ORIGIN: UK Pocketeer no. 31375

VARIANTS: Catch A Caterpillar, Magnetarget

GAMEPLAY: A more delicate variant of the usual shooting game. The idea is to rescue the astronaut from the sea by connecting a winch line from the helicopter. The helicopter has a central magnet, so you can connect the balls in a long thread to reach the spaceman. However, the further you get from the chopper, the weaker the magnetic force is, so the more gently you have to hit the lowest ball in the chain. Accuracy was also crucial, as you can see from the picture. Clever and taxing.

VARIANT: Catch A Caterpillar

ORIGIN: MB Pocketfuls game (1987)

DIFFERENCES: The same game, but in keeping with the trend for Pocketeers (and their clones) to mimic popular arcade video-games, redesigned to look extremely like Atari's classic Centipede. Albeit several years too late to catch the height of Centipede's popularity.

VARIANT: Magnetarget

ORIGIN: US Tomy Pocket Game

DIFFERENCES: Name, theme and graphics