The Buzzer Game

Introduction

Everyone's seen the general idea of The Buzzer Game. If they haven't played it, they've seen it. The Buzzer Game (one of the only self-explanatory games in Neopia) is manned by a Techo, who's there merely to put you off and stop you getting a prize. I'm sure you can shake him off and go away with something decent.

Controls & Instructions

Use whatever pointing device (such as a mouse) you have to follow the "wire" along from the start to the finish. Simple as that. As you progress, the task gets more complex, but is the same idea all the way through.

Tips & Strategies

Other than patience and a steady hand, the only other real "strategy" for this game is to play while zoomed in on the gameplay area. When you start the game, click anywhere in the white area surrounding the gameplay area to activate the webpage instead of the game. Then, holding down ctrl (the Apple key for macs), hit your + key. This will zoom in on the page. Zoom in as far as you can while still being able to see the whole gameplay screen. You'll notice that now, the wire you have to trace will be bigger.

The following pieces, apart from one, do not change throughout all 15 levels (but trust me, it will feel like more!) This is what you need to familiarise yourself with:

Start and finish: Like the game's title, it's rather hard not to know what these are. The start is a green circle, and the finish is a red circle. You need to click the green circle to start, but only roll over the red circle to finish. My tip would be to get the cursor right in the middle of the circle before clicking, so you have lots of room to move around when you get going.

The wire: You need to follow this big, black wire with your now invisible cursor. Move your cursor out of this line, the buzzer sounds and you have to start again. Obviously, the bigger the game window, the thicker this line will be, so therefore, you will have more room to manoeuvre. But, if you do play on a larger resolution, you will have to travel further horizontally. Screen size has its pros and cons, y'know. ;)

Buzzer: If you haven't guessed already, it buzzes. Go figure! It sounds when your cursor goes outside of the line and forces you to start again.

Metal hoop: This is what your cursor takes the shape of in this game, just to make it a little harder. It's not obvious how close you are to setting the buzzer off with this metal hoop, as it's a 2D game. Stick to the general rule of a semi-circle made between the hoop and the line each side. That way you are guaranteed to be inside the line.

Techo: He may look like an innocent Island Techo, but really he's there to make you play this game so badly, you don't win anything. Starting at level 3, he will put you off in certain ways. The Techo will make his eyes glow red, stick his tongue out or make a strange noise. Also, Mystery Island fruit falls down now and again, just to annoy you. These increase in frequency as you go round by round, so learn to ignore them. If they do get on your nerves, pause and take deep breaths until they stop falling. Otherwise, you will just keep losing lives.

The console - you know, that lump of wood with some wires sticking out of it - will give you some useful information. Your score will tell you how well you are doing, and the round number tells you how far you are from the end of the game. If you are going for a highscore, you need to know both of these things so you know how many risks you can take. The most important bit of the console, however, is the "bonus" number. Each level, this starts at 30. Every second you waste, 1 point is lost. The remaining points are added to your score at the end of each round, but if it gets down to 0, you get nothing. Sorry.

There is a little secret to aid you to get to the end of the game for you people with Windows XP. If you go to Start > Control Panel > (In classic view) Accessibility Options > 'Mouse' tab > Check 'Enable "MouseKeys"' checkbox. Now, when you have "Num Lock" on, you can control the mouse with the Number Keypad. Most keyboards now have arrows on these keys to show you what direction they control, but they follow normal convention. The middle number '5' is the right-click mouse button.

Play "The Buzzer Game" with a graphics tablet for a more "real-life" way to play the game. Be warned, it is quite hard this way.

If you don't play with the "MouseKeys" method mentioned above, then beware of a few problems you might face. These include running out of mouse space on your desk, sticking parts of your ball mouse, and other things like sneezing and rogue cats. Try to figure out a way to conquer these before starting to play.

And turn the sound off! That Techo and that bonus countdown will annoy you. Guaranteed.

Extra Stuff

Type "salamander" during gameplay to skip to the next level.

Type "cheese" while at the screen before any round, NOT the main menu. A sound will activate and you will now be able to see your mouse during gameplay. When you can see your mouse, the best way to ensure you don't set off the buzzer is to keep the tip of the cursor in the middle of the wire. This is made easier by using the zoom method mentioned above.

Conclusion

To get a high score in this game, you need to have the ability to stop time, I'm afraid. This isn't a game you want to play on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. You have been warned. Try it, and don't get beat up if you fail. Almost everyone does. Good luck, and don't get put off by the *BUZZ!*...