Classic Video Games Strategies, Tips, Tricks, Hints, Easter Eggs

Last Updated: May 4th, 1998

* - indicates a new tip

Systems Covered: Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision,
        Vectrex, TI-99, Bally

Send submissions to: ltravis@spots.ab.ca

Indicate the system(s) which the tip applies to

Many of these tips have not been verified.  Also keep in mind that people
have different strategies and approaches to playing these games, and one
person's strategy may not suit your gaming style.

INCLUDES TIPS FROM ELECTRONIC FUN MAGAZINE
I admit that some of them are quite lame, because the winning tips state
the obvious course of action -- but there are many good submissions.

NOW INCLUDES TIPS FROM The Atari Age Magazine (provided by Alan Hewston)


I didn't bother to include tips for systems such as
the Vic-20, the C-64, Atari computers, the TRS-80 and the Timex Sinclair.

I'm missing tips for these issues of Electronic Fun, so if anybody is
willing to type those up and send them to me, I'd be grateful...

For arcade game tips and tricks, check out
Roger's Classic Arcade Tips  & Tricks
http://rbonine.home.mindspring.com/arcade/

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Intellivision/Mattel)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"You can shoot around curves.  Richocheting arrows around corners gives you
a distinct advantage over monsters."

Adventure (Atari 2600/Atari)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"If you follow a particular set of steps in Game 2, Difficulty B, and pick
up the Transmolecular Dot (a.k.a. Easter Egg), the words "Created by Warren
Robinett" will flash on the screen."
"Also in Adventure, when you've been eaten by the dragon, if you wait before
hitting the reset button, a bat will fly in and carry you away inside the
dragon.  You can control the bat by using your joystick."

Adventure (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis (ltravis@spots.ab.ca)
"Leave the bat in the yellow castle holding an object of no value (such as
the yellow key), and most of the time the bat will stay trapped there in a
loop. Avoid touching the bat."
"If a dead dragon blocks the path, bring in enough objects to make the
dungeon flicker. You can now pass through the dragon."
"Dragon's don't go in the yellow castle."

Adventure (Atari 2600/Atari)
Patrick Vorndran (Rochester, NY)
"To get away from the Bat: Open up the Golden Castle, touch the Bat, bring
him straight up about two inches inside and push your red button.  He
should stay in there."

Adventure (Atari 2600/Atari)
Jamie Lantry (Corapolis, PA), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"If you need some time to contemplate what to do and a dragon is pursuing
you, move your marker so that it is pressing down at the top of a blockade
or the bottom of a room.  Then you can stop worrying about the dragon --
he can't eat you unless you move up."

Air Raiders (Atari/M-Network)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"There are a few simple tricks to avoid crashing on takeoff and landing.
Let seven sets of runway lights pass by before pulling back on the joystick
to lift off.  When landing, nudge the joystick forward one thousand feet at
a time.  Also, don't wait till you are completely out of fuel to come in
for refuelling."

ALIEN (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Dallas North (Los Angeles, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"As I designed it, Alien is really two games.  There's the regular maze game
and a bonus round that's much like Frogger.  In the bonus round, players
should look at the aliens as pairs instead of individuals.
The key here is to weave between the pairs rather than move around them."

Alpine Skiing (system unknown)
Emil Martin (Vernon, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"When you reach the jump, use the picture of the whole ramp.  When the
dot gets down to the last notch, that's when you press the button -- and
voila, you're airbourne!  Cruise on for at least a 1,200-point bonus."

Amidar (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Study the motion of the warriors: they always turn corners.  If you stay at
least two corners ahead, they probably won't get you as quickly."

Antarctic Adventure (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis (ltravis@spots.ab.ca) Calgary, Canada
"Anticipate that the walrus will pop out of every single hole you cross
-- you'll get caught less often."

Art Card (Vectrex)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Let your people do their activities in the raw.  Drawing the actual figure
is a cinch.  It's the wardrobe that presents a problem."

Asteroids, all systems
Lafe Travis (ltravis@spots.ab.ca)
"Most of you know to stay in the center of the screen most of the time.
Thrusting is dangerous. Hyperspace is dangerous. Steering is half the game.
Learn to control the ship precisely."
"UFO's only appear from the sides of the screen - never the top or the
bottom."
"When a new ship appears on the screen -- be ready, because it might be in
the path of an asteroid."

Astroblast/Astrosmash (Atari & Intellision/Mattel)
Tipster unknown
"Shoot small rocks before the big ones. Don't shoot rocks close to you;
their explosion could kill you."
"Don't run away from pulsors and UFO's. Get directly underneath them fast --
then shoot!"

Astrosmash (Intellivision/Mattel)
Troy Harwood (Brompton, Canada), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"The secret to Astrosmash is leaving the shooter in the 'Autofire' position
and steering with the direction wheel."
"Another hint is to shoot the fastest falling Spinner first, since an intact
Spinner will destroy one of your blasters."

Atlantis (Atari 2600 & Intellivision/Imagic)
Lafe Travis (ltravis@spots.ab.ca)
"Kill many birds with one shot by shooting a Bandit Bomber when the screen is
full of other enemies."

Atlantis (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Captain Draw (Chicago, IL), Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Higher scores can be gained by using only one gunbase instead of three.
For example, holding the joystick to the extreme right (or vice versa), the
player can concentrate on the timing necessary to shoot the invading ships.
Try playing Game Three (a beginner's level) before attempting the regular
game.  Of course, memorizing the opposite gun's firing pattern should be the
next step. The center gun should be used for emergency blasting only, since
you get fewer points for hitting targets."

Barnstorming (Atari 2600/Activision)
Tony Walters (Sacramento, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
The pattern of barns and windmills in this game:
W, W, W, B, B, B, W, B, W, B, W, B, W, W, W, B, W, W, W, B, W, W, W, W, W,
W, B, B, W, W, W, B, W, B, W, B, W, B, B

Battlezone (Atari 2600/Atari)
Scott Butler
"Sound is important in this one! Listen for shots from enemy tanks. If
you hear one, time to move! Head off at an angle away from whichever
enemy is closest to you on the display."

B.C.'s Quest For Tires (Colecovision/Sierra)
Lafe Travis
"To jump the pit of fire, position yourself under the bird once you get
up the hill and stay under it (the bird will accomodate this). As soon as
you see the pit, jump up. The bird will carry you across. You need at
least speed 60 (80 is fun) going down the slope in order to make it
across the chasm. But once you're across, slow down immediately (40 or
less recommended) or you'll be struck by flying debris."

B.C.'s Quest For Tires (Colecovision/Sierra)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"Always try to jump on a turtle as it's surfacing.  This gives you a little
more time before it heads back down again with you on it."

Beamrider (various systems/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"Never miss a chance to grab a yellow chirper.  You need 'em."

Beany Bopper (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Ed Hulse, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Stay in the middle of the playfield.  The Beanies always drift over that
way and you can avoid the Falling Objects if you're of a mind to."

Beat 'Em and Eat 'Em (Atari 2600/Mystique?)
Dave Canton
"I wish I had his stamina."

Beauty and the Beast (Intellivision/Imagic)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Climbing up the side of the building is no picnic.  In order to do this
most efficiently, you must hold down the two firing buttons and press the
top of the disk simultaneously."

Beauty and the Beast (Intellivision/Imagic)
Chris McLaughlin (New Milford, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Here's how to get the highest possible score: Simply climb the first
building over and over again.  When you get to the top of the first
building, jump off.  That way, it never gets harder.  The rocks never split,
and it doesn't get any faster.

Bedlam (Vectrex/Vectrex)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"As soon as the crosses break off, swing back and forth wildly.  That will
break up their attack -- sometimes."

Bermuda Triangle (Atari 2600/Data Age)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"After you've picked up an artifact, wait until the enemy ship has gone by
before surfacing.  The research ship always comes after the enemy ship."

Berzerk (Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Vectrex)
Lafe Travis
"Shoot diagonal -- the robots can't. This works on Colecovision's Frenzy too."

Berzerk (Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Vectrex)
Keith Simpson (Waukesha, WI), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"I've played this game thousands of times and this always works for me:
Whenever you're having a showdown with a robot (that is, when your bullet
meets his), start moving in toward him and keep firing.  Eventually you
will get him."

Berzerk (Atari 2600/Atari)
Bernard Taylor (Roseville, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Here's a way to add new interest and excitement to an already great game.
On game number two, here's the scenario: You're in the first maze and
surrounded by robots.  You'll discover that your laser gun is
malfunctioning and isn't recharging fast enough.  In fact, you can't fire
your weapon until there's only one robot left.  Your only hope is to reach
an exit and try to get the robots to shoot each other, blunder into walls
or get creamed by their own Evil Otto along the way.  Anytime you're still
alive and only one robot remains, feel free to blast anything that moves.
My best score is 6,350.  Good luck!"

Berzerk (various systems/Atari)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"Save time by luring the robots into walls.  It isn't that hard and it
saves lots of time."

* Berzerk (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 4, Bob Plewa
"The robots shots continue until they go off the screen.  So wait and dodge
their shot then zap them."

* Berzerk (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 4, David Biederman
"The robots shots can go right through your neck without killing you."

* Berzerk (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 4, Antun Barbato
"In rebound Evil Otto games:  When he is on your tail you can make him
disappear if you go right next to the left exit and fire into it.  Then you
continue with your normal strategy."

* Berzerk (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 4, Art Collins
"Always run away from Evil Otto by going diagonally.  Also, the bottom and
top exits are must easier to start from."

Big Bird's Egg Catch (Atari 2600/Atari)
Suzan D. Prince, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Watch the hen's movements in level eight.  The only way you'll now which
chute to aim for is by looking for the hen that gives a little jump.  That's
the one that just laid the "golden" egg."

Blockade Runner (Colecovision/Interphase)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Go for distance rather than points; if you reach Earth, you get a
10,000-point bonus."

Blueprint (Atari 2600/CBS)
Gary Miller, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"When shooting at Ollie, wait until he runs directly above your machine and
then fire as he passes over.  You'll get him first time, every time."

BMX Airmaster (Atari 2600/Xonox))
Scott Butler
"Style counts! Mixing as many possible moves into your air time as
possible maximizes your points. Also, take it easy in events you're not 
that great in. For example, I'm less than stellar at the ramp jump.
I don't sweat it that much, and make up the points on the half pipe."

Brain Games (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"To cheat at the memory game, write down each step played."

Brain Games (Atari 2600/Atari)
Pete Rocha
"Just don't submit a score using that method to the list!!"

Breakout (Atari 2600 & 5200)
"Awesome" Smith (Ontario, Canada), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Keep you paddle in the middle of the screen whenever possible.  That way,
you have the shortest distance to the ball whether it is hit to the left
or the right of you."
(This tip can be used with Super Breakout too.)

Bump 'N Jump (all versions)
Lafe Travis
"Some stretches of water have side roads. In mid-air, move over to
those to land on safe ground. But jump up again soon, or you'll collide
with the shoulder of the oncoming freeway."

Bump 'N Jump (all versions)
Michael Garber
"Make sure you don't smash any cars at all in a stage and you will get a
50,000 point bonus."

Burgertime (various systems/Mattel)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Stop in the middle of a burger or bun and wait for the enemy to come after
you.  When they're all on, hotfoot it off to the other side."

Burgertime (various systems/Mattel)
Corey Olfe, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"Luring the nasties onto an ingredient is a good strategy, but don't wait
forever.  If they don't come right away, chances are they won't come at all
so move off quickly.  If you wait too long, they'll get faster and faster
until they're almost as fast as you."

Buzz Bombers (Intellivision/Mattel)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"Look for doubled-up bees.  You can get two with one spray and save your
ammunition.  Lack of spray is the only thing that does you in."

Cabbage Patch Kids - Adventure in the Park (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"At the lake scene, it's easier to jump off a rope to safe ground than
it is from the lilypad."

Cakewalk (Atari 2600/Commavid)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Watch the little wheels under the conveyors.  They move when a cake is
being sent and are stationary when no cake is coming."

Carnival (all versions/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Eliminate the pipes first."

Carnival (all versions/Coleco)
Raymond Dimetrosky
"Whenever there are chances to earn extra bullets, ignore what you were
shooting and go and get them."

Carnival (Atari 2600/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Don't shoot 8's until you need them. Always shoot bonus bullets."
"If low on bullets, only shoot extra bullets or attacking ducks."
"If you have the maximum number of shots, don't get any more (by shooting an
8) until at least 8 are used."

Centipede (Atari 2600/Atari)
Marjorie Crane, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"If the first spider comes from the left, so will the second. Then the third
and fourth will come from the right, the next two from the left and so on."

Centipede (various systems/Atari)
Donald McHam (Long Beach, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Spiders never backtrack.  When one of them pops out the side, go to that
side, behind hit.  He can't touch you, but you can follow him across the
screen and nail him any time."

Centipede (various systems/Atari)
Donna Slavin(New York, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"The only time you should stray all the way to the left or all the way to the
right is just after the spider appears.  If you hang out on one of the sides,
the spiders leap out (and at such a short distance), it's impossible to
avoid them."

China Syndrome (Atari 2600/Spectravision)
Frank Lovece, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Don't clear out one section of the reactor at the expense of the other
sections.  You can always go back and pick up a loose nuclear particle or
two but it's hard to remove a bunch of them at once."

Choplifter (various systems/Broderbund)
Paul Backer, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Starting with the second sortie, move forward normally, and as soon as you
see a plane or a drone, pull back.  This should raise the nose of your chopper
and allow you to destroy the plane."

Coconuts (Atari 2600/Telesys)
Sherry Jacobs, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"If you're serious about playing, move Stanley minimally either left or
right.  There's plenty of time to spot the alling coconuts and get out
of the way."

Combat, Atari 2600
Lafe Travis
"Learn to estimate angles on tank pong games."
"On plane games, use fast and slow to your advantage."
"Your shots can wrap around the screen, don't forget."
"If you have a leading score, hide for the rest of the time period to win."
"On game 20, don't be the large bomber -- the odds will be against you."

Communist Mutants From Space (Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger)
Walter Salm, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Fire at the Mother Ship.  Concentrate on knocking her off right away.  This
will effectively prevent her from laying more eggs."

Cosmic Ark (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"It will be easier to transport the little space creatures into your ship
if you trap them in a corner."

Cosmic Ark (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Jim Perilli (Mont Clare, PA), Video Games Magazine, December 1982
"I've found that you can stay in space forever on low levels without picking
up creatures and thus gaining easy points.  If you begin to lose energy,
pick up only one of the creatures, then lose it the next time you visit the
planet.  You end up with a quarter of a tank more fuel.  This is a true shame
since without this flaw Cosmic Ark would have been one of the year's best."

Cosmic Creeps (Atari 2600/Telesys)
Mark Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Actually, campers, there's not much to remember.  Try to bop the Creeps
closest to the kids first; they pose the most immediate threat."

Cosmic Swarm (Atari 2600/Commavid)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Be alert to the buzzer sound that heralds the refueling ship.  Begin to
move towards that side as soon as the vehicle begins its descent."

Countermeasure (Atari 5200/Atari)
John Hubach, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Once you get two of the code letters, check in at the War Room.  It'll be
easy to figure out the missing letter."

Crackpots (Atari 2600/Activision)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"The green bugs always veer at the last second to the opposite direction
from which they are travelling.  The red bugs keep on a straight -- but
slanted -- course."

Crazy Climber (Atari 2600/Atari)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"Play a waiting game.  When obstacles come in your path, or a window is
about to close, just wait it out.  The window will soon open and the
obstacles will bounce off your head."

Cross Force (Atari 2600/Spectravision)
Paul Backer, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"If you want to get through the first wave effortlessly, move four inches
from the right edge of the screen and fire three shots in rapid succession
when you see the mother ship.  This will destroy the first aliens right
away."

Crypts of Chaos (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Mark Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Keep the instructions nearby so you can tell if you're at an intersection,
a dead end, a lair or whatever.  The variations are too similar to identify
without a scorecard."

Deadly Duck (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Sherry Jacobs, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"When you're on the run, you can increase speed by ceasing fire after you've
made a direct hit.  Stop, fire, and then take off."

Decathalon (Atari 2600/Activision)
Randi "Fleetfoot" Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"When attempting the pole vault, plant your pole and then don't release it
until the pole is precisely perpendicular to the ground.  You'll clear the
bar every time."

Decathalon (Atari 2600/Activision)
John Entwistle (Jackson, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"You can get much higher scores on the pole vault section of this
challenging game.  Run, plant the pole, and when the pole starts to go up,
wait until it is almost straight up.  Then press the button six or seven
times as fast as you can -- you'll soar much higher than normal, even
achieving heights of eight metres or more!"

Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Brett Hollembeck (Rockford, IL), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Shoot all the time!  When you shoot, you disappear -- when you disappear,
they can't get you.  The best bet is to get one of those joystick
attachments that gives you continuous fire.  Yes indeedy!"

Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Ryan Sheperd (Tontogany, OH), Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"In the Atari game, don't shoot the Bomber at the beginning of a stage.  If
you get hit during that stage, your next ship will start out at the Bomber
-- a place where you could get killed fast."

Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
unknown tipster
"You can hide your ship under or above the screen and aliens can't hurt you,
but don't press the button."
"If it is too late to shoot a lander stealing a human, use a Smart Bomb."
"A human can fall the height of the city buildings plus the height of the
defender ship."
"In free space, it seems easier flying to the left."
"If there is only one human left, stay on the screen to constantly guard it."
"Shoot a shot immediately after shooting a pod; it is likely a swarmer cloud
will appear in the line of fire. Rescuing humans should be top priority."

Defender (various systems/Atari)
Jim Daues (St. Louis, MO), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Landers never fire at their own height across the screen.  Therefore, don't
worry about fire from a lander flying at your own level."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, Thomas Greenberg
"If a baiter is above you and your spaceship is stationary, the baiter will
land on top of your spaceship without destroying you."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, David Lui
"Your laser can be `guided' after it is fired by moving the joystick up and
down.  I use this method to destroy baiters."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, Mike Neel and Jeff Wood
"You cannot be killed while at the bottom or top (hyperspace) of the screen,
but you cannot carry a human into hyperspace."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, Romeo Casiple
"On fast waves, if a lander kidnaps a humanoid at the very edge of the
scanner, let him mutate.  He'd probably be mutated by the time you got there
anyway."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, Alex Northington/Stratford Linn
"On higher levels, fly/shoot from right to left because swarmers, mutants and
baiters can't sneak up behind you, and swarmers won't appear as close to you
after you shoot a pod (from left to riight)."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, Todd Conner & Editor
"All of the ships turn into the letters `BP' on the 25th wave when you catch
a human and fly on the 25th line of vertical resolution (from the bottom)."

* Defender (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Vol 2, Number 2, Thomas Campbell
"Baiters and swarmers fly much faster when a lander is not on the screen."


Demoliton Herby (Atari 2600/Telesys)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Hit the fast car first and then nail slower ones.  Then use overdrive to
pick up fuel fast."

Demon Attack (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Rob Fulop (Saratogo, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"As the designer of this cartridge, I really don't want to divulge any
secrets, except that it will take any player a good month to get through
all 84 waves and become familiar with all of the different ships.  Only
then can you hope to beat the game."

Demon Attack (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Terry Vaughn, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
Split the demon that's firing at you into two then shoot the one that's not
firing at you.  When you hit it, the other of the pair will dive and try to
leave the screen at the bottom.  Shoot him.  He's worth the most points.
Also, you might notice the next large demon won't drop down to fire at you
until both of the pair are gone.  You can use this to your advantage on the
waves where the initial demons are very small.  Since they are more difficult
to split up, try hitting only one of the previous pair and, while his twin
is diving, break up the next demon before he starts firing at you."

Demon Attack (Odyssey 2/Imagic) -- few people have this game
Art Levis, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Don't play the waiting game, shivering on the frozen tundra and waiting
for Demons to come after you.  An aggressive, on-the-go strategy
consistently garners more points than a lazy, lie-low approach.  Also,
don't spend too much time on the more benign high-flying demons, even
though they seem to be easier targets."

Demons to Diamonds (Atari 2600/Atari)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Do not fire continuously.  When hit, friendly demons become enemies.  Be
patient with this game."

Desert Falcon (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Constantly move up and down to avoid enemies and their fire."

Dig Dug (all versions/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Well-known fact: Drop two rocks to make the bonus vegetable appear.
Make sure you're close to the center of the screen when the second rock
is dropped, because the vegetable doesn't stay for long!"
"Try and pop monsters at the bottom layer of dirt -- you'll get a lot
more points. You also receive double the amount of points if you pop a
Fygar (the ones who breathe fire) horizontally, rather than vertically."

Dig Dug (various systems/Atari)
Steve Taylor, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Never drop a rock on a monster unless it has been stunned."
"Always go for the bonus food.  Using this strategy, I have attained scores
300,000 and higher."

Dig Dug (various systems/Atari)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"When facing off against two or more Pookahs and/or Fygars, stun the one
closest to you, then burst the second."

Dig Dug (various systems/Atar)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"If you have to choose between eating a veggie and chasing an escaping
moster, choose the veggie."

Dodge'em (Atari 2600/Atari)
Daniel Murph (Richardson, TX), Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Start getting your dots on the outside of the screen, then work your way
inward.  When you get to the center, go back out and get the dots you have
missed."

Dolphin (Atari 2600/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Steer the Octopus into the oncoming currents.  This will slow him down."

Dolphin (Atari 2600/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"It's harder if you swim to the left, but some left-handed people may disagree.
A bad wave almost always follows an opening -- move out of the way.
The seagull appears after the squid changes color, so be ready to jump out of
the water."

* Donkey Kong (Coleco Electronic Tabletop)
Chris Newman, rgvc@aol.com
"When you hold up on the DK tabletop (the coleco one) and turn it on, it skips
a few boards, gives you like 50 lives, and starts you with alot of points."


Donkey Kong (all versions/various manufacturers)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Don't waste time bashing barrels.  Every second you are losing 100 bonus
points.  Take the shortest route to the top of the screen."

Donkey Kong (Colecovision/Coleco)
William B. Simpson (Silver Lake, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"When Mario is about to climb a ladder, push him up one or two rungs, stop
for a split second, then push him the rest of the way.  You'll find he'll
fly up the ladder at twice his normal speed (this also works climbing down).

Donkey Kong (Colecovision/Coleco)
Greg Wayne, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"In the Colecovision version, if you get right under the hat on the bottom
floor of the rivet board and jump, the hat will disappear and give you 300
points.  I don't know if Coleco intentionally added this to their cartridge
or if it was a mistake."
(Note: this trick only works on earlier versions of the Donkey Kong cart.)

Donkey Kong (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"You can walk off ledges one girder level  and survive. (Try it on the
elevator screen for lots of fun!)"
"You can't jump two fireballs unless they are over one another exactly."
"A shortcut from the down elevator is to jump off onto the middle ledge."

Donkey Kong (Colecovision/Coleco)
Nield Schiebel (Lawrence, MA), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Get to the third level and walk past the ladder that leads to Betsy.
Run all the way up to Kong and, just before you get to him, jump as you're
still running.  Keep your eyes on Kong's face and you'll see him turn red.
If it doesn't work the first time, keep trying."

Donkey Kong Junior (Intellivision/Coleco)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"On the first screen, slide all the way down to the third vine and jump to
the extreme right island. Climb the last vine and backtrack to get the fruit."

Donkey Kong Junior (Colecovision/Coleco)
Roger Cadrin (Bridgeport, CT), Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"When you're on the second board, you should bring up the key that's all
the way to the left.  Then go all the way to the right and bring up the key
on the right.  Then do the rest of them in any order."

Donkey Kong Junior (Colecovision/Coleco)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"When on the Jump Board mission, walk to the edge and try for the super jump
immediately.  Then, when you land on the high platform, go for the small
chain right away and move to left as soon as you're on it.  This will get
you through the difficult task of switching from the small conveyor belt
chain to the chain at its left."

Donkey Kong Junior (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"To get a high jump every time on the jumpboard screen, move the stick to the
right before the screen even appears."
"Eggs can be killed with a fruit. Eggs can be jumped."
"No bird can fly low enough to kill you if you are hanging onto the very tip
of the chain to the left of the gap at the top of the jumpboard screen."

* Donkey Kong Junior (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"I've found a bug in Colecovision's Donkey Kong Junior.
Very often, when playing skill 4, the game will freeze when the baby
monkey is jumping the step on level 3 (the second vine screen).  It
happens almost all the time.  The sound effect audio will be stuck on
a note, and Donkey Kong Junior will be hanging in mid-air -- halfway
through his jump!  This happens almost every time, and on every
version of the cart I've played, on every Colecovision console I've
played.  I guess the CV processor cannot handle all the fast-moving
objects."  

Donkey Kong Junior (Colecovision/Coleco)
Tod Gutschow (Sheboygan, MI), Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"After a few days of playing Donkey Kong Junior for Colecovision, I found all
sorts of quirks.  I think most of them are supposed to be in there, except
one.  On the Jump Board (third screen), when you get to the top two vines,
cross off on the long platform and walk into the opening.  After that, you'll
find Junior on the vine below -- but don't go down, go up.  If you do it
right, you'll go through the platform and all the way to the top on an
invisible vine!  How about that!"

Dracula (Intellivision/Imagic)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun, May 1983
"Spend as much time as possible as a bat.  This way you can avoid the cops'
stakes."

Dragonfire (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"If you are facing an impossible combination of fireballs on the bridge, you
can sometimes squeeze through them by jumping from a crouching position."

Dragon Stomper (Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger)
Noel Steere (New York, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"When you are in front of a locked door without a key, use your hand axe.
Stick around the Enchanted Countryside until you gain over 1000 gold
pieces.  This will allow you to buy most of the things you want at the
village.  When you reach the village, buy all your stuff first.  This will
usually get you a warrior for nothing.  When you go to the trade ship, buy
a crossbow, a lantern, rope and chain.  When you go to the magic shop, buy
two visions, two stuns, protect, unlock, blast and flash.  When you go to
the hospital, buy three or four vitamins and two medicines."

The Dreadnaught Factor (Intellivision/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Avoid the temptation to fly fast.  With each pass the dreadnaught moves
closer to the stargate."

Eggomania (Atari 2600, U.S. Games)
Sherry Jacobs, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"To get the most eggs and the least mess, follow each wave of eggs closely,
barely moving the bear and holding the hat directly under the eggs, noting
the pattern of egg drop.  When shooting at the bird, keep fire at a minimum
since active fire sends the bird into a frenzy.  If you want to fry the
bird, keep cool."

Encounter at L-5 (Atari 2600/Data Age)
Walter Salm, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Keep your launcher in one corner and the cursor in the opposite corner for
diagonal fire, until things get hot in one spot or the death ship appears."

Enduro (Atari 2600/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"Learn to steer well. Try to go as fast as possible.
In the snow, stay in the middle of the road, so a variety of evasions are
possible. Slow down in the fog -- it is better to brake than crash."

Enduro (Atari 2600/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Don't use the brakes to slow down.  Simply take your foot...uh, finger...
off the accelerator (fire button)."

Escape from the Mindmaster (Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"To get through a force field, wait until the way is open and hold your
joystick down.  Don't hop across -- run."

E.T. (Atari 2600/Atari)
unknown tipster
"If you're on a pit screen, the forest is always up and the city is always
down."

E.T. (Atari 2600/Atari)
David E. Carver Jr. (Beacon Falls, CT), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Eat as many Reese's Pieces as possible and give them to Elliot -- you'll
get more points after E.T. leaves.  If you need a place to rest after getting
a piece of E.T.'s phone, stay in the well -- the FBI Agent and the Scientist
can't come down into it."

* E.T. (Atari 2600/Atari)
on rec.games.video.classic adrian@sirius.com told of how the E.T. Easter Eggs
were revealed at a BAVE meeting by Atari 2600 game designer Howard Scott
Warshaw!

"...when it came to E.T., his memory was jogged sufficiently to reveal not
one, not two, but three Easter Eggs! We popped in an E.T. cartridge and he
showed us how to find it. Here's how:

Do this on game version 3, which is the easiest, since it has no scientist
or FBI agent. Have E.T. collect 7 Reese's Pieces and then give them to
Elliot. Find all three pieces of the phone, then fall into the well with
the flower. Walk up to the flower--just to the right of the flower is the
"smiley face zone." Yes, a smiley face will appear in the top bar. When
you get to the smiley face zone, press the fire button. The flower will
turn into a Yar and fly away!

Call home, get picked up by your spaceship, and repeat the above for the
next round. An Indiana Jones will appear this time. For the third round,
after doing all of the above steps, the initials "HSW3" will appear in the
lower bar.

There's one rub though. If you discover the flower in the well BEFORE you have
all three pieces of the phone put together, it won't work.

So there you have it! Is it any wonder no one EVER discovered this
Easter Egg on their own?"

Evolution (Colecovision/Sydney)
Hartley G. Lesser, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"When you're a rodent, thrive on tunnel construction and do your business
when you really have to!"

Fantastic Voyage (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Lafe Travis
"Avoid touching artery walls and blood cells. Don't waste time shooting defense
cells. Shoot at clotlets as much as possible for high points. Bacteria only
needs to be shot once. Get close to bacteria and the blood clot - you'll shoot
faster."

Fantastic Voyage (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Stay to the right and pass blood cells to the left.  Virtually all debris
comes from the left and moves to the right."

Fast Food (Atari 2600/Telesys)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Stay to the extreme right of the screen no matter how hungry you get.
Advancing on the food doesn't leave you enough time to tell the purple
pickles from the green."

Fathom (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"To save your thumb when you're a seagull, fly to the top of the screen and
then release the button; you'll be able to glide through the screen without
pressing the button."

Flash Gordon (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Ed Hulse, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Try to lure warriors all the way to one side of the screen, then slip out
and enter on the other side, blasting them from behind."

Football (Atari 2600/M-Network)
Matt Dorsett (Deer Park, TX), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"When you have the ball, run straight ahead and let your opponent catch up
to you.  Just when he almost touches the ball, turn and run the opposite
way and he will go right through you (be careful; he might come back for
you anyway).

Fortress of Narzod (Vectrex)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Stay to the left in the first screen and to the right in the second.  Bank
your shots off the first wall as much as possible and avoid shooting
straight down toward the guard tower."

Frankenstein's Monster (Atari 2600/Data Age)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"During the opening round, move toward the top trap door after the ghost
passes over it.  Stay in the door until the tarantula on the second level
passes under you.  You can then cross the ramp with a minimum of trouble."

Frogger (Intellivision/Parker Brothers)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"If a snake is closing in on you, it's possible to jump on a brown turtle,
providing you jump immediately onto a log afterwards.  This double-jump
technique will keep you from drowning when the turtles dive."

Frogger (all versions/Parker Brothers & Starpath)
Gerald Morales (Ware, MA), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Don't be afraid of alligators.  As long as you don't hop on their mouths,
they'll let you go for a ride on them.  Also, don't forget that you can go
down as well as up in Frogger.  A lot of people think you have to just move
forward all the time." (I don't, I'm I'm sure you don't either!)

Frogger II (all versions/Parker Brothers)
Lafe Travis
"Don't bother trying to get on the swimming turtle's back -- it wastes too
much time, and he doesn't really take you where you want to go."

Front Line (various systems/Coleco)
David Johnson (Buena Park, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"This is a great game, but it's also very low-scoring.  One simple way to
earn a super-high score is to reach the fort at the top of the screen while
in a tank.  Instead of jumping out and blowing up the fort, just go and sit
in the right-hand corner and shoot everything that comes in your way.  When
your tank finally does get hit, then jump out and blow up the fort for
1,000 extra points."

Frostbite (Atari 2600/Activision)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"If you have a finished igloo and the bear is to your left, get up to the
shore fast.  This is the only way you'll be able to outrun the bear."

Frostbite (Atari 2600/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"You can hide from the bear at the extreme left side of the land."
"If you think you're going to miss a jump, push the stick as far as
possible the way you want to go, and many of the times you'll make it; the
game is more accepting of slips than you might think."

Galaxian (all versions?/Atari)
From the Galaxian manual for the Atari 8-bit
"Between shots, your next missle sits on the nose of your ship. You
can destroy an onrushing attacker just by touching him with it."
"When a commander is destroyed while attacking, the Galaxians cease
firing for a few seconds to mourn his loss. This is your chance to blast
the escorts and any other warriors you can."

Galaxian (all versions/Atari)
Bob Freeman (Laredo, TX), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Stay away from the corners.  Once you get in there, they paint you into the
corner with bullets and you're dead.  At least in the center you can move
left or right."

Gateway to Apshai (Colecovision/Epyx)
Lafe Travis
"Monsters can be trapped behind corners, allowing you to easily kill
them.  I usually have trap-detect selected all the time and do a test
in every chamber I enter -- this saves a lot of agony."

Ghost Manor (Atari 2600/Xonox)
Lafe Travis
"You can push yourself up against the back of a moving wall without
harm."
"If time is running out, and you only have one or less crucifix, go directly
to the top floor; Dracula can be killed with only one cross if
you're careful."

G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Craig Hopping (Kenvil, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"Here's a tip for would-be commandos.  When you get to the second level stay
in the approximate middle of the screen and unleash a series of missiles into
the cobra's eyes.  From there, it's just a short hop to either side if the
cobra lets loose with a laser blast."

G.I. Joe Cobra Strike (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Always fire after the snake drops its venom, and keep firing if the venom
(or laser) is going to miss the recruit (there'll be no real need to shield
him.)"

Gopher (Atari 2600/U.S. Games)
Marjorie Crane, Electronic Fun Magzine, April 1983
"Don't stray too far from the center except to move left and right for an
occasional pounce."

Gorf (various systems/various manufacturers)
unknown tipster, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Move up to the top of the shield.  Fire only one shot at a time.
Continuous fire won't go through the shield."

Gorf (Colecovision/Coleco)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"You can advance from ASTRO BATTLES into the next screen without destroying
all the aliens.  Simply crash into one of them instead.  Although you lose
one ship, you move to the next board."

Grand Prix (Atari 2600/Activision)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Most quirks are caused by a program loophole or are just mistakes.  But
sometimes they are deliberate -- little shortcuts the designer uses to
program the games or additions that can be helpful to the player.  Grand
Prix is a good example.  If you travel at the same speed as one of the
competing cars, it will stop when you get near a bridge or the finish line.
Since the other cars are there to get in your way, this is a good way for
you to get across first and win.  Also, if you travel slowly enough over an
oil slick, you will see it pass "under" the driver's seat.  That's because
the driver's seat is really a hole in the bottom of the car."

Halloween (Atari 2600/Wizard Games)
Lafe Travis
"As soon as Michael enters a room, leave in the opposite direction, and
then re-enter. He'll be gone!"

Halloween (Atari 2600/Wizard Games)
Ed Hulse, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"You can dodge the killer by jumping slightly above or below him; his
thrusts are only effective on one level."

Happy Trails (Intellivision/Activision)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"As soon as you pick up a badge press your speed button.  If you fail to
kill the outlaw, you can head him off at the pass by sabotaging his trails
while making your own."

Haunted House (Atari 2600/Atari)
unknown tipster
"Objects are always in the center of rooms. No need to cover the corners of
the rooms. The key is pretty well useless."

Heads Up (Vectrex)
Noel Steele, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"The two-player game has a glitch too; if you can't get behind the goalie
and shoot, he won't be able to stop you from scoring."

Ice Trek (Intellivision/Imagic)
Frank Lovece, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Don't have Thor use his axe to kill a caribou if you can help it.  The
Goddess of the Wilderness will show up with her bow and arrow, and if you
think it's not nice to fool around with Mother Nature, try messing with
angry wilderness goddesses."

Illusions (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"On the odd-numbered levels... To attach two Gleebs which are close
together, let the first one jump at an intersection, and then toggle its
direction forward and back while the second Gleeb is jumping. With the
proper timing, they'll be joined!"

The Incredible Wizard (Astrocade)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"After the Worluck has either escaped or been destroyed, test to see if your
warrior moves on command from the joystick.  If he does, get ready.  The
Wizard is about to appear."

Indy 500 (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"In Ice Racing, to stop a sliding vehicle, turn the wheel in the opposite
direction.
"For those who didn't know, you can cheat by going off the edge of the
screen and reappearing on the other."

Infiltrate (Atari 2600/Apollo)
Ed Hulse, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"Whenever possible, use the side elevators, as they lift you two levels at
once (the center ones only lift you one)."

Jawbreaker (Atari 2600/Tigervision)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"When you are moving vertically and are ready to enter a row, use the red
button to freeze your teeth in front of the row's entrance.  Then push the
joystick right or left and you will easily enter the row."

Journey Escape (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Don't hesitate between band members. Press the button immediately after
getting a band member to the spacecraft, unless it is the final band member
(where an intermission follows). This ensures you don't loose your rhthym."
"Nowhere is safe. Keep moving. Avoid promoters over anything else; they take
the most money from you. It is safe to run through a camera-man when the flash
is not on. Press the button to move faster."

Journey Escape (Atari 2600/Atari)
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"The fire button gives you quick bursts of speed.  Don't just use it when
you need it -- use it all the time for lateral movement."

Joust (Atari 2600/Atari)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"Stay on the bottom third of the screen.  You have the most room to
maneuver there."

Joust (various Atari systems/Atari)
Gary Helm (Easton, PA), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"On the egg waves, always start up on top on the right hand side and go
straight across, then do the same for the middle and bottom in that order.
You should be able to get all of them before they get riders."

Joust (various systems/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"A good strategy for beginners to use: rather than trying to ram your pole
head-on with an enemy -- position yourself as high as possible (under a
ledge or at the top of the screen), keep flapping to hold your position,
and wait until an enemy flies underneath you; then stop flapping so you'll
drop down and fall on top of your enemy.  Many of the times, you'll also
catch the egg which appears."

Jumpman Junior (Colecovision/Epyx)
Jeremy Goldstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Try to stay away or get quickly away from the edge and corners of the
screen since you will have very little time to avoid any bullet that comes
straight at you from the side of the screen."

Jungle Hunt (various systems/Atari)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"Having trouble with the crocodiles?  Your knife has to be the first thing
they come in contact with."

Jungle Hunt (Atari 2600/Atari)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Once the river's far shore is reached, you'll find yourself up against a
rather feeble onslaught of boulders.  As Darth Vader would say, "This is
all too easy."  Just jump over the little ones and duck under the big ones.
To this day, I still can't figure out why the big stones bounce higher than
the little ones do."

K.C.'s Krazy Chase (Odyssey/Odyssey)
Art Levis, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Stay right on the Dratapillar's tail.  Resist the temptation to go off in
search of frightened Drats.  When you do that, the wily Dratopillar senses
your vulnerbility and doubles back to bite your blind side."

K.C. Munchkin (Odyssey 2/Odyssey)
Garland Newport (Knoxville, TN), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"I've played this game thousands of times and the most effective strategy is
the simplest.  I always head for the upper left-hand corner and wait there
for the munchers to assemble before gobbling up the colored dot.  This seems
to be the best way to thwart the enemy."

K.C. Munchkin (Odyssey 2/Odyssey)
Lafe Travis
"Anticipate the path of the dots and try to position yourself at the mouth
of the tunnel so they run right into you."

Kaboom! (Atari 2600 & Atari 2500/Activision)
Anthony Ramos (Sheffield Lake, OH), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"On the even-numbered levels (2,4,6,8...) the bombs are vertically closer
together, so thr to catch them in a connect-the-dots method.  Also, try to
move your buckets left and right at the same speed as the bomber.  Quick
jerking motions mean sure death."

Kaboom! (Atari 2600 & Atari 5200/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"If you have three buckets and you're about to cross the 1,000 point mark,
miss one of the bombs on purpose, setting you back a level of difficulty."
You'll still get the extra bucket and things will be made easier for you."

Kaboom! (Atari 2600 & Atari 2500/Activision)
William Rickel, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
Don't catch every bomb!  Drop the last bomb in the sixth wave on purpose.
You'll rack up more points this way.  I did.

Kaboom! (Atari 2600/Activision)
Tom Vogel (Pittsburg, PA), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Always let a bomb detonate before you reach a thousand points.  This drops
the speed of the bombs down to the previous level, and is usually enough to
replace the sacrificed bucket."

Kangaroo (Atari 5200/Atari)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Try to KO the monkeys before they get the chance to hurl any apples.
Dash right up to them, crouch and jab."

Kangaroo (Atari 2600/Atari)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"Unlike the arcade version, it's not a good idea to go back for more fruit
after ringing the bell.  Just pick up what's in your path."

Kangaroo (Atari 2600/Atari)
Kevin Lennon (Troy, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"On the Atari home game: when you're on the second floor of the first
board, be sure to wait until an apple falls before you climb up."

Kangaroo (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"To super-jump wide spaces like the steps, you need to duck the
Kangaroo down, and then quickly move the joystick diagonally either
up-right or up-left depending on the direction desired."

Kangaroo (Atari 2600 & 5200)
Kelly Flannery (Villa Hills, KY), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"On round two, after the second ladder, don't jump for the fruit.  When you
jump on the platform you'll automatically get the fruit."

Kangaroo (Atari 5200/Atari)
David Martinez (East Lansing, MI), Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"If you're having trouble getting past the third screen in the 5200 version
and you want a lot of bonus points, just wait at the top left branch until
a monkey adds to the stack.  Once one does, you can jump onto the platform
where baby kangaroo awaits you."

Ken Uston's Blackjack/Poker (Colecovision/Coleco)
Gary Miller, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"Sitting on a dynamite poker spread?  Bet the house limit on each new card
and win a bundle.  Max will hold a deuce-four-six and challenge your three
aces to the bitter end."

Keystone Kapers (Atari 2600 & Colecovision/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Just by riding the elevator, you often stand the best chance of catching
the crook without really ever chasing him."

Keystone Kapers (Atari 2600 & Colecovision/Activision)
Bobby Seward (Winterset, LA), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"When you're read to get on an escalator, jump on it -- you'll skip part of
the ride and save time getting there."

Killer Bees (Odyssey 2/Odyssey)
Art Levis, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Make sure your zapper is aligned against the alien swarm or swarms before
punching the zapper button.  If it isn't, you've wasted a zap and must blast
another Beebot before you get a recharge."

Killer Satellites (Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger)
Paul Backer, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Watch out for the rather large striped satellites.  It takes two shots to
destroy them.  If you only shoot them once, they'll just pop their top and
keep going."

Lady Bug (Colecovision/Coleco)
Marjorie Crane, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"Hide in the corner right outside the center of the maze and wait patiently.
Eventually the insects come out of the center, giving you a free free
seconds to make off with the vegetables."

Lady Bug (all versions/Coleco)
Patty Holzemer (Nashville, TN), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Your first moves should be to box in the vegetable garden.  This give you
precious time to eat without interruption."

Lady Bug (all versions/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"To maximize your score, get the blue multiplier hearts as soon as possible.
Avoid temptation: If you are going to complete an EXTRA or a SPECIAL, save
the needed letter until everything else on the level has been cleared.
(On the Intellivision version, you can only get the EXTRA)."

Lady Bug (Intellivision/Coleco)
Scooter Evans, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Close the turnstiles nearest the opening of the enemy bugs' box first so
they can only travel on predictable paths.  Also, try to eat the dots around
the box before the first bug is released."

Laser Blast (Atari 2600/Activision)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"By turning the game on and off several times, you will eventually end up
with a messed-up playfield.  By Messed-Up, I mean that instead of getting a
normal picture, you'll get a slightly skewed representation of the
playfield -- the Laser Blast ground area may be one-quarter of the screen
higher than usual or the picture may be blinking or faded.  After you get
this, reset the game.  If the word "Activision" at the bottom of the screen
is spelled funny, you'll find yourself - 90 percent of the time -- playing
the game without having to worry about the aliens firing back at you.
You'll also notice that every other number in the score is backwards."

Lock 'n' Chase (Intellivision/Mattel)
Tony Stout (South Bend, IN), Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"The upper prize will only appear after so many gold bars are eaten (four
times per screen).  The last on each screen will appear wih exactly four
gold bars left.  Remember this and try to leave those last four bars near
the top toward the center.  This also makes it easier to picku up the last
upper prize (4,000 points).

Looping (Colecovision/Coleco)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"In the Ball Room, go to the top or the bottom of the room and hit the wall
with your plane when you are above or below the opening to the inner Ball
Room.  Not only will you rebound off the wall and go directly into the
opening, you will also destroy the ball guarding the doorway."

Looping (Colecovision/Coleco)
Charles Trimblett (Jersey City, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"When you enter the pipe screen, try to stay in there as long as possible
to gain extra points."

Lost Luggage (Atari 2600/Apollo)
Sandy Lawson (Long Beach, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"To accumulate a really high score, use the two-catcher mode and remain in
the middle.  Always keep your eyes one or two bags ahead of your catcher.
This enables you to anticipate where the bags will fall.  Practice a bit
without the terrorist suitcase or you'll spend most of your time resetting
the game and watching underwear fall."

Major League Baseball (Intellivision/Mattel)
Tom Crane (Chicago, IL), Electronic Fun Magazine, Januar 1983
"Like real baseball, practice is the key.  I play a 100 game season within
my circle of friends.  (Such practice has paid off for Tom.  He recently
won a Mattel Intellivision regional Baseball competition.)  I have found
that at least once during a game, a home run pitch is thrown.  You can take
best advantage of it by swinging early and to the left.  As far as pitching
is concerned, always use the fast speed ang go right down the middle."

M*A*S*H (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"It's easier to get shot down with a full load of casualties.  The reason
is, your copter will reappear at the hospital where you have to dock to
unload the casualties anyway."

Maze Craze (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Figure out the correct route with your eyes rather than with your little man
- you'll save time."
"Sometimes dead ends are useful hiding places from the robbers."

Maze Craze (Atari 2600/Atari)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"By turning the game on and off repeatedly, you can find, as well as play,
the very basic grid which all of the other randomly generated mazes are
based on.  What happens is that the color shifting that normally occurs --
which prevents you from seeing the screen while the computer is generating
a new maze -- is stopped and the maze grid is frozen on the screen."

Megamania (Atari 2600/Activision)
Walter Salm, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"In wave one, get as far to the left as possible.  Steer the bullets to the
right."

Megamania (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Keep firing! You're bound to hit something. Watch your ship rather than the
enemies."

Microsurgeon (Intellivision/Imagic)
Norman Metzer, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Time (is) of the essence.  You'll move faster if you stay on the lymphatic
or circulatory systems.  They are red, purple and orange."

Miner 2049'er (Colecovision/Microfun)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Don't jump on a piston that's going down.  If it gets below your starting
point by the time you land, bye-bye Bob."

Missile Command (Atari 2600/Atari)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"One of the amazine quirks -- an extra, lost dot in the explosions.  It will
appear only when you have your cursor lined up at a point vertically above
the left half of the top plateau of your missile base.  You'll find the dot
either on the upper right or the lower left of the explosion.  You should
also notice that there is a dot "missing" from the other side of the
explosion (lower right and upper left respectively)."
"Missle Command also contains the designer's signature.  Rob Fulop's
initials can be found near the bottom right-hand city in game 13 -- if you
don't score any points.  Fulop, the designer of several of Atari's best
selling games, placed his initials on Missile Command because he wanted
more recognition.  When he didn't get it, he quit and now works at Imagic.
Subsequently, Atari removed the initials so games manufactured later don't
have them."

Missile Command (all versions/Atari)
Bob Erdman (Havre, MT), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"This isn't a tip, but if you play level four and let all the bombs fall
without bothering to protect yourself, the initials RF will appear at the
bottom right-hand corner of the screen.  You certainly won't get a very high
score, though."

Missile Command (all versions/Atari)
unknown tipster
"If things are going badly, protect the cities closest to the laser bases in
the center."

Mission X (Intellivision/Mattel)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"Change altitude the instant you spot an enemy fighter -- it's almost your
only chance to survive such an encounter."

Mogul Maniac (Atari 2600/Amiga)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"If you don't own a pair of ski poles (or if you don't feel like making
little holes in your floor) lean on a table to steady yourself.
(In reference to using Amiga's Joyboard controller."

Monkeyshines (Odyssey 2/Odyssey)
Frank Lovece, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Since the monkeys bounce away from your man when he tags them, avoid the
side walls -- the monkeys can rebound and tag your man back."

Moon Patrol (Atari 2600/Atari)
Gary Miller, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"when you come upon a new obstacle, try all possible combinations of firing
and jumping.  Some challenges may seem impossible, but there's a way of
getting anything in this game with enough practice."

Moonsweeper (Atari 2600/Imagic)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"When in orbit, keep your movements to a minimum.  It doesn't take much to
evade space debris, and you have to be pretty well centered to hit a moon."

Mountain King (various systems/CBS)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"Since the diamonds are so easy to collect there's no reason to open the
chests at all.  It just wastes valuable time."

Mousetrap (Colecovision/Coleco)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Try to trap two cats in the inside cage.  You then only have to worry about
one cat instead of three. When you've got four bones, use one up getting
cats or maneuvering through them, then go after another bone."

Mouse Trap (Atari 2600/Atari)
"There is a way to cheat -- to get a free dog bone, start the game, turn into
a dog, press the reset button and you'll still be a dog; and a bone won't be
used up in doing so. You can have a maximum of four bones, so don't waste
them."
"If you'd like a rest, shut yourself in the center box without any cats."
"Sometimes you'll get a lot of points -- as a dog -- waiting around the place
where the cats enter the maze."
"Try and trap ALL the cats in the center box, after you've cleared the
cheese out of there of course. Once the cats are trapped, you have the whole
maze to your little mouse-self."

Mr. Do! (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Build traps (easy to do on screen #7) with apples."
"If you have the maximum number of Mr. Do!'s, don't get an extra one until
one dies."

Mr. Do! (Colecovision/Coleco)
Brad Robinson (Sacramento, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"In the Colecovision version, you can shoot the monsters with your power ball
without being subject to their attack.  Dig a tunnel just under or above
the monster pit, but be sure to leave a strip of dirt between Mr. Do! and the
pit.  When the monsters start coming out you can fire your power ball through
the strip of dirt and kill the monsters.  But watch out; this places you in
a position where some monsters could sneak up behind you."

Mr. Do! (Colecovision/Coleco)
Gary Miller, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"When beginning a screen, stay where you are and fire a powerball directly
at the center of the screen where the bad guys emerge."

Mr. Do! (Colecovision/Coleco)
Mark Carlson, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"I've discovered a way not to ever "die" in the Coleco game.  First, get to
a level where there are two apples in a row, push the apples together and
then dig under them so both will fall.  Before they fall, get under the one
that will fall first.  You'll get squished, but you won't be dead to the
computer; the only way to die is if one of the bad guys touches your
squished body."

Mr. Do! (Atari 2600/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Avoid shooting an enemy if you're close to the center of the screen,
because another baddie will appear and get you."

Ms. Pac-Man (Atari 2600/Atari)
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Save the tunnel dots for the end.  You can scarf up all four of them while
the ghosts are running around confused."

Ms. Pac-Man (Atari 2600/Atari)
Tom Keller, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Save the tunnel dots for the end of the board.  You can scarf up all four,
barely touching most of the playing field.  At the start of the game, try to
vacuum out all the dots in the lower half of the field first, because the
ghosts (for some reason known only to them) head for the top."

Ms. Pac-Man (Atari 5200/Atari)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Since the 5200 controller is so unresponsive, anticipate which way you're
goint to move before you get there.'

Munchman (TI-99)
Adam Pasztory (New York, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"You can start at any level with any number of men if you simply turn on the
machine, press any key, then press '2" for Munchman.  When the title screen
appears, press shift "8", shift "3", shift "8".  It will then ask you three
questions (remember that "0" is really "1")"

Nexar (Atari 2600/Spectravision)
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Play with your feet.  Rest one toe on your color switch and flip it if you
are about to get hit.  As the action is frozen, survey the field and act
accordingly."

Nexar (Atari 2600/Spectravision)
Ricky Denman (Portland, OR), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Don't hit all the boxes right away.  Keep in mind how many you have to hit
in each wave and wait until you have less than 20 seconds left before hitting
the last one.  In the meantime, you can rack up more points while you avoid
the boxes."

NFL Football (Intellivision/Mattel)
Kevin Kirby (Papillion, NE), Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"At the beginning of the game, try a lot of pass plays.  To fool the
defense, use receiver two and passing zones one, four and five.  I've found
that the defensive player normally expects receiver one to go out for a
pass.  After establishing your passing game, switch to the run.  Formations
eight and nine are normally used, but four and five are also good.  When
using five, run to the top of the screen.  On four, run to the bottom.  On
defense, if you have a large lead, rush the quarterback.  If you do, watch
for the receiver.  If he goes out for a pass, get in the receiver's line
and rush at the same time."

Night Driver (Atari 2600/Atari)
Kevin Hall (Malbourne Beach, FL), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Focus your attention on the two pilons at the top of the screen.  They help
you to know which way to turn."

Night Stalker (Intellivision/Mattel)
Mark Bittner (Newport News, VA), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"After 5,000 points a bat turns into a robot when shot, so never get
yourself, a robot and a bat all in the same line.  A robot only fires when
he sees you, and by avoiding the bats the robot can't blast them while
aiming for you.  But always remember, never shoot the bat yourself."

No Escape! (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Phil Wiswell and Bernie DeKoven, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Don't waste shots.  Each brick left at the end of the wave is worth one
bonus point."

Nova Blast (Intellvision/Imagic)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"As you fly, move up and down across half of the screen.  You'll increase
your chances of making a hit."

Oil's Well (Colecovision/Sierra)
Pil Wiswell, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"Gobble small sections of the maze at a time by retracting the drill often.
Remember: he who drills and runs away lives to drill another day."

Oink! (Atari 2600/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"Hold in the button when you grab a brick, and let go of the button to release
it; rather than pressing the button twice. Your fingers will get less tired
and you can play a longer game."

Omega Race (various systems/various manufacturers)
Unknown tipster, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Bounce off the bottom of the screen, then rotate and pick off the Androids
as you pass them."

Omega Race (all versions)
Lafe Travis
"Destroy inactive droids before going after the fleet leader, otherwise
a new fleet leader will be created."

Omega Race (Atari 2600/CBS)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"The Booster grip that comes with the game works great, but if you're
having trouble controlling direction, try sticking it to your VCS joystick
with some double-sided tape."

Othello (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Well-known fact... Try and take the corner squares, but avoid
placement on squares one in from the corners."

Party Mix (Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"In HANDCAR, establish a rhythm with your partner and increase your speed
together."

Pengo (various systems/Atari)
Noel Steere (New York, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"The trap: You are chased by a snow-bee into a dead end.  What can you do to
escape?  You have 29,960 points.
The escape: A lot of people don't know that if you break an ice cube you
get 80 points.  And once you hit 30,000 you get a new life.  So break a
cube.  You'll die, but get a new lease on life."

Pengo (Atari 5200/Atari)
Phil Wiswell, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Memorize the positions of the eggs, but break only those that do not take
you out of your way."

Pengo (various systems/Atari)
"WES" Horton (La Habra, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"In the earlier rounds, don't take unneccessary risks to line up the
diamond blocks.  Try instead to clear the icefield of Sno-Bees as fast as
you can; you may get up to 5,000 points which is just as much as you'd get
if you'd lined up the diamond blocks against a wall."

Pepper II (Colecovision/Coleco)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Always save a pitchfork square for last.  You might need devil power to
get safely into the next maze."

Pepper II (Colecovision/Coleco)
Brad Robinson (Sacramento, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"If the eyes speed up while you're playing, leave the maze and wait until
all the eyes in the next maze appear.  Then go back to the original maze --
everything there will have slowed down."

Pepper II (Colecovision/Coleco)
Pete Rocha
"Once you enter a new area, do not immediately exit through the same
doorway! The bad guys usually take 2 or 3 seconds to appear, so a
quick exit could result in death."

Phaser Patrol (Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger)
Walter Salm, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"When jumping from one sector to another, go to the ones that use the least
amount of energy."

Phoenix (Atari 2600/Atari)
Billy Oberlander (Madison, WI), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Remember that you can fire with shields on.  Keep moving - don't let them
trap you in the corner.  When the big ship comes, concentrate more on
surviving than blowing it up."

Phoenix (Atari 2600/Atari)
Scott Butler
"What a great game! One of the absolute best slide 'n shoot variations 
for the 2600....here's a few tips: Nibble away at the mother ship at the
edges, where the outer shield is the thinnest. Once you've got a couple
of good holes started, move to the center and shoot up through. Don't
use your shields here - the mother ship will let out a barrage of shots
at your shield that's nearly impossible to skate out from under. Need a
break? If you spare one of the outermost ships in the second wave, you
can hide for a while on the opposite side of the screen and take a rest."

Phoenix (Atari 2600/Atari)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Try to hit the big birds when they're closest to your ship.  This will give
you more points and get you a free ship at 5,000 sooner.'

Pigs in Space (Atari 2600/Atari)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"To make sure Link doesn't turn chicken always stay one row ahead of the
egg-laying hen and knock the rest off as they fly by."

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
unknown tipster
"Don't go right, go left! The logs will roll away from you, making it
easier."

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
Steve Pallante, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Pitfall! is a fun game.  When you play, you should always go to the right.
You'll get more treasures that way."

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
David Burnbaum (Macomb, IL), Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"The way to get through Pitfall! is with a lot of concentration.  But if
that doesn't work, after you are out of the trees, head toward the left and
keep your eyes on the game.  Act as if you were Pitfall Harry.  You should
be able to score 52,000 with ease."

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
Chris Serino (Mahopac, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"I have a helpful hint for those who hate the alligators in Pitfall!
You can jump on them when their mouths are open or closed, and if you stay
on their eyes when their mouths are open, they can't eat your for dinner.
Good luck!"

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Don't try to jump over all the crocodiles at once.  Jump on the first head.
Wait.  Jump on the second head.  Wait.  Jump on the third head.  Wait.
Jump off."

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
"When running underground, don't stop at all.  You'll have a better time
jumping the scorpions."

Pitfall! (various systems/Activision)
Chuck Painter (Cary, NC), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"To get by those horrible scorpions, you can "float" over them.  This
maneuver takes timing, but can be done easily once you get the hang of it.
Here's how... you run up to a scorpion and jump.  Just before it seems that
Harry's going to bite the dust, hit the jump button again, before he makes
contact with the scorpion or the ground.  Harry will seem to float above and
past the scorpion.  Harry can float and float until you decide he's getting
airsick.  This technique doesn't work above ground -- only in tunnels.
Also, it doesn't work while using the PointMaster Fire Controller."

Planet Patrol (Atari 2600/Spectravision)
Frank Lovece, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Don't worry about wiping out too many of the first-wave missiles -- just
get through them alive and move on to more point-profitable waves.  Night
flying is troublesome, but just keep firing and maneuvering.  Stay away from
the top or bottom of the screen during this phase or else you can get boxed
in by just two heat-seeking missiles."

Plaque Attack (Atari 2600/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Where there's one tooth left, position yourself directly across from it and
fire at everything that comes across."

Polaris (Atari 2600/Tigervision)
Phil Wiswell and Bernie DeKoven, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"In the first scene make sure to shoot all subs before the last plane.  In
the second scene, use speed and breaks to get the targets to line
themselves up."

Polar Rescue (Vectrex)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Never waste shots on ice chunks.  They are easily avoided and don't yield
many points when hit."

Pole Position (Atari 2600/Atari)
Gary Miller, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"When going around the curves, barely move the joystick in the direction in
which you're turning.  Too much pressure will send you off the road on to
the red and white shoulder, and this wastes valuable time."

Pole Position (Atari 5200/Atari)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"Pull the joystick toward you while driving to prevent accidental
downshifting."

Pole Position (Atari 5200/Atari)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"What's known as the CENTIPEDE turn in the arcade is marked by a red
billboard here.  You'll know it's coming up immediately after the
pink-blue-yellow-and-black billboards.  To get past the hairpin, you must
break down or down-shift."

Popeye (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"Concentrate on catch all the hearts.  You can always beat up Brutus
later."

Popeye (Colecovision only/Parker Brothers)
Lafe Travis
"On the third screen, you can hide from Brutus on the right side of the
ship (at any of the levels) where the spinach appears. He can't touch
you!"

* Popeye (Colecovision only/Parker Brothers)
on rec.games.video.classic, Chris Burger (burgerc@aecl.ca) wrote:
"There is a cool bug in the Colecovision Popeye game. If you grab the
spinach, hit Brutus(the villain), and drop the hanging bucket in the
middle of the screen so that it collides with Brutus as he drops off
the bottom of the screen, you can cause the game to lock up. When this
happens,you will see the top of the bucket in the water at the bottom
of the screen. This continues for a few seconds and then the game
locks up.It actually appears that you have drowned Brutus. I remember
doing this years ago, and I was able to do this recently on one of the
Colecovision Emulators as well."

Porky's (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Dan Persons, Video Games Magazine, December 1983
"In the swamp screen, Pee Wee appears to pole-vault easier if you tilt the
joystick diagonally in the direction of the jump as you press the action
button.  In the scaffolding screen, although you can climb up to the next
level from either side of the vertical beams, only one side may be the
correct path.  If after you've climbed up a level you receive a green arrow
at both sides of the screen, it means you are on the right path and can
then climb up another level.  If you receive a red arrow, then you must
return to the bottom of the screen (watch out for Porky!), retrace your
steps along the part of the path that you know is correct, and try a new
beam to get to the level where you failed."

Q*Bert (various systems/Parker Brothers)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"The controls present a little bit of a problem.  Hold the joystick
diagonally and you'll find your control over Q*Bert's movements to be more
precise."

Q*Bert (various systems/Parker Brothers)
Steven Brownstein (Richardson, TX), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Don't try to work on the top of the pyramid at the start.  All the creatures
pop out of there.  Instead, go all the way down and cover the bottom cubes.
Then, when Coily comes out, hop on a disc and let it take you to the top.
Then finish off the top cubes."

Q*Bert (all versions/Parker Brothers)
Lafe Travis
"Start by moving down the left side of the pyramid, then zig-zag across
the bottom, and then go up the right side. Lastly, fill in the middle and
the top of the pyramid."

Q*Bert (Colecovision/Coleco)
Mark Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"Coily must be within three jumps of reaching Q*Bert before you jump onto a
disc, otherwise he won't be lured off the pyramid."

Q*Bert (Atari 2600 ONLY/Parker Brothers)
unknown tipster
"You can gain a lot of points by jumping Q*Bert off the top of the pyramid and
have Coily follow you. If done properly, you won't lose a life, and you'll
pick up the points from Coily's demise."

Q*Bert (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Zach Douglas
"To avoid being killed by the snake, time your jump to meet him in
mid-spring as he jumps toward you. If timed right, the game won't
detect a collision and you will go right through him. With a little
practice, it's easy, and you'll never be killed by the snake again."

Q*Bert's Qubes (Colecovision/Parker Brothers)
Lafe Travis
"For a higher score, try to claim as many cubes as possible before
completing the tic-tac-toe that finishes the level."

QIX (Atari 5200/Atari)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"First bottle up the Qix on one side of the screen by building a long thin
column up the center.  Then strike out on the Qix's side, trying to force
it into a corner."

Ram It (Atari 2600/Telesys)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Ram one whole side of the screen first so you don't get blocked.  The top
and bottom bars can't bloack you so leave them alone until they start
flashing, then go for the big points."

* Realsports Baseball (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 5, Jason Mazzei
"In games 3 and 4 versus the computer, you can usually get a bunt hit.
For some reason the catcher throws it but the first baseman (sometimes)
forgets to tag the base.

* Realsports Baseball (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 5, Greg Bienema
"In game 4 versus the computer, you can get a hit, by waiting to run.  When
the ball is hit to the left fielder or shortstop, wait until the first baseman
throws the ball to the catcher, then run.  You can run all the way around the
bases and nobody will get you out."

* Realsports Baseball (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 5, Mark Miller
"If you have a man on third base and steal him home while the ball is being
pitched, you are able to make any man on any base automatically jump.  As soon
as your third base stealer is almost home, quickly switch to the man you're
controlling, to the man that's at bat and swing at the ball.  As soon as the
man running from third is home, your runner, and any other man running to a
base on the field will jump to that base."

* Realsports Football (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 5, Ralph Haefner
"Against the computer always blitz on defense.  If it runs, the blitzing men
will stop it. On a pass the computer will not move the quarterback, so your
player can cover the receiver.  Up to 50% of its passes can be intercepted
this way."

* Realsports Football (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 5, Brian Dixon
"I discovered that if you are going to pass, right when you pass the ball
come back a little bit.  You'll find that this will help complete about 85% of
your passes - it helped me."

* Realsports Football (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 5, Warren Dalton
"I think I found a secret message.  On a practice game with regulation time,
in the 4th quarter with the score 112 to 3, I scored a touchdown with no time
left in the game.  Instead of the scoreboard flashing `game over', it printed
`Designed by the Warlord'"

Reactor (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"Try to hit both sets of rods to gain extra decoys on the first eight
rounds, then use them when you reach the levels where the reactor can kill
you."

Realsports Football (Atari 2600/Atari)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Before you tackle the computer, practice playing the two-player version
yourself.  The other team will just stand there so you can rehearse
passing, running etc."

Rescue Terra 1 (Atari 2600/Venture Vision) -- as if anybody owns this game!
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Do not fire continuously.  Punch off shots in bursts of twos."

Revenge of the Beefsteak Tomatoes (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Mark Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Until you completely block off the vines, don't be too particular about what
color bricks you shoot.  Once you've blocked them, you can go back and fill
the green wall."

Revenge of the Beefsteak Tomatoes (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Lafe Travis
"Make sure your difficulty switch is set to A, otherwise you'll be playing
the game forever!"

Riddle of the Sphinx (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Lafe Travis
Tips: Pyramid - give the Key to get the Tablet
  Temple of Isis - Jug gives passage. Crown for Key.
  Phoenix - Tanis Leaf for passage. Scroll for Key.
  Temple of Anubis - Shield gives passage. Ankh for Key.
  Sphinx - must give 1 of 3 tablets for passage (random)
  Temple of Ra - offer Staff in order to drop everything else.
To get the staff, go down upon starting a new game. Take a drink at the oasis.
Possible things to dig for: Crown, Ankh, Sceptre, Necklace
Possible things from Nomad Trader: Shield, Jug, Tanis Leaf, Spade, Scroll
Possible things from Isis: Disk, Goblet, Necklace, Sceptre, Crown, Ankh
Accepted Treasures at Temple of Ra: Disk, Goblet, Necklace, Sceptre, Crown,
Ankh, Tablets.
If you have a Disk, dump Leaves. If you have a Goblet, dump Jugs.
If you have a Necklace, dump Shields.

Riddle of the Sphinx (Atari 2600/Atari)
Richard Read (Laurel, MS)
"Want to obtain the Staff of Power right at the beginning of the game instead
of at the end?  Just go up instead of down.  Travel until the invisible
barrier stops you; you should see an oasis.  Go take a drink, and when you
do you'll automatically receive the Staff of Power."
(I think he meant to say "DOWN instead of UP".)

Ripoff (Vectrex/Vectrex)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"In the two-player game, work out some voice signals to divide your
responsibilities on the playfied, or you'll spend more time crashing into
each other than you will be doing in the pirates.  And don't just sit over
the fuel cells -- you'll be a sitting duck."

River Raid (Atari 2600/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"When you need to refuel, wait until the nose of your plane is lined up with
the letter "F" on the fuel tank then push fire.  This will get you fuel AND
points."

River Raid (various systems/Activision)
Adam Shaw (Bakersfield, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"When the river splits, go on the right side if you don't need fuel,
because that's where most of the targets are.  If you need fuel, go left
because that's where most of the fuel tanks are."

River Raid (various systems/Activision)
Robert Alonso, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Hold back on the joystick to go slower and shoot the tanks as they pass
over the bridges.  Doing so will get you many more points than if you just
shoot down the bridges."

Robot Tank (Atari 2600/Activision)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"When night falls keep the enemy tanks behind yours.  Here they cannot
shoot you."

Robot Tank (Atari 2600/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"Retreat from the tanks at night and during poor weather. On sunny days, try
to destroy as many tanks as possible. Dodge enemy fire instead of shooting it.
Use the radar scanner. Don't forget that you can go forward and back.
The enemy tanks cannot shoot you when they are facing sideways, so use this
as an advantage."

Robotron (various systems/Atari)
George Ponsi (Homer, LA), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"On the first two levels, don't just shoot blindly or you might pass through
the wave without rescuing your family and earn valuable points.  Always
leave one Grunt running around while you help your family.  After you've
gotten them all, blow him away."

Robotron (various systems/Atari)
Dan Ciruli (Bloomfield Hills, MI), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"The Grunt waves are the most complicated.  The easiest way to escape them
is to get outside the mass of Grunts and then run circles around them,
always firing into the group.  Brain waves are also a major source of points.
The first thing you should do during these waves is locate the places with
the most people, and go and collect them."

Roc 'N' Rope (Atari & Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"When monsters start climbing your rope, shoot off a new rope -- they'll
fall."

Rocky (Colecovision/Coleco)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"The most effective combination is the four-one -- out of the crouch with a
quick jab to the chin.  Then get your guard up again in a hurry."

Royal Dealer (Intellivision/Mattel)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, 1983
"You can determine how long you will be playing by selecting the number of
opponenets.  It seems the fewer opponents you are playing, the quicker the
game goes."

Safecracker (Intellivision/Imagic)
"When possible, avoid using dynamite to open the safe.  It brings the
Secret Police a-runnin'.

Scramble (Vectrex)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"You get new bombs only when the old ones have exploded.  Stay close to the
landscape line and you'll have more firepower.  And stay on the right side
of the screen as much as possible -- it's the only way to beat the rocket
timing."

Seaquest (Atari 2600/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"You can take refuge behind a shark or a sub in its path."

Seaquest (Atari 2600/Activision)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"The enemy sub on the surface only moves from right to left.  If it's on the
screen, surface to its right.  If it's not on the screen, stay as far left
as possible."

Sewer Sam (Intellivison & Colecovision/Interphase)
Lafe Travis
"Climb the wall as soon as spider webs are shot, and they'll miss you.
When confronting a submarine, keep moving left and right to avoid its
shots. And fire each time you pass the sub; eventually you'll hit it."

Shark! Shark! (Intellivision/Mattel)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Try "drawing" a box around the shark; this is the best way to kill him."

Sir Lancelot (Atari 2600 & Colecovision/Xonox)
Lafe Travis
"On the dragon scene, fly as high as possible. If you're hit by the
dragon's breath, flap like crazy to save yourself -- you'll usually regain
control before you fall in the lava."

Sky Jinks (Atari 2600/Activision)
Ed Hulse,12 Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"Start by going very slowly through the courses so you can determine the
placements of the obstacles.  After you've been playing for awhile,
gradually speed up; you'll develop an intuitive feeling for the pylon
locations."

Sky Skipper (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Your instincts will initially lead you to pick up one whole species at a
time, but you can completely refuel if you pick up one of each animal in
succession.  Then go back and get the stragglers."

Shootin' Gallery (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Suzan D. Prince, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Try for the monkey, then the train's caboose, several times during each
play -- those two targets contain the highest number of points."

Slither (Colecovision/Coleco)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"Get behind the snakes and shoot them from there."

Smithereens (Odyssey 2/Odyssey)
Art Levis, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Use your first salvo to blast the enemy's catapult.  While he's getting it
fixed, you can bomb away at his castle unmolested."

Smurf Rescue (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Well-known fact: If a scene looks too hard, walk off the screen to the
left and then re-enter. You might be given something easier."

Smurf Rescue (Colecovision/Coleco)
John Lessich (Twinsburg, OH), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"On game number four, move as fast as you can between screens one and two.
If you do this successfully in under one minute, you'll get a score of
919,500 points and the display of Smurfs remaining will sprout like a field
of grass gone berzerk."

Snoopy and the Red Baron (Atari 2600/Atari)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Always keep Snoopy close to the ground, where the Baron can't fly.  When
the Baron reduces his altitude, quickly come up from behind and blast him
out of the sky."

Solar Fox (Atari 2600/CBS)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Don't stay near the top or the bottom unless you're forced up there to
collect a solar cell.  The sentinel can zap you like that if you hover in
those two places for too long."

Solar Fox (Atari 2600/CBS)
If you're good at steering, fly fast at all times,

Solar Storm (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"Shoot the Sizzloids when the screen is full of debris."

Sorcerer's Apprentice (Atari 2600/Atari)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"In the basement, wipe out as many brooms as you can then hotfoot it back
up to the fresh air.  While you'll never be able to completely clear the
screen of brooms, you can at least keep their numbers under control."

Space Armada (Intellivision/Mattel)
Jeff Mathews (Berkeley Heights, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"At the start of a new armada of invaders, clear the three left columns first.
When the armada starts moving to the left, you'll then have more time to
clear the lower levels of invaders.  To get new bunkers, be sure to hit the
flying saucers in the armadas when the invaders are invisible."

Space Attack (Atari 2600/M-Network)
Suzan Prince, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Commit the joystick movements and what they control to memory as soon as
possible.  This will improve your precision."

Space Battle (Intellivision/Mattel)
Craig Kubey from the Winners Book of Video Games
"You must take special care to aim your shots not where an enemy fighter
is, but where it will be. Fire almost continually, enemies will often
move into your line of fire."

Space Dungeon (Atari 5200/Atari)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"As you enter a new room, always shoot side to side.  If the room contains
a corner laser trap, you'll get him before he gets you."

Space Fury (Colecovision/Coleco)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
There's no need to thrust away from your initial position.  The ships will
never for directly on top of you and you'll have time to shoot at them
before they move."

Space Jockey (Atari 2600/U.S. Games)
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Don't wait around to see the result of your shot.  By that time, you'll
probably be hit.  Shoot and move before looking back."

Space Invaders (Atari 2600?/Atari)
Billy Clements (Los Angeles, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"My friend taught me the 23/15 rule.  To get 300 points for every mother ship,
hit one on your 23rd shot and then every 15th shot after that.  It's very
hard, but any other way, you won't get 300 points."

Space Invaders (Atari 2600/Atari)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Turn the game on and reset it at the same time.  In game variation one,
you'll be able to fire two shots at a time.  This quirk will remain as long
as you don't turn the game off or reselect the variation."

Space Invaders (Atari 2600/Atari)
Chris George (Louisville, KY), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"At the beginning of each board, shoot the first two rows of invaders.  This
makes the other invaders travel farther to get down to the next level and
you will have a better chance of destroying all of them."

Space Invaders (Atari systems/Atari)
unknown tipster
"Bunkers are more of a hindrance than help, so shoot holes through them. Shoot
the end columns of aliens rather than the middle columns.
It's easiest to get he last alien if you're standing still, waiting for
it."

Space Invaders (Atari 2600/Atari)
Don Nevins (Milwaukee, WI), Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"You can get automatic fire on the VCS Space Invaders by first turing the
VCS off, then turning it back on again while holding the Reset lever.
This only works on Game One, but you'll get automatic fire for every game
thereafter."

Space Panic (Colecovision/Coleco)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Move to the uppermost portion of the playfield and seal yourself off by
digging a hole on either side of you.  Knock Dons and Bosses down on the
aliens moving below."

Space Shuttle (Atari 2600/Activision)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Designer Steve Kitchen recommends that two people pilot the shuttle -- one
to monitor the status of the mission and give commands and the other to
work the controls and execute them."

Space Wars (Vectrex/Vectrex)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Learn to use the wraparound fire feature; if it looks like your opponent is
out of range, turn fast and zap him through the side of the screen."

Spider Fighter (Atari 2600/Activision)
Phil Wiswell, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Pods and Protectors turn into spiders as soon as you kill the Mother Nest
in each wave.  So avoid the deadly Mother Nest until last."

Spider Fighter (Atari 2600/Activision)
Tony Stout (South Bend, IN), Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Since this game is fast-paced, you may need time to rest.  You can get
some by first shooting all the bugs except one Stinger at the top.  Then
position your blaster a little to the left of the leftmost fruit.  The
Stinger will drop bombs on both sides of you, but won't hit you."

Spider Fighter (Atari 2600/Activision)
Eric Hallman (Delran, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"For higher scores, play on the expert level until you lose two or three of
your man.  Then switch back to the regular game, regain your men, then put
it on expert again.  Continue this until the game is over.  It will improve
your scre, because you get more points on the expert level."

Spiderman (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Take a lesson from the X-rated games and learn how to swing.  Aim your
web diagonally above the intended object (henchman, bomb, etc.) and begin
swinging.  Lengthen or shorten the web line until you've captured the item."

Spike (Vectrex)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Although the Bouncer can be killed with a kick, it's better to avoid him.
If the kick is slightly off, he'll get you instead."

Spike's Peak (Atari 2600/Xonox)
Lare Travis
"If getting cold, dump the ice crystals."
"On the second screen, don't go onto the third screen until your energy is
completely revived."

Spitfire Attack (Atari 2600/Milton Bradley)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"To shoot enemy aircraft, move from side to side, slightly above the
horizon.  The enemy planes move from side to side at around that level so
it's easier to get them in your sights than trying to swoop down or come up
under them."

Springer (Atari 2600/Tigervision)
Mike Sheinbaum, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"It is not necessary to destroy all of the eggs on the first three boards.
On level one, go all the way to the right, collect the bonus objects and
hop on the moving cloud.  With practice, you shoould score about 920
points."  (I have never heard of this game before).

Squeeze Box (Atari 2600/U.S. Games)
Suzan D. Prince, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"Barney always faces left at the start of each game, so fire left
immediately instead of wasting precious time turning right.  For quick
reaction to swiftly moving walls, you must angle your joystick precisely in
the direction of each block."

Sssnake (Atari 2600/Data Age)
Lafe Travis
"Once the snake enters your area, get above it as soon as possible."

Star Castle (Vectrex)
Mark Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"If you shoot from the corners of the screen, the energy bombs tend to linger
in your line of fire.  It's better to destroy them than to thrust away and
have to aim all over again."

Star Raiders (various non-2600 Atari systems/Atari)
Phil Gerson, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"When fighting aliens on aft view, turn the control around so that the
firing button is at the bottom.  This makes it easier to hit the enemy into
your gunsight."

Star Ship (Atari 2600)
Lafe Travis
"On the Lunar Lander game, you ship can wrap around the screen to save travel
distance. On the Star Ship game, don't stop firing."

Star Strike (Atari 2600/M-Network)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"If you're hit by a scrambler meteor, push up on the joystick instead of
trying to control your rocket.  This maneuver should keep you from crashing.
Another choice is to stay still and fire like crazy."

Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator (various systems)
Steve Zammer (Littleton, CO), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"When you first start out, dock with your star bases.  This will increase
your shield strength, photon torpedoes and warp drive.  You'll need all of
those things in later sectors."

Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator (Atari 2600/Sega)
Steve Akyuz (Rochester, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"For the Atari VCS: Keep your finger on the fire button at all times,
thrusting forward and then moving from right to left whenever you approach
a Klingon.  There's an easy way to get the anti-matter saucer: thrust
AWAY from it until it's in firing range, then stop, turn around, and shoot.
It is always a good idea to shoot the saucer; it's worth 5000 points!"

Star Wars: Death Star Battle (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"To get an extra man the hard way, try to destroy every part of the Death
Star except the reactor.  This is difficult because the Death Star always
tries to repair itself."

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Atari 2600 & Intellivision/Parker)
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Don't destroy the first Walker -- hit him until he turns light grey, then
destroy all of the others.  This will slow down all the Walkers."

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Jens von der Heide, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"By turning the game on and resetting it simultaneously, you can cause the
Imperial Walkers to appear on the scanner at the bottom of the screen, but
not on the screen itself."

Star Wars: Jedi Arena (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Always concentrate on one spot of your opponent's shield.  Five well-placed
hits will zap him but ten scattered ones may not even put him in danger."

Star Voyager (Atari 2600/Imagic)
Jim Perilli (Mont Clare, PA), Video Games Magazine, December 1982
"If the enemy is just appearing on the radar screen, it is very easy to
avoid by quickly steering your ship hard in the opposite direction.  In my
opinion, this flaw lowers the interest rating at least two notches."

Stronghold (Atari 2600/Commavid)
Mike Sheinbaum, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"The only way to destroy the Command Crawler is to move rapidly from side to
side and shoot as often as possible.  Standing still will make you a sitting
duck."

Sub Roc (Colecovision/Coleco)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"Stay in the air.  The air targets are simpler to hit and don't shoot back
as much."

Sub Scan (Atari 2600/Sega)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"Learn the proper time to drop charges by dropping walls of them at first.
Then abandon this strategy -- pinpoint accuracy is the only way to win."

Super Action Baseball (Colecovision/Coleco)
George Kopp, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"Unlike other baseball games, the advantage in a steal situation is with
the fielding team.  Don't let your runners take too much of a lead."

Super Challenge Baseball (Atari 2600/M-Network)
Suzan Prince, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"Commit the joystick movements and what they control to memory as soon as
possible.  This will improve your precision."

Super Cobra (various systems/Parker Brothers)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"During the meteor swarm hug the ground, rising only to avoid tank shots."

Super Cobra (various systems/Parker Brothers)
Lafe Travis
"For the highest score, count your score on the level of the game when you
pick up the booty."

Survival Run (Atari 2600/Milton Bradley Electronics)
Charles Ardai, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"File down the edges of the controller above the left handle, since that is
where the fire button is.  If you don't file it, your hand will be rubbed
raw, no matter which finger you fire with."

SwordQuest: Earthworld (Atari 2600/Atari)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1982
"Find the key and pick it up.  It allows you to move sideways as well as up
and down."

SwordQuest: Earthworld (Atari 2600/Atari)
Mary Ann Carrado (Long Island, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"The objects in a room all have special powers when you carry them.  For
example, when you carry the shield you can go right through the spears and
horns, or if you carry the shoes no sound will be heard when you walk the
corridor.  If you give up finding the clues or tire of the game, finding out
what each object does will make it more interesting, and may help you when
you look for the real clues."

Swords & Serpents (Intellivsion/Imagic)
Phil Wiswell, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"Always use the Reverse button when sword fighting.  Wait for an opening,
then let go of the button."

Swords & Serpents (Intellivision/Imagic)
Grover Zaborniak (Sacramento, CA), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"This may seem dumb, but if you want to save time and lives, forget all
treasures and spells.  The more time it takes to reach the Serpent's Lair,
the more lives the Prince and Wizard risk losing.  Just concern yourself
with getting the key to the next level.  The only spell you reall need is
the Destroy Walls spell (located on the third level).  The Serpent Lair is on
the fourth level, and you'll need the Destroy Walls to get inside the Lair."

Swords & Serpents (Intellivision/Imagic)
Joe Menegan (Hamilton, Ontario), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"On the fourth level as you appear, there is a scroll.  DO NOT READ IT.
It says "To read this scroll is a fool's folly."  You are then trapped in a
room with no exit."

Tac-Scan (Atari 2600/Sega)
Mark Brownstein, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"At the beginning of most attack waves after the first, don't move your
ships -- most waves start with the attackers directly above you and a quick
shot usually gets you a quick few hundred points.  Letting attackers get by
you doesn't cost you anything -- wait until three or four ships are lined
up and shoot them for a bonus."

Tapeworm (Atari 2600/Spectravision)
Kim Mills, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Don't approach the beans head-on if  they're close to the edge of the patch.
Try to get Slinky parallel to the perimeter of the patch so he can eat the
bean sideways."

Tapper (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Besides watching the action, listen to the various sounds - they tell
you a lot about what is going on in the game. For instance, the number of
sounds can alert you to the number of customers who want refills."

Tempest (all versions/Atari)
Taylor Morgan (Gadsden, AL), Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"If you'd like to improve your score, simply start on Board 9 or 11 instead
of Board One.  If cleared, you'll receive 60,000 to 80,000 points and be
well on your way to being a better player."

Tempest (a few systems/Atari)
Nina Wallinsky, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"When I play Tempest, I wear one of my mother's rubber gloves on my right
hand.  Usually my hand sweats and slips on the wheel, but with the glove I
have a much better grip."

Tempest (a few systems/Atari)
Mary Benjamin (Chicago, IL), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"If you've exhausted your Superzapper and the Flippers are on the edge, you
can still get them.  Stay in one place and bounce your finger on the fire
button as fast as you can.  If you hit them just as they flip over you,
they're dead.  This is the one way to survive after your Superzapper is gone."

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Atari 2600/Wizard Games)
Mark Trost, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"When attempting to do in a victim, don't try to do anything fancy.  A
quick thrust to the mid-section will generally do the trick.  If that
doesn't work, get them from behind.  After all you're a maniac, you don't
care what's fair."

Time Pilot (Colecovision/Coleco)
The Unknown Arcader, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"You are faster than any of the big targets.  If you don't have the range
to get off four or five shots at once, fly in a zig-zag path parallel to
them, shooting them at each opportunity."

Time Pilot (various systems/Coleco)
Phil Harvel (Findlay, OH), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"Attention 2600 Owners!  If you don't know how to control your jet, dig that
old Combat (ugg) cart from under your bed and play the "Jets" game.
No stroll over to your local Time Pilot machine and throw a farewell party
for your quarter.  If at all possible go upwards to get the parachuters,
which are worth 1000, 2000, 3000, etc. points consecutively.  In 1940, shoot
the big planes you see throughout the round.  They give you 1500 points and
reduce your time a bit.  To hit the object that takes you to the next wave,
get directly behind it.  It can't fire behind itself."

Tombstone City (TI-99)
David Holloway (Henderson, NV), Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"The Morgs appear in a pattern like reading a letter, left to right and
top to bottom.  If you learn the pattern, you can move easily destroy the
Morgs.  Also, if the Morg is destroyed near a pair of cacti, the pair turns
into another Morg which can be easily hit.  It is helpful to eliminate
cactus pairs in this way since pairs create Morgs."

Turbo (Colecovision/Coleco)
Dan Gutman, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"To get around sharp corners safely, try to drive alongside another car at
the same speed.  That way you won't hit anyone or get hit from behind."

Turbo (Colecovision/Coleco)
Bobby Winogrand, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"When cars go into the "valley" they disappear but they reappear in the same
part of the road.  If you see somebody go into the valley, steer to the other
side of the road."

Tutankham (various systems - Atari 2600 not included/Parker Brothers)
David Wenner (Toronto, ON), Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"When the game starts, go straight to the bottom of the hallway you're in
and keep shooting to the right.  When there aren't many serpents and other
creatures in the way, work yourself over to the key or treasure.'

TRON Maze-A-Tron (Intellivision/Mattel)
Rich Caputo (Pleasant Valley, NY), Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1984
"In the Intellivision game, if you need a break but don't want to lose your
score, simply enter a flip-flop with a deactivated Recognizer on the screen.
The direction will continue to change, but without going anywhere."

TRON Maze-A-Tron
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"If there's one Recognizer on the screen, another one won't come in.  Use
this to your advantage."

TRON Deadly Discs (Atari & Intellivision/Mattel)
Lafe Travis
"Well-known fact; if you miss a shot, press the button to have your disc
come back sooner."
"Get to a level of scoring where you think you can handle the speed, and then
do not advance yourself by killing off all the warriors. You'll be able to
play a longer game."

Tropical Trouble (Intellivision/Imagic)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, June 1983
"Never wander too close to the bottom of the screen or you'll get stuck.
Then you're fair game for fists, snakes and other predators."

Tunnel Runner (Atari 2600/CBS)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"The game progresses too fast to make real maps, but marking the quadrants
where the key and exit are located can save you plenty of points."

Turmoil (Atari 2600/20th Century Fox)
Randi Hacker, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"Race your ship up and down and fire all the time.  Don't bother stopping and
aiming down a corridor.  Just fire all the time in both directions."

Tutankham (various systems/Parker Brothers)
Lafe Travis
"For a higher score, try and get every treasure before the levels get
too difficult."

Tutankham (Atari 2600/Parker Brothers)
Noel Steere, Electronic Fun Magazine, October 1983
"If the monsters block your path in a direction you can't shoot in, go back
up until they're off the screen.  When you head back down again, they'll be
gone."

Truckin' (Intellivision/Imagic)
Phil Wiswell and Bernie DeKoven, Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"If you have to make sure you get by an approaching truck, slow down to about
five mph when the truck first appears on the horizon.  Wait; it will often
disappear.  Also, never leave a city with only a quarter tank of gas."

Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Randy Robinson (Portland, OR), Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"After you eat the energy pod, play connect-the-dots with any ship in your
path.  Most of the time, stay on the left side of the screen so you can see
what's coming at you.  In the Striped Zone, go right.  You have a better
chance of survival there.  When you reach the City of Mystery, go up or
down immediately and fire.  If you just sit there, you're a goner."

Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Howard Polskin, Electronic Fun Magazine, April 1983
"In the Bleak Zone, you can dock into one of the snakes and rack up serious
points but don't dock more than twice.  The third time the snakes will
destroy your ship."

Vanguard (Atari 2600 & 5200)
Shawn Fisher (Lebanon, MO), Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"If you hit the Kremlus in the third rainbow zone with one of your missiles
and then dock into it, you will get 1,000 points plus 100 to 400 points for
filling it."

* Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 3, Vincente Vigil
"In the Mountain Zone, try not to get the energy too often, since you can
destroy more enemy ships by shooting them than by ramming them."

* Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 3, Steve Schoenecker
"If you hit the Kemlus in the Bleak Zone with one of your missiles and then
dock into it, you wil get 1090 points for docking plus 100 to 400 points for
killing it."

* Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 3, Mark Hammer
"Start the game with 6 ships instead of 5 by pressing the Game Reset and Game
Select switches at the same time, and releasing them quickly.  You will not
get to see the first map, but you gain that extra ship."

* Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 3, Bob Lane
"When you fly through an energy pod, not only do you receive ten seconds of
pod power, but you also receive a full fuel supply.  This is extremely helpful
after you exhaust a large portion of your fuel while waiting to destroy the
Gond."

* Vanguard (Atari 2600/Atari)
Atari Age Volume 2, Number 3, G.P. Thomas
"In the Mystery City, the top barrier won't hurt you if you go straight up and
don't move sideways.  If you avoid the missiles long enough, the bottom
barrier will get near you and then disappear.  Then you have the entire screen
to move around in.  If you lose your last ship in the rain of Romedas, wait
while the display continues and it will shoot the Gond and you will get the
extra points."

Vanguard (Atari 5200/Atari)
Phil Wiswell and Bernie DeKoven, Electronic Fun Magazine, August 1983
"Don't bother with the energy pods in the early stages of the game.  You
don't need any energy yet and can usually score more points by firing than
ramming."

Venture (Colecovision/Coleco)
Raymond Dimetrosky, Electronic Fun Magazine, February 1983
"Never leave a room before you have taken the treasure.  If you leave and
later return, all monsters which you had killed will come back to life."

Venture (Colecovision & Intellivision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"On the blue and yellow levels, go the the Dragon Room and Bat Room first;
they'll be harder to get to as the game goes on."

Venture (Atari 2600/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Enter the snake room and the skeleton room from the right door --
otherwise you'll run out of time."

Venture (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis
"Enter the snake room from the left door -- otherwise you'll be
surrounded!"

Video Olympics (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Use whammy and speed against the other player as often as possible."

Wall Ball (Atari 2600/Avalon Hill)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, November 1983
"Use the fire button to keep the ball on a steady course first, then use
the small joystick movements to set up a fram shot that will let you work
a row of bricks."

Warlords (Atari 2600/Atari)
Lafe Travis
"Don't be predictable. Trick your opponents by changing your pattern.
The weaker members can gang up on the stronger players."

War Room (Colecovision/Odyssey)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1983
"Use the pause feature to stop the game temporarily when each attack is
announced.  More than anything, you need time to think."

Web War (Vectrex/Vectrex)
William Michael Brown, Electronic Fun Magazine, May 1983
"You can put a following cluster in front of you by alternately speeding up
and backing down on the throttle."

White Water (Intellivision/Imagic)
Michael Blanchet, Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"You want to make sure that the urn is the last piece remaining when it's
your turn to pick."

Wizard of Wor (Atari 2600/CBS Games)
Walter Salm, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1983
"Look before you bring a new Worrior out of the box; there might be a
creature in the way which would be an instant loss for you.  Wait a few
seconds and choose the best moment to come out fighting."

Word Zapper (Atari 2600/Atari)
Sheryl Anthony, Electronic Fun Magazine, December 1982
"If the letter you need is at the end of the alphabet, let one of the
Scroller Asteroids hit you."

Worm Whomper (Intellivision/Imagic)
Craig Holyoak, Electronic Fun Magazine, March 1984
"When using the pesticide, keep the firing button depressed and tap the
edge of the disk controller for improved vertical agility and a more accurate
aim."

Yar's Revenge (Atari 2600/Atari)
William Whitney (Kansas City, KS), Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1983
"Be aggressive.  At the very start of the game, go right after the Qotile's
barrier, bite off a block, race back, set up the Zorlon Cannon and get
ready to fire.  This is a great strategy because at the beginning of every
game the Qotile launches its missiles within 10 to 15 seconds.  It's one of
the few times that you can actually anticipate a launch."

Yar's Revenge (Atari 2600/Atari)
Jim Perilli (Mont Clare, PA), Video Games Magazine, December 1982
"At slower speeds, though, it is easy to gobble up the whole shield rather
than just one piece, and this increases your score almost three-fold.
Also, with a little experience, you can shoot the swirl in midair for
5,000 points.  Unfortunately, this makes for a slower, more boring game
(although higher scoring) and will lower the interest rating by a point or
two."

Yar's Revenge (Atari 2600/Atari)
Eric Noss (a.k.a Mr. Maddog)
"If you had beat all the games in Yar's and even found the "Ghost Of
Yars", then here's a little gem you enjoy finding.  Naturally I found
this by accident... :)"
"Fry the game by switching it on and off until you see the missle at
the top going across the screen and don't move the joystick until you
see the Qotile.  When you see a zero on the screen, then you are now
playing the 'hardest' Yars game ever."
"There is no shield or neutral zone.  Plus you are also invisible and
can still by killed.  You can still touch the Qotile to get the
Zorlon.  Believe me, this is hard!  But at least you have infinite
lives as well.  So give it a try, much more enjoyable than finding
all the easter eggs in ET :)"
"BTW, I'm not responsbile for any damage while doing this trick.  On
the models before 2600Jr, should be ok to try it though.  Oh...you
can still play the regular game by press Select or Reset and it's
back to normal."

Zaxxon (Colecovision/Coleco)
Lafe Travis (Calgary, Alberta)
"Stay at height level 3 to get over walls and under forcefields. To
defeat Zaxxon, put your fighter at height 3 and move all the way to the
right."

Zaxxon (Colecovision/Coleco)
Douglas Snider (Fairview, Alberta), Electronic Fun Magazine, July 1983
"On the second, third or fourth level, stay low so the robot missiles won't
attack.  Stay high on the first level."

Zaxxon (Colecovision/Coleco)
Bruce McGarigle (Delanio, NJ), Electronic Fun Magazine, September 1983
"In Colecovision level four: If a turret shoots at you and you move up, the
missile will follow you up -- but once it goes up it can't come back down.
So, when the turret shoots, move up and then back down quickly.  It takes
time to master but it helps your score."

Zaxxon (Intellivision/Coleco)
Marc Berman, Electronic Fun Magazine, January 1994
"To destroy Zaxxon you have to hit the missile before it leaves his body.
Start at the bottom of the screen and move up slightly to the level of the
missile.  Then track Zaxxon from side to side."

Zenji (Colecovision/Activision)
Lafe Travis
"Turn all of the "T" shaped pieces on the perimeter inward to provide
the best connections to the source."