How to play Mr. Postman online
- Walk forward or back: left and right arrow keys
- Climb the tree: up arrow key
- Grab the rope, jump onto the hawk: Space bar together with an arrow key (the English manual says left)
- Shoot killer birds and hailstones: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
Gameplay
The journey has three stages. First, Mr. Postman walks to a tree, climbs it and waits at the top while dodging attacks. When the swinging rope comes close, grab it, then drop from the rope onto the back of the hawk flying below.
Next comes a flight through a storm in three scenes. Keep clear of the lightning and shoot the killer birds and hailstones; the third scene has three birds and twelve hailstones. Finally you reach the City of Silence, where one touch of the walls in its narrow streets costs a life. Your score also ticks down here, so hurry.
You start with 2,000 points. Landing on the hawk earns 800, finishing the first stage 400, and clearing the storm scenes 500, 600 and 700. Each killer bird is worth 100 and each hailstone 500. A hit from the hawk, lightning, a bird or a hailstone costs a life, and the manual allows five failures before the game ends. After a successful delivery, the game starts again automatically.
Tips
- Be patient on the tree. Wait until the rope swings really close before you grab it.
- Shoot the hail. A hailstone is worth five times as much as a killer bird.
- Go carefully in the city. Touching a wall costs far more than a few points lost to the clock.
About this version
Bit Corporation was founded in Taipei in 1980 and made games for the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision. Mr. Postman exists in several releases: this NTSC cartridge, a European PAL version, a German-labelled Der Postman and copies from South American companies. The PAL version runs at 50 Hz and can feel a little slower.
Similar games to play next
- Mr. Postman (Europe) – the PAL version of the same game
- Bobby Is Going Home – another Bit Corporation journey past obstacles
- Open, Sesame! – Bit Corporation’s game with speech synthesis
- Jungle Hunt – more rope swinging, from the arcade