Rampart/Gameplay

The game takes place over a number of rounds, each composed of three phases.

In the Battle phase, a.k.a. "Prepare for Battle," players use a crosshair to aim cannons at enemy ships, or the walls of the other player forts in multiplayer. The action is similar to Atari's earlier hit Missile Command. During this time, incoming cannonballs attack and destroy some of the walls around each player's castles. After about ten seconds of combat, the game announces a cease-fire, and then moves on to the Building phase.

In the Building phase, a.k.a. "Build &amp; Repair," players are given random building pieces to attempt to rebuild their damaged walls. Pieces may be moved freely around the player's landscape, but can only be set down in a location where there is nothing blocking it. Bigger pieces can cover more ground, but are much harder to set down in a spot where they aren't blocked.

The Building phase is timed, and players get as many pieces as they can place during this time. If at least one castle is completely surrounded before time expires, the game plays a fanfare, different for each army. Diagonal gaps in walls do not count for surrounding castles. After time runs out, players who fail to surround a castle are knocked out of the game, although they may continue a limited number of times by putting more money in the machine.

In the Cannon phase, a.k.a. "Place Cannons," players receive a number of cannons according to the number of castles they captured in the Building phase. Having control of the player's initial "Home" Castle awards two cannons, and any other castles grant one cannon each. These cannons may be placed inside a player's walls in any empty 2x2 space. Having more cannons allows a player to get off more shots during later Battle phases, but cannons only work during a battle if they are also within walls. Once placed, cannons cannot be removed unless the player loses and continues, and if too many are built it becomes harder to complete walls during the Building phase. Players can signal that they are done placing cannons early by making five rapid illegal placements.

Single-Player
When playing alone, the player faces a series of six levels of increasing difficulty. The player may choose the order in which they play the first four levels. But first, they are given an option to play on Recruit or Veteran difficulty. Starting on Veteran begins play on level 2, and grants 5,000 bonus points. If playing on Veteran, one of the first four maps goes unselected. level 5 takes place on a choice of two peninsulas, and only have three castles as options to capture. If the player can make it to level 6, they must survive a ruthless onslaught on a small island with a lake on it, and only two castles. Completing this level wins the game, but very few players are capable of this feat.

If a player cannot capture a castle in time, they lose, and must spend money to continue playing. Players can only do this up to four times. There is an exception to this: if a player manages to reach the final level when they're on their last continue, the game will allow them one extra continue--although, it will also downgrade their cannons by one step. (See: Continuing and Firepower)

Battle Phase
During Battle phases, the player's walls are shot at by the ships of an enemy armada gathering in the water off-shore. To win the map, a sufficient number of ships must be destroyed, and the enemy's numbers surviving on the level must be below a certain amount. (Grunts are counted among the surviving enemy for this purpose.) A maximum of 16 ships can be on-screen at once. So long as the player can capture at least once castle every Building phase, a map can continue indefinitely.

As the game continues, three kinds of enemy ships join in the attack:

Single-Sailed Ships must be hit by two cannonballs before they sink. The weakest ship, they have no other abilities.

Double-Sailed Ships are landers. They require three hits before they are destroyed. They have the same firepower as Single-Sailed Ships, but during battle they try to maneuver close to land. If one of them manages to reach a diagonal section of shore, then during the following Building phase they drop off Grunts.

Red Ships are command ships. They must be hit five times to destroy them. They do not leave Grunts, but their cannonballs, when they strike a wall, leave a flaming crater behind. Craters cannot be built upon, and persist for either two or three rounds, depending on how recently the player has continued the game.

Starting with level 4, these ships are replaced by darker versions of each type. These ships require an extra hit to sink.

The Grunts left by the landers are the only enemy that can move around during the Building phase. They progress towards the nearest castle, and slowly increase in number as they travel. They usually move orthogonality, but can sometimes slip through diagonal gaps in walls. Walls cannot be set down on top of a Grunt. If the player manages to surround any Grunts with walls they are destroyed, with a satisfying "crunch" noise. Grunts tend to form large blobs that make it difficult, or even impossible, to capture castles. Grunts that survive into a Battle phase can be shot with cannons. At a random time during every Battle, each Grunt will destroy a wall or castle they're pointing towards. This is the only way a castle can be destroyed in play.

Building Phase
Pieces are selected from a "bag" of possible choices. At the start of a map, small and simple pieces are in the bag. As more pieces are placed, they become larger and more complex. Pieces can be moved and rotated freely before they are placed. When time expires (its ending is heralded by a series of more and more insistent snare drum beats), each player is given about four extra seconds to place their last piece.

Multiplayer
Up to three people can participate in a battle against each other. The screen is divided into a number of areas, separated by rivers, and each player is given ownership of one of these areas of land. Instead of firing at ships and grunts, the player's targets are the walls around the other armies' castles and their cannons themselves. By shooting walls, players can make it harder for the others to capture a castle. Each cannon can take a limited number of hits until it turns into a useless pile of immovable rubble.

If a player fails to capture a castle, they are knocked out unless they spend money to continue playing. This improves their cannons by one step, letting them get more shots off in Battle phases. Each player may only continue twice before being eliminated for good.

If a player chooses not to fire during a Battle phase, their cannons will select their own targets. This can be an effective way to do battle, as their cannons tend to choose random, far-flung targets, leaving holes that are harder to repair.

After a number of rounds (the exact number is adjustable by the operator), if no winner has been decided, the game will declare it to be the Final Battle at the beginning of a Battle phase. If more than one player survives the subsequent Building round, the winner of the game is determined among survivors by whoever has the highest score.

A little-seen variation on multiplayer Rampart can be seen if two players opt to play again at the conclusion of a game. The players will be given a choice between a standard two-player map, or a special map with less land to build on and an ocean area containing player-controlled ships. These ships can be sunk by enemy cannonballs, and fire at enemy walls of their own accord.