Snapper

Snapper © 1982 Acornsoft.

Snapper is a clone of the Namco arcade game Pac-Man.

As in Pac-Man, bonus items such as fruit sometimes appear in the center of the screen. The highest-scoring bonus item is an acorn, a reference to the publishers. When Snapper is killed, it shrinks and turns into small lines pointing in all directions.

The main difference in gameplay between Pac-Man and Snapper is the behavior of the ghosts (or monsters). In Pac-Man, each ghost has its own personality and follows set patterns for each level. The red ghost also travels at double speed after a certain number of dots are eaten. In Snapper, the monsters begin each level by patrolling their corners a set number of times before breaking from their route to chase the Snapper. The time before breaking the route is reduced for each level until on later levels, the monsters chase Snapper almost immediately. The only real difference between the monsters is the corner they patrol and how soon they break from their route (e.g. the red ghost is always the first). Also, in Pac-Man, the main character slows when eating dots (so ghosts can catch up to him) but this does not happen in Snapper. These changes lead to a game which is much easier in the early levels but gets progressively more difficult so games tend to last longer.