----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedway!, Spin-out!, and Crypto-Logic! FAQ/Strategy Guide for the Odyssey ^2 Copyright Sam Skinner, 2008-2018. See the final section of this guide for more information on the copyright *NOTE TO NEW READERS* Please read the copyright section before any other section of this guide the very first time you access this file. Guide started on 03-04-2008 Version 1.00 finished 03-04-2008 Version 1.01 finished 09-25-2018 My E-mail = Arguro AT hotmail.com Please direct any questions, comments or corrections to my e-mail. Thanks. Also, let me know what you think! I need some feed back! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Press CTRL + F and enter the code in parenthesis to jump to that section. Introduction (SSCINT) General Game Mechanics (SSCGGM) Speed-way -Controls (SSCSCO) -Game Mechanics (SSCSGM) -Strategy (SSCSST) Spin-Out -Controls (SSCOCO) -Game Mechanics (SSCOGM) -Strategy (SSCOST) -Glitches (SSCOGL) Crypto-Logic -Controls (SSCCCO) -Game Mechanics (SSCCGM) -Strategy (SSCOST) Frequently asked Questions (SSCFAQ) Version History (SSCHIS) Copyright Information (SSCCOP) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction (SSCINT) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings. This is my third attempt at a strategy guide for the Odyssey ^2 and my first one for a cartridge that has multiple games on it. I am unclear as to why two racing games were included with a word puzzle game, but I would have to assume the puzzle game would probably have sold poorly as a stand along cartridge since it is so simple and basic. I hope that this guide is succinct and doesn't gloss over any areas. However, it may be that I missed something or just made a typo that makes this guide less than perfect. If that is the case, please contact me via e-mail and suggest the correction. I will include your contribution in my next update. ***Update!!!*** I haven't played this game since I wrote this guide more than a decade ago. I do still have the game and system readily available, so if you need me to help you with any part of the game or test out an alternate strategy, I am happy to do so. Just send me an e-mail! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Game Mechanics (SSCGGM) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you put the game into your Odyssey ^2 and turn it on, a colorful "SELECT GAME" will appear on the screen. You have to choose what game you want to play by pressing different numbers. Pressing 1 will take you to Speedway! Pressing 2 will take you to Spin-Out! in easy mode Pressing 3 will take you to Spin-out! in hard mode Pressing 4 will take you to Crypto-Logic Speedway! is the only game that can be played with one player. Spin-out! and Crypto-Logic both require two people to successfully play. There are no computer controlled opponents. ############################################################################# Speedway ############################################################################# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls (SSCSCO) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joystick up increases speed and starts the game Joystick down decreases speed Joystick left moves your car to the left Joystick right moves your car to the right ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Mechanics (SSCSGM) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedway! is essentially a top down static video of a car. The lines on the sides as well as computer cars scroll from top to bottom, giving you the illusion that you are moving. When you start the game, you will be asked to select your skill level. 1 is easy mode and 2 is hard. Press the corresponding number on the keyboard to the skill level you desire. The only difference between the two games is that two moves much faster than 1. The speed difference is quite noticeable between the two games. Skill level 2 should only be played when skill level 1 is mastered. The goal of the game is to get the most points possible. Scoring is based off of distance traveled. Because you travel faster in skill level two, you can, theoretically gain more points than in skill level 1. Every time you hit a white computer car, you crash. You therefore want to avoid these cars by bouncing left and right. Enemy cars always move diagonally and will bounce off walls and move in the opposite direction. You only have two minutes to score as many points as possible. When you crash, time continues to tick off the clock so it is imperative that you start moving as quickly as possible. When your two minutes are up, the game will end and you can see your final score. You must reset the game and re-select the game to start over. Try and beat your best score! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy (SSCSST) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This game is very simple. There are two schools of thought on the best way to maximize your score. The one I find to be more successful is to ride the rails until a car comes towards you. Then you shoot to the other side as quickly as possible to avoid the car coming at you. You always want to keep an eye on the top of the screen for cars coming to the side you are on. When they do, you shoot to the other side. You can also press down on the joystick to slow down and avoid the car that way. This way you can ride a single rail for almost the entire two minutes. There will be times where you have to jump to the other side but it will not be as frequent. The slow down method work if you cannot avoid a crash by moving left or right but does decrease your scoring rate for the duration of your slow moving. However, if you are scoring points while moving slowly, you are scoring more points than you would if you crashed. It is wise to only slow down when you cannot avoid a crash. The other method of strategy is to try and stay in the middle of the road while moving and duck out of the way when a car comes towards you. By being in the middle, you have two choices for direction to take to avoid a car and will not be stuck with crashing should a car cut your escape off. However, this method often back fires as a car can bounce of a rail and come right for you, causing you to quickly move to one side just in time to be hit by a second car. This method will oftentimes boil down into the rail hugging method simply because of the way the computer cars move. Whichever method you do choose, you should remember that only two computer cars will ever be on the screen at the same time. A new one will not appear until an old one has already disappeared. You can use this to your advantage. Often times, the cars will move in groups of two. This means that two will be on the left side, then two on the right side, then two on the left side again. While this is not the case 100% of the time, it does occur quite often. Keep your eye out for a renegade car when this occurs. If you keep this method of cars moving in twos in the back of your head, you can easily last the entire two minutes without crashing once. In hard mode, all the same rules apply, just the game moves a lot faster. You will have to have faster reflexes and response time while weaving in and out of traffic. Once you master the easy skill level, the hard skill level will not be much trouble. ############################################################################# Spin-Out! ############################################################################# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls (SSCOCO) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Joystick moves your car in the direction you move it to (up for up, left for left and so forth). Action button ignites turbo. You have infinite turbo but the car is harder to control when turbo mode is engaged. Right player controls the red car Left Player controls the blue car Selecting 2 takes you to a three lap version of the game Selecting 3 takes you to a fifteen lap version of the game ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Mechanics (SSCOGM) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- No matter how many laps you choose (3 or 15) the game will be the same. Lap number is the only difference between selecting two or three. You will have a choice of four skill levels. Think of the skill levels in two sets. The first set contains skill levels one and two and the second set contains skill levels three and four. Skill level two is a faster version of skill level one and skill level four is a faster version of skill level four. The race looks something like this for skill level one and two: __________________________________________ | | | | | |________________________________ | # | | ________________ # | | | | # | | | | # | | | |________________#__________ | | | | | | | 00:00 | | | | 00 03 01 | | | |_______________________________ | | | # | | | | # |____________| | | Start # | | # | |___________________________#__ | | | | | | | |__________________________________________| The line of # signs at the bottom is the starting point and the finishing line. You have to cross this line three times in order to win. There will be a five second count down and then the race will start. The goal is to go around in a circular manner until someone wins. The timer will count how much time has gone by. The Blue number counts how many laps the blue car has finished and the red number counts how many laps the red car has finished. The race for the second set of skill levels looks something like this: _________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | |________________________________ | | # | | | |________________ # | | | | | # | | | | | | # | | | | |_____________#_____________| | | | | | | | 00:00 | | | | 00 15 01 | | | |_______________________________ | | | # | | | | # |____________| | | Start # | | # | |___________________________#__ | | | | | | | |__________________________________________| As you can see, it is basically the same map except there are a few barriers at the top portion that you have to navigate around. The barriers make it harder to go through the course and make crashing more likely. If you run head on into a barrier or a wall, you will crash and your car explodes. Your car will come back after a few seconds, but you lose precious time to your opponent. If you glance off of a wall or crash head on into your opponent, you will spin out. You can spin your opponent out if you glance off of him or her. Race around for three or fifteen laps and the first to complete the predetermined amount of laps wins. You will then have to reset the game and start a new game to continue playing. There is no set way to go. You can race clockwise or counterclockwise. As long as you cross the line on the top and the line on the bottom, it counts as a lap. You can even go clockwise until you cross the line, then reverse direction and go back the way you came and cross the other line to gain a lap. Remember that the only difference between each game is the amount of laps you must complete and the only difference between skill levels is speed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy (SSCOST) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since you can only play against a friend (you can play by your self, but only one car will be moving), You will want to try to spin him or her out as much as possible. Try going the opposite way as your friend. That way you both will not continuously crash into one another. Each time you pass one another, you can glace off his or her car and spin it out. Always hold down the action button for the turbo charge. The only time you shouldn't is in skill level three or four with the barriers at the top of the race. Avoid the walls at all cost. If you cannot help but hit it, try and change your trajectory so you only glace off of it. A spin out takes less time to recover from than a total crash. If your opponent like to travel the opposite way of you, turn around and go the same way as him or her. However, wait until you cross one of the lines before you do so. As long as you cross both lines, you will complete a lap. You do not have to make a full circle. If you are moving counterclockwise and your opponent clockwise, as soon as you cross the line at the top, do a 180 and go the other way. You will then be in front of your opponent since it takes slightly longer to reach the line from the other side. If you are both moving the same way, and you are in front, line your self up with your opponent and press the opposite direction on your joy stick instantly. This will cause you to go in the other direction and you can smash into your opponent, spinning him or her out. While the car is spinning out, you can gain some ground. Always try and cut the corners as close as you can. If you can hug the inside wall, you will be able to finish a lap faster than if you hug the outside wall or if you move in the middle of each wall. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glitches (SSCOGL) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a glitch I encountered on accident while writing this guide. While this glitch is not actually useful, I found it to interesting. While on 15 lap mode in skill level four, I, as the red car, managed to get outside of the barrier entirely. I crashed near the top line of # signs and some how got stuck in the wall. When my car came back, it instantly crashed again since it was touching the wall. It continued to crash until I was on the far right side of the screen, outside of the wall. I then had control over it again and could freely move around outside the wall. When outside the wall, I could jump the screen. That means that if I was at the top, and I drove towards the very top of the screen, my car would reappear at the bottom of the screen. However, while outside the barrier, I could not complete a single lap, no matter how many times I tried to circle the map. I also could not find a way to re-enter the barrier no matter how hard I tried. I have not been able to duplicate this yet. ############################################################################# Crypto-Logic! ############################################################################# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls (SSCCCO) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This game is different than the others on this cartridge. It does not use the joysticks at all. Instead, it uses the keyboard. All letters, numbers, and function buttons are usable. Enter inputs the selection Clear removes the already typed letters ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Mechanics (SSCCGM) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This game requires two players. It is essentially a word scrambling game. The first player types in a word or words, and presses ENTER. The game will scramble the word or words and the second player has to try and unscramble the letters. The game will buzz when an incorrect letter was pressed by the second player. When the second player finishes and is correct, the word will be unscrambled and the game will freeze. There will be a number at the top indicating the amount of mistakes made. To start a new game, press Clear and the game will reset. You can only enter fourteen total characters to be scrambled. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy (SCCST) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are the player inputting words to be scrambled, choose long words. Longer words with many different letters will be harder to unscramble. You should also choose several different words and place a space in between them. Add extra spaces in too, either at the beginning or the end. If the spaces end up being scrambled at the end of the word, the other player cannot tell if they are there or not. If you are trying to unscramble the word, take your time and thing. Look for double letters like mm or ff. These will typically be part of one word and usually occur together in the word. Try and learn tendencies of your opponent like placing a space as the very first character or using double spaces in between words. Remember the rules of the English language, such as i before e, except after c. Also, you should remember that a lot of words end with an e. Every word has to have a vowel in it, but the other player does not have to enter a word at all. It can be gibberish or just random letters. You may want to set some ground rules before playing so as not to get frustrated with your opponent for doing things you would consider cheating. If nothing else works, use trial and error. Press every letter or number you see. Eventually, it will work out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions (SSCFAQ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please send any questions you may have to me e-mail address which can be found at the beginning or the end of this guide. Q: Who made this game? A: Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company is the only one listed on the cartridge label. Q: When was this game released? A: 1978 Q: Is this game available on any other system? A: As far as I know, this compilation is only available on the Odyssey ^2. Q: Were these games released as separate cartridges? A: There are individual listings for Speedway! and Spin-Out! in Gamefaqs' data base, but that does not mean they were actually released separately. I would assume that they could have been all released separately, but given the fact that the copyright on the compilation cart is 1978, the same year the Odyssey ^2 came out, I would assume they were only released together on this cartridge. Q: I have a strategy that works better than yours. Will you include it in your guide? A: Yes, I will. Just e-mail it to me and I will test it out. If it is a valid strategy, I will include it alongside my own and credit you for the submission. I reserve the right to alter your strategy for content, validity, length and grammar. I will post your e-mail address with it unless you specifically tell me not to. Q: I have some pretty impressive scores for Speedway! Will you put them in your guide so everyone can see them? A: Yes. I want to include user high scores. If you can send me proof of the high score, I will gladly include it. I only want high scores achieved with the actual system and not through an emulator. If I cannot see a TV in your picture, I will not include it. Include with your picture what difficulty setting you were on, name, and date accomplished as well. Q: Can I host this guide on my site? A: No. I do not allow anyone to use my guides without expressed, written permission. I do not give permission unless I am asked, specifically, about this guide. I do not like automated e-mails. I will most likely only allow my site to be hosted on a small website, usually one centered around the game or system my guide is for. For more information, see the Copyright section of this guide, at the bottom. Use of this guide without my permission is considered theft and will be reported to the proper authorities. Q: How do I contact you about this guide? A: E-mail is the best way to do so. My e-mail can be found at the beginning or the end of this guide, just remember to take the numbers 123 out of it because they do not belong. I keep them there to prevent auto scanning websites from obtaining my e-mail address. Alternatively, you can also contact me via MSN using the same e-mail address of on AIM using the screen name ArguroDeXill. While I am almost always online, I am not always at my computer and it may take as many as 8 hours to get a reply from me. Just be patient if this is the contact method of choice. I am not ignoring you, simply doing something away from the computer. ***Update!!!*** I keep making fun of this section rather than remove it. No one uses instant messaging anymore! Just e-mail me! Does anyone use e-mail anymore....? Q: What other guides have you done? A: Just simply click on the name Arguro at the very top or the very bottom (orange text in a black box) of this guide and it will take you to my contributor page. From there you can see all the different things I have contributed to Gamefaqs. Q: I really like your guides. Can I donate money to you in support? A: If you really want to, you can send a Pay Pal payment to my e-mail address which is at the top or bottom of this guide. Please understand that any donated money does not mean I will name you in my guide. It also does not mean I will do any special work for you and it certainly does not give you any rights to host this guide or publish it anywhere. I do not want the user to feel obligated to pay me in any means. This is a free guide for personal, private home use. I will not reject your offer to pay me, but I do not want you to feel it is necessary. If you do decide to donate to me, please only donate what amount you are comfortable with, even if it is a single penny. Once a donation is made, it is final and there will be no refunds. This is an odd question and I debated about adding it for a long time, but when I saw other FAQ authors had a similar question, I felt it would be a valid addition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version History (SSCHIS) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.00 completed March 4th, 2008 at 3:26 pm Mountain time Version included the addition of the entire guide, including the following sections: Introduction, General Game Mechanics, Speedway! Controls, Game Mechanics, and Strategy; Spin-Out! Controls, Game Mechanics, Strategy and Glitches; Crypto-Logic! Controls, Game Mechanics and Strategy; FAQS, Version History and Copyright information. Guide is complete. Ten total pages when printed. (28 KB) Version 1.01 completed September 25th, 2018 at 9:01 PM Mountain Time Version included the resubmittal of the guide in full. I also updated my name, e-mail, and copyright. Ten pages when printed (28.4 KB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright information (SSCCPY) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This guide is the copyright of Sam Skinner 2008-2018. This guide may not be reproduced on any website without my expressed, handwritten consent. The user is hereby granted permission to store this guide on his or her hard drive under the following conditions: 1. The hard drive may only be accessed by the user and his or her immediate family; 2. The guide is kept fully intact, i.e. no section, paragraph, word, letter or punctuation mark is missing from the guide; 3. This section is kept stored with the guide and is read before any other section is read when the individual accesses the guide for the first time. The user is also hereby allowed to print this guide in any fashion as he or she sees fit, provided that this section in its entirety is included with the printed version. The printed version must not be sold or given away under any circumstance. This guide may only be hosted on www.gamefaqs.com. If you want to use this guide on your website, you must send me an e-mail to Arguro123 AT Hotmail.com *REMOVE 123* and please specify which guide you want to host. I ask that you specify so that I know you actually are interested in my work and that I am not reading an automated e-mail that scans FAQS for email addresses. If you do not specify the guide and include specific reasons why you would like to host it, I will NOT allow to host it at any time now or in the future. I reserve the right to determine what sites may and may not host this guide as well as the right to as for monetary compensation for the hosting of this guide as I see fit. Failure to abide by these rules set forth is a violation of US copyright law and is subject to persecution. Further use of this guide is considered acceptance of these rules set forth. If you do not agree with these rules, do not use this guide. Speedway!, Spin-Out! and Crypto-Logic are all the copyright of Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company. Odyssey is a registered trademark of the same company. I am in no way affiliated with this company and any implication, assumption or aforementioned association is purely accidental and unintended.