Pooyan/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Press up or down on the joystick to raise or lower Mama Pig's elevator.
 * Fire: Press the fire button to shoot an arrow, or to throw a slab of meat once you have collected it. You can have two arrows on the screen at any one time.  You can not shoot an arrow again until you have lobbed the meat.
 * 1-2 Players: Press to start a one player game or a two player alternating game.

Mama Pig
Mama Pig is on a mission to rescue her Pooyan piglets. She rides in a partially shield elevator which raises or lowers her to whatever height she needs to fire from. She fires arrows from her bow with the intent to pop the Wolves' balloons, causing them to fall reducing their numbers. Mama Pig must prevent every dropping Wolf from reaching the ground, or every rising wolf from reaching the cliff top. If she fails, she becomes one step closer to her own demise. The top and bottom of her elevator can serve as shields from the rocks that the wolves throw. In addition to her arrows, Mama Pig can also throw bits of meat at the Wolves to knock out several in succession. The meat she throws arcs away from the elevator and drops to the ground. When Wolves see the meat, they let go of their balloons in an attempt to grab the meat, falling to their doom as a result. Increasing bonus points are awarded for multiple wolves knocked out: 400 for the first wolf, 800 for the second, and 1600 each for every wolf thereafter.

Pooyan & Booyan
The Pooyans are Mama's little piglets. They are the ones that the Wolves have kidnapped and that Mama is fighting to get back. They serve a passive role in the game. The Booyan brothers on the other hand are the active assistants to Mama. They control the flow of the rope that guides the elevator at the top of the cliff. They follow Mama along from area to area.

Wolves
The Wolves are out to claim their dinners for the next couple of nights by stealing Mama Pig's little Pooyans. During the odd rounds, they start out at the top of the tree and grab balloons in order to slow their descent to the ground. If they reach the ground, they climb up the caves that exist behind Mama Pig's elevator and try to take a bite out of her. The more that land, the more spaces they will occupy. On the even rounds, they start out on the ground and attempt to use balloons to ride up to the top of the cliff where a boulder is waiting. If enough wolves rise to the top, they can push the boulder down on Mama Pig and crush her. During these even rounds, some of the wolves' balloons need to be popped two or even three times. With each pop, however, their ascent slows.

Whether rising or falling, they carry little shields that they can use to block Mama's arrows against direct hits, and to block shots to the balloon a limited number times (usually once). Blocked arrows will ricochet downwards, making them effective for formations in a column. They can also throw rocks at Mama with a little accuracy, which can be shot for 200 points.

Boss Wolf
The Boss Wolves appear from the second round on. On even rounds, they rise off the ground when the round is close to finishing. They use special balloons that require a lot of hits from arrows in order to pop. However, one piece of meat can cause a Boss Wolf to drop to the ground. If a Boss Wolf manages to rise to the top of the cliff, four more wolves are added to the remaining wolf count for the stage. On odd stages, they walk along the top of the tree dropping fruit bonuses, but they do not actively interfere with Mama Pig.

Fruit
Fruits drop from the top of the tree during the odd rounds starting from round 3. While shooting them provides you with a nice 200 point bonus, they can, at times, present obstacles that can block your shots at more important wolf balloons. Don't deviate from your plan to go after fruits if it means risking allowing a wolf to land on the ground. That's precisely why the Boss Wolf drops them, in order to distract you.