Dig Dug is a classic arcade game that was released in 1982 by Namco. Atari would later take over the license. Dig Dug has since been ported to PC and many home consoles.
Provided in this article is basic information and facts on Dig Dug the arcade game.
Dig Dug Controls
Move in four directions (up, down, left, right) using the joystick or D-pad if the game is played on the NES or any home console system. There is one action button. The action button uses the player’s air pump which shoots out towards the direction the player is facing. The air pump is used to blow up enemies and destroy them. The air pump button needs to be repeatedly hit multiple times to destroy an enemy completely.
Dig Dug Enemies
There are two types of enemies in Dig Dug:
Fygars – Green dragons that breathe fire and stay within their underground space until other enemies are defeated.
Pookas – Red blobs with yellow goggles and legs that move through the dirt towards the player.
The enemies will increasingly move faster as you progress in levels.
Dig Dug Scoring
There are four different color layers of dirt on the screen. The deeper the section of dirt that an enemy is killed in will reward the player with more points.
First layer – 200 points
Second layer – 300 points
Third layer – 400 points
Fourth layer – 500 points
Fygar enemies are worth double the point values listed above if they are defeated horizontally.
Enemies can be killed by dropping rocks on them. The more enemies crushed with a single rock fall will grant bonus points for each additional enemy hit.
There is a chance to grab bonus point food items when they appear. To make them appear you must drop two rocks within the level. Once achieved the food will appear in the middle of the screen for a few seconds and then disappear.
Dig Dug Bonus Point Food Items
Each level has a different food item that is worth more and more points as you progress.
Level 1 – Carrot worth 400 points
Level 2 – Turnip worth 600 points
Level 3 – Mushroom worth 800 points
Level 4 and 5 – Cucumber worth 1000 points
Level 6 and 7 – Eggplant worth 2000 points
Level 8 and 9 – Pepper worth 3000 points
Level 10 and 11 – Tomato worth 4000 points
Level 12 and 13 – Garlic worth 5000 points
Level 14 and 15 – Watermelon worth 6000 points
Level 16 and 17 – Galaxian Ship worth 7000 points
Level 18+ – Pineapple worth 8000 points
Dig Dug Arcade Game Manual
Archive.org provides us an opportunity to look at the original Dig Dug manual.
It mostly shows information on the arcade cabinet operation and maintenance.
An interesting section of the arcade manual is the game price and difficulty settings.
It shows that the arcade owners could adjust how many quarters it would take to receive credits to play the game.
This gameplay section also explained that the owner could make the game harder and could change values on how many points were needed to receive bonus lives or even turn off the bonus lives option altogether.
This section of the manual is worth a read if you are a Dig Dug fanatic.
Speaking of things for Dig Dug fans….
Dig Dug Mini Arcade Game Cabinet
I am obsessed with collecting these cheap mini arcade games! They are fully playable arcade games with authentic cabinet art. It brings back such great memories of going to the arcade. I would love to have full sized cabinets in my home but these little ones help scratch that itch without costing an arm and a leg.
Check out the Dig Dug version of these mini arcade cabinets. (Affiliate link)
FYI – these are very tiny (think keychain size). This can make it difficult to play and see all what is going on. But they are emulated versions of the classic arcade games that can fit in your pocket. That’s pretty cool!