Digging for diamonds in Rock Digger, Games by Zaweba
Rock Digger in Games by Zaweba: tunnel through six scrolling caves for diamonds, keep clear of falling boulders and fireflies, and reach the exit in time.
Diamonds lie buried in six scrolling caves in Rock Digger, and you tunnel through the earth to collect them while boulders tumble around you and fireflies roam. Gather enough diamonds and the exit opens; then you have to get out before the time runs out. It's an 8-bit game in the 64K home computer style, on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba, and it's as much a puzzle as an arcade game.
Digging and grabbing
Arrow keys or WASD dig in that direction, moving you through the earth and clearing a tunnel behind you. Hold Space or Z with a direction to grab without moving: you take whatever is next to you in that direction but stay where you are. R is there if you're stuck, and it costs a life.
Grabbing without moving is the clever part. It lets you take a diamond from beside you without stepping into the space it leaves, which matters a lot when there's a boulder sitting above that space.
Boulders and falling things
Boulders and diamonds fall, and they roll off each other. Don't stand under one that's moving. Every time you dig out the earth under something, you may be giving it room to fall, so look up before you dig.
You can push single boulders sideways. That's useful for clearing a path or for moving a boulder out of the way before it becomes a problem. It has to be a single boulder, so look at what's beside it before you try.
Fireflies and butterflies
Fireflies explode when they touch you, so keep your distance and watch which way they're moving through the tunnels. Butterflies are an opportunity: drop a boulder on a butterfly and it turns into diamonds. That makes a butterfly something to plan around, lining up a boulder above its path and then digging out what's holding the boulder up at the right moment.
Enough diamonds, then out
You don't always need every diamond, just enough to open the exit. Once you have them, the exit is the goal, and you need to reach it before time runs out. Grabbing more on the way is tempting, but if the clock is low, head for the door.
Thinking ahead in a cave
Because the caves scroll, you can't always see everything at once, and every tunnel you dig changes what can fall where. The best approach is to dig deliberately. Before each move, ask what's above the space you're opening up. Clear routes towards diamonds that don't leave boulders hanging over you, and use grab-without-moving whenever a diamond sits under something heavy.
If you do get stuck, sealed in with no way forward, R lets you start again at the cost of a life. It's better to use it promptly than to wait for the clock.
Pause, screen and scores
Esc pauses, F11 gives you the full screen, and the title card and F1 cover the controls, including the grab. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score and plays on your PC and shows your score against your best when the game ends. There are six caves in all.
Like the rest of the app, the caves and their sounds are made in code, so it runs offline with no adverts. Look up before you dig, use grab for diamonds under boulders, and drop a boulder on every butterfly you can.
