Forty Niner

It's 1849 and the American gold rush has just started. The player in this game is one of the many that set off to the west coast in search for the precious metal. He must dig his way through the earth and excavate the gold but at the same time avoid the creatures that move around under ground.

Forty Niner is viewed from the side and the player has a full view of the level. Starting at the surface the player digs tunnels through the earth and the goal is to collect all the nuggets. At the same time it's necessary to watch out for giant rats that burrow through the earth to get into the player's tunnel. It's possible to delay them by knocking down supports that causes cave-ins. The only way to kill a rat is to release a snake from its nest. At the same time there are gremlins which attempt to reach the entrance of the mine and thereby blocking the player's exit. To stop it from doing this the player has to return to the surface and replenish the main mound with the pile of earth that appears when the player digs.

The player earns more points the deeper he digs but he also has to walk further to replenish the mound. When all nuggets have been collected a cave opens which allows the player to move on to the next level. The new levels have more rats but there are less snakes to kill them with.