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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 2004-5 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 |
44 | both, and have more recently done a port to Mac OS X as well. When I |
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 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 | |
108 | The Load and Save operations should preserve your entire game |
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 \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_}) |
115 | |
116 | \dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the |
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117 | session.) |
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118 | |
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119 | \dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R}) |
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120 | |
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121 | \dd Redoes a previously undone move. |
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122 | |
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123 | \dt \ii\e{Copy} |
124 | |
125 | \dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text |
126 | format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a |
127 | web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else. |
128 | (Not all games support this feature.) |
129 | |
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130 | \dt \ii\e{Solve} |
131 | |
132 | \dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some |
133 | games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of |
134 | no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved |
135 | state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a |
136 | solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a |
137 | mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution |
138 | tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does |
139 | provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment |
140 | with set-piece moves and transformations. |
141 | |
142 | \lcont{ |
143 | |
144 | Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have |
145 | typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot |
146 | solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did |
147 | invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still |
148 | other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only |
149 | if they aren't too difficult. |
150 | |
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151 | The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo |
152 | chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to |
153 | solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo. |
154 | |
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155 | } |
156 | |
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157 | \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q}) |
158 | |
159 | \dd Closes the application entirely. |
160 | |
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161 | \H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID} |
162 | |
163 | There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and |
164 | recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the |
165 | same puzzle. |
166 | |
167 | The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the |
168 | \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on Mac OS X) each |
169 | show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to |
170 | reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date. |
171 | |
172 | You can enter either of these pieces of text back into the program |
173 | (via the same \q{Specific} or \q{Random Seed} menu options) at a |
174 | later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use |
175 | either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see |
176 | \k{common-cmdline} for more detail. |
177 | |
178 | The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID |
179 | is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game, |
180 | whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was |
181 | provided as input to the random number generator used to create the |
182 | puzzle. This means that: |
183 | |
184 | \b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although |
185 | some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions). |
186 | So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle |
187 | you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can |
188 | play the same one as you. |
189 | |
190 | \b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically |
191 | generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you |
192 | can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid |
193 | puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or |
194 | more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a |
195 | random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody |
196 | has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before |
197 | anybody else. |
198 | |
199 | \b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such |
200 | as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive |
201 | game IDs suitable for use with these programs. |
202 | |
203 | \b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you |
204 | use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This |
205 | is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or |
206 | modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a |
207 | different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use |
208 | a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the |
209 | same version of the program as yours. |
210 | |
211 | \lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number |
212 | of the program. Programs with the same version number running on |
213 | different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)} |
214 | |
215 | \I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which |
216 | encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid |
217 | size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of |
218 | the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string |
219 | of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by |
220 | arbitrary data. |
221 | |
222 | If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to |
223 | show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't |
224 | generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed, |
225 | however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game |
226 | ID derived from that random seed. |
227 | |
228 | Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical |
229 | between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data |
230 | provided with the random seed which is not included in the |
231 | descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is |
232 | only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important |
233 | when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo |
234 | (\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID. |
235 | |
236 | These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type |
237 | in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced} |
238 | difficulty level, and then a friend wants your help with a |
239 | \q{Trivial} puzzle; so the friend reads out a random seed specifying |
240 | \q{Trivial} difficulty, and you type it in. The program will |
241 | generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having |
242 | trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask |
243 | for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced} |
244 | difficulty which it was previously set on. |
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245 | |
246 | \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu |
247 | |
248 | The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of |
249 | \i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new |
250 | random game with the parameters specified. |
251 | |
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252 | The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which |
253 | allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters |
254 | available are specific to each game and are described in the |
255 | following sections. |
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256 | |
257 | \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line} |
258 | |
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259 | (This section does not apply to the Mac OS X version.) |
260 | |
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261 | The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save |
262 | information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score |
263 | tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least |
264 | some people to play them at work, and those people will probably |
265 | appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!) |
266 | |
267 | However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to default |
268 | to a particular set of parameters, you can specify them on the |
269 | command line. |
270 | |
271 | The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want |
272 | using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select |
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273 | \q{Random Seed} from the \q{Game} or \q{File} menu (see |
274 | \k{common-id}). The text in the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of |
275 | two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents |
276 | the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and |
277 | anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu). |
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278 | |
279 | If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command |
280 | line, it will start up with the settings you specified. |
281 | |
282 | For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron} |
283 | from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you |
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284 | will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only |
285 | the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text |
286 | on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}. |
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287 | |
288 | If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game |
289 | will start up in the specific game that was described. This is |
290 | occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID |
291 | than by pasting it into the game ID selection box. |
292 | |
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293 | (You could also retrieve the encoded game parameters using the |
294 | \q{Specific} menu option instead of \q{Random Seed}, but if you do |
295 | then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be |
296 | missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.) |
297 | |
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298 | \C{net} \i{Net} |
299 | |
300 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net} |
301 | |
302 | (\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called |
303 | \i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.) |
304 | |
305 | I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet} |
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306 | \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other |
307 | implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a |
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308 | network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then |
309 | shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to |
310 | rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an |
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311 | entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter |
312 | clause means that there are no closed paths within the network. |
313 | Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid, |
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314 | all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are |
315 | highlighted. |
316 | |
317 | \B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm} |
318 | |
319 | \H{net-controls} \i{Net controls} |
320 | |
321 | \IM{Net controls} controls, for Net |
322 | \IM{Net controls} keys, for Net |
323 | \IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net |
324 | |
325 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The |
326 | controls are: |
327 | |
328 | \dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys |
329 | |
330 | \dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key |
331 | |
332 | \dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key |
333 | |
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334 | \dt \e{Rotate tile by 180 degrees}: \q{F} key |
335 | |
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336 | \dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key |
337 | |
338 | \dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can |
339 | also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally |
340 | turn it. |
341 | |
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342 | The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may |
343 | be useful: |
344 | |
345 | \dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys |
346 | |
347 | \dd On grids that wrap, you can move the origin of the grid, so that |
348 | tiles that were on opposite sides of the grid can be seen together. |
349 | |
350 | \dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys |
351 | |
352 | \dd You can change which tile is used as the source of highlighting. |
353 | (It doesn't ultimately matter which tile this is, as every tile will |
354 | be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be |
355 | helpful in the intermediate stages of solving the puzzle.) |
356 | |
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357 | \dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key |
358 | |
359 | \dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random |
360 | orientations. |
361 | |
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362 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
363 | |
364 | \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters |
365 | |
366 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
367 | \q{Type} menu. |
368 | |
369 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
370 | |
371 | \dd Size of grid in tiles. |
372 | |
373 | \dt \e{Walls wrap around} |
374 | |
375 | \dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge, |
376 | and from top to bottom, and vice versa. |
377 | |
378 | \dt \e{Barrier probability} |
379 | |
380 | \dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable |
381 | barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a |
382 | higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they |
383 | act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints). |
384 | |
385 | \lcont{ |
386 | |
387 | The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the |
388 | barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if |
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389 | you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle |
390 | (see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter, |
391 | and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the |
392 | same starting grid, with the only change being the number of |
393 | barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint, |
394 | you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same |
395 | parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed |
396 | from the original Net window. |
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397 | |
398 | } |
399 | |
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400 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
401 | |
402 | \dd Normally, Net will make sure that the puzzles it presents have |
403 | only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
404 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
405 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all} |
406 | the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an |
407 | advanced player.) |
408 | |
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409 | \C{cube} \i{Cube} |
410 | |
411 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube} |
412 | |
413 | This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a |
414 | Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16 |
415 | squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move |
416 | is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that |
417 | it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue |
418 | square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you |
419 | roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is |
420 | put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces |
421 | that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue |
422 | squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your |
423 | moves and try to do it in as few as possible. |
424 | |
425 | Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature: |
426 | once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid, |
427 | you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an |
428 | octahedron or an icosahedron. |
429 | |
430 | \B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm} |
431 | |
432 | \H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls} |
433 | |
434 | \IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube |
435 | \IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube |
436 | \IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube |
437 | |
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438 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
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439 | |
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440 | Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other |
441 | solid) towards the mouse pointer. |
442 | |
443 | The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in |
444 | the four cardinal directions. |
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445 | On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is |
446 | more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't |
447 | make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric |
448 | keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement. |
449 | |
450 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
451 | |
452 | \H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters |
453 | |
454 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
455 | \q{Type} menu. |
456 | |
457 | \dt \e{Type of solid} |
458 | |
459 | \dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid): |
460 | tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron. |
461 | |
462 | \dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom} |
463 | |
464 | \dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a |
465 | triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows |
466 | respectively. |
467 | |
468 | |
469 | \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen} |
470 | |
471 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen} |
472 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
473 | The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}} |
474 | with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares |
475 | contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to |
476 | choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space. |
477 | The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the |
478 | space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the |
479 | bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}). |
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480 | |
481 | \H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls} |
482 | |
483 | \IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen |
484 | \IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen |
485 | \IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen |
486 | |
487 | This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard. |
488 | |
489 | A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty |
490 | space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the |
491 | mouse pointer. |
492 | |
493 | The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction |
494 | indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction). |
495 | |
496 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
497 | |
498 | \H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters |
499 | |
500 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
501 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once |
502 | you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!) |
503 | |
504 | |
505 | \C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen} |
506 | |
507 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen} |
508 | |
509 | Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see |
510 | \k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no |
511 | hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move |
512 | is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up |
513 | or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid |
514 | re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just |
515 | vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on |
516 | the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try |
517 | playing on different sizes of grid. |
518 | |
519 | I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if |
520 | so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I |
521 | thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling |
522 | that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle |
523 | rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one |
524 | thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part |
525 | rather than just engineering. |
526 | |
527 | \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls |
528 | |
529 | This game is played with the mouse. Left-clicking on an arrow will |
530 | move the appropriate row or column in the direction indicated. |
531 | Right-clicking will move it in the opposite direction. |
532 | |
533 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
534 | |
535 | \H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters |
536 | |
81875211 |
537 | The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
538 | \q{Type} menu are: |
539 | |
540 | \b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
541 | |
542 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
543 | the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way |
544 | that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can |
545 | override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to |
546 | be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise |
547 | set of shuffling moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer |
548 | (say) a four-move shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the |
549 | more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter |
550 | than the target length will turn out to be possible. |
551 | |
e91825f8 |
552 | |
9038fd11 |
553 | \C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle} |
554 | |
555 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle} |
556 | |
557 | Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen |
558 | (see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each |
559 | containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into |
560 | ascending order. |
561 | |
562 | In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four |
a3631c72 |
563 | tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in |
564 | the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced |
565 | settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles. |
9038fd11 |
566 | |
567 | I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid |
568 | Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle |
569 | you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I |
570 | developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle. |
571 | |
572 | \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls |
573 | |
574 | To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group |
575 | you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square, |
576 | which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles |
577 | meet. |
578 | |
579 | In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at |
580 | a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in |
581 | the centre tile of the square you want to rotate. |
582 | |
583 | Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise. |
584 | Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise. |
585 | |
586 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
587 | |
588 | \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters |
589 | |
590 | Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom} |
591 | option on the \q{Type} menu: |
592 | |
593 | \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid. |
594 | |
595 | \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time. |
596 | |
597 | \b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable |
598 | (the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there |
599 | are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim |
600 | is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into |
601 | the second row, and so on. |
602 | |
a3631c72 |
603 | \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If |
d50832a3 |
604 | you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle |
605 | drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete |
606 | the puzzle. |
a3631c72 |
607 | |
81875211 |
608 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
609 | the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any |
610 | arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this |
611 | by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed. |
612 | Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling |
613 | moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move |
614 | shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask |
615 | for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target |
616 | length will turn out to be possible. |
617 | |
9038fd11 |
618 | |
e91825f8 |
619 | \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles} |
620 | |
621 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles} |
622 | |
623 | You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all) |
624 | of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of |
625 | various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one |
626 | numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the |
627 | number written in its numbered square. |
628 | |
629 | Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli} |
26801d29 |
630 | \k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle |
631 | Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's |
632 | implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of |
633 | any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not |
634 | quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side |
635 | you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own |
636 | specification. |
e91825f8 |
637 | |
6ae37301 |
638 | \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 |
639 | |
6ae37301 |
640 | \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 |
641 | |
642 | \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls |
643 | |
644 | This game is played with the mouse. |
645 | |
646 | Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or click and drag to draw |
647 | an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any |
648 | existing edges within that rectangle). |
649 | |
650 | When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded. |
651 | |
652 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
653 | |
654 | \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters |
655 | |
40fde884 |
656 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
657 | \q{Type} menu. |
658 | |
659 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
660 | |
661 | \dd Size of grid, in squares. |
662 | |
663 | \dt \e{Expansion factor} |
aea3ed9a |
664 | |
40fde884 |
665 | \dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by |
666 | the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large |
667 | rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask |
aea3ed9a |
668 | Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size |
669 | you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns. |
670 | |
40fde884 |
671 | \lcont{ |
672 | |
aea3ed9a |
673 | The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will |
674 | simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing |
675 | further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that |
676 | each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big |
677 | after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the |
678 | size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size |
679 | without adding any more rectangles. |
680 | |
4a03dbb4 |
681 | Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game |
682 | more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive |
683 | and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high, |
684 | though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles |
685 | to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial. |
aea3ed9a |
686 | |
40fde884 |
687 | } |
688 | |
689 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
690 | |
691 | \dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents |
692 | have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
693 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
694 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the |
695 | possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced |
696 | player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation. |
697 | |
6ae37301 |
698 | |
e91825f8 |
699 | \C{netslide} \i{Netslide} |
700 | |
701 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide} |
702 | |
6bbab0fe |
703 | This game combines the grid generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the |
704 | movement of Sixteen (see \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but |
705 | instead of rotating tiles back into place you have to slide them |
706 | into place by moving a whole row at a time. |
e91825f8 |
707 | |
e91825f8 |
708 | As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse. |
709 | See \k{sixteen-controls}. |
710 | |
aa27d493 |
711 | \I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar |
712 | meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see |
713 | \k{sixteen-params}). |
e91825f8 |
714 | |
6bbab0fe |
715 | Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton. |
6ae37301 |
716 | |
b6b0369e |
717 | \C{pattern} \i{Pattern} |
718 | |
719 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern} |
720 | |
721 | You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black |
722 | or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the |
723 | runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the |
724 | lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to |
725 | fill in the entire grid black or white. |
726 | |
727 | I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name |
2e1e03ff |
728 | \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under |
b6b0369e |
729 | different names. |
730 | |
731 | Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture |
732 | of something once you've solved them. However, since this version |
733 | generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random |
734 | groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually |
735 | a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of |
736 | squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.) |
737 | The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them. |
738 | |
2e1e03ff |
739 | \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls |
b6b0369e |
740 | |
741 | This game is played with the mouse. |
742 | |
743 | Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it |
744 | white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down |
745 | Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the |
746 | default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again. |
747 | |
748 | You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour |
749 | a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time |
750 | (respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or |
751 | with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares |
752 | grey. |
753 | |
2e1e03ff |
754 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
755 | |
b6b0369e |
756 | \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters |
757 | |
758 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
759 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
e91825f8 |
760 | |
6ae37301 |
761 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
762 | \C{solo} \i{Solo} |
763 | |
764 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo} |
765 | |
766 | You have a square grid, which is divided into square or rectangular |
767 | blocks. Each square must be filled in with a digit from 1 to the |
768 | size of the grid, in such a way that |
769 | |
770 | \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit |
771 | |
772 | \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit |
773 | |
774 | \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit. |
775 | |
776 | You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the |
777 | rest of the numbers correctly. |
778 | |
779 | The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual grid, divided |
780 | into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes with |
781 | rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a |
782 | 6\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks). |
783 | |
784 | If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the |
785 | additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if |
786 | you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1 |
787 | to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}. |
788 | |
6ae37301 |
789 | I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's also |
1d8e8ad8 |
790 | been popularised by various newspapers under the name \q{Sudoku} or |
791 | \q{Su Doku}. |
792 | |
6ae37301 |
793 | \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} |
794 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
795 | \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls |
796 | |
797 | To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then |
798 | type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you |
799 | make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press |
800 | Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature). |
801 | |
c8266e03 |
802 | If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that |
803 | number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can |
804 | have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. |
805 | |
806 | The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use |
807 | them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a |
808 | particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a |
809 | particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible |
810 | numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like. |
811 | |
812 | To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type |
813 | the same number again. |
814 | |
815 | All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type |
816 | a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and |
817 | pressing space will also erase pencil marks. |
818 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
819 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
820 | |
821 | \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters |
822 | |
823 | Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle |
6ae37301 |
824 | grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of |
825 | rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is |
826 | the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows, |
827 | each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.) |
1d8e8ad8 |
828 | |
ef57b17d |
829 | You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated |
830 | puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also |
831 | make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more |
832 | clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles |
833 | have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible. |
834 | |
7c568a48 |
835 | Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles. |
836 | Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of |
837 | deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode |
838 | of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In |
839 | particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there |
840 | will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times, |
841 | whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make |
842 | partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in |
de60d8bd |
843 | (or the set of numbers that could be in a square). At |
844 | \q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will |
845 | eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out |
846 | to be wrong. |
7c568a48 |
847 | |
848 | Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select |
849 | \q{Intermediate} or \q{Advanced} difficulty, Solo may have to make |
850 | many attempts at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough |
851 | for you. Be prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured |
852 | a large puzzle size. |
853 | |
ef57b17d |
854 | |
7959b517 |
855 | \C{mines} \i{Mines} |
856 | |
857 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines} |
858 | |
859 | You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but |
860 | you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does |
861 | \e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine, |
862 | you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you |
863 | are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding |
864 | squares. |
865 | |
866 | This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is |
867 | perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence. |
868 | |
869 | This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will |
870 | generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you |
871 | never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to |
872 | deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other |
873 | versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are |
874 | two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they |
875 | are. |
876 | |
877 | \H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls |
878 | |
879 | This game is played with the mouse. |
880 | |
881 | If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered. |
882 | |
883 | If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which |
884 | indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in |
885 | a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click |
886 | again to remove a mark placed in error. |
887 | |
888 | If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear |
889 | around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many |
890 | flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered |
891 | squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So |
892 | once you think you know the location of all the mines around a |
893 | square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to |
894 | click on each of the remaining squares one by one. |
895 | |
896 | If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding |
897 | eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in |
898 | turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This |
899 | will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a |
900 | square, a whole new area will open up to be explored. |
901 | |
11d31eb9 |
902 | All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available. |
903 | |
7959b517 |
904 | Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to |
11d31eb9 |
905 | use it. If you step on a mine, the program will only reveal the mine |
906 | in question (unlike most other implementations, which reveal all of |
907 | them). You can then Undo your fatal move and continue playing if you |
908 | like. The program will track the number of times you died (and Undo |
909 | will not reduce that counter), so when you get to the end of the |
910 | game you know whether or not you did it without making any errors. |
911 | |
912 | (If you really want to know the full layout of the grid, which other |
913 | implementations will show you after you die, you can always use the |
914 | Solve menu option.) |
7959b517 |
915 | |
916 | \H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters |
917 | |
918 | The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
919 | menu are: |
920 | |
921 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
922 | |
923 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
924 | |
925 | \dt \e{Mines} |
926 | |
08781119 |
927 | \dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute |
928 | mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in |
929 | which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares |
930 | in the grid to be mines. |
931 | |
932 | \lcont{ |
933 | |
934 | Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities, |
935 | the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid. |
936 | |
937 | } |
7959b517 |
938 | |
939 | \dt \e{Ensure solubility} |
940 | |
941 | \dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will |
942 | ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the |
943 | initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by |
944 | other implementations, you can switch off this option. |
945 | |
946 | |
6bbab0fe |
947 | \C{samegame} \i{Same Game} |
948 | |
949 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame} |
950 | |
951 | You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by |
209ab5a7 |
952 | highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square; |
6bbab0fe |
953 | the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and |
954 | the faster you clear the arena). |
955 | |
956 | If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but |
209ab5a7 |
957 | single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you |
6bbab0fe |
958 | lose. |
959 | |
960 | Removing a region causes the rest of the grid to shuffle up: |
961 | blocks that are suspended will fall down (first), and then empty |
962 | columns are filled from the right. |
963 | |
6bbab0fe |
964 | Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
965 | |
209ab5a7 |
966 | \H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls} |
967 | |
968 | \IM{Same Game controls} controls, for Same Game |
969 | \IM{Same Game controls} keys, for Same Game |
970 | \IM{Same Game controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Same Game |
971 | |
972 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
6bbab0fe |
973 | |
974 | If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly |
975 | clearing the current selection). |
976 | |
977 | If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the |
978 | rest of the grid shuffled immediately). |
979 | |
980 | If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected. |
981 | |
209ab5a7 |
982 | The cursor keys move a cursor around the grid. Pressing the Space or |
983 | Enter keys while the cursor is in an unselected region selects it; |
984 | pressing Space or Enter again removes it as above. |
985 | |
6bbab0fe |
986 | \H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters |
987 | |
209ab5a7 |
988 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
989 | \q{Type} menu. |
990 | |
6bbab0fe |
991 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
992 | |
993 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
994 | |
995 | \dt \e{No. of colours} |
996 | |
997 | \dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours, |
209ab5a7 |
998 | the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to |
999 | successfully clear the grid. |
1000 | |
1001 | \dt \e{Scoring system} |
1002 | |
1003 | \dd Controls the precise mechanism used for scoring. With the default |
1004 | system, \q{(n-2)^2}, only regions of three squares or more will score |
1005 | any points at all. With the alternative \q{(n-1)^2} system, regions of |
1006 | two squares score a point each, and larger regions score relatively |
1007 | more points. |
6bbab0fe |
1008 | |
e4a7ab56 |
1009 | \dt \e{Ensure solubility} |
1010 | |
1011 | \dd If this option is ticked (the default state), generated grids |
1012 | will be guaranteed to have at least one solution. |
1013 | |
1014 | \lcont{ |
1015 | |
1016 | If you turn it off, the game generator will not try to guarantee |
1017 | soluble grids; it will, however, still ensure that there are at |
1018 | least 2 squares of each colour on the grid at the start (since a |
1019 | grid with exactly one square of a given colour is \e{definitely} |
1020 | insoluble). Grids generated with this option disabled may contain |
1021 | more large areas of contiguous colour, leading to opportunities for |
1022 | higher scores; they can also take less time to generate. |
1023 | |
1024 | } |
1025 | |
f4afe206 |
1026 | |
1027 | \C{flip} \i{Flip} |
1028 | |
1029 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip} |
1030 | |
1031 | You have a grid of squares, some light and some dark. Your aim is to |
1032 | light all the squares up at the same time. You can choose any square |
1033 | and flip its state from light to dark or dark to light, but when you |
1034 | do so, other squares around it change state as well. |
1035 | |
1036 | Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares |
1037 | change when you flip it. |
1038 | |
d6acbe63 |
1039 | \H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls} |
f4afe206 |
1040 | |
1041 | \IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip |
1042 | \IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip |
1043 | \IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip |
1044 | |
33317d37 |
1045 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
1046 | |
1047 | Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares, or |
1048 | use the cursor keys to choose a square and the space bar or Enter |
1049 | key to flip. |
79cb09e9 |
1050 | |
5f6050b4 |
1051 | If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of |
1052 | the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red |
1053 | mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square |
1054 | \e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate |
1055 | that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.) |
f4afe206 |
1056 | |
1057 | \H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters |
1058 | |
