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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 | |
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97 | \dt \ii\e{Load} |
98 | |
99 | \dd Loads a saved game from a file on disk. |
100 | |
101 | \dt \ii\e{Save} |
102 | |
103 | \dd Saves the current state of your game to a file on disk. |
104 | |
105 | \lcont{ |
106 | |
107 | The Load and Save operations should preserve your entire game |
108 | history (so you can save, reload, and still Undo and Redo things you |
109 | had done before saving). |
110 | |
111 | } |
112 | |
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113 | \dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_}) |
114 | |
115 | \dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the |
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116 | session.) |
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117 | |
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118 | \dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R}) |
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119 | |
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120 | \dd Redoes a previously undone move. |
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121 | |
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122 | \dt \ii\e{Copy} |
123 | |
124 | \dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text |
125 | format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a |
126 | web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else. |
127 | (Not all games support this feature.) |
128 | |
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129 | \dt \ii\e{Solve} |
130 | |
131 | \dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some |
132 | games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of |
133 | no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved |
134 | state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a |
135 | solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a |
136 | mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution |
137 | tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does |
138 | provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment |
139 | with set-piece moves and transformations. |
140 | |
141 | \lcont{ |
142 | |
143 | Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have |
144 | typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot |
145 | solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did |
146 | invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still |
147 | other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only |
148 | if they aren't too difficult. |
149 | |
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150 | The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo |
151 | chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to |
152 | solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo. |
153 | |
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154 | } |
155 | |
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156 | \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q}) |
157 | |
158 | \dd Closes the application entirely. |
159 | |
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160 | \H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID} |
161 | |
162 | There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and |
163 | recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the |
164 | same puzzle. |
165 | |
166 | The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the |
167 | \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on Mac OS X) each |
168 | show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to |
169 | reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date. |
170 | |
171 | You can enter either of these pieces of text back into the program |
172 | (via the same \q{Specific} or \q{Random Seed} menu options) at a |
173 | later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use |
174 | either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see |
175 | \k{common-cmdline} for more detail. |
176 | |
177 | The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID |
178 | is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game, |
179 | whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was |
180 | provided as input to the random number generator used to create the |
181 | puzzle. This means that: |
182 | |
183 | \b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although |
184 | some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions). |
185 | So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle |
186 | you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can |
187 | play the same one as you. |
188 | |
189 | \b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically |
190 | generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you |
191 | can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid |
192 | puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or |
193 | more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a |
194 | random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody |
195 | has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before |
196 | anybody else. |
197 | |
198 | \b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such |
199 | as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive |
200 | game IDs suitable for use with these programs. |
201 | |
202 | \b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you |
203 | use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This |
204 | is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or |
205 | modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a |
206 | different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use |
207 | a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the |
208 | same version of the program as yours. |
209 | |
210 | \lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number |
211 | of the program. Programs with the same version number running on |
212 | different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)} |
213 | |
214 | \I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which |
215 | encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid |
216 | size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of |
217 | the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string |
218 | of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by |
219 | arbitrary data. |
220 | |
221 | If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to |
222 | show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't |
223 | generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed, |
224 | however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game |
225 | ID derived from that random seed. |
226 | |
227 | Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical |
228 | between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data |
229 | provided with the random seed which is not included in the |
230 | descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is |
231 | only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important |
232 | when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo |
233 | (\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID. |
234 | |
235 | These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type |
236 | in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced} |
237 | difficulty level, and then a friend wants your help with a |
238 | \q{Trivial} puzzle; so the friend reads out a random seed specifying |
239 | \q{Trivial} difficulty, and you type it in. The program will |
240 | generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having |
241 | trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask |
242 | for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced} |
243 | difficulty which it was previously set on. |
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244 | |
245 | \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu |
246 | |
247 | The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of |
248 | \i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new |
249 | random game with the parameters specified. |
250 | |
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251 | The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which |
252 | allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters |
253 | available are specific to each game and are described in the |
254 | following sections. |
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255 | |
256 | \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line} |
257 | |
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258 | (This section does not apply to the Mac OS X version.) |
259 | |
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260 | The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save |
261 | information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score |
262 | tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least |
263 | some people to play them at work, and those people will probably |
264 | appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!) |
265 | |
266 | However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to default |
267 | to a particular set of parameters, you can specify them on the |
268 | command line. |
269 | |
270 | The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want |
271 | using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select |
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272 | \q{Random Seed} from the \q{Game} or \q{File} menu (see |
273 | \k{common-id}). The text in the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of |
274 | two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents |
275 | the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and |
276 | anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu). |
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277 | |
278 | If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command |
279 | line, it will start up with the settings you specified. |
280 | |
281 | For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron} |
282 | from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you |
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283 | will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only |
284 | the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text |
285 | on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}. |
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286 | |
287 | If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game |
288 | will start up in the specific game that was described. This is |
289 | occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID |
290 | than by pasting it into the game ID selection box. |
291 | |
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292 | (You could also retrieve the encoded game parameters using the |
293 | \q{Specific} menu option instead of \q{Random Seed}, but if you do |
294 | then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be |
295 | missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.) |
296 | |
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297 | \C{net} \i{Net} |
298 | |
299 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net} |
300 | |
301 | (\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called |
302 | \i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.) |
303 | |
304 | I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet} |
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305 | \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other |
306 | implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a |
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307 | network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then |
308 | shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to |
309 | rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an |
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310 | entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter |
311 | clause means that there are no closed paths within the network. |
312 | Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid, |
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313 | all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are |
314 | highlighted. |
315 | |
316 | \B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm} |
317 | |
318 | \H{net-controls} \i{Net controls} |
319 | |
320 | \IM{Net controls} controls, for Net |
321 | \IM{Net controls} keys, for Net |
322 | \IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net |
323 | |
324 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The |
325 | controls are: |
326 | |
327 | \dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys |
328 | |
329 | \dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key |
330 | |
331 | \dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key |
332 | |
333 | \dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key |
334 | |
335 | \dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can |
336 | also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally |
337 | turn it. |
338 | |
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339 | The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may |
340 | be useful: |
341 | |
342 | \dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys |
343 | |
344 | \dd On grids that wrap, you can move the origin of the grid, so that |
345 | tiles that were on opposite sides of the grid can be seen together. |
346 | |
347 | \dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys |
348 | |
349 | \dd You can change which tile is used as the source of highlighting. |
350 | (It doesn't ultimately matter which tile this is, as every tile will |
351 | be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be |
352 | helpful in the intermediate stages of solving the puzzle.) |
353 | |
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354 | \dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key |
355 | |
356 | \dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random |
357 | orientations. |
358 | |
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359 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
360 | |
361 | \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters |
362 | |
363 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
364 | \q{Type} menu. |
365 | |
366 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
367 | |
368 | \dd Size of grid in tiles. |
369 | |
370 | \dt \e{Walls wrap around} |
371 | |
372 | \dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge, |
373 | and from top to bottom, and vice versa. |
374 | |
375 | \dt \e{Barrier probability} |
376 | |
377 | \dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable |
378 | barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a |
379 | higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they |
380 | act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints). |
381 | |
382 | \lcont{ |
383 | |
384 | The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the |
385 | barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if |
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386 | you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle |
387 | (see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter, |
388 | and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the |
389 | same starting grid, with the only change being the number of |
390 | barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint, |
391 | you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same |
392 | parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed |
393 | from the original Net window. |
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394 | |
395 | } |
396 | |
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397 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
398 | |
399 | \dd Normally, Net will make sure that the puzzles it presents have |
400 | only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
401 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
402 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all} |
403 | the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an |
404 | advanced player.) |
405 | |
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406 | \C{cube} \i{Cube} |
407 | |
408 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube} |
409 | |
410 | This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a |
411 | Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16 |
412 | squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move |
413 | is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that |
414 | it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue |
415 | square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you |
416 | roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is |
417 | put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces |
418 | that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue |
419 | squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your |
420 | moves and try to do it in as few as possible. |
421 | |
422 | Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature: |
423 | once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid, |
424 | you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an |
425 | octahedron or an icosahedron. |
426 | |
427 | \B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm} |
428 | |
429 | \H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls} |
430 | |
431 | \IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube |
432 | \IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube |
433 | \IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube |
434 | |
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435 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
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436 | |
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437 | Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other |
438 | solid) towards the mouse pointer. |
439 | |
440 | The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in |
441 | the four cardinal directions. |
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442 | On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is |
443 | more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't |
444 | make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric |
445 | keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement. |
446 | |
447 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
448 | |
449 | \H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters |
450 | |
451 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
452 | \q{Type} menu. |
453 | |
454 | \dt \e{Type of solid} |
455 | |
456 | \dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid): |
457 | tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron. |
458 | |
459 | \dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom} |
460 | |
461 | \dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a |
462 | triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows |
463 | respectively. |
464 | |
465 | |
466 | \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen} |
467 | |
468 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen} |
469 | |
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470 | The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}} |
471 | with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares |
472 | contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to |
473 | choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space. |
474 | The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the |
475 | space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the |
476 | bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}). |
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477 | |
478 | \H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls} |
479 | |
480 | \IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen |
481 | \IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen |
482 | \IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen |
483 | |
484 | This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard. |
485 | |
486 | A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty |
487 | space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the |
488 | mouse pointer. |
489 | |
490 | The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction |
491 | indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction). |
492 | |
493 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
494 | |
495 | \H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters |
496 | |
497 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
498 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once |
499 | you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!) |
500 | |
501 | |
502 | \C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen} |
503 | |
504 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen} |
505 | |
506 | Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see |
507 | \k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no |
508 | hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move |
509 | is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up |
510 | or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid |
511 | re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just |
512 | vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on |
513 | the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try |
514 | playing on different sizes of grid. |
515 | |
516 | I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if |
517 | so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I |
518 | thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling |
519 | that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle |
520 | rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one |
521 | thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part |
522 | rather than just engineering. |
523 | |
524 | \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls |
525 | |
526 | This game is played with the mouse. Left-clicking on an arrow will |
527 | move the appropriate row or column in the direction indicated. |
528 | Right-clicking will move it in the opposite direction. |
529 | |
530 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
531 | |
532 | \H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters |
533 | |
81875211 |
534 | The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
535 | \q{Type} menu are: |
536 | |
537 | \b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
538 | |
539 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
540 | the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way |
541 | that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can |
542 | override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to |
543 | be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise |
544 | set of shuffling moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer |
545 | (say) a four-move shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the |
546 | more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter |
547 | than the target length will turn out to be possible. |
548 | |
e91825f8 |
549 | |
9038fd11 |
550 | \C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle} |
551 | |
552 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle} |
553 | |
554 | Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen |
555 | (see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each |
556 | containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into |
557 | ascending order. |
558 | |
559 | In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four |
a3631c72 |
560 | tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in |
561 | the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced |
562 | settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles. |
9038fd11 |
563 | |
564 | I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid |
565 | Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle |
566 | you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I |
567 | developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle. |
568 | |
569 | \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls |
570 | |
571 | To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group |
572 | you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square, |
573 | which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles |
574 | meet. |
575 | |
576 | In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at |
577 | a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in |
578 | the centre tile of the square you want to rotate. |
579 | |
580 | Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise. |
581 | Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise. |
582 | |
583 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
584 | |
585 | \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters |
586 | |
587 | Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom} |
588 | option on the \q{Type} menu: |
589 | |
590 | \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid. |
591 | |
592 | \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time. |
593 | |
594 | \b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable |
595 | (the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there |
596 | are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim |
597 | is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into |
598 | the second row, and so on. |
599 | |
a3631c72 |
600 | \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If |
d50832a3 |
601 | you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle |
602 | drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete |
603 | the puzzle. |
a3631c72 |
604 | |
81875211 |
605 | \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on |
606 | the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any |
607 | arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this |
608 | by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed. |
609 | Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling |
610 | moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move |
611 | shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask |
612 | for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target |
613 | length will turn out to be possible. |
614 | |
9038fd11 |
615 | |
e91825f8 |
616 | \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles} |
617 | |
618 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles} |
619 | |
620 | You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all) |
621 | of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of |
622 | various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one |
623 | numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the |
624 | number written in its numbered square. |
625 | |
626 | Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli} |
26801d29 |
627 | \k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle |
628 | Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's |
629 | implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of |
630 | any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not |
631 | quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side |
632 | you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own |
633 | specification. |
e91825f8 |
634 | |
6ae37301 |
635 | \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 |
636 | |
6ae37301 |
637 | \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 |
638 | |
639 | \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls |
640 | |
641 | This game is played with the mouse. |
642 | |
643 | Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or click and drag to draw |
644 | an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any |
645 | existing edges within that rectangle). |
646 | |
647 | When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded. |
648 | |
649 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
650 | |
651 | \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters |
652 | |
40fde884 |
653 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
654 | \q{Type} menu. |
655 | |
656 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
657 | |
658 | \dd Size of grid, in squares. |
659 | |
660 | \dt \e{Expansion factor} |
aea3ed9a |
661 | |
40fde884 |
662 | \dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by |
663 | the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large |
664 | rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask |
aea3ed9a |
665 | Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size |
666 | you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns. |
667 | |
40fde884 |
668 | \lcont{ |
669 | |
aea3ed9a |
670 | The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will |
671 | simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing |
672 | further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that |
673 | each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big |
674 | after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the |
675 | size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size |
676 | without adding any more rectangles. |
677 | |
4a03dbb4 |
678 | Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game |
679 | more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive |
680 | and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high, |
681 | though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles |
682 | to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial. |
aea3ed9a |
683 | |
40fde884 |
684 | } |
685 | |
686 | \dt \e{Ensure unique solution} |
687 | |
688 | \dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents |
689 | have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more |
690 | difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this |
691 | feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the |
692 | possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced |
693 | player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation. |
694 | |
6ae37301 |
695 | |
e91825f8 |
696 | \C{netslide} \i{Netslide} |
697 | |
698 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide} |
699 | |
6bbab0fe |
700 | This game combines the grid generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the |
701 | movement of Sixteen (see \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but |
702 | instead of rotating tiles back into place you have to slide them |
703 | into place by moving a whole row at a time. |
e91825f8 |
704 | |
e91825f8 |
705 | As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse. |
706 | See \k{sixteen-controls}. |
707 | |
aa27d493 |
708 | \I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar |
709 | meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see |
710 | \k{sixteen-params}). |
e91825f8 |
711 | |
6bbab0fe |
712 | Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton. |
6ae37301 |
713 | |
b6b0369e |
714 | \C{pattern} \i{Pattern} |
715 | |
716 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern} |
717 | |
718 | You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black |
719 | or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the |
720 | runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the |
721 | lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to |
722 | fill in the entire grid black or white. |
723 | |
724 | I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name |
2e1e03ff |
725 | \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under |
b6b0369e |
726 | different names. |
727 | |
728 | Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture |
729 | of something once you've solved them. However, since this version |
730 | generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random |
731 | groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually |
732 | a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of |
733 | squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.) |
734 | The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them. |
735 | |
2e1e03ff |
736 | \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls |
b6b0369e |
737 | |
738 | This game is played with the mouse. |
739 | |
740 | Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it |
741 | white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down |
742 | Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the |
743 | default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again. |
744 | |
745 | You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour |
746 | a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time |
747 | (respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or |
748 | with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares |
749 | grey. |
750 | |
2e1e03ff |
751 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
752 | |
b6b0369e |
753 | \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters |
754 | |
755 | The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
756 | menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. |
e91825f8 |
757 | |
6ae37301 |
758 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
759 | \C{solo} \i{Solo} |
760 | |
761 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo} |
762 | |
763 | You have a square grid, which is divided into square or rectangular |
764 | blocks. Each square must be filled in with a digit from 1 to the |
765 | size of the grid, in such a way that |
766 | |
767 | \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit |
768 | |
769 | \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit |
770 | |
771 | \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit. |
772 | |
773 | You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the |
774 | rest of the numbers correctly. |
775 | |
776 | The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual grid, divided |
777 | into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes with |
778 | rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a |
779 | 6\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks). |
780 | |
781 | If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the |
782 | additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if |
783 | you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1 |
784 | to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}. |
785 | |
6ae37301 |
786 | I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's also |
1d8e8ad8 |
787 | been popularised by various newspapers under the name \q{Sudoku} or |
788 | \q{Su Doku}. |
789 | |
6ae37301 |
790 | \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} |
791 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
792 | \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls |
793 | |
794 | To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then |
795 | type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you |
796 | make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press |
797 | Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature). |
798 | |
c8266e03 |
799 | If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that |
800 | number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can |
801 | have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square. |
802 | |
803 | The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use |
804 | them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a |
805 | particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a |
806 | particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible |
807 | numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like. |
808 | |
809 | To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type |
810 | the same number again. |
811 | |
812 | All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type |
813 | a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and |
814 | pressing space will also erase pencil marks. |
815 | |
1d8e8ad8 |
816 | (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.) |
817 | |
818 | \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters |
819 | |
820 | Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle |
6ae37301 |
821 | grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of |
822 | rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is |
823 | the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows, |
824 | each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.) |
1d8e8ad8 |
825 | |
ef57b17d |
826 | You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated |
827 | puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also |
828 | make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more |
829 | clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles |
830 | have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible. |
831 | |
7c568a48 |
832 | Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles. |
833 | Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of |
834 | deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode |
835 | of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In |
836 | particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there |
837 | will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times, |
838 | whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make |
839 | partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in |
de60d8bd |
840 | (or the set of numbers that could be in a square). At |
841 | \q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will |
842 | eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out |
843 | to be wrong. |
7c568a48 |
844 | |
845 | Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select |
846 | \q{Intermediate} or \q{Advanced} difficulty, Solo may have to make |
847 | many attempts at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough |
848 | for you. Be prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured |
849 | a large puzzle size. |
850 | |
ef57b17d |
851 | |
7959b517 |
852 | \C{mines} \i{Mines} |
853 | |
854 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines} |
855 | |
856 | You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but |
857 | you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does |
858 | \e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine, |
859 | you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you |
860 | are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding |
861 | squares. |
862 | |
863 | This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is |
864 | perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence. |
865 | |
866 | This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will |
867 | generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you |
868 | never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to |
869 | deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other |
870 | versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are |
871 | two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they |
872 | are. |
873 | |
874 | \H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls |
875 | |
876 | This game is played with the mouse. |
877 | |
878 | If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered. |
879 | |
880 | If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which |
881 | indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in |
882 | a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click |
883 | again to remove a mark placed in error. |
884 | |
885 | If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear |
886 | around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many |
887 | flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered |
888 | squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So |
889 | once you think you know the location of all the mines around a |
890 | square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to |
891 | click on each of the remaining squares one by one. |
892 | |
893 | If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding |
894 | eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in |
895 | turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This |
896 | will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a |
897 | square, a whole new area will open up to be explored. |
898 | |
11d31eb9 |
899 | All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available. |
900 | |
7959b517 |
901 | Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to |
11d31eb9 |
902 | use it. If you step on a mine, the program will only reveal the mine |
903 | in question (unlike most other implementations, which reveal all of |
904 | them). You can then Undo your fatal move and continue playing if you |
905 | like. The program will track the number of times you died (and Undo |
906 | will not reduce that counter), so when you get to the end of the |
907 | game you know whether or not you did it without making any errors. |
908 | |
909 | (If you really want to know the full layout of the grid, which other |
910 | implementations will show you after you die, you can always use the |
911 | Solve menu option.) |
7959b517 |
912 | |
913 | \H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters |
914 | |
915 | The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} |
916 | menu are: |
917 | |
918 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
919 | |
920 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
921 | |
922 | \dt \e{Mines} |
923 | |
08781119 |
924 | \dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute |
925 | mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in |
926 | which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares |
927 | in the grid to be mines. |
928 | |
929 | \lcont{ |
930 | |
931 | Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities, |
932 | the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid. |
933 | |
934 | } |
7959b517 |
935 | |
936 | \dt \e{Ensure solubility} |
937 | |
938 | \dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will |
939 | ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the |
940 | initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by |
941 | other implementations, you can switch off this option. |
942 | |
943 | |
6bbab0fe |
944 | \C{samegame} \i{Same Game} |
945 | |
946 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame} |
947 | |
948 | You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by |
209ab5a7 |
949 | highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square; |
6bbab0fe |
950 | the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and |
951 | the faster you clear the arena). |
952 | |
953 | If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but |
209ab5a7 |
954 | single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you |
6bbab0fe |
955 | lose. |
956 | |
957 | Removing a region causes the rest of the grid to shuffle up: |
958 | blocks that are suspended will fall down (first), and then empty |
959 | columns are filled from the right. |
960 | |
209ab5a7 |
961 | The game generator does not try to guarantee soluble grids; |
6bbab0fe |
962 | it will, however, ensure that there are at least 2 squares of each |
963 | colour on the grid at the start (and will forbid custom grids for which |
964 | that would be impossible). |
965 | |
966 | Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
967 | |
209ab5a7 |
968 | \H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls} |
969 | |
970 | \IM{Same Game controls} controls, for Same Game |
971 | \IM{Same Game controls} keys, for Same Game |
972 | \IM{Same Game controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Same Game |
973 | |
974 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
6bbab0fe |
975 | |
976 | If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly |
977 | clearing the current selection). |
978 | |
979 | If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the |
980 | rest of the grid shuffled immediately). |
981 | |
982 | If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected. |
983 | |
209ab5a7 |
984 | The cursor keys move a cursor around the grid. Pressing the Space or |
985 | Enter keys while the cursor is in an unselected region selects it; |
986 | pressing Space or Enter again removes it as above. |
987 | |
6bbab0fe |
988 | \H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters |
989 | |
209ab5a7 |
990 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
991 | \q{Type} menu. |
992 | |
6bbab0fe |
993 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
994 | |
995 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
996 | |
997 | \dt \e{No. of colours} |
998 | |
999 | \dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours, |
209ab5a7 |
1000 | the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to |
1001 | successfully clear the grid. |
1002 | |
1003 | \dt \e{Scoring system} |
1004 | |
1005 | \dd Controls the precise mechanism used for scoring. With the default |
1006 | system, \q{(n-2)^2}, only regions of three squares or more will score |
1007 | any points at all. With the alternative \q{(n-1)^2} system, regions of |
1008 | two squares score a point each, and larger regions score relatively |
1009 | more points. |
6bbab0fe |
1010 | |
f4afe206 |
1011 | |
1012 | \C{flip} \i{Flip} |
1013 | |
1014 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip} |
1015 | |
1016 | You have a grid of squares, some light and some dark. Your aim is to |
1017 | light all the squares up at the same time. You can choose any square |
1018 | and flip its state from light to dark or dark to light, but when you |
1019 | do so, other squares around it change state as well. |
1020 | |
1021 | Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares |
1022 | change when you flip it. |
1023 | |
d6acbe63 |
1024 | \H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls} |
f4afe206 |
1025 | |
1026 | \IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip |
1027 | \IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip |
1028 | \IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip |
1029 | |
79cb09e9 |
1030 | Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares. |
1031 | |
5f6050b4 |
1032 | If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of |
1033 | the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red |
1034 | mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square |
1035 | \e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate |
1036 | that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.) |
f4afe206 |
1037 | |
1038 | \H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters |
1039 | |
1040 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1041 | \q{Type} menu. |
1042 | |
1043 | \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height} |
1044 | |
1045 | \dd Size of grid in squares. |
1046 | |
1047 | \dt \e{Shape type} |
1048 | |
1049 | \dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped |
1050 | by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses}, |
1051 | causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours |
1052 | (or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting, |
1053 | \q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so |
1054 | the game is different every time. |
1055 | |
1056 | |
c6203e43 |
1057 | \C{guess} \i{Guess} |
1058 | |
1059 | \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess} |
1060 | |
1061 | You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a |
1062 | predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a |
1063 | certain number of guesses. |
1064 | |
1065 | Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs |
9ffde3e8 |
1066 | in the correct places (in black), and also the number of |
1067 | correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white). |
c6203e43 |
1068 | |
1069 | This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as |
9ffde3e8 |
1070 | a board game \q{Mastermind}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row, and 10 guesses. |
c6203e43 |
1071 | However, this version allows custom settings of number of colours |
1072 | (up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses. |
1073 | |
64455a5a |
1074 | Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey. |
1075 | |
c6203e43 |
1076 | \H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls} |
1077 | |
1078 | \IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess |
1079 | \IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess |
1080 | \IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess |
1081 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1082 | This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. |
1083 | |
9c63a011 |
1084 | With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand |
1085 | side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be |
1086 | dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To |
1087 | remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid. |
c6203e43 |
1088 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1089 | Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs |
c6203e43 |
1090 | that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess |
1091 | after marking. |
1092 | |
9ffde3e8 |
1093 | Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be |
1094 | used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a |
9c63a011 |
1095 | peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the |
59dae0db |
1096 | selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a |
1097 | peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker. |
9ffde3e8 |
1098 | |
9c63a011 |
1099 | When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted; |
9ffde3e8 |
1100 | clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys |
9c63a011 |
1101 | and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess, |
1102 | copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess} |
1103 | marker. |
c6203e43 |
1104 | |
1105 | If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed |
9ffde3e8 |
1106 | below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution |
9c63a011 |
1107 | will also be revealed. |
c6203e43 |
1108 | |
1109 | \H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for guess}Guess parameters |
1110 | |
1111 | These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the |
1112 | \q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the |
9ffde3e8 |
1113 | board game \q{Mastermind}. |
c6203e43 |
1114 | |
1115 | \dt \e{Colours} |
1116 | |
1117 | \dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10 |
1118 | (more is harder). |
1119 | |
1120 | \dt \e{Pegs per guess} |
1121 | |
1122 | \dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder). |
1123 | |
1124 | \dt \e{Guesses} |
1125 | |
1126 | \dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder). |
1127 | |
1128 | \dt \e{Allow blanks} |
1129 | |
1130 | \dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because |
1131 | you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This |
1132 | is turned off by default. |
1133 | |
1134 | Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted |
1135 | that, use one extra colour. |
1136 | |
1137 | \dt \e{Allow duplicates} |
1138 | |
1139 | \dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once; |
1140 | this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by |
1141 | default. |
1142 | |
1143 | |
e91825f8 |
1144 | \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence} |
1145 | |
8a771ea7 |
1146 | This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2005 Simon Tatham. |
e91825f8 |
1147 | |
6bbab0fe |
1148 | Portions copyright Richard Boulton and James Harvey. |
e91825f8 |
1149 | |
1150 | Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person |
1151 | obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files |
1152 | (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, |
1153 | including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, |
1154 | publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, |
1155 | and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, |
1156 | subject to the following conditions: |
1157 | |
1158 | The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be |
1159 | included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. |
1160 | |
1161 | THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, |
1162 | EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF |
1163 | MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND |
1164 | NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS |
1165 | BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN |
1166 | ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN |
1167 | CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE |
1168 | SOFTWARE. |
1169 | |
1185e3c5 |
1170 | \IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option |
1171 | \IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option |
e91825f8 |
1172 | |
1173 | \IM{game ID} game ID |
1174 | \IM{game ID} ID, game |
1175 | \IM{ID format} ID format |
1176 | \IM{ID format} format, ID |
1177 | \IM{ID format} game ID, format |
1178 | |
1179 | \IM{keys} keys |
1180 | \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard) |
1181 | |
1182 | \IM{initial state} initial state |
1183 | \IM{initial state} state, initial |
1184 | |
1185 | \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence |
1186 | \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT |