Gold Miner Jack

Jack works with the same equipment as any other miner, but this version adds a quota to each stage. Reach the target before the clock empties or the run ends right there with no continuation.

Having a figure to hit gives the game a different temperature from the version that lets you collect at your own pace. Every wasted swing now carries a cost you feel immediately, because it narrows the time remaining. Some players like it considerably more for that, and some like it considerably less.

The strategy that follows is to bank the certain hauls early until you are close to the target, then gamble on something large at the end if you still fall short. Gambling first and missing is the most common reason people fail a stage, when the remaining time would have been sufficient had the easy pieces gone in first.