Everybody's favourite 'Mr. Dig' must dig for hidden food supplies in the 'Meanies' territory below ground. As he digs, he can eat cherries or crush the Meanies with apples. Special treats earn Mr. Dig extra points and a Magic Power Orb can kill the Meanies. Colour graphics. Machine Code. One joystick required.

You are in control of Mr. Dig! Use the right joystick to control his movements.

On the screen are a number of objects that you need to know about. The first is Mr. Dig. He starts out near the bottom of the screen. There are a number of groves of cherries that Mr. Dig is trying to pick.

To pick a cherry, just move Mr. Dig over the top of it. There are also a few apples located randomly on the screen. You can use these to squash anything in its path.

Finally, you will notice the Meanies chasing Mr. Dig around the screen. If a Meanies touches Mr. Dig, he is dead. You have three ways of avoiding the Meanies.

1. Run away
2. Press the Fire button on the right joystick to throw your Power Orb at the nearest one (Be careful though - it takes a few moments to recover the Power Orb once you have thrown it!)
3. Drop an apple on their heads. This will squash any Meanies caught below the falling apple. To drop an apple, either dig the ground out from under it or push it (left or right only!) until it falls down a vertical tunnel. (It won't fall until you back away from it.)

Once all the Meanies have left the centre of the screen, you will see a treat there. If you can grab it, all the Meanies will freeze. Then, three Mallers will appear along with the Letter Monster. To get the most points, hit the Letter Monster with your Power Orb before eliminating any of the Mallers.

By hitting the Letter Monster with the Power Orb or an apple, you will light the letter on its chest. If you can light all the letters in the word EXTRA, you will receive an extra Mr. Dig.

The more Meanies you squash with a single apple, the more points you get. The first squashed Meanie is worth 1,000 points. Every one after that is worth 2,000 points.

Once in a while, an apple will split open after falling and reveal a sparkling diamond. If you can grab it, you will be rewarded with 10,000 points and be moved to the next screen.

If you can pick all eight cherries in a grove without stopping, you will be rewarded with a 500 point bonus.

The Meanies normally cannot dig their own tunnels. However, they are known to get frustrated and mutate into miners. The miners can dig tunnels so watch out!

There are a lot of interesting little things that can happen during the game. You will just have to play a few times to get used to them. There are a large variety of strategies that can be used while playing Mr. Dig. This is truly one game where you can improve your score through practice. We suggest that you plot out several different approaches (concentrating on cherries or the letters) and try them to see which yields you the highest score.

Good luck!

CLOADM (ENTER)

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