PAL60 and NTSC versions
Squish ‘Em was made in two builds. The NTSC build is for American-style TVs. The PAL60 build uses PAL colours for European TVs but keeps the NTSC timing of 60 frames per second, so the game runs at its intended speed instead of slowing down. The gameplay is the same in both. If the colours look off on this page, try the NTSC version of Squish ‘Em.
How to play Squish ‘Em online
- Move and climb: arrow keys
- Jump: Space bar
- 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
Each building is a grid of girders that scrolls as you climb. You shuffle sideways along the beams and pull yourself up to the next floor, and once you have gone up you cannot climb back down. Creatures move back and forth along the floors, and falling bricks knock you off if they hit you. At the top you grab the suitcase and move on to the next building.
You can avoid the critters, jump over them or jump on top of them to squish them. The catch is that each one can only be squished once. After that it turns white, pops back up and cannot be squished again, so you have to jump over it or get away from it. Each building also has a bonus item that gives you an extra life.
Tips
- Squish with care. A white critter is dangerous for the rest of the building, so only squish one when you have a clear way past it afterwards.
- Plan your route upwards. Because you cannot go back down, check where the next gap in the girders is before you climb. Getting stuck under a white critter is the easiest way to lose a life.
- Watch the sky. Falling bricks make it risky to climb too fast, so pause when debris is coming.
- Grab the bonus item whenever it is safe: extra lives are the only way to last through the later buildings.
About the game
The original Squish ’em was designed by Tony Ngo and also came out for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, MSX and ColecoVision, where it was called Squish’em Featuring Sam. Bob Montgomery had already written several 2600 homebrews, including Go Fish!, Reindeer Rescue and Elevators Amiss, before he ported it. AtariAge describes his version as a near flawless port of the 8-bit game, and it was released on cartridge in 2007.
