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Bomb Jack

Game Mechanics

Bomb Jack has to pick up all the bombs on a painting by avoiding enemies and capturing them if possible in the order of the ignition of their wick. The capture of a lighted bomb leads to the next ignition. Each table contains exactly 24 bombs. According to the number of bombs that Bomb Jack will have collected in order, a bonus will be added to the player's score once the level is finished: for 23 bombs shot, 50,000 points, for 22 bombs 30,000 points, 21 bombs 20,000 points, 20 bombs 10,000 points.

All 5,000 points scored, a bonus (symbolized by the letters B, E, or S) appears at a random location of the table:

• the letter "B" will increase a score multiplier (1x from the table, then 2x, 3x and finally 5x, multiplying all points scored by the player). At each level start, the multiplier returns to 1x.
• the letter "E" will earn an extra life (E as Extra Live)
• the letter "S", supreme bonus, will win the player a free game.

Like Pac-Man, it is also possible to "eat" the monsters of the board by accessing the "P" bonus. This bonus is obtained by capturing the bombs, the progression being symbolized by "wings" around the display of the bonus multiplier at the top of the screen. Each captured bomb on increases the progression of two units, while each captured extinguishing bomb will only increase it by a half unit. It takes 10 units to activate the "P" bonus display on the board. When Bomb Jack manages to capture him, the monsters then turn into gold coins and can in turn be captured for about 10 seconds.

Bomb Jack's enemy monster motion algorithm is invariable:

• The bird follows a grid that at each intersection of lines and imaginary columns will allow the player to get closer to the player (except for a few special cases, for example when the bird is stuck to a wall between him and the player).
• The gray ball follows a vertical motion of constant speed, and a horizontal motion of variable speed making it closer to the player by speeding horizontally. Its vertical movement is reversed when the grey ball touches a wall.
• The black ball follows a horizontal motion of constant speed, and a vertical motion of variable speed that speeds it vertically to the level where the player is located. Its horizontal movement is reversed when the black ball touches a wall.
• The flying saucer follows an invariable direction until it touches a wall, it then proceeds to Bomb Jack at a speed in relation to the distance between the point of impact on the wall and the position where Bomb Jack is located at the time of this impact.
• The "snail" (a head with a kind of pointed hat resembling a snail shell or shell) will always go towards the player, but its acceleration to the player will be limited by an inertia.

While most of the games of that time were based mainly on the player's reflexes, which had only to eliminate enemies to move from level to level, Bomb Jack added a strong dose of strategy and timing in the anticipation of monster movements as the "calculation" of the time at which bonuses could appear. While the novice player will just finish the level as fast as possible avoiding monsters, an experienced player will know exactly when the P bonus will come. The score of a novice player will usually reach 20,000 to 30,000 points for the first level, that of a strong player will exceed 100,000 points for the same level.