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Space Invaders, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe,
Defender, Stargate, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man,
Donkey-Kong, Frogger, Dig-dug
These names mean nothing to some people
To others they mean 30 seconds of frustration
and an "End of Game” sign But to millions of
others they mean a kind of euphoria.
Video games can be found just about
everywhere; stores, restaurants, bars A few
quarters wasted on a defective game in a poorly
lit arcade can make most people wonder what all
the fuss is about.
In the Eugene-Springfield area there are five
video arcades offering machines that work well,
subdued lighting, air conditioning and music.
Each arcade has a different system of
payment, ranging from quarters and tokens, to
fees based on the length of playing time
"For the beginner paying for time is best"
says Bill Darland, owner of Take 5 video centers
."But an expert should stick to the quarter ma
chines "
Choice of the game to play can present quite
a problem. There are battle games and chase
games from which to choose ,
"The reason video games are so popular now
is that they're less threatening,” writes Michael
Planchet, in his book "How to Beat the Video
Games ”
Several books on how to play the video
games have appeared in recent months Two of
the best are "How to Master Video Games" and
"The Winners Book of Video Games.”
Most beginners will want to start with a simple
game
"The reasons a lot of people like Pac-Man
and Donkey-Kong," says Chris Williams, an em
ployee at Charlies, "is that they’re simple, and
people like the characters.”
The main idea, though, is to find a game you
like
Here are some of the more popular ones
ASTEROIDS
Description: You control a spaceship with a
thrust button, two directional controls and a fire
button. Asteroids appear on the screen and you
must destroy them Points are awarded for the
asteroids and spaceships that appear as the
game goes on The hyperspace button will move
your ship to a new position on the screen, but use
it sparingly Sometimes you explode
Game strategy "The game has a certain
amount of simplicity and challenge matched by
no other game," Craig Kubey writes in "The
Winners Book of Video Games." Learn how to use
the thrust button well This enables you to dodge
both asteroids and bullets Destroy the four
asteroids in the first screen, then all but one slow
moving asteroid in the second screen Position
the ship in one corner of the screen and as the
little saucers appear, zip across the screen and
blast them as you go by. Extra ships are awarded
every 10,000 points.
QALAXIANS
Description: Your ship is positioned at the
bottom of the screen and there is an attacking
fleet above you There are directional controls
and a fire button Only one shot can be on the
screen at a time
Game strategy At ever increasing numbers
the fleet will break away and dive, firing bombs a»
they come The best method is to strafe the
formation before they begin their bombing runs If
they miss with their bombs, they will continue past
and reassume their position in the formation
Sometimes three ships drop together, and if you
hit ail three you receive 800 points When there
are only three or four ships remaining fror., the
original formation they will stop their straight runs
and start hovering and weaving above you. The
best trick is to try and destroy them as fast as
possible
FROGGER
Description: You control a frog with a
directional lever Push the lever the way you want
the frog to go You must cross three lanes of a
freeway and a river to dock your frog Points are
awarded for docking
Game strategy: "This game is cute and sim
ple enough to appeal to people who don’t play
videogames,” Kubey says When the game starts,
the cars, logs, and turtles move slowly. This is the
best time to get extra points by capturing the
female frog This is done by landing on the same
log she is on Avoid the line of turtles — some sink
The frog doesn’t swim As the game goes on the
cars move faster and snakes and alligators ap
pear The frog may ride on the alligator, but the
snakes will eat him
PAC-MAN
Description: You control a little yellow ball
with a voracious appetite The only control is a
directional lever Points are awarded for eating
the little dots, monsters and fruit.
Game strategy: Said one player, “I don’t play
video games very often, and the thing I like about
Pac-Man is that even if I don’t play well I get some
time for my quarter." The machine follows definite
patterns. There are books on the market that
describe the patterns The best way, though, is to
watch someone who is a good player There is a
power node that is located in each corner of the
maze. Once your Pac-Man eats it he is able to eat
the monsters Points are received for each mon
ster eaten. When you have eaten all the dots in the
maze the game will move on to the next maze
DONKEY-KONG
Description: You control a man with a direc
tional lever and a jump button Donkey-Kong is on
top of a series of different mazes with Fay Wray
You must save her
Game strategy: "The key to Donkey-Kong is
timing and the only way to develop timing is to
practice,” writes Planchet in his book Points are
awarded for jumping over barrels, fire balls, and
hot pies Failure to do so results in loss of life
Bonus points are given for making it to the top of
the maze as quickly as possible There are two
hammers located in each maze, and if the man
grabs the hammer he will be able to destroy the
barrels, pies and fire bails He oniy has the
hammer for a few seconds, then it vanishes On
the first few mazes the player loses points by
using the hammer In later rounds have the man
pick up the second hammer and use it right before
he climbs to the top The man can neither climb
nor jump while he has the hammer, so be careful
Here Is a listing of Eugene's video arcades:
Halley’s Comet
880 E 13th
Tokens and Quarters
SPECIALS:Six tokens for a dollar, red token
wins 10 tokens, white wins five
Charlie's Pool Hall
257 Willamette
Quarters, Tokens, $5 will buy 30 tokens
Take 5 Video Centers
25 E 11th and 325 Oakway
$3 for an hour of play, $2 for a half hour. $1 for
20 minutes
Photo by Mark Pynes
You control a little yellow ball
with a voracious appetite. The
only control is a directional
lever Points are awardedfor
eating the little dotsy monsters
andfruit
Games R Fun
Eugene Downtown Mall
Tokens
University Rec Center
EMU campus
Quarters
Story by Frank Shaw
Photo by Mark Pynes