Emlyn Hughes Arcade Quiz

There's fun for all the family in this quiz game designed specially for the home computer - there are ten challenging levels, each with coins and fruit for you to collect. Whenever you land on a block, with a ? symbol you'll have to answer a question correctly before you can continue. To complete a level, you must get to the "WIN" bar on the right hand side of the screen. Easy? Well, it would be if the track didn't scroll every few seconds - you must keep moving, or you'll end up on the LOSE bar. There are over 1,000 questions in six categories - Pop & Rock, Sport, Entertainment, Arts & Literature, People & Places and Trivia. Each topic is colour-coded to help you avoid the subject that you really hate!

How To Play

You begin the game on level 1 - there are ten levels in all. Each level comprises a zig-zag pathway with questions to answer, coins to collect, fruit to pick up, and numerous special blocks - some will help you, but others will only frustrate you! "Kickers" throw you off in a random direction, "B*lockers" get in your way - and watch out for the "Inverter"! When Emlyn's thumb points down, you must get questions wrong, instead of right, until the thumb goes back up again.

Don't miss the "Clockstoppers" - they'll stop the track moving for a few precious seconds. "Blasters" blow up all the questions nearby - it's a lot easier than answering them - and "Bonus" squares allow you to play a sudden death bonus game against the clock. "Zappers" give you special powers that allow you to play a sudden death bonus game against the clock. "Zappers" give you special powers that allow you - for a while - to move freely over unanswered questions blasting them as you go. "Superzappers" are the ultimate: they blow up just about everything and stop the track scrolling.

You can spend as long as you like working out the answer to each question - but beware, every few seconds the pathway moves towards the LOSE bar. Land on the WIN bar and you get to play the "Cash Game", which allows you to put the coins you have collected in the "Bank" - but land on the LOSE bar, and the game is over. You'll keep any money that is in the "Bank" - that's your score - but the money you've collected on that level will be lost.

The Cash Game

On each level there are 10p, 20p, 50p and £1 coins to collect, though the higher value coins are mainly on higher levels. Each coin you pick up adds to the "Cash" meter, but it's not yours until you put it in the "Bank". When you complete a level by reaching the WIN bar then, provided you have collected some coins on that level you enter the "Cash Game" where each question that you answer correctly wins a coin. When the "Cash Game" is over, you've got a difficult decision. Stop while you're ahead, or play on? If you decide to play on, you must pay the entry fee to the next level - complete it and the fee will be returned, but if you fail, it's lost forever!

The Fruit Machine

Fruit that you collect appears in the right hand slot of the fruit machine display. Any fruit already in the display moves across to the left. If the fruit you collect completes a winning combination then the winnings go into the "Bank". Win 10p with a Cherry in first position, or 20p with any two fruit the same in the first two positions. Three Cherries wins 30p, three Lemons 40p, three Oranges 50p and three Melons £1. Collect three Gems and you'll win from £1 (on level 1) up to £10 (on level 10)!

Invisible Blocks

Scattered amongst the ten levels, there are "invisible" blocks - most levels have at least one. You can't move onto an invisible block unless it is revealed by assembling a secret combination in the fruit machine. These combinations only work on the current level (collecting a combination on level 5 won't reveal an invisible block on level 6). By revealing invisible blocks you will be able to collect extra coins and fruit - but there are some coins which are totally inaccessible.

Hints And Tips

1. Learn the layout of the tracks, so that you don't go down blind alleys.
2. Picking up low value coins makes it more difficult to win high value coins in the Cash Game.
3. Experiment until you discover the secret combinations that reveal invisible blocks.

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, : - Up, ? - Down, RETURN - Enter Answers

Loading

Tape: CHAIN"" (RETURN)
Disk: SHIFT-BREAK

The questions are divided into six files on the second side of the cassette. Question set 6 is also built into the program, but you can choose to load a different set if you wish. When most of the questions in the current set have been used the program will try to load a new question set. Wind the tape backwards or forwards until the correct set is located.