THE ELECTRIC COMPANY* WORD FUN
Cartridge Instructions
(For 1 or 2 Players)
*THE ELECTRIC COMPANY is a trademark of the Children's Television
Workshop.
Letters are just letters until you make them words. High in the sky
incomplete words float by. Quick, fill in the missing letter. Load the
vowel, line up to shoot -- Blast Off! Then go off to the jungles where
monkeys scamper through trees, grabbing letters to build into words.
When you please, move on to a quieter game. Unscramble letters and
spell words that criss-cross on the display. Through the magic of
games, you'll learn that spelling can be fun -- all the while you play.
NOTE TO PARENTS
Letters and spelling take a fun new dimension with three exciting
word games. The ELECTRIC COMPANY� WORD FUN� by Mattel
Electronics is the playful way for elementary school age children to
improve their vocabulary and spelling skills. Developed in
conjunction with the famous Children's Television Workshop, the
ELECTRIC COMPANY WORD FUN adds zip to learning by using the
latest, most progressive technology. There's plenty of action once
letters pop on the screen. Players race monkeys through the jungle to
capture letters with their tails; or try to make new words by shooting
vowel rockets at words in the sky. Even traditional crosswords
becomes more exciting on the electronic grid. Before you know it,
learning and playing are wrapped up in one!
THE GAME CAN BE PLAYED IN TWO WAYS
Two players can compete against each other at the same time OR one
child can play alone, developing speed and accuracy at his own pace.
SELECT SPEED
All three Word Fun games can be played at four different speeds.
and each speed selection affects the overall game play. Press 3 for
slow, 2 for moderate, 1 for fast, or press the DISC for very fast.
SELECT GAME
After the game speed is selected, the screen shows:
1. CROSSWORDS
2. WORD HUNT
3. WORD ROCKETS
Choose a game by pressing the number of the game you want to play.
For example, if you want to play Word Hunt, press key number 2 on
your hand controller. Important: The game will start as soon as you
press the number to select. Be sure to read the instructions for a
game BEFORE you select it.
CROSSWORDS
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Players take turns spelling words on the grid. Each word must
connect to another. Highest score after 20 moves -- wins!
THE CONTROLS
KEYPAD 1 THROUGH 7: Move letters
HORIZ (KEYPAD 8): Spell word left to right
VERT (KEYPAD 9): Spell word top to bottom
CLEAR WORD (KEYPAD CLEAR): Clear word
CLEAR LETTER (KEYPAD 0): Clear letter
KEYPAD ENTER: Enter word
ANY SIDE ACTION BUTTON: Give up a turn
DISC: Move cursor (white square)
START CROSSWORDS
Either player presses 1 and Crosswords appears on the screen. Player
on the left uses the row of letters in the tan section on the left of the
screen. Player on the right uses the letters in the green section on the
right.
FIND A WORD
Player on the left begins. Look at the left row of scrambled letters
and try to spell out a word.
MOVE THE CURSOR
You must first place the cursor where you want the word to start. It
will move in 8 different directions, depending where you press the
direction disc. Tap the edge of the disc and the cursor moves in the
direction you want it to go. The first word can be placed anywhere
on the grid.
CHOOSE WORD DIRECTION
Once the cursor is in position, decide which direction you want to
spell out your word. To spell it from top to bottom, press VERT
(KEYPAD 9). To spell it from left to right press HORIZ (KEYPAD 8). If
you accidentally press HORIZ or VERT before the cursor is in its
desired position, the cursor will not move. Press Clear then move the
cursor, then press HORIZ or VERT again.
SPELL OUT THE WORD
To transfer the letters from the row onto the grid, press the number
next to each letter, one at a time. Let's say that number 1 is a D, 3 is
an O, 6 is a W and 7 is an R. You could spell W-O-R-D from left to
right by pressing HORIZ (KEYPAD 8) then 6-3-7-1. As each letter
appears on the grid, it disappears from the row. The cursor also
moves, showing where the next letter will be placed. The word being
spelled is the same color as the player's section.
FINISH A WORD
When you are satisfied with the word you spelled, press ENTER. The
cursor disappears and your opponent must now approve your word.
OPPONENT APPROVES WORD
If your opponent agrees that you have spelled a word correctly, he
presses his ENTER Key. One point is added to your score for each
letter of the word you entered. The score appears on the screen. For
example, W-O-R-D has 4 letters, so the score would be 4 - 0.
If your opponent doesn't think you have spelled a word correctly, he
or she may challenge. Look the word up in the dictionary. If it is
correct, the challenger must press ENTER and the game continues. But
if it is incorrect, you must press CLEAR WORD and ENTER, and you
lose your turn. Your word will disappear from the board & Letters
return to your row. Your opponent presses his ENTER key and it's
now his turn.
CROSS WORDS
The second word on the grid must connect with the first. After that,
each new word in the game must connect to one already on the grid.
For example, if the word WORD is horizontally on the board, the
letters L-A-N can be placed vertically immediately above the D to
spell LAND. If you try to enter an unconnected word, a loud buzzer
sounds, and the word automatically clears. Start again.
SPELL MORE THAN ONE WORD
Placing letters on the grid might create more than one word. For
example: placing the letters S-U-N vertically immediately to the
RIGHT of the end of WORD creates WORDS as well as SUN. You get one
point for each letter in each word. In this case, the letter S is counted
twice. There are 5 letters in WORDS: 3 letters in SUN. Total points for
this move is 8.
Make sure that the letters you place on the grid spell a word in all
directions. If not, they must be cleared from the screen.
THE GAME ENDS
Players take turns spelling words. One move is completed after each
player enters a word. The player with the highest score at the end of
20 moves, wins the game.
CHANGE YOUR LETTERS
If you are not satisfied with the word you have spelled, you can
change the letters. Press CLEAR LETTERS to erase one letter at a time,
starting with last letter you put down. As you clear the letters, they
disappear from the grid and reappear in their original position at the
side. Or press CLEAR WORD to sweep the entire word off at once. If
you clear an entire word, press HORIZ (8) or VERT (9) again before
selecting new letters.
CAN'T SPELL A WORD
If you just can not find a word in you letters, press any action
button. You give up that turn, but get a new set of letters for the next
move.
START A NEW GAME
To start a new game, press the reset, tap disc and press 1.
SCORING
One point for each letter in a correctly spelled word is added to a
player's score.
SOUNDS
Click: when cursor moves / when each letter is added to a word on
the grid.
CROSSWORDS RULES
Before you begin to play, decide if you will accept proper nouns,
foreign words, etc. Adding -ing, -s, etc. on words counts as an
entirely new word. If players of different skills are playing together,
make the competition more fair by limiting the game to three or four
letter words.
WORD HUNT
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Two players spell words at the same time. Each player controls a
monkey who picks up letters in the jungle and races back to spell 3
words (up to 8 letters each). Players must think fast because the
highest score at the end of five 3-minute turns -- wins!
THE CONTROLS
CLEAR LETTER (KEYPAD 0): Clear letter
KEYPAD ENTER: Enter word
ANY SIDE ACTION KEY: Pick-up, place and throw away letters
DISC: Move monkey
START LETTER HUNT
Either player presses 2 and Word Hunt appears on the screen. 15
letters are scattered on the screen. The clock begins to tick down
from 3 minutes. Player on the left controls the blue monkey. Player
on the right controls the white monkey.
Press the edge of the disc in the direction you want your monkey to
move. Stop when the center of the monkey is on the letter you want
to pick up. Press any action button and the letter pops on your
monkey's tail. The letter changes to the same color as the monkey.
Important: Be sure that the center of the monkey is over the letter.
RELEASE LETTER
Press the disc again and scamper your monkey into the scoring area
(bottom portion of screen). When you enter the scoring area, release
the letter by pressing any action button. The letter disappears from
the monkey's tail and appears at the cursor's position. The cursor
now indicates where the next letter will be placed. Important:
release the letter as soon as you cross the line into the scoring area.
The letter will automatically be placed in the position indicated by
the cursor.
Hurry and get your next letter. As one letter is taken from the jungle
area, another pops on to replace it. There will always be 15 letters in
the jungle.
FINISH A WORD
When you finish spelling the first word, press ENTER. The cursor now
moves to the next line. You do not take turns in this game, so start
your next word immediately. (If a word is 8 letters long you do not
have to press ENTER; the cursor goes to the next line automatically
after placing the 8th letter in a word.)
OOPS! YOU MISSPELLED THE WORD
Press CLEAR LETTER (0) and the last letter disappears. Continue to
press CLEAR LETTER until all the incorrect letters are removed. You
can clear letters even after you have entered a word.
THROW LETTERS IN THE TRASH CAN
If you accidentally pick up a letter you don't need, throw it quickly
into the trash can just above the scoring areas.
Place the center of the monkey on the trash can. Press any action
button to release the letter and it disappears. Now go and get the
correct letter.
CHECK WORDS AND ENTER SCORES
When time runs out or both players complete 3 words, it is time to
check the words. An arrow points to the first word on the left. If the
player on the right wishes to challenge the word, check in the
dictionary. If the word is not correctly spelled, player on the left
must press his own CLEAR WORD button. The word disappears from
the screen and nothing is added to the score. If the word is correct,
your opponent presses ENTER and the score appears on the screen.
Repeat with all words.
START A NEW GAME
After all words are verified, and scores are entered, there is a brief
pause. Then the game automatically starts over. There are five turns
in a game.
TIPS
* The quickest way to play this game is to keep the action button
pushed in at all times. Run through the trash can to throw the letter
away or hold in the action button and run your monkey through the
letter you want to pick up. It pops on his tail. (Be careful not to run
through a letter you do not want.) Then run in and out of the scoring
area and the letter is released. (Be careful not to run through the
trash can on the way.)
* Pick up letters that are closest to your scoring area if you run short
of time.
* Look at your opponent's word. If you know the next letter he will
need, go pick it up and throw it away.
* When you need a letter that is not in the jungle, throw away some
letters. New letters will pop on to the screen.
* If you finish making three words and there is still time left, go
throw away letters your opponent might need.
SOUNDS
Click: when clock counts down
Jungle sounds: random bird calls, lion roars
Buzz: when you enter third word or time runs out
Ding: accept a word and enter into score
Tom Tom drum: enter a word
WORD ROCKETS
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Two players try to complete the same word at the same time. Load
vowels on your wagon and blast them at the incomplete word in the
sky. First player to spell 50 words -- wins!
THE CONTROLS
ANY SIDE ACTION BUTTON: Load and blast off letters
DISC: Move wagon
START WORD ROCKETS
Either player presses 3 and Word Rockets appears on the screen. Two
consonants float by with a space in the middle. The player on the left
controls the red wagon and the player on the right controls the
yellow wagon.
MOVE YOUR WAGON
Move your wagon to pick up vowels (along bottom of screen) and to
line up with the word in the sky. Practice moving your wagon by
pressing the left and right side of the disc.
LOAD A VOWEL
Look at the incomplete word in the sky, then look for the vowel that
would correctly complete that word. Quickly move your wagon into
that vowel area and press any action button. The Vowel is loaded
onto the wagon. You don't need to land right on the vowel to pick it
up. When you load one letter on the wagon, another immediately
pops into that space.
BLAST OFF THE LETTER
After you have loaded a vowel on the wagon, press the disc to zoom
your wagon across the screen so that it lines up with the word in the
sky. Press any action button and the vowel blasts off. You need to be
fast.
Sometimes the incomplete word comes from left to right, and
sometimes from right to left. The speed and height of the word
varies randomly. Timing is important when you blast off the vowel.
If the word is high in the sky, you need to blast the vowel off before
the word reaches the wagon. As the letter rises, the word moves
across to meet it.
COMPLETE A WORD
When you hear a "RING", a correct vowel has hit the word in the sky!
The screen flashes in red, then the word changes to the color of the
player who spelled it. The word is displayed for a few seconds than
rises to the top and disappears. When you complete a word, one
point is added to your score. If two vowels complete a word at the
same time, the word turns yellow, but both players get a point.
When you hear a "BOING", the vowel you blasted won't make a word.
It bounces off the word in the sky -- wrong vowel!!
If you blast a vowel skyward and it misses the word, it rises off the
screen.
START A NEW GAME
To start a new game, press the reset, select the speed, then press 3.
TIPS
If you need a vowel that isn't on the screen, blast off a vowel and
hope the one you need pops on.
SCORING:
One point is added to the score for completing each word.
SOUNDS:
Shot: blast vowel to the sky
Ring: vowel makes a word
BOING!: vowel bounces off word
Gonggg!: first to 50 points
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(c)1980, 1998 Intellivision Productions, Inc.