Activision(tm) KABOOM!(tm) Instructions Prepare yourself for a supreme test of reflexes, coordination, and agility. You're about to face the world's most unpredictable and relentless "Mad Bomber." He hates losing as much as you love winning. So, to keep him frowning, take a minute to read over these instructions. Then, grab your buckets and bomb away! ACTIVISION(tm) --- KABOOM!(tm) BASICS ------------------ 1. Hook up your video game system. Follow manufacturer's instructions. 2. With power OFF, plug in game cartridge. 3. Turn power ON. If no picture appears, check connection of your game. 4. Plug one set of Paddle Controllers into left player controller connector. Select game with game select switch. 5. Select game with game select switch. Game 1: You vs. the "Mad Bomber." Game 2: You and a friend, taking turns vs. the "Mad Bomber." 6. Set difficulty switches at b(down) to begin. 7. Use of Paddle Controller. Hold Paddle Controller with button at upper left. By turning your Paddle Controller clockwise, you move your buckets of water to the right. Turning the Controller counterclockwise moves buckets to the left. 8. To begin or start a new game. Press game reset. Then, press the red button on the Controller to start bombs dropping. 9. Difficulty switches. With the difficulty switches in the b(down) position, buckets are full size. With switches in the a(top) position, buckets are half size(only advanced players should attempt this setting). The left difficulty switch is used by the first player, the right switch by the second player(Game 2 only). 10. Scoring. Each time you catch a bomb in one of your buckets of water, you score points. The point value of each bomb depends on how fast that bomb is falling and which group that bomb is in. There are 8 separate groups of bombs, as shown by the following chart. KABOOM! POINT SYSTEM # of Bomb # of Bombs Point Value Point Value Cumulative Score Group in Group of Each Bmb of Group ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 10 1 10 10 2 20 2 40 50 3 30 3 90 140 4 40 4 160 300 5 50 5 250 550 6 75 6 450 1000 7 100 7 700 1700 8 150 8 1200 2900 Bomb Group 8 is the highest level. Once you reach this level, all bombs that follow will fall at the same rate of speed and are worth the same points as bombs in Group 8(unless you miss a bomb--see the next page). 11. When you miss a bomb, all bombs explode and you lose a bucket. Lose all three buckets and the game is over. To start over after a miss, press the red button on your Controller(see "Special Features"). The object of the game is to catch as many bombs as you can and get as close as possible to the 999,999 maximum points. 12. Two Player Games. Game 2 is for two players, who take turns against the "Mad Bomber." The score for the first player will be in yellow, and, for the second player, in red. Players alternate turns until both have lost all buckets. The player with the highest score at the game's end is the winner. Note to owners of Sears Tele-Game Video Arcade system: Difficulty switches are called skill left(or right) and a(up) is expert and b(down) is novice. SPECIAL FEATURES OF KABOOM!(tm) BY ACTIVISION(tm) THE "MAD BOMBER" GETS ONE BY YOU Sooner or later, it's going to happen. You'll miss a bomb. When you do, all bombs on the screen explode, you lose a bucket, and the "Mad Bomber" expresses his happiness. Then, depending on which bomb group you're in when you miss, the level of difficulty of the next bombs dropped is affected as follows. There is NO change in difficulty when you miss at Bomb Group 1; your next bombs will still be in Group 1. If you're in Bomb Group 2 or above when you miss, you will re-start play at a level one group LOWER than where you were playing when you missed. But, you'll only need to catch one-half the number of bombs normally in that level before making it back to the level at which you missed. Here's an example: You miss a bomb in Group 4, so you re-start play in Group 3. But you only need to catch 15 bombs(half the normal amount for Group 3) to regain the Group 4 level. Refer to the Point System chart. REPLACING LOST BUCKETS For every 1000 points you score, you will be given a new bucket(if one or two are missing). However, you may never have more than three buckets, and no additional buckets are awareded if you reach another 1000 points with no buckets missing. GETTING THE FEEL OF KABOOM!(tm) BY ACTIVISION(tm) There's a method to this madness! And, the more you play, the more you'll see it. Bombs fall a certain way. But DON'T try to aim and line-up your buckets under each bomb. Instead, try to get the feeling for the bomb patterns that develop. After a while, you'll be able to anticipate where bombs will fall. That's when you can get the jump on the "Mad Bomber." JOIN THE ACTIVISION "BUCKET BRIGADE" If you succeed in scoring 3000 or more points at Kaboom!, send us a picture of the television screen, along with your name and address, and we will enroll you in the Activision "Bucket Brigade" and send you a special membership emblem. If you ever reach the maximum 999,999 points, please send us a photo! Such a remarkable achievement must be recognized. HOW TO BECOME A MASTER AT KABOOM!(tm) BY ACTIVISION(tm) Tips from Larry Kaplan, designer of Kaboom! Larry Kaplan is also the designer of Bridge by ACTIVISION. A senior member of the Activision Design Team, Larry is a well-known expert in the field of video game design. "To do well at Kaboom!, you'll need all the reflexes, endurance, and concentration you can muster. Don't be frustrated if things don't go well at first. It takes a fair amount of practice, especially to catch the bombs at higher speeds. "You'll notice that you'll be improving in stages. The first plateau is the 1000 point mark. Mastery at Bomb Groups 5 and 6 is necessary to do well here. Conquering Bomb Group 7 will place you at the 2000 point level. As you develop the stamina and concentration needed to progress, you'll conquer Bomb Group 8. From then on, it's a matter of fine-tuning your skills and extending your endurance to improve your score. "If you hit the 10,000 point level, that really impresses the "Mad Bomber," and he'll show his appreciation. Watch for it. "Here's one special trick we have discovered to help build up your score while maintaining some control of the game. If you have all 3 buckets and you're just about to cross a 1000 point level(1000, 2000, 3000, etc.), miss one of the bombs on purpose! You will lose your bottom bucket, but you will start over at the next lower difficulty level. And that'll give you a few bombs to catch at a slower speed. Then, after you've gone over the 1000 point level, you will get your bucket back anyway, so you haven't lost a thing. Since you will be plahing for a while at a slower speed, it gives you a breather, but keeps you in the game. "If you really become good at Kaboom!, try it with the difficulty switches set at a(up). Since the buckets are only half the regular size, you'll really have to be quick. "Please take time out from your bomb chasing to drop me a line. It would be great to hear from you." Larry Kaplan Look for more Activision video games wherever you buy video game cartridges. Drop us a note and we'll galdly add your name to our mailing list and keep you posted on new Activision game cartridges as they become available. Activision, Inc.. 3255-2 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95051 (C)1981 Activision -------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------