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Tutankham

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Tutankham is an arcade action game played from a top down point of view. You are an explorer in King Tut's tomb on a mission to retrieve as many of the valuable treasures as you can find. In addition to the treasures, you will also find a key in each of the chambers. This is needed in order to un...

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Developer
Konami

Released on
1982

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Puzzle

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Tutankham is an arcade action game played from a top down point of view. You are an explorer in King Tut’s tomb on a mission to retrieve as many of the valuable treasures as you can find. In addition to the treasures, you will also find a key in each of the chambers. This is needed in order to unlock the entrance to the next, more difficult chamber. Be careful, for the tomb is guarded by many dangerous creatures! Cobras, bats, scorpions, and more all appear in the maze and will cause you to lose a life if you’re caught! To defend yourself you are armed with a laser gun which you can fire left or right, but not up or down. In each of the mazes you are also give one “flash” which can be used to destroy all creatures currently on the screen.

Tutankham

Overview & History

Released in 1982 by Konami and distributed in North America by Stern Electronics, Tutankham is an innovative top-down maze shooter that predates the archaeological craze of the mid-1980s. Capitalizing on the pop-culture obsession with King Tutankhamun's tomb following the 1920s excavation discoveries, the game casts the player as an intrepid treasure hunter navigating the suffocatingly dark, labyrinthine corridors of an ancient Egyptian pyramid. Unlike standard static-screen shooters of its era, Tutankham pioneered a scrolling, multi-directional maze layout that forced players to manage spatial awareness, limited resources, and relentless waves of robotic or supernatural wildlife.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core objective of Tutankham is to guide the explorer from the entrance of each multi-tiered maze to the treasure chamber at the center while collecting smaller jewels and keys along the way. Players must defend themselves against hostile bats, scorpions, snakes, and vultures by firing a laser weapon to the left or right. However, aiming vertically is impossible, adding immense strategic tension to navigating vertical corridors. Each level includes a limited-use "Flash" bomb that incinerates all visible onscreen enemies, serving as a desperate last resort. Compounding the challenge is a strict countdown timer; if it expires, the explorer perishes. Players must also locate specific colored keys to unlock matching doors that bar progress toward the ultimate prize—the golden mask of Tutankham.