How to play Lemmings ?

[unclet]

I have a Lemmings game from the Commodore Amiga and when it starts I have no idea how to play it.   Little dudes are running around and I have a crosshair which can be pointed at them but then what do I do?   A lot of people recommend LEmmings, but I can not play it .... please explain.

[arcadegamenut]

You have to figure out how to get them to the exit (alive) and in under a certain amount of time.

For example, if I remember right, the first map you have diggers available. So you'd click the icon of the little guy digging and click on one of the lemmings as he drops onto the screen. He'll start digging. Eventually, they'll make it all the way through and then you'll finish the map.

For a good time, click on the little bomb icon (far right?). This will lead you to hear the infamous "Oh no!" as you essentially give up the map by blowing up any remaining Lemmings you have.

[Hellfromabove]

Sticky this thread. Learning Lemmings is a chore for all. Thanx.

-See Ya!!!

[gamecreature]

I found this in an FAQ file on Gamespot:

     -> The plus and minus signs represent the release rate. By clicking the
        corresponding button, you can either increase or decrease it. Recall
        that you can't put it below the initial speed for that level, nor can
        you put it above 99.

     -> CLI stands for Climber. When applied to a Lemming, that Lemming will
        take on the ability to scale walls. This ability lasts until the end
        of the level.

     -> FLO stands for Floater. When a Lemming who is a floater falls from a
        large distance, it will deploy a parachute-like umbrella that allows
        them to fall any distance without splatting. Like the ability to
        climb, this lasts until the end of a level.

     SPECIAL NOTE: When a Lemming has both the ability to climb and float, it
     will be labeled an Athlete by the game. I use this term as well, so it
     would be a good idea for you to learn it as well. An Athlete is just a
     Lemming that is both a climber and a floater.

     -> BOM stands for Bomber. Any Lemming that is made a bomber immediately
        affects a five-second fuse. Although usually applied to blockers,
        situations do arise where you will have to make walkers into bombers
        as well. At the end of the five-second fuse, the Lemming blows up.
        Generally, you should try to use as few that you are given as you
        can. Lemmings can't bomb through steel under normal circumstances.

     -> BLK stands for Blocker. Any Lemming that is made a blocker is frozen
        in place semi-permanently (special situations sometimes make blockers
        into walkers). Any walker or other Lemming that runs into a blocker
        will turn around and go in the other direction. Blockers are not
        always available to you or cannot be used in the interest of saving
        enough Lemmings, so creative ways of encasing groups of Lemmings may
        sometimes have to be found.

     -> BLD stands for Builder. One builder can construct a 45-degree bridge
        comprised of twelve tiles. If you have sound effects on, you will
        hear a clicking when a builder is about to run out of tiles, in which
        case you need to listen should you have to keep building a bridge.
        I would consider builders the most common task assigned to Lemmings,
        so they play a very important role in getting Lemmings to the exit.

     -> BSH stands for Basher. Bashers punch through walls in a horizontal
        line until they get to the end of the wall. The other Lemmings can
        then walk through the narrow tunnel that the basher makes. Lemmings
        can't bash through steel under normal circumstances.

     -> MIN stands for Miner (not the under-18 kind - like a coal miner).
        With pick-ax in hand, a Lemming will mine a diagonal tunnel downward
        in the direction it was facing when you clicked on it. Lemmings can't
        mine through steel under normal circumstances.

     -> DIG stands for ... well, Digger. Any Lemming turned into a digger
        immediately takes to digging a tunnel straight down through the
        terrain below it. Lemmings can't dig through steel under normal
        circumstances.

     -> PSE stands for Pause, which in this game has an icon that looks like
        a tiny set of paws. (Get the joke? Yeah, I know, it's bad.)

     -> NUK stands for Nuke. This is to be used in situations when no more
        Lemmings can possibly be saved or when you feel like looking at a
        thoroughly amusing pyrotechnic displays on days other than the Fourth
        of July. When you double-click this button or press F12, all the
        Lemmings onscreen become bombers with five-second fuses above their
        heads. Lemmings will also cease coming out of the hatch if they are
        still in the process of doing so. After five seconds, every single
        Lemming will blow up in an impressive fireworks display, and you will
        be sent to the accountability screen, which tells you how many were
        saved and accounted for.

     SPECIAL NOTE: The question marks in the field-of-play model represent
     the number values that are in those boxes while you are playing.

Now that you know what everything on all those initially befuddling screens
is all about, it's safe to introduce you to the basic concept of Lemmings.
You are given a set amount of Lemmings per level. Out of those many or few
Lemmings, you must save a certain percentage of them. If you're not sure how
many Lemmings encompass the percentage provided, convert the percentage to be
saved to a decimal number (.xx) and multiply the total number of Lemmings by
the decimal number you got.

[unclet]

Ok, way too much thinking for me .... I will stick to the more basic style games ..... (ie: shoot and blow stuff up)   

[fatfingers]

Ok, way too much thinking for me .... I will stick to the more basic style games ..... (ie: shoot and blow stuff up)   

It is actually quite a fun game....

[Space Fractal]

Yes, it was a very loveable game, when first have figured out the gameplay.

[Howard_Casto]

I'm actually quite suprised that some of you hadn't heard of it, save the arcade release.  Lemmings is like tetris, one of those painfully addictive puzzle games that just won't die.  It has been around since the c64 days and is still being re-released to this day (just released for the psp I believe).  Each release, like tetris, is almost exactly the same, the only difference being graphics and the control scheme.  So saying that, lemmings is best played with a mouse/trackball.  Imho it's also best played in a relaxing environment.  Most puzzles can take several minutes so this isn't a quick play game.  Save yourself a headache and get one of the pc versions so you can sit back in your chair, play a while, save your progress and come back to it. 

[saint]

Check out Zoombini's for your kids too.

[horseboy]

And check out Cannon Fodder for yourself. It is kind of similar to Lemmings, but it is insanely fun.