Gypsy

“A bug has to eat.” These words of wisdom set the premise for the unlikely
elevation of the gypsy moth to video game protagonist. Indeed, Avalon Hill’s
Gypsy puts you in the bare feet of a smiling, happy-go-lucky gypsy moth
caterpillar who has come upon a backyard with the rare and lucious Qok tree.
Our hero could feast all day in idyllic bliss, munching on leaves and sipping
nectar from blossoms. Alas, such a delicious tree is a resource contested.
There are Flying Ants of Tasmania crawling over the bark, the Locknest Spider,
and worst of all, the truly painful-in-the-posterior, Fandango Bee.

The Qok tree, your playing field, is spread abundantly in elevation across
eight screens, and you steer the smiling, fat caterpillar around it via the
branches and trunk. Leaves are everywhere, continuously regrowing, and easy to
munch, but the real points lie in the blossoms, which come and go in mere
seconds, making it a race to get the ravenous little mouth chomping in the
right spot. The tiny ants will throw you from the branch, so they must be
avoided. The Fandango Bee at first just randomly flits by, but after enough
time watching the caterpillar munch on her beloved tree, this fury from lower
Sumatra will pursue and sting. Each sting — and ant and spider bite —
subtracts points, but by the third one, the little caterpillar turns a sickly
shade of blue and moves slowly. The fourth sting leaves it a crumpled heap on
the grass below, just another lesson of nature.