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}
8 \cfg{html-contents-filename}{index.html}
9 \cfg{html-template-filename}{%k.html}
10 \cfg{html-index-filename}{docindex.html}
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16 \cfg{info-filename}{puzzles.info}
18 \cfg{ps-filename}{puzzles.ps}
19 \cfg{pdf-filename}{puzzles.pdf}
23 \define{dash} \u2013{-}
25 This is a collection of small one-player puzzle games.
27 \copyright This manual is copyright 2004-2008 Simon Tatham. All rights
28 reserved. You may distribute this documentation under the MIT licence.
29 See \k{licence} for the licence text in full.
31 \cfg{html-local-head}{<meta name="AppleTitle" content="Puzzles Help">}
35 \C{intro} Introduction
37 I wrote this collection because I thought there should be more small
38 desktop toys available: little games you can pop up in a window and
39 play for two or three minutes while you take a break from whatever
40 else you were doing. And I was also annoyed that every time I found
41 a good game on (say) \i{Unix}, it wasn't available the next time I
42 was sitting at a \i{Windows} machine, or vice versa; so I arranged
43 that everything in my personal puzzle collection will happily run on
44 both, and have more recently done a port to \i{Mac OS X} as well. When I
45 find (or perhaps invent) further puzzle games that I like, they'll
46 be added to this collection and will immediately be available on
47 both platforms. And if anyone feels like writing any other front
48 ends \dash PocketPC, Mac OS pre-10, or whatever it might be \dash
49 then all the games in this framework will immediately become
50 available on another platform as well.
52 The actual games in this collection were mostly not my invention; they
53 are re-implementations of existing game concepts within my portable
54 puzzle framework. I do not claim credit, in general, for inventing the
55 rules of any of these puzzles. (I don't even claim authorship of all
56 the code; some of the puzzles have been submitted by other authors.)
58 This collection is distributed under the \i{MIT licence} (see
59 \k{licence}). This means that you can do pretty much anything you like
60 with the game binaries or the code, except pretending you wrote them
61 yourself, or suing me if anything goes wrong.
63 The most recent versions, and \i{source code}, can be found at
64 \I{website}\W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/}.
66 Please report \I{feedback}\i{bugs} to
67 \W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\cw{anakin@pobox.com}.
68 You might find it helpful to read this article before reporting a bug:
70 \W{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}\cw{http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html}
72 \ii{Patches} are welcome. Especially if they provide a new front end
73 (to make all these games run on another platform), or a new game.
76 \C{common} \ii{Common features}
78 This chapter describes features that are common to all the games.
80 \H{common-actions} \I{controls}Common actions
82 These actions are all available from the \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu
83 and via \I{keys}keyboard shortcuts, in addition to any game-specific
86 (On \i{Mac OS X}, to conform with local user interface standards, these
87 actions are situated on the \I{File menu}\q{File} and \I{Edit
88 menu}\q{Edit} menus instead.)
90 \dt \ii\e{New game} (\q{N}, Ctrl+\q{N})
92 \dd Starts a new game, with a random initial state.
94 \dt \ii\e{Restart game}
96 \dd Resets the current game to its initial state. (This can be undone.)
100 \dd Loads a saved game from a file on disk.
104 \dd Saves the current state of your game to a file on disk.
108 The Load and Save operations preserve your entire game
109 history (so you can save, reload, and still Undo and Redo things you
110 had done before saving).
114 \dt \I{printing, on Windows}\e{Print}
116 \dd Where supported (currently only on Windows), brings up a dialog
117 allowing you to print an arbitrary number of puzzles randomly
118 generated from the current parameters, optionally including the
119 current puzzle. (Only for puzzles which make sense to print, of
120 course - it's hard to think of a sensible printable representation
123 \dt \ii\e{Undo} (\q{U}, Ctrl+\q{Z}, Ctrl+\q{_})
125 \dd Undoes a single move. (You can undo moves back to the start of the
128 \dt \ii\e{Redo} (\q{R}, Ctrl+\q{R})
130 \dd Redoes a previously undone move.
134 \dd Copies the current state of your game to the clipboard in text
135 format, so that you can paste it into (say) an e-mail client or a
136 web message board if you're discussing the game with someone else.
137 (Not all games support this feature.)
141 \dd Transforms the puzzle instantly into its solved state. For some
142 games (Cube) this feature is not supported at all because it is of
143 no particular use. For other games (such as Pattern), the solved
144 state can be used to give you information, if you can't see how a
145 solution can exist at all or you want to know where you made a
146 mistake. For still other games (such as Sixteen), automatic solution
147 tells you nothing about how to \e{get} to the solution, but it does
148 provide a useful way to get there quickly so that you can experiment
149 with set-piece moves and transformations.
153 Some games (such as Solo) are capable of solving a game ID you have
154 typed in from elsewhere. Other games (such as Rectangles) cannot
155 solve a game ID they didn't invent themself, but when they did
156 invent the game ID they know what the solution is already. Still
157 other games (Pattern) can solve \e{some} external game IDs, but only
158 if they aren't too difficult.
160 The \q{Solve} command adds the solved state to the end of the undo
161 chain for the puzzle. In other words, if you want to go back to
162 solving it yourself after seeing the answer, you can just press Undo.
166 \dt \I{exit}\ii\e{Quit} (\q{Q}, Ctrl+\q{Q})
168 \dd Closes the application entirely.
170 \H{common-id} Specifying games with the \ii{game ID}
172 There are two ways to save a game specification out of a puzzle and
173 recreate it later, or recreate it in somebody else's copy of the
176 The \q{\i{Specific}} and \q{\i{Random Seed}} options from the
177 \I{Game menu}\q{Game} menu (or the \q{File} menu, on \i{Mac OS X}) each
178 show a piece of text (a \q{game ID}) which is sufficient to
179 reconstruct precisely the same game at a later date.
181 You can enter either of these pieces of text back into the program
182 (via the same \q{Specific} or \q{Random Seed} menu options) at a
183 later point, and it will recreate the same game. You can also use
184 either one as a \i{command line} argument (on Windows or Unix); see
185 \k{common-cmdline} for more detail.
187 The difference between the two forms is that a descriptive game ID
188 is a literal \e{description} of the \i{initial state} of the game,
189 whereas a random seed is just a piece of arbitrary text which was
190 provided as input to the random number generator used to create the
191 puzzle. This means that:
193 \b Descriptive game IDs tend to be longer in many puzzles (although
194 some, such as Cube (\k{cube}), only need very short descriptions).
195 So a random seed is often a \e{quicker} way to note down the puzzle
196 you're currently playing, or to tell it to somebody else so they can
197 play the same one as you.
199 \b Any text at all is a valid random seed. The automatically
200 generated ones are fifteen-digit numbers, but anything will do; you
201 can type in your full name, or a word you just made up, and a valid
202 puzzle will be generated from it. This provides a way for two or
203 more people to race to complete the same puzzle: you think of a
204 random seed, then everybody types it in at the same time, and nobody
205 has an advantage due to having seen the generated puzzle before
208 \b It is often possible to convert puzzles from other sources (such
209 as \q{nonograms} or \q{sudoku} from newspapers) into descriptive
210 game IDs suitable for use with these programs.
212 \b Random seeds are not guaranteed to produce the same result if you
213 use them with a different \i\e{version} of the puzzle program. This
214 is because the generation algorithm might have been improved or
215 modified in later versions of the code, and will therefore produce a
216 different result when given the same sequence of random numbers. Use
217 a descriptive game ID if you aren't sure that it will be used on the
218 same version of the program as yours.
220 \lcont{(Use the \q{About} menu option to find out the version number
221 of the program. Programs with the same version number running on
222 different platforms should still be random-seed compatible.)}
224 \I{ID format}A descriptive game ID starts with a piece of text which
225 encodes the \i\e{parameters} of the current game (such as grid
226 size). Then there is a colon, and after that is the description of
227 the game's initial state. A random seed starts with a similar string
228 of parameters, but then it contains a hash sign followed by
231 If you enter a descriptive game ID, the program will not be able to
232 show you the random seed which generated it, since it wasn't
233 generated \e{from} a random seed. If you \e{enter} a random seed,
234 however, the program will be able to show you the descriptive game
235 ID derived from that random seed.
237 Note that the game parameter strings are not always identical
238 between the two forms. For some games, there will be parameter data
239 provided with the random seed which is not included in the
240 descriptive game ID. This is because that parameter information is
241 only relevant when \e{generating} puzzle grids, and is not important
242 when playing them. Thus, for example, the difficulty level in Solo
243 (\k{solo}) is not mentioned in the descriptive game ID.
245 These additional parameters are also not set permanently if you type
246 in a game ID. For example, suppose you have Solo set to \q{Advanced}
247 difficulty level, and then a friend wants your help with a
248 \q{Trivial} puzzle; so the friend reads out a random seed specifying
249 \q{Trivial} difficulty, and you type it in. The program will
250 generate you the same \q{Trivial} grid which your friend was having
251 trouble with, but once you have finished playing it, when you ask
252 for a new game it will automatically go back to the \q{Advanced}
253 difficulty which it was previously set on.
255 \H{common-type} The \q{Type} menu
257 The \I{Type menu}\q{Type} menu, if present, may contain a list of
258 \i{preset} game settings. Selecting one of these will start a new
259 random game with the parameters specified.
261 The \q{Type} menu may also contain a \q{\i{Custom}} option which
262 allows you to fine-tune game \i{parameters}. The parameters
263 available are specific to each game and are described in the
266 \H{common-cmdline} Specifying game parameters on the \i{command line}
268 (This section does not apply to the \i{Mac OS X} version.)
270 The games in this collection deliberately do not ever save
271 information on to the computer they run on: they have no high score
272 tables and no saved preferences. (This is because I expect at least
273 some people to play them at work, and those people will probably
274 appreciate leaving as little evidence as possible!)
276 However, if you do want to arrange for one of these games to
277 \I{default parameters, specifying}default to a particular set of
278 parameters, you can specify them on the command line.
280 The easiest way to do this is to set up the parameters you want
281 using the \q{Type} menu (see \k{common-type}), and then to select
282 \q{Random Seed} from the \q{Game} or \q{File} menu (see
283 \k{common-id}). The text in the \q{Game ID} box will be composed of
284 two parts, separated by a hash. The first of these parts represents
285 the game parameters (the size of the playing area, for example, and
286 anything else you set using the \q{Type} menu).
288 If you run the game with just that parameter text on the command
289 line, it will start up with the settings you specified.
291 For example: if you run Cube (see \k{cube}), select \q{Octahedron}
292 from the \q{Type} menu, and then go to the game ID selection, you
293 will see a string of the form \cq{o2x2#338686542711620}. Take only
294 the part before the hash (\cq{o2x2}), and start Cube with that text
295 on the command line: \cq{cube o2x2}.
297 If you copy the \e{entire} game ID on to the command line, the game
298 will start up in the specific game that was described. This is
299 occasionally a more convenient way to start a particular game ID
300 than by pasting it into the game ID selection box.
302 (You could also retrieve the encoded game parameters using the
303 \q{Specific} menu option instead of \q{Random Seed}, but if you do
304 then some options, such as the difficulty level in Solo, will be
305 missing. See \k{common-id} for more details on this.)
307 \H{common-unix-cmdline} \i{Unix} \i{command-line} options
309 (This section only applies to the Unix port.)
311 In addition to being able to specify game parameters on the command
312 line (see \k{common-cmdline}), there are various other options:
318 \dd These options respectively determine whether the command-line
319 argument is treated as specifying game parameters or a \i{save} file
320 to \i{load}. Only one should be specified. If neither of these options
321 is specified, a guess is made based on the format of the argument.
323 \dt \cw{--generate }\e{n}
325 \dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being displayed,
326 a number of descriptive game IDs will be \I{generating game IDs}invented
327 and printed on standard output. This is useful for gaining access to
328 the game generation algorithms without necessarily using the frontend.
332 If game parameters are specified on the command-line, they will be
333 used to generate the game IDs; otherwise a default set of parameters
336 The most common use of this option is in conjunction with \c{--print},
337 in which case its behaviour is slightly different; see below.
341 \dt \I{printing, on Unix}\cw{--print }\e{w}\cw{x}\e{h}
343 \dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being displayed,
344 a printed representation of one or more unsolved puzzles is sent to
345 standard output, in \i{PostScript} format.
349 On each page of puzzles, there will be \e{w} across and \e{h} down. If
350 there are more puzzles than \e{w}\by\e{h}, more than one page will be
353 If \c{--generate} has also been specified, the invented game IDs will
354 be used to generate the printed output. Otherwise, a list of game IDs
355 is expected on standard input (which can be descriptive or random
356 seeds; see \k{common-id}), in the same format produced by
361 \c net --generate 12 --print 2x3 7x7w | lpr
363 will generate two pages of printed Net puzzles (each of which will
364 have a 7\by\.7 wrapping grid), and pipe the output to the \c{lpr}
365 command, which on many systems will send them to an actual printer.
367 There are various other options which affect printing; see below.
371 \dt \cw{--save }\e{file-prefix} [ \cw{--save-suffix }\e{file-suffix} ]
373 \dd If this option is specified, instead of a puzzle being
374 displayed, saved-game files for one or more unsolved puzzles are
375 written to files constructed from the supplied prefix and/or suffix.
379 If \c{--generate} has also been specified, the invented game IDs will
380 be used to generate the printed output. Otherwise, a list of game IDs
381 is expected on standard input (which can be descriptive or random
382 seeds; see \k{common-id}), in the same format produced by
387 \c net --generate 12 --save game --save-suffix .sav
389 will generate twelve Net saved-game files with the names
390 \cw{game0.sav} to \cw{game11.sav}.
396 \dd Prints version information about the game, and then quits.
398 The following options are only meaningful if \c{--print} is also
401 \dt \cw{--with-solutions}
403 \dd The set of pages filled with unsolved puzzles will be followed by
404 the solutions to those puzzles.
406 \dt \cw{--scale }\e{n}
408 \dd Adjusts how big each puzzle is when printed. Larger numbers make
409 puzzles bigger; the default is 1.0.
413 \dd Puzzles will be printed in colour, rather than in black and white
414 (if supported by the puzzle).
419 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.net}
421 (\e{Note:} the \i{Windows} version of this game is called
422 \i\cw{NETGAME.EXE} to avoid clashing with Windows's own \cw{NET.EXE}.)
424 I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{FreeNet}
425 \k{FreeNet}, written by Pavils Jurjans; there are several other
426 implementations under the name \i{NetWalk}. The computer prepares a
427 network by connecting up the centres of squares in a grid, and then
428 shuffles the network by rotating every tile randomly. Your job is to
429 rotate it all back into place. The successful solution will be an
430 entirely connected network, with no closed loops. \#{The latter
431 clause means that there are no closed paths within the network.
432 Could this be clearer? "No closed paths"?} As a visual aid,
433 all tiles which are connected to the one in the middle are
436 \B{FreeNet} \W{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}\cw{http://www.jurjans.lv/stuff/net/FreeNet.htm}
438 \H{net-controls} \i{Net controls}
440 \IM{Net controls} controls, for Net
441 \IM{Net controls} keys, for Net
442 \IM{Net controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Net
444 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse. The
447 \dt \e{Select tile}: mouse pointer, arrow keys
449 \dt \e{Rotate tile anticlockwise}: left mouse button, \q{A} key
451 \dt \e{Rotate tile clockwise}: right mouse button, \q{D} key
453 \dt \e{Rotate tile by 180 degrees}: \q{F} key
455 \dt \e{Lock (or unlock) tile}: middle mouse button, shift-click, \q{S} key
457 \dd You can lock a tile once you're sure of its orientation. You can
458 also unlock it again, but while it's locked you can't accidentally
461 The following controls are not necessary to complete the game, but may
464 \dt \e{Shift grid}: Shift + arrow keys
466 \dd On grids that wrap, you can move the origin of the grid, so that
467 tiles that were on opposite sides of the grid can be seen together.
469 \dt \e{Move centre}: Ctrl + arrow keys
471 \dd You can change which tile is used as the source of highlighting.
472 (It doesn't ultimately matter which tile this is, as every tile will
473 be connected to every other tile in a correct solution, but it may be
474 helpful in the intermediate stages of solving the puzzle.)
476 \dt \e{Jumble tiles}: \q{J} key
478 \dd This key turns all tiles that are not locked to random
481 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
483 \H{net-params} \I{parameters, for Net}Net parameters
485 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
488 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
490 \dd Size of grid in tiles.
492 \dt \e{Walls wrap around}
494 \dd If checked, flow can pass from the left edge to the right edge,
495 and from top to bottom, and vice versa.
497 \dt \e{Barrier probability}
499 \dd A number between 0.0 and 1.0 controlling whether an immovable
500 barrier is placed between two tiles to prevent flow between them (a
501 higher number gives more barriers). Since barriers are immovable, they
502 act as constraints on the solution (i.e., hints).
506 The grid generation in Net has been carefully arranged so that the
507 barriers are independent of the rest of the grid. This means that if
508 you note down the random seed used to generate the current puzzle
509 (see \k{common-id}), change the \e{Barrier probability} parameter,
510 and then re-enter the same random seed, you should see exactly the
511 same starting grid, with the only change being the number of
512 barriers. So if you're stuck on a particular grid and need a hint,
513 you could start up another instance of Net, set up the same
514 parameters but a higher barrier probability, and enter the game seed
515 from the original Net window.
519 \dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
521 \dd Normally, Net will make sure that the puzzles it presents have
522 only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
523 difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this
524 feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. (Also, finding \e{all}
525 the possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an
531 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.cube}
533 This is another one I originally saw as a web game. This one was a
534 Java game \k{cube-java-game}, by Paul Scott. You have a grid of 16
535 squares, six of which are blue; on one square rests a cube. Your move
536 is to use the arrow keys to roll the cube through 90 degrees so that
537 it moves to an adjacent square. If you roll the cube on to a blue
538 square, the blue square is picked up on one face of the cube; if you
539 roll a blue face of the cube on to a non-blue square, the blueness is
540 put down again. (In general, whenever you roll the cube, the two faces
541 that come into contact swap colours.) Your job is to get all six blue
542 squares on to the six faces of the cube at the same time. Count your
543 moves and try to do it in as few as possible.
545 Unlike the original Java game, my version has an additional feature:
546 once you've mastered the game with a cube rolling on a square grid,
547 you can change to a triangular grid and roll any of a tetrahedron, an
548 octahedron or an icosahedron.
550 \B{cube-java-game} \W{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}\cw{http://www3.sympatico.ca/paulscott/cube/cube.htm}
552 \H{cube-controls} \i{Cube controls}
554 \IM{Cube controls} controls, for Cube
555 \IM{Cube controls} keys, for Cube
556 \IM{Cube controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Cube
558 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
560 Left-clicking anywhere on the window will move the cube (or other
561 solid) towards the mouse pointer.
563 The arrow keys can also used to roll the cube on its square grid in
564 the four cardinal directions.
565 On the triangular grids, the mapping of arrow keys to directions is
566 more approximate. Vertical movement is disallowed where it doesn't
567 make sense. The four keys surrounding the arrow keys on the numeric
568 keypad (\q{7}, \q{9}, \q{1}, \q{3}) can be used for diagonal movement.
570 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
572 \H{cube-params} \I{parameters, for Cube}Cube parameters
574 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
577 \dt \e{Type of solid}
579 \dd Selects the solid to roll (and hence the shape of the grid):
580 tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, or icosahedron.
582 \dt \e{Width / top}, \e{Height / bottom}
584 \dd On a square grid, horizontal and vertical dimensions. On a
585 triangular grid, the number of triangles on the top and bottom rows
589 \C{fifteen} \i{Fifteen}
591 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.fifteen}
593 The old ones are the best: this is the good old \q{\i{15-puzzle}}
594 with sliding tiles. You have a 4\by\.4 square grid; 15 squares
595 contain numbered tiles, and the sixteenth is empty. Your move is to
596 choose a tile next to the empty space, and slide it into the space.
597 The aim is to end up with the tiles in numerical order, with the
598 space in the bottom right (so that the top row reads 1,2,3,4 and the
599 bottom row reads 13,14,15,\e{space}).
601 \H{fifteen-controls} \i{Fifteen controls}
603 \IM{Fifteen controls} controls, for Fifteen
604 \IM{Fifteen controls} keys, for Fifteen
605 \IM{Fifteen controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Fifteen
607 This game can be controlled with the mouse or the keyboard.
609 A left-click with the mouse in the row or column containing the empty
610 space will move as many tiles as necessary to move the space to the
613 The arrow keys will move a tile adjacent to the space in the direction
614 indicated (moving the space in the \e{opposite} direction).
616 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
618 \H{fifteen-params} \I{parameters, for Fifteen}Fifteen parameters
620 The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
621 menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory. (Once
622 you've changed these, it's not a \q{15-puzzle} any more, of course!)
625 \C{sixteen} \i{Sixteen}
627 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.sixteen}
629 Another sliding tile puzzle, visually similar to Fifteen (see
630 \k{fifteen}) but with a different type of move. This time, there is no
631 hole: all 16 squares on the grid contain numbered squares. Your move
632 is to shift an entire row left or right, or shift an entire column up
633 or down; every time you do that, the tile you shift off the grid
634 re-appears at the other end of the same row, in the space you just
635 vacated. To win, arrange the tiles into numerical order (1,2,3,4 on
636 the top row, 13,14,15,16 on the bottom). When you've done that, try
637 playing on different sizes of grid.
639 I \e{might} have invented this game myself, though only by accident if
640 so (and I'm sure other people have independently invented it). I
641 thought I was imitating a screensaver I'd seen, but I have a feeling
642 that the screensaver might actually have been a Fifteen-type puzzle
643 rather than this slightly different kind. So this might be the one
644 thing in my puzzle collection which represents creativity on my part
645 rather than just engineering.
647 \H{sixteen-controls} \I{controls, for Sixteen}Sixteen controls
649 This game is played with the mouse. Left-clicking on an arrow will
650 move the appropriate row or column in the direction indicated.
651 Right-clicking will move it in the opposite direction.
653 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
655 \H{sixteen-params} \I{parameters, for Sixteen}Sixteen parameters
657 The parameters available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
660 \b \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
662 \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on
663 the grid. By default, Sixteen will shuffle the grid in such a way
664 that any arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can
665 override this by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to
666 be performed. Typically your aim is then to determine the precise
667 set of shuffling moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer
668 (say) a four-move shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the
669 more moves you ask for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter
670 than the target length will turn out to be possible.
673 \C{twiddle} \i{Twiddle}
675 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.twiddle}
677 Twiddle is a tile-rearrangement puzzle, visually similar to Sixteen
678 (see \k{sixteen}): you are given a grid of square tiles, each
679 containing a number, and your aim is to arrange the numbers into
682 In basic Twiddle, your move is to rotate a square group of four
683 tiles about their common centre. (Orientation is not significant in
684 the basic puzzle, although you can select it.) On more advanced
685 settings, you can rotate a larger square group of tiles.
687 I first saw this type of puzzle in the GameCube game \q{Metroid
688 Prime 2}. In the Main Gyro Chamber in that game, there is a puzzle
689 you solve to unlock a door, which is a special case of Twiddle. I
690 developed this game as a generalisation of that puzzle.
692 \H{twiddle-controls} \I{controls, for Twiddle}Twiddle controls
694 To play Twiddle, click the mouse in the centre of the square group
695 you wish to rotate. In the basic mode, you rotate a 2\by\.2 square,
696 which means you have to click at a corner point where four tiles
699 In more advanced modes you might be rotating 3\by\.3 or even more at
700 a time; if the size of the square is odd then you simply click in
701 the centre tile of the square you want to rotate.
703 Clicking with the left mouse button rotates the group anticlockwise.
704 Clicking with the right button rotates it clockwise.
706 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
708 \H{twiddle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Twiddle}Twiddle parameters
710 Twiddle provides several configuration options via the \q{Custom}
711 option on the \q{Type} menu:
713 \b You can configure the width and height of the puzzle grid.
715 \b You can configure the size of square block that rotates at a time.
717 \b You can ask for every square in the grid to be distinguishable
718 (the default), or you can ask for a simplified puzzle in which there
719 are groups of identical numbers. In the simplified puzzle your aim
720 is just to arrange all the 1s into the first row, all the 2s into
721 the second row, and so on.
723 \b You can configure whether the orientation of tiles matters. If
724 you ask for an orientable puzzle, each tile will have a triangle
725 drawn in it. All the triangles must be pointing upwards to complete
728 \b You can ask for a limited shuffling operation to be performed on
729 the grid. By default, Twiddle will shuffle the grid so much that any
730 arrangement is about as probable as any other. You can override this
731 by requesting a precise number of shuffling moves to be performed.
732 Typically your aim is then to determine the precise set of shuffling
733 moves and invert them exactly, so that you answer (say) a four-move
734 shuffle with a four-move solution. Note that the more moves you ask
735 for, the more likely it is that solutions shorter than the target
736 length will turn out to be possible.
739 \C{rectangles} \i{Rectangles}
741 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.rectangles}
743 You have a grid of squares, with numbers written in some (but not all)
744 of the squares. Your task is to subdivide the grid into rectangles of
745 various sizes, such that (a) every rectangle contains exactly one
746 numbered square, and (b) the area of each rectangle is equal to the
747 number written in its numbered square.
749 Credit for this game goes to the Japanese puzzle magazine \i{Nikoli}
750 \k{nikoli-rect}; I've also seen a Palm implementation at \i{Puzzle
751 Palace} \k{puzzle-palace-rect}. Unlike Puzzle Palace's
752 implementation, my version automatically generates random grids of
753 any size you like. The quality of puzzle design is therefore not
754 quite as good as hand-crafted puzzles would be, but on the plus side
755 you get an inexhaustible supply of puzzles tailored to your own
758 \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}
760 \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}
762 \H{rectangles-controls} \I{controls, for Rectangles}Rectangles controls
764 This game is played with the mouse.
766 Left-click any edge to toggle it on or off, or click and drag to draw
767 an entire rectangle (or line) on the grid in one go (removing any
768 existing edges within that rectangle).
770 When a rectangle of the correct size is completed, it will be shaded.
772 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
774 \H{rectangles-params} \I{parameters, for Rectangles}Rectangles parameters
776 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
779 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
781 \dd Size of grid, in squares.
783 \dt \e{Expansion factor}
785 \dd This is a mechanism for changing the type of grids generated by
786 the program. Some people prefer a grid containing a few large
787 rectangles to one containing many small ones. So you can ask
788 Rectangles to essentially generate a \e{smaller} grid than the size
789 you specified, and then to expand it by adding rows and columns.
793 The default expansion factor of zero means that Rectangles will
794 simply generate a grid of the size you ask for, and do nothing
795 further. If you set an expansion factor of (say) 0.5, it means that
796 each dimension of the grid will be expanded to half again as big
797 after generation. In other words, the initial grid will be 2/3 the
798 size in each dimension, and will be expanded to its full size
799 without adding any more rectangles.
801 Setting an expansion factor of around 0.5 tends to make the game
802 more difficult, and also (in my experience) rewards a less deductive
803 and more intuitive playing style. If you set it \e{too} high,
804 though, the game simply cannot generate more than a few rectangles
805 to cover the entire grid, and the game becomes trivial.
809 \dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
811 \dd Normally, Rectangles will make sure that the puzzles it presents
812 have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
813 difficult and more subtle, so if you like you can turn off this
814 feature and risk having ambiguous puzzles. Also, finding \e{all} the
815 possible solutions can be an additional challenge for an advanced
816 player. Turning off this option can also speed up puzzle generation.
819 \C{netslide} \i{Netslide}
821 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.netslide}
823 This game combines the grid generation of Net (see \k{net}) with the
824 movement of Sixteen (see \k{sixteen}): you have a Net grid, but
825 instead of rotating tiles back into place you have to slide them
826 into place by moving a whole row at a time.
828 As in Sixteen, \I{controls, for Netslide}control is with the mouse.
829 See \k{sixteen-controls}.
831 \I{parameters, for Netslide}The available game parameters have similar
832 meanings to those in Net (see \k{net-params}) and Sixteen (see
835 Netslide was contributed to this collection by Richard Boulton.
838 \C{pattern} \i{Pattern}
840 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pattern}
842 You have a grid of squares, which must all be filled in either black
843 or white. Beside each row of the grid are listed the lengths of the
844 runs of black squares on that row; above each column are listed the
845 lengths of the runs of black squares in that column. Your aim is to
846 fill in the entire grid black or white.
848 I first saw this puzzle form around 1995, under the name
849 \q{\i{nonograms}}. I've seen it in various places since then, under
852 Normally, puzzles of this type turn out to be a meaningful picture
853 of something once you've solved them. However, since this version
854 generates the puzzles automatically, they will just look like random
855 groupings of squares. (One user has suggested that this is actually
856 a \e{good} thing, since it prevents you from guessing the colour of
857 squares based on the picture, and forces you to use logic instead.)
858 The advantage, though, is that you never run out of them.
860 \H{pattern-controls} \I{controls, for Pattern}Pattern controls
862 This game is played with the mouse.
864 Left-click in a square to colour it black. Right-click to colour it
865 white. If you make a mistake, you can middle-click, or hold down
866 Shift while clicking with any button, to colour the square in the
867 default grey (meaning \q{undecided}) again.
869 You can click and drag with the left or right mouse button to colour
870 a vertical or horizontal line of squares black or white at a time
871 (respectively). If you click and drag with the middle button, or
872 with Shift held down, you can colour a whole rectangle of squares
875 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
877 \H{pattern-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pattern}Pattern parameters
879 The only options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
880 menu are \e{Width} and \e{Height}, which are self-explanatory.
885 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.solo}
887 You have a square grid, which is divided into as many equally sized
888 sub-blocks as the grid has rows. Each square must be filled in with
889 a digit from 1 to the size of the grid, in such a way that
891 \b every row contains only one occurrence of each digit
893 \b every column contains only one occurrence of each digit
895 \b every block contains only one occurrence of each digit.
897 \b (optionally, by default off) each of the square's two main
898 diagonals contains only one occurrence of each digit.
900 You are given some of the numbers as clues; your aim is to place the
901 rest of the numbers correctly.
903 Under the default settings, the sub-blocks are square or
904 rectangular. The default puzzle size is 3\by\.3 (a 9\by\.9 actual
905 grid, divided into nine 3\by\.3 blocks). You can also select sizes
906 with rectangular blocks instead of square ones, such as 2\by\.3 (a
907 6\by\.6 grid divided into six 3\by\.2 blocks). Alternatively, you
908 can select \q{jigsaw} mode, in which the sub-blocks are arbitrary
909 shapes which differ between individual puzzles.
911 If you select a puzzle size which requires more than 9 digits, the
912 additional digits will be letters of the alphabet. For example, if
913 you select 3\by\.4 then the digits which go in your grid will be 1
914 to 9, plus \cq{a}, \cq{b} and \cq{c}.
916 I first saw this puzzle in \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-solo}, although it's
917 also been popularised by various newspapers under the name
918 \q{Sudoku} or \q{Su Doku}. Howard Garns is considered the inventor
919 of the modern form of the puzzle, and it was first published in
920 \e{Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games}. A more elaborate treatment
921 of the history of the puzzle can be found on Wikipedia
924 \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}
926 \B{wikipedia-solo} \W{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku}\cw{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku}
928 \H{solo-controls} \I{controls, for Solo}Solo controls
930 To play Solo, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
931 type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you
932 make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press
933 Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature).
935 If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that
936 number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can
937 have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square.
939 The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use
940 them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a
941 particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a
942 particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible
943 numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like.
945 To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type
946 the same number again.
948 All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type
949 a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and
950 pressing space will also erase pencil marks.
952 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
954 \H{solo-parameters} \I{parameters, for Solo}Solo parameters
956 Solo allows you to configure two separate dimensions of the puzzle
957 grid on the \q{Type} menu: the number of columns, and the number of
958 rows, into which the main grid is divided. (The size of a block is
959 the inverse of this: for example, if you select 2 columns and 3 rows,
960 each actual block will have 3 columns and 2 rows.)
962 If you tick the \q{X} checkbox, Solo will apply the optional extra
963 constraint that the two main diagonals of the grid also contain one
964 of every digit. (This is sometimes known as \q{Sudoku-X} in
965 newspapers.) In this mode, the squares on the two main diagonals
966 will be shaded slightly so that you know it's enabled.
968 If you tick the \q{Jigsaw} checkbox, Solo will generate randomly
969 shaped sub-blocks. In this mode, the actual grid size will be taken
970 to be the product of the numbers entered in the \q{Columns} and
971 \q{Rows} boxes. There is no reason why you have to enter a number
972 greater than 1 in both boxes; Jigsaw mode has no constraint on the
973 grid size, and it can even be a prime number if you feel like it.
975 You can also configure the type of symmetry shown in the generated
976 puzzles. More symmetry makes the puzzles look prettier but may also
977 make them easier, since the symmetry constraints can force more
978 clues than necessary to be present. Completely asymmetric puzzles
979 have the freedom to contain as few clues as possible.
981 Finally, you can configure the difficulty of the generated puzzles.
982 Difficulty levels are judged by the complexity of the techniques of
983 deduction required to solve the puzzle: each level requires a mode
984 of reasoning which was not necessary in the previous one. In
985 particular, on difficulty levels \q{Trivial} and \q{Basic} there
986 will be a square you can fill in with a single number at all times,
987 whereas at \q{Intermediate} level and beyond you will have to make
988 partial deductions about the \e{set} of squares a number could be in
989 (or the set of numbers that could be in a square).
990 \#{Advanced, Extreme?}
991 At \q{Unreasonable} level, even this is not enough, and you will
992 eventually have to make a guess, and then backtrack if it turns out
995 Generating difficult puzzles is itself difficult: if you select one
996 of the higher difficulty levels, Solo may have to make many attempts
997 at generating a puzzle before it finds one hard enough for you. Be
998 prepared to wait, especially if you have also configured a large
1004 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.mines}
1006 You have a grid of covered squares, some of which contain mines, but
1007 you don't know which. Your job is to uncover every square which does
1008 \e{not} contain a mine. If you uncover a square containing a mine,
1009 you lose. If you uncover a square which does not contain a mine, you
1010 are told how many mines are contained within the eight surrounding
1013 This game needs no introduction; popularised by Windows, it is
1014 perhaps the single best known desktop puzzle game in existence.
1016 This version of it has an unusual property. By default, it will
1017 generate its mine positions in such a way as to ensure that you
1018 never need to \e{guess} where a mine is: you will always be able to
1019 deduce it somehow. So you will never, as can happen in other
1020 versions, get to the last four squares and discover that there are
1021 two mines left but you have no way of knowing for sure where they
1024 \H{mines-controls} \I{controls, for Mines}Mines controls
1026 This game is played with the mouse.
1028 If you left-click in a covered square, it will be uncovered.
1030 If you right-click in a covered square, it will place a flag which
1031 indicates that the square is believed to be a mine. Left-clicking in
1032 a marked square will not uncover it, for safety. You can right-click
1033 again to remove a mark placed in error.
1035 If you left-click in an \e{uncovered} square, it will \q{clear
1036 around} the square. This means: if the square has exactly as many
1037 flags surrounding it as it should have mines, then all the covered
1038 squares next to it which are \e{not} flagged will be uncovered. So
1039 once you think you know the location of all the mines around a
1040 square, you can use this function as a shortcut to avoid having to
1041 click on each of the remaining squares one by one.
1043 If you uncover a square which has \e{no} mines in the surrounding
1044 eight squares, then it is obviously safe to uncover those squares in
1045 turn, and so on if any of them also has no surrounding mines. This
1046 will be done for you automatically; so sometimes when you uncover a
1047 square, a whole new area will open up to be explored.
1049 All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.
1051 Even Undo is available, although you might consider it cheating to
1052 use it. If you step on a mine, the program will only reveal the mine
1053 in question (unlike most other implementations, which reveal all of
1054 them). You can then Undo your fatal move and continue playing if you
1055 like. The program will track the number of times you died (and Undo
1056 will not reduce that counter), so when you get to the end of the
1057 game you know whether or not you did it without making any errors.
1059 (If you really want to know the full layout of the grid, which other
1060 implementations will show you after you die, you can always use the
1063 \H{mines-parameters} \I{parameters, for Mines}Mines parameters
1065 The options available from the \q{Custom...} option on the \q{Type}
1068 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1070 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1074 \dd Number of mines in the grid. You can enter this as an absolute
1075 mine count, or alternatively you can put a \cw{%} sign on the end in
1076 which case the game will arrange for that proportion of the squares
1077 in the grid to be mines.
1081 Beware of setting the mine count too high. At very high densities,
1082 the program may spend forever searching for a solvable grid.
1086 \dt \e{Ensure solubility}
1088 \dd When this option is enabled (as it is by default), Mines will
1089 ensure that the entire grid can be fully deduced starting from the
1090 initial open space. If you prefer the riskier grids generated by
1091 other implementations, you can switch off this option.
1094 \C{samegame} \i{Same Game}
1096 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.samegame}
1098 You have a grid of coloured squares, which you have to clear by
1099 highlighting contiguous regions of more than one coloured square;
1100 the larger the region you highlight, the more points you get (and
1101 the faster you clear the arena).
1103 If you clear the grid you win. If you end up with nothing but
1104 single squares (i.e., there are no more clickable regions left) you
1107 Removing a region causes the rest of the grid to shuffle up:
1108 blocks that are suspended will fall down (first), and then empty
1109 columns are filled from the right.
1111 Same Game was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1113 \H{samegame-controls} \i{Same Game controls}
1115 \IM{Same Game controls} controls, for Same Game
1116 \IM{Same Game controls} keys, for Same Game
1117 \IM{Same Game controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Same Game
1119 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1121 If you left-click an unselected region, it becomes selected (possibly
1122 clearing the current selection).
1124 If you left-click the selected region, it will be removed (and the
1125 rest of the grid shuffled immediately).
1127 If you right-click the selected region, it will be unselected.
1129 The cursor keys move a cursor around the grid. Pressing the Space or
1130 Enter keys while the cursor is in an unselected region selects it;
1131 pressing Space or Enter again removes it as above.
1133 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1135 \H{samegame-parameters} \I{parameters, for Same Game}Same Game parameters
1137 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1140 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1142 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1144 \dt \e{No. of colours}
1146 \dd Number of different colours used to fill the grid; the more colours,
1147 the fewer large regions of colour and thus the more difficult it is to
1148 successfully clear the grid.
1150 \dt \e{Scoring system}
1152 \dd Controls the precise mechanism used for scoring. With the default
1153 system, \q{(n-2)^2}, only regions of three squares or more will score
1154 any points at all. With the alternative \q{(n-1)^2} system, regions of
1155 two squares score a point each, and larger regions score relatively
1158 \dt \e{Ensure solubility}
1160 \dd If this option is ticked (the default state), generated grids
1161 will be guaranteed to have at least one solution.
1165 If you turn it off, the game generator will not try to guarantee
1166 soluble grids; it will, however, still ensure that there are at
1167 least 2 squares of each colour on the grid at the start (since a
1168 grid with exactly one square of a given colour is \e{definitely}
1169 insoluble). Grids generated with this option disabled may contain
1170 more large areas of contiguous colour, leading to opportunities for
1171 higher scores; they can also take less time to generate.
1178 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.flip}
1180 You have a grid of squares, some light and some dark. Your aim is to
1181 light all the squares up at the same time. You can choose any square
1182 and flip its state from light to dark or dark to light, but when you
1183 do so, other squares around it change state as well.
1185 Each square contains a small diagram showing which other squares
1186 change when you flip it.
1188 \H{flip-controls} \i{Flip controls}
1190 \IM{Flip controls} controls, for Flip
1191 \IM{Flip controls} keys, for Flip
1192 \IM{Flip controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Flip
1194 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1196 Left-click in a square to flip it and its associated squares, or
1197 use the cursor keys to choose a square and the space bar or Enter
1200 If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, it will mark some of
1201 the squares in red. If you click once in every square with a red
1202 mark, the game should be solved. (If you click in a square
1203 \e{without} a red mark, a red mark will appear in it to indicate
1204 that you will need to reverse that operation to reach the solution.)
1206 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1208 \H{flip-parameters} \I{parameters, for flip}Flip parameters
1210 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1213 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1215 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1219 \dd This control determines the shape of the region which is flipped
1220 by clicking in any given square. The default setting, \q{Crosses},
1221 causes every square to flip itself and its four immediate neighbours
1222 (or three or two if it's at an edge or corner). The other setting,
1223 \q{Random}, causes a random shape to be chosen for every square, so
1224 the game is different every time.
1229 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.guess}
1231 You have a set of coloured pegs, and have to reproduce a
1232 predetermined sequence of them (chosen by the computer) within a
1233 certain number of guesses.
1235 Each guess gets marked with the number of correctly-coloured pegs
1236 in the correct places (in black), and also the number of
1237 correctly-coloured pegs in the wrong places (in white).
1239 This game is also known (and marketed, by Hasbro, mainly) as
1240 a board game \q{\i{Mastermind}}, with 6 colours, 4 pegs per row,
1241 and 10 guesses. However, this version allows custom settings of number
1242 of colours (up to 10), number of pegs per row, and number of guesses.
1244 Guess was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1246 \H{guess-controls} \i{Guess controls}
1248 \IM{Guess controls} controls, for Guess
1249 \IM{Guess controls} keys, for Guess
1250 \IM{Guess controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Guess
1252 This game can be played with either the keyboard or the mouse.
1254 With the mouse, drag a coloured peg from the tray on the left-hand
1255 side to its required position in the current guess; pegs may also be
1256 dragged from current and past guesses to copy them elsewhere. To
1257 remove a peg, drag it off its current position to somewhere invalid.
1259 Right-clicking in the current guess adds a \q{hold} marker; pegs
1260 that have hold markers will be automatically added to the next guess
1263 Alternatively, with the keyboard, the up and down cursor keys can be
1264 used to select a peg colour, the left and right keys to select a
1265 peg position, and the space bar or Enter key to place a peg of the
1266 selected colour in the chosen position. \q{D} or Backspace removes a
1267 peg, and \q{H} adds a hold marker.
1269 When the guess is complete, the smaller feedback pegs will be highlighted;
1270 clicking on these (or moving the peg cursor to them with the arrow keys
1271 and pressing the space bar or Enter key) will mark the current guess,
1272 copy any held pegs to the next guess, and move the \q{current guess}
1275 If you correctly position all the pegs the solution will be displayed
1276 below; if you run out of guesses (or select \q{Solve...}) the solution
1277 will also be revealed.
1279 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1281 \H{guess-parameters} \I{parameters, for Guess}Guess parameters
1283 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1284 \q{Type} menu. The default game matches the parameters for the
1285 board game \q{Mastermind}.
1289 \dd Number of colours the solution is chosen from; from 2 to 10
1292 \dt \e{Pegs per guess}
1294 \dd Number of pegs per guess (more is harder).
1298 \dd Number of guesses you have to find the solution in (fewer is harder).
1300 \dt \e{Allow blanks}
1302 \dd Allows blank pegs to be given as part of a guess (makes it easier, because
1303 you know that those will never be counted as part of the solution). This
1304 is turned off by default.
1306 Note that this doesn't allow blank pegs in the solution; if you really wanted
1307 that, use one extra colour.
1309 \dt \e{Allow duplicates}
1311 \dd Allows the solution (and the guesses) to contain colours more than once;
1312 this increases the search space (making things harder), and is turned on by
1318 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.pegs}
1320 A number of pegs are placed in holes on a board. You can remove a
1321 peg by jumping an adjacent peg over it (horizontally or vertically)
1322 to a vacant hole on the other side. Your aim is to remove all but one
1323 of the pegs initially present.
1325 This game, best known as \I{Solitaire, Peg}\q{Peg Solitaire}, is
1326 possibly one of the oldest puzzle games still commonly known.
1328 \H{pegs-controls} \i{Pegs controls}
1330 \IM{Pegs controls} controls, for Pegs
1332 To move a peg, drag it with the mouse from its current position to
1333 its final position. If the final position is exactly two holes away
1334 from the initial position, is currently unoccupied by a peg, and
1335 there is a peg in the intervening square, the move will be permitted
1336 and the intervening peg will be removed.
1338 Vacant spaces which you can move a peg into are marked with holes. A
1339 space with no peg and no hole is not available for moving at all: it
1340 is an obstacle which you must work around.
1342 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1344 \H{pegs-parameters} \I{parameters, for Pegs}Pegs parameters
1346 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1349 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1351 \dd Size of grid in holes.
1355 \dd Controls whether you are given a board of a standard shape or a
1356 randomly generated shape. The two standard shapes currently
1357 supported are \q{Cross} and \q{Octagon} (also commonly known as the
1358 English and European traditional board layouts respectively).
1359 Selecting \q{Random} will give you a different board shape every
1360 time (but always one that is known to have a solution).
1363 \C{dominosa} \i{Dominosa}
1365 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.dominosa}
1367 A normal set of dominoes \dash that is, one instance of every
1368 (unordered) pair of numbers from 0 to 6 \dash has been arranged
1369 irregularly into a rectangle; then the number in each square has
1370 been written down and the dominoes themselves removed. Your task is
1371 to reconstruct the pattern by arranging the set of dominoes to match
1372 the provided array of numbers.
1374 This puzzle is widely credited to O. S. Adler, and takes part of its
1375 name from those initials.
1377 \H{dominosa-controls} \i{Dominosa controls}
1379 \IM{Dominosa controls} controls, for Dominosa
1381 Left-clicking between any two adjacent numbers places a domino
1382 covering them, or removes one if it is already present. Trying to
1383 place a domino which overlaps existing dominoes will remove the ones
1386 Right-clicking between two adjacent numbers draws a line between
1387 them, which you can use to remind yourself that you know those two
1388 numbers are \e{not} covered by a single domino. Right-clicking again
1391 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1393 \H{dominosa-parameters} \I{parameters, for Dominosa}Dominosa parameters
1395 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1398 \dt \e{Maximum number on dominoes}
1400 \dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by controlling the size of the
1401 set of dominoes used to make it. Dominoes with numbers going up to N
1402 will give rise to an (N+2) \by (N+1) rectangle; so, in particular,
1403 the default value of 6 gives an 8\by\.7 grid.
1405 \dt \e{Ensure unique solution}
1407 \dd Normally, Dominosa will make sure that the puzzles it presents
1408 have only one solution. Puzzles with ambiguous sections can be more
1409 difficult and sometimes more subtle, so if you like you can turn off
1410 this feature. Also, finding \e{all} the possible solutions can be an
1411 additional challenge for an advanced player. Turning off this option
1412 can also speed up puzzle generation.
1415 \C{untangle} \i{Untangle}
1417 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.untangle}
1419 You are given a number of points, some of which have lines drawn
1420 between them. You can move the points about arbitrarily; your aim is
1421 to position the points so that no line crosses another.
1423 I originally saw this in the form of a Flash game called \i{Planarity}
1424 \k{Planarity}, written by John Tantalo.
1426 \B{Planarity} \W{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}\cw{http://home.cwru.edu/~jnt5/Planarity}
1428 \H{untangle-controls} \i{Untangle controls}
1430 \IM{Untangle controls} controls, for Untangle
1432 To move a point, click on it with the left mouse button and drag it
1433 into a new position.
1435 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1437 \H{untangle-parameters} \I{parameters, for Untangle}Untangle parameters
1439 There is only one parameter available from the \q{Custom...} option
1440 on the \q{Type} menu:
1442 \dt \e{Number of points}
1444 \dd Controls the size of the puzzle, by specifying the number of
1445 points in the generated graph.
1448 \C{blackbox} \i{Black Box}
1450 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.blackbox}
1452 A number of balls are hidden in a rectangular arena. You have to
1453 deduce the positions of the balls by firing lasers from positions
1454 on the edge of the arena and observing how they are deflected.
1456 Lasers will fire straight until they hit the opposite side of the
1457 arena (at which point they emerge), unless affected by balls in one of
1460 \b A laser that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never re-emerge.
1461 This includes lasers that meet a ball on the first rank of the arena.
1463 \b A laser with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees
1466 \b A laser with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected
1469 \b A laser that would re-emerge from the entry location is considered to be
1472 \b A laser which would get deflected before entering the arena (down the
1473 \q{firing range}) by a ball to the front-left or front-right of its
1474 entry point is also considered to be \q{reflected}.
1476 Lasers that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; lasers that hit balls
1477 dead-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing point
1478 and the location where the laser emerges (this number is unique to
1481 You can place guesses as to the location of the balls, based on the
1482 entry and exit patterns of the lasers; once you have placed enough
1483 balls a button appears enabling you to have your guesses checked.
1485 Here is a diagram showing how the positions of balls can create each
1486 of the laser behaviours shown above:
1499 As shown, it is possible for a ball to receive multiple reflections
1500 before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a ball may be reflected
1501 (possibly more than once) before receiving a hit (the \q{H} on the
1502 left side of the example).
1504 Note that any layout with more that 4 balls may have a non-unique
1505 solution. The following diagram illustrates this; if you know the
1506 board contains 5 balls, it is impossible to determine where the fifth
1507 ball is (possible positions marked with an x):
1520 For this reason when you have your guesses checked the game will
1521 check that your solution \e{produces the same results} as the
1522 computer's, rather than that your solution is identical to the
1523 computer's. So in the above example, you could put the fifth ball at
1524 \e{any} of the locations marked with an x, and you would still win.
1526 Black Box was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1528 \H{blackbox-controls} \i{Black Box controls}
1530 \IM{Black Box controls}controls, for Black Box
1532 To fire a laser, left-click in a square around the side of the arena.
1533 The results will be displayed immediately. Lasers may not be fired
1534 twice (because the results will never change). Holding down the left
1535 button will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the
1536 exit point for that laser, if applicable.
1538 To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a
1539 black circle will appear marking the guess; to remove the guessed ball
1542 Locations in the arena may be locked against modification by
1543 right-clicking; whole rows and columns may be similarly locked by
1544 right-clicking in the laser firing range above/below that column, or
1545 to the left/right of that row.
1547 When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed a button will
1548 appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that will mark
1551 If you click the \q{mark} button and your guesses are not correct,
1552 the game will show you as little information as possible to
1553 demonstrate this to you, so you can try again. If your ball
1554 positions are not consistent with the laser paths you already know
1555 about, one laser path will be circled to indicate that it proves you
1556 wrong. If your positions match all the existing laser paths but are
1557 still wrong, one new laser path will be revealed (written in red)
1558 which is not consistent with your current guesses.
1560 If you decide to give up completely, you can select Solve to reveal
1561 the actual ball positions. At this point, correctly-placed balls
1562 will be displayed as filled black circles; incorrectly-placed balls
1563 are displayed as filled black circles with red crosses, and missing
1564 balls are filled red circles. In addition, a red circle marks any
1565 laser you had already fired which is not consistent with your ball
1566 layout (just as when you press the mark button), and red text marks
1567 any laser you \e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball
1568 layout from the right one.
1570 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1572 \H{blackbox-parameters} \I{parameters, for Black Box}Black Box parameters
1574 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1577 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1579 \dd Size of grid in squares. There are 2 \by \e{Width} \by \e{Height} lasers
1580 per grid, two per row and two per column.
1582 \dt \e{No. of balls}
1584 \dd Number of balls to place in the grid. This can be a single number,
1585 or a range (separated with a hyphen, like \q{2-6}), and determines the
1586 number of balls to place on the grid. The \q{reveal} button is only
1587 enabled if you have guessed an appropriate number of balls; a guess
1588 using a different number to the original solution is still acceptable,
1589 if all the laser inputs and outputs match.
1594 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.slant}
1596 You have a grid of squares. Your aim is to draw a diagonal line
1597 through each square, and choose which way each line slants so that
1598 the following conditions are met:
1600 \b The diagonal lines never form a loop.
1602 \b Any point with a circled number has precisely that many lines
1603 meeting at it. (Thus, a 4 is the centre of a cross shape, whereas a
1604 zero is the centre of a diamond shape \dash or rather, a partial
1605 diamond shape, because a zero can never appear in the middle of the
1606 grid because that would immediately cause a loop.)
1608 Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-slant}.
1611 \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/39/index.htm}
1614 \H{slant-controls} \i{Slant controls}
1616 \IM{Slant controls} controls, for Slant
1618 Left-clicking in a blank square will place a \cw{\\} in it (a line
1619 leaning to the left, i.e. running from the top left of the square to
1620 the bottom right). Right-clicking in a blank square will place a
1621 \cw{/} in it (leaning to the right, running from top right to bottom
1624 Continuing to click either button will cycle between the three
1625 possible square contents. Thus, if you left-click repeatedly in a
1626 blank square it will change from blank to \cw{\\} to \cw{/} back to
1627 blank, and if you right-click repeatedly the square will change from
1628 blank to \cw{/} to \cw{\\} back to blank. (Therefore, you can play
1629 the game entirely with one button if you need to.)
1631 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1633 \H{slant-parameters} \I{parameters, for Slant}Slant parameters
1635 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1638 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1640 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1644 \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Hard level,
1645 you are required to do deductions based on knowledge of
1646 \e{relationships} between squares rather than always being able to
1647 deduce the exact contents of one square at a time. (For example, you
1648 might know that two squares slant in the same direction, even if you
1649 don't yet know what that direction is, and this might enable you to
1650 deduce something about still other squares.) Even at Hard level,
1651 guesswork and backtracking should never be necessary.
1654 \C{lightup} \i{Light Up}
1656 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.lightup}
1658 You have a grid of squares. Some are filled in black; some of the
1659 black squares are numbered. Your aim is to \q{light up} all the
1660 empty squares by placing light bulbs in some of them.
1662 Each light bulb illuminates the square it is on, plus all squares in
1663 line with it horizontally or vertically unless a black square is
1666 To win the game, you must satisfy the following conditions:
1668 \b All non-black squares are lit.
1670 \b No light is lit by another light.
1672 \b All numbered black squares have exactly that number of lights adjacent to
1673 them (in the four squares above, below, and to the side).
1675 Non-numbered black squares may have any number of lights adjacent to them.
1677 Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-lightup}.
1679 Light Up was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
1682 \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/32/index-e.htm}
1685 \H{lightup-controls} \i{Light Up controls}
1687 \IM{Light Up controls} controls, for Light Up
1689 Left-clicking in a non-black square will toggle the presence of a light
1690 in that square. Right-clicking in a non-black square toggles a mark there to aid
1691 solving; it can be used to highlight squares that cannot be lit, for example.
1693 You may not place a light in a marked square, nor place a mark in a lit square.
1695 The game will highlight obvious errors in red. Lights lit by other
1696 lights are highlighted in this way, as are numbered squares which
1697 do not (or cannot) have the right number of lights next to them.
1699 Thus, the grid is solved when all non-black squares have yellow
1700 highlights and there are no red lights.
1702 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1704 \H{lightup-parameters} \I{parameters, for Light Up}Light Up parameters
1706 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1709 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1711 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1713 \dt \e{%age of black squares}
1715 \dd Rough percentage of black squares in the grid.
1719 This is a hint rather than an instruction. If the grid generator is
1720 unable to generate a puzzle to this precise specification, it will
1721 increase the proportion of black squares until it can.
1727 \dd Allows you to specify the required symmetry of the black squares
1728 in the grid. (This does not affect the difficulty of the puzzles
1733 \dd \q{Easy} means that the puzzles should be soluble without
1734 backtracking or guessing, \q{Hard} means that some guesses will
1735 probably be necessary.
1740 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.map}
1742 You are given a map consisting of a number of regions. Your task is
1743 to colour each region with one of four colours, in such a way that
1744 no two regions sharing a boundary have the same colour. You are
1745 provided with some regions already coloured, sufficient to make the
1746 remainder of the solution unique.
1748 Only regions which share a length of border are required to be
1749 different colours. Two regions which meet at only one \e{point}
1750 (i.e. are diagonally separated) may be the same colour.
1752 I believe this puzzle is original; I've never seen an implementation
1753 of it anywhere else. The concept of a \i{four-colouring} puzzle was
1754 suggested by Owen Dunn; credit must also go to Nikoli and to Verity
1755 Allan for inspiring the train of thought that led to me realising
1756 Owen's suggestion was a viable puzzle. Thanks also to Gareth Taylor
1757 for many detailed suggestions.
1759 \H{map-controls} \i{Map controls}
1761 \IM{Map controls} controls, for Map
1763 To colour a region, click the left mouse button on an existing
1764 region of the desired colour and drag that colour into the new
1767 (The program will always ensure the starting puzzle has at least one
1768 region of each colour, so that this is always possible!)
1770 If you need to clear a region, you can drag from an empty region, or
1771 from the puzzle boundary if there are no empty regions left.
1773 Dragging a colour using the \e{right} mouse button will stipple the
1774 region in that colour, which you can use as a note to yourself that
1775 you think the region \e{might} be that colour. A region can contain
1776 stipples in multiple colours at once. (This is often useful at the
1777 harder difficulty levels.)
1779 If you press L during play, the game will toggle display of a number
1780 in each region of the map. This is useful if you want to discuss a
1781 particular puzzle instance with a friend \dash having an unambiguous
1782 name for each region is much easier than trying to refer to them all
1783 by names such as \q{the one down and right of the brown one on the
1786 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1788 \H{map-parameters} \I{parameters, for Map}Map parameters
1790 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1793 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1795 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1799 \dd Number of regions in the generated map.
1803 \dd In \q{Easy} mode, there should always be at least one region
1804 whose colour can be determined trivially. In \q{Normal} and \q{Hard}
1805 modes, you will have to use increasingly complex logic to deduce the
1806 colour of some regions. However, it will always be possible without
1807 having to guess or backtrack.
1811 In \q{Unreasonable} mode, the program will feel free to generate
1812 puzzles which are as hard as it can possibly make them: the only
1813 constraint is that they should still have a unique solution. Solving
1814 Unreasonable puzzles may require guessing and backtracking.
1821 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.loopy}
1823 You are given a grid of dots, marked with yellow lines to indicate
1824 which dots you are allowed to connect directly together. Your aim is
1825 to use some subset of those yellow lines to draw a single unbroken
1826 loop from dot to dot within the grid.
1828 Some of the spaces between the lines contain numbers. These numbers
1829 indicate how many of the lines around that space form part of the
1830 loop. The loop you draw must correctly satisfy all of these clues to
1831 be considered a correct solution.
1833 In the default mode, the dots are arranged in a grid of squares;
1834 however, you can also play on triangular or hexagonal grids, or even
1837 Credit for the basic puzzle idea goes to \i{Nikoli}
1840 Loopy was originally contributed to this collection by Mike Pinna,
1841 and subsequently enhanced to handle various types of non-square grid
1845 \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/3/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/3/index-e.htm}
1848 \H{loopy-controls} \i{Loopy controls}
1850 \IM{Loopy controls} controls, for Loopy
1852 Click the left mouse button on a yellow line to turn it black,
1853 indicating that you think it is part of the loop. Click again to
1854 turn the line yellow again (meaning you aren't sure yet).
1856 If you are sure that a particular line segment is \e{not} part of
1857 the loop, you can click the right mouse button to remove it
1858 completely. Again, clicking a second time will turn the line back to
1861 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1863 \H{loopy-parameters} \I{parameters, for Loopy}Loopy parameters
1865 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1868 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1870 \dd Size of grid, measured in number of regions across and down. For
1871 square grids, it's clear how this is counted; for other types of
1872 grid you may have to think a bit to see how the dimensions are
1877 \dd Allows you to choose between a selection of types of tiling.
1878 Some have all the faces the same but may have multiple different
1879 types of vertex (e.g. the \e{Cairo} or \e{Kites} mode); others have
1880 all the vertices the same but may have differnt types of face (e.g.
1881 the \e{Great Hexagonal}). The square, triangular and honeycomb grids
1882 are fully regular, and have all their vertices \e{and} faces the
1883 same; this makes them the least confusing to play.
1887 \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle.
1888 \#{FIXME: what distinguishes Easy, Medium, and Hard? In particular,
1889 when are backtracking/guesswork required, if ever?}
1892 \C{inertia} \i{Inertia}
1894 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.inertia}
1896 You are a small green ball sitting in a grid full of obstacles. Your
1897 aim is to collect all the gems without running into any mines.
1899 You can move the ball in any orthogonal \e{or diagonal} direction.
1900 Once the ball starts moving, it will continue until something stops
1901 it. A wall directly in its path will stop it (but if it is moving
1902 diagonally, it will move through a diagonal gap between two other
1903 walls without stopping). Also, some of the squares are \q{stops};
1904 when the ball moves on to a stop, it will stop moving no matter what
1905 direction it was going in. Gems do \e{not} stop the ball; it picks
1906 them up and keeps on going.
1908 Running into a mine is fatal. Even if you picked up the last gem in
1909 the same move which then hit a mine, the game will count you as dead
1910 rather than victorious.
1912 This game was originally implemented for Windows by Ben Olmstead
1913 \k{bem}, who was kind enough to release his source code on request
1914 so that it could be re-implemented for this collection.
1916 \B{bem} \W{http://xn13.com/}\cw{http://xn13.com/}
1918 \H{inertia-controls} \i{Inertia controls}
1920 \IM{Inertia controls} controls, for Inertia
1921 \IM{Inertia controls} keys, for Inertia
1922 \IM{Inertia controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Inertia
1924 You can move the ball in any of the eight directions using the
1925 numeric keypad. Alternatively, if you click the left mouse button on
1926 the grid, the ball will begin a move in the general direction of
1929 If you use the \q{Solve} function on this game, the program will
1930 compute a path through the grid which collects all the remaining
1931 gems and returns to the current position. A hint arrow will appear
1932 on the ball indicating the direction in which you should move to
1933 begin on this path. If you then move in that direction, the arrow
1934 will update to indicate the next direction on the path. You can also
1935 press Space to automatically move in the direction of the hint
1936 arrow. If you move in a different direction from the one shown by
1937 the arrow, the hint arrows will stop appearing because you have
1938 strayed from the provided path; you can then use \q{Solve} again to
1939 generate a new path if you want to.
1941 All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.
1942 In particular, if you do run into a mine and die, you can use the
1943 Undo function and resume playing from before the fatal move. The
1944 game will keep track of the number of times you have done this.
1946 \H{inertia-parameters} \I{parameters, for Inertia}Inertia parameters
1948 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
1951 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
1953 \dd Size of grid in squares.
1958 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.tents}
1960 You have a grid of squares, some of which contain trees. Your aim is
1961 to place tents in some of the remaining squares, in such a way that
1962 the following conditions are met:
1964 \b There are exactly as many tents as trees.
1966 \b The tents and trees can be matched up in such a way that each
1967 tent is directly adjacent (horizontally or vertically, but not
1968 diagonally) to its own tree. However, a tent may be adjacent to
1969 other trees as well as its own.
1971 \b No two tents are adjacent horizontally, vertically \e{or
1974 \b The number of tents in each row, and in each column, matches the
1975 numbers given round the sides of the grid.
1977 This puzzle can be found in several places on the Internet, and was
1978 brought to my attention by e-mail. I don't know who I should credit
1981 \H{tents-controls} \i{Tents controls}
1983 \IM{Tents controls} controls, for Tents
1985 Left-clicking in a blank square will place a tent in it.
1986 Right-clicking in a blank square will colour it green, indicating
1987 that you are sure it \e{isn't} a tent. Clicking either button in an
1988 occupied square will clear it.
1990 If you \e{drag} with the right button along a row or column, every
1991 blank square in the region you cover will be turned green, and no
1992 other squares will be affected. (This is useful for clearing the
1993 remainder of a row once you have placed all its tents.)
1995 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
1997 \H{tents-parameters} \I{parameters, for Tents}Tents parameters
1999 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2002 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
2004 \dd Size of grid in squares.
2008 \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. More difficult
2009 puzzles require more complex deductions, but at present none of the
2010 available difficulty levels requires guesswork or backtracking.
2013 \C{bridges} \i{Bridges}
2015 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.bridges}
2017 You have a set of islands distributed across the playing area. Each
2018 island contains a number. Your aim is to connect the islands
2019 together with bridges, in such a way that:
2021 \b Bridges run horizontally or vertically.
2023 \b The number of bridges terminating at any island is equal to the
2024 number written in that island.
2026 \b Two bridges may run in parallel between the same two islands, but
2027 no more than two may do so.
2029 \b No bridge crosses another bridge.
2031 \b All the islands are connected together.
2033 There are some configurable alternative modes, which involve
2034 changing the parallel-bridge limit to something other than 2, and
2035 introducing the additional constraint that no sequence of bridges
2036 may form a loop from one island back to the same island. The rules
2037 stated above are the default ones.
2039 Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-bridges}.
2041 Bridges was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
2044 \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/14/index-e.htm}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/puzzles/14/index-e.htm}
2046 \H{bridges-controls} \i{Bridges controls}
2048 \IM{Bridges controls} controls, for Bridges
2050 To place a bridge between two islands, click the mouse down on one
2051 island and drag it towards the other. You do not need to drag all
2052 the way to the other island; you only need to move the mouse far
2053 enough for the intended bridge direction to be unambiguous. (So you
2054 can keep the mouse near the starting island and conveniently throw
2055 bridges out from it in many directions.)
2057 Doing this again when a bridge is already present will add another
2058 parallel bridge. If there are already as many bridges between the
2059 two islands as permitted by the current game rules (i.e. two by
2060 default), the same dragging action will remove all of them.
2062 If you want to remind yourself that two islands definitely \e{do
2063 not} have a bridge between them, you can right-drag between them in
2064 the same way to draw a \q{non-bridge} marker.
2066 If you think you have finished with an island (i.e. you have placed
2067 all its bridges and are confident that they are in the right
2068 places), you can mark the island as finished by left-clicking on it.
2069 This will highlight it and all the bridges connected to it, and you
2070 will be prevented from accidentally modifying any of those bridges
2071 in future. Left-clicking again on a highlighted island will unmark
2072 it and restore your ability to modify it.
2074 Violations of the puzzle rules will be marked in red:
2076 \b An island with too many bridges will be highlighted in red.
2078 \b An island with too few bridges will be highlighted in red if it
2079 is definitely an error (as opposed to merely not being finished
2080 yet): if adding enough bridges would involve having to cross another
2081 bridge or remove a non-bridge marker, or if the island has been
2082 highlighted as complete.
2084 \b A group of islands and bridges may be highlighted in red if it is
2085 a closed subset of the puzzle with no way to connect it to the rest
2086 of the islands. For example, if you directly connect two 1s together
2087 with a bridge and they are not the only two islands on the grid,
2088 they will light up red to indicate that such a group cannot be
2089 contained in any valid solution.
2091 \b If you have selected the (non-default) option to disallow loops
2092 in the solution, a group of bridges which forms a loop will be
2095 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2097 \H{bridges-parameters} \I{parameters, for Bridges}Bridges parameters
2099 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2102 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
2104 \dd Size of grid in squares.
2108 \dd Difficulty level of puzzle.
2112 \dd This is set by default. If cleared, puzzles will be generated in
2113 such a way that they are always soluble without creating a loop, and
2114 solutions which do involve a loop will be disallowed.
2116 \dt \e{Max. bridges per direction}
2118 \dd Maximum number of bridges in any particular direction. The
2119 default is 2, but you can change it to 1, 3 or 4. In general, fewer
2122 \dt \e{%age of island squares}
2124 \dd Gives a rough percentage of islands the generator will try and
2125 lay before finishing the puzzle. Certain layouts will not manage to
2126 lay enough islands; this is an upper bound.
2128 \dt \e{Expansion factor (%age)}
2130 \dd The grid generator works by picking an existing island at random
2131 (after first creating an initial island somewhere). It then decides
2132 on a direction (at random), and then works out how far it could
2133 extend before creating another island. This parameter determines how
2134 likely it is to extend as far as it can, rather than choosing
2137 High expansion factors usually mean easier puzzles with fewer
2138 possible islands; low expansion factors can create lots of
2139 tightly-packed islands.
2142 \C{unequal} \i{Unequal}
2144 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.unequal}
2146 You have a square grid; each square may contain a digit from 1 to
2147 the size of the grid, and some squares have greater-than signs between
2148 them. Your aim is to fully populate the grid with numbers such that:
2150 \b Each row contains only one occurrence of each digit
2152 \b Each column contains only one occurrence of each digit
2154 \b All the greater-than signs are satisfied.
2156 In \q{Trivial} mode (available via the \q{Custom} game type
2157 selector), there are no greater-than signs; the puzzle is to solve
2158 the \i{Latin square} only.
2160 At the time of writing, this puzzle is appearing in the Guardian
2161 weekly under the name \q{\i{Futoshiki}}.
2163 Unequal was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
2165 \H{unequal-controls} \i{Unequal controls}
2167 \IM{Unequal controls} controls, for Unequal
2169 Unequal shares much of its control system with Solo.
2171 To play Unequal, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
2172 type a digit or letter on the keyboard to fill that square. If you
2173 make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and press
2174 Space to clear it again (or use the Undo feature).
2176 If you \e{right}-click in a square and then type a number, that
2177 number will be entered in the square as a \q{pencil mark}. You can
2178 have pencil marks for multiple numbers in the same square.
2180 The game pays no attention to pencil marks, so exactly what you use
2181 them for is up to you: you can use them as reminders that a
2182 particular square needs to be re-examined once you know more about a
2183 particular number, or you can use them as lists of the possible
2184 numbers in a given square, or anything else you feel like.
2186 To erase a single pencil mark, right-click in the square and type
2187 the same number again.
2189 All pencil marks in a square are erased when you left-click and type
2190 a number, or when you left-click and press space. Right-clicking and
2191 pressing space will also erase pencil marks.
2193 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2195 \H{unequal-parameters} \I{parameters, for Unequal}Unequal parameters
2197 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2206 \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. At Trivial
2207 level, there are no greater-than signs; the puzzle is to solve the
2208 Latin square only. At Recursive level (only available via the
2209 \q{Custom} game type selector) backtracking will be required, but
2210 the solution should still be unique. The levels in between require
2211 increasingly complex reasoning to avoid having to backtrack.
2215 \C{galaxies} \i{Galaxies}
2217 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.galaxies}
2219 You have a rectangular grid containing a number of dots. Your aim is
2220 to draw edges along the grid lines which divide the rectangle into
2221 regions in such a way that every region is 180\u00b0{-degree}
2222 rotationally symmetric, and contains exactly one dot which is
2223 located at its centre of symmetry.
2225 This puzzle was invented by \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-galaxies}, under
2226 the name \q{Tentai Show}; its name is commonly translated into
2227 English as \q{Spiral Galaxies}.
2229 Galaxies was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
2231 \B{nikoli-galaxies} \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/astronomical_show/}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/astronomical_show/}
2233 \H{galaxies-controls} \i{Galaxies controls}
2235 \IM{Galaxies controls} controls, for Galaxies
2237 Left-click on any grid line to draw an edge if there isn't one
2238 already, or to remove one if there is. When you create a valid
2239 region (one which is closed, contains exactly one dot, is
2240 180\u00b0{-degree} symmetric about that dot, and contains no
2241 extraneous edges inside it) it will be highlighted automatically; so
2242 your aim is to have the whole grid highlighted in that way.
2244 During solving, you might know that a particular grid square belongs
2245 to a specific dot, but not be sure of where the edges go and which
2246 other squares are connected to the dot. In order to mark this so you
2247 don't forget, you can right-click on the dot and drag, which will
2248 create an arrow marker pointing at the dot. Drop that in a square of
2249 your choice and it will remind you which dot it's associated with.
2250 You can also right-click on existing arrows to pick them up and move
2251 them, or destroy them by dropping them off the edge of the grid.
2252 (Also, if you're not sure which dot an arrow is pointing at, you can
2253 pick it up and move it around to make it clearer. It will swivel
2254 constantly as you drag it, to stay pointed at its parent dot.)
2256 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2258 \H{galaxies-parameters} \I{parameters, for Galaxies}Galaxies parameters
2260 These parameters are available from the \q{Custom...} option on the
2263 \dt \e{Width}, \e{Height}
2265 \dd Size of grid in squares.
2269 \dd Controls the difficulty of the generated puzzle. More difficult
2270 puzzles require more complex deductions, and the \q{Unreasonable}
2271 difficulty level may require backtracking.
2275 \C{filling} \i{Filling}
2277 \cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.filling}
2279 You have a grid of squares, some of which contain digits, and the
2280 rest of which are empty. Your job is to fill in digits in the empty
2281 squares, in such a way that each connected region of squares all
2282 containing the same digit has an area equal to that digit.
2284 (\q{Connected region}, for the purposes of this game, does not count
2285 diagonally separated squares as adjacent.)
2287 For example, it follows that no square can contain a zero, and that
2288 two adjacent squares can not both contain a one. No region has an
2289 area greater than 9 (because then its area would not be a single
2292 Credit for this puzzle goes to \i{Nikoli} \k{nikoli-fillomino}.
2294 Filling was contributed to this collection by Jonas K\u00F6{oe}lker.
2296 \B{nikoli-fillomino}
2297 \W{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/fillomino/}\cw{http://www.nikoli.co.jp/en/puzzles/fillomino/}
2299 \H{filling-controls} \I{controls, for Filling}Filling controls
2301 To play Filling, simply click the mouse in any empty square and then
2302 type a digit on the keyboard to fill that square. By dragging the
2303 mouse, you can select multiple squares to fill with a single keypress.
2304 If you make a mistake, click the mouse in the incorrect square and
2305 press 0, Space, Backspace or Enter to clear it again (or use the Undo
2308 (All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
2310 \H{filling-parameters} \I{parameters, for Filling}Filling parameters
2312 Filling allows you to configure the number of rows and columns of the
2313 grid, through the \q{Type} menu.
2317 \A{licence} \I{MIT licence}\ii{Licence}
2319 This software is \i{copyright} 2004-2008 Simon Tatham.
2321 Portions copyright Richard Boulton, James Harvey, Mike Pinna, Jonas
2322 K\u00F6{oe}lker, Dariusz Olszewski, Michael Schierl and Lambros
2325 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
2326 obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
2327 (the \q{Software}), to deal in the Software without restriction,
2328 including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
2329 publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
2330 and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
2331 subject to the following conditions:
2333 The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
2334 included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
2336 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED \q{AS IS}, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
2337 EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
2338 MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
2339 NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
2340 BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
2341 ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
2342 CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
2345 \IM{command-line}{command line} command line
2347 \IM{default parameters, specifying} default parameters, specifying
2348 \IM{default parameters, specifying} preferences, specifying default
2353 \IM{generating game IDs} generating game IDs
2354 \IM{generating game IDs} game ID, generating
2356 \IM{specific} \q{Specific}, menu option
2357 \IM{custom} \q{Custom}, menu option
2359 \IM{game ID} game ID
2360 \IM{game ID} ID, game
2361 \IM{ID format} ID format
2362 \IM{ID format} format, ID
2363 \IM{ID format} game ID, format
2366 \IM{keys} shortcuts (keyboard)
2368 \IM{initial state} initial state
2369 \IM{initial state} state, initial
2371 \IM{MIT licence} MIT licence
2372 \IM{MIT licence} licence, MIT