Tapper

"Whoo! What a day! So, you want to head to Tapper's, Ken?"

- Ryu (Wreck-It Ralph)

Tapper also known as Root Beer Tapper is a 1983 arcade game developed by Marvin Glass and Associates and released by Bally Midway. Originally sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, the arcade version features a Budweiser motif. The original was meant to be sold to bars due to beer. The Root Beer Tapper version was released for the arcades because the original version was construed as advertising alcohol to minors.

Why It's Refreshing

 * 1) The game is addictive yet simple to understand. You play as a bartender who has to give beer (or root beer) to customers who want a drink. After that, you will also need to collect the mugs and tips from your customers.
 * 2) Easy controls. You just need to control the bartender as if he was doing his job.
 * 3) The life lost animations come in a variety of occurrences. Rather than just being one life lost animation, you get 3 of them for the sake of being funny.
 * 4) *The player fails to catch an empty mug before it falls off the keg end of the bar and breaks
 * 5) *A full mug slides to the door end of a bar without being caught thus breaking.
 * 6) *Any customer reaching the keg end of the bar where they grab the bartender and slide him across the door.
 * 7) They are four levels that feature different types of places. They consist of a western saloon, a sports bar, a punk rock bar, and an outer-space bar. Each of the levels also has different customers as well consisting of cowboys, athletes, punk rockers, and aliens.
 * 8) A bonus round occurs after the end of each level. Six cans of beer (or root beer) are placed on the bar. A masked man shakes five of the cans and shuffles them. The bartender would need to choose the unshaken can for bonus points. If the bartender picks the can that is shaken, he gets humorously sprayed on the face.
 * 9) You may think that having to serve customers drinks sounds easy, well that's where you're wrong. As the game progresses, it's getting more challenging (in a good way) when you realize how many customers want to drink and leave the jars empty. The pacing here would indeed be fast.
 * 10) The original version has Budweiser being cleverly sponsored in the game which fits so well because of the game all being about beer. In other words, the game knows how to add a clever real-life product to an arcade game. It's one of those earlier games with product placement.
 * 11) *Budweiser isn't the only product placement featured in the game. Most of the home versions have Mountain Dew while the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions have Pepsi.
 * 12) What made the game stand out is the arcade cabinet that has the brass foot rail and two brass drink holders on each side of the control panel.
 * 13) If you were to collect money, a group of dancing women will appear distracting customers and those who are distracted won't move until the show is over.
 * 14) There is another version of the game called Root Beer Tapper which is for those who prefer root beer. The gameplay is still the game, but this one is for minors because let's are real, why would you want to see minors drink beer and intimidate the game?
 * 15) The arcade version boasts colorful graphics and sprites that are pure cartoony.
 * 16) Once you win the game, you get silly victory animations for the bartender involving an empty mug such as getting it stuck on his head or stubbing his toe when he tries to kick it.
 * 17) The music played in the game is quite charming as expected from an old-school game. The songs that play during gameplay include variations of Oh! Susanna, Buffalo Gals, the Budweiser theme, and Can-Can.
 * 18) The arcade cabinet for both is quite clever. It's designed to look like a bar thanks to the wooden-like textures as well as the handles that the arcade games use to let your bartender serve beer or root beer.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Though intentional, it can get a little demanding due to the crazy amount of customers wanting beer (or root beer)
 * 2) The dancing girls do distract customers, but giving the thirsty customers a drink will not let the customers get the drink so you need to wait until you get their attention.
 * 3) The IBM-PC version looks like an eyesore. The same can be said about the Apple II and Sinclair ZX Spectrum versions.
 * 4) *The Amstrad CPC version also looks laughable due to the sprites.

Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed the game as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month tied with 10-Yard Fight and Vs. Tennis.

Trivia

 * The art style is quite identical to Domino Man and Timber. In fact, the main character of Timber is a rework of the bartender from Tapper.
 * The art is based on Mike Ferris who taught Scoot Morrison art.
 * A reinterpretation of the game for mobile devices called Tapper World Tour was released in 2011. This game was developed by Square One Studios and published by WB Games. Legendary animator Don Bluth is involved with the game.
 * In Fallout 76, there is a minigame called Nuka Tapper which is a parody of Tapper but with Fallout-themed graphics
 * The game appears in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet. The bartender appears as a minor character voiced by Maurice LaMarche and the game is depicted as a combination of both the original and root beer versions.
 * William Rosa set the world record on February 16 of 2019 with a score of 14,826,200.

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