How to play Amidar online
- Move through the maze: arrow keys
- Turn the enemies into shadows: Space bar (press and release)
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Starting level: F4 (the difficulty switch) – unusually, A is the easy start at round 1, B starts at round 3
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
Rounds alternate between two sets of characters. In odd rounds you are a gorilla chased by warriors; in even rounds you are a paint roller chased by pigs. Either way the job is the same: walk along the lines of the maze to colour them. Once all four sides of a box are coloured, the box fills in. Fill the whole maze, in any order, to reach the next round.
The enemies move by a fixed rule: they always take the first corner they come to. They are faster than you, so outrunning them does not work, but that rule makes them predictable. One special enemy, the Tracer, only circles the outer edge of the maze. Pressing the button turns all enemies into shadows for a moment so you can walk through them. You get four of these per life.
Fill the four corner boxes and the enemies briefly turn into chickens that you can catch for bonus points. A warning sound tells you when they are about to change back.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Vertical line | 1 |
| Horizontal line | 1–6, depending on length |
| Completed box | 50 |
| Caught chicken | 100 |
You start with three gorillas. The number of lives you carry into the next round depends on how many you have left: finishing with all three keeps three, and finishing with one or two earns you one extra. Rounds 1 and 2 have five enemies; from round 3 there are six. The speed rises each round until round 6, and after that it stays at the maximum. The game ends when your last life is lost.
Tips
- Let corners do the work. An enemy coming straight at you will turn off at the next corner between you. Stop and wait rather than running away.
- Push the joystick before the turn. Holding the new direction slightly early stops you sliding past a junction.
- Save the last corner. Leave one side of the fourth corner box open until enemies are nearby, then close it. The chickens will be close enough to catch.
- Don’t waste the shadows. Holding the button down uses up several shadow turns in a row. Tap it once, and only when you are trapped.
History
Konami released Amidar in arcades in early 1982, with Stern handling North America. The name and the enemies’ movement come from amidakuji, a Japanese way of drawing lots on a ladder of lines. The Parker Brothers cartridge followed in November 1982. One change for the home version: the arcade’s jump button, which made enemies hop over you, now turns them into shadows.
Many grid-capture clones followed. In 1987 the budget label Froggo even re-released this 2600 version with new graphics as Spiderdroid.
Similar games to play next
- Spiderdroid – Froggo’s 1987 re-release of this game with new graphics
- Pac-Man – the maze chase that Amidar is often compared to
- Frogger – another Parker Brothers arcade conversion from 1982
- Lock ‘n’ Chase – a maze game where you rob a bank vault while police chase you
- Mouse Trap – an arcade maze chase where you open and close doors to block the cats