1059 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1060 | \q{Type} menu. |
1061 | |
1062 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1063 | |
1064 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1065 | |
1066 | \dt \e{Shape type} |
1067 | |
1068 | \dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped |
1069 | by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses}, |
1070 | causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours |
1071 | (or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting, |
1072 | \q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so |
1073 | the game is different every time. |
1074 | |
1075 | |
c6203e43 |
1076 | \C{guess} \i{Guess} |
1077 | |
1078 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess} |
1079 | |
1080 | You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a |
1081 | predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a |
1082 | certain number of guesses. |
1083 | |
1084 | Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs |
9ffde3e8 |
1085 | in the correct places (in black), and also the number of |
1086 | correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white). |
c6203e43 |
1087 | |
1088 | This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as |
9ffde3e8 |
1089 | a board game \q{Mastermind}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row, and 10 guesses. |
c6203e43 |
1090 | However, this version allows custom settings of number of colours |
1091 | (up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses. |
1092 | |
64455a5a |
1093 | Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1094 | |
c6203e43 |
1095 | \H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls} |
1096 | |
1097 | \IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess |
1098 | \IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess |
1099 | \IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess |
1100 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1101 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
1102 | |
9c63a011 |
1103 | With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand |
1104 | side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be |
1105 | dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To |
1106 | remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid. |
c6203e43 |
1107 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1108 | Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs |
c6203e43 |
1109 | that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess |
1110 | after marking. |
1111 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1112 | Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be |
1113 | used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a |
9c63a011 |
1114 | peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the |
59dae0db |
1115 | selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a |
1116 | peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker. |
9ffde3e8 |
1117 | |
9c63a011 |
1118 | When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted; |
9ffde3e8 |
1119 | clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys |
9c63a011 |
1120 | and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess, |
1121 | copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess} |
1122 | marker. |
c6203e43 |
1123 | |
1124 | If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed |
9ffde3e8 |
1125 | below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution |
9c63a011 |
1126 | will also be revealed. |
c6203e43 |
1127 | |
13b443e3 |
1128 | \H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for Guess}Guess parameters |
c6203e43 |
1129 | |
1130 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1131 | \q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the |
9ffde3e8 |
1132 | board game \q{Mastermind}. |
c6203e43 |
1133 | |
1134 | \dt \e{Colours} |
1135 | |
1136 | \dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10 |
1137 | (more is harder). |
1138 | |
1139 | \dt \e{Pegs per guess} |
1140 | |
1141 | \dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder). |
1142 | |
1143 | \dt \e{Guesses} |
1144 | |
1145 | \dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder). |
1146 | |
1147 | \dt \e{Allow blanks} |
1148 | |
1149 | \dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because |
1150 | you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This |
1151 | is turned off by default. |
1152 | |
1153 | Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted |
1154 | that, use one extra colour. |
1155 | |
1156 | \dt \e{Allow duplicates} |
1157 | |
1158 | \dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once; |
1159 | this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by |
1160 | default. |
1161 | |
1162 | |
13b443e3 |
1163 | \C{pegs} \i{Pegs} |
1164 | |
1165 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pegs} |
1166 | |
1167 | A number of pegs are placed in holes on a board. You can remove a |
33a3deb2 |
1168 | peg by jumping an adjacent peg over it (horizontally or vertically) |
1169 | to a vacant hole on the other side. Your aim is to remove all but one |
1170 | of the pegs initially present. |
13b443e3 |
1171 | |
1172 | This game, best known as \q{Peg Solitaire}, is possibly one of the |
1173 | oldest puzzle games still commonly known. |
1174 | |
1175 | \H{pegs-controls} \i{Pegs controls} |
1176 | |
1177 | \IM{Pegs controls} controls, for Pegs |
1178 | |
1179 | To move a peg, drag it with the mouse from its current position to |
1180 | its final position. If the final position is exactly two holes away |
1181 | from the initial position, is currently unoccupied by a peg, and |
1182 | there is a peg in the intervening square, the move will be permitted |
1183 | and the intervening peg will be removed. |
1184 | |
1185 | Vacant spaces which you can move a peg into are marked with holes. A |
1186 | space with no peg and no hole is not available for moving at all: it |
1187 | is an obstacle which you must work around. |
1188 | |
1189 | |
1190 | \H{pegs-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pegs}Pegs parameters |
1191 | |
1192 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1193 | \q{Type} menu. |
1194 | |
1195 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1196 | |
1197 | \dd Size of grid in holes. |
1198 | |
1199 | \dt \e{Board type} |
1200 | |
1201 | \dd Controls whether you are given a board of a standard shape or a |
1202 | randomly generated shape. The two standard shapes currently |
1203 | supported are \q{Cross} and \q{Octagon} (also commonly known as the |
1204 | English and European traditional board layouts respectively). |
1205 | Selecting \q{Random} will give you a different board shape every |
1206 | time (but always one that is known to have a solution). |
1207 | |
1208 | |
6c04c334 |
1209 | \C{dominosa} \i{Dominosa} |
1210 | |
1211 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.dominosa} |
1212 | |
f1010613 |
1213 | A normal set of dominoes \dash that is, one instance of every |
1214 | (unordered) pair of numbers from 0 to 6 \dash has been arranged |
1215 | irregularly into a rectangle; then the number in each square has |
1216 | been written down and the dominoes themselves removed. Your task is |
1217 | to reconstruct the pattern by arranging the set of dominoes to match |
1218 | the provided array of numbers. |
6c04c334 |
1219 | |
1220 | This puzzle is widely credited to O. S. Adler, and takes part of its |
1221 | name from those initials. |
1222 | |
1223 | \H{dominosa-controls} \i{Dominosa controls} |
1224 | |
1225 | \IM{Dominosa controls} controls, for Dominosa |
1226 | |
1227 | Left-clicking between any two adjacent numbers places a domino |
1228 | covering them, or removes one if it is already present. Trying to |
1229 | place a domino which overlaps existing dominoes will remove the ones |
1230 | it overlaps. |
1231 | |
1232 | Right-clicking between two adjacent numbers draws a line between |
1233 | them, which you can use to remind yourself that you know those two |
1234 | numbers are \e{not} covered by a single domino. Right-clicking again |
1235 | removes the line. |
1236 | |
1237 | |
1238 | \H{dominosa-parameters} \I{parameters, for Dominosa}Dominosa parameters |
1239 | |
1240 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1241 | \q{Type} menu. |
1242 | |
1243 | \dt \e{Maximum number on dominoes} |
1244 | |
1245 | \dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by controlling the size of the |
1246 | set of dominoes used to make it. Dominoes with numbers going up to N |
1247 | will give rise to an (N+2) \by (N+1) rectangle; so, in particular, |
1248 | the default value of 6 gives an 8\by\.7 grid. |
1249 | |
1250 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
1251 | |
1252 | \dd Normally, Dominosa will make sure that the puzzles it presents |
1253 | have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
1254 | difficult and sometimes more subtle, so if you like you can turn off |
1255 | this feature. Also, finding \e{all} the possible solutions can be an |
1256 | additional challenge for an advanced player. Turning off this option |
1257 | can also speed up puzzle generation. |
1258 | |
1259 | |
9d6c3859 |
1260 | \C{untangle} \i{Untangle} |
1261 | |
1262 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.untangle} |
1263 | |
1264 | You are given a number of points, some of which have lines drawn |
1265 | between them. You can move the points about arbitrarily; your aim is |
1266 | to position the points so that no line crosses another. |
1267 | |
1268 | I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{Planarity} |
1269 | \k{Planarity}, written by John Tantalo. |
1270 | |
1271 | \B{Planarity} \W{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}\cw{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity} |
1272 | |
1273 | \H{untangle-controls} \i{Untangle controls} |
1274 | |
1275 | \IM{Untangle controls} controls, for Untangle |
1276 | |
1277 | To move a point, click on it with the left mouse button and drag it |
1278 | into a new position. |
1279 | |
1280 | \H{untangle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Untangle}Untangle parameters |
1281 | |
1282 | There is only one parameter available from the \q{Custom...} option |
1283 | on the \q{Type} menu: |
1284 | |
1285 | \dt \e{Number of points} |
1286 | |
1287 | \dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by specifying the number of |
1288 | points in the generated graph. |
1289 | |
1290 | |
bf7ebf5a |
1291 | \C{blackbox} \i{Black Box} |
1292 | |
1293 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.blackbox} |
1294 | |
1295 | A number of balls are hidden in a rectangular arena. You have to |
1296 | deduce the positions of the balls by firing lasers from positions |
1297 | on the edge of the arena and observing how they are deflected. |
1298 | |
1299 | Lasers will fire straight until they hit the opposite side of the |
1300 | arena (at which point they emerge), unless affected by balls in one of |
1301 | the following ways: |
1302 | |
1303 | \b A laser that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never re-emerge. |
1304 | This includes lasers that meet a ball on the first rank of the arena. |
1305 | |
1306 | \b A laser with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees |
1307 | to the right. |
1308 | |
1309 | \b A laser with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected |
1310 | to the left. |
1311 | |
1312 | \b A laser that would re-emerge from the entry location is considered to be |
ebf54ec9 |
1313 | \q{reflected}. |
bf7ebf5a |
1314 | |
a4c9750f |
1315 | \b A laser which would get deflected before entering the arena (down the |
1316 | \q{firing range}) by a ball to the front-left or front-right of its |
1317 | entry point is also considered to be \q{reflected}. |
bf7ebf5a |
1318 | |
ebf54ec9 |
1319 | Lasers that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; lasers that hit balls |
1320 | dead-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing point |
bf7ebf5a |
1321 | and the location where the laser emerges (this number is unique to |
1322 | that shot). |
1323 | |
1324 | You can place guesses as to the location of the balls, based on the |
1325 | entry and exit patterns of the lasers; once you have placed enough |
1326 | balls a button appears enabling you to have your guesses checked. |
1327 | |
1328 | Here is a diagram showing how the positions of balls can create each |
1329 | of the laser behaviours shown above: |
1330 | |
1331 | \c 1RHR---- |
1332 | \c |..O.O...| |
1333 | \c 2........3 |
1334 | \c |........| |
1335 | \c |........| |
1336 | \c 3........| |
1337 | \c |......O.| |
1338 | \c H........| |
1339 | \c |.....O..| |
1340 | \c 12-RH--- |
1341 | |
1342 | As shown, it is possible for a ball to receive multiple reflections |
1343 | before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a ball may be reflected |
ebf54ec9 |
1344 | (possibly more than once) before receiving a hit (the \q{H} on the |
bf7ebf5a |
1345 | left side of the example). |
1346 | |
1347 | Note that any layout with more that 4 balls may have a non-unique |
1348 | solution. The following diagram illustrates this; if you know the |
1349 | board contains 5 balls, it is impossible to determine where the fifth |
1350 | ball is (possible positions marked with an x): |
1351 | |
1352 | \c -------- |
1353 | \c |........| |
1354 | \c |........| |
1355 | \c |..O..O..| |
1356 | \c |...xx...| |
1357 | \c |...xx...| |
1358 | \c |..O..O..| |
1359 | \c |........| |
1360 | \c |........| |
1361 | \c -------- |
1362 | |
1363 | For this reason when you have your guesses checked the game will |
1364 | check that your solution \e{produces the same results} as the |
1365 | computer's, rather than that your solution is identical to the |
1366 | computer's. So in the above example, you could put the fifth ball at |
1367 | \e{any} of the locations marked with an x, and you would still win. |
1368 | |
1369 | Black Box was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1370 | |
1371 | \H{blackbox-controls} \i{Black Box controls} |
1372 | |
1373 | \IM{Black Box controls}controls, for Black Box |
1374 | |
1375 | To fire a laser, left-click in a square around the side of the arena. |
1376 | The results will be displayed immediately. Lasers may not be fired |
1377 | twice (because the results will never change). Holding down the left |
1378 | button will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the |
1379 | exit point for that laser, if applicable. |
1380 | |
1381 | To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a |
1382 | black circle will appear marking the guess; to remove the guessed ball |
1383 | click again. |
1384 | |
1385 | Locations in the arena may be locked against modification by |
1386 | right-clicking; whole rows and columns may be similarly locked by |
1387 | right-clicking in the laser firing range above/below that column, or |
1388 | to the left/right of that row. |
1389 | |
1390 | When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed a button will |
a4c9750f |
1391 | appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that will mark |
bf7ebf5a |
1392 | your guesses. |
1393 | |
27388471 |
1394 | If you click the \q{mark} button and your guesses are not correct, |
1395 | the game will show you as little information as possible to |
1396 | demonstrate this to you, so you can try again. If your ball |
1397 | positions are not consistent with the laser paths you already know |
1398 | about, one laser path will be circled to indicate that it proves you |
1399 | wrong. If your positions match all the existing laser paths but are |
1400 | still wrong, one new laser path will be revealed (written in red) |
1401 | which is not consistent with your current guesses. |
1402 | |
1403 | If you decide to give up completely, you can select Solve to reveal |
1404 | the actual ball positions. At this point, correctly-placed balls |
1405 | will be displayed as filled black circles; incorrectly-placed balls |
1406 | are displayed as filled black circles with red crosses, and missing |
1407 | balls are filled red circles. In addition, a red circle marks any |
1408 | laser you had already fired which is not consistent with your ball |
1409 | layout (just as when you press the mark button), and red text marks |
bf7ebf5a |
1410 | any laser you \e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball |
1411 | layout from the right one. |
1412 | |
1413 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1414 | |
1415 | \H{blackbox-parameters} \I{parameters, for Black Box}Black Box parameters |
1416 | |
1417 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1418 | \q{Type} menu. |
1419 | |
1420 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1421 | |
ebf54ec9 |
1422 | \dd Size of grid in squares. There are 2 \by \e{Width} \by \e{Height} lasers |
bf7ebf5a |
1423 | per grid, two per row and two per column. |
1424 | |
1425 | \dt \e{No. of balls} |
1426 | |
1427 | \dd Number of balls to place in the grid. This can be a single number, |
ebf54ec9 |
1428 | or a range (separated with a hyphen, like \q{2-6}), and determines the |
1429 | number of balls to place on the grid. The \q{reveal} button is only |
bf7ebf5a |
1430 | enabled if you have guessed an appropriate number of balls; a guess |
1431 | using a different number to the original solution is still acceptable, |
1432 | if all the laser inputs and outputs match. |
1433 | |
1434 | |
f1010613 |
1435 | \C{slant} \i{Slant} |
1436 | |
1437 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.slant} |
1438 | |
1439 | You have a grid of squares. Your aim is to draw a diagonal line |
1440 | through each square, and choose which way each line slants so that |
1441 | the following conditions are met: |
1442 | |
1443 | \b The diagonal lines never form a loop. |
1444 | |
1445 | \b Any point with a circled number has precisely that many lines |
1446 | meeting at it. (Thus, a 4 is the centre of a cross shape, whereas a |
1447 | zero is the centre of a diamond shape \dash or rather, a partial |
1448 | diamond shape, because a zero can never appear in the middle of the |
1449 | grid because that would immediately cause a loop.) |
1450 | |
1451 | Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-slant}. |
1452 | |
1453 | \B{nikoli-slant} |
1454 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm} |
1455 | (in Japanese) |
1456 | |
1457 | |
1458 | \H{slant-controls} \i{Slant controls} |
1459 | |
1460 | \IM{Slant controls} controls, for Slant |
1461 | \IM{Slant controls} keys, for Slant |
1462 | \IM{Slant controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Slant |
1463 | |
1464 | Left-clicking in a blank square will place a \cw{\\} in it (a line |
1465 | leaning to the left, i.e. running from the top left of the square to |
1466 | the bottom right). Right-clicking in a blank square will place a |
1467 | \cw{/} in it (leaning to the right, running from top right to bottom |
1468 | left). |
1469 | |
1470 | Continuing to click either button will cycle between the three |
1471 | possible square contents. Thus, if you left-click repeatedly in a |
1472 | blank square it will change from blank to \cw{\\} to \cw{/} back to |
1473 | blank, and if you right-click repeatedly the square will change from |
1474 | blank to \cw{/} to \cw{\\} back to blank. (Therefore, you can play |
1475 | the game entirely with one button if you need to.) |
1476 | |
1477 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
1478 | |
e3478a4b |
1479 | \H{slant-parameters} \I{parameters, for Slant}Slant parameters |
f1010613 |
1480 | |
1481 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1482 | \q{Type} menu. |
1483 | |
1484 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1485 | |
1486 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1487 | |
15164c74 |
1488 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
1489 | |
1490 | \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Hard level, |
1491 | you are required to do deductions based on knowledge of |
1492 | \e{relationships} between squares rather than always being able to |
1493 | deduce the exact contents of one square at a time. (For example, you |
1494 | might know that two squares slant in the same direction, even if you |
1495 | don't yet know what that direction is, and this might enable you to |
1496 | deduce something about still other squares.) Even at Hard level, |
1497 | guesswork and backtracking should never be necessary. |
1498 | |
f1010613 |
1499 | |
e3478a4b |
1500 | \C{lightup} \i{Light Up} |
1501 | |
1502 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.lightup} |
1503 | |
1504 | You have a grid of squares. Some are filled in black; some of the |
1505 | black squares are numbered. Your aim is to \q{light up} all the |
1506 | empty squares by placing light bulbs in some of them. |
1507 | |
1508 | Each light bulb illuminates the square it is on, plus all squares in |
1509 | line with it horizontally or vertically unless a black square is |
1510 | blocking the way. |
1511 | |
1512 | To win the game, you must satisfy the following conditions: |
1513 | |
1514 | \b All non-black squares are lit. |
1515 | |
1516 | \b No light is lit by another light. |
1517 | |
1518 | \b All numbered black squares have exactly that number of lights adjacent to |
1519 | them (in the four squares above, below, and to the side). |
1520 | |
1521 | Non-numbered black squares may have any number of lights adjacent to them. |
1522 | |
1523 | Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-lightup}. |
1524 | |
1525 | Light Up was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1526 | |
1527 | \B{nikoli-lightup} |
1528 | \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm} |
1529 | (beware of Flash) |
1530 | |
1531 | \H{lightup-controls} \i{Light Up controls} |
1532 | |
1533 | \IM{Light Up controls} controls, for Light Up |
1534 | \IM{Light Up controls} keys, for Light Up |
1535 | \IM{Light Up controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Light Up |
1536 | |
1537 | Left-clicking in a non-black square will toggle the presence of a light |
1538 | in that square. Right-clicking in a non-black square toggles a mark there to aid |
1539 | solving; it can be used to highlight squares that cannot be lit, for example. |
1540 | |
1541 | You may not place a light in a marked square, nor place a mark in a lit square. |
1542 | |
1543 | The game will highlight obvious errors in red. Lights lit by other |
1544 | lights are highlighted in this way, as are numbered squares which |
1545 | do not (or cannot) have the right number of lights next to them. |
1546 | |
1547 | Thus, the grid is solved when all non-black squares have yellow |
1548 | highlights and there are no red lights. |
1549 | |
1550 | |
1551 | \H{lightup-parameters} \I{parameters, for Light Up}Light Up parameters |
1552 | |
1553 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1554 | \q{Type} menu. |
1555 | |
1556 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1557 | |
1558 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1559 | |
1560 | \dt \e{%age of black squares} |
1561 | |
1562 | \dd Rough percentage of black squares in the grid. |
1563 | |
1564 | \lcont{ |
1565 | |
1566 | This is a hint rather than an instruction. If the grid generator is |
1567 | unable to generate a puzzle to this precise specification, it will |
1568 | increase the proportion of black squares until it can. |
1569 | |
1570 | } |
1571 | |
1572 | \dt \e{Symmetry} |
1573 | |
1574 | \dd Allows you to specify the required symmetry of the black squares |
1575 | in the grid. (This does not affect the difficulty of the puzzles |
1576 | noticeably.) |
1577 | |
1578 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
1579 | |
1580 | \dd \q{Easy} means that the puzzles should be soluble without |
1581 | backtracking or guessing, \q{Hard} means that some guesses will |
1582 | probably be necessary. |
1583 | |
1584 | |
c51c7de6 |
1585 | \C{map} \i{Map} |
1586 | |
1587 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.map} |
1588 | |
1589 | You are given a map consisting of a number of regions. Your task is |
1590 | to colour each region with one of four colours, in such a way that |
1591 | no two regions sharing a boundary have the same colour. You are |
1592 | provided with some regions already coloured, sufficient to make the |
1593 | remainder of the solution unique. |
1594 | |
1595 | Only regions which share a length of border are required to be |
1596 | different colours. Two regions which meet at only one \e{point} |
1597 | (i.e. are diagonally separated) may be the same colour. |
1598 | |
1599 | I believe this puzzle is original; I've never seen an implementation |
1600 | of it anywhere else. The concept of a four-colouring puzzle was |
1601 | suggested by Owen Dunn; credit must also go to Nikoli and to Verity |
1602 | Allan for inspiring the train of thought that led to me realising |
1603 | Owen's suggestion was a viable puzzle. Thanks also to Gareth Taylor |
1604 | for many detailed suggestions. |
1605 | |
1606 | |
1607 | \H{map-controls} \i{Map controls} |
1608 | |
1609 | \IM{Map controls} controls, for Map |
1610 | \IM{Map controls} keys, for Map |
1611 | \IM{Map controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Map |
1612 | |
1613 | To colour a region, click on an existing region of the desired |
1614 | colour and drag that colour into the new region. |
1615 | |
1616 | (The program will always ensure the starting puzzle has at least one |
1617 | region of each colour, so that this is always possible!) |
1618 | |
1619 | If you need to clear a region, you can drag from an empty region, or |
1620 | from the puzzle boundary if there are no empty regions left. |
1621 | |
1622 | |
1623 | \H{map-parameters} \I{parameters, for Map}Map parameters |
1624 | |
1625 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1626 | \q{Type} menu. |
1627 | |
1628 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1629 | |
1630 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1631 | |
1632 | \dt \e{Regions} |
1633 | |
1634 | \dd Number of regions in the generated map. |
1635 | |
1636 | \dt \e{Difficulty} |
1637 | |
1638 | \dd In \q{Easy} mode, there should always be at least one region |
1639 | whose colour can be determined trivially. In \q{Normal} mode, you |
1640 | will have to use more complex logic to deduce the colour of some |
1641 | regions. However, it will always be possible without having to |
1642 | guess or backtrack. |
1643 | |
1644 | |
e91825f8 |
1645 | \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence} |
1646 | |
8a771ea7 |
1647 | This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2005 Simon Tatham. |
e91825f8 |
1648 | |
6bbab0fe |
1649 | Portions copyright Richard Boulton and James Harvey. |
e91825f8 |
1650 | |
1651 | Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person |
1652 | obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files |
1653 | (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, |
1654 | including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, |
1655 | publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, |
1656 | and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, |
1657 | subject to the following conditions: |
1658 | |
1659 | The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be |
1660 | included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. |
1661 | |
1662 | THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, |
1663 | EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF |
1664 | MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND |
1665 | NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS |
1666 | BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN |
1667 | ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN |
1668 | CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE |
1669 | SOFTWARE. |
1670 | |
1185e3c5 |
1671 | \IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option |
1672 | \IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option |
e91825f8 |
1673 | |
1674 | \IM{game ID} game ID |
1675 | \IM{game ID} ID, game |
1676 | \IM{ID format} ID format |
1677 | \IM{ID format} format, ID |
1678 | \IM{ID format} game ID, format |
1679 | |
1680 | \IM{keys} keys |
1681 | \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard) |
1682 | |
1683 | \IM{initial state} initial state |
1684 | \IM{initial state} state, initial |
1685 | |
1686 | \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence |
1687 | \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT |