Mow Town

Mow the most lawn. Mind the dog.

The grass in town has grown wild, and up to four rival lawn crews are racing to cut it. Every square you mow turns your colour, so the lawn fills with your stripes as you go. When the timer runs out, the crew that cut the most squares wins the job and moves up the scoreboard. Then it's on to the next job.

The Jobs

• Backyards: a row of fenced yards on either side of a quiet street. The garden gates swing open and shut on their own, so time your way in or wait for the next opening. Three yard dogs guard their patches.
• The Park: wide open lawns round a pond, with trees, benches and flower beds to steer around. Two dogs are out for a walk.
• Maple Street: front lawns on both sides of a busy road. Traffic runs both ways and doesn't stop for mowers. Cross carefully and watch for parked cars.
• Sports Field: a big field of grass with goal nets and bleachers in the way. One dog has come to watch the game.

Watch Out For

• Tall grass slows you down. Cut grass and paths are quick going.
• Flower beds: drive over one and it costs you 5 squares.
• Dogs chase any mower that comes near their home. A bite leaves you dizzy for a moment. After a bite, the dog sits down for a bit, so that's your chance to get away.
• Cars on the road leave you dizzy and send you back to your starting spot.
• Gates open and close by themselves. You can't get through a closed gate.
• Fuel cans sometimes appear on paths. Grab one for a few seconds of turbo mowing, shown by your mower flashing white. Be quick, because cans don't stay long.

Ways to Play

1. Online: up to 4 mowers over RetroNET. Join a town from the list, start a new one, or press SPACE for quick play. You can drop in at any time, even in the middle of a job. You take an empty spot or bump a NABU mower out of its seat, and you start mowing right away. If the host leaves, the game carries on with another player as host.
2. Alone: you against the NABU mowers.
3. 2 Players, 1 NABU: two joysticks on one machine, with NABU mowers in any empty spots.

Your name and score are shown at the top of the screen. The current job, the time left and the number of squares still to mow are shown along the bottom.

Options (title screen)

• N: NABU mowers on or off
• T: job length (60, 90, 120 or 180 seconds)

Controls

• Joystick or arrow keys: drive. Let go to stop.
• ESC: leave the game

Tip: Cut a path through the tall grass early to make a fast lane back to the open lawn. The other crews will be trying to cut your patch too.

If you want a shorter blurb for a game list, use: Up to four lawn crews race to mow backyards, parks, streets and sports fields while dodging dogs, traffic, flower beds and swinging gates. Most squares cut wins, and you can drop in online at any time.