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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 | This is a collection of small one-player puzzle games. |
24 | |
25 | \copyright This manual is copyright 2004 Simon Tatham. All rights |
26 | reserved. You may distribute this documentation under the MIT licence. |
27 | See \k{licence} for the licence text in full. |
28 | |
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29 | \cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">} |
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30 | |
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31 | \versionid $Id$ |
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32 | |
33 | \C{intro} Introduction |
34 | |
35 | I wrote this collection because I thought there should be more small |
36 | desktop toys available: little games you can pop up in a window and |
37 | play for two or three minutes while you take a break from whatever |
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38 | else you were doing. And I was also annoyed that every time I found |
39 | a good game on (say) \i{Unix}, it wasn't available the next time I |
40 | was sitting at a \i{Windows} machine, or vice versa; so I arranged |
41 | that everything in my personal puzzle collection will happily run on |
42 | both, and have more recently done a port to Mac OS X as well. When I |
43 | find (or perhaps invent) further puzzle games that I like, they'll |
44 | be added to this collection and will immediately be available on |
45 | both platforms. And if anyone feels like writing any other front |
46 | ends - PocketPC, Mac OS pre-10, or whatever it might be - then all |
47 | the games in this framework will immediately become available on |
48 | another platform as well. |
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49 | |
50 | The actual games in this collection were mostly not my invention; I |
51 | saw them elsewhere, and rewrote them in a form that was more |
52 | convenient for me. I do not claim credit, in general, for inventing |
53 | the rules of any of these puzzles; all I claim is authorship of the |
54 | code (or at least those parts of the code that weren't contributed |
55 | by other people!). |
56 | |
57 | This collection is distributed under the \i{MIT licence} (see |
58 | \k{licence}). This means that you can do pretty much anything you like |
59 | with the game binaries or the code, except pretending you wrote them |
60 | yourself, or suing me if anything goes wrong. |
61 | |
62 | The most recent versions, and \i{source code}, can be found at |
63 | \I{website}\W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}. |
64 | |
65 | Please report \I{feedback}\i{bugs} to |
66 | \W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\cw{anakin@pobox.com}. |
67 | You might find it helpful to read this article before reporting a bug: |
68 | |
69 | \W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html} |
70 | |
71 | \ii{Patches} are welcome. Especially if they provide a new front end |
72 | (to make all these games run on another platform), or a new game. |
73 | |
74 | |
75 | \C{common} \ii{Common features} |
76 | |
77 | This chapter describes features that are common to all the games. |
78 | |
79 | \H{common-actions} \I{controls}Common actions |
80 | |
81 | These actions are all available from the \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu |
82 | and via \I{keys}keyboard shortcuts, in addition to any game-specific |
83 | actions. |
84 | |
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85 | (On Mac OS X, to conform with local user interface standards, these |
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86 | actions are situated on the \I{File menu}\q{File} and \I{Edit |
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87 | menu}\q{Edit} menus instead.) |
88 | |
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89 | \dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N}) |
90 | |
91 | \dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state. |
92 | |
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93 | \dt \ii\e{Restart game} |
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94 | |
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95 | \dd Resets the current game to its initial state. (This can be undone.) |
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96 | |
97 | \dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_}) |
98 | |
99 | \dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the |
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100 | session.) |
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101 | |
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102 | \dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R}) |
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103 | |
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104 | \dd Redoes a previously undone move. |
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105 | |
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106 | \dt \ii\e{Copy} |
107 | |
108 | \dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text |
109 | format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a |
110 | web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else. |
111 | (Not all games support this feature.) |
112 | |
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113 | \dt \ii\e{Solve} |
114 | |
115 | \dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some |
116 | games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of |
117 | no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved |
118 | state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a |
119 | solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a |
120 | mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution |
121 | tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does |
122 | provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment |
123 | with set-piece moves and transformations. |
124 | |
125 | \lcont{ |
126 | |
127 | Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have |
128 | typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot |
129 | solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did |
130 | invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still |
131 | other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only |
132 | if they aren't too difficult. |
133 | |
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134 | The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo |
135 | chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to |
136 | solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo. |
137 | |
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138 | } |
139 | |
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140 | \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q}) |
141 | |
142 | \dd Closes the application entirely. |
143 | |
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144 | \H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID} |
145 | |
146 | There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and |
147 | recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the |
148 | same puzzle. |
149 | |
150 | The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the |
151 | \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on Mac OS X) each |
152 | show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to |
153 | reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date. |
154 | |
155 | You can enter either of these pieces of text back into the program |
156 | (via the same \q{Specific} or \q{Random Seed} menu options) at a |
157 | later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use |
158 | either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see |
159 | \k{common-cmdline} for more detail. |
160 | |
161 | The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID |
162 | is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game, |
163 | whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was |
164 | provided as input to the random number generator used to create the |
165 | puzzle. This means that: |
166 | |
167 | \b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although |
168 | some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions). |
169 | So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle |
170 | you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can |
171 | play the same one as you. |
172 | |
173 | \b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically |
174 | generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you |
175 | can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid |
176 | puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or |
177 | more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a |
178 | random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody |
179 | has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before |
180 | anybody else. |
181 | |
182 | \b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such |
183 | as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive |
184 | game IDs suitable for use with these programs. |
185 | |
186 | \b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you |
187 | use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This |
188 | is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or |
189 | modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a |
190 | different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use |
191 | a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the |
192 | same version of the program as yours. |
193 | |
194 | \lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number |
195 | of the program. Programs with the same version number running on |
196 | different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)} |
197 | |
198 | \I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which |
199 | encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid |
200 | size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of |
201 | the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string |
202 | of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by |
203 | arbitrary data. |
204 | |
205 | If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to |
206 | show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't |
207 | generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed, |
208 | however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game |
209 | ID derived from that random seed. |
210 | |
211 | Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical |
212 | between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data |
213 | provided with the random seed which is not included in the |
214 | descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is |
215 | only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important |
216 | when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo |
217 | (\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID. |
218 | |
219 | These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type |
220 | in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced} |
221 | difficulty level, and then a friend wants your help with a |
222 | \q{Trivial} puzzle; so the friend reads out a random seed specifying |
223 | \q{Trivial} difficulty, and you type it in. The program will |
224 | generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having |
225 | trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask |
226 | for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced} |
227 | difficulty which it was previously set on. |
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228 | |
229 | \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu |
230 | |
231 | The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of |
232 | \i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new |
233 | random game with the parameters specified. |
234 | |
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235 | The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which |
236 | allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters |
237 | available are specific to each game and are described in the |
238 | following sections. |
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239 | |
240 | \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line} |
241 | |
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242 | (This section does not apply to the Mac OS X version.) |
243 | |
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244 | The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save |
245 | information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score |
246 | tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least |
247 | some people to play them at work, and those people will probably |
248 | appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!) |
249 | |
250 | However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to default |
251 | to a particular set of parameters, you can specify them on the |
252 | command line. |
253 | |
254 | The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want |
255 | using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select |
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256 | \q{Random Seed} from the \q{Game} or \q{File} menu (see |
257 | \k{common-id}). The text in the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of |
258 | two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents |
259 | the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and |
260 | anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu). |
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261 | |
262 | If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command |
263 | line, it will start up with the settings you specified. |
264 | |
265 | For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron} |
266 | from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you |
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267 | will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only |
268 | the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text |
269 | on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}. |
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270 | |
271 | If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game |
272 | will start up in the specific game that was described. This is |
273 | occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID |
274 | than by pasting it into the game ID selection box. |
275 | |
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276 | (You could also retrieve the encoded game parameters using the |
277 | \q{Specific} menu option instead of \q{Random Seed}, but if you do |
278 | then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be |
279 | missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.) |
280 | |
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281 | \C{net} \i{Net} |
282 | |
283 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net} |
284 | |
285 | (\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called |
286 | \i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.) |
287 | |
288 | I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet} |
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289 | \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other |
290 | implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a |
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291 | network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then |
292 | shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to |
293 | rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an |
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294 | entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter |
295 | clause means that there are no closed paths within the network. |
296 | Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid, |
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297 | all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are |
298 | highlighted. |
299 | |
300 | \B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm} |
301 | |
302 | \H{net-controls} \i{Net controls} |
303 | |
304 | \IM{Net controls} controls, for Net |
305 | \IM{Net controls} keys, for Net |
306 | \IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net |
307 | |
308 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The |
309 | controls are: |
310 | |
311 | \dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys |
312 | |
313 | \dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key |
314 | |
315 | \dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key |
316 | |
317 | \dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key |
318 | |
319 | \dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can |
320 | also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally |
321 | turn it. |
322 | |
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323 | The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may |
324 | be useful: |
325 | |
326 | \dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys |
327 | |
328 | \dd On grids that wrap, you can move the origin of the grid, so that |
329 | tiles that were on opposite sides of the grid can be seen together. |
330 | |
331 | \dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys |
332 | |
333 | \dd You can change which tile is used as the source of highlighting. |
334 | (It doesn't ultimately matter which tile this is, as every tile will |
335 | be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be |
336 | helpful in the intermediate stages of solving the puzzle.) |
337 | |
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338 | \dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key |
339 | |
340 | \dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random |
341 | orientations. |
342 | |
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343 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
344 | |
345 | \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters |
346 | |
347 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
348 | \q{Type} menu. |
349 | |
350 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
351 | |
352 | \dd Size of grid in tiles. |
353 | |
354 | \dt \e{Walls wrap around} |
355 | |
356 | \dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge, |
357 | and from top to bottom, and vice versa. |
358 | |
359 | \dt \e{Barrier probability} |
360 | |
361 | \dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable |
362 | barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a |
363 | higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they |
364 | act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints). |
365 | |
366 | \lcont{ |
367 | |
368 | The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the |
369 | barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if |
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370 | you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle |
371 | (see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter, |
372 | and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the |
373 | same starting grid, with the only change being the number of |
374 | barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint, |
375 | you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same |
376 | parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed |
377 | from the original Net window. |
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378 | |
379 | } |
380 | |
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381 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
382 | |
383 | \dd Normally, Net will make sure that the puzzles it presents have |
384 | only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
385 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
386 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all} |
387 | the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an |
388 | advanced player.) |
389 | |
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390 | \C{cube} \i{Cube} |
391 | |
392 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube} |
393 | |
394 | This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a |
395 | Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16 |
396 | squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move |
397 | is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that |
398 | it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue |
399 | square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you |
400 | roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is |
401 | put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces |
402 | that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue |
403 | squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your |
404 | moves and try to do it in as few as possible. |
405 | |
406 | Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature: |
407 | once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid, |
408 | you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an |
409 | octahedron or an icosahedron. |
410 | |
411 | \B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm} |
412 | |
413 | \H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls} |
414 | |
415 | \IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube |
416 | \IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube |
417 | \IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube |
418 | |
419 | This game is played with the keyboard. The arrow keys are used to roll the |
420 | cube (or other solid). |
421 | |
422 | On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is |
423 | more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't |
424 | make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric |
425 | keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement. |
426 | |
427 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
428 | |
429 | \H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters |
430 | |
431 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
432 | \q{Type} menu. |
433 | |
434 | \dt \e{Type of solid} |
435 | |
436 | \dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid): |
437 | tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron. |
438 | |
439 | \dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom} |
440 | |
441 | \dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a |
442 | triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows |
443 | respectively. |
444 | |
445 | |
446 | \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen} |
447 | |
448 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen} |
449 | |
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450 | The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}} |
451 | with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares |
452 | contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to |
453 | choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space. |
454 | The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the |
455 | space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the |
456 | bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}). |
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457 | |
458 | \H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls} |
459 | |
460 | \IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen |
461 | \IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen |
462 | \IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen |
463 | |
464 | This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard. |
465 | |
466 | A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty |
467 | space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the |
468 | mouse pointer. |
469 | |
470 | The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction |
471 | indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction). |
472 | |
473 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
474 | |
475 | \H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters |
476 | |
477 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
478 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once |
479 | you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!) |
480 | |
481 | |
482 | \C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen} |
483 | |
484 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen} |
485 | |
486 | Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see |
487 | \k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no |
488 | hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move |
489 | is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up |
490 | or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid |
491 | re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just |
492 | vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on |
493 | the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try |
494 | playing on different sizes of grid. |
495 | |
496 | I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if |
497 | so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I |
498 | thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling |
499 | that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle |
500 | rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one |
501 | thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part |
502 | rather than just engineering. |
503 | |
504 | \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls |
505 | |
506 | This game is played with the mouse. Left-clicking on an arrow will |
507 | move the appropriate row or column in the direction indicated. |
508 | Right-clicking will move it in the opposite direction. |
509 | |
510 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
511 | |
512 | \H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters |
513 | |
81875211 |
514 | The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
515 | \q{Type} menu are: |
516 | |
517 | \b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
518 | |
519 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
520 | the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way |
521 | that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can |
522 | override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to |
523 | be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise |
524 | set of shuffling moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer |
525 | (say) a four-move shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the |
526 | more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter |
527 | than the target length will turn out to be possible. |
528 | |
e91825f8 |
529 | |
9038fd11 |
530 | \C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle} |
531 | |
532 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle} |
533 | |
534 | Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen |
535 | (see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each |
536 | containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into |
537 | ascending order. |
538 | |
539 | In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four |
a3631c72 |
540 | tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in |
541 | the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced |
542 | settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles. |
9038fd11 |
543 | |
544 | I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid |
545 | Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle |
546 | you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I |
547 | developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle. |
548 | |
549 | \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls |
550 | |
551 | To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group |
552 | you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square, |
553 | which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles |
554 | meet. |
555 | |
556 | In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at |
557 | a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in |
558 | the centre tile of the square you want to rotate. |
559 | |
560 | Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise. |
561 | Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise. |
562 | |
563 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
564 | |
565 | \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters |
566 | |
567 | Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom} |
568 | option on the \q{Type} menu: |
569 | |
570 | \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid. |
571 | |
572 | \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time. |
573 | |
574 | \b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable |
575 | (the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there |
576 | are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim |
577 | is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into |
578 | the second row, and so on. |
579 | |
a3631c72 |
580 | \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If |
d50832a3 |
581 | you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle |
582 | drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete |
583 | the puzzle. |
a3631c72 |
584 | |
81875211 |
585 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
586 | the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any |
587 | arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this |
588 | by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed. |
589 | Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling |
590 | moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move |
591 | shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask |
592 | for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target |
593 | length will turn out to be possible. |
594 | |
9038fd11 |
595 | |
e91825f8 |
596 | \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles} |
597 | |
598 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles} |
599 | |
600 | You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all) |
601 | of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of |
602 | various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one |
603 | numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the |
604 | number written in its numbered square. |
605 | |
606 | Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli} |
26801d29 |
607 | \k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle |
608 | Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's |
609 | implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of |
610 | any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not |
611 | quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side |
612 | you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own |
613 | specification. |
e91825f8 |
614 | |
6ae37301 |
615 | \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 |
616 | |
6ae37301 |
617 | \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 |
618 | |
619 | \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls |
620 | |
621 | This game is played with the mouse. |
622 | |
623 | Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or click and drag to draw |
624 | an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any |
625 | existing edges within that rectangle). |
626 | |
627 | When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded. |
628 | |
629 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
630 | |
631 | \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters |
632 | |
40fde884 |
633 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
634 | \q{Type} menu. |
635 | |
636 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
637 | |
638 | \dd Size of grid, in squares. |
639 | |
640 | \dt \e{Expansion factor} |
aea3ed9a |
641 | |
40fde884 |
642 | \dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by |
643 | the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large |
644 | rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask |
aea3ed9a |
645 | Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size |
646 | you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns. |
647 | |
40fde884 |
648 | \lcont{ |
649 | |
aea3ed9a |
650 | The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will |
651 | simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing |
652 | further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that |
653 | each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big |
654 | after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the |
655 | size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size |
656 | without adding any more rectangles. |
657 | |
4a03dbb4 |
658 | Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game |
659 | more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive |
660 | and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high, |
661 | though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles |
662 | to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial. |
aea3ed9a |
663 | |
40fde884 |
664 | } |
665 | |
666 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
667 | |
668 | \dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents |
669 | have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
670 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
671 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the |
672 | possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced |
673 | player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation. |
674 | |
6ae37301 |
675 | |
e91825f8 |
676 | \C{netslide} \i{Netslide} |
677 | |
678 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide} |
679 | |
680 | This game was submitted by Richard Boulton. It combines the grid |
681 | generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the movement of Sixteen (see |
682 | \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but instead of rotating tiles back |
683 | into place you have to slide them into place by moving a whole row at |
684 | a time. |
685 | |
e91825f8 |
686 | As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse. |
687 | See \k{sixteen-controls}. |
688 | |
aa27d493 |
689 | \I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar |
690 | meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see |
691 | \k{sixteen-params}). |
e91825f8 |
692 | |
6ae37301 |
693 | |
b6b0369e |
694 | \C{pattern} \i{Pattern} |
695 | |
696 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern} |
697 | |
698 | You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black |
699 | or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the |
700 | runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the |
701 | lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to |
702 | fill in the entire grid black or white. |
703 | |
704 | I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name |
2e1e03ff |
705 | \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under |
b6b0369e |
706 | different names. |
707 | |
708 | Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture |
709 | of something once you've solved them. However, since this version |
710 | generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random |
711 | groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually |
712 | a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of |
713 | squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.) |
714 | The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them. |
715 | |
2e1e03ff |
716 | \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls |
b6b0369e |
717 | |
718 | This game is played with the mouse. |
719 | |
720 | Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it |
721 | white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down |
722 | Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the |
723 | default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again. |
724 | |
725 | You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour |
726 | a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time |
727 | (respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or |
728 | with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares |
729 | grey. |
730 | |
2e1e03ff |
731 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
732 | |
b6b0369e |
733 | \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters |
734 | |
735 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
736 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
e91825f8 |
737 | |
6ae37301 |
738 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
739 | \C{solo} \i{Solo} |
740 | |
741 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo} |
742 | |
743 | You have a square grid, which is divided into square or rectangular |
744 | blocks. Each square must be filled in with a digit from 1 to the |
745 | size of the grid, in such a way that |
746 | |
747 | \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit |
748 | |
749 | \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit |
750 | |
751 | \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit. |
752 | |
753 | You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the |
754 | rest of the numbers correctly. |
755 | |
756 | The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual grid, divided |
757 | into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes with |
758 | rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a |
759 | 6\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks). |
760 | |
761 | If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the |
762 | additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if |
763 | you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1 |
764 | to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}. |
765 | |
6ae37301 |
766 | I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's also |
1d8e8ad8 |
767 | been popularised by various newspapers under the name \q{Sudoku} or |
768 | \q{Su Doku}. |
769 | |
6ae37301 |
770 | \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} |
771 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
772 | \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls |
773 | |
774 | To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then |
775 | type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you |
776 | make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press |
777 | Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature). |
778 | |
c8266e03 |
779 | If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that |
780 | number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can |
781 | have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. |
782 | |
783 | The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use |
784 | them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a |
785 | particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a |
786 | particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible |
787 | numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like. |
788 | |
789 | To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type |
790 | the same number again. |
791 | |
792 | All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type |
793 | a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and |
794 | pressing space will also erase pencil marks. |
795 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
796 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
797 | |
798 | \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters |
799 | |
800 | Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle |
6ae37301 |
801 | grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of |
802 | rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is |
803 | the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows, |
804 | each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.) |
1d8e8ad8 |
805 | |
ef57b17d |
806 | You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated |
807 | puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also |
808 | make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more |
809 | clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles |
810 | have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible. |
811 | |
7c568a48 |
812 | Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles. |
813 | Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of |
814 | deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode |
815 | of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In |
816 | particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there |
817 | will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times, |
818 | whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make |
819 | partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in |
de60d8bd |
820 | (or the set of numbers that could be in a square). At |
821 | \q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will |
822 | eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out |
823 | to be wrong. |
7c568a48 |
824 | |
825 | Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select |
826 | \q{Intermediate} or \q{Advanced} difficulty, Solo may have to make |
827 | many attempts at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough |
828 | for you. Be prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured |
829 | a large puzzle size. |
830 | |
ef57b17d |
831 | |
7959b517 |
832 | \C{mines} \i{Mines} |
833 | |
834 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines} |
835 | |
836 | You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but |
837 | you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does |
838 | \e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine, |
839 | you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you |
840 | are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding |
841 | squares. |
842 | |
843 | This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is |
844 | perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence. |
845 | |
846 | This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will |
847 | generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you |
848 | never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to |
849 | deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other |
850 | versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are |
851 | two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they |
852 | are. |
853 | |
854 | \H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls |
855 | |
856 | This game is played with the mouse. |
857 | |
858 | If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered. |
859 | |
860 | If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which |
861 | indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in |
862 | a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click |
863 | again to remove a mark placed in error. |
864 | |
865 | If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear |
866 | around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many |
867 | flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered |
868 | squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So |
869 | once you think you know the location of all the mines around a |
870 | square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to |
871 | click on each of the remaining squares one by one. |
872 | |
873 | If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding |
874 | eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in |
875 | turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This |
876 | will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a |
877 | square, a whole new area will open up to be explored. |
878 | |
879 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available. |
880 | Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to |
881 | use it!) |
882 | |
883 | \H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters |
884 | |
885 | The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
886 | menu are: |
887 | |
888 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
889 | |
890 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
891 | |
892 | \dt \e{Mines} |
893 | |
08781119 |
894 | \dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute |
895 | mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in |
896 | which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares |
897 | in the grid to be mines. |
898 | |
899 | \lcont{ |
900 | |
901 | Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities, |
902 | the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid. |
903 | |
904 | } |
7959b517 |
905 | |
906 | \dt \e{Ensure solubility} |
907 | |
908 | \dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will |
909 | ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the |
910 | initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by |
911 | other implementations, you can switch off this option. |
912 | |
913 | |
e91825f8 |
914 | \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence} |
915 | |
8a771ea7 |
916 | This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2005 Simon Tatham. |
e91825f8 |
917 | |
918 | Portions copyright Richard Boulton. |
919 | |
920 | Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person |
921 | obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files |
922 | (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, |
923 | including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, |
924 | publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, |
925 | and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, |
926 | subject to the following conditions: |
927 | |
928 | The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be |
929 | included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. |
930 | |
931 | THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, |
932 | EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF |
933 | MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND |
934 | NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS |
935 | BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN |
936 | ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN |
937 | CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE |
938 | SOFTWARE. |
939 | |
1185e3c5 |
940 | \IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option |
941 | \IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option |
e91825f8 |
942 | |
943 | \IM{game ID} game ID |
944 | \IM{game ID} ID, game |
945 | \IM{ID format} ID format |
946 | \IM{ID format} format, ID |
947 | \IM{ID format} game ID, format |
948 | |
949 | \IM{keys} keys |
950 | \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard) |
951 | |
952 | \IM{initial state} initial state |
953 | \IM{initial state} state, initial |
954 | |
955 | \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence |
956 | \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT |