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How To Play
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Playing KGoldrunner

## How To Play

### Starting the Game

When the KGoldrunner window appears, click on the name of one of the games in the list displayed, then click on the Start Game button. Level 1 of the game you selected will appear and the mouse pointer will be over the hero. You start play by moving the mouse, clicking the mouse or pressing any key that can control the hero (e.g. Space), but avoid using Q, S, P or Esc at this stage. You start each level in the same way.

You have five lives at the start and gain a bonus life for each level completed.

### Moving Around

By default you control the hero (green) with the mouse, but you can also control him with the keyboard (see below). He moves towards wherever you place the mouse pointer. He cannot move as fast as you can move the mouse, but he will try hard to catch up. If the mouse pointer is above or below his level, he will always go up or down when there is a ladder available or a place to fall into. Otherwise he will move horizontally until he is above, below or right at the mouse pointer. You can make him follow simple paths (like _ | L or U), but be careful not to get too many twists and turns ahead of him.

You can move left or right over bricks, concrete, ladders or bars and up or down over ladders. If you are on an empty square or a gold nugget and there is no brick, concrete, ladder or bar to hold you up, gravity takes over and you fall. You can also fall by moving down from a bar or the bottom of a ladder, so keep the mouse pointer up there if you want to hold on.

### Keyboard Control

If you prefer, you can use the keyboard to control the hero. The default keys are the arrow keys and I, J, K and L (in honor of the original Apple II game), with the keys Z and C or U and O for digging. You can play one-handed by using U, I, O, J, K, L and Space (on a “QWERTY” keyboard) or two-handed by using the arrow keys, Space, Z and C. You can also choose other keys, on the Settings menu, if you have the KDE desktop version of KGoldrunner.

You enter keyboard mode by pressing one of the keys that can control the hero or by selecting Keyboard Control on the Settings menu.

The movement keys (I, J, K, L or arrows) start the hero moving up, down, left or right. He continues moving in that direction, if he can, until you press another movement key or Space to stop. In mouse mode, he stops automatically when he gets to the mouse pointer.

A word of warning: using the keyboard is much harder, in the long run, than using the mouse. Think of the mouse as a joystick.

### Taking a Break

You can stop the game at any time by pressing a Pause key (either P or Esc). You can resume by pressing the P or Esc key again. There is also a Pause option in the Game menu, but the problem is to get up there without moving the hero and getting into trouble.

### Tip

When you want to use the KGoldrunner menu or do some work in another window, always press a Pause key and stop the game. Otherwise the hero will go on following the mouse pointer and might get into trouble.

### Winning a Level

The object of the game is to collect all the gold, by moving or falling onto it. When there is none left, you must move to the top of the playing area to get to the next level. Often, as you collect the last piece of gold, hidden ladders will appear and you can use them to climb to the top.

### Beware of False Bricks

False bricks, otherwise known as fall-through bricks or traps, are the other hidden feature of the game. They look just like ordinary bricks, but if you run over one you fall. This can be bad if there is an enemy or a pit down there, or good if there is some gold.

### Enemies

Enemies move in very much the same way as the hero. The main difference is when they fall into a hole the hero has dug (see Rules of Digging below). They will pick up gold either always or at random, depending on the game settings, and will drop gold at random on brick, concrete or the top of a ladder. An enemy who is carrying gold has a gold outline. You must get the gold away from him before you can finish the level.

If an enemy touches you or you move down onto one, you die and must start the level again, if you have any lives left. However, it is possible to walk or stand on an enemy's head and you can ride an enemy down when he is falling. Some advanced levels require such a move.

### Losing a Level

As explained above, you can lose a level and a life by touching an enemy. You can also lose by getting caught in a dug brick when it closes. Otherwise you can commit suicide by pressing key Q or using the menu item Game->Kill the Hero. Why would you want to do that? Well, sometimes you can get trapped in a place from which you cannot escape. You will stay imprisoned for ever unless you commit suicide!

### The Importance of Digging

Digging is one of the most powerful tactics you have. To dig a hole in a brick to the left or right, just click the Left or Right mouse button, or use one of the digging keys (defaults Z, C, U, O.)

You can dodge an oncoming enemy by digging a hole, waiting for him to fall in and then running quickly over his head. At the same time you can collect any gold he was carrying. Usually you can dig two holes to capture and run over two enemies who are close together, but this rarely works if the enemies are separated or there are more than two of them.

You can kill enemies by digging enough holes in their path. It usually takes two or more holes to kill one enemy and up to eight or more holes to kill four or five. When enemies die, they reappear immediately, either where they started the level or near the top of the playing area, depending on whether the game follows “KGoldrunner” or “Traditional” rules and settings (see Choice of Rules).

### The Rules of Digging

You click the Left or Right mouse button, to dig a hole to the left or right, or use the Z, C, U or O keys. Only bricks can be dug, not anything else. The hole will appear in the floor on one side or the other (i.e. below and to the left or right of the hero). You can be running, standing or falling when you dig. There must be an empty space or hole above the brick (i.e. no digging under a ladder, bar, gold, brick, concrete, false brick or enemy).

The hero can move in any direction through dug holes, including falling right through a hole to escape an enemy. After a short time, dug holes close up, so you must use them quickly. Plan your digging in advance. There is no time to stop and think while you dig.

Enemies are always captured if they fall into a dug hole and will always climb UP to get out of it. Their time in the hole is less than the time the hole stays open, so to kill enemies you usually have to dig several holes in quick succession. Enemies always give up gold as they fall into a hole, so you can quickly run onto the enemy's head and grab the gold before he climbs out.

Enemies will never fall down through a hole from above, but depending on the game rules and Settings, they can run horizontally into a dug hole and not be captured and can fall from there or run into another hole or run out of the hole. Several levels that follow “Traditional” rules depend on an enemy being able to run through a hole.

### Winning and Losing the Game

You win by completing the last level in the game. You lose when your last life is gone. Either way, if you have achieved one of the ten highest scores for that game, you can record your achievement in the “KGoldrunner Hall of Fame”

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