Coverup is an original arcade game written for Chromasette, a tape based magnazine from the early 1980's. The game requires an analog joystick or mouse, as the relative position of the joystick/mouse is the corresponding location on the screen. The game is a BASIC/ML hybrid, with the main game in ML and the remainder (instruction screens, etc.) in BASIC. The game has multiple timers; there is a timer for the screen (level) that you are currently on, as well as a master timer that the player has to complete all 9 screens by in order to get the maximum score. Each level has it's own background color (it cycles through the CLS values from 8 to 0 (orange to black), and the color # is shown on the bottom. The game also keeps track of the current session's highest score.
The main premise of the game is that 9 numbers are placed on the screen at random. There is also an "X" character that moves around randomly; each time the player hits this they lose 10 points. The current number that the player is trying cover up with their cursor is animated and moves around; the remaining numbers are stationary until they are activated (one is active at a time, starting at 1 and going to 9). If the player accidentally contacts a non-active number, they lose a point. When the player connects with the correct (active) number, they score the value of the number multiplied by the screen # the player. So if the player is on the second (magenta) screen and covers up the the "5" number when it is the active number, they will get 2 * 5 = 10 points. If the player runs out of time on the current screen, they lose 10 points and automatically proceed to the next screen.
The game features 6 skill levels (1 is the easiest, 6 is the hardest). The skill level selection changes the amount of time allowed for each screen, the amount of time to complete the entire game, and the speed of how fast the numbers the player is trying to cover up are moving.
Title: Coverup
Author: George B. Janssen
Publisher: Chromasette magnazine
Released: July 1983 (written in late 1982)
Requires: Color Computer 1,2 or 3, 16K RAM, analog joystick