missing `i' in `\e'
[sgt/puzzles] / puzzles.but
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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
e91825f8 23This is a collection of small one-player puzzle games.
24
14a7c1c6 25\copyright This manual is copyright 2004-5 Simon Tatham. All rights
e91825f8 26reserved. You may distribute this documentation under the MIT licence.
27See \k{licence} for the licence text in full.
28
8709d5d9 29\cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">}
e91825f8 30
8709d5d9 31\versionid $Id$
e91825f8 32
33\C{intro} Introduction
34
35I wrote this collection because I thought there should be more small
36desktop toys available: little games you can pop up in a window and
37play for two or three minutes while you take a break from whatever
8a771ea7 38else you were doing. And I was also annoyed that every time I found
39a good game on (say) \i{Unix}, it wasn't available the next time I
40was sitting at a \i{Windows} machine, or vice versa; so I arranged
41that everything in my personal puzzle collection will happily run on
42both, and have more recently done a port to Mac OS X as well. When I
43find (or perhaps invent) further puzzle games that I like, they'll
44be added to this collection and will immediately be available on
45both platforms. And if anyone feels like writing any other front
46ends - PocketPC, Mac OS pre-10, or whatever it might be - then all
47the games in this framework will immediately become available on
48another platform as well.
e91825f8 49
aafaa7fb 50The actual games in this collection were mostly not my invention; they
51are re-implementations of existing game concepts within my portable
52puzzle framework. I do not claim credit, in general, for inventing the
53rules of any of these puzzles. (I don't even claim authorship of all
54the code; some of the puzzles have been submitted by other authors.)
e91825f8 55
56This collection is distributed under the \i{MIT licence} (see
57\k{licence}). This means that you can do pretty much anything you like
58with the game binaries or the code, except pretending you wrote them
59yourself, or suing me if anything goes wrong.
60
61The most recent versions, and \i{source code}, can be found at
62\I{website}\W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}.
63
64Please report \I{feedback}\i{bugs} to
65\W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\cw{anakin@pobox.com}.
66You might find it helpful to read this article before reporting a bug:
67
68\W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}
69
70\ii{Patches} are welcome. Especially if they provide a new front end
71(to make all these games run on another platform), or a new game.
72
73
74\C{common} \ii{Common features}
75
76This chapter describes features that are common to all the games.
77
78\H{common-actions} \I{controls}Common actions
79
80These actions are all available from the \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu
81and via \I{keys}keyboard shortcuts, in addition to any game-specific
82actions.
83
bacaa96e 84(On Mac OS X, to conform with local user interface standards, these
3101ae26 85actions are situated on the \I{File menu}\q{File} and \I{Edit
bacaa96e 86menu}\q{Edit} menus instead.)
87
e91825f8 88\dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N})
89
90\dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state.
91
2b06373b 92\dt \ii\e{Restart game}
e91825f8 93
2b06373b 94\dd Resets the current game to its initial state. (This can be undone.)
e91825f8 95
668be019 96\dt \ii\e{Load}
97
98\dd Loads a saved game from a file on disk.
99
100\dt \ii\e{Save}
101
102\dd Saves the current state of your game to a file on disk.
103
104\lcont{
105
106The Load and Save operations should preserve your entire game
107history (so you can save, reload, and still Undo and Redo things you
108had done before saving).
109
110}
111
e91825f8 112\dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_})
113
114\dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the
2b06373b 115session.)
e91825f8 116
2b06373b 117\dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R})
e91825f8 118
2b06373b 119\dd Redoes a previously undone move.
e91825f8 120
bacaa96e 121\dt \ii\e{Copy}
122
123\dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text
124format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a
125web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else.
126(Not all games support this feature.)
127
2ac6d24e 128\dt \ii\e{Solve}
129
130\dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some
131games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of
132no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved
133state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a
134solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a
135mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution
136tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does
137provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment
138with set-piece moves and transformations.
139
140\lcont{
141
142Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have
143typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot
144solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did
145invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still
146other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only
147if they aren't too difficult.
148
e8124727 149The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo
150chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to
151solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo.
152
2ac6d24e 153}
154
e91825f8 155\dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q})
156
157\dd Closes the application entirely.
158
1185e3c5 159\H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID}
160
161There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and
162recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the
163same puzzle.
164
165The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the
166\I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on Mac OS X) each
167show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to
168reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date.
169
170You can enter either of these pieces of text back into the program
171(via the same \q{Specific} or \q{Random Seed} menu options) at a
172later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use
173either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see
174\k{common-cmdline} for more detail.
175
176The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID
177is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game,
178whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was
179provided as input to the random number generator used to create the
180puzzle. This means that:
181
182\b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although
183some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions).
184So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle
185you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can
186play the same one as you.
187
188\b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically
189generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you
190can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid
191puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or
192more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a
193random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody
194has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before
195anybody else.
196
197\b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such
198as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive
199game IDs suitable for use with these programs.
200
201\b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you
202use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This
203is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or
204modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a
205different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use
206a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the
207same version of the program as yours.
208
209\lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number
210of the program. Programs with the same version number running on
211different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)}
212
213\I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which
214encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid
215size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of
216the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string
217of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by
218arbitrary data.
219
220If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to
221show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't
222generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed,
223however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game
224ID derived from that random seed.
225
226Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical
227between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data
228provided with the random seed which is not included in the
229descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is
230only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important
231when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo
232(\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID.
233
234These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type
235in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced}
236difficulty level, and then a friend wants your help with a
237\q{Trivial} puzzle; so the friend reads out a random seed specifying
238\q{Trivial} difficulty, and you type it in. The program will
239generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having
240trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask
241for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced}
242difficulty which it was previously set on.
e91825f8 243
244\H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu
245
246The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of
247\i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new
248random game with the parameters specified.
249
1185e3c5 250The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which
251allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters
252available are specific to each game and are described in the
253following sections.
e91825f8 254
255\H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line}
256
8a771ea7 257(This section does not apply to the Mac OS X version.)
258
e91825f8 259The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save
260information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score
261tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least
262some people to play them at work, and those people will probably
263appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!)
264
265However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to default
266to a particular set of parameters, you can specify them on the
267command line.
268
269The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want
270using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select
1185e3c5 271\q{Random Seed} from the \q{Game} or \q{File} menu (see
272\k{common-id}). The text in the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of
273two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents
274the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and
275anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu).
e91825f8 276
277If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command
278line, it will start up with the settings you specified.
279
280For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron}
281from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you
1185e3c5 282will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only
283the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text
284on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}.
e91825f8 285
286If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game
287will start up in the specific game that was described. This is
288occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID
289than by pasting it into the game ID selection box.
290
1185e3c5 291(You could also retrieve the encoded game parameters using the
292\q{Specific} menu option instead of \q{Random Seed}, but if you do
293then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be
294missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.)
295
e91825f8 296\C{net} \i{Net}
297
298\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net}
299
300(\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called
301\i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.)
302
303I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet}
6e8e5c51 304\k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other
305implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a
e91825f8 306network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then
307shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to
308rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an
6e8e5c51 309entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter
310clause means that there are no closed paths within the network.
311Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid,
e91825f8 312all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are
313highlighted.
314
315\B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}
316
317\H{net-controls} \i{Net controls}
318
319\IM{Net controls} controls, for Net
320\IM{Net controls} keys, for Net
321\IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net
322
323This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The
324controls are:
325
326\dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys
327
328\dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key
329
330\dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key
331
118473f5 332\dt \e{Rotate tile by 180 degrees}: \q{F} key
333
e91825f8 334\dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key
335
336\dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can
337also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally
338turn it.
339
f0ee053c 340The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may
341be useful:
342
343\dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys
344
345\dd On grids that wrap, you can move the origin of the grid, so that
346tiles that were on opposite sides of the grid can be seen together.
347
348\dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys
349
350\dd You can change which tile is used as the source of highlighting.
351(It doesn't ultimately matter which tile this is, as every tile will
352be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be
353helpful in the intermediate stages of solving the puzzle.)
354
cbb5549e 355\dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key
356
357\dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random
358orientations.
359
e91825f8 360(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
361
362\H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters
363
364These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
365\q{Type} menu.
366
367\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
368
369\dd Size of grid in tiles.
370
371\dt \e{Walls wrap around}
372
373\dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge,
374and from top to bottom, and vice versa.
375
376\dt \e{Barrier probability}
377
378\dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable
379barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a
380higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they
381act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints).
382
383\lcont{
384
385The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the
386barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if
1185e3c5 387you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle
388(see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter,
389and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the
390same starting grid, with the only change being the number of
391barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint,
392you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same
393parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed
394from the original Net window.
e91825f8 395
396}
397
40fde884 398\dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
399
400\dd Normally, Net will make sure that the puzzles it presents have
401only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
402difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this
403feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all}
404the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an
405advanced player.)
406
e91825f8 407\C{cube} \i{Cube}
408
409\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube}
410
411This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a
412Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16
413squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move
414is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that
415it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue
416square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you
417roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is
418put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces
419that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue
420squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your
421moves and try to do it in as few as possible.
422
423Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature:
424once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid,
425you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an
426octahedron or an icosahedron.
427
428\B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}
429
430\H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls}
431
432\IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube
433\IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube
434\IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube
435
a1d5acff 436This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
e91825f8 437
a1d5acff 438Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other
439solid) towards the mouse pointer.
440
441The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in
442the four cardinal directions.
e91825f8 443On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is
444more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't
445make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric
446keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement.
447
448(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
449
450\H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters
451
452These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
453\q{Type} menu.
454
455\dt \e{Type of solid}
456
457\dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid):
458tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron.
459
460\dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom}
461
462\dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a
463triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows
464respectively.
465
466
467\C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen}
468
469\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen}
470
1d8e8ad8 471The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}}
472with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares
473contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to
474choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space.
475The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the
476space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the
477bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}).
e91825f8 478
479\H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls}
480
481\IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen
482\IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen
483\IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen
484
485This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard.
486
487A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty
488space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the
489mouse pointer.
490
491The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction
492indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction).
493
494(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
495
496\H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters
497
498The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
499menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once
500you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!)
501
502
503\C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen}
504
505\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen}
506
507Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see
508\k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no
509hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move
510is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up
511or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid
512re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just
513vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on
514the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try
515playing on different sizes of grid.
516
517I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if
518so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I
519thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling
520that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle
521rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one
522thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part
523rather than just engineering.
524
525\H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls
526
527This game is played with the mouse. Left-clicking on an arrow will
528move the appropriate row or column in the direction indicated.
529Right-clicking will move it in the opposite direction.
530
531(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
532
533\H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters
534
81875211 535The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
536\q{Type} menu are:
537
538\b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
539
540\b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on
541the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way
542that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can
543override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to
544be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise
545set of shuffling moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer
546(say) a four-move shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the
547more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter
548than the target length will turn out to be possible.
549
e91825f8 550
9038fd11 551\C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle}
552
553\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle}
554
555Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen
556(see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each
557containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into
558ascending order.
559
560In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four
a3631c72 561tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in
562the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced
563settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles.
9038fd11 564
565I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid
566Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle
567you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I
568developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle.
569
570\H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls
571
572To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group
573you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square,
574which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles
575meet.
576
577In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at
578a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in
579the centre tile of the square you want to rotate.
580
581Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise.
582Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise.
583
584(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
585
586\H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters
587
588Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom}
589option on the \q{Type} menu:
590
591\b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid.
592
593\b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time.
594
595\b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable
596(the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there
597are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim
598is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into
599the second row, and so on.
600
a3631c72 601\b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If
d50832a3 602you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle
603drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete
604the puzzle.
a3631c72 605
81875211 606\b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on
607the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any
608arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this
609by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed.
610Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling
611moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move
612shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask
613for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target
614length will turn out to be possible.
615
9038fd11 616
e91825f8 617\C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles}
618
619\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles}
620
621You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all)
622of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of
623various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one
624numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the
625number written in its numbered square.
626
627Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli}
26801d29 628\k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle
629Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's
630implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of
631any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not
632quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side
633you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own
634specification.
e91825f8 635
6ae37301 636\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 637
6ae37301 638\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 639
640\H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls
641
642This game is played with the mouse.
643
644Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or click and drag to draw
645an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any
646existing edges within that rectangle).
647
648When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded.
649
650(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
651
652\H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters
653
40fde884 654These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
655\q{Type} menu.
656
657\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
658
659\dd Size of grid, in squares.
660
661\dt \e{Expansion factor}
aea3ed9a 662
40fde884 663\dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by
664the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large
665rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask
aea3ed9a 666Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size
667you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns.
668
40fde884 669\lcont{
670
aea3ed9a 671The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will
672simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing
673further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that
674each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big
675after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the
676size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size
677without adding any more rectangles.
678
4a03dbb4 679Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game
680more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive
681and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high,
682though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles
683to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial.
aea3ed9a 684
40fde884 685}
686
687\dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
688
689\dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents
690have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
691difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this
692feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the
693possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced
694player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation.
695
6ae37301 696
e91825f8 697\C{netslide} \i{Netslide}
698
699\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide}
700
6bbab0fe 701This game combines the grid generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the
702movement of Sixteen (see \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but
703instead of rotating tiles back into place you have to slide them
704into place by moving a whole row at a time.
e91825f8 705
e91825f8 706As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse.
707See \k{sixteen-controls}.
708
aa27d493 709\I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar
710meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see
711\k{sixteen-params}).
e91825f8 712
6bbab0fe 713Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton.
6ae37301 714
b6b0369e 715\C{pattern} \i{Pattern}
716
717\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern}
718
719You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black
720or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the
721runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the
722lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to
723fill in the entire grid black or white.
724
725I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name
2e1e03ff 726\q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under
b6b0369e 727different names.
728
729Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture
730of something once you've solved them. However, since this version
731generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random
732groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually
733a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of
734squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.)
735The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them.
736
2e1e03ff 737\H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls
b6b0369e 738
739This game is played with the mouse.
740
741Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it
742white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down
743Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the
744default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again.
745
746You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour
747a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time
748(respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or
749with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares
750grey.
751
2e1e03ff 752(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
753
b6b0369e 754\H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters
755
756The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
757menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
e91825f8 758
6ae37301 759
1d8e8ad8 760\C{solo} \i{Solo}
761
762\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo}
763
764You have a square grid, which is divided into square or rectangular
765blocks. Each square must be filled in with a digit from 1 to the
766size of the grid, in such a way that
767
768\b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit
769
770\b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit
771
772\b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit.
773
774You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the
775rest of the numbers correctly.
776
777The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual grid, divided
778into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes with
779rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a
7806\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks).
781
782If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the
783additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if
784you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1
785to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}.
786
6ae37301 787I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's also
1d8e8ad8 788been popularised by various newspapers under the name \q{Sudoku} or
789\q{Su Doku}.
790
6ae37301 791\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}
792
1d8e8ad8 793\H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls
794
795To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
796type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you
797make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press
798Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature).
799
c8266e03 800If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that
801number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can
802have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square.
803
804The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use
805them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a
806particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a
807particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible
808numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like.
809
810To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type
811the same number again.
812
813All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type
814a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and
815pressing space will also erase pencil marks.
816
1d8e8ad8 817(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
818
819\H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters
820
821Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle
6ae37301 822grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of
823rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is
824the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows,
825each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.)
1d8e8ad8 826
ef57b17d 827You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated
828puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also
829make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more
830clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles
831have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible.
832
7c568a48 833Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles.
834Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of
835deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode
836of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In
837particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there
838will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times,
839whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make
840partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in
de60d8bd 841(or the set of numbers that could be in a square). At
842\q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will
843eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out
844to be wrong.
7c568a48 845
846Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select
847\q{Intermediate} or \q{Advanced} difficulty, Solo may have to make
848many attempts at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough
849for you. Be prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured
850a large puzzle size.
851
ef57b17d 852
7959b517 853\C{mines} \i{Mines}
854
855\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines}
856
857You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but
858you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does
859\e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine,
860you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you
861are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding
862squares.
863
864This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is
865perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence.
866
867This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will
868generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you
869never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to
870deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other
871versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are
872two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they
873are.
874
875\H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls
876
877This game is played with the mouse.
878
879If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered.
880
881If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which
882indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in
883a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click
884again to remove a mark placed in error.
885
886If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear
887around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many
888flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered
889squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So
890once you think you know the location of all the mines around a
891square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to
892click on each of the remaining squares one by one.
893
894If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding
895eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in
896turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This
897will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a
898square, a whole new area will open up to be explored.
899
11d31eb9 900All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.
901
7959b517 902Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to
11d31eb9 903use it. If you step on a mine, the program will only reveal the mine
904in question (unlike most other implementations, which reveal all of
905them). You can then Undo your fatal move and continue playing if you
906like. The program will track the number of times you died (and Undo
907will not reduce that counter), so when you get to the end of the
908game you know whether or not you did it without making any errors.
909
910(If you really want to know the full layout of the grid, which other
911implementations will show you after you die, you can always use the
912Solve menu option.)
7959b517 913
914\H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters
915
916The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
917menu are:
918
919\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
920
921\dd Size of grid in squares.
922
923\dt \e{Mines}
924
08781119 925\dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute
926mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in
927which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares
928in the grid to be mines.
929
930\lcont{
931
932Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities,
933the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid.
934
935}
7959b517 936
937\dt \e{Ensure solubility}
938
939\dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will
940ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the
941initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by
942other implementations, you can switch off this option.
943
944
6bbab0fe 945\C{samegame} \i{Same Game}
946
947\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame}
948
949You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by
209ab5a7 950highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square;
6bbab0fe 951the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and
952the faster you clear the arena).
953
954If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but
209ab5a7 955single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you
6bbab0fe 956lose.
957
958Removing a region causes the rest of the grid to shuffle up:
959blocks that are suspended will fall down (first), and then empty
960columns are filled from the right.
961
6bbab0fe 962Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
963
209ab5a7 964\H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls}
965
966\IM{Same Game controls} controls, for Same Game
967\IM{Same Game controls} keys, for Same Game
968\IM{Same Game controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Same Game
969
970This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
6bbab0fe 971
972If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly
973clearing the current selection).
974
975If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the
976rest of the grid shuffled immediately).
977
978If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected.
979
209ab5a7 980The cursor keys move a cursor around the grid. Pressing the Space or
981Enter keys while the cursor is in an unselected region selects it;
982pressing Space or Enter again removes it as above.
983
6bbab0fe 984\H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters
985
209ab5a7 986These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
987\q{Type} menu.
988
6bbab0fe 989\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
990
991\dd Size of grid in squares.
992
993\dt \e{No. of colours}
994
995\dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours,
209ab5a7 996the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to
997successfully clear the grid.
998
999\dt \e{Scoring system}
1000
1001\dd Controls the precise mechanism used for scoring. With the default
1002system, \q{(n-2)^2}, only regions of three squares or more will score
1003any points at all. With the alternative \q{(n-1)^2} system, regions of
1004two squares score a point each, and larger regions score relatively
1005more points.
6bbab0fe 1006
e4a7ab56 1007\dt \e{Ensure solubility}
1008
1009\dd If this option is ticked (the default state), generated grids
1010will be guaranteed to have at least one solution.
1011
1012\lcont{
1013
1014If you turn it off, the game generator will not try to guarantee
1015soluble grids; it will, however, still ensure that there are at
1016least 2 squares of each colour on the grid at the start (since a
1017grid with exactly one square of a given colour is \e{definitely}
1018insoluble). Grids generated with this option disabled may contain
1019more large areas of contiguous colour, leading to opportunities for
1020higher scores; they can also take less time to generate.
1021
1022}
1023
f4afe206 1024
1025\C{flip} \i{Flip}
1026
1027\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip}
1028
1029You have a grid of squares, some light and some dark. Your aim is to
1030light all the squares up at the same time. You can choose any square
1031and flip its state from light to dark or dark to light, but when you
1032do so, other squares around it change state as well.
1033
1034Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares
1035change when you flip it.
1036
d6acbe63 1037\H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls}
f4afe206 1038
1039\IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip
1040\IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip
1041\IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip
1042
33317d37 1043This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1044
1045Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares, or
1046use the cursor keys to choose a square and the space bar or Enter
1047key to flip.
79cb09e9 1048
5f6050b4 1049If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of
1050the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red
1051mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square
1052\e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate
1053that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.)
f4afe206 1054
1055\H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters
1056
1057These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1058\q{Type} menu.
1059
1060\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1061
1062\dd Size of grid in squares.
1063
1064\dt \e{Shape type}
1065
1066\dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped
1067by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses},
1068causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours
1069(or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting,
1070\q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so
1071the game is different every time.
1072
1073
c6203e43 1074\C{guess} \i{Guess}
1075
1076\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess}
1077
1078You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a
1079predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a
1080certain number of guesses.
1081
1082Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs
9ffde3e8 1083in the correct places (in black), and also the number of
1084correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white).
c6203e43 1085
1086This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as
9ffde3e8 1087a board game \q{Mastermind}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row, and 10 guesses.
c6203e43 1088However, this version allows custom settings of number of colours
1089(up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses.
1090
64455a5a 1091Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1092
c6203e43 1093\H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls}
1094
1095\IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess
1096\IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess
1097\IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess
1098
9ffde3e8 1099This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1100
9c63a011 1101With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand
1102side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be
1103dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To
1104remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid.
c6203e43 1105
9ffde3e8 1106Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs
c6203e43 1107that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess
1108after marking.
1109
9ffde3e8 1110Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be
1111used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a
9c63a011 1112peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the
59dae0db 1113selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a
1114peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker.
9ffde3e8 1115
9c63a011 1116When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted;
9ffde3e8 1117clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys
9c63a011 1118and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess,
1119copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess}
1120marker.
c6203e43 1121
1122If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed
9ffde3e8 1123below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution
9c63a011 1124will also be revealed.
c6203e43 1125
13b443e3 1126\H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for Guess}Guess parameters
c6203e43 1127
1128These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1129\q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the
9ffde3e8 1130board game \q{Mastermind}.
c6203e43 1131
1132\dt \e{Colours}
1133
1134\dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10
1135(more is harder).
1136
1137\dt \e{Pegs per guess}
1138
1139\dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder).
1140
1141\dt \e{Guesses}
1142
1143\dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder).
1144
1145\dt \e{Allow blanks}
1146
1147\dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because
1148you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This
1149is turned off by default.
1150
1151Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted
1152that, use one extra colour.
1153
1154\dt \e{Allow duplicates}
1155
1156\dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once;
1157this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by
1158default.
1159
1160
13b443e3 1161\C{pegs} \i{Pegs}
1162
1163\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pegs}
1164
1165A number of pegs are placed in holes on a board. You can remove a
33a3deb2 1166peg by jumping an adjacent peg over it (horizontally or vertically)
1167to a vacant hole on the other side. Your aim is to remove all but one
1168of the pegs initially present.
13b443e3 1169
1170This game, best known as \q{Peg Solitaire}, is possibly one of the
1171oldest puzzle games still commonly known.
1172
1173\H{pegs-controls} \i{Pegs controls}
1174
1175\IM{Pegs controls} controls, for Pegs
1176
1177To move a peg, drag it with the mouse from its current position to
1178its final position. If the final position is exactly two holes away
1179from the initial position, is currently unoccupied by a peg, and
1180there is a peg in the intervening square, the move will be permitted
1181and the intervening peg will be removed.
1182
1183Vacant spaces which you can move a peg into are marked with holes. A
1184space with no peg and no hole is not available for moving at all: it
1185is an obstacle which you must work around.
1186
1187
1188\H{pegs-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pegs}Pegs parameters
1189
1190These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1191\q{Type} menu.
1192
1193\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1194
1195\dd Size of grid in holes.
1196
1197\dt \e{Board type}
1198
1199\dd Controls whether you are given a board of a standard shape or a
1200randomly generated shape. The two standard shapes currently
1201supported are \q{Cross} and \q{Octagon} (also commonly known as the
1202English and European traditional board layouts respectively).
1203Selecting \q{Random} will give you a different board shape every
1204time (but always one that is known to have a solution).
1205
1206
6c04c334 1207\C{dominosa} \i{Dominosa}
1208
1209\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.dominosa}
1210
de3b0e33 1211A normal set of dominoes - that is, one instance of every (unordered)
1212pair of numbers from 0 to 6 - has been arranged irregularly into a
6c04c334 1213rectangle; then the number in each square has been written down and
1214the dominoes themselves removed. Your task is to reconstruct the
1215pattern by arranging the set of dominoes to match the provided array
1216of numbers.
1217
1218This puzzle is widely credited to O. S. Adler, and takes part of its
1219name from those initials.
1220
1221\H{dominosa-controls} \i{Dominosa controls}
1222
1223\IM{Dominosa controls} controls, for Dominosa
1224
1225Left-clicking between any two adjacent numbers places a domino
1226covering them, or removes one if it is already present. Trying to
1227place a domino which overlaps existing dominoes will remove the ones
1228it overlaps.
1229
1230Right-clicking between two adjacent numbers draws a line between
1231them, which you can use to remind yourself that you know those two
1232numbers are \e{not} covered by a single domino. Right-clicking again
1233removes the line.
1234
1235
1236\H{dominosa-parameters} \I{parameters, for Dominosa}Dominosa parameters
1237
1238These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1239\q{Type} menu.
1240
1241\dt \e{Maximum number on dominoes}
1242
1243\dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by controlling the size of the
1244set of dominoes used to make it. Dominoes with numbers going up to N
1245will give rise to an (N+2) \by (N+1) rectangle; so, in particular,
1246the default value of 6 gives an 8\by\.7 grid.
1247
1248\dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
1249
1250\dd Normally, Dominosa will make sure that the puzzles it presents
1251have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
1252difficult and sometimes more subtle, so if you like you can turn off
1253this feature. Also, finding \e{all} the possible solutions can be an
1254additional challenge for an advanced player. Turning off this option
1255can also speed up puzzle generation.
1256
1257
9d6c3859 1258\C{untangle} \i{Untangle}
1259
1260\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.untangle}
1261
1262You are given a number of points, some of which have lines drawn
1263between them. You can move the points about arbitrarily; your aim is
1264to position the points so that no line crosses another.
1265
1266I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{Planarity}
1267\k{Planarity}, written by John Tantalo.
1268
1269\B{Planarity} \W{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}\cw{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}
1270
1271\H{untangle-controls} \i{Untangle controls}
1272
1273\IM{Untangle controls} controls, for Untangle
1274
1275To move a point, click on it with the left mouse button and drag it
1276into a new position.
1277
1278\H{untangle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Untangle}Untangle parameters
1279
1280There is only one parameter available from the \q{Custom...} option
1281on the \q{Type} menu:
1282
1283\dt \e{Number of points}
1284
1285\dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by specifying the number of
1286points in the generated graph.
1287
1288
bf7ebf5a 1289\C{blackbox} \i{Black Box}
1290
1291\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.blackbox}
1292
1293A number of balls are hidden in a rectangular arena. You have to
1294deduce the positions of the balls by firing lasers from positions
1295on the edge of the arena and observing how they are deflected.
1296
1297Lasers will fire straight until they hit the opposite side of the
1298arena (at which point they emerge), unless affected by balls in one of
1299the following ways:
1300
1301\b A laser that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never re-emerge.
1302 This includes lasers that meet a ball on the first rank of the arena.
1303
1304\b A laser with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees
1305 to the right.
1306
1307\b A laser with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected
1308 to the left.
1309
1310\b A laser that would re-emerge from the entry location is considered to be
ebf54ec9 1311 \q{reflected}.
bf7ebf5a 1312
a4c9750f 1313\b A laser which would get deflected before entering the arena (down the
1314 \q{firing range}) by a ball to the front-left or front-right of its
1315 entry point is also considered to be \q{reflected}.
bf7ebf5a 1316
ebf54ec9 1317Lasers that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; lasers that hit balls
1318dead-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing point
bf7ebf5a 1319and the location where the laser emerges (this number is unique to
1320that shot).
1321
1322You can place guesses as to the location of the balls, based on the
1323entry and exit patterns of the lasers; once you have placed enough
1324balls a button appears enabling you to have your guesses checked.
