The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

BONECRUNCHER

 

 

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

 

Game Type          : Arcade Maze Game With 'Cartoony' Sprites

Author             : Andreas Kemnitz and Martyn Howard

Standalone Release(s)   : 1987: BONECRUNCHER, Superior/Acornsoft, £9.95 (Tape), £12.95

                          (DFS Disc), £14.95 (ADFS Disc)

Compilation Release(s) : 1989: PLAY IT AGAIN SAM 7, Superior/Acornsoft, £9.95

                    1991: BONECRUNCHER, Superior/Blue Ribbon, £2.99

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron, BBC B, B+ and Master 128

Supplier            : SUPERIOR/ACORNSOFT

Disc compatibility     : ADFS 1D00, CDFS 1D00, DFS 1D00

 

 

Instructions

You play the role of Bono, an amiable dragon who lives in a castle by the sea. As a shrewd business-dragon, keen on "nice little earners", you make your living by selling soap to the giant monsters who bathe in the sea surrounding the castle. The monsters are so large that they need plenty of soap, and in order to keep their business you must supply them regularly.

 

Your Objective

Your castle is the headquarters of "Bono's Bathing Company". Inside the castle are 22 increasigly hazardous chambers where you and your business partner, Fozzy, produce soap by an age-old recipe: collecting skeletons and boiling them in a cauldron. Five skeletons are needed to make one bar of soap. Once you have collected five skeletons, simply move to a cauldron and touch it.

 

Before you move into the next chamber, you must produce five bars of soap; you must also deliver each bar in turn to the bathing monsters by climbing up the staircases which exit from the castle chambers. However, your employment is hampered by the deadly creatures that inhabit the chambers and you will also encounter many obstacles in your path.

 

The Deadly Creatures

There are three types of deadly creature that reside within the castle.

 

Monsters

If a monster catches you, it will kill you immediately. There are three ways to deal with monsters:-

(1) Trap them in by using a glook. If a monster is unable to move it will die and you can then collect its skeleton.

(2) If you only need to pass by a monster, your friend Fozzy can assist. He is capable of holding the monster so that you can pass unharmed. Fozzy will hold a monster only if he is directly in between you and the monster.

(3) Lure the monster into a trapdoor. However, the monster will then disappear without trace - you will be unable to take its skeleton.

 

Spiders

Spiders love to eat skeletons. Spiders always follow the left-hand edge of the chamber, unless they become stunned. They cannot be killed themselves but their vemonous bite is fatal to you. Fozzy, incidentally, is invulnerable to their poison.

 

Glooks

Glooks are unusual creatures who are attracted to the smell of the soap being used by the bathing monsters; they always move towards this aroma. The direction in which the glooks move is determined by the current aroma direction, which changes each time a bar of soap is delivered up the stairs. The direction you enter the stairs will be the direction of their next aromatic inclinations. You can push glooks out of your way.

 

The Chambers of the Castle

As you journey through the chambers you will come across a number of doors. To open each door you will need to use a key.

 

In each chamber there is a hidden volcano full of glooks. The volcano is "uncovered" by treading on a certain part of the ground and an active volcano may spell disaster for your business enterprise. If you become trapped, you have the option to commit suicide - thereby losing one of your lives.

 

Trapdoors, if used correctly, can swallow up pesky monsters, but watch your own step too!

 

In some parts of the chambers, you will see monsters trapped in by the surrounding earth. You should usually aim at ensnaring these monsters by removing some of the earth and trapping them in by using a glook.

 

The maximum number of skeletons, soap and keys you can carry is nine of each.

 

Your Partner : Fozzy

Your friend Fozzy is a useful guy to have around, although he is rather dim. He usually keeps to the right-hand edge of the chamber, unless he becomes dazed. If he does, give him a push and you will soon bring him round. He is strong enough to be able to hold monsters whilst you pass by, and he can also protect you from the spiders. Fozzy has a limited amount of energy and he will die if it runs out. This will occur if he is trapped. Fozzy has three lives.

 

The Password Feature

On completing a chamber, a password will be shown on the screen. Use this password in future if you want to skip previous chambers and start the game at the chamber of your choice.

 

The Status Screen

At the bottom of the game screen, you will see the status section - where your progress is monitored. The indicators from left to right show : Lives remaining, Fozzy status and lives remaining, Skeletons being carried, Keys being carried, Volcano activity, Aroma Direction and Counter, Score, Chamber Level, Soaps carried and Soaps required.

 

Fozzy's Status Indicator will also change when Fozzy is dead, trapped, holding a monster or active.

 

Game Controls

 

Z ............................................................ Move Left

X ........................................................... Move Right

* .............................................................. Move Up

? ............................................................ Move Down

RETURN .............................................. Action (see below)

P .................................... Enter Password (at start of game)

ESCAPE .................... Kill Yourself (useful if you become trapped)

SHIFT and R ............................................... Restart Game

COPY .......................................................... Pause On

DELETE ....................................................... Pause Off

S ............................................................. Pause On

Q ............................................................ Pause Off

 

If you press the <RETURN> and momentarily press the appropriate direction key, Bono can push glooks or dig earth without actually moving from his current position.

 

Certificates And Badges

If you complete BONECRUNCHER without using passwords, a special message will be displayed on the screen.

 

If you write to Superior Software before December 31st 1989, stating this special message and including details of where you purchased the game, we will send you a signed congratulatory certificate and a "Bono's Bathing Co." badge.

 

 

Instructions' Source   : PLAY IT AGAIN SAM 7 (Superior/Acornsoft) Inner Inlay

 

Review (Electron User) - "Good Clean Fun"

In BONECRUNCHER you play the unlikely part of Bono, a cute little green dragon who lives in a castle by the sea. As an enterprising soul, you have set up Bono's Bathing Company making soap, a commodity prized by the monsters who bathe in the moat. As everyone knows, real soap is made from bones. So to keep the customers happy you must collect the skeletons littered around the castle and boil them up in your cauldron. This turns them into luxurious skeleton soap.

However, the castle is anything but a safe place. There are trapdoors through which you can disappear without trace. On top of this, some of the skeletons are not yet skeletons - they're live and very deadly monsters, with an insatiable appetite for little green dragons.

A further hazard appears in the shape of giant spiders that rush around the walls biting any hapless dragons in their path. These will also eat any bones they find. You must race the spiders to collect the skeletons before they do.

The castle is also inhabited by Glooks, large creatures who love the smell of soap. When you have climbed up a stairway to supply another customer with a bar of soap, they will - after a short delay - all move in the direction faced by this stairway. Although a Glook is not harmful in itself, it will crush you if you get in its way.

An added problem is that you may find yourself, or the way forward, blocked by Glooks if you are unfortunate enough to take a bar of soap up the wrong stairway. However, you can push them or take advantage of the direction they are trying to move to suffocate monsters and turn them into skeletons.

Fortunately, Bono's Bathing Company is not a one-man show. Your partner Fozzy, is the brawn of the operation, strong enough to hold monsters and spiders at bay. He's not very bright however, and you must keep an eye on him to make sure he is not trapped or wandering in circles.

BONECRUNCHER is similar in appearance to Superior's classic REPTON, with smooth four-directional scrolling and fiendish puzzles. However, the two games are quite different.

The addition of Fozzy and the Glooks brings an entirely new dimension to the game, not the least of which is that the Glooks' movement causes the layout of each chamber to change repeatedly around you.

The humour in BONECRUNCHER is probably its most appealing aspect. The skeletons grin at you and tap their feet expectantly, and if you stand still for more than a few seconds Bono will start to yawn and stamp his foot impatiently. The monsters are also beautifully animated, jumping up and down showing a mouthful of teeth.

 

BONECRUNCHER will delight game players of all ages - another sure-fire hit.

                        Sound ........................... 9

                        Graphics ........................ 9

                        Playability ..................... 9

                        Value for money ................. 9

                        Overall ......................... 9

Hac Man, ELECTRON USER 5. 4