Dig Dug

Dig Dug had something hypnotic about it: a little guy in a white suit tunneling through the dirt while round, goggle-wearing monsters chase him down. Namco released it in 1982, right in the middle of its hot streak after Pac-Man and Galaxian.

It was one of those games anyone could get at a glance, and it still had you feeding in quarter after quarter to clear just one more round.

History

Namco built it in Japan and Atari distributed it in the U.S. Its hero, Taizo Hori, showed up again years later in other Namco games.

Free-form digging was a fresh idea back then: every game carved out a different maze depending on where you chose to dig.

How to play

Burrow through the underground, opening tunnels as you go. Your enemies are Pookas, round red critters, and Fygars, green dragons that breathe fire. Hit them with your air pump: a few pumps in a row and they pop.

The real pro move is dropping a rock on them, and the more you squash at once, the bigger the score. Drop two rocks and a bonus vegetable shows up in the middle. Take too long and the last enemy makes a break for the surface.

Fun facts

• Enemies can drift through solid dirt as a pair of floating eyes.
• Taking out enemies in deeper layers scores more points.
• Atari distributed the game in the U.S.

In the arcade

Dig Dug is coming soon to UsuArcade. It's on our wishlist, and you can vote with I Want to Play It to push it up the list.

In the meantime, the arcade has Pac-Man, Namco's legendary maze game, Amidar, another early-80s maze classic, and Space Panic, where you also dig holes to trap your enemies.

FAQ