1325
1326Here is a diagram showing how the positions of balls can create each
1327of the laser behaviours shown above:
1328
1329\c 1RHR----
1330\c |..O.O...|
1331\c 2........3
1332\c |........|
1333\c |........|
1334\c 3........|
1335\c |......O.|
1336\c H........|
1337\c |.....O..|
1338\c 12-RH---
1339
1340As shown, it is possible for a ball to receive multiple reflections
1341before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a ball may be reflected
ebf54ec9 1342(possibly more than once) before receiving a hit (the \q{H} on the
bf7ebf5a 1343left side of the example).
1344
1345Note that any layout with more that 4 balls may have a non-unique
1346solution. The following diagram illustrates this; if you know the
1347board contains 5 balls, it is impossible to determine where the fifth
1348ball is (possible positions marked with an x):
1349
1350\c --------
1351\c |........|
1352\c |........|
1353\c |..O..O..|
1354\c |...xx...|
1355\c |...xx...|
1356\c |..O..O..|
1357\c |........|
1358\c |........|
1359\c --------
1360
1361For this reason when you have your guesses checked the game will
1362check that your solution \e{produces the same results} as the
1363computer's, rather than that your solution is identical to the
1364computer's. So in the above example, you could put the fifth ball at
1365\e{any} of the locations marked with an x, and you would still win.
1366
1367Black Box was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1368
1369\H{blackbox-controls} \i{Black Box controls}
1370
1371\IM{Black Box controls}controls, for Black Box
1372
1373To fire a laser, left-click in a square around the side of the arena.
1374The results will be displayed immediately. Lasers may not be fired
1375twice (because the results will never change). Holding down the left
1376button will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the
1377exit point for that laser, if applicable.
1378
1379To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a
1380black circle will appear marking the guess; to remove the guessed ball
1381click again.
1382
1383Locations in the arena may be locked against modification by
1384right-clicking; whole rows and columns may be similarly locked by
1385right-clicking in the laser firing range above/below that column, or
1386to the left/right of that row.
1387
1388When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed a button will
a4c9750f 1389appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that will mark
bf7ebf5a 1390your guesses.
1391
1392Once marked, correctly-placed balls are displayed as filled black
1393circles. Incorrectly-placed balls are displayed as filled black
1394circles with red crosses, and missing balls are filled red circles.
1395In addition, a red circle marks any laser you had already fired
1396which is not consistent with your ball layout, and red text marks
1397any laser you \e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball
1398layout from the right one.
1399
1400(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1401
1402\H{blackbox-parameters} \I{parameters, for Black Box}Black Box parameters
1403
1404These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1405\q{Type} menu.
1406
1407\dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1408
ebf54ec9 1409\dd Size of grid in squares. There are 2 \by \e{Width} \by \e{Height} lasers
bf7ebf5a 1410per grid, two per row and two per column.
1411
1412\dt \e{No. of balls}
1413
1414\dd Number of balls to place in the grid. This can be a single number,
ebf54ec9 1415or a range (separated with a hyphen, like \q{2-6}), and determines the
1416number of balls to place on the grid. The \q{reveal} button is only
bf7ebf5a 1417enabled if you have guessed an appropriate number of balls; a guess
1418using a different number to the original solution is still acceptable,
1419if all the laser inputs and outputs match.
1420
1421
e91825f8 1422\A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence}
1423
8a771ea7 1424This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2005 Simon Tatham.
e91825f8 1425
6bbab0fe 1426Portions copyright Richard Boulton and James Harvey.
e91825f8 1427
1428Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
1429obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
1430(the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
1431including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
1432publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
1433and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
1434subject to the following conditions:
1435
1436The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
1437included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
1438
1439THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
1440EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
1441MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
1442NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
1443BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
1444ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
1445CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
1446SOFTWARE.
1447
1185e3c5 1448\IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option
1449\IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option
e91825f8 1450
1451\IM{game ID} game ID
1452\IM{game ID} ID, game
1453\IM{ID format} ID format
1454\IM{ID format} format, ID
1455\IM{ID format} game ID, format
1456
1457\IM{keys} keys
1458\IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard)
1459
1460\IM{initial state} initial state
1461\IM{initial state} state, initial
1462
1463\IM{MIT licence} MIT licence
1464\IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT