Happy Trails
Platform: Intellivision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: INTV
Genre: Action > Strategy 
Gametype: Licensed
Release Year: 1983
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Happy Trails is an action strategy game for one or two players. Black Bart has robbed the stagecoach, and you need to recover all of the stolen money within the given time limit! The money is located in various locations in a series of maze-like paths. The paths are broken up into tiles, and there is one tile missing so you can rearrange the maze by moving a tile into the empty space. As your character walks through the paths, you need to rearrange the tiles to make sure there is always a connected path in front of him (or you'll lose a life) and to guide him towards the money bags. When all of the money has been recovered, you move on to the next round. On the more difficult rounds, Black Bart will also be wandering around the maze trying to stop you! You should avoid him at all costs, unless you have first collected a star which gives your character temporary invincibility.


DEVELOPMENT HISTORY:

Happy Trails was an original Intellivision game.


PLAYING TIPS:

From designer Carol Shaw in the Happy Trails instruction manual:

"To really play well, you'll need three things: patience, practice and planning. Here are some specific pointers that can help you out.

"Use the reverse button to avoid deadends, the black space or Black Bart. But to really take advantage of this feature, use the reverse button to move your hat back and forth over a 'safe' area, while you're busy rearranging the trail.

"Once a trail is cleared, use the speed button to move quickly. By saving time, you'll earn more bonus points and reduce the chances of the Bonus Timer reaching zero.

"As you arrange your trail, keep in mind that you are also arranging Black Bart's trail. Occasionally, you might like to hold Bart hostage by making him walk in a circle, so you can plan your next move."


FUN FACT:

Players who sent a photo to Activision showing a score of 40,000 or more received an "Activision Trailblazers" emblem.

This game made a lot of people at Mattel Electronics angry since they felt it was a rip-off of the Konami arcade game Loco-Motion, which Mattel had licensed for Intellivision. To add insult to injury, Activision released Happy Trails before Intellivision Loco-Motion came out. Happy Trails received reviews lauding its originality; Loco-Motion looked like an also-ran.

The unofficial word within Mattel Electronics was that they considered suing but that Mattel and Konami couldn't agree on how to split the legal expenses. In reality, though, few if any lawsuits for design infringement were filed in the pre-crash video game industry. So many games from all of the companies borrowed features from so many other games, it seemed no one wanted to open that can of worms.

 
http://www.mobygames.com/game/intellivision/happy-trails
http://www.intellivisiongames.com/bluesky/games/credits/activision.html#happytrails