Parker Brothers split second User manual

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Is your hand quicker than your eye? If you don't
already know, then you're surely about to learn.
Welcome to the world of SPLIT SECOND! It's a
world of speed and skill, of variety and change, of
personal challenge and head-to-head competi-
tion. It's aworld that will fascinate and frustrate
you; that will keep you on your toes and at the
edge of your seat; that will bedazzle your eye,
bedevil your hand and—beyond all else—bring
you running back for more!
The games. There are five basic games. Of
these, two also offer advanced-play variations
Thus, as listed below, there are eight games
altogether:
1
.
Mad Maze
"Visible"
2. Mad Maze
"Preview"
3. Mad Maze
"Invisible"
5. Space Attack
"Pro"
6. Auto Cross
7. Stomp
8. Speedball
4. Space Attack
"Beginner"
The object. As you can see, the themes of the
basic games are different. So, too, are the rules.
Yet each game's object is exactly the same: to
finish in the shortest possible time.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION ABOUT SPLIT
SECOND.
BEFORE PLAYING, PLEASE READ THIS
SECTION CAREFULLY
1. Proper Care
The game's electronic circuitry is very delicate.
Therefore:
•Never take SPLIT SECOND apart.
•Don't drop or jolt SPLIT SECOND.
•Take care not to get SPLIT SECOND wet.
2. Batteries
You can make SPLIT SECOND completely
portable if you power it with batteries. To do this,
you'll need 6AA-size batteries. Use only
ALKALINE BATTERIES; they will work
much better than regular carbon batteries.
3. Battery Installation
a) The battery cover is the printed area
on the bottom of the game.
b) To remove the cover, place your thumb onto
the ribbed space marked PRESS. While
pressing down, slide the cover about ¥2" in
the direction of the arrow. Then lift the top of
the cover toward you.
c) Install your batteries exactly as shown
(-1- and -) on the floor of the battery
compartment.

IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF BATTERIES
MAY PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR GAME.
4. Battery Removal
To avoid battery leakage and consequent
damage to the game:
•Always remove the batteries when storing
the game for long periods of time.
•Immediately remove any batteries that you
suspect to be defective.
5. Battery Replacement
All batteries must eventually be replaced.
Therefore, if you ever find that your game is not
working properly, you probably need new bat-
teries. With weak batteries, for example, there
may be no light or sound when you turn the unit
on. Or, as you're playing, one or more extra
lights may suddenly appear on the screen.
.AC Adaptor
With a9-volt AC adaptor you can run SPLIT
SECOND on house current instead of batteries.
However, not all 9-volt AC adaptors will work
properly with SPLIT SECOND. Parker Brothers
offers an AC adaptor which is specifically
designed to be used with SPLIT SECOND.
The adaptor we offer is listed by Underwriters'
Laboratories and meets all child-related safety
standards.
You may order this adaptor (item #3212) by
sending your name, address and acheck or
money order for $8.95 to: Parker Brothers,
RO. Box 609, Salem, Mass. 01970. Or use
the convenient order form provided.
CAUTION: This adaptor is different from any
adaptor we have offered before; and it is the
only adaptor we recommend for use with SPLIT
SECOND. If you already have aMERLIN'"
adaptor (item #3210) or aWILDFIRE'" adaptor
(item #321 1),do not use either one with SPLIT
SECOND; the game will not function properly.
However, the SPLIT SECOND adaptor (item
#3212) can be used with these other Parker
Brothers electronic games: MERLIN, WILD-
FIRE and BANK SHOT™

SPECIAL NOTES
•In this game we use the word "second" to
describe time. Yet we do so only for rea-
sons of convenience. As ameasure of
time, our "second" is not exact. Techni-
cally it would be more accurate to use the
word "moment" or "instant" instead.
•Throughout your SPLIT SECOND unit the
measure of time is completely consistent
from game to game. Your unit's "second,"
however, may be either slightly longer or
slightly shorter than the "secon^" in
someone else's unit. Keep this possible
difference in mind when you're competing.
For the most accurate scoring compari-
sons, it's best to compete against some-
one on the same unit.
OVERVIEW OF PLAY
1
.
Turn the game ON, and the screen will show
the number 1. (Figure 1, Page 4)
The games are numbered according to the
previous list. The number 1, therefore, repre-
sents MAD MAZE "VISIBLE.
"
2. The SELECT button. By pressing this button,
you can choose the game you want to play. To
make your choice, repeatedly press SELECT
until your game's number appears on the
screen.
3. The START button. As soon as you've se-
lected the game you want to play, press START.
You'll hear the "game start" sound, and the
timer will begin.
4. The ARROW buttons. Each game challenges
your ability to maneuver lights that appear on
the screen. The ARROW buttons are direc-
tional buttons. By pressing them, you can move
alight in any direction: LEFTor RIGHT, UP or
DOWN.

Figure 1.
5. Completing agame
a) "Game end" sound. At the end of agame,
the screen will go blank for asecond or so,
and you'll hear either the "Win" or "Lose"
sound. If you've beaten the previous time
record, you'll hear the "Win" sound; other-
wise you'll hear the "Lose" sound.
Figure 2. The lower the number, the better the score.
b) Scoring. After hearing the "game end"
sound, you'll see your score on the screen.
Your score is the number of seconds that it
takes you to complete agame. Your score
will be correct to the tenth of asecond, and
will range somewhere between 00.0 sec-
onds and 99.9 seconds. In Figure 2, for

example, this player took 37.5 seconds to
complete agame.
c) Beeping. Your score will be displayed for
just asecond or so. Then the screen will go
blank, and you'll hear a"beep" every few
seconds. This "beep" is an energy-saving
reminder that the unit is still turned ON. The
"beep" will continue either until you start to
play again or until you turn the unit OFF.
6. Playing another game
a) Same game. To play the same game, simply
press STARTand you'll be ready to begin.
b) Different game. To play adifferent game—
or even adifferent version of the game you
just played—first press SELECTuntil its
number appears; then press STARTand
you'll be ready to begin.
7. Special features
a) "Best score yet." Let's say you play the
same game anumber of times in arow and
want to learn the "best score yet" for that
game. Simply press the "UP "ARROW
button. The screen will show the record time
for that particular game. (Figure 3)
However: As soon as you press SELECT
(thus choosing either adifferent game or a
different version of the same game), the
Figure 3. For "best score yet" press the "UP" ARROW button.
computer will no longer remember the "best
score yet" for the previous game. Instead, it
will automatically start to record the "best
score yet" for the newly-selected game.

Figure 4. For "last game played" press the "DOWN"
ARROW button.
Example: Let's say you play SPEEDBALL
ten times in arow. After each game, you can
learn the "best score yet." If, however, you
suddenly switch to STOMP, the computer
will immediately forget everything about
SPEEDBALL and will automatically start to
record the scores for STOMP.
b) "Last game played." The "best score yet"
does not include the score of the "last
game played." To see this score, press the
"DOWN" ARROW button. (Figure 4)
As you can see, these special features make it
easy to follow your own scoring progress in a
particular game. They also make it easy to see
how you're doing if you're competing against an
opponent. After all, whether you've just broken
the scoring record or still have along way to go,
you'll instantly learn—to the tenth of asecond-
exactly where you stand.

SUMMARY
1. Turn the game ON.
2. Repeatedly press SELECT to choose the
number of the game you want to play.
3. Press START, and the timer will begin.
4. As soon as you finish agame, your score
will appear on the screen.
5. a) To play the same game, press START.
b) To play adifferent game—or adifferent
version of the game you just played—
first SELECT its number; then press
START
6. a) If you continue to play the same game,
you can learn the "best score yet" for
that game by pressing the "UP"
ARROW button.
b) Any time before you press SELECT,
you can see the score of the "last
game played" by pressing the
"DOWN" ARROW button.
MAD MAZE "VISIBLE"
Game #1
Object: To move aball through aseries of ten
different mazes in the shortest possible time.
1. SELECT game #1.
2. Press STARTand you'll see the first maze on
the screen. Each maze will consist of aball at
one end of the screen, agoal at the other end,
and anumber of bars randomly scattered in
between. (Figure 5, Page 8)
3. Use the ARROW buttons to maneuver the ball
around the bars and into the goal. To save time,
use the shortest, most direct route that's avail-
able. (Figure 6, Page 8)
4. As soon as you move the ball into the goal, the
maze will vanish and anew maze will appear.
The new maze's goal will be somewhere at the
opposite end of the screen; the ball will start
from where it entered the previous goal.
(Figure 7, Page 8)
5. This pattern will continue either until you've
completed all ten mazes, or until 99.9 seconds
have elapsed.

Figure 5. Figure 7.
Figure 6.
Special Features
a) To challenge yourself— or an opponent—with
exactly the same ten mazes, just press
START.
b) To play ten different "visible" mazes, or a
different game altogether, first press SELECT
until your game number appears; then press
START
Remember: As soon as you press SELECT, the
computer will no longer remember either the "last
game played" or the "best score yet" for the
previous series of ten mazes.

MAD MAZE"PREVIEW"
and "INVISIBLE"
Games #2 and #3
The object of both games: to maneuver aball
through ten different mazes in the shortest possi-
ble time.
The difference between the games: In MAD
MAZE "PREVIEW" (game #2) each maze
appears on the screen for only abrief moment.
You must remember where the bars were as you
grope your way around them and into the goal.
In MAD MAZE "INVISIBLE" (game #3) you see
only the ball and the goal; you never see the bars.
Your challenge is to maneuver the ball— by trial
and error— around the unseen bars and into
the goal.
The special features of both games are the same
as those of MAD MAZE "VISIBLE."
SPACE ATTACK
"BEGINNER"
Game #4
Object: To shoot down eight enemy "ships" in the
shortest possible time.
1. SELECT game #4.
2. As soon as you press START an enemy space
ship will appear at one end of the screen. At
the center of the screen asingle dot will also
appear This dot is the core of your "force field"
—a vast, powerful area of electromagnetism
that lies completely under your control.
3. Use the ARROW buttons to draw the enemy
ship to your force field's core. Because of your
force field's enormous strength, the ship will be
unable to resist your control. As soon as you're
able to center the ship directly over the core,
you'll be able to shoot it down with "lasers."
4. To fire your lasers, press either the SELECT
or START button. Either button will cause your
lasers to converge on the core from both the
top and bottom of the screen. (Figure 8,
Page 10)