How to play Save Mary! online
- Move the crane and work the hook: arrow keys and Space (the fire button)
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
The game never got a manual. Spend your first minute finding out how the hook picks up and lets go of a block.
Gameplay
Mary is trapped at the bottom of a canyon that is slowly filling with water. Your crane runs along a rail at the top of the screen. You use it to lower blocks into the canyon and build a platform for Mary to climb. When the platform is high enough, you lift her out with the hook. Each level has its own set of blocks, and many are not simple squares, which is why the game is often described as a Tetris variant.
Mary panics and runs back and forth. If a block lands on her or swings into her, the game is over. On later levels a low-flying plane can hit your crane and make it drop its load. Power-ups sit on the canyon walls, and you carry them to the top to use them. The plug holds back the water for a moment, the stop sign keeps Mary still, the oil can speeds up the crane, and the gold block protects Mary from falling blocks. Numbers give bonus points, and a small Mary figure gives an extra life.
Tips
- Plan the base first. Before you lift anything, work out which pieces make a flat bottom layer.
- Grab the stop sign. It is much easier to build around a Mary who stays put.
- Wait before you drop. Keep the block in the air until Mary has moved out of the way.
The story behind Save Mary!
Frye had written the 2600 version of Pac-Man in 1982. Save Mary! may have spent longer in development than any other 2600 game, partly because Atari management kept asking for changes, and partly because Frye was working on Shooting Arcade at the same time. AtariProtos lists an almost-complete build from April 1989 without power-ups, a final build dated November 1989 and a PAL build from 1991. Nolan Bushnell is quoted as naming Save Mary! one of his favourite upcoming 2600 games.
The game was lost when Atari closed its 2600 operations in 1990, by which time game development had moved on to the Atari Lynx handheld. Its first official release came in 2005, built into the Atari Flashback 2. It later appeared in the Atari 50 collection, and in 2023 Atari sold it as a limited-edition 2600 cartridge.
