tm A T A R I V I D E O C U B E (c) 1983 ATARI, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Table of Contents 1. Tour a Cube Master's World! 2. Game Play 3. Using the Controllers 4. Console Controls 5. Game Variations 6. Scoring 7. Helpful Hints 8. Game Select Matrix 1. TOUR A CUBE MASTER'S WORLD! Welcome to the cubical world of Hubie the Cube Master. Hubie can solve the ATARI VIDEO CUBE puzzle in seconds flat -- 33.7 seconds, to be exact. That's fast, but then, he's had a lot of practice. You see, puzzles are Hubie's specialty. Hubie wasn't always a Cube Master -- in fact he used to live a pretty ordinary life. Every morning he made his breakfast, fed his dog Ralph, and went to work. He did have a peculiar habit, though. Hubie loved everything that had to do with squares or angles. For instance, he was always sure to eat three square meals a day -- waffles for breakfast, ravioli for lunch, and cube steaks for dinner. Hubie slept in a perfectly square bed. Every day he swam laps in a square swimming pool. And each morning, as he walked to work, Hubie was sure to count the squares in the sidewalk beneath his feet. People called Hubie a blockhead, but when they did, he always had an answer. Looking them squarely in the eyes, Hubie would shout, "Squares are important! Try playing checkers on a _round_ checkerboard. Or try using ice _balls_ instead of ice _cubes_ in your drinks. Can you imagine going to New York to visit Madison _Round_ Garden? It's just not the same. It wouldn't work!" And with that, he would square his shoulders and walk off. Yes, Hubie certainly had a checkered past. But that was before the big change in his life. One day, while square dancing in his favorite restaurant (the one with the checkered tablecloths), someone gave Hubie a puzzle -- a cube puzzle. He played it day and night, twisting and turning it to move the colors to the proper sides. Soon, he started to see cubes and squares everywhere -- on the walls of his house, inside Ralph's square water dish, and even in the mirror while brushing his teeth. Something very strange was happening to Hubie. One morning, instead of being in his square bed, he found himself on a strange flat surface. He saw immediately that everything around him was square -- he was in an entirely square world! This transformation was a mystery, but Hubie didn't really care. He was...Hubie the Cube Master! Hubie knew his mission in life was to teach cubists and future cubists the best ways to play the magical cube puzzle. He promised himself that he would learn how to solve the magical cube faster than anyone else in the world. He invites you to help him with his pledge -- can you solve the cube faster than Hubie? Try it and see! 2. GAME PLAY Hubie's home is a six-sided, multi-colored cube. Each side has nine smaller faces, colored red, blue, green, white, purple, or orange. When you start a game, the colors are scrambled. Your task is to arrange the colors so that each side becomes one solid color. Play ATARI VIDEO CUBE by moving Hubie around the cube and having him pick up and drop colors. Each time Hubie picks up a color, he trades his color for the one he has picked up (see Figure 1). You can then make Hubie run to another face to trade for a different color. Solve the puzzle in the least amount of moves or time (see Section 6, SCORING). Or, you can watch Hubie race the clock to solve the cube. You might even get some cube-solving tips! [ Figure 1 -- Dropping and Picking Up Colors: Figure 1 shows two screen shots: the left-hand one shows the little elfin figure "Hubie" standing on a red square in the middle of a randomized cube face. Hubie is white in this screen shot. The right-hand screen shot shows a red Hubie standing on a white square. ] You can only see one side of the cube at a time, except when turning the cube to another side. To turn the cube, move Hubie to the edge of any side. The cube will rotate, (see Figure 2) and Hubie will enter the next side. The cube and rotate up, down, and sideways. [ Figure 2 -- Hubie Rotating the Cube: Hubie can be seen here crawling from one side of the cube to another. During this process, the cube assumes an edge-on view where you can see both sides at the same time. ] 3. USING THE CONTROLLERS Use your left Joystick Controller with this ATARI Game Program cartidge. Be sure the controller is firmly plugged into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack at the back of your 2600 Video Computer System game. Hold the joystick with the red controller button to your upper left, toward the television screen. (See your Owner's Manual for further details.) Move Hubie around the cube with your Joystick. He moves up, down, right, and left in the same direction you move your Joystick. Hubie cannot move onto a square of the same color. For example, if Hubie is blue, he cannot run onto a blue square. If you try moving Hubie onto a square the same color as he, a warning buzzer or beep will sound. (See Section 4, CONSOLE CONTROLS for further details.) Use the red controller button to make Hubie pick up and drop colors. Press the button once, and Hubie will pick up the color of the square he is positioned on. Press the button again, and Hubie will drop the color on to the same or a different square. Hubie can pick up, drop, and carry colors to any square on the cube. 4. CONSOLE CONTROLS GAME SELECT SWITCH To select a game variation, press