Peggle

Overview

Peggle (not to be confused with the 2007 game of the same name) is an physics-puzzle action game developed and released by Incredible Technologies (under their Strata brand) for arcades in 1991.

In Peggle, players knock a ball character (the titular "peggle") around a rotating pegboard in an attempt to "pop" all of the pegs (by bumping into them) before landing in a line of buckets (controlled by the player) for bonus points.

The game can be played as either a video redemption game (where players win tickets on one randomized drop) or as a standard amusement game (where players progress through 42 levels and and utilize the pegboard itself to clear the board).

Gameplay

Peggle is a game where a ball character (known as a "peggle") falls from the top the stage and collides with pegs on the circular pegboard before landing on a bucket at the bottom. The game includes two operator modes, Redemption Play and Score Play:

• In Redemption Play, players have only one drop and receive tickets based on the amount of points earned that drop. They have no control over the rotating pegboard (which spins randomly), but can control the line of Cups at the bottom for bonus tickets. Players can add additional credits to increase the ticket payout (up to x4).

• In Score Play, players progress through each round by clearing all pegs on the board. They can have as many drops as they'd like, although if the timer reaches zero before the next drop, they must add another credit to reset the timer. They have full control over the rotating pegboard along with the line of Cups. The operator can also enable tickets, which is score-based.

The game uses either a joystick or a trackball for its controls.

Pegboard

Each level has numerous pegs scattered around it, which are rotated along with the pegboard. In Score Game, each round has a pre-determined layout of starting pegs, with higher rounds having higher-difficulty pegs (which change into the next lower-difficulty pegs instead of being removed outright). The four difficulty levels include:

• Yellow (500 pts.)
• Orange (100 pts.)
• Red (50 pts.)
• Purple/Pink/Blue (10 pts.)

In addition, later rounds include flashing pegs, which are random and are only removed if they count as Yellow pegs.

The pegboard also includes items that spawn in Score Game, which do not need to be removed and causes an effect when hit:

• Clock - Adds seconds to the timer.
• No Symbol - Changes to a random peg.
• 2000/5000 - Adds bonus score. Only available in bonus rounds.

Cars

Along with the pegboard (in Score Game), the joystick/trackball is also used to control a line of "cars" at the bottom of the screen. Having the peggle land in a car gives one of the following effects:

• Catch Cars (Purple/Pink/Red/Orange) - Gives bonus points/tickets. In Redemption Game, Purple gives 2 tickets, Pink gives 3 tickets, Red gives 4 tickets, and Orange gives 5 tickets. In Score Game, Purple and Red give 50 pts., Orange gives 100 pts., Pink gives either 50 or 500 pts.

• Mystery Cars (Yellow) - Gives a random amount of bonus points/tickets. In Redemption Game, it can give up to 9 tickets. In Score Game, it gives either 50, 100, 500, 2000, or 5000 pts.

• Bounce Cars - When it is upside-down, it allows the peggle to bounce high upwards back into the pegboard before changing into a normal Catch Car. In Redemption Game, only one Pink car in the entire line is the Bounce Car (shown at the start). In Score Game, Blue cars are all Bounce Cars (which give 50 or 500 pts. as a Catch Car).

• Time Car (Yellow Bucket) - Score Game only. Unavailable in later stages. Gives extra time.

• Slime Cars - Gives no bonus points.

Technical Specs

• Screen - Vertical Orientation
• Resolution - 240x400
• Refresh Rate - 60 Hz
• Color Palette - 256 Colors
• Controller - Trackball