How to play Gremlins online
- Move Billy: left and right arrow keys
- Shoot (Gremlin phase): Space bar
- Use a flashcube: down arrow
- Choose one or two players, level 1–8 or demo: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start the game: Space bar
- Back to the title/select screen: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Player 2 (two-player game): F/H to move, G for a flashcube, A to fire
Gameplay
You start with four lives, and the game alternates between two phases. In the Mogwai phase it is after midnight and Mogwai drop down towards the hamburgers at the bottom of the screen. Run left and right to catch them. Every Mogwai that reaches the food eats it and turns into a pupa. When eight pupas have formed, the Gremlin phase begins. If you get through four waves of eight Mogwai instead, you earn 200 bonus points for every hamburger still uneaten, and then the Gremlin phase starts anyway.
In the Gremlin phase the pupas hatch and the Gremlins charge down the screen, a snowy scene, while Billy shoots up at them. If a Gremlin reaches the bottom it knocks Billy off: you lose a life and go back to the Mogwai phase. Shoot every Gremlin in the wave and you move on to the next level. On higher levels the Gremlins pass through water and multiply. You get two flashcubes per Gremlin phase, shown as white squares at the lower left. A flashcube makes Gremlins at the bottom of the screen run away and freezes the others for a few seconds.
| Level | Mogwai caught | Gremlin shot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 200 |
| 4 | 130 | 230 |
| 8 | 170 | 270 |
Values rise by 10 points per level. You can start on any of the eight levels; higher ones bring faster Mogwai and Gremlins that double and triple.
Tips
- Stay near the middle in the Mogwai phase, so you can reach either side of the screen in time.
- Finish off stacked Gremlins. If another Gremlin is directly above the one you just shot, hit it before you move away.
- Shoot before the water. On upper levels, destroy Gremlins before they cross the water and multiply.
- Time your flashcubes. Only Gremlins that have reached Billy’s level run away; the rest are merely stunned. Wait until they reach the bottom before using one.
The story behind Gremlins
The 2600 game was programmed by Scott Smith, with graphics by Mimi Nyden and sound by Robert Vieira. Atari planned it as part of the film’s merchandising and showed it at the 1984 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. The company’s reorganisation that year halted game shipments, so the cartridge had only limited distribution and is now considered moderately rare. Critics have called it derivative, though some still enjoy its fast catch-and-shoot action.
Atari also made a completely different Gremlins game for the Atari 5200, programmed by John Seghers. It was finished in June 1984 but held back after Jack Tramiel took over Atari, and only reached shops in 1986.
Similar games to play next
- Kaboom! – the catching game that the Mogwai phase is modelled on
- Space Invaders – the shooter behind the Gremlin phase
- Eggomania – catch falling eggs, then throw them back
- Ghostbusters – another 1984 film tie-in