How to Play Gauntlet

Gauntlet challenges up to four players to conquer dungeons full of enemies, but also full of treasures and other helpful items. Each player must first select a character to play: Thor the Warrior, Questor the Elf, Thyra the Valkyrie, or Merlin the Wizard. Each character has three ways of doing battle: shooting, hand-to-hand combat, and magic. How effective a character is at a particular style of battle depends on the character; Thor is best at hand-to-hand combat while Merlin is best at magic. Each character is armed with unlimited shots, but must earn magic by finding potions hidden in the dungeons.

Once in the dungeons, players must locate the exit while battling monsters and destroying monster generators, or avoiding them. Five kinds of monsters, each with its own monster generator, appear in the game:

• Ghosts can be shot, but not fought. If touched, they will drain your health and then disappear.
• Grunts can be shot or fought in hand-to-hand combat.
• Demons can also be shot or fought, but they also know how to shoot back.
• Lobbers throw stones at players' characters, even when there is a dungeon wall in the way. Lobbers can be shot or fought, but they will run away when attacked.
• Sorcerers can be shot or fought when visible, but are impervious to shots when invisible.

Two other enemies are Death and the Thief. Death will drain characters of health, while the Thief can rob characters of items or special abilities. Death can be defeated only with magic, while the Thief can only be shot or fought.

When a character finds a magic potion, it can be used immediately, or saved for later. When used, its magic affects all enemies on screen, including monster generators (but not including the Thief). Note that only so many potions can be saved at one time. Potions can also be shot, but their effect is diminished.

Some potions grant a special ability when collected. These abilities include better shot power, faster shot speed, better magical power, better armor (armor reduces damage from hand-to-hand combat), better power in hand-to-hand combat, and faster walking speed. Additionally, an amulet can be found in some dungeons which grants temporary invisibility.

Players must watch their health during the game. Damage from monster battles, and even time spent exploring the dungeon takes away from characters' health, and a character will die if his or her health reaches zero. To stay healthy, look for food and drink in the dungeons. Be wary, because a careless shot can destroy some food, and other food may be poisonous!

Sometimes a door stands in the way of your character's progress. Find a key to unlock the door. Each key you find will open one door. Keys can be saved, but only so many keys can be carried at one time.

Once in a while, a dungeon is revealed to be a Treasure Room. In these special dungeons, pick up as many treasure chests as you can and then head for the exit. Bonus points are awarded if you make it out of the dungeon before the timer expires, so work fast!