Flag Capture

How to play Flag Capture online

• Move your explorer (Player 1): arrow keys, including diagonals
• Uncover the square you are standing on: Space bar
• Player 2: T/F/G/H to move, A to uncover
• Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
• Choose a game variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
• Difficulty switches: F4 (Player 1) and F9 (Player 2)

Gameplay

The screen shows a grid of squares. Walk your explorer onto a square and press the button to see what is under it. There are four possibilities:

• An arrow that points towards the flag
• A number that tells you how many squares away the flag is
• A bomb, which sends your explorer back to the starting square
• The flag itself, which scores a point

In some variations the flag stays put. In others it moves one square every turn, always in the same direction: up and down, side to side or diagonally. Depending on the variation, a moving flag either wraps around from one edge of the grid to the other, or treats the edge as a solid wall.

Game modes

• Free-For-All (two players): both explorers move at the same time, and whoever finds the flag first scores. The first to 15 points wins.
• Double Two-Player: the players take turns moving, and again the first to 15 wins.
• Solo Two-Player: one player keeps searching until they find the flag, then the other takes over. Here the lowest score wins, so every wasted move counts against you.
• Timed (one player): you have 75 seconds to find as many flags as you can.

The difficulty switches change the pace and scoring. For example, in Free-For-All the A position makes that player’s explorer move more slowly, which works as a handicap for a stronger player. Two explorers can never stand on the same square.

Tips

• Combine your clues. A number tells you the distance and an arrow tells you the direction. One of each is often enough to narrow the flag down to a few squares.
• Think ahead with a moving flag. Once you know which way it travels, aim for the square where it will be, not where it was.
• Don’t dig at random in the timed game. A bomb costs you the walk back from the start, which eats into your 75 seconds.
• Use your opponent’s clues. In the simultaneous game, watch where the other explorer is heading.

History

Flag Capture was released in October 1978 as one of the early Atari 2600 cartridges. Reviewers have not been kind to it over the years, mostly because of its bare graphics and sound. It found an unexpected second life in research, though: in 1981 a neuropsychologist recommended it for cognitive rehabilitation because it trains hand-eye coordination, and it was also used in a study of how well US Navy test subjects kept their skills over time. Much later, Flag Capture was included on the Atari Flashback 3 plug-and-play console.