Check Man is an arcade game

Arcade game

An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

 released by Zilec-Zenitone in 1982

1982 in video gaming

-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....

. While being a fast paced action game, there are puzzle elements to the gameplay. The game uses the Namco Galaxian

Namco Galaxian

The Namco 8-bit Galaxian arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1979.-Namco Galaxian specifications:*Main CPU: Zilog Z80*Sound chips: Discrete*Video resolution: 256x224...

 arcade board.

Gameplay

The screen is broken up into 14 x 13 tiles or checks. When the player passes over the tiles, they disappear so each tile can only be walked over once per level. Some tiles are taken up by skull and crossbones

Skull and crossbones

A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under the skull. It is generally used as a warning of danger, usually in regard to poisonous substances, such as deadly chemicals.-History of the symbol:...

 which kill the player if walked into. The skulls turn to time bomb

Time bomb

A time bomb is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use time bombs has been for various purposes ranging from insurance fraud to warfare to assassination; however, the most common use has been for politically-motivated terrorism.-Construction:The explosive charge is the main...

s one at a time and the player must walk over them to defuse them before they explode. They must avoid the skulls and make sure they do not block off a possible future route by circling it. Some tiles are also flags which can be collected for bonus points. When all skulls have turned to bombs and been defused, the level is complete and begins again at a harder level. As the game develops, stomping boots are introduced that move around the playing area. These are also deadly to the player.

Ports and clones

The arcade game was relatively obscure and there were no official ports to home systems but there were clones. Danger UXB (Micro Power

Micro Power

Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s, best known as a video game publisher but they also produced and sold many types of computer hardware and software through their Leeds...

) for the Acorn Electron

Acorn Electron

The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....

 and BBC Micro

BBC Micro

The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...

 was released in 1983. This was originally named Blockman but the name was changed by the publisher before release. Timebomb

Timebomb (video game)

Timebomb is a game for the 16K ZX Spectrum computer , published in 1984 by CDS Microsystems. It is an unlicensed port of the arcade coin-op Check Man. While the player moves, the game plays Beethoven's Für Elise.-External links:* at KLOV* * at Coagulus Software...

(CDS Microsystems

CDS Software

CDS Software was an independent publisher and developer of computer game software based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK.-History:...

) for the ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

 was released in 1984. A version called Gridtrap (LiveWire) was released in 1985 for the Commodore 16

Commodore 16

The Commodore 16 was a home computer made by Commodore with a 6502-compatible 8501 CPU, released in 1984. It was intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20 and it often sold for 99 USD...

 and Plus/4

Commodore Plus/4

The Commodore Plus/4 was a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite ; it was billed as "the productivity computer with software built-in"...

, Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, Amstrad CPC

Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...

, MSX

MSX

MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...

and ZX Spectrum.