Oil's Well takes players to an oil-rich drilling site practically dripping with black gold ready for the taking. All the gamer has to do is touch the oil pellets with the drill bit to pump the precious stuff to the surface. The only problem is that maverick oil barons, jealous of the fortune, have planted land mines and evil, lurking Oozies in the field to work their mischief. If the Oozies touch the pipeline, they eat right through its metal casing and it's back to step one to try again.


There's only one way to eliminate an Oozie, and that's to gulp it down in the drill bit. But the roaming land mines are a different story - while they can't harm the pipeline itself, one touch destroys the drill bit completely.


The best - and most innovative - part of the game is the player's option to retract the pipeline with a press of the joystick's action button. Since the drill bit can't reverse its direction once it establishes a pipeline, retracting the line is the easiest and best way to deal with approaching Oozies - or just to change direction. The pipeline can be shortened a little (press the button quickly) or a lot (a longer press) depending on the situation at hand.


Munching a petromin slows down the enemies, while gulping a goblet is worth plenty of points. Eight different levels, as well as three skill settings, make this a challenge to any home arcader.