the GAME SELECT switch. (See Section 5, GAME VARIATIONS, for more information about game variations.) The game number will appear at the bottom of the screen. (See Figure 3.) [ Figure 3 -- Game Variation Number: At the bottom of the screen shot in Figure 3 are the words "GAME: 1." An arrow pointing at the 1 indicates that it represents the Game Variation. ] GAME RESET SWITCH To start or restart a game, press the GAME RESET switch. You'll enter the CUBE SELECT mode, and can select one of 50 different cubes. The colors on each cube are scrambled differently. Use your Joystick to select a cube number. Push up or left to increase the cube number by tens; push down or right to increase the cube number by ones (see Figure 4). The number you select appears on the bottom of the screen, beneath the magical cube (see Figure 5). + 10 /|\ | + 10 <---> + 1 | \|/ + 1 Figure 4 -- Selecting the Cube Number [ Figure 5 -- Cube Number: At the bottom of the screen shot in Figure 5 are the words "CUBE: 1." An arrow pointing at the 1 indicates that it represents the Cube Number. ] After you select a cube, start the game by pressing the red controller button once. You're ready to go! TV TYPE SWITCH Set this switch to COLOR if you're playing on a color television set. Set it to B-W to play the game in black and white. DIFFICULTY SWITCHES If you set the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch to the A position, a buzzer will sound each time Hubie tries to run on to a square of the same color as he. Set the switch to the B position to change the buzzer sound to a "beep." The RIGHT DIFFICULTY switch has no function in this game. 5. GAME VARIATIONS ATARI VIDEO CUBE includes 18 game variations. Games 1-10 play at normal speed, and Games 11-18 play at a faster speed. In Games 3, 4, 7, 8, 13, 14, 17, and 18, the cube is blacked out unless rotating to a different side. Games 5-8, and Games 15-18 are slef playing, in which Hubie shows you how to solve the cube in the least amount of moves or time. In these variations, all you need to do is press the GAME RESET switch. The computer will take control and start the game. In Games 9 and 10, Hubie's movements are restricted and he can only move in two directions: up, or to the right. Odd-numbered games (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17) are scored by the number of moves and the number of colors that are swapped. Even-numbered games (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18) are scored by the time it takes to solve the cube. 6. SCORING The object of the ATARI VIDEO CUBE game is to get the lowest score possible. If you are playing an odd-numbered game, your score is displayed as a single number on the bottom of the screen. Each time Hubie crosses a new square, picks up a color, or attempts to cross a square of his own color, you score one point. Your score is displayed on the lower center portion of the screen, beneath the cube (see Figure 6). [ Figure 6 -- Score in Number of Moves: At the bottom of the screen shot in Figure 6 is the number 534 above the words "CUBE: 1." An arrow pointing at the 534 indicates that it represents the score. ] If you are playing an even-numbered game, a timer measures the amount of time it takes to finish the game. Games are measured in minutes, seconds, and tenths of a second (see Figure 7). [ Figure 6 -- Score in Elapsed Time: At the bottom of the screen shot in Figure 7 is what looks like "1 = 34 - 3" above the words "CUBE: 1." Presumably this is a representation of 1:34.3 in Atari's font. An arrow pointing at the timer indicates that it represents the score. ] 7. HELPFUL HINTS o Look for sides with three or more squares of a single color. Decide which color you want each side to be and keep adding to them. o Try not to backtrack. If you can pick up and deposit colors on three or more sides without turning back, you will save valuable moves and time. o Watch the computer solve the cube a few times. Then try using some of the same strategies that Hubie uses to complete the cube. o Notice there is one extra square of color per game (for instance, one extra square of blue). This will be the _last_ square Hubie picks up to win the game. 8. GAME SELECT MATRIX ____________________ Game Variation | _________________ Speed ( N = Normal, F = Fast ) | | ______________ Scoring ( M = Moves, T = Time ) | | | __________ Blacked Out | | | | ______ Restricted Movement | | | | | __ Computer Play | | | | | | V V V V V V --------------------- 1 N M | | | ---------|---|---|--- 2 N T | | | ---------|---|---|--- 3 N M | X | | ---------|---|---|--- 4 N T | X | | ---------|---|---|--- 5 N M | | | X ---------|---|---|--- 6 N T | | | X ---------|---|---|--- 7 N M | X | | X ---------|---|---|--- 8 N T | X | | X ---------|---|---|--- 9 N M | | X | ---------|---|---|--- 10 N T | | X | ---------|---|---|--- 11 F M | | | ---------|---|---|--- 12 F T | | | ---------|---|---|--- 13 F M | X | | ---------|---|---|--- 14 F T | X | | ---------|---|---|--- 15 F M | | | X ---------|---|---|--- 16 F T | | | X ---------|---|---|--- 17 F M | X | | X ---------|---|---|--- 18 F T | X | | X --------------------- CO19741-70 REV. 1 2670 (c) 1983 ATARI, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Printed in U.S.A. [ This manual was hand-typed, using only the finest natural ingredients, by Bryan Raynor. Feel free to address comments/questions to btr9p@virginia.edu ]