Chip's Challenge - Lynx Mode

Differences in Rules


Common situations and tricks


  • In MS, when Chip has the skates, he can step out of ice corners over their blocked sides. In Lynx, Chip cannot do this.
  • In MS, Chip can step backwards off a force floor when he has a chance to oppose it. This is possible when:-
    • there is a wall or other barrier preventing the force floor from propelling Chip further
    • Chip enters the force floor by an involuntary move from another force floor or ice or a teleport. (This effect is known as "backward boosting".)
    In Lynx, Chip can only step off a force floor sideways, and that too only when he is propelled into that force floor from another one (the two force floors need not be adjacent, they could be separated by a stretch of ice). So given the situation in the image, Chip will be able to reach the exit in MS; but in Lynx, he would not be able to make it even if one of the force floors was removed.


  • In Lynx, when a trap button is hit, the trapped object - be it Chip, a monster or even a block - is forcibly ejected out of the trap in the direction that it is facing. It is allowed to remain on the trap only if that direction is blocked. If the trap button is deactivated while the object is still on the trap, it will get stuck again.

    In MS, once a trap button is hit, the object is free (but not compelled*) to move, even if the trap button is later deactivated while the object is still on the trap.

    So in MS, Chip can turn around in an open trap. But in Lynx, an open trap effectively behaves like ice, and Chip cannot turn. In the scenario shown in the image, Chip will not be able to collect the chip in Lynx. But Chip (and tanks) can turn on a trap while it is closed. In Lynx, Chip can also change the direction that a trapped block will be ejected in, by pushing at it while it is stuck.

    * The only situation in MS when an object gets involuntarily ejected from a trap - is when a block slides into a trap from ice or a force floor or a teleport. Such a block will resume movement once the trap is released, as in Lynx. Chip may prevent this by pushing at the block in a perpendicular direction while it is stuck.

  • In MS, blocks on thin walls can be pushed through the blocked edge. A block can also be pushed off the top of a normal wall, a permanently invisible wall, a closed toggle wall, a door whose key Chip doesn't have, or a socket when all the chips haven't yet been collected. In Lynx, blocks cannot be pushed off in these situations. So the puzzle seen in the image can be solved in MS, but not in Lynx.
  • When Chip is in water (using flippers) and a monster enters that same water tile, Chip will be killed in Lynx. In MS, the monster will drown without harming Chip.
  • In MS, a tank that is stopped will remain stopped even if the barrier is removed. It will start moving again only when turned around by a blue button. In Lynx, a tank will continue moving whenever it isn't blocked.

    Suppose Chip pushes the block in the situation shown in the image. In MS, the tank would remain stopped, so nothing more would happen. In Lynx, the tank would run over Chip and kill him. (It is still possible for Chip to push the block without dying using the "side move" described below.)

  • In Lynx, all monsters leave traps in the direction that they are facing, and are cloned in the direction specified on the clone machine - which is what you would expect. In MS, this is not true for some creatures:-
    • Blobs choose a random open direction.
    • Teeth, bugs and paramecia depend on other monsters (referred to as "controllers" and "bosses") to decide the direction in which they can leave. In some cases, the lack of a suitable "controller" or "boss" can cause the monster to become permanently stuck or the clone machine to go "dead". (This weird behaviour is obviously not by design, but is the result of uninitialized variables in the MSCC program.)


  • What happens when Chip or a monster enters a teleport and no teleport (not even the one just entered) is open in the required direction? In Lynx, a monster simply ignores the teleport (as if it were floor); whereas Chip becomes permanently stuck. In MS, it's almost exactly the opposite: monsters get stuck, whereas Chip simply bounces back. Additionally in MS, if the appropriate direction of the original teleport is opened, then the monster is freed.
  • A special Lynx-only trick allows Chip to push at a block that is to his side while he is passing by it. Potential hazards such as fire or bombs under the block can be exposed without harming Chip. Using this, Chip can get past the trap in the adjoining example despite the situation shown. This is done by starting to move in the required direction (e.g. right) and then hitting another key (e.g. down) at the correct time when next to the block. This is called the "side move" or "diagonal move" or "block slapping".
  • Another block related trick - this time only in MS - known as block "setting" or "ramming" or "jamming", involves pushing a block on a force floor or ice while it is obstructed against a barrier, so that it does not start sliding again even when the obstruction is removed. This can be used to safely collect the chip shown in the image.

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