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QIX
BY ATARI, INC.
Insert your 5200 game cartridge so the label faces you and reads
right-side-up. Be sure the cartridge is firmly seated in the center
of the console, but do not force it. Then press the POWER switch
on. See your Owner's Manual for further details.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Kick the Qix
2. Game Play
3. Using the 5200 Controllers
4. Game Variations
5. Scoring
6. Winning Strategy
7. Your Best Game Scores
1. KICK THE QIX
Who is QIX*, and what are his powers? How can he take land that
is not his? Where does QIX come from? Most important, how can
he be stopped?
He's an erratic eccentric who strikes like lightning. He travels
with patrolmen called Sparx*, who constantly guard the bordering
territories. QIX moves fast, spreading like an infectious disease.
His supernatural powers allow him to clone himself, thus doubling
his threat.
Your only defense is to trap QIX and claim your territory. You
must use your chromium electronic marker to partition the land,
segment by segment. You plan your strategy. You calmly start
plotting a path from border to border.
Then, when you least expect it, you encounter an additional threat
called the Fuse. It hides and waits until you stop moving. Then it
travels along your path, crackling all the way. If it catches you,
it ignites and destroys your marker. Once you start moving again,
it stops and anxiously awaits your next moment of hesitation.
Now you know what you are up against. You must be quick,
steady, and careful, to diligently reclaim the seized territory. You
cannot be greedy. Use intelligence to outsmart this devious
monster.
* Trademarks of Taito America Corporation
2. GAME PLAY
The object of the game is to use your marker to partition off
segments of the screen. While you are plotting these segments,
you must avoid QIX, Sparx, Super Sparx, and the dreaded Fuse.
To complete a screen, you must reach or exceed a threshold
percentage of that screen.
QIX roams erratically around the interior of the screen. Sparx
patrol the borders and the lines which you have drawn. If you
hesitate or draw yourself into a corner, you'll get zapped by the
Fuse, who also travels along the path you have drawn. If you run
into any of these foes, you lose a life.
You use a diamond-shaped marker to draw lines which are called
Stix. When you enclose a segment, these lines become your new
bordering territory. You control the marker with your joystick
and fire button by drawing fast or slow lines. An area claimed by
fast draw is filled in blue; an area claimed with slow draw fills in
brown. Note: Colors may vary on different television sets.
Strategy is a key element in this game. An important point to
remember is that you cannot destroy QIX, but you can outsmart it.
It is helpful to familiarize yourself with the elements of the game.
Read the following descriptions and refer to Figure 1.
[Screenshot with the Sparx, Stix, Time Line, Qix, Fuse, and
Marker labeled.]
Figure 1
QIX
Your main opponent in this game is QIX. QIX is a multicolored
whirling helix that dances around the screen. QIX can move
anywhere on unclaimed territory, to attack your Stix. If QIX
touches any part of an incomplete segment, you lose a life. Once
the segment is completed and filled in, it is safe.
After you complete the first screen, a second screen appears with
an intelligent QIX that chases you more closely. After you complete
the second screen, the third screen provides a further challenge
with two QIX. To complete this screen, you must either reach or
exceed the threshold, or split the two QIX. Luckily, neither of
these two QIX is intelligent. But, from the fourth screen on, you're
up against two intelligent QIX.
SPARX
Two red and yellow Sparx appear at the beginning of the SKILLED
game variation, each traveling opposite directions from the top of
the screen. The right Sparx and the left Sparx each have their
own unique characteristics. Eventually they become Super Sparx,
which venture onto the Stix that you've drawn, in the order that
you drew them. If a Sparx touches you, you lose a life, but a
Sparx cannot be destroyed.
TIME LINE
A red Time Line is located at the top of the screen. As time
passes, it decreases in length with different time settings for each
game variation. When it runs out of time, a new Time Line and two
new Sparx appear at the top of the screen. The maximum number
of Sparx is four. If the Time Line runs out again, a signal sounds,
and the Sparx become blue and yellow Super Sparx. Super Sparx
are more vicious and travel faster than regular Sparx. They home
in on your marker, making a beeline for your Stix with the intent
to destroy.
FUSE
Once you have drawn segments off of the screen border, you can't
return to that section of the border, nor can you stop drawing.
As soon as you stop, a Fuse appears where your Stix began. The
Fuse crackles as it moves toward your marker. If the fuse reaches
your marker, you lose a life. To stop the fuse in its tracks, press
the fire button and start drawing again. If you stop again, the
fuse reignites where it last stopped.
STIX
To draw Stix, use your marker which is located at the bottom of
the screen. You can draw any combination of lines. Once a
segment is partitioned off, you score points and the area claimed is
yours.
3. USING THE 5200 CONTROLLERS
Use your 5200 controllers with this ATARI game cartridge. Be sure
to plug the controller cables firmly into the jacks at the front of
the 5200 console. Plug the controller into jack 1 for one-player
games. Use jacks 1 and 2 for two-player games.
[Photo of a 5200 controller.]
Figure 2 - 5200 Controller
KEYPAD OVERLAYS
For your convenience, two keypad overlays are included with this
game. Slip the tabs into the slots above and below the keypad on
your controller (see Figure 3).
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-------- -------- --------
-------- -------- --------
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-------- -------- --------
-------- -------- --------
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-------- -------- --------
GAME LEVEL 1-2 PLAYER
-------- -------- --------
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Figure 3 - Keypad Overlay
When not in use, your keypad overlays can be stored on the back
of your game cartridge. Simply slip the tabs into the slots that
are provided on the cartridge.
PLAYER SELECTION
After you insert the QIX cartridge and turn the console POWER on,
the program automatically plays QIX. Use this opportunity to watch
how the game is played.
When you are ready to begin playing, press RESET and a game
selection screen appears.
Press the right # key to choose a one or two-player game (on your
overlay the square marked 1-2 PLAYER). The screen displays the
message--PLAYERS: l or PLAYERS: 2. (See Figure 4.)
GAME LEVEL SELECTION
Press the left * key to select your desired game variation (on your
overlay the square marked GAME LEVEL). The message LEVEL:
NOVICE, SKILLED, ADVANCED, or EXPERT is displayed on the screen
(see Figure 4). Refer to Section 4, GAME VARIATIONS, for more
information about each level.
[Screenshot of the starting menu.]
Figure 4
START
Press START when you're ready to begin playing. If you press
START before selecting a game level or number of players, the
program automatically sets to a one-player game at the SKILLED
level. When a game ends, press START to begin the same game
variation again.
PAUSE
Press PAUSE to suspend the game in progress. All action instantly
freezes. Press PAUSE again to continue game play.
RESET
During game play, press PAUSE and then RESET to reset the game
back to the selection screen (see Figure 4).
CONTROLLER ACTION
Use the joystick to move your marker around the screen border.
Press the fire button while moving the joystick up, down, left, or
right to move your marker off the border. Press the top fire
button to draw slow; press the lower fire button to draw fast. The
slow draw scores double points. Changing fire buttons before
completing a segment scores the same points as fast draw. (See
Section 5, SCORING.)
4. GAME VARIATIONS
NOVICE: This is an easy game for beginners. The QIX dances
slowly around the screen without really chasing you. The Sparx,
Fuse, and Time Line do not appear. The game threshold
(percentage of territory claimed in order to clear the screen) is
50%.
SKILLED: In this variation QIX moves at medium speed, but still
lacks the intelligence to chase you. Sparx, Fuse, and a slow Time
Line appear, but there are no Super Sparx. The game threshold is
65%.
ADVANCED: This game variation is the same difficulty level as the
original arcade version. The Sparx, Fuse, Super Sparx, and a
medium-speed Time Line appear. The QIX is fast and somewhat
intelligent. The game threshold is 75%.
EXPERT: This is the game for all of you expert QIX players. The
Sparx, Fuse, Super Sparx, and a fast Time Line all appear. The
QIX is fast and intelligent. The game threshold is 85%.
All game variations begin with one QIX on the first and second
screens and are followed by two QIX on each screen thereafter.
When a game ends, the message GAME OVER appears on the screen
as shown in Figure 5.
