Blackout is played by moving the mouse cursor to a target rectangle and clicking the left mouse button somewhere inside its boundaries. If done successfully, the target rectangle will be marked as "found: by turning red. Each target rectangle that is "found" will increase the player's score.
The object of the game is to find (click on) all target rectangles before all of the other colored rectangles turn black.
If the player correctly finds each target rectangle on the playing grid before a total blackout of all colored rectangles occurs, a bonus is awarded and a new level is started that contains more target rectangles and faster-changing colored rectangles. This process continues until a "Blackout" occurs, or until Level 10 is successfully completed.
In addition to finding target rectangles, the play is kept more challenging and interesting by the addition of Bonus Rectangles, Replay Arrows and The Boogeyman. Proper use of these elements allows much higher scores, but overuse can increase the risk of having a blackout occur, which will cut the score by 50%. To learn more about these elements of Blackout, read the Rules of the Game section.
Rules of the Game
Blackout Rules:
The game is paused until you make the first mouse click. At that point, the game will start and the colored rectangles will begin to change color and some will begin to turn black.
Each time you correctly click on a target rectangle, your score will be increased. Each time you click on any non-target rectangle, that rectangle and the eight others surrounding it will immediately turn black as a penalty for clicking in the wrong area. Depending on the current setting of the Scoring Parameters, poi ts may be subtracted for a wrong click.
At the completion of each level, that game will pause and you will see a dialog box with the current game score. Clicking on the "OK" button in his box will start the next level. At each level, the score awarded for a correct click increases. Also, at each successive level, there are more target rectangles to find, and the non-target rectangles will turn black more quickly. If you successfully click on ALL target rectangles at any given level, you will be awarded a bonus score that increases at each level.
The level is over when no more target rectangles remain to be found, or when there are no more normally-colored rectangles (a "Blackout").
The game is over when no more levels remain to be completed (there are 10 levels), or when a "Blackout" ocurs at any level.
Note that many of Blackout's scoring and playing rules can be altered by changing the game's configuration.
If a "Blackout" occurs, the score is lowered by 50%.
If a player achieves one of the ten highest Blackout scores, the High Scores dialog box is automatically invoked, allowing the players to enter their initials and score.
Bonus Rectangles
While playing the game, there will occasionally be "Bonus Rectangles" which will appear momentarily. Each bonus rectangle is a light-gray box with red lettering. The lettering in the box will indicate the level of bonus to be awarded if the box is clicked on before it disappears. The "2X" box is worth twice as many points as a regular target rectangle. The "3X" box is worth three times as much, and so on. There are "2X" through "5 X" boxes available and clicking on them can greatly enhance your score - but be careful! Spending time finding the Bonus boxes may cause you to be unable to complete the level and result in a blackout, which definitely won't help your score.
The Replay Arrow
Another element of Blackout is the "Replay Arrow." The replay arrow is a black box with three colored arrowheads pointing in the direction of the arrow's movement. The replay arrow will appear at random times. It always moves from one edge of the playing surface to the opposite edge and usually moves quite rapidly. If you can successfully click the replay arrow, all back blocks on the playing surface will be returned to the normal colored state. This will allow you to get a second change to complete a level or to continue to play the bonus rectangles at a level. Be very careful with replay arrows, since a "near miss" (within one block of the arrow's real location), will be counted as a miss and will "kill" the arrow. Only click on it when you have a clear shot or when you are desperate for time.
The Boogeyman:
The "Boogeyman" is a black rectangle with a fact in it. If this block appears, you will be unable to score until you successfully click on it. As the Boogeyman moves around on the playing surface, it will occasionally restore a target rectangle from a "found" state to an "unfound" state causing the target to reappear. Since the speed of the Boogeyman's movement can make it very difficult to click on, there is no penalty associated with a "miss" when you try to click on the Boogeyman. Wild uncontrolled clicking may be the only way you can get it! You cannot score any targets or bonus blocks when a Boogeyman is present and there will be no replay arrows during the time a Boogeyman is on the screen. Blocks will continue to turn black, however, so you should get the Boogeyman as soon as possible after it appears.
Playing the Game
The object of Blackout is to find and click on all target rectangles before all non-target rectangles turn black. The following section explains how to play the game.
To "Find" a Rectangle
Using the mouse, move the mouse cursor so that it points inside one of the target rectangles. Now press the left mouse button ("click it"). The rectangle should turn red and if the game's "Sound" option is turned on, you should hear the "found" sound.
In addition to the target rectangles, you may see some of Blackout's special playing elements including Bonus Rectangles, Replay Arrows and The Boogeyman. To learn more about these elements, read the Rules of the Game section.
To Start a New Game:
From the Game Menu, choose "New" or click on the NEW button.
Monitoring the Game's Status
Several aspects of the game's status are constantly displayed in the game's status line, which is at the bottom of the game window, to the right of the Command Buttons. The status line will always have the current score and game level and during play, will hae accurate counts of the number of target rectangles remaining to be found and the number of black rectangles on the screen. In particular, the target-rectangle count is helpful when you don't know how many rectangles are left to find.
