Pengo

When the Start Button is pushed, the screen is filled with a grid of 10 X 16 ICE BLOCKS. To the accompaniment of music, some of the blocks are erased to form a maze of ICE BLOCKS (the maze configuration changes from round to round). The central character, PENGO the Penguin, appears at the center of the screen, and three SNO-BEES (more than three, in later rounds) also appear randomly within the maze. Three of the ICE BLOCKS are special DIAMOND BLOCKS, which can be aligned through skillful play for extra points. There are also some special blocks that flash on and off for a few seconds at the start, signifying that they contain SNO-BEE eggs that will hatch later on. The SNO-BE ES are the antagonists of PENGO, and they pursue him around the ice field. If a SNO-BEE catches PENGO, it delivers a fatal sting.
PE NGO can be maneuvered about the ice field by means of the four-way joystick, and can also rearrange the maze of ICE BLOCKS by pushing individual
ICE BLOCKS around the ice field. If PE NGO comes up against a "free" ICE BLOCK (that is, one that is not blocked on the side opposite PE NGO), the player can, by pushing the control button, cause PENGO to push the ICE BLOCK away from him. It will move until it comes up against another ICE BLOCK, or against one of the four walls. By re-arranging the blocks in this fashion, PE NGO can line up the three DIAMOND BLOCKS so that they adjoin, thereby earning a 10,000 point bonus (but only 5,000 points if the DIAMOND BLOCKS are lined up against a wall, as this is much easier).
If PENGO comes up against an ICE BLOCK that is not "free" (that is, one that is blocked on the side opposite PE NGO by a wall or by another ICE BLOCK), then pushing the Control Button causes PE NGO to slowly disintegrate that ICE BLOCK and move through the space. DIAMOND BLOCKS can be pushed around the ice field by PENGO just like ordinary ICE BLOCKS, but they cannot be disintegrated.
The SNO-BE ES pursue PE NGO as he goes about his tasks, and if they catch him, will deliver a fatal sting. PE NGO can squash the SNO-BEES, by pushing ICE BLOCKS into them. If an ICE BLOCK is pushed into a SNO-BEE, it will carry him a long, and destroy him by squashing him against another ICE BLOCK or wall.
Additionally, SNO-BEES can be "frozen" if they are touching the wall of an ice field when PE NGO pushes against that same wall. The wall will vibrate, and any SNO-BEE up against that wall will be temporarily frozen. PENGO must now run over the frozen SNO-BEE to destroy it. This tactic works on any of the four walls, and can be used against more than one SNO-BEE at a time.
In these two ways, PENGO can clear the ice field of the SNO-BEES. PENGO earns points for each SNO-BEE squashed, and extra bonus points for squashing more than one SNO-BEE with a single push of one ICE BLOCK. PENGO can also earn extra points by dispatching the SNO-BE ES quickly; the more quickly the SNO-BEES are cleared from the field, the more bonus points are earned.
New SNO-BE ES are hatched in some of the ICE BLOCKS, and emerge as the play progresses. If PENGO can remember which of the ICE BLOCKS harbor SNO-BEE eggs, (they flash briefly at the start of the round) and can disintegrate them before the SNO-BE ES hatch, then PENGO can shorten the game time considerably, thereby earning time bonus points. In addition, PENGO earns additional bonus points for disintegrating any ICE BLOCK containing a SNO-BEE egg.
SNO-BEES can also disintegrate ICE BLOCKS and will do so in order to attack PE NGO. When only one SNO-BEE is left, that last SNO-BEE becomes much more dangerous, moving about much more quickly and disintegrating ICE BLOCKS more rapidly. If that last SNO-BEE is not destroyed before the time runs out, it will gradually grow smaller and finally disappear altogether, signifying the end of that round.
Lining up the three DIAMOND BLOCKS, vertically or horizontally, is the best way to attain a high score, because of the substantial bonus points earned.
Once two DIAMOND BLOCKS are aligned, all three DIAMOND BLOCKS will start to flash. After successfully lining up all three DIAMOND BLOCKS, the whole play screen flashes, all game movement stops and the bonus points are counted down at the center of the screen and added at the top. As soon as this countdown is completed, PENGO is again free to move, but all the SNO-BEES are frozen for a few seconds; this is a good opportunity for PE NGO to catch them and finish them off. However, if PE NGO is too slow and the SNO-BE ES recover, the game continues as before.
In a two-player game, players alternate after each PE NGO is stung. The game ends when the players lose their last PENGO.

# 2019-11-16 17:35:46 - official description

In Pengo, you must defeat the enemy by pushing ice blocks together to crush them. You also can capture one if they are shocked and dizzy. There is also a time limit to make it a bit more difficult (you must do it in one minute).

AmunJazz # 2014-11-21 20:58:48 - source

software: Emulated on MAME,

hardware: Custom arcade hardware,

display: raster

collected in
Sega Ages Memorial Selection Vol. 1 (Saturn)

has influenced
AI Pengo (Linux)
Pongo (Amstrad CPC)

has this clone
Martinsoft Pengo (Amiga)
Chilly Willy (C64)
Pindo (EXL 100)
Poizone (Arcade)
Poizone (Arcade)
Ice Bird (Tandy Coco)

ported to
Pengo (Atari 400/800)
Pengo (Atari 5200)
Pengo (Atari 2600)
Pengo (Game Gear)

version of
Pengo (C16/Plus4)