Fathom (ColecoVision)
The Golden Rule
Level Objectives
- You play as Proteus, recovering the three pieces of Neptune’s shattered trident to free Neptina from her Titan prison at the bottom of the sea.
- You start as a dolphin. Joystick to steer, fire button for actions. Sweep every sea horse in a section to summon the compass — the compass appears on the status row at the bottom of the screen and points to the screen containing the next trident piece. An “X” on the compass means the piece is on the current screen.
- Find the trident-piece screen, then sweep every sea horse / cloud there as well. This time the reward is a star instead of a compass — touch the star to claim the piece.
- To transform between dolphin and seagull, touch the required number of sea horses or clouds on the starting screen. The number equals your current level. (Transformation only happens on the starting screen — plan your trips accordingly.)
- Ramming (Level 2+): while moving as a dolphin at sufficient speed, press the fire button to ram a shark or octopus. The attacker is stunned for the rest of the level — but ramming costs significant energy.
- Choose your starting level (1–5) from the title screen with the joystick. Maximum starting level is 5; the game still runs through 7 total to the finish.
- Status row indicators (left → right): transformation availability, score, trident pieces collected, energy level, compass direction.
- Energy: drains over time and on every collision with attackers or seaweed. Reaches zero = game over. Energy does not deplete during transformation screens — a built-in breather.
- Scoring: Compass = 50 points · Star/Trident piece = 100 · Ram = 100 + 50% of current energy · Free Neptina = 1,000 + remaining energy.
Show Pro Strategies
Pro Strategies
- Get the compass first, every time. The compass is the fastest path to the next trident piece. Without it, you’re scrolling blind through screens hoping to stumble onto the right one — and that bleeds energy.
- Ramming is expensive — save it for chokepoints. The 50%-of-current-energy cost is brutal. Don’t ram for clearing; ram only when a single shark is parked between you and a known piece, with the level almost done so you don’t need the energy afterward.
- Energy doesn’t tick during transformation. If you’re running low, intentionally sweep up the next transformation symbol on the starting screen to enter the transition animation and buy yourself a free pause.
- Don’t start at Level 5 unless you have to. The scoring math favors playing through from Level 1 — each Neptina rescue includes your remaining energy as bonus points, so a confident Level 1 → 7 run beats a panicked Level 5 → 7 run.
- Read the compass arrow direction precisely. The compass shows “X” only when the piece is on the current screen — otherwise the arrow’s direction is exact. Don’t waste a screen scrolling the wrong way.
- Sweep the section, don’t just survive it. Skipping sea horses to dodge an octopus costs you the compass / star. Energy spent on patient sweeping is usually cheaper than energy spent re-scrolling to find a missed piece.
- “100% Atari joystick compatible” — per the manual, an Atari-style stick works. The ColecoVision pad’s keypad isn’t required for this game.
Imagic’s ColecoVision port of Rob Fulop’s 1983 transformation adventure. The premise carries over from the Atari 2600 original — Proteus shape-shifts between dolphin and seagull, gathering three pieces of Neptune’s shattered trident across seven levels to free his daughter Neptina from her Titan prison. But the ColecoVision version isn’t a straight reskin: it adds three genuinely useful features.
First, the compass — a small directional indicator in the status row that, after you sweep an opening section clean, points you to the screen where the next trident piece is hidden. It transforms aimless scrolling into a route plan. Second, the ram attack, unlocked at Level 2, lets your dolphin stun sharks or octopi for the rest of the level by colliding at speed (at the cost of significant energy). And third, a starting-level selector from 1 to 5, so you don’t have to grind the early levels every run.
The richer ColecoVision palette also makes the world legibly easier to read than the 2600’s silhouetted abstraction — sharks separate from background, trident pieces glint against the seabed instead of disappearing into it. If you’re coming from the 2600 version, the loop is identical; the compass and ramming are the upgrades you’ll actually feel.