Q*bert is the player’s on-screen avatar in Gottlieb’s 1982 arcade game Q*bert.
Q*bert is an orange, long-nosed creature who hops diagonally around a pyramid of cubes. The central goal is to change the cubes to their required colors while avoiding enemies and hazards. Because movement follows the pyramid’s diagonal edges, the game feels different from a conventional platform or maze game.
Several characters interfere with Q*bert’s progress. Coily begins as a purple ball and transforms into a snake after reaching the bottom of the pyramid. Ugg and Wrongway move in unusual directions, while Slick and Sam reverse completed cube changes. These names are often confused with the player character because they appear prominently during play.
The game’s speech effects, including its famous nonsensical exclamation when Q*bert falls, were produced with audio hardware rather than conventional spoken dialogue. Q*bert became a recognizable arcade mascot and later appeared in merchandise, cartoons, and crossover games.