KICK / KICK MAN

• 2 versions exist. After Kick’s initial production run, the name was changed to Kick Man (pictures #1 and #2). This was most likely done to cash in on the popularity of Pac-Man, and to highlight the fact that Pac-Man was in the game.

• The game always gives you 2 credits when you turn it on.

• On the first screen, if each balloon is kicked before it is popped, a bonus will be awarded.

• BUG: On the challenge racks, if the guy drops a balloon from the 2nd-highest window, the balloon will briefly wrap-around to the bottom of the screen (picture #3). {Scott Stilphen}

• BUG: When you roll the score, the left-most digit becomes corrupted.  At every 100k, it will change to a different bit of garbled graphics.  At 700k, it will become a letter, starting with ‘A’ and going through the whole alphabet to ‘Z’.  After ‘Z’, it’ll become graphics again.  After another 100k+ points, the game will lock up with a rack of all Pac-Mans.

• BUG: When you have a little over 100 free men built up, the game will replace up to three balloon positions and possibly one falling balloon with a different character, and that character is worth the same as a Pac Man ghost when caught on your head.

• BUG: The game has a kill screen, at the 65th challenge rack.

• RUMOR:  After Kick’s initial production run, the Pac-Man characters were added to the program code and the game was then re-titled Kick Man, in hopes that the recognition of the famous character would help boost Kick Man sales.  This is not true, as the Pac Man characters were included in both versions.