How to play Name This Game online
- Move the diver: left and right arrow keys
- Shoot upwards: Space bar
- Player 2 (two-player games): F and H to move, A to fire
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Choose a variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Difficulty: F4 (Player 1) and F9 (Player 2) – position B makes the game harder
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
Your diver moves along the sea floor beside the treasure. At the top of the screen an octopus lowers its tentacles towards the bottom. Shoot the end segment of a tentacle, the part nearest you, to make it pull back. Meanwhile a shark swims down towards you; hit it and it goes back to the surface and starts again. The red bar at the bottom shows your air. Every so often your partner’s boat passes overhead and lowers a white air line, and you refill by swimming under it as it moves.
You lose part of the treasure if you run out of air, if the shark bites you, or if a tentacle reaches the sea floor. When all the treasure is gone, the game is over. In later waves the tentacles come down faster, the sharks get quicker and your air drains sooner.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Hitting a tentacle | 50 |
| Hitting the shark | 10 to 100, depending on its depth level |
| Each unit of air taken after the tank is full | 10 |
There are six variations: easy, average and hard, each for one or two players.
Tips
- Watch the longest tentacle. The one closest to the floor is the real danger; the others can wait.
- Stay under the air line. Air taken in after your tank is full still scores 10 points a unit, so staying under the line longer is a safe way to earn points.
- Change priorities in later waves. Early on, shooting tentacles builds your score. Later, the faster sharks and tentacles mean survival comes first.
The story behind Name This Game
The game was designed by Rob Dubren and programmed by Sylvia Day at James Wickstead Design Associates. Dubren first pitched the idea to Parker Brothers, which held the Jaws licence at the time. It went through working titles such as Treasures of the Deep and Guardians of Treasure before U.S. Games released it as “Name This Game and Win $10,000”. U.S. Games closed down in 1983, before the naming contest could be completed, so the placeholder became the permanent title. In Europe, Carrere Video sold it as Octopus. Years later, in 1994, the fanzine Digital Press held its own naming contest, won by the name “Going Under”. Reviews at the time were mixed, ranging from “highly playable” to complaints that it was more confusing than challenging.
