A Ghost Whacker's How-To

Basic Gameplay:

First, I suggest turning the music off. For some reason the smacking of the gravestones turns into a jingle inside my head and I get distracted... *cough* Anyway, also make sure your "num lock" key is on, because you'll be using the keypad on the far right of your keyboard to play this game. Each number on the keypad corresponds to a grave plot on the screen. For example, if a ghostie were to pop out of the middle grave, you'd hit the number "5" to smack him. Get it? Good! You have 10 lives at start, and 30 seconds to whack the mess out of those ghosts! At certain points during the game, the keypad rotates. And it always rotates counterclockwise. If you notice, the first time the keypad rotates, the back row is now "9 6 3", the middle row "8 5 2" and the front row "7 4 1". Simply turn your keyboard counterclockwise and play this way. While it may be awkward to have your keyboard jutting off your desk in this manner, it's a LOT easier.

Levels & Ghosties & Whack... ies... (oh my!)

In this section, I will explain the levels and the ghosties you are ... "killing". Oh and take note; however many whacks it takes to smack the ghost back into its grave is how many points you get. So a petpet with 1 whack gets you 1 point!

Level 1: Greebles! They only require one whack. Creepy little frog wannabes... *shudder*

Level 2: Faellies now get restless and join their Greeble buddies. They require 2 whacks.

Level 3: Skulls are now introduced. You lose a life if you hit these. So DON'T HIT THEM!

Level 4: Controls are rotated and treasure chests are introduced (explained later)

Level 5: A "lost pet" (aka extremely stupid/brave Kacheek doing some grave robbing or something... ) wanders into the cemetery, and if you smack him (which I think he deserves it, living creatures shouldn't be popping up out of graves... ) you lose a life.

Level 6: Deavers are introduced and they require 3 whacks! Persistent buggers. Greebles pretty much don't appear anymore.

Level 7: Keypad rotation! For this one, I find it easiest to return to the keyboard to a normal position and just do it backwards. For example, if a Faellie pops up in the front middle position, instead of hitting "2" I'd hit "8". Or you can just use the keypad guide on the right side of the game screen. Whatever works for those of you who never took a computers class ^_~

Level 8: Onas are introduced, and these ghosties require FOUR whacks!

Level 9: Max # of lives limited to 10 (though really that's the highest amount you could have before. So... no change really. Silly TNT ;D)

Level 10: The controls rotate AGAIN- if you have your keyboard in the normal position, move it clockwise for maximum easy access whackability!

Level 11: No change, just a sarcastic question about whether or not you're dizzy. By this level my eyes are practically bleeding. Thank you for mocking my dried out contacts.

Level 12: No change, just a friendly reminder not to whack those scary looking skulls (who'd want to get close enough to whack those freaks anyway?) or the grave robbing Kacheek.

Level 13: FINAL LEVEL! Woohoo! Aren't you proud of yourself? This level is tricky. The keypad is at its normal state again (Finally!). Besides having to hit regular ghosties, there are skeletons popping up and they flash a number at you. Instead of hitting the number corresponding to their grave plot, you hit the number they hold up. Try to memorize your keypad because the better you know the location of the numbers on your keypad, the faster you can smack 'em. If you can't seem to memorize it, there's always that nifty little guide on the right hand side. After this level, you have defeated the game! Congratulations!

Helpful Things:

Treasure Chests: Starting around the third level, you can smack treasure chests and either claim extra points (in the form of coins) or an extra life (in the shape of, naturally, a heart). But you have to smack the chest twice to get the goodies within. Hitting it once opens it, hitting it again claims the points or life.

Random Floating Coins/Hearts: Sometimes when you kill an enemy, extra points or an extra life will float up. Smack it!

Keypad Guide: If you ever get confused as to what ghostie is where, there is a little keypad guide on the side that tells you where the numbers are currently positioned.

Not So Helpful Things:

Smacking The Ground: Um... yeah. Why you would just randomly smack a plot of dirt with a dead petpet underneath it, I have no idea. But if you do, you lose a life. Just... keep that in mind.

COME BACK HERE!!: Er... yeah, that's what you'll be yelling if you're not quick on your toes (or, er, fingers) and smack that petpet back into the ground. If you take too long hitting it, it'll float away into the sky. Same with coins and hearts.

Skulls/Grave robbing Kacheek: Okay okay so it's not proven that the Kacheek is a grave robber. But I have my suspicions... ANYWHO, don't forget not to smack those skulls and that Kacheek, or you'll lose a life.

Well, I hope this guide has helped you. Remember to whack fast - you only have 30 seconds! Now, GET WHACKING!!!!

PS-If you're reading this, I've made it into the Neopian Times! Hooray! :D