Reorder if statements in Unequal's interpret_move() so that presses
[sgt/puzzles] / puzzles.but
CommitLineData
e91825f8 1\title Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection
2
3\cfg{winhelp-filename}{puzzles.hlp}
4\cfg{winhelp-contents-titlepage}{Contents}
5
6\cfg{text-filename}{puzzles.txt}
7
fccfd04d 8\cfg{html-contents-filename}{index.html}
8709d5d9 9\cfg{html-template-filename}{%k.html}
10\cfg{html-index-filename}{docindex.html}
fccfd04d 11\cfg{html-leaf-level}{1}
12\cfg{html-contents-depth-0}{1}
13\cfg{html-contents-depth-1}{2}
14\cfg{html-leaf-contains-contents}{true}
15
e91825f8 16\cfg{info-filename}{puzzles.info}
17
18\cfg{ps-filename}{puzzles.ps}
19\cfg{pdf-filename}{puzzles.pdf}
20
1d8e8ad8 21\define{by} \u00D7{x}
22
f1010613 23\define{dash} \u2013{-}
24
e91825f8 25This is a collection of small one-player puzzle games.
26
07a54e52 27\copyright This manual is copyright 2004-2008 Simon Tatham. All rights
e91825f8 28reserved. You may distribute this documentation under the MIT licence.
29See \k{licence} for the licence text in full.
30
8709d5d9 31\cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">}
e91825f8 32
8709d5d9 33\versionid $Id$
e91825f8 34
35\C{intro} Introduction
36
37I wrote this collection because I thought there should be more small
38desktop toys available: little games you can pop up in a window and
39play for two or three minutes while you take a break from whatever
8a771ea7 40else you were doing. And I was also annoyed that every time I found
41a good game on (say) \i{Unix}, it wasn't available the next time I
42was sitting at a \i{Windows} machine, or vice versa; so I arranged
43that everything in my personal puzzle collection will happily run on
bb219ea1 44both, and have more recently done a port to \i{Mac OS X} as well. When I
8a771ea7 45find (or perhaps invent) further puzzle games that I like, they'll
46be added to this collection and will immediately be available on
47both platforms. And if anyone feels like writing any other front
f1010613 48ends \dash PocketPC, Mac OS pre-10, or whatever it might be \dash
49then all the games in this framework will immediately become
50available on another platform as well.
e91825f8 51
aafaa7fb 52The actual games in this collection were mostly not my invention; they
53are re-implementations of existing game concepts within my portable
54puzzle framework. I do not claim credit, in general, for inventing the
55rules of any of these puzzles. (I don't even claim authorship of all
56the code; some of the puzzles have been submitted by other authors.)
e91825f8 57
58This collection is distributed under the \i{MIT licence} (see
59\k{licence}). This means that you can do pretty much anything you like
60with the game binaries or the code, except pretending you wrote them
61yourself, or suing me if anything goes wrong.
62
63The most recent versions, and \i{source code}, can be found at
64\I{website}\W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}.
65
66Please report \I{feedback}\i{bugs} to
67\W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\cw{anakin@pobox.com}.
68You might find it helpful to read this article before reporting a bug:
69
70\W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}
71
72\ii{Patches} are welcome. Especially if they provide a new front end
73(to make all these games run on another platform), or a new game.
74
75
76\C{common} \ii{Common features}
77
78This chapter describes features that are common to all the games.
79
80\H{common-actions} \I{controls}Common actions
81
82These actions are all available from the \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu
83and via \I{keys}keyboard shortcuts, in addition to any game-specific
84actions.
85
bb219ea1 86(On \i{Mac OS X}, to conform with local user interface standards, these
3101ae26 87actions are situated on the \I{File menu}\q{File} and \I{Edit
bacaa96e 88menu}\q{Edit} menus instead.)
89
e91825f8 90\dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N})
91
92\dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state.
93
2b06373b 94\dt \ii\e{Restart game}
e91825f8 95
2b06373b 96\dd Resets the current game to its initial state. (This can be undone.)
e91825f8 97
668be019 98\dt \ii\e{Load}
99
100\dd Loads a saved game from a file on disk.
101
102\dt \ii\e{Save}
103
104\dd Saves the current state of your game to a file on disk.
105
106\lcont{
107
ff359b8a 108The Load and Save operations preserve your entire game
668be019 109history (so you can save, reload, and still Undo and Redo things you
110had done before saving).
111
112}
113
3c9388ef 114\dt \I{printing, on Windows}\e{Print}
e28d0584 115
116\dd Where supported (currently only on Windows), brings up a dialog
117allowing you to print an arbitrary number of puzzles randomly
118generated from the current parameters, optionally including the
3c9388ef 119current puzzle. (Only for puzzles which make sense to print, of
120course - it's hard to think of a sensible printable representation
121of Fifteen!)
e28d0584 122
e91825f8 123\dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_})
124
125\dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the
2b06373b 126session.)
e91825f8 127
2b06373b 128\dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R})
e91825f8 129
2b06373b 130\dd Redoes a previously undone move.
e91825f8 131
bacaa96e 132\dt \ii\e{Copy}
133
134\dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text
135format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a
136web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else.
137(Not all games support this feature.)
138
2ac6d24e 139\dt \ii\e{Solve}
140
141\dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some
142games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of
143no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved
144state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a
145solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a
146mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution
147tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does
148provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment
149with set-piece moves and transformations.
150
151\lcont{
152
153Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have
154typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot
155solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did
156invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still
157other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only
158if they aren't too difficult.
159
e8124727 160The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo
161chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to
162solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo.
163
2ac6d24e 164}
165
e91825f8 166\dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q})
167
168\dd Closes the application entirely.
169
1185e3c5 170\H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID}
171
172There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and
173recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the
174same puzzle.
175
176The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the
bb219ea1 177\I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on \i{Mac OS X}) each
1185e3c5 178show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to
179reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date.
180
181You can enter either of these pieces of text back into the program
182(via the same \q{Specific} or \q{Random Seed} menu options) at a
183later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use
184either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see
185\k{common-cmdline} for more detail.
186
187The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID
188is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game,
189whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was
190provided as input to the random number generator used to create the
191puzzle. This means that:
192
193\b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although
194some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions).
195So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle
196you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can
197play the same one as you.
198
199\b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically
200generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you
201can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid
202puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or
203more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a
204random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody
205has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before
206anybody else.
207
208\b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such
209as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive
210game IDs suitable for use with these programs.
211
212\b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you
213use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This
214is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or
215modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a
216different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use
217a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the
218same version of the program as yours.
219
220\lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number
221of the program. Programs with the same version number running on
222different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)}
223
224\I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which
225encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid
226size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of
227the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string
228of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by
229arbitrary data.
230
231If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to
232show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't
233generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed,
234however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game
235ID derived from that random seed.
236
237Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical
238between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data
239provided with the random seed which is not included in the
240descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is
241only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important
242when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo
243(\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID.
244
245These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type
246in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced}
247difficulty level, and then a friend wants your help with a
248\q{Trivial} puzzle; so the friend reads out a random seed specifying
249\q{Trivial} difficulty, and you type it in. The program will
250generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having
251trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask
252for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced}
253difficulty which it was previously set on.
e91825f8 254
255\H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu
256
257The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of
258\i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new
259random game with the parameters specified.
260
1185e3c5 261The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which
262allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters
263available are specific to each game and are described in the
264following sections.
e91825f8 265
266\H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line}
267
bb219ea1 268(This section does not apply to the \i{Mac OS X} version.)
8a771ea7 269
e91825f8 270The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save
271information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score
272tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least
273some people to play them at work, and those people will probably
274appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!)
275
bb219ea1 276However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to
277\I{default parameters, specifying}default to a particular set of
278parameters, you can specify them on the command line.
e91825f8 279
280The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want
281using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select
1185e3c5 282\q{Random Seed} from the \q{Game} or \q{File} menu (see
283\k{common-id}). The text in the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of
284two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents
285the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and
286anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu).
e91825f8 287
288If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command
289line, it will start up with the settings you specified.
290
291For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron}
292from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you
1185e3c5 293will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only
294the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text
295on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}.
e91825f8 296
297If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game
298will start up in the specific game that was described. This is
299occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID
300than by pasting it into the game ID selection box.
301
1185e3c5 302(You could also retrieve the encoded game parameters using the
303\q{Specific} menu option instead of \q{Random Seed}, but if you do
304then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be
305missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.)
306
bb219ea1 307\H{common-unix-cmdline} \i{Unix} \i{command-line} options
3c9388ef 308
309(This section only applies to the Unix port.)
310
ff359b8a 311In addition to being able to specify game parameters on the command
312line (see \k{common-cmdline}), there are various other options:
313
314\dt \cw{--game}
315
316\dt \cw{--load}
317
318\dd These options respectively determine whether the command-line
319argument is treated as specifying game parameters or a \i{save} file
320to \i{load}. Only one should be specified. If neither of these options
321is specified, a guess is made based on the format of the argument.
3c9388ef 322
323\dt \cw{--generate }\e{n}
324
325\dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being displayed,
bb219ea1 326a number of descriptive game IDs will be \I{generating game IDs}invented
327and printed on standard output. This is useful for gaining access to
328the game generation algorithms without necessarily using the frontend.
3c9388ef 329
330\lcont{
331
332If game parameters are specified on the command-line, they will be
333used to generate the game IDs; otherwise a default set of parameters
334will be used.
335
336The most common use of this option is in conjunction with \c{--print},
337in which case its behaviour is slightly different; see below.
338
339}
340
341\dt \I{printing, on Unix}\cw{--print }\e{w}\cw{x}\e{h}
342
343\dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being displayed,
344a printed representation of one or more unsolved puzzles is sent to
345standard output, in \i{PostScript} format.
346
347\lcont{
348
349On each page of puzzles, there will be \e{w} across and \e{h} down. If
350there are more puzzles than \e{w}\by\e{h}, more than one page will be
351printed.
352
353If \c{--generate} has also been specified, the invented game IDs will
354be used to generate the printed output. Otherwise, a list of game IDs
355is expected on standard input (which can be descriptive or random
356seeds; see \k{common-id}), in the same format produced by
357\c{--generate}.
358
359For example:
360
361\c net --generate 12 --print 2x3 7x7w | lpr
362
363will generate two pages of printed Net puzzles (each of which will
364have a 7\by\.7 wrapping grid), and pipe the output to the \c{lpr}
365command, which on many systems will send them to an actual printer.
366
367There are various other options which affect printing; see below.
368
369}
370
8b5625f5 371\dt \cw{--save }\e{file-prefix} [ \cw{--save-suffix }\e{file-suffix} ]
372
373\dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being
374displayed, saved-game files for one or more unsolved puzzles are
375written to files constructed from the supplied prefix and/or suffix.
376
377\lcont{
378
379If \c{--generate} has also been specified, the invented game IDs will
380be used to generate the printed output. Otherwise, a list of game IDs
381is expected on standard input (which can be descriptive or random
382seeds; see \k{common-id}), in the same format produced by
383\c{--generate}.
384
385For example:
386
387\c net --generate 12 --save game --save-suffix .sav
388
389will generate twelve Net saved-game files with the names
390\cw{game0.sav} to \cw{game11.sav}.
391
392}
393
3c9388ef 394\dt \cw{--version}
395
396\dd Prints version information about the game, and then quits.
397
398The following options are only meaningful if \c{--print} is also
399specified:
400
401\dt \cw{--with-solutions}
402
403\dd The set of pages filled with unsolved puzzles will be followed by
404the solutions to those puzzles.
405
406\dt \cw{--scale }\e{n}
407
408\dd Adjusts how big each puzzle is when printed. Larger numbers make
409puzzles bigger; the default is 1.0.
410
411\dt \cw{--colour}
412
413\dd Puzzles will be printed in colour, rather than in black and white
414(if supported by the puzzle).
415
e28d0584 416
e91825f8 417\C{net} \i{Net}
418
419\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net}
420
421(\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called
422\i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.)
423
424I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet}
6e8e5c51 425\k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other
426implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a
e91825f8 427network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then
428shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to
429rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an
6e8e5c51 430entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter
431clause means that there are no closed paths within the network.
432Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid,
e91825f8 433all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are
434highlighted.
435
436\B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}
437
438\H{net-controls} \i{Net controls}
439
440\IM{Net controls} controls, for Net
441\IM{Net controls} keys, for Net
442\IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net
443
444This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The
445controls are:
446
447\dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys
448
449\dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key
450
451\dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key
452
118473f5 453\dt \e{Rotate tile by 180 degrees}: \q{F} key
454
e91825f8 455\dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key
456
457\dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can
458also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally
459turn it.
460
f0ee053c 461The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may
462be useful:
463
464\dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys
465
466\dd On grids that wrap, you can move the origin of the grid, so that
467tiles that were on opposite sides of the grid can be seen together.
468
469\dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys
470
471\dd You can change which tile is used as the source of highlighting.
472(It doesn't ultimately matter which tile this is, as every tile will
473be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be
474helpful in the intermediate stages of solving the puzzle.)
475
cbb5549e 476\dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key
477
478\dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random
479orientations.
480
e91825f8 481(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
482
483\H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters
484
485These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
486\q{Type} menu.
487
488\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
489
490\dd Size of grid in tiles.
491
492\dt \e{Walls wrap around}
493
494\dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge,
495and from top to bottom, and vice versa.
496
497\dt \e{Barrier probability}
498
499\dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable
500barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a
501higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they
502act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints).
503
504\lcont{
505
506The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the
507barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if
1185e3c5 508you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle
509(see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter,
510and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the
511same starting grid, with the only change being the number of
512barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint,
513you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same
514parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed
515from the original Net window.
e91825f8 516
517}
518
40fde884 519\dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
520
521\dd Normally, Net will make sure that the puzzles it presents have
522only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
523difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this
524feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all}
525the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an
526advanced player.)
527
e28d0584 528
e91825f8 529\C{cube} \i{Cube}
530
531\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube}
532
533This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a
534Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16
535squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move
536is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that
537it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue
538square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you
539roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is
540put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces
541that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue
542squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your
543moves and try to do it in as few as possible.
544
545Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature:
546once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid,
547you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an
548octahedron or an icosahedron.
549
550\B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}
551
552\H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls}
553
554\IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube
555\IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube
556\IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube
557
a1d5acff 558This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
e91825f8 559
a1d5acff 560Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other
561solid) towards the mouse pointer.
562
563The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in
564the four cardinal directions.
e91825f8 565On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is
566more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't
567make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric
568keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement.
569
570(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
571
572\H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters
573
574These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
575\q{Type} menu.
576
577\dt \e{Type of solid}
578
579\dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid):
580tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron.
581
582\dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom}
583
584\dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a
585triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows
586respectively.
587
588
589\C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen}
590
591\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen}
592
1d8e8ad8 593The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}}
594with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares
595contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to
596choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space.
597The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the
598space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the
599bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}).
e91825f8 600
601\H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls}
602
603\IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen
604\IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen
605\IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen
606
607This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard.
608
609A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty
610space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the
611mouse pointer.
612
613The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction
614indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction).
615
616(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
617
618\H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters
619
620The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
621menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once
622you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!)
623
624
625\C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen}
626
627\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen}
628
629Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see
630\k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no
631hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move
632is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up
633or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid
634re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just
635vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on
636the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try
637playing on different sizes of grid.
638
639I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if
640so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I
641thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling
642that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle
643rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one
644thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part
645rather than just engineering.
646
647\H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls
648
3e17893b 649Left-clicking on an arrow will move the appropriate row or column in
650the direction indicated. Right-clicking will move it in the opposite
651direction.
652
653Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the position indicator
654around the edge of the grid, and use the return key to move the
655row/column in the direction indicated.
e91825f8 656
657(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
658
659\H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters
660
81875211 661The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
662\q{Type} menu are:
663
664\b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
665
666\b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on
667the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way
668that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can
669override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to
670be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise
671set of shuffling moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer
672(say) a four-move shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the
673more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter
674than the target length will turn out to be possible.
675
e91825f8 676
9038fd11 677\C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle}
678
679\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle}
680
681Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen
682(see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each
683containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into
684ascending order.
685
686In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four
a3631c72 687tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in
688the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced
689settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles.
9038fd11 690
691I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid
692Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle
693you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I
694developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle.
695
696\H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls
697
698To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group
699you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square,
700which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles
701meet.
702
703In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at
704a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in
705the centre tile of the square you want to rotate.
706
707Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise.
708Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise.
709
710(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
711
712\H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters
713
714Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom}
715option on the \q{Type} menu:
716
717\b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid.
718
719\b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time.
720
721\b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable
722(the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there
723are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim
724is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into
725the second row, and so on.
726
a3631c72 727\b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If
d50832a3 728you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle
729drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete
730the puzzle.
a3631c72 731
81875211 732\b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on
733the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any
734arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this
735by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed.
736Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling
737moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move
738shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask
739for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target
740length will turn out to be possible.
741
9038fd11 742
e91825f8 743\C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles}
744
745\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles}
746
747You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all)
748of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of
749various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one
750numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the
751number written in its numbered square.
752
753Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli}
26801d29 754\k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle
755Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's
756implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of
757any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not
758quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side
759you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own
760specification.
e91825f8 761
6ae37301 762\B{nikoli-rect} \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/7/index_text-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/7/index_text-e.htm}
e91825f8 763
6ae37301 764\B{puzzle-palace-rect} \W{http://www.puzzle.gr.jp/puzzle/sikaku/palm/index.html.en}\cw{http://www.puzzle.gr.jp/puzzle/sikaku/palm/index.html.en}
e91825f8 765
766\H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls
767
7b3481c8 768This game is played with the mouse or cursor keys.
769
770Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or left-click and drag to draw
771an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any existing
772edges within that rectangle). Right-clicking and dragging will allow you
773to erase the contents of a rectangle without affecting its edges.
774
775Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the position indicator
776around the board. Pressing the return key then allows you to use the
777cursor keys to drag a rectangle out from that position, and pressing
778the return key again completes the rectangle. Using the space bar
779instead of the return key allows you to erase the contents of a
780rectangle without affecting its edges, as above.
e91825f8 781
782When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded.
783
784(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
785
786\H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters
787
40fde884 788These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
789\q{Type} menu.
790
791\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
792
793\dd Size of grid, in squares.
794
795\dt \e{Expansion factor}
aea3ed9a 796
40fde884 797\dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by
798the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large
799rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask
aea3ed9a 800Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size
801you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns.
802
40fde884 803\lcont{
804
aea3ed9a 805The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will
806simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing
807further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that
808each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big
809after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the
810size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size
811without adding any more rectangles.
812
4a03dbb4 813Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game
814more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive
815and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high,
816though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles
817to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial.
aea3ed9a 818
40fde884 819}
820
821\dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
822
823\dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents
824have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
825difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this
826feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the
827possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced
828player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation.
829
6ae37301 830
e91825f8 831\C{netslide} \i{Netslide}
832
833\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide}
834
6bbab0fe 835This game combines the grid generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the
836movement of Sixteen (see \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but
837instead of rotating tiles back into place you have to slide them
838into place by moving a whole row at a time.
e91825f8 839
3e17893b 840As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse or
841cursor keys. See \k{sixteen-controls}.
e91825f8 842
aa27d493 843\I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar
844meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see
845\k{sixteen-params}).
e91825f8 846
6bbab0fe 847Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton.
6ae37301 848
e28d0584 849
b6b0369e 850\C{pattern} \i{Pattern}
851
852\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern}
853
854You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black
855or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the
856runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the
857lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to
858fill in the entire grid black or white.
859
860I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name
2e1e03ff 861\q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under
b6b0369e 862different names.
863
864Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture
865of something once you've solved them. However, since this version
866generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random
867groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually
868a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of
869squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.)
870The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them.
871
2e1e03ff 872\H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls
b6b0369e 873
874This game is played with the mouse.
875
876Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it
877white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down
878Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the
879default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again.
880
881You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour
882a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time
883(respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or
884with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares
885grey.
886
2e1e03ff 887(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
888
b6b0369e 889\H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters
890
891The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
892menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
e91825f8 893
6ae37301 894
1d8e8ad8 895\C{solo} \i{Solo}
896
897\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo}
898
81b09746 899You have a square grid, which is divided into as many equally sized
900sub-blocks as the grid has rows. Each square must be filled in with
901a digit from 1 to the size of the grid, in such a way that
1d8e8ad8 902
903\b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit
904
905\b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit
906
907\b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit.
908
81b09746 909\b (optionally, by default off) each of the square's two main
910diagonals contains only one occurrence of each digit.
911
1d8e8ad8 912You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the
913rest of the numbers correctly.
914
81b09746 915Under the default settings, the sub-blocks are square or
916rectangular. The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual
917grid, divided into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes
918with rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a
9196\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks). Alternatively, you
920can select \q{jigsaw} mode, in which the sub-blocks are arbitrary
921shapes which differ between individual puzzles.
1d8e8ad8 922
923If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the
924additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if
925you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1
926to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}.
927
3012ffca 928I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's
929also been popularised by various newspapers under the name
930\q{Sudoku} or \q{Su Doku}. Howard Garns is considered the inventor
931of the modern form of the puzzle, and it was first published in
932\e{Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games}. A more elaborate treatment
933of the history of the puzzle can be found on Wikipedia
934\k{wikipedia-solo}.
1d8e8ad8 935
6ae37301 936\B{nikoli-solo} \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/1/index_text-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/1/index_text-e.htm}
937
3012ffca 938\B{wikipedia-solo} \W{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku}\cw{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku}
939
1d8e8ad8 940\H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls
941
942To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
943type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you
944make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press
945Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature).
946
c8266e03 947If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that
948number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can
b63898fe 949have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. Squares
950containing filled-in numbers cannot also contain pencil marks.
c8266e03 951
952The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use
953them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a
954particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a
955particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible
956numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like.
957
958To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type
959the same number again.
960
961All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type
962a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and
963pressing space will also erase pencil marks.
964
b63898fe 965Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the mark around the grid.
966Pressing the return key toggles the mark (from a normal mark to a
967pencil mark), and typing a number in is entered in the square in the
968appropriate way; typing in a 0 or using the space bar will clear a
969filled square.
970
1d8e8ad8 971(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
972
973\H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters
974
975Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle
6ae37301 976grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of
977rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is
978the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows,
979each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.)
1d8e8ad8 980
81b09746 981If you tick the \q{X} checkbox, Solo will apply the optional extra
982constraint that the two main diagonals of the grid also contain one
fbd0fc79 983of every digit. (This is sometimes known as \q{Sudoku-X} in
984newspapers.) In this mode, the squares on the two main diagonals
985will be shaded slightly so that you know it's enabled.
986
81b09746 987If you tick the \q{Jigsaw} checkbox, Solo will generate randomly
988shaped sub-blocks. In this mode, the actual grid size will be taken
989to be the product of the numbers entered in the \q{Columns} and
990\q{Rows} boxes. There is no reason why you have to enter a number
991greater than 1 in both boxes; Jigsaw mode has no constraint on the
992grid size, and it can even be a prime number if you feel like it.
993
ef57b17d 994You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated
995puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also
996make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more
997clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles
998have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible.
999
7c568a48 1000Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles.
1001Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of
1002deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode
1003of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In
1004particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there
1005will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times,
1006whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make
1007partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in
e28d0584 1008(or the set of numbers that could be in a square).
1009\#{Advanced, Extreme?}
1010At \q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will
de60d8bd 1011eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out
1012to be wrong.
7c568a48 1013
c65d92ac 1014Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select one
1015of the higher difficulty levels, Solo may have to make many attempts
1016at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough for you. Be
1017prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured a large
1018puzzle size.
7c568a48 1019
ef57b17d 1020
7959b517 1021\C{mines} \i{Mines}
1022
1023\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines}
1024
1025You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but
1026you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does
1027\e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine,
1028you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you
1029are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding
1030squares.
1031
1032This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is
1033perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence.
1034
1035This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will
1036generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you
1037never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to
1038deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other
1039versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are
1040two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they
1041are.
1042
1043\H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls
1044
1045This game is played with the mouse.
1046
1047If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered.
1048
1049If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which
1050indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in
1051a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click
1052again to remove a mark placed in error.
1053
1054If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear
1055around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many
1056flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered
1057squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So
1058once you think you know the location of all the mines around a
1059square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to
1060click on each of the remaining squares one by one.
1061
1062If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding
1063eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in
1064turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This
1065will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a
1066square, a whole new area will open up to be explored.
1067
9c90045a 1068You can also use the cursor keys to move around the minefield.
1069Pressing the return key in a covered square uncovers it, and in an
1070uncovered square will clear around it (so it acts as the left button),
1071pressing the space bar in a covered square will place a flag
1072(similarly, it acts as the right button).
1073
11d31eb9 1074All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.
1075
7959b517 1076Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to
11d31eb9 1077use it. If you step on a mine, the program will only reveal the mine
1078in question (unlike most other implementations, which reveal all of
1079them). You can then Undo your fatal move and continue playing if you
1080like. The program will track the number of times you died (and Undo
1081will not reduce that counter), so when you get to the end of the
1082game you know whether or not you did it without making any errors.
1083
1084(If you really want to know the full layout of the grid, which other
1085implementations will show you after you die, you can always use the
1086Solve menu option.)
7959b517 1087
1088\H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters
1089
1090The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
1091menu are:
1092
1093\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1094
1095\dd Size of grid in squares.
1096
1097\dt \e{Mines}
1098
08781119 1099\dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute
1100mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in
1101which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares
1102in the grid to be mines.
1103
1104\lcont{
1105
1106Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities,
1107the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid.
1108
1109}
7959b517 1110
1111\dt \e{Ensure solubility}
1112
1113\dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will
1114ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the
1115initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by
1116other implementations, you can switch off this option.
1117
1118
6bbab0fe 1119\C{samegame} \i{Same Game}
1120
1121\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame}
1122
1123You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by
209ab5a7 1124highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square;
6bbab0fe 1125the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and
1126the faster you clear the arena).
1127
1128If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but
209ab5a7 1129single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you
6bbab0fe 1130lose.
1131
1132Removing a region causes the rest of the grid to shuffle up:
1133blocks that are suspended will fall down (first), and then empty
1134columns are filled from the right.
1135
6bbab0fe 1136Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1137
209ab5a7 1138\H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls}
1139
1140\IM{Same Game controls} controls, for Same Game
1141\IM{Same Game controls} keys, for Same Game
1142\IM{Same Game controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Same Game
1143
1144This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
6bbab0fe 1145
1146If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly
1147clearing the current selection).
1148
1149If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the
1150rest of the grid shuffled immediately).
1151
1152If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected.
1153
209ab5a7 1154The cursor keys move a cursor around the grid. Pressing the Space or
1155Enter keys while the cursor is in an unselected region selects it;
1156pressing Space or Enter again removes it as above.
1157
e28d0584 1158(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1159
6bbab0fe 1160\H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters
1161
209ab5a7 1162These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1163\q{Type} menu.
1164
6bbab0fe 1165\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1166
1167\dd Size of grid in squares.
1168
1169\dt \e{No. of colours}
1170
1171\dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours,
209ab5a7 1172the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to
1173successfully clear the grid.
1174
1175\dt \e{Scoring system}
1176
1177\dd Controls the precise mechanism used for scoring. With the default
1178system, \q{(n-2)^2}, only regions of three squares or more will score
1179any points at all. With the alternative \q{(n-1)^2} system, regions of
1180two squares score a point each, and larger regions score relatively
1181more points.
6bbab0fe 1182
e4a7ab56 1183\dt \e{Ensure solubility}
1184
1185\dd If this option is ticked (the default state), generated grids
1186will be guaranteed to have at least one solution.
1187
1188\lcont{
1189
1190If you turn it off, the game generator will not try to guarantee
1191soluble grids; it will, however, still ensure that there are at
1192least 2 squares of each colour on the grid at the start (since a
1193grid with exactly one square of a given colour is \e{definitely}
1194insoluble). Grids generated with this option disabled may contain
1195more large areas of contiguous colour, leading to opportunities for
1196higher scores; they can also take less time to generate.
1197
1198}
1199
f4afe206 1200
1201\C{flip} \i{Flip}
1202
1203\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip}
1204
1205You have a grid of squares, some light and some dark. Your aim is to
1206light all the squares up at the same time. You can choose any square
1207and flip its state from light to dark or dark to light, but when you
1208do so, other squares around it change state as well.
1209
1210Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares
1211change when you flip it.
1212
d6acbe63 1213\H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls}
f4afe206 1214
1215\IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip
1216\IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip
1217\IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip
1218
33317d37 1219This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1220
1221Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares, or
1222use the cursor keys to choose a square and the space bar or Enter
1223key to flip.
79cb09e9 1224
5f6050b4 1225If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of
1226the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red
1227mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square
1228\e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate
1229that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.)
f4afe206 1230
e28d0584 1231(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1232
f4afe206 1233\H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters
1234
1235These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1236\q{Type} menu.
1237
1238\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1239
1240\dd Size of grid in squares.
1241
1242\dt \e{Shape type}
1243
1244\dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped
1245by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses},
1246causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours
1247(or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting,
1248\q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so
1249the game is different every time.
1250
1251
c6203e43 1252\C{guess} \i{Guess}
1253
1254\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess}
1255
1256You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a
1257predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a
1258certain number of guesses.
1259
1260Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs
9ffde3e8 1261in the correct places (in black), and also the number of
1262correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white).
c6203e43 1263
1264This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as
bb219ea1 1265a board game \q{\i{Mastermind}}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row,
1266and 10 guesses. However, this version allows custom settings of number
1267of colours (up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses.
c6203e43 1268
64455a5a 1269Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1270
c6203e43 1271\H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls}
1272
1273\IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess
1274\IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess
1275\IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess
1276
9ffde3e8 1277This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1278
9c63a011 1279With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand
1280side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be
1281dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To
1282remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid.
c6203e43 1283
9ffde3e8 1284Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs
c6203e43 1285that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess
1286after marking.
1287
9ffde3e8 1288Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be
1289used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a
9c63a011 1290peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the
59dae0db 1291selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a
1292peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker.
9ffde3e8 1293
9c63a011 1294When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted;
9ffde3e8 1295clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys
9c63a011 1296and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess,
1297copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess}
1298marker.
c6203e43 1299
1300If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed
9ffde3e8 1301below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution
9c63a011 1302will also be revealed.
c6203e43 1303
e28d0584 1304(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1305
13b443e3 1306\H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for Guess}Guess parameters
c6203e43 1307
1308These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1309\q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the
9ffde3e8 1310board game \q{Mastermind}.
c6203e43 1311
1312\dt \e{Colours}
1313
1314\dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10
1315(more is harder).
1316
1317\dt \e{Pegs per guess}
1318
1319\dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder).
1320
1321\dt \e{Guesses}
1322
1323\dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder).
1324
1325\dt \e{Allow blanks}
1326
1327\dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because
1328you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This
1329is turned off by default.
1330
1331Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted
1332that, use one extra colour.
1333
1334\dt \e{Allow duplicates}
1335
1336\dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once;
1337this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by
1338default.
1339
1340
13b443e3 1341\C{pegs} \i{Pegs}
1342
1343\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pegs}
1344
1345A number of pegs are placed in holes on a board. You can remove a
33a3deb2 1346peg by jumping an adjacent peg over it (horizontally or vertically)
1347to a vacant hole on the other side. Your aim is to remove all but one
1348of the pegs initially present.
13b443e3 1349
e28d0584 1350This game, best known as \I{Solitaire, Peg}\q{Peg Solitaire}, is
1351possibly one of the oldest puzzle games still commonly known.
13b443e3 1352
1353\H{pegs-controls} \i{Pegs controls}
1354
1355\IM{Pegs controls} controls, for Pegs
1356
1357To move a peg, drag it with the mouse from its current position to
1358its final position. If the final position is exactly two holes away
1359from the initial position, is currently unoccupied by a peg, and
1360there is a peg in the intervening square, the move will be permitted
1361and the intervening peg will be removed.
1362
1363Vacant spaces which you can move a peg into are marked with holes. A
1364space with no peg and no hole is not available for moving at all: it
1365is an obstacle which you must work around.
1366
e88d61a4 1367You can also use the cursor keys to move a position indicator around
1368the board. Pressing the return key while over a peg, followed by a
1369cursor key, will jump the peg in that direction (if that is a legal
1370move).
1371
e28d0584 1372(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
13b443e3 1373
1374\H{pegs-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pegs}Pegs parameters
1375
1376These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1377\q{Type} menu.
1378
1379\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1380
1381\dd Size of grid in holes.
1382
1383\dt \e{Board type}
1384
1385\dd Controls whether you are given a board of a standard shape or a
1386randomly generated shape. The two standard shapes currently
1387supported are \q{Cross} and \q{Octagon} (also commonly known as the
1388English and European traditional board layouts respectively).
1389Selecting \q{Random} will give you a different board shape every
1390time (but always one that is known to have a solution).
1391
1392
6c04c334 1393\C{dominosa} \i{Dominosa}
1394
1395\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.dominosa}
1396
f1010613 1397A normal set of dominoes \dash that is, one instance of every
1398(unordered) pair of numbers from 0 to 6 \dash has been arranged
1399irregularly into a rectangle; then the number in each square has
1400been written down and the dominoes themselves removed. Your task is
1401to reconstruct the pattern by arranging the set of dominoes to match
1402the provided array of numbers.
6c04c334 1403
1404This puzzle is widely credited to O. S. Adler, and takes part of its
1405name from those initials.
1406
1407\H{dominosa-controls} \i{Dominosa controls}
1408
1409\IM{Dominosa controls} controls, for Dominosa
1410
1411Left-clicking between any two adjacent numbers places a domino
1412covering them, or removes one if it is already present. Trying to
1413place a domino which overlaps existing dominoes will remove the ones
1414it overlaps.
1415
1416Right-clicking between two adjacent numbers draws a line between
1417them, which you can use to remind yourself that you know those two
1418numbers are \e{not} covered by a single domino. Right-clicking again
1419removes the line.
1420
e28d0584 1421(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
6c04c334 1422
1423\H{dominosa-parameters} \I{parameters, for Dominosa}Dominosa parameters
1424
1425These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1426\q{Type} menu.
1427
1428\dt \e{Maximum number on dominoes}
1429
1430\dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by controlling the size of the
1431set of dominoes used to make it. Dominoes with numbers going up to N
1432will give rise to an (N+2) \by (N+1) rectangle; so, in particular,
1433the default value of 6 gives an 8\by\.7 grid.
1434
1435\dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
1436
1437\dd Normally, Dominosa will make sure that the puzzles it presents
1438have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
1439difficult and sometimes more subtle, so if you like you can turn off
1440this feature. Also, finding \e{all} the possible solutions can be an
1441additional challenge for an advanced player. Turning off this option
1442can also speed up puzzle generation.
1443
1444
9d6c3859 1445\C{untangle} \i{Untangle}
1446
1447\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.untangle}
1448
1449You are given a number of points, some of which have lines drawn
1450between them. You can move the points about arbitrarily; your aim is
1451to position the points so that no line crosses another.
1452
1453I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{Planarity}
1454\k{Planarity}, written by John Tantalo.
1455
1456\B{Planarity} \W{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}\cw{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}
1457
1458\H{untangle-controls} \i{Untangle controls}
1459
1460\IM{Untangle controls} controls, for Untangle
1461
1462To move a point, click on it with the left mouse button and drag it
1463into a new position.
1464
e28d0584 1465(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1466
9d6c3859 1467\H{untangle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Untangle}Untangle parameters
1468
1469There is only one parameter available from the \q{Custom...} option
1470on the \q{Type} menu:
1471
1472\dt \e{Number of points}
1473
1474\dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by specifying the number of
1475points in the generated graph.
1476
1477
bf7ebf5a 1478\C{blackbox} \i{Black Box}
1479
1480\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.blackbox}
1481
1482A number of balls are hidden in a rectangular arena. You have to
1483deduce the positions of the balls by firing lasers from positions
1484on the edge of the arena and observing how they are deflected.
1485
1486Lasers will fire straight until they hit the opposite side of the
1487arena (at which point they emerge), unless affected by balls in one of
1488the following ways:
1489
1490\b A laser that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never re-emerge.
1491 This includes lasers that meet a ball on the first rank of the arena.
1492
1493\b A laser with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees
1494 to the right.
1495
1496\b A laser with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected
1497 to the left.
1498
1499\b A laser that would re-emerge from the entry location is considered to be
ebf54ec9 1500 \q{reflected}.
bf7ebf5a 1501
a4c9750f 1502\b A laser which would get deflected before entering the arena (down the
1503 \q{firing range}) by a ball to the front-left or front-right of its
1504 entry point is also considered to be \q{reflected}.
bf7ebf5a 1505
ebf54ec9 1506Lasers that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; lasers that hit balls
1507dead-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing point
bf7ebf5a 1508and the location where the laser emerges (this number is unique to
1509that shot).
1510
1511You can place guesses as to the location of the balls, based on the
1512entry and exit patterns of the lasers; once you have placed enough
1513balls a button appears enabling you to have your guesses checked.
1514
1515Here is a diagram showing how the positions of balls can create each
1516of the laser behaviours shown above:
1517
1518\c 1RHR----
1519\c |..O.O...|
1520\c 2........3
1521\c |........|
1522\c |........|
1523\c 3........|
1524\c |......O.|
1525\c H........|
1526\c |.....O..|
1527\c 12-RH---
1528
1529As shown, it is possible for a ball to receive multiple reflections
1530before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a ball may be reflected
ebf54ec9 1531(possibly more than once) before receiving a hit (the \q{H} on the
bf7ebf5a 1532left side of the example).
1533
1534Note that any layout with more that 4 balls may have a non-unique
1535solution. The following diagram illustrates this; if you know the
1536board contains 5 balls, it is impossible to determine where the fifth
1537ball is (possible positions marked with an x):
1538
1539\c --------
1540\c |........|
1541\c |........|
1542\c |..O..O..|
1543\c |...xx...|
1544\c |...xx...|
1545\c |..O..O..|
1546\c |........|
1547\c |........|
1548\c --------
1549
1550For this reason when you have your guesses checked the game will
1551check that your solution \e{produces the same results} as the
1552computer's, rather than that your solution is identical to the
1553computer's. So in the above example, you could put the fifth ball at
1554\e{any} of the locations marked with an x, and you would still win.
1555
1556Black Box was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1557
1558\H{blackbox-controls} \i{Black Box controls}
1559
1560\IM{Black Box controls}controls, for Black Box
1561
1562To fire a laser, left-click in a square around the side of the arena.
1563The results will be displayed immediately. Lasers may not be fired
1564twice (because the results will never change). Holding down the left
1565button will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the
1566exit point for that laser, if applicable.
1567
1568To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a
1569black circle will appear marking the guess; to remove the guessed ball
1570click again.
1571
1572Locations in the arena may be locked against modification by
1573right-clicking; whole rows and columns may be similarly locked by
1574right-clicking in the laser firing range above/below that column, or
1575to the left/right of that row.
1576
1577When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed a button will
a4c9750f 1578appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that will mark
bf7ebf5a 1579your guesses.
1580
27388471 1581If you click the \q{mark} button and your guesses are not correct,
1582the game will show you as little information as possible to
1583demonstrate this to you, so you can try again. If your ball
1584positions are not consistent with the laser paths you already know
1585about, one laser path will be circled to indicate that it proves you
1586wrong. If your positions match all the existing laser paths but are
1587still wrong, one new laser path will be revealed (written in red)
1588which is not consistent with your current guesses.
1589
1590If you decide to give up completely, you can select Solve to reveal
1591the actual ball positions. At this point, correctly-placed balls
1592will be displayed as filled black circles; incorrectly-placed balls
1593are displayed as filled black circles with red crosses, and missing
1594balls are filled red circles. In addition, a red circle marks any
1595laser you had already fired which is not consistent with your ball
1596layout (just as when you press the mark button), and red text marks
bf7ebf5a 1597any laser you \e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball
1598layout from the right one.
1599
1600(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1601
1602\H{blackbox-parameters} \I{parameters, for Black Box}Black Box parameters
1603
1604These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1605\q{Type} menu.
1606
1607\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1608
ebf54ec9 1609\dd Size of grid in squares. There are 2 \by \e{Width} \by \e{Height} lasers
bf7ebf5a 1610per grid, two per row and two per column.
1611
1612\dt \e{No. of balls}
1613
1614\dd Number of balls to place in the grid. This can be a single number,
ebf54ec9 1615or a range (separated with a hyphen, like \q{2-6}), and determines the
1616number of balls to place on the grid. The \q{reveal} button is only
bf7ebf5a 1617enabled if you have guessed an appropriate number of balls; a guess
1618using a different number to the original solution is still acceptable,
1619if all the laser inputs and outputs match.
1620
1621
f1010613 1622\C{slant} \i{Slant}
1623
1624\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.slant}
1625
1626You have a grid of squares. Your aim is to draw a diagonal line
1627through each square, and choose which way each line slants so that
1628the following conditions are met:
1629
1630\b The diagonal lines never form a loop.
1631
1632\b Any point with a circled number has precisely that many lines
1633meeting at it. (Thus, a 4 is the centre of a cross shape, whereas a
1634zero is the centre of a diamond shape \dash or rather, a partial
1635diamond shape, because a zero can never appear in the middle of the
1636grid because that would immediately cause a loop.)
1637
1638Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-slant}.
1639
1640\B{nikoli-slant}
1641\W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm}
1642(in Japanese)
1643
f1010613 1644\H{slant-controls} \i{Slant controls}
1645
1646\IM{Slant controls} controls, for Slant
f1010613 1647
1648Left-clicking in a blank square will place a \cw{\\} in it (a line
1649leaning to the left, i.e. running from the top left of the square to
1650the bottom right). Right-clicking in a blank square will place a
1651\cw{/} in it (leaning to the right, running from top right to bottom
1652left).
1653
1654Continuing to click either button will cycle between the three
1655possible square contents. Thus, if you left-click repeatedly in a
1656blank square it will change from blank to \cw{\\} to \cw{/} back to
1657blank, and if you right-click repeatedly the square will change from
1658blank to \cw{/} to \cw{\\} back to blank. (Therefore, you can play
1659the game entirely with one button if you need to.)
1660
6b8513c7 1661You can also use the cursor keys to move around the grid. Pressing the
1662return or space keys will place a \cw{\\} or a \cw{/}, respectively,
1663and will then cycle them as above.
1664
f1010613 1665(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1666
e3478a4b 1667\H{slant-parameters} \I{parameters, for Slant}Slant parameters
f1010613 1668
1669These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1670\q{Type} menu.
1671
1672\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1673
1674\dd Size of grid in squares.
1675
15164c74 1676\dt \e{Difficulty}
1677
1678\dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Hard level,
1679you are required to do deductions based on knowledge of
1680\e{relationships} between squares rather than always being able to
1681deduce the exact contents of one square at a time. (For example, you
1682might know that two squares slant in the same direction, even if you
1683don't yet know what that direction is, and this might enable you to
1684deduce something about still other squares.) Even at Hard level,
1685guesswork and backtracking should never be necessary.
1686
f1010613 1687
e3478a4b 1688\C{lightup} \i{Light Up}
1689
1690\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.lightup}
1691
1692You have a grid of squares. Some are filled in black; some of the
1693black squares are numbered. Your aim is to \q{light up} all the
1694empty squares by placing light bulbs in some of them.
1695
1696Each light bulb illuminates the square it is on, plus all squares in
1697line with it horizontally or vertically unless a black square is
1698blocking the way.
1699
1700To win the game, you must satisfy the following conditions:
1701
1702\b All non-black squares are lit.
1703
1704\b No light is lit by another light.
1705
1706\b All numbered black squares have exactly that number of lights adjacent to
1707 them (in the four squares above, below, and to the side).
1708
1709Non-numbered black squares may have any number of lights adjacent to them.
1710
1711Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-lightup}.
1712
1713Light Up was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1714
1715\B{nikoli-lightup}
1716\W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm}
1717(beware of Flash)
1718
1719\H{lightup-controls} \i{Light Up controls}
1720
1721\IM{Light Up controls} controls, for Light Up
e3478a4b 1722
1723Left-clicking in a non-black square will toggle the presence of a light
1724in that square. Right-clicking in a non-black square toggles a mark there to aid
1725solving; it can be used to highlight squares that cannot be lit, for example.
1726
1727You may not place a light in a marked square, nor place a mark in a lit square.
1728
1729The game will highlight obvious errors in red. Lights lit by other
1730lights are highlighted in this way, as are numbered squares which
1731do not (or cannot) have the right number of lights next to them.
1732
1733Thus, the grid is solved when all non-black squares have yellow
1734highlights and there are no red lights.
1735
e28d0584 1736(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
e3478a4b 1737
1738\H{lightup-parameters} \I{parameters, for Light Up}Light Up parameters
1739
1740These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1741\q{Type} menu.
1742
1743\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1744
1745\dd Size of grid in squares.
1746
1747\dt \e{%age of black squares}
1748
1749\dd Rough percentage of black squares in the grid.
1750
1751\lcont{
1752
1753This is a hint rather than an instruction. If the grid generator is
1754unable to generate a puzzle to this precise specification, it will
1755increase the proportion of black squares until it can.
1756
1757}
1758
1759\dt \e{Symmetry}
1760
1761\dd Allows you to specify the required symmetry of the black squares
1762in the grid. (This does not affect the difficulty of the puzzles
1763noticeably.)
1764
1765\dt \e{Difficulty}
1766
1767\dd \q{Easy} means that the puzzles should be soluble without
1768backtracking or guessing, \q{Hard} means that some guesses will
1769probably be necessary.
1770
1771
c51c7de6 1772\C{map} \i{Map}
1773
1774\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.map}
1775
1776You are given a map consisting of a number of regions. Your task is
1777to colour each region with one of four colours, in such a way that
1778no two regions sharing a boundary have the same colour. You are
1779provided with some regions already coloured, sufficient to make the
1780remainder of the solution unique.
1781
1782Only regions which share a length of border are required to be
1783different colours. Two regions which meet at only one \e{point}
1784(i.e. are diagonally separated) may be the same colour.
1785
1786I believe this puzzle is original; I've never seen an implementation
bb219ea1 1787of it anywhere else. The concept of a \i{four-colouring} puzzle was
c51c7de6 1788suggested by Owen Dunn; credit must also go to Nikoli and to Verity
1789Allan for inspiring the train of thought that led to me realising
1790Owen's suggestion was a viable puzzle. Thanks also to Gareth Taylor
1791for many detailed suggestions.
1792
c51c7de6 1793\H{map-controls} \i{Map controls}
1794
1795\IM{Map controls} controls, for Map
c51c7de6 1796
1cdd1306 1797To colour a region, click the left mouse button on an existing
1798region of the desired colour and drag that colour into the new
1799region.
c51c7de6 1800
1801(The program will always ensure the starting puzzle has at least one
1802region of each colour, so that this is always possible!)
1803
1804If you need to clear a region, you can drag from an empty region, or
1805from the puzzle boundary if there are no empty regions left.
1806
1cdd1306 1807Dragging a colour using the \e{right} mouse button will stipple the
1808region in that colour, which you can use as a note to yourself that
1809you think the region \e{might} be that colour. A region can contain
1810stipples in multiple colours at once. (This is often useful at the
1811harder difficulty levels.)
1812
e857e161 1813If you press L during play, the game will toggle display of a number
1814in each region of the map. This is useful if you want to discuss a
1815particular puzzle instance with a friend \dash having an unambiguous
1816name for each region is much easier than trying to refer to them all
1817by names such as \q{the one down and right of the brown one on the
1818top border}.
1819
e28d0584 1820(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
c51c7de6 1821
1822\H{map-parameters} \I{parameters, for Map}Map parameters
1823
1824These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1825\q{Type} menu.
1826
1827\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1828
1829\dd Size of grid in squares.
1830
1831\dt \e{Regions}
1832
1833\dd Number of regions in the generated map.
1834
1835\dt \e{Difficulty}
1836
1837\dd In \q{Easy} mode, there should always be at least one region
1cdd1306 1838whose colour can be determined trivially. In \q{Normal} and \q{Hard}
1839modes, you will have to use increasingly complex logic to deduce the
1840colour of some regions. However, it will always be possible without
1841having to guess or backtrack.
c51c7de6 1842
b3728d72 1843\lcont{
1844
1845In \q{Unreasonable} mode, the program will feel free to generate
1846puzzles which are as hard as it can possibly make them: the only
1847constraint is that they should still have a unique solution. Solving
1848Unreasonable puzzles may require guessing and backtracking.
1849
1850}
1851
c51c7de6 1852
6193da8d 1853\C{loopy} \i{Loopy}
1854
1855\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.loopy}
1856
7c95608a 1857You are given a grid of dots, marked with yellow lines to indicate
1858which dots you are allowed to connect directly together. Your aim is
1859to use some subset of those yellow lines to draw a single unbroken
6193da8d 1860loop from dot to dot within the grid.
1861
7c95608a 1862Some of the spaces between the lines contain numbers. These numbers
1863indicate how many of the lines around that space form part of the
1864loop. The loop you draw must correctly satisfy all of these clues to
1865be considered a correct solution.
6193da8d 1866
7c95608a 1867In the default mode, the dots are arranged in a grid of squares;
1868however, you can also play on triangular or hexagonal grids, or even
1869more exotic ones.
6193da8d 1870
7c95608a 1871Credit for the basic puzzle idea goes to \i{Nikoli}
1872\k{nikoli-loopy}.
1873
1874Loopy was originally contributed to this collection by Mike Pinna,
1875and subsequently enhanced to handle various types of non-square grid
1876by Lambros Lambrou.
6193da8d 1877
1878\B{nikoli-loopy}
1879\W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/3/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/3/index-e.htm}
1880(beware of Flash)
1881
6193da8d 1882\H{loopy-controls} \i{Loopy controls}
1883
1884\IM{Loopy controls} controls, for Loopy
6193da8d 1885
7c95608a 1886Click the left mouse button on a yellow line to turn it black,
1887indicating that you think it is part of the loop. Click again to
1888turn the line yellow again (meaning you aren't sure yet).
6193da8d 1889
1890If you are sure that a particular line segment is \e{not} part of
7c95608a 1891the loop, you can click the right mouse button to remove it
1892completely. Again, clicking a second time will turn the line back to
1893yellow.
6193da8d 1894
e28d0584 1895(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
6193da8d 1896
1897\H{loopy-parameters} \I{parameters, for Loopy}Loopy parameters
1898
1899These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1900\q{Type} menu.
1901
1902\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1903
7c95608a 1904\dd Size of grid, measured in number of regions across and down. For
1905square grids, it's clear how this is counted; for other types of
1906grid you may have to think a bit to see how the dimensions are
1907measured.
1908
1909\dt \e{Grid type}
1910
1911\dd Allows you to choose between a selection of types of tiling.
1912Some have all the faces the same but may have multiple different
1913types of vertex (e.g. the \e{Cairo} or \e{Kites} mode); others have
1914all the vertices the same but may have differnt types of face (e.g.
1915the \e{Great Hexagonal}). The square, triangular and honeycomb grids
1916are fully regular, and have all their vertices \e{and} faces the
1917same; this makes them the least confusing to play.
6193da8d 1918
550742c1 1919\dt \e{Difficulty}
6193da8d 1920
550742c1 1921\dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle.
1922\#{FIXME: what distinguishes Easy, Medium, and Hard? In particular,
1923when are backtracking/guesswork required, if ever?}
6193da8d 1924
1925
81eef9aa 1926\C{inertia} \i{Inertia}
1927
1928\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.inertia}
1929
1930You are a small green ball sitting in a grid full of obstacles. Your
1931aim is to collect all the gems without running into any mines.
1932
1933You can move the ball in any orthogonal \e{or diagonal} direction.
1934Once the ball starts moving, it will continue until something stops
1935it. A wall directly in its path will stop it (but if it is moving
1936diagonally, it will move through a diagonal gap between two other
1937walls without stopping). Also, some of the squares are \q{stops};
1938when the ball moves on to a stop, it will stop moving no matter what
1939direction it was going in. Gems do \e{not} stop the ball; it picks
1940them up and keeps on going.
1941
1942Running into a mine is fatal. Even if you picked up the last gem in
1943the same move which then hit a mine, the game will count you as dead
1944rather than victorious.
1945
1946This game was originally implemented for Windows by Ben Olmstead
1947\k{bem}, who was kind enough to release his source code on request
1948so that it could be re-implemented for this collection.
1949
1950\B{bem} \W{http://xn13.com/}\cw{http://xn13.com/}
1951
1952\H{inertia-controls} \i{Inertia controls}
1953
1954\IM{Inertia controls} controls, for Inertia
1955\IM{Inertia controls} keys, for Inertia
1956\IM{Inertia controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Inertia
1957
1958You can move the ball in any of the eight directions using the
1959numeric keypad. Alternatively, if you click the left mouse button on
1960the grid, the ball will begin a move in the general direction of
1961where you clicked.
1962
8b5b08f7 1963If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, the program will
1964compute a path through the grid which collects all the remaining
1965gems and returns to the current position. A hint arrow will appear
1966on the ball indicating the direction in which you should move to
1967begin on this path. If you then move in that direction, the arrow
1968will update to indicate the next direction on the path. You can also
1969press Space to automatically move in the direction of the hint
1970arrow. If you move in a different direction from the one shown by
1971the arrow, the hint arrows will stop appearing because you have
1972strayed from the provided path; you can then use \q{Solve} again to
1973generate a new path if you want to.
1974
81eef9aa 1975All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.
1976In particular, if you do run into a mine and die, you can use the
1977Undo function and resume playing from before the fatal move. The
1978game will keep track of the number of times you have done this.
1979
1980\H{inertia-parameters} \I{parameters, for Inertia}Inertia parameters
1981
1982These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1983\q{Type} menu.
1984
1985\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1986
1987\dd Size of grid in squares.
1988
1989
86e60e3d 1990\C{tents} \i{Tents}
1991
1992\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.tents}
1993
1994You have a grid of squares, some of which contain trees. Your aim is
1995to place tents in some of the remaining squares, in such a way that
1996the following conditions are met:
1997
1998\b There are exactly as many tents as trees.
1999
2000\b The tents and trees can be matched up in such a way that each
2001tent is directly adjacent (horizontally or vertically, but not
2002diagonally) to its own tree. However, a tent may be adjacent to
2003other trees as well as its own.
2004
2005\b No two tents are adjacent horizontally, vertically \e{or
2006diagonally}.
2007
2008\b The number of tents in each row, and in each column, matches the
2009numbers given round the sides of the grid.
2010
2011This puzzle can be found in several places on the Internet, and was
2012brought to my attention by e-mail. I don't know who I should credit
2013for inventing it.
2014
2015\H{tents-controls} \i{Tents controls}
2016
2017\IM{Tents controls} controls, for Tents
2018
2019Left-clicking in a blank square will place a tent in it.
2020Right-clicking in a blank square will colour it green, indicating
2021that you are sure it \e{isn't} a tent. Clicking either button in an
2022occupied square will clear it.
2023
565394e7 2024If you \e{drag} with the right button along a row or column, every
2025blank square in the region you cover will be turned green, and no
2026other squares will be affected. (This is useful for clearing the
2027remainder of a row once you have placed all its tents.)
2028
505ea4e5 2029You can also use the cursor keys to move around the grid. Pressing the
2030return key over an empty square will place a tent, and pressing the
2031space bar over an empty square will colour it green; either key will
2032clear an occupied square.
2033
86e60e3d 2034(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2035
2036\H{tents-parameters} \I{parameters, for Tents}Tents parameters
2037
2038These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2039\q{Type} menu.
2040
2041\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
2042
2043\dd Size of grid in squares.
2044
2045\dt \e{Difficulty}
2046
2047\dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. More difficult
2048puzzles require more complex deductions, but at present none of the
2049available difficulty levels requires guesswork or backtracking.
2050
2051
e7c63b02 2052\C{bridges} \i{Bridges}
2053
2054\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.bridges}
2055
2056You have a set of islands distributed across the playing area. Each
2057island contains a number. Your aim is to connect the islands
2058together with bridges, in such a way that:
2059
2060\b Bridges run horizontally or vertically.
2061
2062\b The number of bridges terminating at any island is equal to the
2063number written in that island.
2064
2065\b Two bridges may run in parallel between the same two islands, but
2066no more than two may do so.
2067
2068\b No bridge crosses another bridge.
2069
2070\b All the islands are connected together.
2071
2072There are some configurable alternative modes, which involve
2073changing the parallel-bridge limit to something other than 2, and
2074introducing the additional constraint that no sequence of bridges
2075may form a loop from one island back to the same island. The rules
2076stated above are the default ones.
2077
2078Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-bridges}.
2079
2080Bridges was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
2081
2082\B{nikoli-bridges}
2083\W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/14/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/14/index-e.htm}
2084
2085\H{bridges-controls} \i{Bridges controls}
2086
2087\IM{Bridges controls} controls, for Bridges
2088
2089To place a bridge between two islands, click the mouse down on one
2090island and drag it towards the other. You do not need to drag all
2091the way to the other island; you only need to move the mouse far
2092enough for the intended bridge direction to be unambiguous. (So you
2093can keep the mouse near the starting island and conveniently throw
2094bridges out from it in many directions.)
2095
2096Doing this again when a bridge is already present will add another
2097parallel bridge. If there are already as many bridges between the
2098two islands as permitted by the current game rules (i.e. two by
2099default), the same dragging action will remove all of them.
2100
2101If you want to remind yourself that two islands definitely \e{do
2102not} have a bridge between them, you can right-drag between them in
2103the same way to draw a \q{non-bridge} marker.
2104
2105If you think you have finished with an island (i.e. you have placed
2106all its bridges and are confident that they are in the right
2107places), you can mark the island as finished by left-clicking on it.
2108This will highlight it and all the bridges connected to it, and you
2109will be prevented from accidentally modifying any of those bridges
2110in future. Left-clicking again on a highlighted island will unmark
2111it and restore your ability to modify it.
2112
2113Violations of the puzzle rules will be marked in red:
2114
2115\b An island with too many bridges will be highlighted in red.
2116
2117\b An island with too few bridges will be highlighted in red if it
2118is definitely an error (as opposed to merely not being finished
2119yet): if adding enough bridges would involve having to cross another
2120bridge or remove a non-bridge marker, or if the island has been
2121highlighted as complete.
2122
2123\b A group of islands and bridges may be highlighted in red if it is
2124a closed subset of the puzzle with no way to connect it to the rest
2125of the islands. For example, if you directly connect two 1s together
2126with a bridge and they are not the only two islands on the grid,
2127they will light up red to indicate that such a group cannot be
2128contained in any valid solution.
2129
2130\b If you have selected the (non-default) option to disallow loops
2131in the solution, a group of bridges which forms a loop will be
2132highlighted.
2133
2134(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2135
2136\H{bridges-parameters} \I{parameters, for Bridges}Bridges parameters
2137
2138These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2139\q{Type} menu.
2140
2141\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
2142
2143\dd Size of grid in squares.
2144
2145\dt \e{Difficulty}
2146
2147\dd Difficulty level of puzzle.
2148
2149\dt \e{Allow loops}
2150
2151\dd This is set by default. If cleared, puzzles will be generated in
2152such a way that they are always soluble without creating a loop, and
2153solutions which do involve a loop will be disallowed.
2154
2155\dt \e{Max. bridges per direction}
2156
2157\dd Maximum number of bridges in any particular direction. The
2158default is 2, but you can change it to 1, 3 or 4. In general, fewer
2159is easier.
2160
2161\dt \e{%age of island squares}
2162
2163\dd Gives a rough percentage of islands the generator will try and
2164lay before finishing the puzzle. Certain layouts will not manage to
2165lay enough islands; this is an upper bound.
2166
2167\dt \e{Expansion factor (%age)}
2168
2169\dd The grid generator works by picking an existing island at random
2170(after first creating an initial island somewhere). It then decides
2171on a direction (at random), and then works out how far it could
2172extend before creating another island. This parameter determines how
2173likely it is to extend as far as it can, rather than choosing
2174somewhere closer.
2175
2176High expansion factors usually mean easier puzzles with fewer
2177possible islands; low expansion factors can create lots of
2178tightly-packed islands.
2179
2180
149255d7 2181\C{unequal} \i{Unequal}
2182
2183\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.unequal}
2184
2185You have a square grid; each square may contain a digit from 1 to
055b9cd2 2186the size of the grid, and some squares have greater-than signs between
149255d7 2187them. Your aim is to fully populate the grid with numbers such that:
2188
2189\b Each row contains only one occurrence of each digit
2190
2191\b Each column contains only one occurrence of each digit
2192
2193\b All the greater-than signs are satisfied.
2194
feb306dc 2195In \q{Trivial} mode (available via the \q{Custom} game type
2196selector), there are no greater-than signs; the puzzle is to solve
2197the \i{Latin square} only.
149255d7 2198
2199At the time of writing, this puzzle is appearing in the Guardian
055b9cd2 2200weekly under the name \q{\i{Futoshiki}}.
149255d7 2201
2202Unequal was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
2203
2204\H{unequal-controls} \i{Unequal controls}
2205
2206\IM{Unequal controls} controls, for Unequal
2207
2208Unequal shares much of its control system with Solo.
2209
2210To play Unequal, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
2211type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you
2212make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press
2213Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature).
2214
2215If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that
2216number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can
3e17893b 2217have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. Squares
2218containing filled-in numbers cannot also contain pencil marks.
149255d7 2219
2220The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use
2221them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a
2222particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a
2223particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible
2224numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like.
2225
2226To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type
2227the same number again.
2228
2229All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type
2230a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and
2231pressing space will also erase pencil marks.
2232
9c90045a 2233As for Solo, the cursor keys can be used in conjunction with the digit
2234keys to set numbers or pencil marks. You can also use the 'M' key to
3e17893b 2235auto-fill every numeric hint, ready for removal as required, or the 'H'
2236key to do the same but also to remove all obvious hints.
2237
2238Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the mark around the grid.
2239Pressing the return key toggles the mark (from a normal mark to a
2240pencil mark), and typing a number in is entered in the square in the
2241appropriate way; typing in a 0 or using the space bar will clear a
2242filled square.
9c90045a 2243
149255d7 2244(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2245
2246\H{unequal-parameters} \I{parameters, for Unequal}Unequal parameters
2247
2248These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2249\q{Type} menu.
2250
2251\dt \e{Size (s*s)}
2252
2253\dd Size of grid.
2254
2255\dt \e{Difficulty}
2256
845a3be0 2257\dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Trivial
feb306dc 2258level, there are no greater-than signs; the puzzle is to solve the
2259Latin square only. At Recursive level (only available via the
2260\q{Custom} game type selector) backtracking will be required, but
2261the solution should still be unique. The levels in between require
2262increasingly complex reasoning to avoid having to backtrack.
149255d7 2263
2264
ab3a1e43 2265
2266\C{galaxies} \i{Galaxies}
2267
2268\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.galaxies}
2269
2270You have a rectangular grid containing a number of dots. Your aim is
2271to draw edges along the grid lines which divide the rectangle into
2272regions in such a way that every region is 180\u00b0{-degree}
2273rotationally symmetric, and contains exactly one dot which is
2274located at its centre of symmetry.
2275
2276This puzzle was invented by \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-galaxies}, under
a799e87f 2277the name \q{Tentai Show}; its name is commonly translated into
2278English as \q{Spiral Galaxies}.
ab3a1e43 2279
f3ed4ec3 2280Galaxies was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
2281
ab3a1e43 2282\B{nikoli-galaxies} \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/astronomical_show/}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/astronomical_show/}
2283
2284\H{galaxies-controls} \i{Galaxies controls}
2285
2286\IM{Galaxies controls} controls, for Galaxies
2287
2288Left-click on any grid line to draw an edge if there isn't one
2289already, or to remove one if there is. When you create a valid
2290region (one which is closed, contains exactly one dot, is
2291180\u00b0{-degree} symmetric about that dot, and contains no
2292extraneous edges inside it) it will be highlighted automatically; so
2293your aim is to have the whole grid highlighted in that way.
2294
2295During solving, you might know that a particular grid square belongs
2296to a specific dot, but not be sure of where the edges go and which
2297other squares are connected to the dot. In order to mark this so you
2298don't forget, you can right-click on the dot and drag, which will
2299create an arrow marker pointing at the dot. Drop that in a square of
2300your choice and it will remind you which dot it's associated with.
2301You can also right-click on existing arrows to pick them up and move
2302them, or destroy them by dropping them off the edge of the grid.
2303(Also, if you're not sure which dot an arrow is pointing at, you can
2304pick it up and move it around to make it clearer. It will swivel
2305constantly as you drag it, to stay pointed at its parent dot.)
2306
2c580e64 2307You can also use the cursor keys to move around the grid squares and
2308lines. Pressing the return key when over a grid line will draw or
2309clear its edge, as above. Pressing the return key when over a dot will
2310pick up an arrow, to be dropped the nest time the return key is
2311pressed; this can also be used to move existing arrows around, removing
2312them by dropping them on a dot or another arrow.
2313
ab3a1e43 2314(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2315
2316\H{galaxies-parameters} \I{parameters, for Galaxies}Galaxies parameters
2317
2318These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2319\q{Type} menu.
2320
2321\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
2322
2323\dd Size of grid in squares.
2324
2325\dt \e{Difficulty}
2326
2327\dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. More difficult
59206b9c 2328puzzles require more complex deductions, and the \q{Unreasonable}
a799e87f 2329difficulty level may require backtracking.
ab3a1e43 2330
2331
2332
8b3b3223 2333\C{filling} \i{Filling}
2334
2335\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.filling}
2336
2337You have a grid of squares, some of which contain digits, and the
2338rest of which are empty. Your job is to fill in digits in the empty
2339squares, in such a way that each connected region of squares all
2340containing the same digit has an area equal to that digit.
2341
2342(\q{Connected region}, for the purposes of this game, does not count
2343diagonally separated squares as adjacent.)
2344
2345For example, it follows that no square can contain a zero, and that
2346two adjacent squares can not both contain a one. No region has an
2347area greater than 9 (because then its area would not be a single
2348digit).
2349
2350Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-fillomino}.
2351
2352Filling was contributed to this collection by Jonas K\u00F6{oe}lker.
2353
2354\B{nikoli-fillomino}
2355\W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/fillomino/}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/fillomino/}
2356
2357\H{filling-controls} \I{controls, for Filling}Filling controls
2358
2359To play Filling, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
b182e5d5 2360type a digit on the keyboard to fill that square. By dragging the
2361mouse, you can select multiple squares to fill with a single keypress.
2362If you make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and
2363press 0, Space, Backspace or Enter to clear it again (or use the Undo
2364feature).
8b3b3223 2365
eb05ad3b 2366You can also move around the grid with the cursor keys; typing a digit will
2367fill the square containing the cursor with that number, or typing 0, Space,
2368or Enter will clear it. You can also select multiple squares for numbering
2369or clearing by using the return key, before typing a digit to fill in the
2370highlighted squares (as above).
2371
8b3b3223 2372(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2373
2374\H{filling-parameters} \I{parameters, for Filling}Filling parameters
2375
2376Filling allows you to configure the number of rows and columns of the
2377grid, through the \q{Type} menu.
2378
2379
ab3a1e43 2380
e91825f8 2381\A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence}
2382
07a54e52 2383This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2008 Simon Tatham.
e91825f8 2384
2c930807 2385Portions copyright Richard Boulton, James Harvey, Mike Pinna, Jonas
0477157e 2386K\u00F6{oe}lker, Dariusz Olszewski, Michael Schierl and Lambros
2387Lambrou.
e91825f8 2388
2389Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
2390obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
a799e87f 2391(the \q{Software}), to deal in the Software without restriction,
e91825f8 2392including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
2393publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
2394and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
2395subject to the following conditions:
2396
2397The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
2398included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
2399
a799e87f 2400THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED \q{AS IS}, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
e91825f8 2401EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
2402MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
2403NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
2404BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
2405ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
2406CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
2407SOFTWARE.
2408
3c9388ef 2409\IM{command-line}{command line} command line
2410
bb219ea1 2411\IM{default parameters, specifying} default parameters, specifying
2412\IM{default parameters, specifying} preferences, specifying default
2413
2414\IM{Unix} Unix
2415\IM{Unix} Linux
2416
2417\IM{generating game IDs} generating game IDs
2418\IM{generating game IDs} game ID, generating
2419
1185e3c5 2420\IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option
2421\IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option
e91825f8 2422
2423\IM{game ID} game ID
2424\IM{game ID} ID, game
2425\IM{ID format} ID format
2426\IM{ID format} format, ID
2427\IM{ID format} game ID, format
2428
2429\IM{keys} keys
2430\IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard)
2431
2432\IM{initial state} initial state
2433\IM{initial state} state, initial
2434
2435\IM{MIT licence} MIT licence
2436\IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT