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Dig Dug (Taizo Hori) is the hero of the game. He must defend each of the islands from the Pookas and Fygars. Armed with an air pump and his new jackhammer, he must either pump the enemies out of existence, or use his jackhammer to cut off a section of the island and drown the enemies. Dig Dug is vulnerable to the touch of his enemies, as well as the flame breath of a Fygar. He is also vulnerable to falling in the water if he stands on the wrong side of the island after he cuts a section off. Dig Dug may also lose his balance after cutting off a section of island. Push the joystick towards land to prevent him from tumbling in to the water. In order to advance to the next stage, Dig Dug must clear every enemy from the stage. When only one enemy is left, it will cowardly jump off the island and swim away. If the enemy escape, the stage is cleared, and the potential points are simply lost.
Pooka can best be described as a tomato-red balloon with yellow goggles. No one is really quite certain what a Pooka is, but one thing is for sure; it's deadlier than it looks. Pookas start out a little slower than Dig Dug, but they will eventually match his speed in later stages. They cannot cross over cracks in the ground, but they will occasionally switch to a ghost form that can float over the cracks. As a ghost, it takes the form of its yellow goggles. A Pooka in ghost form is just as deadly as a Pooka in solid form. Pookas are easily dispatched by Dig Dug's pump from any direction.
Fygars are fire breathing dragons that also seek Dig Dug out. Their fire breathing adds an extra element of danger when Dig Dug confronts these green beasts. They behave like Pookas in most other respects, yet move somewhat faster. They too can become ghosts in order to pass over cracks. As ghosts, they appear as a pair of eyes and a mouth. As they chase after Dig Dug, they will occasionally pause and flash once or twice before letting out a huge fiery blast to the left or to the right (but never up or down.) Because of the danger they present when facing them from the right or left, their point value doubles compared to blowing them up from above or below.
| * Destroy a Pooka | 200 points |
| * Destroy a Fygar vertically | 200 points |
| * Destroy a Fygar horizontally | 400 points |
The score received for drowning enemies by cutting off a section of island depends on the number of enemies killed.
| Number | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1000 |
| 2 | 2000 |
| 3 | 4000 |
| 4 | 7000 |
| 5 | 10000 |
| 6 | 15000 |
| 7 | 20000 |
| 8 | 30000 |
| 9 | 50000 |
| 10+ | 80000 |
Bonus vegetables appear after Dig Dug has successfully cut off three sections of the island, regardless of size.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 | 2000 | 3000 | 4000 | 5000 | 6000 | 7000 |
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8-9 | 10-11 | 12-13 | 14-15 | 16 |
Trivia: The banana and corn sprites are from Super Pac-Man. Even more surprising, the grapes and drink sprites are from Pac-Man Plus, which wasn't a Pac-Man variation developed by Namco, but rather by Midway.