Previous Next

Bed Bugs is an unusual type of arcade game. It loads in four parts, the last two loading while soothing (?) lullabies are played to you.

The game can be played using the keys Z and X for left and right respectively, and : for up and ? for down. Alternatively, joysticks can be used.

The idea of the game is to kill the fleas which jump around on your bed trying to bite your feet. This can be done, by either swatting them with a jam sandwich, or crunching them with your false teeth! The fleas move very quickly around the bed and the sandwich sometimes leaves jam on the bed, which provides an extra obstacle for the sandwich to avoid. These obstacles can be removed by the use of a sponge. A telephone is available to call for help, but sometimes the telephone is not answered. If however the telephone is answered, points are gained. Each flea that you kill is worth 100 points but after you have been bitten eight times you lose one of three lives available to you. If you hit your feet instead of the flea yet another life is lost. If you manage to kill all the fleas (something which I could not achieve!) you are then attached by Bed Bugs. You have to kill these bugs before they bite you, for every bite is a fatal one. For each bed bug killed you gain 1,000 points. An added dimension to this game is that you must always remember to stay on the bed or a life is lost.

The instructions in the introduction to the game are quite brief with just the weapons and the bugs displayed, along with instructions for which keys to use. There is a page giving more information (scores, further instructions, etc) and it is on this page that you can change the speed of the game. It is unfortunate that on the program that I used one could only get to this page after playing the game! There is the by now usual Hall of Fame page for the top eight scores.

The graphics for the weapons are quite good but it is difficult to actually know when the fleas were directly beneath the sandwich. The rest of the graphics are straightforward with no outstanding qualities.

The music in the introduction left something to be desired. At times it sounded more like a dirge than a lullaby.

I found the game very difficult to play and very low points were scored whilst the program was under review. As a consequence the game became very infuriating. In comparison to other games on the market at the same price, I was very disappointed with this game.

Dave Reeder