Thunder Castle strategies

BydoEmpire · September 29, 2010

I just started getting into this game, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to beat the second maze. The red wizards are pretty fast, and that darn mouse is tricky. I'm really enjoying this game, but I'm wondering if anyone has some good strategies for the game in general? Seems like I need to get lucky and get the grail, then activate when I have a wizard cornered.

Also, it seems like you can only carry the most recent magic item. Is this the case, or is there a way to use multiple items? That'd make it a lot easier.

Thanks for any help - I'm loving this game, but I have the feeling I'm missing something (I have it loose, and I googled around for instructions but couldn't find any).

jaybird3rd · September 29, 2010

I posted some tips a while back that you might find useful:

Thunder Castle is a great game, but I think the castle maze in particular could have used a little more tuning. I would have enjoyed it a bit more if the wizards ran away from you more slowly than their usual speed. The tough part isn't getting energized (since you can always follow the mouse), but killing the wizards after you become energized: if the circumstances aren't set up exactly right, you end up chasing after the wizards without catching them, and this gets tiresome if it happens too often.

I agree that the "trick" is to use the magic objects as efficiently as possible. Avoid the temptation to chase the mouse around the screen; instead, concentrate on getting the two spells most useful for killing the wizards. The grail energizes you, and the crown freezes the wizards, so these are the two you want the most. As long as you have one of them, skip all the others except the coins and the candles (which give you points and lives, respectively). Try to stay near the center of the screen as much as possible, so the spells are always within reach when they appear. If you get a grail, lure the wizards into traps (dead-ends or behind closed gates) and use the grail spell to kill them off, or even better, lure them into the halls in the upper-right corner of the maze where new wizards appear: even during the brief period of time you remain energized, you can sometimes kill off several wizards this way as soon as they appear on the screen. If you get a crown, stay close to the mouse and wait until the wizards come within striking distance; then, touch the mouse, use the crown spell, and kill the wizards while they're frozen.

The dungeon maze is my favorite: the vanishing skulls add an extra element of randomness to the gameplay, and the demons seem to be a bit easier to catch.

And yes, you can only hold one magic item at a time. I've attached a scan of the instructions. They're also available on the Intellivision Lives! website, but the "Software" section of the site seems to be down at the moment:

IM_Thunder_Castle.pdf