Get ready to serve! Rediscover the classic arcade game Root Beer Tapper on Xbox LIVE®. Take on a room full of thirsty folks and keep their mugs full as they belly up to the bar, but don't drop the empties if you want to win.
The Tapper game screen features four bars. Patrons arrive periodically at the end of the bar opposite the player and demand drinks. The player must draw and serve drinks to the patrons as they slowly advance towards the player. If any customers reach the player's end of the bar, they grab the player-as-bartender and toss him out the far end of the bar, costing the player a life.
In Tapper, the player plays the part of a bartender serving drinks to eager customers.
The player serves customers by filling a mug at one of the four taps. Once the mug is full, the player releases the tap which automatically slides the mug towards the advancing customer. Customers catch mugs that are slid towards them, as long as they are not already drinking a beer, or otherwise distracted. If a mug is not caught by a customer, then it falls off of the bar on the other end, resulting in a loss of a life for the player. If a customer does catch the mug, though, then he or she is pushed back some amount towards the opposite end of the screen. The goal is to push the customer completely off the screen, but if they are not then they will stay and consume their drink in place. When a customer finishes his drink, he slides the empty mug back towards the player, after which the customer resumes his advance on the player. The player must collect the empty mugs before they reach the end of the bar and fall to the ground. A mug falling to the ground costs a life.
Periodically, customers will leave tips on the bar for the player. These tips can be left at anyplace on the bar. The tip will appear after a specific number of empty mugs are released by the customers, and will appear wherever the customer is standing who releases the required mug. For example, in all levels, the first tip is left by the customer who returns the second empty mug, and will be left beside wherever this customer is standing. By collecting the tip, the player earns extra points and initiates "entertainment" for that level (dancing girls on the wild-west level, cheerleaders on the sports level, etc). While the entertainment is active, some fraction of the customers will be distracted and stop advancing towards the player, however they will also stop catching mugs.
In order to complete a level, the player must clear the entire bar of customers. Once this is done, the player is presented with a short vignette in which the bartender draws a drink for himself and after drinking it tosses the empty mug into the air with varying (usually humorous) results.
As the game progresses, the customers come faster and faster and demand more and more drinks, increasing the distance they progress towards the player end of the bar.
In between levels of different settings, the player is presented with a "challenge" round. In this segue, the player is presented with a single bar that has several cans of either beer or root beer sitting on top of it. An unarmed, masked villain shakes every can except one. Then, of their own accord, the cans shuffle their positions so as to confuse the player in regard to which can is the unshaken one. It is in essence a shell game where the player is rewarded with extra points for picking the right can.
There are four settings for the game, each setting lasting for two to four levels. The settings of the game are:
1. A country-western bar with cowboys (2 levels)
2. A sporting event with athletes (3 levels)
3. A punk rock bar with rockers (4 levels)
4. A space bar with aliens (4 levels)
After completing all the levels, thirteen in all, the player starts at the first again, harder than the first time through, and with some minor variations.
- Classic gameplay: Take on a bar full of thirsty folks and see if you can keep their mugs full. Grab the empty mugs before they slide off the bar, and earn extra points by collecting tips.
- Bonus rounds: Locate and open the one can that has not been shaken-up and serve it up to waiting patrons in the bonus rounds!
- Multiplayer: Play online in either co-op or versus modes and post scores on the Xbox LIVE leaderboards. The best scores are kept for the current week and for all time for both co-op and versus matches.
- Achievements: Score 12 achievements worth 200 gamerscore points.