The game
Q\*bert hops from cube to cube down a pyramid seen in perspective. In this MSX version the cubes do not change colour: they roll, and a stage is cleared when there are five finished cubes in a row.
The board
Each stage is a 9 × 9 grid (0x97DB, 81 bytes per stage). A cell is 0xFF if there is no cube, or the number of one of the 24 rotations of a cube with painted faces. The cubes sit every three columns and every two rows, so on screen they make a pyramid, a diamond, an X or whatever the stage says.
Cell 0, at the top left, is the model: the cube as the others must be left. A cube is finished when it shows the same three faces as the model (the top one and the two sides, 0x722F); then it is drawn as a finished cube.
There are three cube styles (0xA7FE): one for stages 1 to 10, another for 11 to 20 and another for 21 to 50.
The jumps
Q\*bert only jumps diagonally: two directions must be held together (up-left, up-right, down-left or down-right, 0x6C90). Each jump goes up or down a row and across a column. On landing, the cube underneath rolls in the direction of the jump (0x72C0): the same direction from the same rotation always gives the same new rotation, and any rotation is reachable from any other in four jumps at most.
Jumping off the pyramid, or onto the model cells, is a fall.
How a stage ends
With five finished cubes in a row in a row, column or diagonal of the grid; empty cells do not break the line (0x7421). One line is needed up to stage 30, two from 31 to 40 and three from 41 to 50 (0x737D). Not every cube has to be finished.
When it is cleared, Q\*bert hops six times, the frame changes colour and the remaining time is paid at 10 points a second.
Time, lives and points
- Time starts at 99 and drops one every 64 frames (
0x7829); below 10 the warning sounds. At zero, TIME OVER. - Lives: three. The
P-counter shows the ones in reserve. There is an extra life at 10,000 points, at 60,000, at 110,000… (the threshold goes up 5 in the high byte of the score,0x450D), and a hidden life (see Findings). - Points: 300 per finished cube, 100 per object taken, 1,000 if the chaser lands on a spinning cube, 10 per second left over and 5,000 for the bonus PERFECT.
At GAME OVER, F5 is the CONTINUE: the same stage with three lives and the score at zero. F1 pauses while the stage music is playing.
The levels
The menu offers LEVEL 1 to LEVEL 5: you start on stage 1, 11, 21, 31 or 41 (0x65E3). After stage 50 comes stage 1 again.
After stages 3, 6 and 10 of every ten comes the bonus stage: Q\*bert stays on each cube, the diagonals rotate it and when it is finished he moves to the next one; at the end each finished cube is worth 100, 200, 300… and with all 27, PERFECT 5000 POINT (0x789D).
The objects
Fifteen objects fall down the pyramid (0x6456), each with its wait and depending on the difficulty (0x64DB):
| object | drawing | what it does when touched |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | grey ball | the creatures run away |
| 5 | green ball | everything but the Q\*berts freezes for a while |
| 6 | yellow ball | one more jump step per frame: faster |
| 7 | turtle | one step fewer |
| 8 | red ball | the long jump (two rows, with the trigger) and Q\*bert in white |
| 9 | the cube spinner | 100 points; while it walks it rotates the cubes it leaves |
| 10 | moai | kills; bounces down |
| 11 | hooded one | kills; chases Q\*bert |
| 12-17 | six coloured creatures | kill; stay on cubes whose top face is their colour |
| 18 | blue ball | invincibility: the killers fall when touched |
Two players
With 2PLAYERS both play at once, each with their own model (cells 0 and 1, with 1P and 2P above them). The second one uses joystick 2 or the keys E, S, F, C and CTRL. The match is 3 or 5 sets (0xECB8), on random stages from 31 to
- A set goes to the first one to make a line; if time runs out, to whoever
has more cubes; and with a tie, or if both fall with no lives left, it is settled by rock, paper, scissors.
The demo
Two alternate: one player on stage 34 and two at once on stage 37, with the recorded presses at 0x6BBF and 0x6BD8.