Dig Dug

Dig Dug is an arcade action game for one or two players (alternating). The goal of the game is to progress through the levels by destroying all of the opponents. Players begin with a limited number of lives and the game ends when all lives are lost.

The game is viewed with a cutaway section of land with several layers of dirt visible and the surface near the top of the screen. The player controls Dig Dug, the main character who is able to dig through the dirt and is equipped with an air pump for defense. The goal on each level is to defeat all of the enemies on the screen. Enemies can be defeated by dropping one of the randomly located rocks on them, or by using the air pump to inflate them until they pop. Two types of enemies appear on each level:

• Pookas:
  Red, spherical creatures wearing goggles. Pookas can run faster than Dig Dug and are adept at surrounding him.
• Fygars:
  Dragonlike creatures that occasionally breathe fire. They do not run as fast as Pookas, but their fire breath is deadly to Dig Dug.

Usually the enemies can only travel in areas that have been cleared of dirt, but they also have the ability to turn into ghosts and move freely in the playfield.

Points are earned in the game by clearing dirt, defeating enemies, and collecting the bonus vegetable that may appear temporarily in the screen. More points are earned in the lower levels of dirt than the upper ones.

As the game progresses the difficulty is increased by additional enemies being added to the screen, the enemies move faster and are able to turn into ghosts more often, and enemies are more skilled at dodging attacks.