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Dubloon Disaster

Dubloon Disaster Information
Click to play Dubloon Disaster! World:
Trophies:
Gold!Silver!Bronze!
High Score Table Send a challenge!
Neopoint Ratio:
Neopoints
0.86 Points =
1 NP
Our Difficulty Rating:
Difficulty
30%
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After a shipwreck, a pirate named Dorak has rowed out to sea. Among this wreckage lies treasure beyond your wildest dreams, up for the taking. The only thing standing between you and dubloons are a resilient army of mines. Do you have what it takes to navigate your way to riches?

How to Play

You're probably eager to start plundering, but not just yet!

Controls

Before you start your game, go to Game Options as pictured above, and uncheck the box for water effects. This extra step helps ensure that your game will run smoothly. Sure, the ripple animations are a nice touch, but honestly, they aren't worth the potential distraction or lag. Be sure to click Save Options so you can skip this step in the future.

Now you're ready for action! Upon starting the game, you'll find yourself among a single dubloon and no enemies. It seems simple enough, but the disaster has just begun. To drive Dorak's boat, use the up arrow key to drive forward and down to go backwards. The left and right arrow keys are used for steering: left to rotate counterclockwise and right for clockwise.

Gameplay

With every doubloon you collect, a mine will appear and will pursue you across the screen. In no time you will have a total of 9 mines following you. If any of those mines touch you, it's game over.

At this stage, you should start rounding them up by moving along the walls, speeding from corner-to-corner, encircling them until they resemble a ring formation, as shown below. The goal here is to group them together so you can navigate the largest area of screen as safely as possible. You won't just be running from the mines; you'll be directing them. All of the time you spend in this game will be on moving this cluster of mines away from dubloons. For best results, aim for a tighter circle by continuing to taunt the mines—just remember to remain a safe distance away at all times.


An ideal formation of mines

Make sure mines have a considerable space between them. This can be done by circling around the mines. The mines will accelerate if they sense your presence nearby.

When mines collide, they explode. That may sound relieving at first, but with a little bad luck losing mines will cost you the game. The next time you pick up dubloon, the mines will reappear, but at a random location. The worst case scenario is that a mine appears right next to you and, with no time to react, takes you out. Among other disadvantages: a new mine could end up colliding with even more mines, increasing the chance of that unlucky game over, or that new mine messes with your formation that you spent time crafting.

When mines get dangerously close to you, feel free to blow them up. When at least 2 mines are in your vicinity, fix yourself in front of the 2 mines so that they will collide. Fortunately, the mines are easy to outsmart. They can only travel in a straight line when you are not moving, so their trajectory is predictable.

Whirlpools

Every so often a whirlpool will appear on the screen after you collect a dubloon. In essence, whirlpools are akin to Meerca Chase on Gravity Mode. The moment one of these appear, pull yourself as far away from it as possible, ideally toward an opposite wall, until it stops dragging you backward. Whirlpools last for several seconds, and any mines that are sucked in are destroyed upon contact. More than likely, you will lose all of your mines each time a whirlpool appears. When this happens, assume that you restarted the game and begin rebuilding the ring formation. Whirlpools are the most disruptive force in the game. They shatter your formation you might have grown comfortable with, and now that those mines are gone, there's a new found risk of something going wrong.


Hope you don't get seasick

However, whirlpools can be used to your advantage, too. Perhaps the positioning of the mines was making navigation too tedious to continue. Or, if several of your mines are too close together or they've cornered you, a whirlpool can save you.

Typing scallywags will create a whirlpool once per game, but beware—where it will appear is completely random!

Whirlpools are an uncommon phenomenon, but always be prepared. If you intend to play the game for hours, it's expected that you'll encounter at least a few. It's worth noting that unlike the original Dubloon Disaster, whirlpools can pop up more than once per game. This means that you can't let your guard down for a second, else you might get sucked in!

Scoring

Points are awarded based on the dubloons you manage to loot throughout the game. As expected, the most valuable dubloons are the rarest, and the least valuable are the most common. The points you receive correspond to 5 times the value of the dubloon.

Dubloon Point Values
Dubloon Name Points Awarded
Two Dubloon Coin 10 points
Five Dubloon Coin 25 points
Ten Dubloon Coin 50 points
Twenty Dubloon Coin 100 points
Fifty Dubloon Coin 250 points
One Hundred Dubloon Coin 500 points
Two Hundred Dubloon Coin 1,000 points

Strategy

Sometimes, dubloons in the dead center present the biggest challenge in the game; it's what puts in the "disaster" in Dubloon Disaster. The image below shows what this looks like.

As you can see, the mines make it impossible to charge in after the dubloon. Another strategy is needed in this case. Here are two major approaches to surviving this situation:

The most obvious method is to gradually draw the mines away from the dubloon. This method is the easiest, but it depends on your patience. One stray mine could surge after you if you failed to clear enough space between the dubloon and the mine. Alternatively, bring them too close to the corners and you might end up trapping yourself. Until you are absolutely certain you can safely grab the dubloon, do not attempt to take it.

This second method is riskier, and it relies on speed in addition to patience. Repeatedly try to creep up to the mines without causing them to explode and then move back quickly. With time, you will draw some away from the pack. Then, proceed to try to split up the mines so you can clear a path to the dubloon. Take extreme caution, as you only have one shot to grab it or you'll have to split the mines apart all over again. If you aren't fast enough, either mines will explode or they will veer toward you from all sides, spelling your downfall.

Quick Tips

  • Before you start the game, disable the water effects for best results.
  • Typing scallywags creates a whirlpool. This only works once per game, so use it wisely.
  • Feeling nostalgic? Type jboogie while on the title screen to watch the intro to the original version.
  • In multiplayer, typing pooltoy will increase rebound when hitting competitor ships.
  • Blow up mines sparingly to minimize the risk of them respawning on top of you, ending your game.
  • At its core, Dubloon Disaster is a game of patience. Rush for a dubloon and you may regret it. In other words, avoid taking unnecessary risks.

Video

Smuggler

Smuggler / Guide

Send a score of 2,500+ points in Dubloon Disaster.

When activated, the 2019 Charity Corner perk, More for Less, decreased the score needed to 2,000+ points.

Released: September 16, 2004

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This game guide was written by: ummy