Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a 1984 action-platformer developed by David Crane and published by Activision for the Atari 2600. Sequel to the 1982 original, it trades Harry’s jungle run for a sprawling underground cavern network: find Rhonda (Harry’s niece), her mountain lion Quickclaw, and the legendary Raj diamond across 255 interconnected screens.
How to play
Use the arrow keys to move and jump; Spacebar fires. F12 resets, F11 is the select switch, and Alt+P pauses.
Instead of extra lives, Pitfall II uses checkpoint balloons scattered through the caverns. When a bat, scorpion, electric eel, or condor catches Harry, he is swept back to the nearest balloon and loses score points â not a life. Mistakes are recoverable; exploration is rewarded.
Tips
- The cave spans 255 non-linear screens. Keeping a rough mental map â or jotting down exits â prevents repeated backtracking.
- Electric eels attack with a wave that reaches beyond their body. Time your dives between pulses rather than rushing through flooded passages.
- Every death costs score, not progress. Push into new screens freely; the balloon network means you always recover close to where you fell.
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