## Description

_Bygg b atar med Mulle Meck_ is the second game in the series featuring the
children’s book character Mulle Meck (known as Gary Gadget in the US). This
time, Mulle has tired of just building cars (from the first game) and is asked
to take care of a small shipyard by one of his friends, who is setting out on
a long sea-voyage.

The gameplay is thus to build boats, by choosing a predefined hull from a set
of drawings, and add additional parts for propulsion, navigation and
decoration, from a wide selection available to the player from the shipyard
storage. The ships range from small/medium/large rowing boats,
motorboats/ships and sailing boats. Selecting the hull and material
(wood/metal) is done on a slipway, from which the empty hull is launched.
Outfitting the boat is done while moored to the dockside. These activities are
seen from the side with Mulle and his dog Buffa looking on and commenting on
your progress. Parts in storage are initially dropped in a heap on the floor,
but can be sorted onto shelves in the same area. Once take out for fitting
they have specific slots on each boat that can fit them; a too large engine
will not fit on a small boat, and if the boat gets top-heavy, Mulle will say
so.

Once you take the boat to sea, the game shifts to an overhead view, and you
have a status panel at the bottom of the screen showing a compass, speed,
remaining fuel, propulsion type and remaining food – in the form of a fish
being eaten by Mulle. Windsocks on land and moving waves show the wind
direction. Once the fuel runs out, Mulle will either use sails or oars, if
available; but if the food runs out he turns back home immediately. If there
are no alternate way of propulsion, a tug will take the boat back home when
fuel runs out. There are some gas stations on selected islands, and some local
fishermen can supply fresh food – or what passes for food in these parts;
there is a factory producing cans of fermented herring – ‘surstromming’ which
Mulle likes. The compass on the status bar also activates a map, initially
incomplete, but more parts are acquired during some quests; the map gives the
locations of the persons Mulle knows, and some special areas, like a racing
course. During the game Mulle gets radio messages from various friends and
neighbours who need transport or assistance in various ways. As a reward for
each completed task, Mulle gets new parts to add to his boat, or new maps to
help explore the surrounding archipelago.

A few recurring fetch quests are about an inflatable swimming ring that is
found at random places, also the local parson has a tendency to lose his Bible
at various beach locations, a writer needs a book located etc. Some fetch
quests require the boat you have to be outfitted in a special way, e.g.
multiple seats for transporting a group of people, so if those requirements
are not met, the quest cannot be attempted until later. Sometimes his friends
send parts they don’t want from their own storage, and you get radio messages
telling you of these being dropped off at the home dock. The shipyard owner
will also send drawings for some new hull types. On the radio you also get
current weather updates, which is relevant for the type of trip you can take
on the boat you currently have.

Only one boat can be used at a time, but the complete ship can be saved in an
album for a quick rebuild. To build a new boat you scrap the existing boat and
scavenge its parts, though if the boats hull size is the same, the parts will
be transferred automatically to a new type. A boat can also be saved in a
file, if you want to send it to a friend.
Initially the game had extra parts available at the publishers website, but
these are unavailable now, as the site has shut down.

There are diplomas for the boats you build, e.g. a ‘Fun boat’ competition
where the boat you enter will be judged and scored; if unusual enough, you get
a diploma attached to your boat.

Bygg Båtar med Mulle Meck