USG (R) vidtec (TM) VC 1003 Word Zapper (TM) INSTRUCTIONS U.S. Games Corporation A Subsidiary of The Quaker Oats Company 1515 Wyatt Drive Santa Clara, California 95054 WORD ZAPPER Word Zapper is a one or two-player, full color, action game with 24 variations, designed to be played on the ATARI (R) Video Computer System (TM) or Sears Video Arcade. The Joystick Controller links you with a most profound vehicle of amusement, the rotary wing Word Zapper. It is armed with vertical and horizontal firing lasers and capable of incredible maneuverability. Opposing you is the Scroll -- a diabolic device designed to wear out the wrist an boggle the mind. The Scroll parades the alphabet across the screen, taunting you to duplicate a word or scrambled letters flashed at the bottom of the screen. You must shoot each letter in perfect order, and you must match three words or letter combinations within 99 seconds. Sounds easy? Wait until you meet the Scroll's friend, the Asteroids. {screenshot, pointing out: Word Zapper, Score, Game Number, Timer, Scroll, Freebie (on Scroll, weird symbol), and asteroids: Doomsday (orange arrow-head), Scroller (brown football shape), Bonker (3 squares), and Zonker (4 squares)} INSTRUCTIONS 1. Connect the ATARI Video Computer System or Sears Video Arcade following the manufacturer's instructions. 2. Install the Left Joystick for one player games or both Joystick controls for two player games. 3. Insert the cartridge, making certain that the POWER switch is OFF. 4. Move the POWER switch to ON. 5. Select the game of your choice. 6. Select a one or two player game with the TYPE switch. 7. Turn the Doomsday and Scroller Asteroids on or off with the Left and Right Difficulty Switches. (See Game Selection.) 8. Push the Red Fire Button on the Joystick to begin the game. GAME SELECTION 1. In order to activate the game SELECT switch, push the game RESET switch at any time during game play or while the score is displayed. 2. Push the game SELECT switch to select the game of your choice. See game chart. 3. Select one or two player game with the TV TYPE switch. COLOR = 1 PLAYER GAME B&W = 2 PLAYER GAME Changing this switch will not harm your ATARI Video Computer System or your TV. 4. Select DOOMSDAY and SCROLLER meteors. LEFT DIFFICULTY SWITCH/SCROLLER CONTROL A (Expert) = ON B (Novice) = OFF RIGHT DIFFICULTY SWITCH/DOOMSDAY CONTROL A (Expert) = ON B (Novice) = OFF 5. Push Red Fire Button to begin game. NOTE: If the ATARI Video Computer System is not used for four minutes, then the screen will go blank to protect your TV set. To restore the game, just move the Joystick. GAME VARIATIONS (See Game Chart) 1. METEOR DENSITY SPARSE --Fewer meteors on screen DENSE --Many meteors on screen 2. METEOR SPEED SINGLE --All meteors travel at slow speeds. MULTIPLE --Meteors travel at fast and slow speeds. 3. MATCH WORDS --Try to spell English words. LETTERS --Try to spell scrambled letters (This must be an alien language.) 4. SCROLL SPEED (Speed of scrolling letters) SLOW --For beginners. MEDIUM --Good for people with Honorary Rank of Zapper. FAST --Don't blink your eyes! SCORING The game ends when (a) you shoot down all three words, or (b) you are struck by a Doomsday asteroid, or (c) you run out of time. When any of these occurs, the Zapper will land and your score will be displayed. The level you obtain will be based on how many words you shoot down. NUMBER OF WORDS LEVEL 0 Rookie 1 Champ 2 Ace 3 Zapper (Honorary Rank) Of course, the time remaining will be zero unless you are able to get all three words in less than 99 seconds (thus obtaining the Honorary Rank of Zapper). When playing a two-player game, Player One uses the Left Joystick control and plays until his game ends. Player Two then plays using the Right Joystick control until his game ends. Both scores and levels will then be displayed. PLAYING THE GAME 1. When the game begins, a word or scrambled letters appear at the bottom of the screen. You MUST remember them! They will disappear in four seconds. When they disappear, the Zapper will be activated and the alphabet will begin to scroll across the top of the screen. You must shoot scrolling letters in the exact order found in the word or scrambled letters. 2. To shoot the scrolling letters, depress the Red Fire Button on the Joystick. This fires the letter laser. 3. There are four different types of asteroids that may hit the Zapper. When the power is turned on, all four will parade across the screen. From top to bottom, these are: DOOMSDAY --If a Doomsday asteroid hits the Zapper, the game is all over. You can identify this asteroid by the distinctively dangerous noise it makes as it approaches the Zapper. For an easier game, this asteroid may be turned off with the Right Difficulty Switch. (See Game Selection.) SCROLLER --If a Scroller asteroid hits the Zapper, the scrolling letters are mixed up for five seconds. For an easier game, this asteroid may be turned off with the Left Difficulty Switch. (See Game Selection.) BONKER --If a Bonker asteroid hits the Zapper, it BONKS it to the side. ZONKER --If a Zonker asteroid hits the Zapper, it ZONKS it to the side. 4. The Zapper can also shoot asteroids. Holding down the Red Fire Button while moving the Joystick to either side causes the Zapper to fire in that direction. 5. If you shoot down five asteroids, you get a "Freebie." A Freebie can substitute for any letter, but if you use it you must shoot five more asteroids. A "Freebie" MUST be shot to complete a word and advance to a new word. WORD ZAPPER GAME VARIATIONS _________________________________________________________ | | | |METEOR|METEOR |GIFT | | |SCROLL SPEED | MATCH |SPEED |DENSITY |OF | |_______|_____________|___________|______|________|1st | |GAME NO|Slow|Med|Fast|Words|Lett.|S | M |Sprs|Dns|FREEBIE| |_______|____|___|____|_____|_____|__|___|____|___|_______| | 1 |XXXX| | |XXXXX| |XX| |XXXX| |XXXXXXX| | 2 |XXXX| | |XXXXX| |XX| | |XXX| | | 3 |XXXX| | |XXXXX| | |XXX|XXXX| | | | 4 |XXXX| | |XXXXX| | |XXX| |XXX| | | 5 |XXXX| | | |XXXXX|XX| |XXXX| | | | 6 |XXXX| | | |XXXXX|XX| | |XXX| | | 7 |XXXX| | | |XXXXX| |XXX|XXXX| | | | 8 |XXXX| | | |XXXXX| |XXX| |XXX| | | 9 | |XXX| |XXXXX| |XX| |XXXX| |XXXXXXX| | 10 | |XXX| |XXXXX| |XX| | |XXX| | | 11 | |XXX| |XXXXX| | |XXX|XXXX| | | | 12 | |XXX| |XXXXX| | |XXX| |XXX| | | 13 | |XXX| | |XXXXX|XX| |XXXX| | | | 14 | |XXX| | |XXXXX|XX| | |XXX| | | 15 | |XXX| | |XXXXX| |XXX|XXXX| | | | 16 | |XXX| | |XXXXX| |XXX| |XXX| | | 17 | | |XXXX|XXXXX| |XX| |XXXX| |XXXXXXX| | 18 | | |XXXX|XXXXX| |XX| | |XXX| | | 19 | | |XXXX|XXXXX| | |XXX|XXXX| | | | 20 | | |XXXX|XXXXX| | |XXX| |XXX| | | 21 | | |XXXX| |XXXXX|XX| |XXXX| | | | 22 | | |XXXX| |XXXXX|XX| | |XXX| | | 23 | | |XXXX| |XXXXX| |XXX|XXXX| | | | 24 | | |XXXX| |XXXXX| |XXX| |XXX| | |_______|____|___|____|_____|_____|__|___|____|___|_______| Look for more Vidtec (TM) video games wherever you buy game cartridges. Drop us a note and we'll be glad to add your name to our mailing list and keep you posted on new Vidtec game cartridges when they become available. ATARI (R) and Video Computer System (TM) are trademarks of ATARI, Inc. VC 1003 (C) 1982 U.S. Games Corporation. Printed in Taiwan