Jawbreaker(Apple) FAQ/Walkthrough version 1.0.0 by schultw.andrez@sbcglobal.net(anti spam spoonerism) Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if you'd like to post it on your site. ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS 3. POINTS AND STRATEGIES 4. GETTING THROUGH A LEVEL 5. CHEATS 6. VERSIONS/CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION Jawbreaker is a bit of a rip-off of Gobbler, with the main difference that Jawbreaker takes away the unfair and random bits, but it also takes away some other randomness that's really necessary. The result is a relatively easy game. While Gobbler required patience, Jawbreaker allowed you to be sly and sneak up behind an enemy, as they wouldn't reverse so often. It's the same board as Gobbler, basically, but your score is perpetually displayed on the bottom. It does not, however, replace the high score until the level is complete. The copy of Jawbreaker that is on Asimov has a few weird bugs(Jawbreaker1&11.err). Sometimes the game freezes, and sometimes enemies go through walls in the corners. This makes for an interesting strategical twist in that you have to see the whole board. Other differences are largely cosmetic with the enemy smiley faces twirling(so they don't block each other out) and the candy cane, lollipop and candy heart replacing the more nutritious fruits. 2. CONTROLS Joystick or keyboard is allowed. AZ and the arrows are the keyboard controls. The only way to stand still is to hit a wall. [Space] starts the game. You can hold the next direction you want to go. 3. POINTS AND STRATEGIES There are 2960 points, minimum, in a level of Jawbreaker, with 5 points per dot or power pill. You have a total of 588 dots and 4 pills to gobble. Theoretically, there is no maximum for a level, as you can just keep picking up treasures. But practically, it is 5900 + 3*200(about 3 treasures appear per level) + 4*(200+400+600+800). ...or is that the maximum? You can, if you are reasonably lucky, get a couple of monsters and sit in front of the den as they regenerate--all orange. What's more, when you eat a power pill, monsters go in loops. You'll recognize them as you play the game. The most important one is around the pen, but if enemies are going in small loops elsewhere, pick them off. Always try to have at least one monster to zap--worst case, you can go back in front of the pen and eat him. Remember monsters always go clockwise there, so if you go counterclockwise til you get to the right of the pen, you can clean up. Then, when you hear the tone, get out of the way. The peach, lime and cherry give no difference in points. They are rather dangerous to get, because they are in a tunnel, so you are probably better off just clearing dots nearby. Your main source of extra points will be ghosts. Start off the level by going to the sides and into a corner. See which enemies go where and plan from there. You may also wish to clear out the tunnels after you hear the tone signifying a power pill's effects will end. Don't reach in quickly for dots unless you can get to an intersection and go back. No sense in having to reach in again from the other side. If a lot of enemies are buzzing around, follow one, especially if you're being tailed. It's your best bet. You need to be aware that monsters will kill you just before they touch you, and if they are right behind you and you turn a corner, they will get you if you overlap. Be aware of monsters going off the screen--you don't need to concentrate on the one in the far corner, just the ones above and below. Look to see if the walls turn white. You may need to use a bit of peripheral vision. Playing defense by using power pills to plow through and ignore monsters is not advisable--I find I usually lose more lives by carelessly eating a ghost than other ways. Well, maybe you can play perfectly that way, but it's no fun. You may get bored of the game before game over. Watch the gutters in the corners where you have a long stretch without turn- offs. If you take a power pill there and have had trouble clearing them, make them a top priority. Move around the edges when you don't have a power pill. When each is nearly done, clear out an inner loop of dots next to the pen. This should leave you with very little. You also want to clear the gutters near the top and bottom edges after eating a power pill, if possible--they could be trap zones later where ghosts converge from both sides. Heed the one second warning. Don't try for just one more monster. Timing is especially difficult since the game stops to bring the ghost's googly eyes back to the pen. In order to play tough defense at the pen when powered up, you just need a part of your Gobbler guarding the exit. Ghosts generally leave the pen pretty quickly, and if you grab one, the closer you are to the pen, the better. If you are going to chase ghosts after eating a power pill, it's better to chase the ones in the center than the one right by you, unless it is a gimme. Ghosts are as fast as you and can run away. So work out how they'll loop and cut them off. Having two ghosts in the pen per power pill should give you a nice bonus. Even one is decent--you should get 2000+4000+6000+8000. 4. GETTING THROUGH A LEVEL While levels speed up, the time monsters are vulnerable(7 seconds, with a 1 second warning) is constant. So you actually have more ways to chase monsters down when they are green, or to catch them in the loops when they are orange. There is no really tricky strategy here other than to take care of stuff when the enemies are gone. And if they won't leave, eat a power pill in another corner and make them. That is slash-and-burn. You can probably hide out in a corner for a long time, well away from them, then move in to the next place they desert. Because of how the random walk works, you will see them coming to the corner long before they have a chance to get there--and that includes getting trapped. The map is below. Note the board is not completely symmetrical--I've exaggerated the size of the boundaries, but on each edge, just-above is 1 shorter than just-below. And the loops by the dots are similar. The gutters in the corners are especially tricky to get to, and I recommend you start by going to the lower left first, then the upper right. If you are just trying to survive, you can use one power pill to clear out the center bits, where monsters are most likely to congregate. Then you can use one pill for each of the corners, possibly crossing over if you are able to finish one corner before eating the pill. Basically if you can clear off a loop near the edge, do so, and keep a body-width away from the enemies at all times. As long as you have one power pill per corner area to clear, you should be able to sail through. The map below(note you get 5 points for staying in place and getting killed:) +--------++---------------+ + + +-------------------------+ | || | | | | | | ...... || ............. | | . | | ....................... | | . . || . . | | . | | . . . | | . || . || . ++------- . +--+ . +--+ . ------++ . ------- . | | . || . || . ++------- . . . ------++ . ------- . | | . || . || . || . . . || . . | | . || *..... || ............................. || . . | | . || . || . . . . . || .....*..... | | . || . ----|| . | . ----- . ----- . | . || . . | | . . . | . . . | . . +-----+ . | | . . . | . . . | . . | | . | | ................ | ..................... | ...... | | . | | . . . | . . | . . | | . | | . || . . | . || +-----+ || . | . . | | . | | . ----|| . || . | . || | | || . | . || . | | . | | . ----|| . || . | . || | | || . | . || . | | . | | . || . || . | . || | | || . | . || . +-----+ . | | . . || . . || | | || . . || . . | | ........... || ..... || | | || ..... || ........... | | . || . || | | || . || . | +---- . ----|| . ----|| ! | ||---- . ||---- . ----+ +---- . ----|| . ----|| ! | ||---- . ||---- . ----+ | . || . || | | || . || . | | ........... || ..... || | | || ..... || ........... | | . . || . . || | | || . . || . . | | . || . || . | . || | | || . | . || . +-----+ . | | . ----|| . || . | . || | | || . | . || . | | . | | . ----|| . || . | . || | | || . | . || . | | . | | . ----|| . || . | . || | | || . | . || . | | . | | . || . . | . || +-----+ || . | . . | | . | | . . . | . . | . . | | . | | ................ | ..................... | ...... | | . | | . . . | . . . | . . | | . | | . . . | . . . | . . +-----+ . | | . || . ----|| . | . ----- . ----- . | . || . . | | . || . || . . . . . || .....*..... | | . || *..... || ............................. || . . | | . || . || . || . . . || . . | | . || . || . ++------- . . . -------++ . ------- . | | . || . || . ++------- . +--+ . +--+ . -------++ . ------- . | | . . || . . | | . | | . . . | | ...... || ............. | | . | | ....................... | | || | | | | | +--------++---------------+ + + +---------------++--------+ 5. CHEATS A page on Al Amaloo's wonderful site, http://www.gamewinners.com/apple_ii/Jawbreaker.htm has a way to get infinite lives in Jawbreaker. ================================ 6. VERSIONS/CREDITS 1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs/Honestgamers 4/17/2009, complete. Thanks to the usual GameFAQs/honestgamers gang, current and emeritus. They know who they are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of mine. Thanks to the NES Completion Project for keeping it going and especially for Da Hui for pointing out this game to me. All you people at honestgamers, YELL AT ME if I forgot you and you deserve to be in there. I mean, it's partially because of HGWars I wrote this FAQ, and I want to add to this in the future.