Bristles

Starting a Game

Players take turns in completing each level, using their painter’s assigned joystick. There are a total of 8 different painters to choose from.

When adding new painters in the menu, each has a colour code assigned to them:

• Blue: Player 1
• Green: Player 2
• Yellow: Player 3
• Purple: Player 4

Gameplay

Paint all the rooms in the building by moving your painter past them. When all the walls are painted in the building, the level is complete. Various obstacles stand in between you and your mission - watch out for Flying Half-Pints, Dumb Buckets, Brenda the Brat, and the infamous Bucket Chucker! Use the ladders and elevators to paint the floors above and to escape enemies.

Paint Brushes

Each player begins the game with 10 paint brushes. When a level is completed, you are awarded 2 additional brushes (lives). A player loses a brush when hit by any enemy, or by bumping into a pipe or chimney - when losing a brush, you can hear the “Russian Dance” from the Nutcracker Suite play. When losing a brush, the player will fall down an elevator shaft, back to the basement.

Ladders

There are 3 ladders located in the basement. They lead to the first floor, stopping at the beginning of elevator shafts which can bring you to higher floors. When climbing a ladder, avoid being hit by the elevator shaft by moving left or right if it is moving towards you.

Elevators

Elevators can be used to access floors past the first floor. They stop on each floor briefly, moving up and down in a loop.

Paint Rollers

Paint rollers are worth bonus points. Quickly paint rooms with a paint roller in to collect the bonus points, before a Dumb Bucket grabs them first! If a Dumb Bucket walks over a paint roller before the player, it is lost.

Paint Mixers

Paint Mixers can be found in later levels, and are used to trap the Bucket Chucker. Walk over a paint mixer to activate it for 4 seconds. If the Bucket Chucker is trapped in a mixer, you can trap them for longer by walking over another mixer in the level.

Candy Canes

Candy Canes can be found in levels which contain Brenda the Brat, and can be picked up by the player and given to Brenda to stop her for 15 seconds.

Interface

1. Player Lives
2. Player Scores
3. Current Level
4. High Score
5. Remaining Time

Enemy Types

Flying Half-Pints

These small buckets fly across the screen from side to side, causing the player to lose a brush when hit. They first appear in building #1, more appear with each new level. Before flying across the screen, they will flash briefly, providing a warning.

Dumb Buckets

Moving in a predictable pattern across the screen from left to right, Dumb Buckets first appear in building #2. They start from the left-hand side of the screen, moving to the right and using an elevator to get to the next floor, alternating directions. Dumb Buckets will not enter Safe Rooms.

Brenda the Brat

Brenda the brat moves around the level and puts handprints on previously painted walls. Every time Brenda puts her hands on a painted wall, you’ll lose 40 points! Walls with hand prints on need to be re-painted in order to complete the level.

Brenda can be stopped temporarily by giving her a candy cane. First, touch a candy cane to begin flashing - while flashing, you cannot paint - then walk into Brenda to distract her for 15 seconds.

Steam Pipes

In some rooms, steam pipes extend upwards from the middle of the floor. Steam pipes cause the painter to trip over and lose a brush, unless they are jumped over.

Bucket Chucker

Leader of the buckets, the Bucket Chucker is very intelligent, pursuing the player relentlessly around the level. The Bucket Chucker begins at skill level 1, building #4, appearing in every building after this. The Bucket Chucker can never be destroyed, but you can trap him temporaily in the paint mixer, or in the basement between the three ladders.

• To trap the Bucket Chucker with a paint mixer, turn the paint mixer on by touching it (it will remain on for 4 seconds) Lure the Bucket Chucker to the paint mixer, and he will be stuck for 4 seconds.

  • Turning on other paint mixers in the level while he is trapped will trap him for a further 4 seconds each time.

• To trap the bucket Chucker in the basement, lure the Bucket Chucker in between the three ladders, and quickly exit the basement using one of the ladders.

  • The Bucket Chucker will remain in the basement until your painter loses a brush.

Refill Brushes

When painting in later rooms, your brush can begin to go dry, preventing you from painting any walls. When this happens, find a large paint brush in a room, and walk over it to allow painting again.

Game Timer

Each building has a time limit for the player to paint every wall in. The starting building gives the player 60 seconds - each level increases the starting time by 30 seconds after this. If the player’s skill level is set above 1, the time each level gives is reduced by 6 seconds.

When 15 seconds or less remain, the level will begin to flash to alert the player. Quickly paint all remaining walls when this happens before time runs out!

Scoring

Score points by walking past the unpainted walls in the level. 10 points are given for each tile of the wall you paint. Picking up a paint roller in the level gives the player a bonus 300 points. At the end of the level, the remaining time is added to the total points during the transition screen.