Moon Patrol

The object is to complete the varying legs of the patrol course as quickly as you can while avoiding rocks, craters, mines, and attacks from enemy craft. Your buggy has two guns: a short-range cannon that fires ahead of you and an anti-aircraft gun that fires upwards. You can use the cannon to blast away rocks that block your progress. Most rocks will crumble in one hit, but large ones qill need two hits. There are also tiny rocks that can only be destroyed with precision shooting otherwise, you will have to jump it.

Your on-screen display has three indicator lights to warn you of approaching danger.

Points E, J, O, and T are checkpoints. When you reach them, you are evaluated against the average. If you beat the average, you gain bonus points. If you reach the end of the course point Z, you automatically receive a special bonus in addition to any time bonus you may receive.

59 seconds is the fastest time possible to reach checkpoints E, J, O, T, or Z. The game keeps track of the best times to reach these points. If you complete the Beginner's Course, the second course is called the Champion or Expert Course which repeats after successful completion. Mastering speed control and simultaneous use of jump/fire buttons will give you the edge you need to master the game.

TRICK: You have a better chance of hitting a UFO directly above if you jump while firing rapidly. This will compress your shots, making it harder for a UFO to slip through the space between bullets.

Two small transparent stickers are placed on the side-art. The first is a rectangular "T.M." Trademark sticker placed on the "L" of the Moon Patrol logo. The second is a circle with an "R" inside it Registered Trademark, placed after the Williams logo.

BOOTLEG: Moon Ranger

The game was created by Irem Corporation Japan and licensed to Williams Electronics, Inc. for US manufacture and distribution.

The game uses a Z80 microprocessor and a 6803 microprocessor. For sound it uses two AY-3-8910 PSGs and a MSM5205.

Some boardsets are configured to use a positive composite sync. Use a TTL inverter e.g. 7404 to convert this signal to the JAMMA standard negative composite sync.

The boardset is comprised of three equal-sized PCBs and a 1/3 size PCB for sound generation. The main PCB utilizes a Z-80. The boardset requires a 22/44 pin edge connector for interfacing.