Your first option after inserting the required amount of coins, is whether you want to play in competition or practice mode. In competition mode, you can select one of four ATVs and whether to use a male or female rider (Zakk or Jill, respectively). In this mode you start out on the first course with the goal of completing all four in succession. In practice mode, you can also choose a rider, but the ATV is predetermined, and you can start on any of the first three courses. Turn the handlebars to move selection between options and either press the "Start" button or give the throttle a quick turn to confirm your selection.
While racing, you can pick up jump and turbo items to help you out. Jump items create more jumps on the course, while turbos give you a temporary speed boost.
Controls[edit]
Players sit on an ATV mockup which has side-to-side rocking motion and turnable handlebars. Turn the handlebars for minor route adjustments, and lean the ATV body for sharper turns. The throttle on the right-side handlebar is used to accelerate, by rotating back towards you, just like on a real ATV or motorcycle. Both sides of the handlebars have brake levers, which can be used to slow you vehicle.
In addition to gameplay controls, there are two safety features on the machine that will stop its motion. One is an explicit safety stop button located centrally at the top of the gas tank. Press this button at any time to stop the motion, and unlock motion by turning the button clockwise. The second safety system is activated if you take one or more of your feet off the footrests during gameplay. In both cases, the game will continue to run, but physical motion of the arcade machine itself will stop.
Competition mode[edit]
In this mode, the goal is to reach checkpoints along the course within preset time limits. How well you are doing in this regard is tracked on a score card. In addition, a total time counter shows your excess time, and is decremented by however many seconds over the required time to checkpoint you are. Two ways to get disqualified are to miss three checkpoints (out of 15) in the required time, or to let your total time counter get to zero.
When playing against a live opponent, via machine link cables, the game is played on one course only. The players select the course, and continue racing the course until the total time counter reaches zero. At that point, the player with the least amount of missed checkpoints wins. Separate end-game messages are displayed for each machine ("You Win" or "You Lose").
Practice mode[edit]
On practice mode you can only get disqualifed for letting the total time counter run out; missing checkpoint times won't eliminate you. At each checkpoint you are rated on your gameplay, with "OK", "REG" and "BAD" keywords. At the end of the race, you will be advised on whether you should practice more, or are ready to try competition mode.
Scores[edit]
Score is measured by kilometers, with a longer distance being equivalent to a higher score. If you continue to meet checkpoint times and don't receive penalties to your total time counter, you can continue racing. The longer you race, the farther you go, and the higher your "score" is. There are also bonus kilometer items hidden in each course. These will always be in the same places, though not along the easiest path through the course.
The two types of score lists are a top 20 list and a daily stage list. The top 20 list tracks the absolute distance of the top 20 players, and the daily stage list the best track distances for the day.