Flycatcher

Flycatcher is based on the classic game of centipede. The hungry, hungry Quiggle is apparently trying to fulfill his hunger by eating an excessive amount of flies, and the occasional flower. However, if the flies get too close to Mr. Quiggle, he will get knocked out. As well as flies, our protagonist must also avoid the colored bees which swarm around him, though he can make a tasty snack of these if he gets his aim right.

Controls

Use the left and right arrow keys to move, and hit the spacebar to shoot your tongue out straight in front of you.

Gameplay

There are 10 levels you can play before the game is completed. In each level, the row of flies will snake its way through the maze of flowers in front of you as they head towards the side of the pond that you're stood on. From the second level onwards, if you eat a fly from the middle of the row they will split off into two separate "snakes" that travel in opposite directions. Eating a flower that is in the flies' path will give them more room to move, and thus slow them down.

Every now and then, a bee will float down the screen and try to sting you. While you can eat them, if one of them manages to hit you, you will lose a life. Likewise, if the flies reach you, you will also lose a life.

Scoring

Lives

You are given three lives at the beginning of the game. However, you can type in deliciousflies once per game during play to gain an extra life.

You'll lose a life if the flies get to your line and touch you, or if a bee stings you. If you lose one on the first level I definitely suggest starting over, as you'll need all the lives you can get.

Strategy

One thing most people don't realize is how the colours of flies change as you eat them. The order of flies will always be the same: Red, Yellow, Purple. There will always be a red fly in front and a purple at the back, with yellow in between. If there's one fly left, it will be red.

Why is this important? Consider this example. There are 12 flies: 10 yellow, 1 red, 1 purple. Purples give you 10 points each. If you eat the purple fly, the last yellow fly becomes purple. This means you can earn up to 115 (11 purples, 1 red) or earn as low as 30 (10 yellow, 2 red). That is a huge difference. And, as mentioned before, if you manage to split the line of flies you will double the number of purples on the screen instantly.

The bees award 20 points each time you eat one. They can cross the flowers and they don't go in a straight line. They are almost always worth eating. Remember, stay away if you know you can't get it—there have been many times in which they changed direction at the last second and hit me.

I'm not sure why the Quiggle devours a bee twice the size of him in half-a-second, yet eats a flower petal by petal—but he does. It's definitely not worth eating flowers for points. However, if you're thinking strategically, you'll look at the path the flies fly across and perhaps clear another line for them to have to go through. If you plan to do this, I would suggest starting with the flower line closest to you, as when the flies are close you can gobble them up more quickly.

This game guide was written by: Raiynne