I made two longplays for this one, one with commentary and one without. Here's the one with commentary!
Believe it or not, this game was made by Amiga Corporation, who would later become a division of Commodore International and create the Commodore Amiga. As they were making what would become the Amiga, they made this game (among others) in order to raise money for the development and also created the Joyboard for this game. The Joyboard was a balance board much like the Wii Balance Board years later, and one could connect a joystick into the Joyboard in order to make the joystick move with the board just by standing on it and moving it around. While there were supposed to be other games that were Joyboard-compatible, this was the only one to ever officially come out.
While you can play this with the Joyboard, you can play this game was a standard Atari 2600 joystick; just set the B&W/Color switch to Black and White to switch to joystick mode. Holding Up and Down on the joystick lets you speed and slow down respectively, while Left and Right let you turn.
The Game Select switch lets you choose between nine different course. When you pick the course you want, reset the game, then press the fire button to start playing. As soon as you hold Up on the joystick, you'll start moving.
Course 1
Gates: 35
Max speed: 22
There are a few sets of numbers to look at as you pick your course. The yellow number at the top indicates the course numbers. Below that, you'll have two two-digit numbers. The one of the left indicates how many sets of gates you'll have to pass through, while the one on the right dictates the max speed for the course.
When you start a course, you'll have to hold Up on the joystick to start moving. From here, holding Up and Down on the joystick lets you speed and slow down respectively, while Left and Right let you turn. You'll want to get in-between all of the sets of flags in the level in order to get to the finish line.
You'll have three sets of numbers. Besides your time at the top, the left number indicates how many sets of flags you have yet to pass through, while the right number indicates your current speed. There is a maximum speed, and you'll find out what it is when you look at the course info before choosing the course.
As long as you keep the skis dead in the center and between the gates, you'll be able to pass through them. In case you have two of the same color gate across from each other, you'll need to turn between the first and the second in order to go past them, much like on a real ski course. You'll hear a buzz sound if you fail to get between a set of gates. If you somehow happen to run into a gate, the game really lets you know with a big loud buzz.
This is a pretty slow and easy course, and is perfect for getting used to how to play the game. The game does get faster and more challenging as you play through the courses.
When you see the green trees in the background, you've reached the finish line.
Course 2
Gates: 63
Max speed: 26
This course is a little bit longer and a little bit faster, although not by much. This course will get you used to the longer courses.
Course 3
Gates: 63
Max speed: 30
Now that's more like it. Things get a little faster, but not too fast,
For a harder challenge, set the left difficulty switch to A/Expert. If you run into a flag or fail to get between a pair of gates, the time will automatically advance to 9:59.9 and disqualify you from getting a top time, although you can still complete your run.
Course 4
Gates: 63
Max Speed: 34
This course is a little faster compared to the first three, and is definitely more my speed. I'm surprised I was able to take a few of the turns.
Course 5
Gates: 63
Max Speed: 36
Now this is fast. I ended up running into one of the gates and got some flashing colors as a result, and it's good to know that the game gives you some nice feedback in case you hit something or miss a gate.
Course 6
Gates: 63
Max Speed: 40
This one give some trouble at the max speed. If you can get through all 63 gates at top speed, you can clear this course in under a minute. I always have trouble near the end here.
Course 7
Gates: 25
Max Speed: 30
Things slow down for this and the next course. This is a really short course, too; you can beat it in about 42 seconds. The last three courses seem to be the easiest ones, but they can be challenging despite their shorter lengths.
Course 8
Gates: 25
Max Speed: 30
Not much to say here, as there isn't much that differentiates this from Course 7. There is that wide turn at the beginning, but that's about it.
Course 9
Gates: 25
Max Speed: 40
Here we go! It's short, but it's super fast! It's difficult to go through this one at top speed perfectly, as I always run into or miss at least one of the gates. The game saved the best for last.
And that's all nine courses for this game! We just played through Mogul Maniac!
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