How to play Hat Trick online
- Skate: arrow keys. Your goalie moves up and down with your skater.
- Shoot the puck: Z or X. The puck goes in the direction you are pressing.
- Choose one or two players and the Novice or Expert level: F2 (Select) or the arrow keys on the title screen
- Start or restart a game: F3 (Reset) or a fire button. Back to the options: F2 during play
Gameplay
The left joystick controls the blue team and the right joystick the red team. Each team is one skater and one goalie, steered together: when your skater moves up or down, the goalie copies the move, only faster, sliding across the goal like a paddle.
A match lasts two minutes. It starts with a face-off in the centre circle, and the puck slides onto the ice from the top or bottom of the rink. Touch it with your stick to take it, then press fire to shoot. After every goal a new puck comes in. Saves are counted but only goals decide the game. If the score is level when time runs out, a 20-second overtime follows. In the one-player game, the computer reacts more slowly on Novice than on Expert.
Tips
- Remember your goalie. When the other skater comes near your goal, move up or down so the goalie gets in the way of the shot.
- Let go of the joystick when you are unsure. Your skater then turns to face the other goal, so you won’t knock the puck into your own net.
- Skate past to break a lock. If the two sticks get stuck together, move past your opponent to free them.
The story behind Hat Trick
Hat Trick began as a 1984 arcade game by Bally Sente, a company started by former Atari employees, and became its best-selling game. It was also converted to the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS. The 7800 version was programmed by Jack Sandberg of Ibid, Inc., which also made Karateka and Choplifter for the system. The manual carries a 1987 copyright, and the final build is dated January 1988.
Opinions on the 7800 version are split. Some critics found the animation choppy and the players too big for the small rink, so goals come very often. Others like it as a simple game you can pick up and play at once, especially with two players.
