There are a few different ways to play ChuČ, but the one premise common to all of them is to herd the mice (Chu-chus) into the rockets while avoiding various obstacles. Each level is played on a small board from an overhead view. The boards are checkered, consisting of 12 squares horizontally and 9 vertically, creating an area of 108 tiles. On each board, you'll find a few or all of the following items: Chu-chus, Kapu-kapus, Rockets, walls, and holes. Your job is to get the Chu-chus into the Rockets, which is done by placing Yajirushi Panels (arrow panels) in their path. Yajirushi Panels can point in any one of the four cardinal directions, and the Chu-chus will almost unconditionally follow the direction that panel is pointing in. If their path is unobstructed, the maniacal mice will continue straight until they encounter a wall, in which case they will turn to the right. So just aim the meeces into the rockets and all is well. Ah, but if only it were that easy. You'll also find Kapu-kapus littered around the board, and it just so happens that the Kapu-kapu is the natural predator of the Chu-chu. The cats react just like Chu-chus toward the obstacles on the board: they follow the Yajirushi Panels you have placed and turn right when they encounter a wall. If a Kapu-kapu hits a Yajirushi Panel head on, the panel shrinks a little... two chomps and the panel disappears. Chu-chus have the speed advantage, but that's about it. Bad things will happen if a cat finds its way into a rocket, and both Chu-chus and Kapu-kapus are susceptible to a dark doom should they fall down a hole. Well... that's all there is to learn in Chu-chu 101, now for the advanced lessons.

   There are a total of nine modes in ChuČ: Help gives simple, visual instructions for each of the eight modes.

   4-Player Battle is where the real fun of ChuČ is at. Grab a buddy or three and prepare for some multi-player madness. Each of the 2-4 players has a color-coded Rocket on the board (Blue, Yellow, Red, or Green). Chu-chus and an occasional Kapu-kapu pour forth from Hatches, and the object is to herd as many Chu-chus into your Rocket as possible within the time limit. The person with the most mice in his Rocket at the end is the winner. Should a Kapu-kapu find its way into your Rocket, it will promptly feast on one-third of your mice. As such, the strategy is to guide as many Chu-chus as possible into your Rocket while keeping them away from your opponents and at the same time guiding Kapu-kapus toward opposing Rockets. The catch is that each player can only place three Yajirushi Panels at a time, and the action gets downright insane. To make matters worse, every once in a while the spawn points will spout a golden Chu-chu, which is worth 50 points; or a ? Chu-chu. The ? Chu-chu, when it finds its way into any one of the players' Rockets, causes one of eight random effects:

• Chu-chu Fever (Mouse Mania) -- The Hatches go cracker jacks, spewing forth a flowing stream of the maniacal mice. Well-placed arrows under these circumstances can give you an insurmountable lead.
• Chu-chu Bonus (Mouse Monopoly) -- A whole horde o' Chu-chus get a one way ticket into one lucky player's Rocket. This really pisses off the other three players.
• Neko Fever (Cat Mania) -- It's like Chu-chu Fever, except with Kapu-kapus.
• Neko Present (Cat Attack) -- One lucky schnook gets off scot-free while the other three players score a Kapu-kapu sent straight into their respective Rockets.
• Timeout (Place Arrows) -- All Yajirushi Panels are removed and the game is paused for a few all-too-brief seconds, giving players the opportunity to place their arrows again.
• Everybody Switch! (Everybody Move) -- All four rockets perform the switcheroo!
• Slow Down -- The game slows down to half speed.
• Speed Up -- The game picks up to double speed and there is no God.

   Press the L-trigger when you're losing and the R-trigger when you're king of the hill, and your "rocketeer" will spout an appropriate taunt (ie, "I'm sorry!", "Too easy!", etc.).

   If you can't find three other players, you can set the computer to control the remaining opponents. The AI difficulty can be set to: Weak, Hates Cats, Loves Mice, Tough, or Random. There are a total of 24 boards to play on, and the number of matches can be set from 1-5, although the default is 2.

   Rules for Team Battle are identical to those of 4-Player Battle, only the players are paired up into two opposing teams: Blue & Red versus Yellow & Green. The team with the most Chu-chus at the end of the time limit (default is three minutes) wins.

   Stage Challenge is the most unique of the ChuČ games. The object is to complete a specified task within a 30 second time limit. The tasks are divided into five types with five increasingly difficult stages in each set (for a total of 25 stages):

• Get mice!! -- Steer all the Chu-chus into the Rocket within the 30 second time limit.
• Run away!! -- Steer all the Chu-chus into the Rocket whilst avoiding the Kapu-kapu within the 30 second time limit.
• Lunch time!! -- Feed the cat! Steer all the Chu-chus smack into the Kapu-kapu within the 30 second time limit.
• 100 mice -- The Hatches are spawning Chu-chus and Kapu-kapus non-stop. The object is to horde 100 Chu-chus into the Rockets within the 30 second time limit.
• Cat soccer!! -- It's like a two-on-two Team Battle, with the computer controlling the opposing team. Steer as many Kapu-kapus as you can into your opponents' Rockets.

   The frenzy takes a breather in Puzzle mode, which plays at the pace you'd expect a traditional puzzler to move. The only ChuČ game that is strictly one player, the object is to herd all of the Chu-chus into the Rocket(s) while avoding Kapu-kapus and holes. Should even a single Chu-chu meet its end at the massive maw of a hungry Kapu-kapu, or fall to its dark fate down a hole; or should even a single cat break into any one of the Rockets on the board, the puzzle is blown and it's back to square one. The catch is that you're given a specific set of Yajirushi Panels to work with, and you've got to determine exactly where to place your quota of arrows to herd the nezumis to safety and keep the nekos at bay. Take your time to examine the setup, then place your arrows, and pull the R trigger at any time to set the board into motion. Pull the R trigger a second time to speed things up. The L button restores the board to its original state. Complete the first set of 25 boards (Normal), and an additional 25 open up (Hard). Complete those, and another set can be accessed (Special). After completing the first 75 stages, the final quarter opens up (Mania). Clear all 100 boards, and you can change the Chu-chus into Nightopians from NiGHTS.

   Puzzle Edit allows you to create your own Puzzle boards to sic on your friends. You can pretty much do anything you want, but your puzzle cannot be saved unless it is possible for all the Chu-chus to make it to safety. Other limits include a max of 100 Chu-chus, 20 Kapu-kapus, and 30 Rockets on any given board. Once your puzzle is complete, you can save it to your VMU (3 blocks per puzzle, 25 max) and upload it to the ChuČ Lobby for all to appreciate your genius. You can even name your puzzles.

   Network is Chu-chu Rocket!'s star attraction. In the ChuČ Lobby, you can play against (or just chat with) players around the globe via the oh-so-convenient Dreamcast modem. When playing online, there's about a two second delay between when you push the button and when the Yajirushi Panel actually gets placed... this lag can be remarkably aggravating, but at least everyone's forced to work with the same disadvantage.

   Homepage takes you to the ChuČ page on the DC network. There you can read about upcoming events in the Lobby, check out gameplay hints, download special VMU files, and all that good stuff... just like the Sonic Adventure network page. Here's a history of updates:

• Sonic Team Challenge (Japan) -- Available on December 17, 1999. Twenty-five new levels for Puzzle mode presented by Famitsu DC. A few of 'em are tricky, but many of them can be solved with less than the alotted set of Yajirushi Panels. 75 blocks.
• Test character (Japan) -- Changes the Chu-chus into weird yellow tadpole thingies and the Kapu-kapus into big red Q-bert things. Posted very briefly as a test. 34 blocks.
• Doraneko character (Japan) -- Available on December 24, 1999. Changes the Chu-chus into super-deformed mice and the Kapu-kapus into super-deformed cats based on the Doraneko Theater (stray cat theater) manga series from Aspect Comix. 34 blocks.
• UFO character -- Available on April 28, 2000 in Japan and May 5, 2000 in the US. Changes the Chu-chus into cows and the Kapu-kapus into flying saucers. 34 blocks.

   As with all Dreamcast internet games, all of the network servers are history, so going online with ChuČ is no longer possible.

   The final option is, um, Options. You can toggle between Japanese and English voices, enjoy a sound test, or change the Chu-chus and Kapu-kapus into one of the bonus or downloaded characters.

   The game was released in November of '99 in Japan, along with an infamous television commercial that simply cannot be described. Whether because the game is in fact freaking fun or merely because the TV ad had all of Japan scared into submission, the game received very positive reviews, and for its first week shot straight to the top of the sales charts. (Unfortunately, it plummeted back down thereafter, but even a week at the one spot was remarkable for a Dreamcast title in Japan.) The full package included a limited edition transparent orange DC controller.

   The internet functions were put to immediate use, with a couple of promotions in tandem with the well-respected Famitsu magazine. The first, which came immediately after the game's release, offered prizes to contestants who could finish 25 special puzzles designed by Famitsu's editors. In Christmas '99, an additional contest was made available featuring 25 special holiday puzzles, along with a VMS (VMU) download to change the Chu-chus into characters based on the popular Doraneko Theater manga.

• "Chu" is the syllable used in Japan to describe the sound mice make. It's the equivalent of "squeak" in English.
• The similarity between Chu-chu Rocket! and Psygnosis' classic PC puzzle game Lemmings is probably more than coincidence. Lemmings is one of Yuji Naka's personal favorite games, and it's safe to assume that the mass suicide of maniacal rodents is the theme that inspired ChuČ.
• Chu-chu Rocket! was the first game both produced and directed by Yuji Naka.