After brainstorming with Gareth, we've decided that this is a much
[sgt/puzzles] / puzzles.but
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
8 \cfg{html-contents-filename}{index.html}
9 \cfg{html-template-filename}{%k.html}
10 \cfg{html-index-filename}{docindex.html}
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
16 \cfg{info-filename}{puzzles.info}
17
18 \cfg{ps-filename}{puzzles.ps}
19 \cfg{pdf-filename}{puzzles.pdf}
20
21 \define{by} \u00D7{x}
22
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
29 \cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">}
30
31 \versionid $Id$
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
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.
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
85 \dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N})
86
87 \dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state.
88
89 \dt \ii\e{Restart game} (\q{R})
90
91 \dd Resets the current game to its initial state. Undo is lost.
92
93 \dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_})
94
95 \dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the
96 game.)
97
98 \dt \ii\e{Redo} (Ctrl+\q{R})
99
100 \dd Redoes a previous undone move.
101
102 \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q})
103
104 \dd Closes the application entirely.
105
106 \H{common-id} Recreating games with the \ii{game ID}
107
108 The \q{\i{Specific...}} option from the \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu
109 lets you see a short string (the \q{game ID}) that captures the
110 initial state of the current game.
111
112 The precise \I{ID format}format of the ID is specific to each game.
113 It consists of two parts delimited by a colon (e.g., \c{c4x4:4F01,0});
114 the first part encodes \i\e{parameters} (such as grid size), while the
115 second part encodes a \i\e{seed}, which determines the \i{initial
116 state} of the game within those parameters.
117
118 You can specify a new ID (or just a seed) here. Pressing \q{OK} starts
119 a new game with the specified ID (whether you changed it or not).
120 Pressing \q{Cancel} returns to the current game.
121
122 You can also use the game ID (or just the encoded parameters) as a
123 \i{command line} argument; see \k{common-cmdline} for more detail.
124
125 Game IDs are portable across platforms; you can use a game ID
126 generated by the Windows version of a game on the Unix version, etc.
127
128 \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu
129
130 The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of
131 \i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new
132 random game with the parameters specified.
133
134 The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom...}} option which
135 allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters available
136 are specific to each game and are described in the following sections.
137
138 \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line}
139
140 (This section does not apply to the Mac OS X version.)
141
142 The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save
143 information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score
144 tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least
145 some people to play them at work, and those people will probably
146 appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!)
147
148 However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to default
149 to a particular set of parameters, you can specify them on the
150 command line.
151
152 The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want
153 using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select
154 \q{Specific} from the \q{Game} menu (see \k{common-id}). The text in
155 the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of two parts, separated by a
156 colon. The first of these parts represents the game parameters (the
157 size of the playing area, for example, and anything else you set
158 using the \q{Type} menu).
159
160 If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command
161 line, it will start up with the settings you specified.
162
163 For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron}
164 from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you
165 will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2:911A81,10}. Take only the
166 part before the colon (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text on
167 the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}.
168
169 If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game
170 will start up in the specific game that was described. This is
171 occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID
172 than by pasting it into the game ID selection box.
173
174 \C{net} \i{Net}
175
176 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net}
177
178 (\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called
179 \i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.)
180
181 I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet}
182 \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans. The computer prepares a
183 network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then
184 shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to
185 rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an
186 entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{Is it also true
187 that a correct solution will not contain any cycles?} As a visual aid,
188 all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are
189 highlighted.
190
191 \B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}
192
193 \H{net-controls} \i{Net controls}
194
195 \IM{Net controls} controls, for Net
196 \IM{Net controls} keys, for Net
197 \IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net
198
199 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The
200 controls are:
201
202 \dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys
203
204 \dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key
205
206 \dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key
207
208 \dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key
209
210 \dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can
211 also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally
212 turn it.
213
214 \dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key
215
216 \dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random
217 orientations.
218
219 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
220
221 \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters
222
223 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
224 \q{Type} menu.
225
226 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
227
228 \dd Size of grid in tiles.
229
230 \dt \e{Walls wrap around}
231
232 \dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge,
233 and from top to bottom, and vice versa.
234
235 \dt \e{Barrier probability}
236
237 \dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable
238 barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a
239 higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they
240 act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints).
241
242 \lcont{
243
244 The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the
245 barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if
246 you change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter, and then re-enter
247 the same game ID you were playing before (see \k{common-id}), you
248 should see exactly the same starting grid, with the only change
249 being the number of barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular
250 grid and need a hint, you could start up another instance of Net,
251 set up the same parameters but a higher barrier probability, and
252 enter the game seed from the original Net window.
253
254 }
255
256 \C{cube} \i{Cube}
257
258 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube}
259
260 This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a
261 Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16
262 squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move
263 is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that
264 it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue
265 square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you
266 roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is
267 put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces
268 that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue
269 squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your
270 moves and try to do it in as few as possible.
271
272 Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature:
273 once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid,
274 you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an
275 octahedron or an icosahedron.
276
277 \B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}
278
279 \H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls}
280
281 \IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube
282 \IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube
283 \IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube
284
285 This game is played with the keyboard. The arrow keys are used to roll the
286 cube (or other solid).
287
288 On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is
289 more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't
290 make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric
291 keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement.
292
293 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
294
295 \H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters
296
297 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
298 \q{Type} menu.
299
300 \dt \e{Type of solid}
301
302 \dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid):
303 tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron.
304
305 \dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom}
306
307 \dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a
308 triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows
309 respectively.
310
311
312 \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen}
313
314 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen}
315
316 The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}}
317 with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares
318 contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to
319 choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space.
320 The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the
321 space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the
322 bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}).
323
324 \H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls}
325
326 \IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen
327 \IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen
328 \IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen
329
330 This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard.
331
332 A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty
333 space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the
334 mouse pointer.
335
336 The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction
337 indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction).
338
339 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
340
341 \H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters
342
343 The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
344 menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once
345 you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!)
346
347
348 \C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen}
349
350 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen}
351
352 Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see
353 \k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no
354 hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move
355 is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up
356 or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid
357 re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just
358 vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on
359 the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try
360 playing on different sizes of grid.
361
362 I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if
363 so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I
364 thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling
365 that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle
366 rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one
367 thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part
368 rather than just engineering.
369
370 \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls
371
372 This game is played with the mouse. Left-clicking on an arrow will
373 move the appropriate row or column in the direction indicated.
374 Right-clicking will move it in the opposite direction.
375
376 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
377
378 \H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters
379
380 The only parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
381 \q{Type} menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are
382 self-explanatory.
383
384
385 \C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle}
386
387 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle}
388
389 Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen
390 (see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each
391 containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into
392 ascending order.
393
394 In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four
395 tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in
396 the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced
397 settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles.
398
399 I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid
400 Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle
401 you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I
402 developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle.
403
404 \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls
405
406 To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group
407 you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square,
408 which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles
409 meet.
410
411 In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at
412 a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in
413 the centre tile of the square you want to rotate.
414
415 Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise.
416 Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise.
417
418 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
419
420 \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters
421
422 Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom}
423 option on the \q{Type} menu:
424
425 \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid.
426
427 \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time.
428
429 \b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable
430 (the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there
431 are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim
432 is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into
433 the second row, and so on.
434
435 \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If
436 you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle
437 drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete
438 the puzzle.
439
440
441 \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles}
442
443 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles}
444
445 You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all)
446 of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of
447 various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one
448 numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the
449 number written in its numbered square.
450
451 Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli}
452 \k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle Palace}
453 \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's implementation, my version
454 automatically generates random grids of any size you like. The quality
455 of puzzle design is therefore not quite as good as hand-crafted
456 puzzles would be (in particular, a unique solution cannot be
457 guaranteed), but on the plus side you get an inexhaustible supply of
458 puzzles tailored to your own specification.
459
460 \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}
461
462 \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}
463
464 \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls
465
466 This game is played with the mouse.
467
468 Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or click and drag to draw
469 an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any
470 existing edges within that rectangle).
471
472 When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded.
473
474 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
475
476 \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters
477
478 The \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type} menu offers you \e{Width}
479 and \e{Height} parameters, which are self-explanatory.
480
481 \q{Expansion factor} is a mechanism for changing the type of grids
482 generated by the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few
483 large rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask
484 Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size
485 you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns.
486
487 The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will
488 simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing
489 further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that
490 each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big
491 after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the
492 size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size
493 without adding any more rectangles.
494
495 Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game
496 more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive
497 and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high,
498 though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles
499 to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial.
500
501 \H{rectangles-cmdline} \I{command line, for Rectangles}Additional
502 command-line configuration
503
504 The expansion factor parameter, described in \k{rectangles-params},
505 is not mentioned by default in the game ID (see \k{common-id}). So
506 if you set your expansion factor to (say) 0.75, and then you
507 generate an 11\by\.11 grid, then the game ID will simply say
508 \c{11x11:}\e{numbers}. This means that if you send the game ID to
509 another player and they paste it into their copy of Rectangles,
510 their game will not be automatically configured to use the same
511 expansion factor in any subsequent grids it generates. (I don't
512 think the average person examining a single grid sent to them by
513 another player would want their configuration modified to that
514 extent.)
515
516 If you are specifying a game ID or game parameters on the command
517 line (see \k{common-cmdline}) and you do want to configure the
518 expansion factor, you can do it by suffixing the letter \cq{e} to
519 the parameters, followed by the expansion factor as a decimal
520 number. For example:
521
522 \b \cq{rect 11x11e0.75} starts Rectangles with a grid size of
523 11\u00d7{x}11 and an expansion factor of 0.75.
524
525 \b \cq{rect 11x11e0.75:g11c6e5e4a2_4e9c3b3d3b5g2b6c4k4g30a8n3j1g6a2}
526 starts Rectangles with a grid size of 11\u00d7{x}11, an expansion
527 factor of 0.75, \e{and} a specific game selected.
528
529
530 \C{netslide} \i{Netslide}
531
532 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide}
533
534 This game was submitted by Richard Boulton. It combines the grid
535 generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the movement of Sixteen (see
536 \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but instead of rotating tiles back
537 into place you have to slide them into place by moving a whole row at
538 a time.
539
540 As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse.
541 See \k{sixteen-controls}.
542
543 \I{parameters, for Netslide}Game parameters are the same as for Net
544 (see \k{net-params}).
545
546
547 \C{pattern} \i{Pattern}
548
549 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern}
550
551 You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black
552 or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the
553 runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the
554 lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to
555 fill in the entire grid black or white.
556
557 I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name
558 \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under
559 different names.
560
561 Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture
562 of something once you've solved them. However, since this version
563 generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random
564 groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually
565 a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of
566 squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.)
567 The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them.
568
569 \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls
570
571 This game is played with the mouse.
572
573 Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it
574 white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down
575 Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the
576 default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again.
577
578 You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour
579 a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time
580 (respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or
581 with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares
582 grey.
583
584 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
585
586 \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters
587
588 The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
589 menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
590
591
592 \C{solo} \i{Solo}
593
594 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo}
595
596 You have a square grid, which is divided into square or rectangular
597 blocks. Each square must be filled in with a digit from 1 to the
598 size of the grid, in such a way that
599
600 \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit
601
602 \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit
603
604 \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit.
605
606 You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the
607 rest of the numbers correctly.
608
609 The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual grid, divided
610 into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes with
611 rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a
612 6\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks).
613
614 If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the
615 additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if
616 you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1
617 to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}.
618
619 I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's also
620 been popularised by various newspapers under the name \q{Sudoku} or
621 \q{Su Doku}.
622
623 \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}
624
625 \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls
626
627 To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
628 type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you
629 make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press
630 Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature).
631
632 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
633
634 \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters
635
636 Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle
637 grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of
638 rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is
639 the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows,
640 each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.)
641
642 You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated
643 puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also
644 make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more
645 clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles
646 have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible.
647
648 Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles.
649 Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of
650 deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode
651 of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In
652 particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there
653 will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times,
654 whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make
655 partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in
656 (or the set of numbers that could be in a square). None of the
657 difficulty levels generated by this program ever requires making a
658 guess and backtracking if it turns out to be wrong.
659
660 Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select
661 \q{Intermediate} or \q{Advanced} difficulty, Solo may have to make
662 many attempts at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough
663 for you. Be prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured
664 a large puzzle size.
665
666 \H{solo-cmdline} \I{command line, for Solo}Additional command-line
667 configuration
668
669 The symmetry and difficulty parameters (described in
670 \k{solo-parameters}) are not mentioned by default in the game ID
671 (see \k{common-id}). So if (for example) you set your symmetry to
672 4-way rotational and your difficulty to \q{Advanced}, and then you
673 generate a 3\by\.4 grid, then the game ID will simply say
674 \c{3x4:}\e{numbers}. This means that if you send the game ID to
675 another player and they paste it into their copy of Solo, their game
676 will not be automatically configured to use the same symmetry and
677 difficulty settings in any subsequent grids it generates. (I don't
678 think the average person examining a single grid sent to them by
679 another player would want their configuration modified to that
680 extent.)
681
682 If you are specifying a game ID or game parameters on the command
683 line (see \k{common-cmdline}) and you do want to configure the
684 symmetry, you can do it by suffixing additional text to the
685 parameters:
686
687 \b \cq{m4} for 4-way mirror symmetry
688
689 \b \cq{r4} for 4-way rotational symmetry
690
691 \b \cq{r2} for 2-way rotational symmetry
692
693 \b \cq{a} for no symmetry at all (stands for \q{asymmetric})
694
695 \b \cq{dt} for Trivial difficulty level
696
697 \b \cq{db} for Basic difficulty level
698
699 \b \cq{di} for Intermediate difficulty level
700
701 \b \cq{da} for Advanced difficulty level
702
703 So, for example, you can make Solo generate asymmetric 3x4 grids by
704 running \cq{solo 3x4a}, or 4-way rotationally symmetric 2x3 grids by
705 running \cq{solo 2x3r4}, or \q{Advanced}-level 2x3 grids by running
706 \cq{solo 2x3da}.
707
708
709 \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence}
710
711 This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2005 Simon Tatham.
712
713 Portions copyright Richard Boulton.
714
715 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
716 obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
717 (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
718 including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
719 publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
720 and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
721 subject to the following conditions:
722
723 The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
724 included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
725
726 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
727 EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
728 MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
729 NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
730 BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
731 ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
732 CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
733 SOFTWARE.
734
735 \IM{specific...} Specific..., menu option
736 \IM{custom...} Custom..., menu option
737
738 \IM{game ID} game ID
739 \IM{game ID} ID, game
740 \IM{ID format} ID format
741 \IM{ID format} format, ID
742 \IM{ID format} game ID, format
743
744 \IM{keys} keys
745 \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard)
746
747 \IM{initial state} initial state
748 \IM{initial state} state, initial
749
750 \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence
751 \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT