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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 | |
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8 | \cfg{html-contents-filename}{index.html} |
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9 | \cfg{html-template-filename}{%k.html} |
10 | \cfg{html-index-filename}{docindex.html} |
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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 | |
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16 | \cfg{info-filename}{puzzles.info} |
17 | |
18 | \cfg{ps-filename}{puzzles.ps} |
19 | \cfg{pdf-filename}{puzzles.pdf} |
20 | |
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21 | \define{by} \u00D7{x} |
22 | |
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23 | \define{dash} \u2013{-} |
24 | |
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25 | This is a collection of small one-player puzzle games. |
26 | |
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27 | \copyright This manual is copyright 2004-2008 Simon Tatham. All rights |
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28 | reserved. You may distribute this documentation under the MIT licence. |
29 | See \k{licence} for the licence text in full. |
30 | |
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31 | \cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">} |
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32 | |
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33 | \versionid $Id$ |
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34 | |
35 | \C{intro} Introduction |
36 | |
37 | I wrote this collection because I thought there should be more small |
38 | desktop toys available: little games you can pop up in a window and |
39 | play for two or three minutes while you take a break from whatever |
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40 | else you were doing. And I was also annoyed that every time I found |
41 | a good game on (say) \i{Unix}, it wasn't available the next time I |
42 | was sitting at a \i{Windows} machine, or vice versa; so I arranged |
43 | that everything in my personal puzzle collection will happily run on |
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44 | both, and have more recently done a port to \i{Mac OS X} as well. When I |
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45 | find (or perhaps invent) further puzzle games that I like, they'll |
46 | be added to this collection and will immediately be available on |
47 | both platforms. And if anyone feels like writing any other front |
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48 | ends \dash PocketPC, Mac OS pre-10, or whatever it might be \dash |
49 | then all the games in this framework will immediately become |
50 | available on another platform as well. |
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51 | |
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52 | The actual games in this collection were mostly not my invention; they |
53 | are re-implementations of existing game concepts within my portable |
54 | puzzle framework. I do not claim credit, in general, for inventing the |
55 | rules of any of these puzzles. (I don't even claim authorship of all |
56 | the code; some of the puzzles have been submitted by other authors.) |
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57 | |
58 | This collection is distributed under the \i{MIT licence} (see |
59 | \k{licence}). This means that you can do pretty much anything you like |
60 | with the game binaries or the code, except pretending you wrote them |
61 | yourself, or suing me if anything goes wrong. |
62 | |
63 | The 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 | |
66 | Please report \I{feedback}\i{bugs} to |
67 | \W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\cw{anakin@pobox.com}. |
68 | You 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 | |
78 | This chapter describes features that are common to all the games. |
79 | |
80 | \H{common-actions} \I{controls}Common actions |
81 | |
82 | These actions are all available from the \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu |
83 | and via \I{keys}keyboard shortcuts, in addition to any game-specific |
84 | actions. |
85 | |
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86 | (On \i{Mac OS X}, to conform with local user interface standards, these |
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87 | actions are situated on the \I{File menu}\q{File} and \I{Edit |
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88 | menu}\q{Edit} menus instead.) |
89 | |
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90 | \dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N}) |
91 | |
92 | \dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state. |
93 | |
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94 | \dt \ii\e{Restart game} |
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95 | |
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96 | \dd Resets the current game to its initial state. (This can be undone.) |
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97 | |
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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 | |
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108 | The Load and Save operations preserve your entire game |
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109 | history (so you can save, reload, and still Undo and Redo things you |
110 | had done before saving). |
111 | |
112 | } |
113 | |
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114 | \dt \I{printing, on Windows}\e{Print} |
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115 | |
116 | \dd Where supported (currently only on Windows), brings up a dialog |
117 | allowing you to print an arbitrary number of puzzles randomly |
118 | generated from the current parameters, optionally including the |
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119 | current puzzle. (Only for puzzles which make sense to print, of |
120 | course - it's hard to think of a sensible printable representation |
121 | of Fifteen!) |
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122 | |
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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 |
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126 | session.) |
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127 | |
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128 | \dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R}) |
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129 | |
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130 | \dd Redoes a previously undone move. |
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131 | |
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132 | \dt \ii\e{Copy} |
133 | |
134 | \dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text |
135 | format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a |
136 | web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else. |
137 | (Not all games support this feature.) |
138 | |
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139 | \dt \ii\e{Solve} |
140 | |
141 | \dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some |
142 | games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of |
143 | no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved |
144 | state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a |
145 | solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a |
146 | mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution |
147 | tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does |
148 | provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment |
149 | with set-piece moves and transformations. |
150 | |
151 | \lcont{ |
152 | |
153 | Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have |
154 | typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot |
155 | solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did |
156 | invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still |
157 | other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only |
158 | if they aren't too difficult. |
159 | |
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160 | The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo |
161 | chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to |
162 | solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo. |
163 | |
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164 | } |
165 | |
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166 | \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q}) |
167 | |
168 | \dd Closes the application entirely. |
169 | |
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170 | \H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID} |
171 | |
172 | There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and |
173 | recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the |
174 | same puzzle. |
175 | |
176 | The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the |
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177 | \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on \i{Mac OS X}) each |
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178 | show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to |
179 | reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date. |
180 | |
181 | You 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 |
183 | later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use |
184 | either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see |
185 | \k{common-cmdline} for more detail. |
186 | |
187 | The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID |
188 | is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game, |
189 | whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was |
190 | provided as input to the random number generator used to create the |
191 | puzzle. This means that: |
192 | |
193 | \b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although |
194 | some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions). |
195 | So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle |
196 | you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can |
197 | play the same one as you. |
198 | |
199 | \b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically |
200 | generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you |
201 | can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid |
202 | puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or |
203 | more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a |
204 | random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody |
205 | has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before |
206 | anybody else. |
207 | |
208 | \b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such |
209 | as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive |
210 | game IDs suitable for use with these programs. |
211 | |
212 | \b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you |
213 | use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This |
214 | is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or |
215 | modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a |
216 | different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use |
217 | a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the |
218 | same version of the program as yours. |
219 | |
220 | \lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number |
221 | of the program. Programs with the same version number running on |
222 | different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)} |
223 | |
224 | \I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which |
225 | encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid |
226 | size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of |
227 | the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string |
228 | of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by |
229 | arbitrary data. |
230 | |
231 | If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to |
232 | show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't |
233 | generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed, |
234 | however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game |
235 | ID derived from that random seed. |
236 | |
237 | Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical |
238 | between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data |
239 | provided with the random seed which is not included in the |
240 | descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is |
241 | only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important |
242 | when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo |
243 | (\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID. |
244 | |
245 | These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type |
246 | in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced} |
247 | difficulty 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 |
250 | generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having |
251 | trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask |
252 | for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced} |
253 | difficulty which it was previously set on. |
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254 | |
255 | \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu |
256 | |
257 | The \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 |
259 | random game with the parameters specified. |
260 | |
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261 | The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which |
262 | allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters |
263 | available are specific to each game and are described in the |
264 | following sections. |
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265 | |
266 | \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line} |
267 | |
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268 | (This section does not apply to the \i{Mac OS X} version.) |
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269 | |
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270 | The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save |
271 | information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score |
272 | tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least |
273 | some people to play them at work, and those people will probably |
274 | appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!) |
275 | |
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276 | However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to |
277 | \I{default parameters, specifying}default to a particular set of |
278 | parameters, you can specify them on the command line. |
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279 | |
280 | The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want |
281 | using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select |
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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 |
284 | two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents |
285 | the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and |
286 | anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu). |
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287 | |
288 | If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command |
289 | line, it will start up with the settings you specified. |
290 | |
291 | For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron} |
292 | from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you |
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293 | will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only |
294 | the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text |
295 | on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}. |
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296 | |
297 | If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game |
298 | will start up in the specific game that was described. This is |
299 | occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID |
300 | than by pasting it into the game ID selection box. |
301 | |
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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 |
304 | then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be |
305 | missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.) |
306 | |
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307 | \H{common-unix-cmdline} \i{Unix} \i{command-line} options |
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308 | |
309 | (This section only applies to the Unix port.) |
310 | |
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311 | In addition to being able to specify game parameters on the command |
312 | line (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 |
319 | argument is treated as specifying game parameters or a \i{save} file |
320 | to \i{load}. Only one should be specified. If neither of these options |
321 | is specified, a guess is made based on the format of the argument. |
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322 | |
323 | \dt \cw{--generate }\e{n} |
324 | |
325 | \dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being displayed, |
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326 | a number of descriptive game IDs will be \I{generating game IDs}invented |
327 | and printed on standard output. This is useful for gaining access to |
328 | the game generation algorithms without necessarily using the frontend. |
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329 | |
330 | \lcont{ |
331 | |
332 | If game parameters are specified on the command-line, they will be |
333 | used to generate the game IDs; otherwise a default set of parameters |
334 | will be used. |
335 | |
336 | The most common use of this option is in conjunction with \c{--print}, |
337 | in 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, |
344 | a printed representation of one or more unsolved puzzles is sent to |
345 | standard output, in \i{PostScript} format. |
346 | |
347 | \lcont{ |
348 | |
349 | On each page of puzzles, there will be \e{w} across and \e{h} down. If |
350 | there are more puzzles than \e{w}\by\e{h}, more than one page will be |
351 | printed. |
352 | |
353 | If \c{--generate} has also been specified, the invented game IDs will |
354 | be used to generate the printed output. Otherwise, a list of game IDs |
355 | is expected on standard input (which can be descriptive or random |
356 | seeds; see \k{common-id}), in the same format produced by |
357 | \c{--generate}. |
358 | |
359 | For example: |
360 | |
361 | \c net --generate 12 --print 2x3 7x7w | lpr |
362 | |
363 | will generate two pages of printed Net puzzles (each of which will |
364 | have a 7\by\.7 wrapping grid), and pipe the output to the \c{lpr} |
365 | command, which on many systems will send them to an actual printer. |
366 | |
367 | There are various other options which affect printing; see below. |
368 | |
369 | } |
370 | |
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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 |
374 | displayed, saved-game files for one or more unsolved puzzles are |
375 | written to files constructed from the supplied prefix and/or suffix. |
376 | |
377 | \lcont{ |
378 | |
379 | If \c{--generate} has also been specified, the invented game IDs will |
380 | be used to generate the printed output. Otherwise, a list of game IDs |
381 | is expected on standard input (which can be descriptive or random |
382 | seeds; see \k{common-id}), in the same format produced by |
383 | \c{--generate}. |
384 | |
385 | For example: |
386 | |
387 | \c net --generate 12 --save game --save-suffix .sav |
388 | |
389 | will generate twelve Net saved-game files with the names |
390 | \cw{game0.sav} to \cw{game11.sav}. |
391 | |
392 | } |
393 | |
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394 | \dt \cw{--version} |
395 | |
396 | \dd Prints version information about the game, and then quits. |
397 | |
398 | The following options are only meaningful if \c{--print} is also |
399 | specified: |
400 | |
401 | \dt \cw{--with-solutions} |
402 | |
403 | \dd The set of pages filled with unsolved puzzles will be followed by |
404 | the 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 |
409 | puzzles 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 | |
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416 | |
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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 | |
424 | I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet} |
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425 | \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other |
426 | implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a |
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427 | network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then |
428 | shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to |
429 | rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an |
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430 | entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter |
431 | clause means that there are no closed paths within the network. |
432 | Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid, |
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433 | all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are |
434 | highlighted. |
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 | |
444 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The |
445 | controls 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 | |
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453 | \dt \e{Rotate tile by 180 degrees}: \q{F} key |
454 | |
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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 |
458 | also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally |
459 | turn it. |
460 | |
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461 | The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may |
462 | be 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 |
467 | tiles 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 |
473 | be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be |
474 | helpful 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 |
479 | orientations. |
480 | |
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481 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
482 | |
483 | \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters |
484 | |
485 | These 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, |
495 | and 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 |
500 | barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a |
501 | higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they |
502 | act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints). |
503 | |
504 | \lcont{ |
505 | |
506 | The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the |
507 | barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if |
1185e3c5 |
508 | you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle |
509 | (see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter, |
510 | and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the |
511 | same starting grid, with the only change being the number of |
512 | barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint, |
513 | you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same |
514 | parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed |
515 | from 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 |
522 | only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
523 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
524 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all} |
525 | the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an |
526 | advanced player.) |
527 | |
e28d0584 |
528 | |
e91825f8 |
529 | \C{cube} \i{Cube} |
530 | |
531 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube} |
532 | |
533 | This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a |
534 | Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16 |
535 | squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move |
536 | is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that |
537 | it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue |
538 | square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you |
539 | roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is |
540 | put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces |
541 | that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue |
542 | squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your |
543 | moves and try to do it in as few as possible. |
544 | |
545 | Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature: |
546 | once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid, |
547 | you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an |
548 | octahedron 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 |
558 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
e91825f8 |
559 | |
a1d5acff |
560 | Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other |
561 | solid) towards the mouse pointer. |
562 | |
563 | The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in |
564 | the four cardinal directions. |
e91825f8 |
565 | On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is |
566 | more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't |
567 | make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric |
568 | keypad (\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 | |
574 | These 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): |
580 | tetrahedron, 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 |
585 | triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows |
586 | respectively. |
587 | |
588 | |
589 | \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen} |
590 | |
591 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen} |
592 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
593 | The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}} |
594 | with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares |
595 | contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to |
596 | choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space. |
597 | The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the |
598 | space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the |
599 | bottom 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 | |
607 | This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard. |
608 | |
609 | A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty |
610 | space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the |
611 | mouse pointer. |
612 | |
613 | The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction |
614 | indicated (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 | |
620 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
621 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once |
622 | you'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 | |
629 | Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see |
630 | \k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no |
631 | hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move |
632 | is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up |
633 | or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid |
634 | re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just |
635 | vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on |
636 | the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try |
637 | playing on different sizes of grid. |
638 | |
639 | I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if |
640 | so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I |
641 | thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling |
642 | that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle |
643 | rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one |
644 | thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part |
645 | rather than just engineering. |
646 | |
647 | \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls |
648 | |
3e17893b |
649 | Left-clicking on an arrow will move the appropriate row or column in |
650 | the direction indicated. Right-clicking will move it in the opposite |
651 | direction. |
652 | |
653 | Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the position indicator |
654 | around the edge of the grid, and use the return key to move the |
655 | row/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 |
661 | The 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 |
667 | the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way |
668 | that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can |
669 | override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to |
670 | be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise |
671 | set 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 |
673 | more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter |
674 | than 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 | |
681 | Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen |
682 | (see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each |
683 | containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into |
684 | ascending order. |
685 | |
686 | In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four |
a3631c72 |
687 | tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in |
688 | the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced |
689 | settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles. |
9038fd11 |
690 | |
691 | I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid |
692 | Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle |
693 | you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I |
694 | developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle. |
695 | |
696 | \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls |
697 | |
698 | To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group |
699 | you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square, |
700 | which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles |
701 | meet. |
702 | |
703 | In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at |
704 | a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in |
705 | the centre tile of the square you want to rotate. |
706 | |
707 | Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise. |
708 | Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise. |
709 | |
5c6659fd |
710 | You can also move an outline square around the grid with the cursor |
711 | keys; the square is the size above (2\by\.2 by default, or larger). |
712 | Pressing the return key or space bar will rotate the current square |
713 | anticlockwise or clockwise respectively. |
714 | |
9038fd11 |
715 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
716 | |
717 | \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters |
718 | |
719 | Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom} |
720 | option on the \q{Type} menu: |
721 | |
722 | \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid. |
723 | |
724 | \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time. |
725 | |
726 | \b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable |
727 | (the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there |
728 | are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim |
729 | is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into |
730 | the second row, and so on. |
731 | |
a3631c72 |
732 | \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If |
d50832a3 |
733 | you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle |
734 | drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete |
735 | the puzzle. |
a3631c72 |
736 | |
81875211 |
737 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
738 | the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any |
739 | arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this |
740 | by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed. |
741 | Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling |
742 | moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move |
743 | shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask |
744 | for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target |
745 | length will turn out to be possible. |
746 | |
9038fd11 |
747 | |
e91825f8 |
748 | \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles} |
749 | |
750 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles} |
751 | |
752 | You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all) |
753 | of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of |
754 | various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one |
755 | numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the |
756 | number written in its numbered square. |
757 | |
758 | Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli} |
26801d29 |
759 | \k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle |
760 | Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's |
761 | implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of |
762 | any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not |
763 | quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side |
764 | you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own |
765 | specification. |
e91825f8 |
766 | |
6ae37301 |
767 | \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 |
768 | |
6ae37301 |
769 | \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 |
770 | |
771 | \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls |
772 | |
7b3481c8 |
773 | This game is played with the mouse or cursor keys. |
774 | |
775 | Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or left-click and drag to draw |
776 | an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any existing |
777 | edges within that rectangle). Right-clicking and dragging will allow you |
778 | to erase the contents of a rectangle without affecting its edges. |
779 | |
780 | Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the position indicator |
781 | around the board. Pressing the return key then allows you to use the |
782 | cursor keys to drag a rectangle out from that position, and pressing |
783 | the return key again completes the rectangle. Using the space bar |
784 | instead of the return key allows you to erase the contents of a |
785 | rectangle without affecting its edges, as above. |
e91825f8 |
786 | |
787 | When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded. |
788 | |
789 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
790 | |
791 | \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters |
792 | |
40fde884 |
793 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
794 | \q{Type} menu. |
795 | |
796 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
797 | |
798 | \dd Size of grid, in squares. |
799 | |
800 | \dt \e{Expansion factor} |
aea3ed9a |
801 | |
40fde884 |
802 | \dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by |
803 | the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large |
804 | rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask |
aea3ed9a |
805 | Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size |
806 | you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns. |
807 | |
40fde884 |
808 | \lcont{ |
809 | |
aea3ed9a |
810 | The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will |
811 | simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing |
812 | further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that |
813 | each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big |
814 | after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the |
815 | size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size |
816 | without adding any more rectangles. |
817 | |
4a03dbb4 |
818 | Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game |
819 | more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive |
820 | and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high, |
821 | though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles |
822 | to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial. |
aea3ed9a |
823 | |
40fde884 |
824 | } |
825 | |
826 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
827 | |
828 | \dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents |
829 | have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
830 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
831 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the |
832 | possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced |
833 | player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation. |
834 | |
6ae37301 |
835 | |
e91825f8 |
836 | \C{netslide} \i{Netslide} |
837 | |
838 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide} |
839 | |
6bbab0fe |
840 | This game combines the grid generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the |
841 | movement of Sixteen (see \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but |
842 | instead of rotating tiles back into place you have to slide them |
843 | into place by moving a whole row at a time. |
e91825f8 |
844 | |
3e17893b |
845 | As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse or |
846 | cursor keys. See \k{sixteen-controls}. |
e91825f8 |
847 | |
aa27d493 |
848 | \I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar |
849 | meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see |
850 | \k{sixteen-params}). |
e91825f8 |
851 | |
6bbab0fe |
852 | Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton. |
6ae37301 |
853 | |
e28d0584 |
854 | |
b6b0369e |
855 | \C{pattern} \i{Pattern} |
856 | |
857 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern} |
858 | |
859 | You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black |
860 | or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the |
861 | runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the |
862 | lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to |
863 | fill in the entire grid black or white. |
864 | |
865 | I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name |
2e1e03ff |
866 | \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under |
b6b0369e |
867 | different names. |
868 | |
869 | Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture |
870 | of something once you've solved them. However, since this version |
871 | generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random |
872 | groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually |
873 | a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of |
874 | squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.) |
875 | The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them. |
876 | |
2e1e03ff |
877 | \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls |
b6b0369e |
878 | |
879 | This game is played with the mouse. |
880 | |
881 | Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it |
882 | white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down |
883 | Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the |
884 | default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again. |
885 | |
886 | You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour |
887 | a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time |
888 | (respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or |
889 | with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares |
890 | grey. |
891 | |
b2ae5b05 |
892 | You can also move around the grid with the cursor keys. Pressing the |
893 | return key will cycle the current cell through empty --> black --> |
894 | white --> empty, and the space bar does the same cycle in reverse. |
895 | |
2e1e03ff |
896 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
897 | |
b6b0369e |
898 | \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters |
899 | |
900 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
901 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
e91825f8 |
902 | |
6ae37301 |
903 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
904 | \C{solo} \i{Solo} |
905 | |
906 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo} |
907 | |
81b09746 |
908 | You have a square grid, which is divided into as many equally sized |
909 | sub-blocks as the grid has rows. Each square must be filled in with |
910 | a digit from 1 to the size of the grid, in such a way that |
1d8e8ad8 |
911 | |
912 | \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit |
913 | |
914 | \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit |
915 | |
916 | \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit. |
917 | |
81b09746 |
918 | \b (optionally, by default off) each of the square's two main |
919 | diagonals contains only one occurrence of each digit. |
920 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
921 | You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the |
922 | rest of the numbers correctly. |
923 | |
81b09746 |
924 | Under the default settings, the sub-blocks are square or |
925 | rectangular. The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual |
926 | grid, divided into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes |
927 | with rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a |
928 | 6\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks). Alternatively, you |
929 | can select \q{jigsaw} mode, in which the sub-blocks are arbitrary |
930 | shapes which differ between individual puzzles. |
1d8e8ad8 |
931 | |
932 | If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the |
933 | additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if |
934 | you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1 |
935 | to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}. |
936 | |
3012ffca |
937 | I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's |
938 | also been popularised by various newspapers under the name |
939 | \q{Sudoku} or \q{Su Doku}. Howard Garns is considered the inventor |
940 | of the modern form of the puzzle, and it was first published in |
941 | \e{Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games}. A more elaborate treatment |
942 | of the history of the puzzle can be found on Wikipedia |
943 | \k{wikipedia-solo}. |
1d8e8ad8 |
944 | |
6ae37301 |
945 | \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} |
946 | |
3012ffca |
947 | \B{wikipedia-solo} \W{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku}\cw{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku} |
948 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
949 | \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls |
950 | |
951 | To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then |
952 | type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you |
953 | make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press |
954 | Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature). |
955 | |
c8266e03 |
956 | If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that |
957 | number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can |
b63898fe |
958 | have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. Squares |
959 | containing filled-in numbers cannot also contain pencil marks. |
c8266e03 |
960 | |
961 | The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use |
962 | them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a |
963 | particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a |
964 | particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible |
965 | numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like. |
966 | |
967 | To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type |
968 | the same number again. |
969 | |
970 | All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type |
971 | a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and |
972 | pressing space will also erase pencil marks. |
973 | |
b63898fe |
974 | Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the mark around the grid. |
975 | Pressing the return key toggles the mark (from a normal mark to a |
976 | pencil mark), and typing a number in is entered in the square in the |
977 | appropriate way; typing in a 0 or using the space bar will clear a |
978 | filled square. |
979 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
980 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
981 | |
982 | \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters |
983 | |
984 | Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle |
6ae37301 |
985 | grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of |
986 | rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is |
987 | the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows, |
988 | each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.) |
1d8e8ad8 |
989 | |
81b09746 |
990 | If you tick the \q{X} checkbox, Solo will apply the optional extra |
991 | constraint that the two main diagonals of the grid also contain one |
fbd0fc79 |
992 | of every digit. (This is sometimes known as \q{Sudoku-X} in |
993 | newspapers.) In this mode, the squares on the two main diagonals |
994 | will be shaded slightly so that you know it's enabled. |
995 | |
81b09746 |
996 | If you tick the \q{Jigsaw} checkbox, Solo will generate randomly |
997 | shaped sub-blocks. In this mode, the actual grid size will be taken |
998 | to be the product of the numbers entered in the \q{Columns} and |
999 | \q{Rows} boxes. There is no reason why you have to enter a number |
1000 | greater than 1 in both boxes; Jigsaw mode has no constraint on the |
1001 | grid size, and it can even be a prime number if you feel like it. |
1002 | |
ef57b17d |
1003 | You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated |
1004 | puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also |
1005 | make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more |
1006 | clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles |
1007 | have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible. |
1008 | |
7c568a48 |
1009 | Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles. |
1010 | Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of |
1011 | deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode |
1012 | of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In |
1013 | particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there |
1014 | will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times, |
1015 | whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make |
1016 | partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in |
e28d0584 |
1017 | (or the set of numbers that could be in a square). |
1018 | \#{Advanced, Extreme?} |
1019 | At \q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will |
de60d8bd |
1020 | eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out |
1021 | to be wrong. |
7c568a48 |
1022 | |
c65d92ac |
1023 | Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select one |
1024 | of the higher difficulty levels, Solo may have to make many attempts |
1025 | at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough for you. Be |
1026 | prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured a large |
1027 | puzzle size. |
7c568a48 |
1028 | |
ef57b17d |
1029 | |
7959b517 |
1030 | \C{mines} \i{Mines} |
1031 | |
1032 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines} |
1033 | |
1034 | You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but |
1035 | you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does |
1036 | \e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine, |
1037 | you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you |
1038 | are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding |
1039 | squares. |
1040 | |
1041 | This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is |
1042 | perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence. |
1043 | |
1044 | This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will |
1045 | generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you |
1046 | never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to |
1047 | deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other |
1048 | versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are |
1049 | two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they |
1050 | are. |
1051 | |
1052 | \H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls |
1053 | |
1054 | This game is played with the mouse. |
1055 | |
1056 | If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered. |
1057 | |
1058 | If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which |
1059 | indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in |
1060 | a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click |
1061 | again to remove a mark placed in error. |
1062 | |
1063 | If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear |
1064 | around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many |
1065 | flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered |
1066 | squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So |
1067 | once you think you know the location of all the mines around a |
1068 | square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to |
1069 | click on each of the remaining squares one by one. |
1070 | |
1071 | If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding |
1072 | eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in |
1073 | turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This |
1074 | will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a |
1075 | square, a whole new area will open up to be explored. |
1076 | |
9c90045a |
1077 | You can also use the cursor keys to move around the minefield. |
1078 | Pressing the return key in a covered square uncovers it, and in an |
1079 | uncovered square will clear around it (so it acts as the left button), |
1080 | pressing the space bar in a covered square will place a flag |
1081 | (similarly, it acts as the right button). |
1082 | |
11d31eb9 |
1083 | All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available. |
1084 | |
7959b517 |
1085 | Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to |
11d31eb9 |
1086 | use it. If you step on a mine, the program will only reveal the mine |
1087 | in question (unlike most other implementations, which reveal all of |
1088 | them). You can then Undo your fatal move and continue playing if you |
1089 | like. The program will track the number of times you died (and Undo |
1090 | will not reduce that counter), so when you get to the end of the |
1091 | game you know whether or not you did it without making any errors. |
1092 | |
1093 | (If you really want to know the full layout of the grid, which other |
1094 | implementations will show you after you die, you can always use the |
1095 | Solve menu option.) |
7959b517 |
1096 | |
1097 | \H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters |
1098 | |
1099 | The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
1100 | menu are: |
1101 | |
1102 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1103 | |
1104 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1105 | |
1106 | \dt \e{Mines} |
1107 | |
08781119 |
1108 | \dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute |
1109 | mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in |
1110 | which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares |
1111 | in the grid to be mines. |
1112 | |
1113 | \lcont{ |
1114 | |
1115 | Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities, |
1116 | the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid. |
1117 | |
1118 | } |
7959b517 |
1119 | |
1120 | \dt \e{Ensure solubility} |
1121 | |
1122 | \dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will |
1123 | ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the |
1124 | initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by |
1125 | other implementations, you can switch off this option. |
1126 | |
1127 | |
6bbab0fe |
1128 | \C{samegame} \i{Same Game} |
1129 | |
1130 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame} |
1131 | |
1132 | You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by |
209ab5a7 |
1133 | highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square; |
6bbab0fe |
1134 | the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and |
1135 | the faster you clear the arena). |
1136 | |
1137 | If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but |
209ab5a7 |
1138 | single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you |
6bbab0fe |
1139 | lose. |
1140 | |
1141 | Removing a region causes the rest of the grid to shuffle up: |
1142 | blocks that are suspended will fall down (first), and then empty |
1143 | columns are filled from the right. |
1144 | |
6bbab0fe |
1145 | Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1146 | |
209ab5a7 |
1147 | \H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls} |
1148 | |
1149 | \IM{Same Game controls} controls, for Same Game |
1150 | \IM{Same Game controls} keys, for Same Game |
1151 | \IM{Same Game controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Same Game |
1152 | |
1153 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
6bbab0fe |
1154 | |
1155 | If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly |
1156 | clearing the current selection). |
1157 | |
1158 | If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the |
1159 | rest of the grid shuffled immediately). |
1160 | |
1161 | If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected. |
1162 | |
209ab5a7 |
1163 | The cursor keys move a cursor around the grid. Pressing the Space or |
1164 | Enter keys while the cursor is in an unselected region selects it; |
1165 | pressing Space or Enter again removes it as above. |
1166 | |
e28d0584 |
1167 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1168 | |
6bbab0fe |
1169 | \H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters |
1170 | |
209ab5a7 |
1171 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1172 | \q{Type} menu. |
1173 | |
6bbab0fe |
1174 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1175 | |
1176 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1177 | |
1178 | \dt \e{No. of colours} |
1179 | |
1180 | \dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours, |
209ab5a7 |
1181 | the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to |
1182 | successfully clear the grid. |
1183 | |
1184 | \dt \e{Scoring system} |
1185 | |
1186 | \dd Controls the precise mechanism used for scoring. With the default |
1187 | system, \q{(n-2)^2}, only regions of three squares or more will score |
1188 | any points at all. With the alternative \q{(n-1)^2} system, regions of |
1189 | two squares score a point each, and larger regions score relatively |
1190 | more points. |
6bbab0fe |
1191 | |
e4a7ab56 |
1192 | \dt \e{Ensure solubility} |
1193 | |
1194 | \dd If this option is ticked (the default state), generated grids |
1195 | will be guaranteed to have at least one solution. |
1196 | |
1197 | \lcont{ |
1198 | |
1199 | If you turn it off, the game generator will not try to guarantee |
1200 | soluble grids; it will, however, still ensure that there are at |
1201 | least 2 squares of each colour on the grid at the start (since a |
1202 | grid with exactly one square of a given colour is \e{definitely} |
1203 | insoluble). Grids generated with this option disabled may contain |
1204 | more large areas of contiguous colour, leading to opportunities for |
1205 | higher scores; they can also take less time to generate. |
1206 | |
1207 | } |
1208 | |
f4afe206 |
1209 | |
1210 | \C{flip} \i{Flip} |
1211 | |
1212 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip} |
1213 | |
1214 | You have a grid of squares, some light and some dark. Your aim is to |
1215 | light all the squares up at the same time. You can choose any square |
1216 | and flip its state from light to dark or dark to light, but when you |
1217 | do so, other squares around it change state as well. |
1218 | |
1219 | Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares |
1220 | change when you flip it. |
1221 | |
d6acbe63 |
1222 | \H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls} |
f4afe206 |
1223 | |
1224 | \IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip |
1225 | \IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip |
1226 | \IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip |
1227 | |
33317d37 |
1228 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
1229 | |
1230 | Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares, or |
1231 | use the cursor keys to choose a square and the space bar or Enter |
1232 | key to flip. |
79cb09e9 |
1233 | |
5f6050b4 |
1234 | If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of |
1235 | the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red |
1236 | mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square |
1237 | \e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate |
1238 | that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.) |
f4afe206 |
1239 | |
e28d0584 |
1240 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1241 | |
f4afe206 |
1242 | \H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters |
1243 | |
1244 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1245 | \q{Type} menu. |
1246 | |
1247 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1248 | |
1249 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1250 | |
1251 | \dt \e{Shape type} |
1252 | |
1253 | \dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped |
1254 | by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses}, |
1255 | causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours |
1256 | (or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting, |
1257 | \q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so |
1258 | the game is different every time. |
1259 | |
1260 | |
c6203e43 |
1261 | \C{guess} \i{Guess} |
1262 | |
1263 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess} |
1264 | |
1265 | You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a |
1266 | predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a |
1267 | certain number of guesses. |
1268 | |
1269 | Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs |
9ffde3e8 |
1270 | in the correct places (in black), and also the number of |
1271 | correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white). |
c6203e43 |
1272 | |
1273 | This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as |
bb219ea1 |
1274 | a board game \q{\i{Mastermind}}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row, |
1275 | and 10 guesses. However, this version allows custom settings of number |
1276 | of colours (up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses. |
c6203e43 |
1277 | |
64455a5a |
1278 | Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1279 | |
c6203e43 |
1280 | \H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls} |
1281 | |
1282 | \IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess |
1283 | \IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess |
1284 | \IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess |
1285 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1286 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
1287 | |
9c63a011 |
1288 | With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand |
1289 | side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be |
1290 | dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To |
1291 | remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid. |
c6203e43 |
1292 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1293 | Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs |
c6203e43 |
1294 | that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess |
1295 | after marking. |
1296 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1297 | Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be |
1298 | used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a |
9c63a011 |
1299 | peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the |
59dae0db |
1300 | selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a |
1301 | peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker. |
9ffde3e8 |
1302 | |
9c63a011 |
1303 | When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted; |
9ffde3e8 |
1304 | clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys |
9c63a011 |
1305 | and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess, |
1306 | copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess} |
1307 | marker. |
c6203e43 |
1308 | |
1309 | If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed |
9ffde3e8 |
1310 | below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution |
9c63a011 |
1311 | will also be revealed. |
c6203e43 |
1312 | |
e28d0584 |
1313 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1314 | |
13b443e3 |
1315 | \H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for Guess}Guess parameters |
c6203e43 |
1316 | |
1317 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1318 | \q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the |
9ffde3e8 |
1319 | board game \q{Mastermind}. |
c6203e43 |
1320 | |
1321 | \dt \e{Colours} |
1322 | |
1323 | \dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10 |
1324 | (more is harder). |
1325 | |
1326 | \dt \e{Pegs per guess} |
1327 | |
1328 | \dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder). |
1329 | |
1330 | \dt \e{Guesses} |
1331 | |
1332 | \dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder). |
1333 | |
1334 | \dt \e{Allow blanks} |
1335 | |
1336 | \dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because |
1337 | you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This |
1338 | is turned off by default. |
1339 | |
1340 | Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted |
1341 | that, use one extra colour. |
1342 | |
1343 | \dt \e{Allow duplicates} |
1344 | |
1345 | \dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once; |
1346 | this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by |
1347 | default. |
1348 | |
1349 | |
13b443e3 |
1350 | \C{pegs} \i{Pegs} |
1351 | |
1352 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pegs} |
1353 | |
1354 | A number of pegs are placed in holes on a board. You can remove a |
33a3deb2 |
1355 | peg by jumping an adjacent peg over it (horizontally or vertically) |
1356 | to a vacant hole on the other side. Your aim is to remove all but one |
1357 | of the pegs initially present. |
13b443e3 |
1358 | |
e28d0584 |
1359 | This game, best known as \I{Solitaire, Peg}\q{Peg Solitaire}, is |
1360 | possibly one of the oldest puzzle games still commonly known. |
13b443e3 |
1361 | |
1362 | \H{pegs-controls} \i{Pegs controls} |
1363 | |
1364 | \IM{Pegs controls} controls, for Pegs |
1365 | |
1366 | To move a peg, drag it with the mouse from its current position to |
1367 | its final position. If the final position is exactly two holes away |
1368 | from the initial position, is currently unoccupied by a peg, and |
1369 | there is a peg in the intervening square, the move will be permitted |
1370 | and the intervening peg will be removed. |
1371 | |
1372 | Vacant spaces which you can move a peg into are marked with holes. A |
1373 | space with no peg and no hole is not available for moving at all: it |
1374 | is an obstacle which you must work around. |
1375 | |
e88d61a4 |
1376 | You can also use the cursor keys to move a position indicator around |
1377 | the board. Pressing the return key while over a peg, followed by a |
1378 | cursor key, will jump the peg in that direction (if that is a legal |
1379 | move). |
1380 | |
e28d0584 |
1381 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
13b443e3 |
1382 | |
1383 | \H{pegs-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pegs}Pegs parameters |
1384 | |
1385 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1386 | \q{Type} menu. |
1387 | |
1388 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1389 | |
1390 | \dd Size of grid in holes. |
1391 | |
1392 | \dt \e{Board type} |
1393 | |
1394 | \dd Controls whether you are given a board of a standard shape or a |
1395 | randomly generated shape. The two standard shapes currently |
1396 | supported are \q{Cross} and \q{Octagon} (also commonly known as the |
1397 | English and European traditional board layouts respectively). |
1398 | Selecting \q{Random} will give you a different board shape every |
1399 | time (but always one that is known to have a solution). |
1400 | |
1401 | |
6c04c334 |
1402 | \C{dominosa} \i{Dominosa} |
1403 | |
1404 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.dominosa} |
1405 | |
f1010613 |
1406 | A normal set of dominoes \dash that is, one instance of every |
1407 | (unordered) pair of numbers from 0 to 6 \dash has been arranged |
1408 | irregularly into a rectangle; then the number in each square has |
1409 | been written down and the dominoes themselves removed. Your task is |
1410 | to reconstruct the pattern by arranging the set of dominoes to match |
1411 | the provided array of numbers. |
6c04c334 |
1412 | |
1413 | This puzzle is widely credited to O. S. Adler, and takes part of its |
1414 | name from those initials. |
1415 | |
1416 | \H{dominosa-controls} \i{Dominosa controls} |
1417 | |
1418 | \IM{Dominosa controls} controls, for Dominosa |
1419 | |
1420 | Left-clicking between any two adjacent numbers places a domino |
1421 | covering them, or removes one if it is already present. Trying to |
1422 | place a domino which overlaps existing dominoes will remove the ones |
1423 | it overlaps. |
1424 | |
1425 | Right-clicking between two adjacent numbers draws a line between |
1426 | them, which you can use to remind yourself that you know those two |
1427 | numbers are \e{not} covered by a single domino. Right-clicking again |
1428 | removes the line. |
1429 | |
e28d0584 |
1430 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
6c04c334 |
1431 | |
1432 | \H{dominosa-parameters} \I{parameters, for Dominosa}Dominosa parameters |
1433 | |
1434 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1435 | \q{Type} menu. |
1436 | |
1437 | \dt \e{Maximum number on dominoes} |
1438 | |
1439 | \dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by controlling the size of the |
1440 | set of dominoes used to make it. Dominoes with numbers going up to N |
1441 | will give rise to an (N+2) \by (N+1) rectangle; so, in particular, |
1442 | the default value of 6 gives an 8\by\.7 grid. |
1443 | |
1444 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
1445 | |
1446 | \dd Normally, Dominosa will make sure that the puzzles it presents |
1447 | have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
1448 | difficult and sometimes more subtle, so if you like you can turn off |
1449 | this feature. Also, finding \e{all} the possible solutions can be an |
1450 | additional challenge for an advanced player. Turning off this option |
1451 | can also speed up puzzle generation. |
1452 | |
1453 | |
9d6c3859 |
1454 | \C{untangle} \i{Untangle} |
1455 | |
1456 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.untangle} |
1457 | |
1458 | You are given a number of points, some of which have lines drawn |
1459 | between them. You can move the points about arbitrarily; your aim is |
1460 | to position the points so that no line crosses another. |
1461 | |
1462 | I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{Planarity} |
1463 | \k{Planarity}, written by John Tantalo. |
1464 | |
1465 | \B{Planarity} \W{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}\cw{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity} |
1466 | |
1467 | \H{untangle-controls} \i{Untangle controls} |
1468 | |
1469 | \IM{Untangle controls} controls, for Untangle |
1470 | |
1471 | To move a point, click on it with the left mouse button and drag it |
1472 | into a new position. |
1473 | |
e28d0584 |
1474 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1475 | |
9d6c3859 |
1476 | \H{untangle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Untangle}Untangle parameters |
1477 | |
1478 | There is only one parameter available from the \q{Custom...} option |
1479 | on the \q{Type} menu: |
1480 | |
1481 | \dt \e{Number of points} |
1482 | |
1483 | \dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by specifying the number of |
1484 | points in the generated graph. |
1485 | |
1486 | |
bf7ebf5a |
1487 | \C{blackbox} \i{Black Box} |
1488 | |
1489 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.blackbox} |
1490 | |
1491 | A number of balls are hidden in a rectangular arena. You have to |
1492 | deduce the positions of the balls by firing lasers from positions |
1493 | on the edge of the arena and observing how they are deflected. |
1494 | |
1495 | Lasers will fire straight until they hit the opposite side of the |
1496 | arena (at which point they emerge), unless affected by balls in one of |
1497 | the following ways: |
1498 | |
1499 | \b A laser that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never re-emerge. |
1500 | This includes lasers that meet a ball on the first rank of the arena. |
1501 | |
1502 | \b A laser with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees |
1503 | to the right. |
1504 | |
1505 | \b A laser with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected |
1506 | to the left. |
1507 | |
1508 | \b A laser that would re-emerge from the entry location is considered to be |
ebf54ec9 |
1509 | \q{reflected}. |
bf7ebf5a |
1510 | |
a4c9750f |
1511 | \b A laser which would get deflected before entering the arena (down the |
1512 | \q{firing range}) by a ball to the front-left or front-right of its |
1513 | entry point is also considered to be \q{reflected}. |
bf7ebf5a |
1514 | |
ebf54ec9 |
1515 | Lasers that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; lasers that hit balls |
1516 | dead-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing point |
bf7ebf5a |
1517 | and the location where the laser emerges (this number is unique to |
1518 | that shot). |
1519 | |
1520 | You can place guesses as to the location of the balls, based on the |
1521 | entry and exit patterns of the lasers; once you have placed enough |
1522 | balls a button appears enabling you to have your guesses checked. |
1523 | |
1524 | Here is a diagram showing how the positions of balls can create each |
1525 | of the laser behaviours shown above: |
1526 | |
1527 | \c 1RHR---- |
1528 | \c |..O.O...| |
1529 | \c 2........3 |
1530 | \c |........| |
1531 | \c |........| |
1532 | \c 3........| |
1533 | \c |......O.| |
1534 | \c H........| |
1535 | \c |.....O..| |
1536 | \c 12-RH--- |
1537 | |
1538 | As shown, it is possible for a ball to receive multiple reflections |
1539 | before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a ball may be reflected |
ebf54ec9 |
1540 | (possibly more than once) before receiving a hit (the \q{H} on the |
bf7ebf5a |
1541 | left side of the example). |
1542 | |
1543 | Note that any layout with more that 4 balls may have a non-unique |
1544 | solution. The following diagram illustrates this; if you know the |
1545 | board contains 5 balls, it is impossible to determine where the fifth |
1546 | ball is (possible positions marked with an x): |
1547 | |
1548 | \c -------- |
1549 | \c |........| |
1550 | \c |........| |
1551 | \c |..O..O..| |
1552 | \c |...xx...| |
1553 | \c |...xx...| |
1554 | \c |..O..O..| |
1555 | \c |........| |
1556 | \c |........| |
1557 | \c -------- |
1558 | |
1559 | For this reason when you have your guesses checked the game will |
1560 | check that your solution \e{produces the same results} as the |
1561 | computer's, rather than that your solution is identical to the |
1562 | computer's. So in the above example, you could put the fifth ball at |
1563 | \e{any} of the locations marked with an x, and you would still win. |
1564 | |
1565 | Black Box was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1566 | |
1567 | \H{blackbox-controls} \i{Black Box controls} |
1568 | |
1569 | \IM{Black Box controls}controls, for Black Box |
1570 | |
1571 | To fire a laser, left-click in a square around the side of the arena. |
1572 | The results will be displayed immediately. Lasers may not be fired |
1573 | twice (because the results will never change). Holding down the left |
1574 | button will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the |
1575 | exit point for that laser, if applicable. |
1576 | |
1577 | To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a |
1578 | black circle will appear marking the guess; to remove the guessed ball |
1579 | click again. |
1580 | |
1581 | Locations in the arena may be locked against modification by |
1582 | right-clicking; whole rows and columns may be similarly locked by |
1583 | right-clicking in the laser firing range above/below that column, or |
1584 | to the left/right of that row. |
1585 | |
316908ca |
1586 | The cursor keys may also be used to move around the grid. Pressing the |
1587 | Enter key will add a new ball-location guess, and pressing Space will |
1588 | lock a cell or a row/column. |
1589 | |
bf7ebf5a |
1590 | When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed a button will |
316908ca |
1591 | appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that (with mouse or |
1592 | cursor) will mark your guesses. |
bf7ebf5a |
1593 | |
27388471 |
1594 | If you click the \q{mark} button and your guesses are not correct, |
1595 | the game will show you as little information as possible to |
1596 | demonstrate this to you, so you can try again. If your ball |
1597 | positions are not consistent with the laser paths you already know |
1598 | about, one laser path will be circled to indicate that it proves you |
1599 | wrong. If your positions match all the existing laser paths but are |
1600 | still wrong, one new laser path will be revealed (written in red) |
1601 | which is not consistent with your current guesses. |
1602 | |
1603 | If you decide to give up completely, you can select Solve to reveal |
1604 | the actual ball positions. At this point, correctly-placed balls |
1605 | will be displayed as filled black circles; incorrectly-placed balls |
1606 | are displayed as filled black circles with red crosses, and missing |
1607 | balls are filled red circles. In addition, a red circle marks any |
1608 | laser you had already fired which is not consistent with your ball |
1609 | layout (just as when you press the mark button), and red text marks |
bf7ebf5a |
1610 | any laser you \e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball |
1611 | layout from the right one. |
1612 | |
1613 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1614 | |
1615 | \H{blackbox-parameters} \I{parameters, for Black Box}Black Box parameters |
1616 | |
1617 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1618 | \q{Type} menu. |
1619 | |
1620 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1621 | |
ebf54ec9 |
1622 | \dd Size of grid in squares. There are 2 \by \e{Width} \by \e{Height} lasers |
bf7ebf5a |
1623 | per grid, two per row and two per column. |
1624 | |
1625 | \dt \e{No. of balls} |
1626 | |
1627 | \dd Number of balls to place in the grid. This can be a single number, |
ebf54ec9 |
1628 | or a range (separated with a hyphen, like \q{2-6}), and determines the |
1629 | number of balls to place on the grid. The \q{reveal} button is only |
bf7ebf5a |
1630 | enabled if you have guessed an appropriate number of balls; a guess |
1631 | using a different number to the original solution is still acceptable, |
1632 | if all the laser inputs and outputs match. |
1633 | |
1634 | |
f1010613 |
1635 | \C{slant} \i{Slant} |
1636 | |
1637 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.slant} |
1638 | |
1639 | You have a grid of squares. Your aim is to draw a diagonal line |
1640 | through each square, and choose which way each line slants so that |
1641 | the following conditions are met: |
1642 | |
1643 | \b The diagonal lines never form a loop. |
1644 | |
1645 | \b Any point with a circled number has precisely that many lines |
1646 | meeting at it. (Thus, a 4 is the centre of a cross shape, whereas a |
1647 | zero is the centre of a diamond shape \dash or rather, a partial |
1648 | diamond shape, because a zero can never appear in the middle of the |
1649 | grid because that would immediately cause a loop.) |
1650 | |
1651 | Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-slant}. |
1652 | |
1653 | \B{nikoli-slant} |
1654 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm} |
1655 | (in Japanese) |
1656 | |
f1010613 |
1657 | \H{slant-controls} \i{Slant controls} |
1658 | |
1659 | \IM{Slant controls} controls, for Slant |
f1010613 |
1660 | |
1661 | Left-clicking in a blank square will place a \cw{\\} in it (a line |
1662 | leaning to the left, i.e. running from the top left of the square to |
1663 | the bottom right). Right-clicking in a blank square will place a |
1664 | \cw{/} in it (leaning to the right, running from top right to bottom |
1665 | left). |
1666 | |
1667 | Continuing to click either button will cycle between the three |
1668 | possible square contents. Thus, if you left-click repeatedly in a |
1669 | blank square it will change from blank to \cw{\\} to \cw{/} back to |
1670 | blank, and if you right-click repeatedly the square will change from |
1671 | blank to \cw{/} to \cw{\\} back to blank. (Therefore, you can play |
1672 | the game entirely with one button if you need to.) |
1673 | |
6b8513c7 |
1674 | You can also use the cursor keys to move around the grid. Pressing the |
1675 | return or space keys will place a \cw{\\} or a \cw{/}, respectively, |
1676 | and will then cycle them as above. |
1677 | |
f1010613 |
1678 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1679 | |
e3478a4b |
1680 | \H{slant-parameters} \I{parameters, for Slant}Slant parameters |
f1010613 |
1681 | |
1682 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1683 | \q{Type} menu. |
1684 | |
1685 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1686 | |
1687 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1688 | |
15164c74 |
1689 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
1690 | |
1691 | \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Hard level, |
1692 | you are required to do deductions based on knowledge of |
1693 | \e{relationships} between squares rather than always being able to |
1694 | deduce the exact contents of one square at a time. (For example, you |
1695 | might know that two squares slant in the same direction, even if you |
1696 | don't yet know what that direction is, and this might enable you to |
1697 | deduce something about still other squares.) Even at Hard level, |
1698 | guesswork and backtracking should never be necessary. |
1699 | |
f1010613 |
1700 | |
e3478a4b |
1701 | \C{lightup} \i{Light Up} |
1702 | |
1703 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.lightup} |
1704 | |
1705 | You have a grid of squares. Some are filled in black; some of the |
1706 | black squares are numbered. Your aim is to \q{light up} all the |
1707 | empty squares by placing light bulbs in some of them. |
1708 | |
1709 | Each light bulb illuminates the square it is on, plus all squares in |
1710 | line with it horizontally or vertically unless a black square is |
1711 | blocking the way. |
1712 | |
1713 | To win the game, you must satisfy the following conditions: |
1714 | |
1715 | \b All non-black squares are lit. |
1716 | |
1717 | \b No light is lit by another light. |
1718 | |
1719 | \b All numbered black squares have exactly that number of lights adjacent to |
1720 | them (in the four squares above, below, and to the side). |
1721 | |
1722 | Non-numbered black squares may have any number of lights adjacent to them. |
1723 | |
1724 | Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-lightup}. |
1725 | |
1726 | Light Up was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1727 | |
1728 | \B{nikoli-lightup} |
1729 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm} |
1730 | (beware of Flash) |
1731 | |
1732 | \H{lightup-controls} \i{Light Up controls} |
1733 | |
1734 | \IM{Light Up controls} controls, for Light Up |
e3478a4b |
1735 | |
1736 | Left-clicking in a non-black square will toggle the presence of a light |
1737 | in that square. Right-clicking in a non-black square toggles a mark there to aid |
1738 | solving; it can be used to highlight squares that cannot be lit, for example. |
1739 | |
1740 | You may not place a light in a marked square, nor place a mark in a lit square. |
1741 | |
1742 | The game will highlight obvious errors in red. Lights lit by other |
1743 | lights are highlighted in this way, as are numbered squares which |
1744 | do not (or cannot) have the right number of lights next to them. |
1745 | |
1746 | Thus, the grid is solved when all non-black squares have yellow |
1747 | highlights and there are no red lights. |
1748 | |
e28d0584 |
1749 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
e3478a4b |
1750 | |
1751 | \H{lightup-parameters} \I{parameters, for Light Up}Light Up parameters |
1752 | |
1753 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1754 | \q{Type} menu. |
1755 | |
1756 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1757 | |
1758 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1759 | |
1760 | \dt \e{%age of black squares} |
1761 | |
1762 | \dd Rough percentage of black squares in the grid. |
1763 | |
1764 | \lcont{ |
1765 | |
1766 | This is a hint rather than an instruction. If the grid generator is |
1767 | unable to generate a puzzle to this precise specification, it will |
1768 | increase the proportion of black squares until it can. |
1769 | |
1770 | } |
1771 | |
1772 | \dt \e{Symmetry} |
1773 | |
1774 | \dd Allows you to specify the required symmetry of the black squares |
1775 | in the grid. (This does not affect the difficulty of the puzzles |
1776 | noticeably.) |
1777 | |
1778 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
1779 | |
1780 | \dd \q{Easy} means that the puzzles should be soluble without |
1781 | backtracking or guessing, \q{Hard} means that some guesses will |
1782 | probably be necessary. |
1783 | |
1784 | |
c51c7de6 |
1785 | \C{map} \i{Map} |
1786 | |
1787 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.map} |
1788 | |
1789 | You are given a map consisting of a number of regions. Your task is |
1790 | to colour each region with one of four colours, in such a way that |
1791 | no two regions sharing a boundary have the same colour. You are |
1792 | provided with some regions already coloured, sufficient to make the |
1793 | remainder of the solution unique. |
1794 | |
1795 | Only regions which share a length of border are required to be |
1796 | different colours. Two regions which meet at only one \e{point} |
1797 | (i.e. are diagonally separated) may be the same colour. |
1798 | |
1799 | I believe this puzzle is original; I've never seen an implementation |
bb219ea1 |
1800 | of it anywhere else. The concept of a \i{four-colouring} puzzle was |
c51c7de6 |
1801 | suggested by Owen Dunn; credit must also go to Nikoli and to Verity |
1802 | Allan for inspiring the train of thought that led to me realising |
1803 | Owen's suggestion was a viable puzzle. Thanks also to Gareth Taylor |
1804 | for many detailed suggestions. |
1805 | |
c51c7de6 |
1806 | \H{map-controls} \i{Map controls} |
1807 | |
1808 | \IM{Map controls} controls, for Map |
c51c7de6 |
1809 | |
1cdd1306 |
1810 | To colour a region, click the left mouse button on an existing |
1811 | region of the desired colour and drag that colour into the new |
1812 | region. |
c51c7de6 |
1813 | |
1814 | (The program will always ensure the starting puzzle has at least one |
1815 | region of each colour, so that this is always possible!) |
1816 | |
1817 | If you need to clear a region, you can drag from an empty region, or |
1818 | from the puzzle boundary if there are no empty regions left. |
1819 | |
1cdd1306 |
1820 | Dragging a colour using the \e{right} mouse button will stipple the |
1821 | region in that colour, which you can use as a note to yourself that |
1822 | you think the region \e{might} be that colour. A region can contain |
1823 | stipples in multiple colours at once. (This is often useful at the |
1824 | harder difficulty levels.) |
1825 | |
90ee6a20 |
1826 | You can also use the cursor keys to move around the map: the colour of |
1827 | the cursor indicates the position of the colour you would drag (which |
1828 | is not obvious if you're on a region's boundary, since it depends on the |
1829 | direction from which you approached the boundary). Pressing the return |
1830 | key starts a drag of that colour, as above, which you control with the |
1831 | cursor keys; pressing the return key again finishes the drag. The |
1832 | space bar can be used similarly to create a stippled region. |
1833 | Double-pressing the return key (without moving the cursor) will clear |
1834 | the region, as a drag from an empty region does: this is useful with |
1835 | the cursor mode if you have filled the entire map in but need to |
1836 | correct the layout. |
1837 | |
e857e161 |
1838 | If you press L during play, the game will toggle display of a number |
1839 | in each region of the map. This is useful if you want to discuss a |
1840 | particular puzzle instance with a friend \dash having an unambiguous |
1841 | name for each region is much easier than trying to refer to them all |
1842 | by names such as \q{the one down and right of the brown one on the |
1843 | top border}. |
1844 | |
e28d0584 |
1845 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
c51c7de6 |
1846 | |
1847 | \H{map-parameters} \I{parameters, for Map}Map parameters |
1848 | |
1849 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1850 | \q{Type} menu. |
1851 | |
1852 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1853 | |
1854 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1855 | |
1856 | \dt \e{Regions} |
1857 | |
1858 | \dd Number of regions in the generated map. |
1859 | |
1860 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
1861 | |
1862 | \dd In \q{Easy} mode, there should always be at least one region |
1cdd1306 |
1863 | whose colour can be determined trivially. In \q{Normal} and \q{Hard} |
1864 | modes, you will have to use increasingly complex logic to deduce the |
1865 | colour of some regions. However, it will always be possible without |
1866 | having to guess or backtrack. |
c51c7de6 |
1867 | |
b3728d72 |
1868 | \lcont{ |
1869 | |
1870 | In \q{Unreasonable} mode, the program will feel free to generate |
1871 | puzzles which are as hard as it can possibly make them: the only |
1872 | constraint is that they should still have a unique solution. Solving |
1873 | Unreasonable puzzles may require guessing and backtracking. |
1874 | |
1875 | } |
1876 | |
c51c7de6 |
1877 | |
6193da8d |
1878 | \C{loopy} \i{Loopy} |
1879 | |
1880 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.loopy} |
1881 | |
7c95608a |
1882 | You are given a grid of dots, marked with yellow lines to indicate |
1883 | which dots you are allowed to connect directly together. Your aim is |
1884 | to use some subset of those yellow lines to draw a single unbroken |
6193da8d |
1885 | loop from dot to dot within the grid. |
1886 | |
7c95608a |
1887 | Some of the spaces between the lines contain numbers. These numbers |
1888 | indicate how many of the lines around that space form part of the |
1889 | loop. The loop you draw must correctly satisfy all of these clues to |
1890 | be considered a correct solution. |
6193da8d |
1891 | |
7c95608a |
1892 | In the default mode, the dots are arranged in a grid of squares; |
1893 | however, you can also play on triangular or hexagonal grids, or even |
1894 | more exotic ones. |
6193da8d |
1895 | |
7c95608a |
1896 | Credit for the basic puzzle idea goes to \i{Nikoli} |
1897 | \k{nikoli-loopy}. |
1898 | |
1899 | Loopy was originally contributed to this collection by Mike Pinna, |
1900 | and subsequently enhanced to handle various types of non-square grid |
1901 | by Lambros Lambrou. |
6193da8d |
1902 | |
1903 | \B{nikoli-loopy} |
1904 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/3/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/3/index-e.htm} |
1905 | (beware of Flash) |
1906 | |
6193da8d |
1907 | \H{loopy-controls} \i{Loopy controls} |
1908 | |
1909 | \IM{Loopy controls} controls, for Loopy |
6193da8d |
1910 | |
7c95608a |
1911 | Click the left mouse button on a yellow line to turn it black, |
1912 | indicating that you think it is part of the loop. Click again to |
1913 | turn the line yellow again (meaning you aren't sure yet). |
6193da8d |
1914 | |
1915 | If you are sure that a particular line segment is \e{not} part of |
7c95608a |
1916 | the loop, you can click the right mouse button to remove it |
1917 | completely. Again, clicking a second time will turn the line back to |
1918 | yellow. |
6193da8d |
1919 | |
e28d0584 |
1920 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
6193da8d |
1921 | |
1922 | \H{loopy-parameters} \I{parameters, for Loopy}Loopy parameters |
1923 | |
1924 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1925 | \q{Type} menu. |
1926 | |
1927 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1928 | |
7c95608a |
1929 | \dd Size of grid, measured in number of regions across and down. For |
1930 | square grids, it's clear how this is counted; for other types of |
1931 | grid you may have to think a bit to see how the dimensions are |
1932 | measured. |
1933 | |
1934 | \dt \e{Grid type} |
1935 | |
1936 | \dd Allows you to choose between a selection of types of tiling. |
1937 | Some have all the faces the same but may have multiple different |
1938 | types of vertex (e.g. the \e{Cairo} or \e{Kites} mode); others have |
1939 | all the vertices the same but may have differnt types of face (e.g. |
1940 | the \e{Great Hexagonal}). The square, triangular and honeycomb grids |
1941 | are fully regular, and have all their vertices \e{and} faces the |
1942 | same; this makes them the least confusing to play. |
6193da8d |
1943 | |
550742c1 |
1944 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
6193da8d |
1945 | |
550742c1 |
1946 | \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. |
1947 | \#{FIXME: what distinguishes Easy, Medium, and Hard? In particular, |
1948 | when are backtracking/guesswork required, if ever?} |
6193da8d |
1949 | |
1950 | |
81eef9aa |
1951 | \C{inertia} \i{Inertia} |
1952 | |
1953 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.inertia} |
1954 | |
1955 | You are a small green ball sitting in a grid full of obstacles. Your |
1956 | aim is to collect all the gems without running into any mines. |
1957 | |
1958 | You can move the ball in any orthogonal \e{or diagonal} direction. |
1959 | Once the ball starts moving, it will continue until something stops |
1960 | it. A wall directly in its path will stop it (but if it is moving |
1961 | diagonally, it will move through a diagonal gap between two other |
1962 | walls without stopping). Also, some of the squares are \q{stops}; |
1963 | when the ball moves on to a stop, it will stop moving no matter what |
1964 | direction it was going in. Gems do \e{not} stop the ball; it picks |
1965 | them up and keeps on going. |
1966 | |
1967 | Running into a mine is fatal. Even if you picked up the last gem in |
1968 | the same move which then hit a mine, the game will count you as dead |
1969 | rather than victorious. |
1970 | |
1971 | This game was originally implemented for Windows by Ben Olmstead |
1972 | \k{bem}, who was kind enough to release his source code on request |
1973 | so that it could be re-implemented for this collection. |
1974 | |
1975 | \B{bem} \W{http://xn13.com/}\cw{http://xn13.com/} |
1976 | |
1977 | \H{inertia-controls} \i{Inertia controls} |
1978 | |
1979 | \IM{Inertia controls} controls, for Inertia |
1980 | \IM{Inertia controls} keys, for Inertia |
1981 | \IM{Inertia controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Inertia |
1982 | |
1983 | You can move the ball in any of the eight directions using the |
1984 | numeric keypad. Alternatively, if you click the left mouse button on |
1985 | the grid, the ball will begin a move in the general direction of |
1986 | where you clicked. |
1987 | |
8b5b08f7 |
1988 | If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, the program will |
1989 | compute a path through the grid which collects all the remaining |
1990 | gems and returns to the current position. A hint arrow will appear |
1991 | on the ball indicating the direction in which you should move to |
1992 | begin on this path. If you then move in that direction, the arrow |
1993 | will update to indicate the next direction on the path. You can also |
1994 | press Space to automatically move in the direction of the hint |
1995 | arrow. If you move in a different direction from the one shown by |
1996 | the arrow, the hint arrows will stop appearing because you have |
1997 | strayed from the provided path; you can then use \q{Solve} again to |
1998 | generate a new path if you want to. |
1999 | |
81eef9aa |
2000 | All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available. |
2001 | In particular, if you do run into a mine and die, you can use the |
2002 | Undo function and resume playing from before the fatal move. The |
2003 | game will keep track of the number of times you have done this. |
2004 | |
2005 | \H{inertia-parameters} \I{parameters, for Inertia}Inertia parameters |
2006 | |
2007 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
2008 | \q{Type} menu. |
2009 | |
2010 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
2011 | |
2012 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
2013 | |
2014 | |
86e60e3d |
2015 | \C{tents} \i{Tents} |
2016 | |
2017 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.tents} |
2018 | |
2019 | You have a grid of squares, some of which contain trees. Your aim is |
2020 | to place tents in some of the remaining squares, in such a way that |
2021 | the following conditions are met: |
2022 | |
2023 | \b There are exactly as many tents as trees. |
2024 | |
2025 | \b The tents and trees can be matched up in such a way that each |
2026 | tent is directly adjacent (horizontally or vertically, but not |
2027 | diagonally) to its own tree. However, a tent may be adjacent to |
2028 | other trees as well as its own. |
2029 | |
2030 | \b No two tents are adjacent horizontally, vertically \e{or |
2031 | diagonally}. |
2032 | |
2033 | \b The number of tents in each row, and in each column, matches the |
2034 | numbers given round the sides of the grid. |
2035 | |
2036 | This puzzle can be found in several places on the Internet, and was |
2037 | brought to my attention by e-mail. I don't know who I should credit |
2038 | for inventing it. |
2039 | |
2040 | \H{tents-controls} \i{Tents controls} |
2041 | |
2042 | \IM{Tents controls} controls, for Tents |
2043 | |
2044 | Left-clicking in a blank square will place a tent in it. |
2045 | Right-clicking in a blank square will colour it green, indicating |
2046 | that you are sure it \e{isn't} a tent. Clicking either button in an |
2047 | occupied square will clear it. |
2048 | |
565394e7 |
2049 | If you \e{drag} with the right button along a row or column, every |
2050 | blank square in the region you cover will be turned green, and no |
2051 | other squares will be affected. (This is useful for clearing the |
2052 | remainder of a row once you have placed all its tents.) |
2053 | |
505ea4e5 |
2054 | You can also use the cursor keys to move around the grid. Pressing the |
2055 | return key over an empty square will place a tent, and pressing the |
2056 | space bar over an empty square will colour it green; either key will |
2057 | clear an occupied square. |
2058 | |
86e60e3d |
2059 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
2060 | |
2061 | \H{tents-parameters} \I{parameters, for Tents}Tents parameters |
2062 | |
2063 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
2064 | \q{Type} menu. |
2065 | |
2066 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
2067 | |
2068 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
2069 | |
2070 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
2071 | |
2072 | \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. More difficult |
2073 | puzzles require more complex deductions, but at present none of the |
2074 | available difficulty levels requires guesswork or backtracking. |
2075 | |
2076 | |
e7c63b02 |
2077 | \C{bridges} \i{Bridges} |
2078 | |
2079 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.bridges} |
2080 | |
2081 | You have a set of islands distributed across the playing area. Each |
2082 | island contains a number. Your aim is to connect the islands |
2083 | together with bridges, in such a way that: |
2084 | |
2085 | \b Bridges run horizontally or vertically. |
2086 | |
2087 | \b The number of bridges terminating at any island is equal to the |
2088 | number written in that island. |
2089 | |
2090 | \b Two bridges may run in parallel between the same two islands, but |
2091 | no more than two may do so. |
2092 | |
2093 | \b No bridge crosses another bridge. |
2094 | |
2095 | \b All the islands are connected together. |
2096 | |
2097 | There are some configurable alternative modes, which involve |
2098 | changing the parallel-bridge limit to something other than 2, and |
2099 | introducing the additional constraint that no sequence of bridges |
2100 | may form a loop from one island back to the same island. The rules |
2101 | stated above are the default ones. |
2102 | |
2103 | Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-bridges}. |
2104 | |
2105 | Bridges was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
2106 | |
2107 | \B{nikoli-bridges} |
2108 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/14/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/14/index-e.htm} |
2109 | |
2110 | \H{bridges-controls} \i{Bridges controls} |
2111 | |
2112 | \IM{Bridges controls} controls, for Bridges |
2113 | |
2114 | To place a bridge between two islands, click the mouse down on one |
2115 | island and drag it towards the other. You do not need to drag all |
2116 | the way to the other island; you only need to move the mouse far |
2117 | enough for the intended bridge direction to be unambiguous. (So you |
2118 | can keep the mouse near the starting island and conveniently throw |
2119 | bridges out from it in many directions.) |
2120 | |
2121 | Doing this again when a bridge is already present will add another |
2122 | parallel bridge. If there are already as many bridges between the |
2123 | two islands as permitted by the current game rules (i.e. two by |
2124 | default), the same dragging action will remove all of them. |
2125 | |
2126 | If you want to remind yourself that two islands definitely \e{do |
2127 | not} have a bridge between them, you can right-drag between them in |
2128 | the same way to draw a \q{non-bridge} marker. |
2129 | |
2130 | If you think you have finished with an island (i.e. you have placed |
2131 | all its bridges and are confident that they are in the right |
2132 | places), you can mark the island as finished by left-clicking on it. |
2133 | This will highlight it and all the bridges connected to it, and you |
2134 | will be prevented from accidentally modifying any of those bridges |
2135 | in future. Left-clicking again on a highlighted island will unmark |
2136 | it and restore your ability to modify it. |
2137 | |
2138 | Violations of the puzzle rules will be marked in red: |
2139 | |
2140 | \b An island with too many bridges will be highlighted in red. |
2141 | |
2142 | \b An island with too few bridges will be highlighted in red if it |
2143 | is definitely an error (as opposed to merely not being finished |
2144 | yet): if adding enough bridges would involve having to cross another |
2145 | bridge or remove a non-bridge marker, or if the island has been |
2146 | highlighted as complete. |
2147 | |
2148 | \b A group of islands and bridges may be highlighted in red if it is |
2149 | a closed subset of the puzzle with no way to connect it to the rest |
2150 | of the islands. For example, if you directly connect two 1s together |
2151 | with a bridge and they are not the only two islands on the grid, |
2152 | they will light up red to indicate that such a group cannot be |
2153 | contained in any valid solution. |
2154 | |
2155 | \b If you have selected the (non-default) option to disallow loops |
2156 | in the solution, a group of bridges which forms a loop will be |
2157 | highlighted. |
2158 | |
2159 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
2160 | |
2161 | \H{bridges-parameters} \I{parameters, for Bridges}Bridges parameters |
2162 | |
2163 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
2164 | \q{Type} menu. |
2165 | |
2166 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
2167 | |
2168 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
2169 | |
2170 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
2171 | |
2172 | \dd Difficulty level of puzzle. |
2173 | |
2174 | \dt \e{Allow loops} |
2175 | |
2176 | \dd This is set by default. If cleared, puzzles will be generated in |
2177 | such a way that they are always soluble without creating a loop, and |
2178 | solutions which do involve a loop will be disallowed. |
2179 | |
2180 | \dt \e{Max. bridges per direction} |
2181 | |
2182 | \dd Maximum number of bridges in any particular direction. The |
2183 | default is 2, but you can change it to 1, 3 or 4. In general, fewer |
2184 | is easier. |
2185 | |
2186 | \dt \e{%age of island squares} |
2187 | |
2188 | \dd Gives a rough percentage of islands the generator will try and |
2189 | lay before finishing the puzzle. Certain layouts will not manage to |
2190 | lay enough islands; this is an upper bound. |
2191 | |
2192 | \dt \e{Expansion factor (%age)} |
2193 | |
2194 | \dd The grid generator works by picking an existing island at random |
2195 | (after first creating an initial island somewhere). It then decides |
2196 | on a direction (at random), and then works out how far it could |
2197 | extend before creating another island. This parameter determines how |
2198 | likely it is to extend as far as it can, rather than choosing |
2199 | somewhere closer. |
2200 | |
2201 | High expansion factors usually mean easier puzzles with fewer |
2202 | possible islands; low expansion factors can create lots of |
2203 | tightly-packed islands. |
2204 | |
2205 | |
149255d7 |
2206 | \C{unequal} \i{Unequal} |
2207 | |
2208 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.unequal} |
2209 | |
2210 | You have a square grid; each square may contain a digit from 1 to |
055b9cd2 |
2211 | the size of the grid, and some squares have greater-than signs between |
149255d7 |
2212 | them. Your aim is to fully populate the grid with numbers such that: |
2213 | |
2214 | \b Each row contains only one occurrence of each digit |
2215 | |
2216 | \b Each column contains only one occurrence of each digit |
2217 | |
2218 | \b All the greater-than signs are satisfied. |
2219 | |
feb306dc |
2220 | In \q{Trivial} mode (available via the \q{Custom} game type |
2221 | selector), there are no greater-than signs; the puzzle is to solve |
2222 | the \i{Latin square} only. |
149255d7 |
2223 | |
2224 | At the time of writing, this puzzle is appearing in the Guardian |
055b9cd2 |
2225 | weekly under the name \q{\i{Futoshiki}}. |
149255d7 |
2226 | |
2227 | Unequal was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
2228 | |
2229 | \H{unequal-controls} \i{Unequal controls} |
2230 | |
2231 | \IM{Unequal controls} controls, for Unequal |
2232 | |
2233 | Unequal shares much of its control system with Solo. |
2234 | |
2235 | To play Unequal, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then |
2236 | type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you |
2237 | make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press |
2238 | Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature). |
2239 | |
2240 | If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that |
2241 | number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can |
3e17893b |
2242 | have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. Squares |
2243 | containing filled-in numbers cannot also contain pencil marks. |
149255d7 |
2244 | |
2245 | The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use |
2246 | them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a |
2247 | particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a |
2248 | particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible |
2249 | numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like. |
2250 | |
2251 | To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type |
2252 | the same number again. |
2253 | |
2254 | All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type |
2255 | a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and |
2256 | pressing space will also erase pencil marks. |
2257 | |
9c90045a |
2258 | As for Solo, the cursor keys can be used in conjunction with the digit |
2259 | keys to set numbers or pencil marks. You can also use the 'M' key to |
3e17893b |
2260 | auto-fill every numeric hint, ready for removal as required, or the 'H' |
2261 | key to do the same but also to remove all obvious hints. |
2262 | |
2263 | Alternatively, use the cursor keys to move the mark around the grid. |
2264 | Pressing the return key toggles the mark (from a normal mark to a |
2265 | pencil mark), and typing a number in is entered in the square in the |
2266 | appropriate way; typing in a 0 or using the space bar will clear a |
2267 | filled square. |
9c90045a |
2268 | |
149255d7 |
2269 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
2270 | |
2271 | \H{unequal-parameters} \I{parameters, for Unequal}Unequal parameters |
2272 | |
2273 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
2274 | \q{Type} menu. |
2275 | |
2276 | \dt \e{Size (s*s)} |
2277 | |
2278 | \dd Size of grid. |
2279 | |
2280 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
2281 | |
845a3be0 |
2282 | \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Trivial |
feb306dc |
2283 | level, there are no greater-than signs; the puzzle is to solve the |
2284 | Latin square only. At Recursive level (only available via the |
2285 | \q{Custom} game type selector) backtracking will be required, but |
2286 | the solution should still be unique. The levels in between require |
2287 | increasingly complex reasoning to avoid having to backtrack. |
149255d7 |
2288 | |
2289 | |
ab3a1e43 |
2290 | |
2291 | \C{galaxies} \i{Galaxies} |
2292 | |
2293 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.galaxies} |
2294 | |
2295 | You have a rectangular grid containing a number of dots. Your aim is |
2296 | to draw edges along the grid lines which divide the rectangle into |
2297 | regions in such a way that every region is 180\u00b0{-degree} |
2298 | rotationally symmetric, and contains exactly one dot which is |
2299 | located at its centre of symmetry. |
2300 | |
2301 | This puzzle was invented by \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-galaxies}, under |
a799e87f |
2302 | the name \q{Tentai Show}; its name is commonly translated into |
2303 | English as \q{Spiral Galaxies}. |
ab3a1e43 |
2304 | |
f3ed4ec3 |
2305 | Galaxies was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
2306 | |
ab3a1e43 |
2307 | \B{nikoli-galaxies} \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/astronomical_show/}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/astronomical_show/} |
2308 | |
2309 | \H{galaxies-controls} \i{Galaxies controls} |
2310 | |
2311 | \IM{Galaxies controls} controls, for Galaxies |
2312 | |
2313 | Left-click on any grid line to draw an edge if there isn't one |
2314 | already, or to remove one if there is. When you create a valid |
2315 | region (one which is closed, contains exactly one dot, is |
2316 | 180\u00b0{-degree} symmetric about that dot, and contains no |
2317 | extraneous edges inside it) it will be highlighted automatically; so |
2318 | your aim is to have the whole grid highlighted in that way. |
2319 | |
2320 | During solving, you might know that a particular grid square belongs |
2321 | to a specific dot, but not be sure of where the edges go and which |
2322 | other squares are connected to the dot. In order to mark this so you |
2323 | don't forget, you can right-click on the dot and drag, which will |
2324 | create an arrow marker pointing at the dot. Drop that in a square of |
2325 | your choice and it will remind you which dot it's associated with. |
2326 | You can also right-click on existing arrows to pick them up and move |
2327 | them, or destroy them by dropping them off the edge of the grid. |
2328 | (Also, if you're not sure which dot an arrow is pointing at, you can |
2329 | pick it up and move it around to make it clearer. It will swivel |
2330 | constantly as you drag it, to stay pointed at its parent dot.) |
2331 | |
2c580e64 |
2332 | You can also use the cursor keys to move around the grid squares and |
2333 | lines. Pressing the return key when over a grid line will draw or |
2334 | clear its edge, as above. Pressing the return key when over a dot will |
2335 | pick up an arrow, to be dropped the nest time the return key is |
2336 | pressed; this can also be used to move existing arrows around, removing |
2337 | them by dropping them on a dot or another arrow. |
2338 | |
ab3a1e43 |
2339 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
2340 | |
2341 | \H{galaxies-parameters} \I{parameters, for Galaxies}Galaxies parameters |
2342 | |
2343 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
2344 | \q{Type} menu. |
2345 | |
2346 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
2347 | |
2348 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
2349 | |
2350 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
2351 | |
2352 | \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. More difficult |
59206b9c |
2353 | puzzles require more complex deductions, and the \q{Unreasonable} |
a799e87f |
2354 | difficulty level may require backtracking. |
ab3a1e43 |
2355 | |
2356 | |
2357 | |
8b3b3223 |
2358 | \C{filling} \i{Filling} |
2359 | |
2360 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.filling} |
2361 | |
2362 | You have a grid of squares, some of which contain digits, and the |
2363 | rest of which are empty. Your job is to fill in digits in the empty |
2364 | squares, in such a way that each connected region of squares all |
2365 | containing the same digit has an area equal to that digit. |
2366 | |
2367 | (\q{Connected region}, for the purposes of this game, does not count |
2368 | diagonally separated squares as adjacent.) |
2369 | |
2370 | For example, it follows that no square can contain a zero, and that |
2371 | two adjacent squares can not both contain a one. No region has an |
2372 | area greater than 9 (because then its area would not be a single |
2373 | digit). |
2374 | |
2375 | Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-fillomino}. |
2376 | |
2377 | Filling was contributed to this collection by Jonas K\u00F6{oe}lker. |
2378 | |
2379 | \B{nikoli-fillomino} |
2380 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/fillomino/}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/fillomino/} |
2381 | |
2382 | \H{filling-controls} \I{controls, for Filling}Filling controls |
2383 | |
2384 | To play Filling, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then |
b182e5d5 |
2385 | type a digit on the keyboard to fill that square. By dragging the |
2386 | mouse, you can select multiple squares to fill with a single keypress. |
2387 | If you make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and |
2388 | press 0, Space, Backspace or Enter to clear it again (or use the Undo |
2389 | feature). |
8b3b3223 |
2390 | |
eb05ad3b |
2391 | You can also move around the grid with the cursor keys; typing a digit will |
2392 | fill the square containing the cursor with that number, or typing 0, Space, |
2393 | or Enter will clear it. You can also select multiple squares for numbering |
2394 | or clearing by using the return key, before typing a digit to fill in the |
2395 | highlighted squares (as above). |
2396 | |
8b3b3223 |
2397 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
2398 | |
2399 | \H{filling-parameters} \I{parameters, for Filling}Filling parameters |
2400 | |
2401 | Filling allows you to configure the number of rows and columns of the |
2402 | grid, through the \q{Type} menu. |
2403 | |
2404 | |
ab3a1e43 |
2405 | |
e91825f8 |
2406 | \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence} |
2407 | |
07a54e52 |
2408 | This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2008 Simon Tatham. |
e91825f8 |
2409 | |
2c930807 |
2410 | Portions copyright Richard Boulton, James Harvey, Mike Pinna, Jonas |
0477157e |
2411 | K\u00F6{oe}lker, Dariusz Olszewski, Michael Schierl and Lambros |
2412 | Lambrou. |
e91825f8 |
2413 | |
2414 | Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person |
2415 | obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files |
a799e87f |
2416 | (the \q{Software}), to deal in the Software without restriction, |
e91825f8 |
2417 | including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, |
2418 | publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, |
2419 | and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, |
2420 | subject to the following conditions: |
2421 | |
2422 | The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be |
2423 | included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. |
2424 | |
a799e87f |
2425 | THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED \q{AS IS}, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, |
e91825f8 |
2426 | EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF |
2427 | MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND |
2428 | NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS |
2429 | BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN |
2430 | ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN |
2431 | CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE |
2432 | SOFTWARE. |
2433 | |
3c9388ef |
2434 | \IM{command-line}{command line} command line |
2435 | |
bb219ea1 |
2436 | \IM{default parameters, specifying} default parameters, specifying |
2437 | \IM{default parameters, specifying} preferences, specifying default |
2438 | |
2439 | \IM{Unix} Unix |
2440 | \IM{Unix} Linux |
2441 | |
2442 | \IM{generating game IDs} generating game IDs |
2443 | \IM{generating game IDs} game ID, generating |
2444 | |
1185e3c5 |
2445 | \IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option |
2446 | \IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option |
e91825f8 |
2447 | |
2448 | \IM{game ID} game ID |
2449 | \IM{game ID} ID, game |
2450 | \IM{ID format} ID format |
2451 | \IM{ID format} format, ID |
2452 | \IM{ID format} game ID, format |
2453 | |
2454 | \IM{keys} keys |
2455 | \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard) |
2456 | |
2457 | \IM{initial state} initial state |
2458 | \IM{initial state} state, initial |
2459 | |
2460 | \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence |
2461 | \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT |