Chapter 2. How to Play

The hero is the unfortunate soul stuck in a room with a bunch of killer robots. As the player, it is your job to ensure that he remains alive for as long possible.

At the beginning of each turn, the hero can perform one of three types of actions: he can stay where he is, he can move to an unoccupied adjacent cell, or he can perform a special action. See Movement Controls and Special Actions.

Robots are mechanical thugs desiring only to crush the hero with their metallic girth. They have never heard of the “Three Laws of Robotics” and would probably crush anyone who tried to explain them.

Each robot will take a single step toward the hero on every turn. If the robot is above the hero, it will step down. If the robot is to the left of the hero, it will step right. If the robot is below and right of the hero, it will step diagonally, up and left. Should a robot manage to reach the hero's cell, the hero will be killed and the game will end.

Fastbots are a much speedier version of the basic robot. For each move the hero makes, they take two steps. Fortunately, their increased mobility was not paired with increased intelligence; they often only succeed in destroying themselves twice as quickly as their slower brethren.

Not all game types include fastbots.

When two or more robots collide, they are destroyed and the resulting debris produces a junkheap. Enemies blindly ignore any junkheaps in their path and are destroyed upon crashing into them. You will find junkheaps to be extremely valuable, as they can serve as barricades between the hero and his attackers.

Some game types permit the hero to push junkheaps around the grid. The hero can then use junkheaps to construct “bunkers” that offer protection on multiple sides. Junkheaps can even be used offensively in some game types. Pushing a junkheap on top of an enemy squashes it and can even result in a bonus.