How to play Qb online
- Jump and push blocks: arrow keys
- Knock a monster off the board: hold Space and push towards the monster
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
The screen shows two frames: the large playing field where you move, and a small frame with the target pattern. Your job is to move the blocks in the playing field until they match it. Your character can only jump from one block to another when they are next to each other. When there is nowhere to jump, you slide blocks around instead. Working out when to jump and when to push is the whole puzzle, and it is easy to move a block into the right place but leave it cut off from the blocks you still need.
Each pattern has a time limit. If it runs out, the game picks a new random pattern and your work is lost. Eggs appear on the field, and they hatch either fruit, which you collect for points (the right combination earns an extra life), or monsters. The monsters chase you and also move blocks around. You can knock them off the board by jumping at them with the fire button held down, but you have to be close, and it costs you points.
Tips
- Plan the last block first. Before pushing a block into place, check that you can still reach the others afterwards.
- Watch the clock. If a pattern looks hopeless, letting the time run out gives you a new one.
- Use the fire attack sparingly. It drains your score, so save it for monsters that are wrecking your layout.
- Keep your eye on the eggs. An egg may hold fruit or a monster, so watch what hatches before you jump next to it.
The story behind Qb
Andrew Davie finished the 2600 port in March 2001. The first cartridges were a PhillyClassic Edition of 50 copies, sold only at the PhillyClassic 2001 show. A Special Edition followed in 2002; AtariAge ran a contest to design its label, received more than 100 entries and picked the one by David Exton. A seasonal spin-off, Holiday Qb, appeared as the 2004 AtariAge holiday cartridge.
Reviewers liked it. Jess Ragan of The 26 Hunter called it “the best of the homebrews for the 2600” and compared its jumping to Q*bert and its block-sliding to Locomotion. He had tried the beta versions and written to Davie with ideas for improvements, and Davie replied and considered them.
