
                             CHIP'S CHALLENGE
                             ----------------

              Docs typed by Yum Yum and edited by Codetapper!


GO BIT BUSTER!
--------------
Chip will do anything for Melinda the Mental Marvel.  More than anything,
he wants to join Melinda's exclusive computer club, the Bit Busters.  Chip
is ecstatic when Melinda sits down next to him in the cafeteria and offers
him membership!

But not so fast, Chip!  Keep your sweaty digits off that Bit Busters
T-shirt.  Before you can become a card-carrying Bit Buster, you'll have to
do some heavy interfacing with a few interesting puzzles.  Melinda will
monitor your progress as you enter and work your way through 144 levels of
challenging maze-like paths and puzzles.  And once you accept the
challenge, you can't escape.  Monsters, traps, and the ticking of the clock
all conspire to delete you before you complete each level.

You must ram blocks of soil together to create bridges over water traps, or
use them as buffers against cherry bombs.  Invisible partitions will impede
your progress.  Coloured keys will open doors that lead to other keys that
will open still more doors!  To make it through, you must keep puzzle
sequences stored in your memory.

Most levels have a specific number of...  chips that you must collect
before you can progress to the next level.  And sometimes you must snatch
those chips from under the very noses of deadly bugs who are just aching to
take a byte out of you!

Well, Chip, are you still up for the challenge?  You can't get that Bit
Busters T-shirt out of your system, can you?  OK buddy, make tracks for
level one of Chip's Challenge!


PLAYING THE GAME
----------------
Every level of Chip's Challenge is a unique puzzle.  The object of the game
is to enter and explore each level to figure out the puzzle's solution,
solve the puzzle, and progress to the next level.  On most levels you must
also collect a specific number of chips as part of the puzzle's solution.

The puzzles start out easy.  You will wander your way through mazes,
collect keys to open doors, use teleport squares to move from place to
place, and other simple tasks.  But the puzzles become progressively more
difficult.  You will need to quickly assemble webs of bridges to reach your
goals, pay attention to subtle hidden clues, and figure out, memorise, and
execute complex series of actions.

If that wasn't enough, each level contains challenges such as obstacles,
traps, and monsters.  And on some levels you must race against the clock to
solve the puzzle before the time suns out.

You get several tries to solve each puzzle, then you are given the option
to skip to the next level.  But Bit Busters don't give up easily!  You can
hang in there and keep trying until you solve the puzzle.

The first eight levels are lesson levels.  These levels introduce you to
most puzzle components and give you a chance to get comfortable with the
game's basic concepts.  A question mark appears next to Chip at the
beginning of each level.  For more detailed information about the obstacles
and special items you can find see ITEMS.

Use your joystick to move Chip forward, backward, left and right.  Chip
cannot move diagonally.

Useful items such as keys and shields must be picked up and added to Chip's
inventory.  To pick up items, move Chip over the item.

The item will disappear from the action window and an icon representing the
item will appear in the inventory section of the information window.

Most levels have a specific number of chips that you must collect as part
of the puzzle solution before you can pass through the chip socket and
progress to the next level.  When you first enter each level, the number of
chips you must collect for that level appears under CHIPS LEFT in the
information window.  On these levels you must solve parts of the puzzle to
gain access to the chips.

On some levels the CHIPS LEFT indicator is set to zero when you enter the
level.  This means that you do not have to collect any chips to solve the
puzzle.

When you solve a puzzle level, a congratulatory message appears on the
screen.  Press FIRE to continue to the next level.


SCREEN
------
The Chip's Challenge screen is divided into two windows, the Action window
and the Information window.  All game action displays in the Action window.

The window to the right of the Action window is the information window.
The following information displays in the Information window :-

LEVEL shows the level number you are currently playing.

TIME gives the number of seconds remaining for you to solve the solve the
puzzle.

CHIPS LEFT lets you know how many chips you still need to find on the
current level.

The INVENTORY BOX displays icons of all the items you have picked up and
have not yet used.


ITEMS AND OBSTACLES
-------------------
Items cannot be taken from one level to another.  The following items can
be found on various levels:


HELPFUL ITEMS
-------------
KEYS open doors.  Pick them up and add them to your inventory until they
are needed.  To use a key, walk up to a door of the same colour as the key.
Pass through the door.  Most keys will disappear from your inventory.

DOORS are opened by keys of the same colour as the door.  Once the coloured
door is opened it stays open.

CHIPS enable you to pass each level's chip socket.  Most levels have a
required number of chips you must collect to pass through the chip socket
and progress to the next level.

EXIT SQUARES are flashing blue squares found on every level.  Step on an
exit square to proceed to the next level.

DIRT BLOCKS can be linked together to form bridges over water, pushed
against a bomb to explode the bomb harmlessly, and used as blocks against
monsters, deadly lightning balls, and other moving obstacles.

You can only move one brown dirt block at a time.  If you place a dirt
block to make a bridge over water, you must tramp down the dirt to turn it
into a regular floor square.  To do this, step on the block after pushing
it into the water.

