In “Burgertime” for the Atari 2600, you guide a chef through a labyrinth, rushing to assemble hamburgers while dodging enemies. Navigate atop burger parts to make them fall; complete a burger to progress. Earn points by dropping ingredients on foes, squashing them, or catching them on descending parts. Use pepper to freeze enemies momentarily. Avoid contact or your chef gets cooked. Play solo or compete with a friend for the highest score.
Controllers: Use the LEFT joystick to steer your chef. Ensure the cable is firmly connected. The red PEPPER BUTTON should be on your upper left. The right-hand controller is not utilized.
Difficulty Switches: The difficulty level remains constant. The right switch selects the number of players: A for two players, B for one player. In two-player mode, participants alternate using the left controller. The left switch pauses the game when set to A; B resumes play.
Gameplay:
- Start the game with the reset switch.
- Control Peter Pepper, moving him across ingredients to drop them a level, scoring 50 points each time.
- Begin with five chefs, gaining an extra for every 10,000 points.
- Avoid hot dogs, eggs, breadsticks, and cheese in the mazes. Progress through five mazes, starting over after completing them all.
Scoring:
- Dropping ingredients on enemies scores 200 points for hot dogs or breadsticks, and 100 points for eggs or cheese.
- Lure enemies onto buns for 500 points per enemy dropped.
- Use pepper to stun enemies, starting with five pinches. Earn more by collecting fries, ice cream, or coffee, also scoring 500 points per item.
For two-player games, scores are displayed alternately at the end, color-coded for each player. The maximum score is 999,950 points.
Winning Tips:
- Conserve pepper for crucial moments.
- Aim for high scores with each burger part dropped, especially by squashing enemies.
- Be mindful of your chef’s pause when using pepper, to avoid ambushes.
- After an enemy is squashed or dropped, avoid corners where they might reappear and catch your chef off guard.