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 | Send in the clowns! Welcome to the world of Circus Atari, a circus like no other. We say, like no other, because it's only got clowns. No animals, no hot dogs, no dodgy ringmaster, just clowns, and a see-saw. Oh, and balloons. A wall of red, blue, and white balloons, to be exact, and if these clowns are to earn their crust, they must pop the balloons by using the see-saw to bounce each other up to the balloons. For every balloon the clowns burst, you get points. |  |
 | Now, these clowns have a precarious and dangerous job. There are no safety harnesses, so you have to catch your friend on the other end of the see-saw, otherwise it's injury time. Fortunately labour is cheap, and if a clown should splatter on the ground, you just cart their wrecked body away and send in another! This can only go on for so long though, you've only got five chances. Five dead/maimed clowns = game over. |  |
 | There are a few different variations in the games, although the basic idea is the same. In one variant, the game plays like Breakout. Each time your clown hits the balloons, he will rebound back down to the ground. Those must be some dense balloons! This makes things a little tricky, and you have to be ready for those fast rebounds. Another variant is "Breakthru", whereby the clown keeps on moving upwards through the balloons, bursting as he goes. Just as you'd expect really! This version is a little easier, and better suited for beginners. The final version is the trickiest of the lot. A row of barriers moves across the screen beneath the balloons. If your clown hits the bottom of the barriers, he will rebound back down. there is a plus side, though. Once your clown gets above the barriers and into the balloons, there's a fair chance he'll keep bouncing back up on the barriers, making a great points scoring opportunity! |  |
 | The only reward these brave clowns get for their fearless pursuit of excellence, is a high score. They score one point just for bouncing off the see-saw, then two points for every burst white balloon, five points for every blue balloon and ten points for every red balloon. Clearing entire rows of balloons sees you receiving ten times those scores, ie. 20 points for a white row, 50 points for a blue row and 100 points for red. |  |
 | Your beleaguered clowns will also receive an extra life after clearing a red row. There are some games where clearing rows of balloons is met with emptiness. The confused clowns will soon realise that in these games, you must clear all three rows of balloons before you will receive new balloons to burst. So, life is difficult if you're a clown in Circus Atari. The only helpful trick you've got is the means to instantly switch ends on the see-saw. This is handy if your clown friend rebounds quickly and is heading right for you, if done right it will stop him from ending up as burger meat. Well, better get in the ring, and onto the see-saw. Oh no....please, Mr. Ringmaster, keep that cattle prod away....I'm going!!!!!!! MOZ |  |
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