NOTE:  You may find things hidden under some dirt blocks.  Sometimes the
things you find are valuable, like chips.  But you may find the block was
covering something unpleasant, such as a fire trap.

TRIP BUTTONS are linked to toggle blocks, clone machines, and other
obstacles.  A trip button's colour matches the colour of the linked trap or
obstacle.  Stepping onto a trip button square triggers the linked item.
For example moving chip over a green trip button square will open (or
close) all linked green toggle blocks.  Or moving over a red trip button
will cause a red linked clone machine to begin releasing fireballs.  Duck
Chip!

MAGNETS neutralises the effect of force floor traps.  With a magnet in his
inventory, Chip can walk over a force floor the same way he would walk over
a normal floor.

FIRE SHIELDS neutralise fire.  With a fire shield in his inventory, Chip
can walk through fire without suffering a major meltdown.

WATER SHIELD allows Chip to walk on water.

CLEATS allows Chip to travel over ice traps without slipping.  With cleats
in his inventory, Chip can walk over ice the same way he would walk over a
normal floor.

NOTE:  Magnets, fire and shields, water shields and cheats stay in
inventory, they do not disappear after they are used.


TRAPS, MONSTERS, AND OBSTACLES
------------------------------
TRAPS must be disarmed before you can pass through them.  There are many
kinds of traps.  Some hold you prisoner until your time runs out, others
zap you as soon as you step on them.  You can disarm same traps with
strategic placement of dirt blocks.

FORCE FLOOR TRAPS propel you with lightning speed from one area to another
without allowing you to stop.  Sometimes you can use this force to propel
you to a desired location, but most of the time you will need to collect a
magnet to neutralise the effect of the force floor.

FIRE TRAPS are impassable bonfires laid out to block your progress.  Use a
fire shield to walk through fire traps.

WATER TRAPS can be crossed in two ways.  Either build a bridge of dirt
blocks or have a water shield in your inventory.

ICE TRAPS are slippery obstacles that make Chip slide right past his goal.
Chip needs cleats to be able to walk over ice traps.

MONSTERS want to destroy Chip.  They think he's a dweeb and will show no
mercy.  One touch from a monster and you'll cash in your chips.

TANKS block the way through crucial paths in some levels.  Tanks are always
linked to trip buttons, so the way around tanks is to activate the correct
trip button to move them out of your way.

THIEVES steal tools such as water shields and cleats.  Touching a thief
wipes your inventory of all items.  Make sure you use the tools you need to
collect chips before trying to pass by a thief.

TELEPORT SQUARES move you to another location in the level.  Some of them
teleport you in the direction you are facing when you step on them.  Others
teleport you in random directions.  Chip may step on one of these and
suddenly get the feeling he isn't in Kansas anymore.

TOGGLE BLOCKS are outlined in broken coloured lines.  The blocks can be
solid or transparent.  When the toggle block is solid, Chip cannot pass
through.  These blocks are linked to trip buttons.  When Chip activates a
trip button, the toggle blocks linked to that button will toggle to the
other state (solid or transparent).

CHIP SOCKETS are special obstacles found in most levels.  You must pass
through a chip socket to reach the next level, but only after you have
collected the required number of chips for that level.

CLONE MACHINES crank out fireballs, dirt blocks, and other items.  Most
clone machines are linked to trip buttons.  if you need a dirt block,
activate the linked trip button and the clone machine will produce one.  If
you want to stop the fireballs, activate the linked trip button.
Hopefully, the deadly barrage will stop!

BLUE BLOCKS can be real walls or just an illusion.  To figure out which a
particular block is, try to pass through.  If it is an illusion, it will
disappear.  If it is real, Chip will break his nose!

ONE WAY WALLS turn into solid walls once you pass through them.


STRATEGY
--------
Take notes and draw maps of the difficult levels.

Leave yourself an escape route whenever possible.

Timing is crucial on some levels.  Press 'P' to give yourself time to
think.

If the obvious solution doesn't work, try a bizarre solution.  The bizarre
will usually pull you through.

Monsters often move in predictable patterns.

Many objects affect monsters the same way they affect Chip.

If you get stuck in an impossible situation, press 'R' to restart the
level.


SCORING
-------
You can earn points in two ways in Chip's Challenge.  On each level, time
bonus points combine to give you your level score.  During each play
session, your level scores add together and display as your total score.

The number of level bonus points you earn depends on how many times you
have to repeat the level before successfully completing the level.  If you
complete the level on the first try, you receive 500 points multiplied by
the level number.  Each time you die or have to restart, the number of
points you receive decreases by 20%.  The minimum level bonus is 500 points
or 20% of the level number * 500, whichever is greater.

You receive 10 time bonus points for every second remaining on the timer
when you complete a level.  On levels that are not timed, the time bonus is
always zero.


KEYS
----
F:  Flip screen (ho ho very funny Lynx joke)
P:  Pause
R:  Restart level
X:  Abort game
F1: Toggle music on/off
F2: Toggle sound effects on/off
