___________________
 _______________________________________________/Table of Contents  \________
/                                                                            \

* Introduction and Version History
* Controls
* Basics
  * Items
  * Health
  * Traps
  * Time
* Features of the Map
  * Chests
  * Trappable Areas
  * Hazards
  * Un-hazards
  * Bridges
  * Warps
  * Islands
  * Exits
* Level Information
  * Tropical
  * Lava
  * Ice
  * Cave
  * Pyramid
* Strategy and the AI
* Infrequent Questions
* Credits, Legal, Contact

                                                 ___________________
 _______________________________________________/Introduction and   \________
/                                                Version History             \


Spy vs. Spy: Operation Boobytrap is a fun, if little-known game for the 
original Gameboy Mono, not to be confused with the Gameboy Color game of the
same name (they're quite different).  In it, you are either the white or black
spy, competing against the other color to retrieve about a gazillion pieces of
various top-secret things.  They've apparently been lost because the U.S. 
government is full of doofuses, least of which is your rather dorky-looking 
boss.


This is Version 1.0, released April 13, 2007.

Updates: 
04/13/07: First version 1.0 released.  There isn't much I can think of to add
          to this, unless someone actually has more questions I didn't think
          of.  So this is possibly a final version, barring layout changes.



                                                 ___________________
 _______________________________________________/Controls           \________
/                                                                            \


Left/Right: Move left and right around the map.
Up/Down: Go up and down bridges and stairs (where applicable).  Down also 
         checks a treasure chest.  Up allows you to exit out a door when you 
         have all the items.
A: Jump.
B: Set a trap (if you are standing in a trappable location) or if the other 
   spy is on-screen, you punch.  (You cannot set a trap while the spy is 
   on-screen.  Then again, that would sort of defeat the purpose if he saw 
   you doing it...) Press with Down to put a bomb in a chest.
Select: View the Map.  You cannot view the map when the other spy is 
        on-screen.
Start: Pauses the game.


                                                 ___________________
 _______________________________________________/Basics             \________
/                                                                            \


|Items:|

In order to leave the level, you must acquire all five items (plus the attache
case) for the piece you're collecting on each level.  If the other spy manages
to do this, then you lose the game, so be warned.  The music will change when
either spy gets all the items.  

Items are found in random chests that differ for each game; they appear on the
map.  Items can be lost when a spy is killed or runs into a trap.  Without the
Attache Case, you can only hold one at a time.  The items collected with the
attache case stay with the case, so opening one chest can net all the items in
one go if someone with all of them has just lost it.


|Health:|

You start with ten bars.  The other spy's health bar is also visible along the
top of the screen.  Triggering a trap costs you three bars, getting punched 
costs you one, hazards cause you damage depending on how long you're in them 
(it is possible to jump into and out of a trap without taking damage if you're
quick; the enemy spy will do this in later levels.) 

Bars can be regained by standing still.  If you drop under seven bars, your 
speed will be slowed and your jumping distance will be decreased.  Losing all
your bars either by continued damage or jumping off a cliff kills you, and 
there's a waiting period while you rise from the dead and reappear at one of
the two out doors (usually the one the other spy is farthest from.)


|Traps:|

Traps are set by pressing B.  there are two kinds: chests, and trappable 
areas.  The latter varies by level.  Both spies can set traps, and both can be
caught in them.  The traps themselves are indiscriminate, meaning they trigger
for the first person to walk into them, regardless of who set them.  Yes, you
can be hit by your own trap, and it is humiliating. If this happens to the 
other spy while he is offscreen, your spy will stop and giggle while a window
of the other spy fuming pops up in the lower right corner.  

Traps cost you three bars of health, knock you unconscious for a short time,
and cause you to lose any items you were holding.


|Time:|

There is a time limit for each level.  If it runs out with neither spy exiting
the map with all the items, your dorky-looking boss will yell at you and you
will be forced to replay the level.  There's a beeping sound when you're down
to twenty seconds.


                                                 ___________________
 _______________________________________________/Features of the Map\________
/                                                                            \


|Chests:|

The place where to find the attache, the five items, and of course, bombs.  


|Trappable areas:|

The actual type varies by level, but they're all the same size: a medium-sized
area that can be jumped over (the danger area is indicated by its shadow).  
Jumping through a trap won't injure you, but stepping in it will. 


|Hazards:|

These are features of the map that drain away your life when you step on them.
Most are medium (the size of a trappable area) but some are longer (about 
twice the size) or shorter (about as wide as your spy).  All of them can be 
jumped, though the longer ones are tricky and can't be completely missed if
your health is low.


|Un-hazards:|

These slow you down, but don't damage you.  They appear on the cave and 
pyramid levels.


|Bridges:|
Used to go up and down between levels of the map.  In some lava levels, caves
and pyramids, these are stairs the spy jumps up and down.  This does take 
longer than the straight bridges.


|Warps:|

A square marked with a W.  Warps to another spot on the map.  Warps are 
paired, so a warp will only take you between two spots even if there are other
warps on the map.


|Islands:|

Only appear on the later, larger levels.  They make it possible to jump 
between large gaps between areas.  They're medium-sized, which is just wide 
enough for both spies to stand on.


|Exits:|

There's two of them; a spy starts at each one.  You can use either one to exit
the map when you have all the items (but so can the other spy.)


                                                 ___________________
 _______________________________________________/Level Information  \________
/                                                                            \
 

There are twenty levels, in four sets of five.  Each level's map is constant,
meaning it does not change from game to game.  Each level item has a quarter 
retrieved with the completion of each level, for five whole items in all.


|Tropical:|

Levels: 1, 6, 11, and 16.
Item: Microfilm
Trappable area: Palm tree--throws a coconut up into the tree that drops and 
                hits anyone passing underneath.
Hazard: Carnivorous plant.  They look like a giant flower on the ground and 
        are all the same size (medium).


|Lava:|

Levels: 2, 7, 12, and 17.
Item: Blueprint
Trappable area: Stormcloud--throws a battery into the cloud to cause a 
                lightning strike when someone steps underneath.  If the other 
                spy is hit off-screen, you'll still get a lovely flash.
Hazard: Geysers.  They go on and off, meaning it is possible to walk over one
        without damage, but a geyser at full blast cannot be avoided even 
        when jumping.  They're small, only the size of the spy himself.


|Ice:|

Levels: 3, 8, 13, and 18.
Item: Floppy Disk (in all its 5.25" glory...now you know this game is dated)
Trappable area: Pine tree--strike it with a hammer to dump a load of snow
                on the next passerby.
Hazard: Spiky ice fields.  These come in varying sizes.


|Cave:| 

Levels: 4, 9, 14, and 19.
Item: Secret File
Trappable area: Hole--throw some dynamite up into the ceiling to trigger a 
                cave-in when someone gets close.
Un-hazard: Mud field.  Comes in varying sizes.


|Pyramid:| 

Levels: 5, 10, 15 and 20.
Item: CPU Chip
Trappable area: Statue--hit it with an axe to make it return the favor on
                the next person that gets too close.
Hazard: Spikes.  Come in varying sizes.
Un-hazard: A mask set in the wall with tacks(?) set beneath.


                                                 ___________________
 _______________________________________________/Strategy and the AI\________
/                                                                            \
 

Try to keep one item on you at all times, for obvious anti-losing reasons.

In the early levels, the world is small (as is the time limit) and the 
opponent is dumb, so it's easiest to gather all the items yourself, knocking 
off the other guy if you have to; you'll usually have to knock at least one 
item out of his hands.  Pretty straightforward.  

The later levels are much larger, though, making it difficult to get 
everywhere to get all the items, particularly when fending off an increasingly
nasty spy.  In those cases, my preferred strategy is to grab a single item 
(thereby preventing the other spy from exiting with all of them), and finding
a 'safe spot' to wait in: usually between a trap and a cliff, or between a 
trap and a hazard.  Once the other spy has all the other items, he'll come 
after you, allowing you to pick your battlefield and method of elimination.  
He'll also take the shortest path to you and stay close once he's found you, 
so if you're between, say, a hazard and a set of stairs, if he approaches you
from the hazard side, he'll stay there despite the health risk and won't try
to get you from the other side.

An alternate method is to put a bomb in one item's chest, allowing him to 
collect all the rest, then take the now-unbombed item after he triggers the 
trap and gather the rest with ease.

Early on, the spy will walk into traps with ease: stand on one side and he'll
go right into it.  As the levels progress, he'll get smart and avoid them, 
running up to the edge and waiting for you.  Sometimes, he can still be 
triggered into jumping into the trap (particularly if his health is low and
his jumping distance reduced) if you jump over it, making sure not to land on
it yourself.  This won't work on the last levels, though.

Hazards are the same way, except that it's a lot easier to trigger him walking
into them, as the game doesn't take away the items unless he dies.  If he's 
nearby, you can trigger him walking into them (or walking to a trap) by moving
or jumping toward it, enabling you to kill him without touching him if you 
have good timing.  This is a lot easier on levels with long hazards, like the
ice and pyramid fields.

Despite how smart the AI gets at the end levels, if you stand on the edge of a
gap and he's on the other side, he'll jump at you even if there's nowhere for
him to stand.  Hooray for forced AI suicide! :D  He'll also do this on 
islands, but if he gets you from behind, there is enough room for him to stand
there with you, so beware a fistfight.

When engaging in a fistfight, try to get the first hit in on the enemy; this 
is particularly easy if you can catch him jumping over a hazard or coming 
across a bridge or stairs.  The person being hit cannot punch back while being
punched, only in the gap between punches, so if you can get the first hit and
keep up a rapid string, he'll drop in no time.  The other spy's punching speed
will increase as the levels get higher, making it near-impossible to break his
strings.  If you're finding yourself at the wrong end of a string, try to 
retreat behind a hazard to buy yourself some time to heal.

It's always a good idea to jump over any trappable areas, unless you plan to 
trap them yourself.  The other spy is a little more likely (although the 
overall probability goes down in later levels as he starts jumping all 
trappable areas too) to hit a trap if you're offscreen, and he does blunder 
into his own traps every now and then.


                                                 ____________________
 _______________________________________________/Infrequent Questions\_______
/                                                                            \
 
Q.  What are the level passwords and when do you get them?
A.  After completing a set of five levels, the commander will give you a 
    password which, when entered on the main screen, will start you at the 
    beginning of the next set (levels 6, 11, and 16.)  The passwords are:

        After level 5:   ZKP
        After level 10:  YPT
        After level 15:  MMD


                                                 _______________________
 _______________________________________________/Credits, Contact, Legal\____
/                                                                            \

Nintendo: Made the system.
Kemco: Developed the game.
First Star Software: Released the game in North America.
Me (tiakalla): Writing this.
You: Putting up with me...oh... I guess reading this.


If you wish to email me over mistakes/compliments/death threats/whatever, or
if there's something you'd like to contribute, here I am:

notawebmaster[TOTALLYNOTASPAMFILTER]@gmail.com


This guide (c) 2006 to Celaine Prezel, and may not be reposted without written
permission. The following sites may host this FAQ:

www.gamefaqs.com