What is Robot Boom^™ and the Robot Boom^™ Toolbar?

Robot Boom™ is an addictive keyboard mash game, currently in beta, that puts you in control of battle-ready robots located inside a hidden and protected Pod Room. On a far-away planet. That has, to put it gently, seen better times.

Add to that, the fact YOU have no idea how you got here. Or even where "here" is supposed to be. What you do know? There's no end to the number of rogue bots ready for a fight the minute you deploy one of your robots into this strange world.

Along the way, your robots fight to win battles for weapon upgrades, increases in a robot's strength, and the chance to unlock more powerful robots found in their darkened pods deep within the Pod Room.

Your Robot Boom™ Toolbar offers you one-click access to the Robot Boom game, your Pod Room, and your rankings - from anywhere on the web. It also features a number of classic arcade games, recent video game reviews, news and more. Plus, a convenient search box with terrific web search results. (The use of this search box helps fund Robot Boom and any future enhancements we hope to make to the game.)

How do I play Robot Boom^™?

With heart. Passion. And the strong desire to destroy evil robots out to wreak havoc wherever they roam. This, without you entirely knowing where you are, how you got there, or what robots lie within the darkened pods inside your Pod Room.

Got what it takes? Then you're a boomer. Here's what you need to know:

Getting started
Once you register for Robot Boom using your Facebook® account, you'll be given a choice of three robots, each with unique status levels of Life, Shield and Attack attributes. (Tip: Mouse over each of the robots for a brief description.)

Don't have a Facebook® account? Click here to get one – then game on.

Choosing your robot
To begin, choose the robot that speaks to you. In some ways, you're adopting a robot. One you'll be naming, caring for (charging, repairing), upgrading (applying skill points earned with every won battle), and using to blast the #%@! out of other robots. So, yeah. Go with your heart.

The robot you select resides in your protected Pod Room. (More about that place in a minute.) Your bot is ready to go - just click the Battle button and an opponent and battlefield will be assigned. Then... hold on. Your robot will be dropped into battle seconds later. Time to get booming.

Boom On
To battle, use your keyboard's arrow keys to move right, left and jump (up arrow). The down arrow creates your robot's shield. (You can also use the traditional A, S, D, W keys to move.) And perhaps most importantly, the space bar fires your weapon. You're going to be using that key A LOT.

Pod, Sweet Pod Room
After your robot battles, win or lose, it will return to its pod in your Pod Room.

Once there, your robot is ready to be charged and repaired. Even a win is not without its share of expelled energy and body damage. Failing to charge and repair your robot means its performance will suffer during the next battle.

If your robot won its previous battle, you will be notified in your Pod Room that you have 1 Skill Point you can apply to the attribute of your choice – Life, Shield or Attack. (Note: You can unlock up to two weapon upgrades per robot by applying points to the Attack level.)

If your robot lost its previous battle, well... wipe away those tears. Then power up and repair, and get back out there. This disheveled planet needs you.

Unlocking Robots
Inside your Pod Room you will notice a series of darkened pods that are locked. Each one holds an inactive robot. To unlock the pod and activate that robot, you must earn the number of wins posted outside the pod. (For example, "17 of 50" would mean you've earned 17 wins toward the 50 total wins required to unlock that robot.)

Once you unlock any robot, you will be asked to name it. Then it's yours, ready to battle at a moment's notice. (Note: Cumulative wins from all your robots count toward the win total required to unlock your next robot.)

Rankings
Anyone who has ever improved their game play in any game has become fascinated with rankings. And Robot Boom has a beta Leaderboard that should make you smile. If not become addicted.

Every robot begins in the "Rust League", and you can advance to higher leagues based on your Skill Rating. Your Skill Rating is calibrated after every battle performance based on whether you won or lost, as well as factoring in the Skill Rating of your opposition.

Any time one of your robots moves up a league, you will be notified after that battle. Likewise, if your robot drops down a league – oh yes, you can move down, too – you will also be notified. Should you get a slow start with a new robot, take solace in the fact you can't fall lower than the Rust League.

Note: You can check the latest rankings by clicking "My Rankings" on your Robot Boom™ Toolbar.

What do I do if I don't have a Facebook® account?

In order to register and play Robot Boom, you will need a Facebook® account. Robot Boom uses your Facebook® log-in as your ID for storing and retrieving your Robot Boom stats and progress so that you can pick up wherever it was that you left off the last time you played.

If you do not have a Facebook® account, simply go to facebook.com and register for a free account, then return to Robot Boom from your toolbar.

My battle ended in what looked like a draw. But I got the loss. What gives?

The Robot Boom game awards any battle's win to the robot that destroyed its opponent first. Down to a fraction of a second.

So while the game's graphics may have made it appear to your eyes that both robots were destroyed simultaneously, please trust us that the battle result was accurate. (We'd hate to have to send a Sentinel Bot after you.)

What happens after I unlock all my robots?

Keep battling! With every unlocked robot comes the opportunity to earn more wins with it and upgrade its weapon level and overall strength. (You wouldn't adopt a sixth dog and just walk away from it, would you? Especially if that dog was a two-story robot that had been locked away for a very long time without a hug.)

Seriously, though, while the beta game currently has a limit to the number of robots you can unlock, we've created it so you can continue to play for many, many hours of enjoyment. User feedback, and overall interest in the game and its various features will help us decide what's next for Robot Boom. We hope to make it fantastic.

Can I compare my robots to others? Is there a leaderboard?

Yes, you can compare your robots status as a group, or individually against the larger Robot Boom™ population of gamers. Just click the My Rankings button on your Robot Boom™ Toolbar for quick access from anywhere on the web, or click the Rankings button on the homepage or Pod Room from within the game to check out the latest leaderboard updates.

What does it mean to be in beta?

Here's the deal: A small team of designers, programmers, writers and engineers worked to create Robot Boom in a short period of time. And by "small team" we mean we'd struggle to put together a starting five for a company basketball league.

So... after a lot of work, we were eager to get Robot Boom out for the world to play.

Beta means you may experience occasional bugs, latency in game play, or "dumb" opposing robots (Dr. Theopolis, they're not). But we're working on fixing those things. Some just take longer to address than others. (You try teaching a MAXX robot Calculus.)

We're proud of what we've created. And with your help, it will only get better. So if you like what you see, tell your friends to download and play Robot Boom, too. The more popular this beta game becomes, the more we'll be able to improve upon what we've created.

Does the Robot Boom^™ Toolbar track where I go on the Internet?

No, the Robot Boom Toolbar does not monitor or report information about where you are traveling or what you do on Web sites. It offers you access to Robot Boom from anywhere on the web, as well as a number of classic arcade favorites, game reviews and more. All for free.

Is the Robot Boom^™ Toolbar adware or spyware?

Absolutely not. The Robot Boom Toolbar was specifically designed to provide a great user experience free of spyware, adware, direct marketing, data collection or other similar activities. (After all, your only concern after installing this toolbar should be focused around destroying other robots.)

In order to achieve that goal:

• The toolbar software DOES NOT monitor the websites visited by the end user, collect or in any manner report any information about what sites an end users visits (or any click stream activity), nor does it monitor or scrape information when you are on other sites.
• The toolbar software DOES NOT serve or facilitate so-called "contextual advertising" where pop-up ads are served based on the sites you visit. Many applications are identified as spyware because they monitor end-user Internet usage and serve contextual pop-ups. The toolbar does not engage in any such practices.

In short, the Robot Boom Toolbar provides a superior search experience on an ANONYMOUS basis and without any additional monitoring, contextual ads or other nuisances.

How do I "uninstall" the Robot Boom^™ Toolbar?

We would hate to see you go, but you can easily uninstall the toolbar using the instructions below:

Internet Explorer of Firefox:

Windows XP

1. From your computer's 'Start' button, select 'Settings', then 'Control Panel'
2. Double-click on 'Add/Remove Programs'
3. Select the Toolbar name – Robot Boom - that is installed on your computer.
4. Click 'Remove'.
5. You may need to reboot your computer to completely remove the toolbar.

Windows Vista

1. From your computer's 'Start' button, select 'Control Panel'
2. Double-click on 'Programs and Features'
3. Select the Toolbar name – Root Boom - that is installed on your computer.
4. Click 'Remove'.
5. You may need to reboot your computer to completely remove the toolbar.

Windows 7

1. From your computer's 'Start' button, select 'Control Panel'
2. Click the "Uninstall a Program" option found under the "Programs" category
3. Select the Toolbar name – Robot Boom - that is installed on your computer.
4. Click "Remove"
5. You may need to reboot your computer to completely remove the toolbar.

Google Chrome:

1. Click on the wrench icon at the top right of your Chrome browser
2. From the dropdown menu, hover over "Tools" and select "Extensions" from the submenu
3. From the list of installed Extensions, find the Robot Boom entry
4. Click the 'Uninstall' link under the Robot Boom listing, and then confirm by clicking "Uninstall" in the dialog that pops up
5. Close your browser completely and reopen it. The Robot Boom toolbar extension should be removed from your Chrome browser.

Safari:

1. At the top of your browser select Safari from the menu bar.
2. Select Preferences from the dropdown menu.
3. Click on the "Extensions" tab.
4. Highlight the Robot Boom extension.
5. Click the Uninstall button.

It is important to note that you will continue to see the toolbar until you have completely restarted your browser.

Should you reopen your Web browser and still see the Robot Boom™ Toolbar, you may need to restart your computer for the uninstall process to be completed.

Couldn't find your question?

For any additional questions or concerns regarding the use of this product, please click here.