Gameplay

Scott Robinson and his skateboard are controlled via the following Joystick or Keyboard options:

1. Keyboard control
2. New Keys from Default Values
3. Sinclair Joystick Control
4. View High Score Table
5. Start Game

Pressing FIRE starts the Neighbours computer game.

The Robinson's Garage/Selection Screen

This is the main selection screen covering all of the actions in the races ahead.

Use this screen to pick the characters that you wish to challenge to a race, the additional obstacles that you will come across on the tracks, and the type of skateboard that you wish to compete on.

The Race Challengers

The following Neighbours characters, past and present, can be challenged to appear as race opposition.

1. Charlene Ramsey
   Charlene borrows a Go-Kart from Jim Robinson's garage, tunes it up, and is raring to go!
2. Henry Ramsey
   Landscape Gardener extraordinaire, Henry takes to the track in his Tractor Lawnmower.
3. Mike Young
   Still studying hard as a student, Mike races on a skateboard against his best pal from his school days at Erinsborough High.
4. Matt Robinson
   Matt has borrowed Mike's motorbike to give him a race advantage.

The number of contestants are selected in the above order by pressing keys 1-4.

The Skateboards

There are two skateboards available to race on. Pressing keys indicates your chosen racing board.

1. NORMAL handling and speed
2. FAST handling and speed

Trial and error will enable you to select the skateboard that suits your own racing style.

Special Obstacles

Extra obstacles can be selected to make the game more challenging. The more objects revealed, the more obstacles appear on the race track.

1. Des Clarke's Car
   Des is late for work at the Bank, and will tend to pull out without looking where he is going
2. Radio-Controlled Car
   Todd Landers has just received a new RC car for his birthday from Jim and Beverly. He is just getting to grips with the controls, so the car can cause havoc everywhere!
3. Kangaroo
   Erinsborough Wildlife Park has accidentally let one of its kangaroos escape. The animal passes through the Neighbours locations on his way to the Outback.

Press keys 1-3 to select the additional obstacles which appear in the racing screens.

Remember that the special obstacles not only cause havoc for Scott, but also for all of the other race opponents.

Race Locations

There are eight individual races that make up the Neighbours Challenge. These races take place over the following locations, under the guidance of Harold Bishop:

1. RAMSAY STREET
2. LASSITER'S COMPLEX
3. ERINSBOROUGH HIGH
4. ANSON'S CORNER

There are two races at each location, with two lap races on each track.

Each race scenario has its own particular layout and design, as well as obstacles relevant to that Neighbours location.

Popularity Meter

At the bottom of the racing screen, Scott Robinson's Popularity Meter is displayed as a large Neighbours logo. During the race, this will increase and decrease as the viewing audience judges Scott's performance in the race.

Colliding with popular characters will reduce your popularity, whereas picking up pieces of rubbish will increase your ratings in the eyes of the audience. Bonuses are awarded at the end of every race based upon Scott's current Popularity Rating.

If Popularity drops to zero during the course of a race, Scott is automatically dropped from the series and the game ends.

The aim of the game is therefore to keep Scott's popularity high, whilst at the same time arriving in the highest possible scoring position in the race.

Your current position is indicated on the map of Australia, with Scott's score and laps completed shown on the opposite side of the screen.

Racing

All players line up at the starting line at the beginning of the race. The starting pistol cracks into life, and the game begins.

As you race around the track, avoiding obstacles as well as other contestants, you must pass through the gates set up by Harold Bishop to mark out the agreed course. If you do not pass through all of the gates, you do not advance your score and you cannot win the race.

The television sets on the left hand side of the screen register the positions of the first three characters across the line.