Introduction

No room for a pool table? Then play Microdeal Eight Ball from the comfort of your armchair. Line up your cue, decide what strength shot you need and exactly where you want to hit the cue ball. Superb full-colour graphics with realistic sound effects. Two player game, with option to change turn of play. Choice of three colour screens. Machine code. Cassette. Joysticks required.

Rules of Play

If no balls are sunk (go into a pocket) on the initial break, play will switch over to the next player. Once a ball is sunk, the computer will identify this player with the LOW (solid colour balls) and the other player as HIGH (striped balls). During play, a bar under the words HIGH or LOW at the top of the screen will indicate which player's turn it is to shoot. The object of the game then is to aim at your own balls with the cue-ball to make them go into the pockets. The computer controls play as follows:

1. A player loses his turn if he fails to sink a ball of any colour (solid or striped) during the initial break of the racked balls 2. A player loses his turn if he fails to sink a ball of his own colour 3. A player loses his turn and one of his balls is returned to the table if he 'scratches' i.e. the cue-ball goes into the pocket 4. The current player automatically loses the game if he sinks the eight-ball (the lighter solid-coloured ball) before sinking all his own balls. 5. The current player automatically loses the game if he 'scratches' while attempting to sink the eight-ball after sinking all his own balls. 6. A player wins the game if he sinks his own balls and then sinks the eight-ball before his opponent.

Placing the Cue Ball

For the initial break and shots following a 'scratch', the cue-ball is placed by using the appropriate joystick. The ball is then placed down by pressing the Fire button.

Selecting Angle of Shot

The solid line radiating from the cue ball represents the position of the cue-stick. The broken flashing line is the projected path of the cue-ball if it is struck at the angle indicated. This is provided to assist aiming since a player can't sight along the cue-stick. Once the angle is selected, press Fire to lock the angle.

Setting Shot and Power of Shot

Once the angle is locked in, a cue-ball will be displayed at the top of the screen together with a power-bar indicator. The ball is used to put spin on the cue-ball by positioning the 'dot' at the desired point on the ball. (Bottom for Reverse or Draw, Top for forward or overspin, Left Side for left spin and Right Side for right spin). This spin is transferred to the balls which the cue-ball strikes, as well as the bounce the cue-ball makes after striking the ball.

After the 'spin' has been selected, hold the fire button down to select the desired striking force, as indicated on the Power Bar alongside the ball at the top of the screen. Only when the desired striking force is reached should the player release the fire button, as this will send the cue-ball on its way.

Note: In some isntrnaces, while holding the fire button down to obtain the additional striking force on the cue-stick, the cue-ball will be struck before this is reached. This is a random selection, designed to simulate the player mis-hitting the ball.

Screen Colour

On starting a game, you will be requested to choose which colour screen you wish to play on. Press: 1 - Black, 2 - Buff, 3 - Green

After the music has finished playing on the title page, the playing screen will appear.

Game Controls

The game is played using a Joystick *and* the Keyboard.

Joystick

All directional moves as appropriate.

Keyboard

SPACE - Skip turn, allowing play by a single player. V - Activate the projected path viewer line (equivalent to looking down the cue) R - Stops the current game, 'racks' the balls and starts a new game. ENTER - Starts a new game after completion of a game. BREAK - Restart any one shot. Allows a new selection of shot angle and ball position. A new ball position is only allowed following a 'scratch' (cue-ball going into a pocket)