Klax © 1990 Atari Corporation.
You've selected your level, and now the colored tiles start to tumble down the ramp. you zoom your paddle back and forth to catch the tiles and flip them into the bins to create rows of same colored tiles, The rows can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal, and three or more tiles ina row create a Klax.
Sounds Easy, right? It is, until the tiles speed up and tumble down the ramp so fast you can barely keep up! Faster and faster, your paddle becomes a blur as you struggle to keep up with the pace. Will you ace the wave or are you destined to fail? Either way, you'll find yourself quickly addicted to the good klean fun of tic-tac-KLAX!
The object of the game is to accurately place colored tiles that tumble faster and faster down the ramp. To earn points and to progress from level to level, you must place the tiles in vertical, horizontal, or diagonal patterns called Klaxs. Three or more same colored tiles in a row is a Klax.
The colored tiles advance down the ramp toward a paddle that you control with the joystick. You must move the paddle back and forth in the paddle slide to catch the tumbling tiles as they arrive at the bottom of the ramp. Move the paddle by pushing the joystick right or left. The tiles fall onto the paddle. You can stack a maximum of five tiles on your paddle at a time.
To form Klaxs you must flip tiles into five bins below the paddle slide. To flip a tile from the paddle into a bin, position the paddle over the desired bin and press the fir button. The top tile on your paddle flips into the bin.
Each time you make a Klax the entire Klax highlights and disappears from the bins. That gives you more room to place more tiles. You receive points for every Klax you complete. If you plan ahead and create more complex Klaxs, you earn more points. You also receive points for empty spaces left in the bins and for any tiles left on the ramp when you complete a wave.
Use wild tiles (which count as any color) to complete especially complex Klaxs. Wild tiles flash multiple colors in turn as they tumble down the ramp.
You can also make the tiles come down the ramp more quickly. Just pull the joystick toward you to increase the speed of the tiles.
If you don't want a particular tile on your paddle anymore, or you want to rearrange the tiles on your paddle, push forward on the joystick to flip the top tile back up the ramp. but be careful! You don't want too many tiles on the ramp at one time. If your paddle is full, or you don't get to a tile in tile,the tile falls into a deadly drop zone. You don't want that on your consience, do you? And if too many tiles fall into the drop zone abyss, it's the end of the game.
Each of the 100 Klax waves has an objective. The objective is displayed before you begin each level. On some waves you must archieve a certain number of horizontal or diagonal Klaxs. Some waves require you to survive a number of tiles any way you can, placing the tiles quickly to make Klaxs and freeing up space in the bins for the tumbeling tiles. Still other waves require you to earna certain number of points.
Tiles move faster and faster and you become more and more frantic to place them before they fall into the drop zone. The game ends if you fill up all 25 spaces in the bins before you have completed the level objective, or if you let too many tiles fall of the ramp.
If you fail to successfully complete a wave, you will be given the choice of continuing or starting over. Move the joystick up or down to move the arrow next to your selection, and press the fire button. Starting over returns you to the Title screen. continuing allows you to try the level again.
Model CX26192
Klax was only released in PAL format. Only 10 NTSC prototypes are known to exist.
Making a big 'X' will warp you far ahead in the game. These secret warps are not mentioned in the game.
Completing the game (wave 100) will show a celebratory screen with fireworks.
During game play you receive points for the Klaxs you create. When you complete a wave, any of the following bonus points earned will be added to your score | points for the empty spaces left in the loading bins, all tiles left on the ramp when you complete a wave, and any warp bonus points that apply to the wave. |
Sometimes placing a tile will result in a multiple Klax. For example, you could complete both a vertical and a diagonal Klax with the placement of a single key tile. If this occurs, you receive multiple Klax bonus points in addition to the points for each Klax. Multiple Klaxs are also worth more than one Klax towards the completion of certain waves. | |
Vertical Klax | |
3 tiles | 50 points. 1 Klax |
4 tiles | 1,000 points. 2 Klaxs |
5 tiles | 1,500 points. 3 Klaxs |
Horizontal Klax | |
3 tiles | 100 points. 1 Klax |
4 tiles | 500 points. 2 Klaxs |
5 tiles | 1,000 points.3 Klaxs |
Diagonal Klax | |
3 tiles | 500 points. 1 Klax |
4 tiles | 1,000 points. 2 Klaxs |
5 tiles | 1,500 points. 3 Klaxs |
To create a four tile vertical Klax, place two tiles of the same color in one bin. Then place a tile of a second color in that same bin, and finally two more of the first color. Now make the middle tile disappear by involving it in a horizontal or diagonal Klax. | |
You can also create four tile vertical Klaxs by stacking tiles very quickly while another Klaxs is being scored. |
* Try for complex Klaxs on lower level waves to increase your score. Go for chain reactions and simultaneous Klaxs.
* Don't throw too many tiles back up onto the ramp. You can get into trouble very quickly!
* Try for more complex Klaxs on Points Waves. Get the big points quickly - you probably will not be able to complete the level with simple, vertical Klaxs.
* Sometimes simple Klaxs work best. Don't get cocky on a high level Tile Wave, or you will end up with five full bins and a bunch of tiles with nowhere to go.
* Use wild tiles to complete multiple Klaxs.
Programmer: Steve DeFrisco
Game's ROM.