Digger
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Digger HD
(2009)
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Digger
(1999)
-
Digger
(1980 on
Arcade)
-
Digger
(1983 on
BBC Micro)
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Digger
(1983 on
VIC-20)
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Digger
(1987 on
MSX,
Commodore 16, Plus/4)
-
Digger
(1991 on
TRS-80 CoCo)
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Digger
(1992 on
DOS)
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Digger
(1994 on
Amiga)
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Digger
(1999 on
DOS, 2001 on
Linux, 2003 on
Windows...)
Description official description
Take control of a mechanical digging machine as you tunnel your way through the earth, searching for valuable gems and the even more valuable bags of gold! But watch out for Nobbins and Hobbins, and don't be careless enough to let the bags of gold crush you!
Digger is an arcade game combining elements of the popular arcade games Dig Dug and Mr. Do!. Players control the titular 'Digger' that can tunnel through dirt with ease. The goal of each level is to gather up each of the gems, which allows you to progress to the next stage. However, Nobbins and Hobbins are also lurking within the levels - Nobbins are fairly slow, but transform into Hobbins which are much quicker. The enemies can only chase Digger through the tunnels he creates - they cannot dig through the dirt themselves.
Digger's defenses consist of being able to shoot a single, rechargeable shot in the direction he is facing with F1 (which recharges after about thirty seconds), crushing his foes by digging underneath a gold bag and letting it plummet down, crushing anything in its path, or by collecting the bonus cherry that sometimes appears, causing Digger to become temporarily invincible.
Groups +
Screenshots
Credits (PC Booter version)
| Package Art | |
| Design | |
| Programming | |
| Additional Programming |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 82% (based on 3 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 55 ratings with 6 reviews)
One of the most fun arcade classics I've played
The Good
This game is really a treat. It's fun to get go around a maze a hear that cute sound when you collect jems. It also does not get too hard when you get rid of the hobblins with the money bags. The game is also to me a little more like DigDug and Pacman combo, still is great
The Bad
Can't think of much but it gets annoying that you have to run the program in MS Dos mode on Windows 98 if I want to play it.
The Bottom Line
The game is still a great arcade classic.
PC Booter · by Andrew Shepard (1385) · 2005
The best elements of Dig Dug and Mr. Do all rolled into one.
The Good
Almost everything is perfect in Digger: The best gameplay elements of Dig Dug and Mr. Do; the sound and music, the gameplay speed; even the cute little graphics are completely appropriate. It's obvious that Digger's ideas were stolen from existing games, but Windmill managed to improve them greatly.
The Bad
There isn't much to hate about Digger, but I've always wished that your missle weapon bounced around the tunnels ala Mr. Do.
The Bottom Line
Digger is the most well-rounded of Windmill's efforts, and is a great game to play when you just want to pick something up and have fun.
PC Booter · by Trixter (8951) · 1999
The Good
Digger is just incredible for a 1983 game. It did almost everything right -- graphics were state of the art, music was pseudo multi-channel, and gameplay was so addictive. I still play it from time to time, and actually enjoy it.
The Bad
It has only 8 levels. And also if you die in the middle of a higher level, it's sometimes really hard to finish that level without dieing again.
The Bottom Line
I'm not sure whether the new generation will like Digger, but it's still fun to play.
PC Booter · by IJan (1971) · 1999
Trivia
Music
The background music is in fact the catchy Popcorn by Gershon Kingsley from 1972. The other song featured, when you "power up", is the famous 4th movement from The William Tell Overture, otherwise known as The Lone Ranger Song. The familiar ditty when you die is in fact an old Catholic hymn entitled Pray for the Dead.
Reception
Digger is the most widely recognized (and popular) of all Windmill Software titles; many patches, utilities, and even a complete disassembly and rewrite have been made. This may be due to the fact that Digger has a more complex structure than Windmill's other games which were merely variants of simpler concepts (Joust, Centipede, Galaxian, etc.).
Demo version
Digger is one of the four games featured in the "Windmill Software Demo Disk", a rare release circa 1986 which contained playable demos of Conquest, Digger, Rollo And The Brush Brothers, and Styx. The games contained more verbose gaming instructions than the originals, but only the first level(s) could be played. These demos were released into the Public Domain.
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Related Sites +
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Digger Remastered
Andrew Jenner's rewritten Digger, which now runs on a variety of platforms and contains several enhancements. This is the only place you'll ever need to visit to learn about Digger. -
Digger's Wikipedia page
Here you can find lots of info about the game.
Identifiers +
Contribute
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Trixter.
Additional contributors: Nélio, Patrick Bregger, JMM, theclue.
Game added March 1, 1999. Last modified September 3, 2024.