AtariAge Logo 2600
  Have You Played Atari Today? 2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  
Title:

System:

Region:

Piece o' Cake - U.S. Games - Atari 2600    Manual Scan icon HTML Manual   

Piece O Cake
U.S. Games
VC2005

PIECE O' CAKE

U.S. Games Corporation
A Subsidiary of The Quaker Oats Company
1515 Wyatt Drive
Santa Clara, California 95054

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Piece O' Cake

  Piece O' Cake is a single player, full color game designed to be played 
on the Atari Video Computer System or the Sears Video Arcade.
  Piece Of Cake?--no way!!  So you thought your first day on the job was 
going to be easy?  Well, you not only have to learn the fine art of 
baking cakes, but you also have to master it in a big hurry.  This is a 
production operation, and business is booming!  It's actually a very 
simple job--at first.  You simply take a freshly baked cake from the oven 
and drop it on a platter which is moving on a conveyor belt.  Top that 
with a cherry, and you will be rewarded for your artistic endeavors.  You 
must stack them correctly however, or--splat!!  As your skill progresses, 
so does the conveyor speed, so keep cool, and try not to earn the dubious 
title of "butterfingers."  Being a top notch bakery chef requires 
adeptness and a calm temperament, so if you can't stand the heat, get out 
of the kitchen!

(screen shot labeling the Oven, Baker, Cherries, Cake, Conveyor Belt, and 
Cake Platter)


SET-UP INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Connect the Atari Video Computer System or Sears Video Arcade 
    following the manufacturer's instructions.

2.  Install the left paddle controller.

3.  Insert the cartridge--making certain that the power is OFF.

4.  Move the POWER switch to ON.

5.  Select the game of your choice.

6.  Press the red fire button on the paddle controller to start the game.

7.  Push RESET switch at any time to start a new game.  

8.  After the game is over, a new game may be started by pressing the red 
    fire button on the paddle controller.

9.  Difficulty switches:
      Position A = Additional speed increases as player skill increases.
      Position B = Normal speed increases as player succeeds in 
                   completing cakes.


CONTROLS:  

- Use the paddle controller, rotating paddle left or right to move the baker.

- Move the baker to the extreme left to automatically pick up a cake from 
  the oven.

- Push the red "fire" button to drop a cake.

- Move the baker to the extreme right to recycle a cake, and return to 
  the oven for another piece to drop.

- Move the baker to the cherry platter (right side of screen), and 
  depress the fire button to pick up a cherry.  Depress the fire button 
  again to release the cherry.


GAME VARIATIONS:

The seven game variations can be chosen with the game select switch.  The 
higher the game number, the faster the game play, and the higher the 
bonuses.  In each game variation, the speed of play increases as the 
player demonstrates his ability to get completed platters across the 
conveyor belt chute.


SCORING:

Dropping a cake layer on the moving platter, or on top of another cake 
layer, scores 10 points.  

  Each successfully completed cake that crosses the chute scores 100 
points, or more, depending on the game level played.  A successfully 
completed cake consists of stacking any number of layers in order of size 
starting from the bottom (largest) to the top (smaller).  The cake must 
then be completed with a cherry on top.  Even a cherry alone on a platter 
is considered complete.  However, a correctly stacked cake with no cherry 
will be rejected.  A perfect cake, which consists of three correctly 
stacked layers with a cherry on top, earns the player bonus points 
depending on the game level played.
  The following is an example of how bonuses are awarded:

Game 1
_____________________________________________________________________
    Cakes Completed          Correct Cake          Perfect Cake 
_____________________________________________________________________    
       First 2                    100                   200
       Next 3                     500                  1000
       Next 3                    2000                  4000
       Next 3                    3000                  6000   
       Next 3                    4000                  8000  

The higher the game number, the more bonus points awarded at each step of 
the game.

NOTE: The three horizontal lines appearing just below the score, at the 
beginning of the game, indicate your baking merits.  These allow you to 
make some mistakes during play.  If you incorrectly stack a cake, or 
don't complete it, you will lose a merit.  When you lose all three 
merits, the game is over.


PLAYING HINTS:

- Early in the game try to stack perfect cakes (three successive layers 
  topped with a cherry).  You have more time since the conveyor is moving 
  slowly, and a perfect cake gives you maximum points.

- As the game progresses and speed increases, you have to be less 
  concerned about perfect cakes and more concerned about completing a 
  platter.  At all costs, place a cherry on each--even if you have no 
  cake layers.  Otherwise, splat! crash!

- If you get too anxious in the heat of the game and "mess up," you lose 
  your chef's license, and it's back to cleaning floors.


Look for more U.S. Games video games wherever you buy game cartridges.  
Drop us a note and we'll be glad to add your name to our mailing list and 
keep you posted on new game cartridges when they become available.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage, �1997-1998 by Greg Chance