar, or by eating the vegetables that appear in the middle of the screen.

  • At the start of the game you have three lives. You can also earn bonus lives; the first bonus life is earned at 10,000 points, the second bonus life at 40,000, and each following bonus life at 40,000 point intervals.

  • A round is completed when all monsters are killed or escape from the screen. The round is indicated by the number of flowers on the upper right of the screen. Each small flower represents one round; each large flower represents ten rounds.

    GAME PLAY

  • Use your joystick to make Dig Dug tunnel through the underworld. He'll move up, down, right, or left in the same direction you move the joystick.

  • To use your pump against Pooka or Fygar, press any of the red fire buttons on your controller. If you continue pressing the button, your victim will eventually explode. If you let go of the fire button before the monster pops, it will slowly deflate and continue the chase. Dig Dug is safe from the monsters while they are partially inflated--in fact, Dig Dug can run straight through partially inflated monsters.

  • Drop rocks on monsters by digging away dirt from beneath the rocks. Move out of the way quickly, though, or you'll be pulverized by the falling rock. The underworld is divided into four layers (see Figure 7). You'll score more points for exploding monsters in the bottom layers than the top layers; lure monsters to lower levels by letting them chase you as You tunnel down.

  • Score bonus points by running over the vegetables that appear in the center of your screen. Vegetables only appear for a short time, so when you see one, grab it quickly.

  • Pooka and Fygar often turn into ghosts and will float through the dirt to find you. Ghosts are invulnerable until they reach the air of a tunnel.

    USING THE CONTROLLERS

  • Plug one 5200 controller firmly into jack 1 for one-player games; plug a second controller into jack 2 for two-player games. The player using jack one controls game selection and starts the game.

    CONTROL KEYS

  • Press START to begin the game. Press PAUSE once to stop the game and again to restart the action. Press PAUSE then RESET to return to the option screen, in order to begin another game at a new difficulty level.

    GAME OPTIONS

  • The vegetable at the center of the screen indicates the game level. Press the * to choose one of 12 game levels: Carrot, Rutabaga, Mushroom, Cucumber, Eggplant, Bell Pepper, Tomato, Onion, Watermelon, Galaxian, or Pineapple. The game levels become progressively more difficult: the number of monsters increases, the game play becomes faster, and the monsters become more difficult to avoid.

  • You can continue playing the same game of DIG DUG after losing your last life by pressing any red fire button when GAME OVER appears on the screen. You'll receive three additional lives, and the score and game level will remain unchanged.

  • You may also select a beginner game level, indicated by a teddy bear. Press the * until a teddy bear symbol appears at the center of the screen.

  • Press the # key to select a one-player or two-player game. When you've selected the appropriate game options, press START to begin the game.

    SCORING 

    
Vegetables     Round     Points
-------------------------------
Carrot              1      400
Rutabaga            2      600
Mushroom            3      800
Cucumber        4 & 5    1,000
Eggplant        6 & 7    2,000
Bell Pepper     8 & 9    3,000
Tomato        10 & 11    4,000
Onion         12 & 13    5,000
Watermelon    14 & 15    6,000
Galaxian      16 & 17    7,000
Pineapple       18 on    8,000

Activity          Point Value
-----------------------------
Digging    5 points per chunk

Destroying monsters by dropping rocks:
1 monster               1,000
2 monsters at once      2,500
3 monsters at once      4,000
4 monsters at once      6,000
5 monsters at once      8,000
6 monsters at once     10,000
7 monsters at once     12,000

Exploding Pooka from any direction, or 
exploding Fygar from above or below:
1st soil layer            200
2nd soil layer            300
3rd soil layer            400
4th soil layer            500

Exploding Fygar from the side:
1st soil layer            400
2nd soil layer            600
3rd soil layer            800
4th soil layer           1000
    STRATEGY

    * Drop rocks on monsters by digging a long tunnel beneath a rock. Keep the rock from falling on you by keeping forward pressure on your joystick; when a monster runs close behind, turn away and let the rock fall.

    * Use your pump to temporarily stun monsters, so you can lure more than one monster behind you. When you have a line of monsters chasing you, head for the nearest rock and drop it on them--fast!

    * Bonus vegetables only will appear after two rocks have been dislodged, and will remain for only ten seconds. For maximum points, be sure to drop at least two rocks then grab the vegetable before moving to the next round.

    * You'll score more points by popping a Fygar from the side, so use your pump to stun the dragon while you move to his side. Then finish pumping Fygar until he explodes.

    * Fygar's deadly fire can reach you through a thin wall of dirt--so stay out of his way when he stops moving.

    END

    Typed by Jay Tilton

    for Atari Gaming Headquarters

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