1 \title Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection
3 \cfg{winhelp-filename}{puzzles.hlp}
4 \cfg{winhelp-contents-titlepage}{Contents}
6 \cfg{text-filename}{puzzles.txt}
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23 This is a collection of small one-player puzzle games.
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.
29 \cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">}
33 \C{intro} Introduction
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.
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
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.
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/}.
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:
69 \W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}
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.
75 \C{common} \ii{Common features}
77 This chapter describes features that are common to all the games.
79 \H{common-actions} \I{controls}Common actions
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
85 (On Mac OS X, to conform with local user interface standards, these
86 actions are situated on the \I{File menu}\q{File} and \I{Edit
87 menu}\q{Edit} menus instead.)
89 \dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N})
91 \dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state.
93 \dt \ii\e{Restart game}
95 \dd Resets the current game to its initial state. (This can be undone.)
99 \dd Loads a saved game from a file on disk.
103 \dd Saves the current state of your game to a file on disk.
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).
113 \dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_})
115 \dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the
118 \dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R})
120 \dd Redoes a previously undone move.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
156 \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q})
158 \dd Closes the application entirely.
160 \H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID}
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
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.
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.
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:
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.
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
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.
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.
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.)}
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
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.
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.
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.
245 \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu
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.
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
256 \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line}
258 (This section does not apply to the Mac OS X version.)
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!)
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
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
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).
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.
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
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}.
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.
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.)
299 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net}
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}.)
304 I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet}
305 \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other
306 implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a
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
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,
313 all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are
316 \B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}
318 \H{net-controls} \i{Net controls}
320 \IM{Net controls} controls, for Net
321 \IM{Net controls} keys, for Net
322 \IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net
324 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The
327 \dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys
329 \dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key
331 \dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key
333 \dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key
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
339 The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may
342 \dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys
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.
347 \dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys
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.)
354 \dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key
356 \dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random
359 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
361 \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters
363 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
366 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
368 \dd Size of grid in tiles.
370 \dt \e{Walls wrap around}
372 \dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge,
373 and from top to bottom, and vice versa.
375 \dt \e{Barrier probability}
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).
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
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.
397 \dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
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
408 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube}
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.
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.
427 \B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}
429 \H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls}
431 \IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube
432 \IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube
433 \IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube
435 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
437 Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other
438 solid) towards the mouse pointer.
440 The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in
441 the four cardinal directions.
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.
447 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
449 \H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters
451 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
454 \dt \e{Type of solid}
456 \dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid):
457 tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron.
459 \dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom}
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
466 \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen}
468 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen}
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}).
478 \H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls}
480 \IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen
481 \IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen
482 \IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen
484 This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard.
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
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).
493 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
495 \H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters
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!)
502 \C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen}
504 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen}
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.
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.
524 \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls
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.
530 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
532 \H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters
534 The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
537 \b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
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.
550 \C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle}
552 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle}
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
559 In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four
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.
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.
569 \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls
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
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.
580 Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise.
581 Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise.
583 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
585 \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters
587 Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom}
588 option on the \q{Type} menu:
590 \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid.
592 \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time.
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.
600 \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If
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
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.
616 \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles}
618 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles}
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.
626 Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli}
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
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}
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}
639 \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls
641 This game is played with the mouse.
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).
647 When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded.
649 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
651 \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters
653 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
656 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
658 \dd Size of grid, in squares.
660 \dt \e{Expansion factor}
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
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.
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.
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.
686 \dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
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.
696 \C{netslide} \i{Netslide}
698 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide}
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.
705 As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse.
706 See \k{sixteen-controls}.
708 \I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar
709 meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see
712 Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton.
714 \C{pattern} \i{Pattern}
716 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern}
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.
724 I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name
725 \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under
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.
736 \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls
738 This game is played with the mouse.
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.
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
751 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
753 \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters
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.
761 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo}
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
767 \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit
769 \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit
771 \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit.
773 You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the
774 rest of the numbers correctly.
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).
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}.
786 I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's also
787 been popularised by various newspapers under the name \q{Sudoku} or
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}
792 \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls
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).
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.
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.
809 To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type
810 the same number again.
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.
816 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
818 \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters
820 Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle
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.)
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.
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
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
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
854 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines}
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
863 This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is
864 perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence.
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
874 \H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls
876 This game is played with the mouse.
878 If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered.
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.
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.
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.
899 All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.
901 Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to
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.
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
913 \H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters
915 The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
918 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
920 \dd Size of grid in squares.
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.
931 Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities,
932 the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid.
936 \dt \e{Ensure solubility}
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.
944 \C{samegame} \i{Same Game}
946 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame}
948 You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by
949 highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square;
950 the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and
951 the faster you clear the arena).
953 If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but
954 single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you
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.
961 The game generator does not try to guarantee soluble grids;
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).
966 Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
968 \H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls}
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
974 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
976 If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly
977 clearing the current selection).
979 If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the
980 rest of the grid shuffled immediately).
982 If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected.
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.
988 \H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters
990 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
993 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
995 \dd Size of grid in squares.
997 \dt \e{No. of colours}
999 \dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours,
1000 the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to
1001 successfully clear the grid.
1003 \dt \e{Scoring system}
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
1014 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip}
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.
1021 Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares
1022 change when you flip it.
1024 \H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls}
1026 \IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip
1027 \IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip
1028 \IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip
1030 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1032 Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares, or
1033 use the cursor keys to choose a square and the space bar or Enter
1036 If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of
1037 the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red
1038 mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square
1039 \e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate
1040 that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.)
1042 \H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters
1044 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1047 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1049 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1053 \dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped
1054 by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses},
1055 causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours
1056 (or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting,
1057 \q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so
1058 the game is different every time.
1063 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess}
1065 You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a
1066 predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a
1067 certain number of guesses.
1069 Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs
1070 in the correct places (in black), and also the number of
1071 correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white).
1073 This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as
1074 a board game \q{Mastermind}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row, and 10 guesses.
1075 However, this version allows custom settings of number of colours
1076 (up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses.
1078 Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1080 \H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls}
1082 \IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess
1083 \IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess
1084 \IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess
1086 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1088 With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand
1089 side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be
1090 dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To
1091 remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid.
1093 Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs
1094 that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess
1097 Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be
1098 used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a
1099 peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the
1100 selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a
1101 peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker.
1103 When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted;
1104 clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys
1105 and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess,
1106 copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess}
1109 If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed
1110 below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution
1111 will also be revealed.
1113 \H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for Guess}Guess parameters
1115 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1116 \q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the
1117 board game \q{Mastermind}.
1121 \dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10
1124 \dt \e{Pegs per guess}
1126 \dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder).
1130 \dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder).
1132 \dt \e{Allow blanks}
1134 \dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because
1135 you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This
1136 is turned off by default.
1138 Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted
1139 that, use one extra colour.
1141 \dt \e{Allow duplicates}
1143 \dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once;
1144 this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by
1150 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pegs}
1152 A number of pegs are placed in holes on a board. You can remove a
1153 peg by jumping an adjacent peg over it (horizontally or vertically)
1154 to a vacant hole on the other side. Your aim is to remove all but one
1155 of the pegs initially present.
1157 This game, best known as \q{Peg Solitaire}, is possibly one of the
1158 oldest puzzle games still commonly known.
1160 \H{pegs-controls} \i{Pegs controls}
1162 \IM{Pegs controls} controls, for Pegs
1164 To move a peg, drag it with the mouse from its current position to
1165 its final position. If the final position is exactly two holes away
1166 from the initial position, is currently unoccupied by a peg, and
1167 there is a peg in the intervening square, the move will be permitted
1168 and the intervening peg will be removed.
1170 Vacant spaces which you can move a peg into are marked with holes. A
1171 space with no peg and no hole is not available for moving at all: it
1172 is an obstacle which you must work around.
1175 \H{pegs-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pegs}Pegs parameters
1177 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1180 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1182 \dd Size of grid in holes.
1186 \dd Controls whether you are given a board of a standard shape or a
1187 randomly generated shape. The two standard shapes currently
1188 supported are \q{Cross} and \q{Octagon} (also commonly known as the
1189 English and European traditional board layouts respectively).
1190 Selecting \q{Random} will give you a different board shape every
1191 time (but always one that is known to have a solution).
1194 \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence}
1196 This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2005 Simon Tatham.
1198 Portions copyright Richard Boulton and James Harvey.
1200 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
1201 obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
1202 (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
1203 including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
1204 publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
1205 and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
1206 subject to the following conditions:
1208 The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
1209 included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
1211 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
1212 EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
1213 MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
1214 NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
1215 BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
1216 ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
1217 CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
1220 \IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option
1221 \IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option
1223 \IM{game ID} game ID
1224 \IM{game ID} ID, game
1225 \IM{ID format} ID format
1226 \IM{ID format} format, ID
1227 \IM{ID format} game ID, format
1230 \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard)
1232 \IM{initial state} initial state
1233 \IM{initial state} state, initial
1235 \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence
1236 \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT