Mr. Do

Mr. Do is a 1982 videogame. You are a clown who moves around a maze. You can dig new paths to avoid monsters and collect cherries. Kill monsters with a 'powerball' or drop apples on them. Kill them all or eat all the cherries to go up a level.

The object is to clear each level of cherries and/or monsters. You may kill the monsters by hitting them with your powerball (which bounces through the paths, taking unpredictable directions at junctions) or dropping an apple onto them. The level is also over if you complete the EXTRA box or collect the diamond which appears very infrequently ('Special', awards an extra credit).

You can dig extra paths through the solid parts of the maze in whatever shape you like. The apples will be found dotted around the screen in the solid parts. To construct traps for monsters, you must dig just under them so they fall into the path behind Mr. Do, then turn around and push the apple back to a path which turns downward, preferably just over the edge, and you have a trap! Wait for a monster (or a few) to appear in the path below, and push! If the monsters wait too long under the apple, they can become 'diggers' and dig away at the maze toward you! Sometimes they go under the apple and squash themselves. An improvement is if two apples can be lined up, so you are protected against a 'digger'.

The central target, from which the monsters appear, may be collected once all the monsters have appeared. This is noticed when it becomes a 'prize', (e.g., ice cream, biscuits, etc.). When you collect the prize, the Alphamonster and his four henchmen appear. The Alphamonster may be in the EXTRA box at the top or moving around the screen. The Alphamonster and his henchmen cannot easily be crushed under apples because they usually eat the apples! They can be killed individually with the powerball or, if the Alphamonster is killed, all the henchmen turn into apples.

This game had at least three sequels, Mr. Do!'s Castle (1983, also known as Mr. Do! vs. Unicorns), Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride (1984) and Do Run Run (1984). A similar game was Fruity Frank, on the Amstrad CPC.


 * Artificial Stupidity: See above. The monsters aren't very good at dealing with the apples.
 * Fast Tunnelling
 * Hoist By His Own Petard: The monsters can push the apples onto Mr. Do.
 * Level Ate: The apples.
 * Medium Awareness
 * Non-Ironic Clown
 * Public Domain Soundtrack: The main theme that plays throughout is taken from "Can-Can" by Jacques Offenbach.
 * Real Song Theme Tune: After you collect the "EXTRA" letters, the round is cleared, and you get an "extra" life. During this time, an intermission is played featuring the Tetsuwan Atom [Astro Boy] theme.
 * Underground Level: The whole game.