Centipede is fast-moving 1- or 2-player game filled with mushrooms and insects that drop down to attack the bug blaster, represented by a humanoid head. The object of the game is to shoot at and destroy as many as possible before the player’s lives are all used up. The bug blaster is moved within the bottom fifth of the screen by rotating the minitrak ball control. Pressing the fire button causes the bug blaster to fire individual shots upward, either singly or in rapid-fire mode. A centipede starts snaking its way through the playfield of randomly placed mushrooms from the center top of the screen, changing direction when it runs into a mushroom or either side boundary of the playfield. When a segment of the centipede is shot, it is destroyed and a mushroom appears in its place. When shot, the centipede breaks into two smaller centipedes, each with its own head. When a centipede reaches the bottom of the screen, it starts back up but remains within the area of the bug blaster. If a centipede reaches the bottom of the screen without being shot, it releases its tail, which changes into a new head. A round of play ends when all centipede segments are destroyed.