[Screenshot with the GAME OVER message displayed. Like you'd
really need to consult the manual to figure out what this means.
Sheesh.]
Figure 5
5. SCORING
SCORES
Scores appear in the upper right corner of the screen. In
two-player games, the first player's score (player 1) appears above
the second player's score (player 2). The game threshold and the
percentage you've captured are displayed at the upper left side of
the screen. The game threshold appears above the percentage of
territory that you have captured. (See Figure 6.)
Points are scored for the color-filled portion of the segment. You
do not score points for the areas covered by Stix. For example, if
you capture 50% of the territory, your score could be 4971.
Bonus points are scored when the percentage of territory captured
exceeds the game threshold. Additional bonus points are scored
after two QIX are split.
POINTS
Fast Draw = 100 X % of Territory Captured
Slow Draw = 200 X % of Territory Captured
Bonus Points = 1000 X % Points Over Game Threshold
SPLIT QIX BONUS
First Time Qix are Split = 2 X All Points
Second Time Qix are Split = 3 X All Points
Third Time Qix are Split = 4 X All Points, and so on.
LIVES
Each game begins with five lives which are indicated by five brown
dots displayed to the right of the score. The white dot indicates
which life you are using. A game ends when each player loses all
five lives. (See Figure 6.)
[Screenshot with the Threshold %, Captured Territory %, Lives,
and Scores labeled.]
Figure 6
[Screenshot of the bonus-award screen between rounds.]
Figure 7 (never referenced in the text of the manual)
[Screenshot with the player about to split the Qix.]
Figure 8 (never referenced in the text of the manual)
6. WINNING STRATEGY
Strategy and patience are the keys to winning at QIX. A good rule
of thumb: Use fast draw to set up a pattern; use slow draw to
complete the pattern. Slow draw scores twice the point value as
fast draw.
Another theory: Never draw yourself into a corner. Always avoid
drawing a spiral, or you'll wind up in a spiral deathtrap. You
cannot go in reverse, so you will have to stop and wait for the
fuse to zap you. See Figure 9 for an example of a spiral
deathtrap.
[Screenshot demonstrating the Spiral Deathtrap.]
Figure 9 - Spiral Deathtrap
Listed below are several different strategies to help you win at Qix.
TREE-BRANCH STRATEGY
1. Carefully erect a trunk up the center of the screen. It may
take six or seven moves.
2. Draw as many branches as you can from the trunk of the tree
and from the sides of the screen. Your primary aim is to leave
small spaces that are big enough for QIX to enter, but small
enough to seal off quickly.
3. When QIX enters one of these spaces, move toward it and use a
slow draw to seal off the space. Thus, you trap QIX and
capture the majority of the screen. (See Figure 10.)
Figure 10 - Tree-Branch Strategy
TRIPLE-ARENA STRATEGY
1. Use the fast draw to build two columns, one from the top, and
one from the bottom. This splits the screen into three vertical
rectangles.
2. QIX can move into only one of these areas. Using slow draw,
begin blocking off the area that QIX is not in.
3. When only one rectangle remains, move toward QIX and block it
into a small space. (See Figure 11.)
Figure 11 - Triple-Arena Strategy
QUADRANT STRATEGY
Use the same method of dividing the screen as in the Triple-Arena
Strategy, but divide the screen into four parts. (See Figure 12.)
Figure 12 - Quadrant Strategy
TWIN QIX STRATEGY
1. Start at the bottom of the screen, and build horizontal columns.
Try to force both QIX to the top of the screen.
2. Use the slow draw to claim the bottom portion of the screen as
you continue up.
3. After you capture about 1% less than the game threshold, split
the QIX with a fast draw up the center of the screen. Thus,
you split the two QIX and can claim most of the screen for a
high score. (See Figure 13.)
Figure 13 - Twin Qix Strategy
7. YOUR BEST GAME SCORES
Name: Date: Threshold: Score:
______________ _______ _________ _________
______________ _______ _________ _________
______________ _______ _________ _________
______________ _______ _________ _________
[etc.]
END
Typed by Jay Tilton
for Atari Gaming Headquarters
Used with permission from Atari Gaming Headquarters
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