WARLORDS

Once long ago in a distant land lived a king named Frederick. He took very good care of his subjects and pretty much let the kingdom run itself. One day King Frederick and his wife, Queen Christina, decided to start a family. To their surprise, Queen Christina soon gave birth to quadruplets. Four healthy sons, all at once. The King and Queen were overwhelmed.

The years passed quickly and Frederick’s sons (Dominick, Marcus, Felipe, and Restivo) grew to be strong young men. But they were nothing like their kind and peaceful father. They were just the opposite. The four sons of King Frederick fought constantly over anything and everything. Their fighting was so fierce that even the normally unconcerned Frederick became concerned. Left to his violent and competitive sons, his peaceful kingdom could very well be destroyed after he was gone, or perhaps even sooner.

The solution King Frederick decided upon was drastic, but he knew it had to be. Dominick, Marcus, Felipe, and Restivo were banished from their homeland and sent far away to a forbidden land. There they became warlords, dividing their newly acquired territory into four equal sectors, which incidentally, was the first and last thing they ever agreed upon. They then took to building their own castles, after which the battling resumed and never ended. They stopped catapulting fireballs and lightning balls at one another only long enough to rebuild their damaged and war-torn castles. After repairs were made, the fighting always began again with renewed ferocity.

So King Frederick’s warlords have been battling for many centuries and now it’s up to you to carry on their long-standing feud. Dominick, Marcus, Felipe, and Restivo have been locked inside this game program. They’ve stored enough fireballs and lightning balls so that they’ll never run out and neither will you. They can hardly wait to do battle. So good luck, you’re in for some fierce competition.

About the Game

Warlords was—and is still—considered to be one of the best group/party games of all time. It’s easy to see why. A game of Warlords is fast, furious, and strategic, with consequences directly tied to player action at all times. With roots in classics such as Pong and Breakout, it is also easily accessible to newcomers and those who already spoke the language of games.

According to Carla Meninsky, the game’s designer, the VCS/2600 version of Warlords was actually worked on prior to the arcade game, with the arcade game then being derived from the console version. Which version was released to the public first is still a point of debate amongst fans and historians. Some differences exist between both versions, such as catching the ball having adverse consequences for your castle in the arcade version.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to destroy the other three warlords before your warlord is destroyed. Use the paddle controller to protect your castle and your warlord. (Your warlord is located inside the castle.) Turn the knob on the controller to move your shield around your castle and block the ball.

How to Play

Turn the controller knob to move your shield and block the ball. To use the catch feature, press and hold the red controller button before the ball makes contact with your shield. Release the button to send the ball back toward your opponents at high speed.

If you miss the ball, it knocks out your castle’s bricks. As it breaks down, it becomes possible for the ball to hit your warlord, at which time you’re out of the battle. Each battle ends when only one warlord remains on the playfield. The first person (or computer player) to win five battles wins the war.

Note that a shield controlled by the computer will move slower than a shield controlled by a human player. To compensate for this fact, the computer player and shield have the power to throw the ball in unexpected directions.

Also, when a warlord gets killed, his ghost will haunt the battlefield. If the ball comes near, the ghost may actually hit the ball in a new direction. If you look closely, you may even catch a glimpse of the ghost and his shield.

Game Variations

Warlords has three main game variations:

1. Number of players: One, two, three, four, or doubles. In doubles (D) games, two players control two shields each. The computer operates any unused shields.
2. Ball speed: Fireball/lightning ball. Depending on the game number, the ball speed will either be slow (fireball) or fast (lightning ball). As noted before, when using the Catch feature, the ball bounces off your shield at high speed. Also, when hitting bricks, the darker the wall, the faster the ball will return.
3. Shields Ricochet/Catch: Your shields function either with Ricochet or Catch. Ricochet simply means that the ball rebounds off your shield when contact is made. The Catch feature means that the ball sticks to your shield (when you hold down the red controller button) before contact is made. The ball comes off the shield at high speed when you release the button. Use the Catch feature to aim the ball at your opponents, or change the pace of the battle.

Children’s Versions

Games 21, 22, and 23 are special versions for young children, as the gameplay is slowed down considerably. All three games feature Ricochet (rather than Catch) and all three have fireballs (slow balls). The only difference in the three games is the number of players (4, 3, or 2).

Game Options

Features

D in the number of players column indicates Doubles. Two players each control two shields.

Shields

In Ricochet (R) games, shields can only deflect incoming shots. In Catch (C) games, hold down the red button before the incoming shot makes contact with your shield to catch it. When you release the button, the ball comes off your shield at high speed.

Ball Speed

The ball speed is either Slow (S) or Fast (F).

Children

The children’s games use ricochet shields and slow balls and but the pace of the game is much slower.

Game Select Button

The game number changes at the top-left side of the screen when you press the button. The number to the right is the number of players for each game, which also changes as the game number changes.