Hoyle Puzzle Games Help Welcome to Hoyle Puzzle Games Help. To find out how to play the games, click the items below. Getting Started
Signing In Making a Face in FaceCreator Starting a Game Hoyle Bucks
Playing Games
Anagrams Crosswords Edge Tiles Gravity Tiles Hangman Mahjong Tiles Maze Racer Maze Raider Memory Tiles Panic
Game Options
Customizing the Game Environment Changing Player Settings Playing Games in a Window Setting Game Rules and Options
Managing Games
Saving and Restoring Games Viewing Statistics Quitting a Game
Additional Information
Contact Information References
Placer Racer Rays Slide Tiles Solitaire Arcade Star Collector Crazy Contraptions Time Breaker Word Searches
Signing In When you start Hoyle Puzzle Games, you must first sign in, choosing a name and a picture to represent yourself. You must create at least one player to play the games, and you can create additional players for yourself, your friends, and your family members. One reason for creating multiple players is that some games allow more than one player on the same computer. Another reason is that your high scores and other statistics are tracked based on your player name. The first time you sign in, you are asked to create a new player. After that, you can sign in as an existing player. You can create new players at any time, and you can change your character face at any time. To create a new player: 1 2 3
4
Click the New button. Type a name for the new player, and click OK. To create your own unique face, click the FaceCreator button. Click here to learn more about using FaceCreator: OR Select FaceCreator to show pictures you have already made using FaceCreator, or select Premade to show pictures provided for you. Then, select the face you want to use by moving the horizontal scroll bar. Click OK to create the new player.
To sign in a player created during a previous session: 1 2
Click the player’s name in the list. If necessary, scroll through the list using the vertical scroll bar. To change the face for this player, see step 3, above. Click OK to start playing games as this player.
Notes: You can remove a player from the list of players by selecting the player name and clicking the Delete button. The player (and all of his or her statistics) is removed permanently. You can sign in as a different player after you’ve started Hoyle Puzzle Games. You might do this if someone else wants to play games and you don’t want to exit. From the Main Screen (click Main Screen on the Go To menu if you’re in a game), click Sign In on the File menu to sign in as a different player. Se e Als o Changing Player Settings Making a Face in FaceCreator
Starting a Game You can start a game from the Main Screen or from the Go To menu. To start a game: From the Main Screen, click the game you want to play, or click the name of the game on the Go To menu. From within a game, click the name of the game on the Go To menu. To get to the Main Screen from within a game, click Main Screen on the Go To menu. To switch from one game to another: Click the Go To menu, and then click the name of the game you want to switch to. If you’re in the middle of a game, you are asked if you are sure you want to exit the current game. Note: You can save a game and come back to play it later by using the Save and Restore commands on the File menu. Se e Als o Signing In Customizing the Game Environment Setting Game Rules and Options
Customizing Hoyle Puzzle Games In Puzzle Games, you can change certain environment settings like speed of play, background music, and animations. All of these settings are changed using options on the Options menu. These settings can be changed from anywhere in Hoyle Puzzle Games and affect all the games. To change the game environment: Click Environment on the Options menu and change settings as described below.
Setting
Description
Animations
Sets whether game elements animate.
Background Music
Sets whether you hear background music while you play the games.
Sound Effects
Sets whether you hear sound effects during games, such as sliding tiles.
Show Intro Movie
Plays the introductory movie whenever you start Puzzle Games.
Game Speed
Sets the overall speed of all the games. You might want to slow down the games if they don’t perform well on your computer. Move the Game Speed slider to the left (Slow) or right (Fast) to adjust the speed.
Background Music
Specify which music you want to hear by selecting it in the list. The Background Music box must be checked. Adjust the volume by dragging the volume slider to the right to make it louder, or to the left to make it softer.
Se e Als o Setting Game Rules and Options
Playing Games in a Window You can make Hoyle Puzzle Games run in a window, so you can easily switch to other programs. To play in a window: Click Window on the Options menu. The program fits in a window. To play in full-screen mode: Click Full Screen on the Options menu. The program resizes to fill the screen. Notes: Maximizing the game window will not make the screen bigger; you must go to full screen mode. This may not work on all computers. If you open the online help while in full screen mode, the full screen mode is turned off. You can press ALT+ENTER to quickly switch between viewing the program in full screen or in a window.
Changing Player Settings When you sign in to Hoyle Puzzle Games, you are the “host.” Several games allow two players to play on your computer. Crosswords, Hangman (Head to Head game), Mahjong Tiles, Maze Racer, Maze Raider, Memory Tiles, and Placer Racer all allow one or two players. To play a two-player game, you must select the two player game from the Go To menu. After you’ve started a game, you can change the player you’re playing against or change your face (or that of another player. In some games, you can change other player settings like player pieces. To change player settings: 1 2
Within a game, click the Players menu item on the Options menu. Change player settings as described below. Some settings can only be changed before a game starts. To replace a player, click the Replace button next to that player, then click Real Person. Select the new player to play with. You can only change the second player; you can’t change the host of a game. To change the face of a player, click the Face button next to that player. Other settings for players in a game, such as player piece color, are shown underneath each player.
Notes You can also replace a player by clicking on the player’s picture in the game, clicking Real Person, and then selecting a new player. Se e Als o Customizing the Game Environment
Setting Game Rules and Options You can set game settings for each game, such as rules for the game, how the game is set up, and how the game is played. You can change all the settings for a game before the game begins. Once the game has begun, changing settings may require you to restart the game. To set game rules and options: 1 2 3
While in the game, click the Settings menu item on the Options menu. (In Hangman, for example, you would click Hangman Settings on the Options menu.) Make the changes you want. Click OK to change the settings.
Se e Als o Customizing the Game Environment Changing Player Settings
Saving and Restoring Games You can save a game you are currently playing so you can play it later. The next time you start the game, you can open your saved game using the Restore command. You will then be back in the game at the same point you left it, with the same players and game settings. To save a game: 1 Click Save on the File menu. 2 Type a name for the saved game. This can be a descriptive name such as “Game with Riley.” (You will see a picture of the game when you restore it, to help you identify it.) To restore a game: 1 Click Restore on the File menu, and then select the game you want to restore. You can see a picture of each game and the date and time it was saved by selecting the name of the saved game. 2 Click OK to restore the selected game. It will replace any game you are currently playing (you are asked if you want to replace it.) Important! When you try to restore games, you only see games if you saved them with the player name you are currently signed in with. For example, if you are signed in as Madeline, you won’t see any games that were saved by Emmy. Se e Als o Setting Game Rules and Options Customizing the Game Environment Changing Player Settings
Viewing Statistics You can display statistics, including information on wins, losses, and points as they apply to each game. You must finish at least one game to see statistics for that game. To view statistics: 1 Click Statistics on the File menu. 2 Click the name of the player you want statistics for. 3 Select the name of the game you want statistics for. Notes: To clear statistics for the current player and game, click the Clear button. Statistics are permanently cleared for that game for that player. Se e Als o Setting Game Rules and Options Changing Player Settings
Quitting a Game You can quit a particular game or exit Hoyle Puzzle Games altogether. If you want to resume playing a game later, save the game before quitting. To save the current game before quitting: Click Save on the File menu. To exit a game: Click Main Screen on the Go To menu. You will return to the Main Screen where you can choose a different game to play. Or click a game name on the Go To menu to go directly to that game. To quit the program: Choose Exit on the File menu. Se e Als o Saving and Restoring Games
Contact Information Technical Support Please visit our technical support knowledgebase at http://support.encoreusa.com and have the following information available: Product name
Type of computer, amount of RAM, video card and system information A description of the problem, including any error messages A list of steps that lead to the problem
If you are unable to resolve your issue using the knowledgebase articles, you may contact us through email via our web form support section by clicking on the link to submit an Online Support Request. If you contact us using our web-form, please remember to include the basic hardware details and we would also ask that you attach your “dxdiag” file. To do this please: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Click Start Click Run Type dxdiag and click OK The DirectX diagnosis program should now start up. (This may take a few minutes) Click below on “save all information” and a file by the name of dxdiag.txt will be created.
You should save this to your desktop. While using our web form, you will be prompted to attach the file to your request. This will allow us to provide the best possible support regarding your system. Unfortunately, we do not provide game play or “how-to” support on the products we distribute. Our tech support is limited to ensure that your software runs on your computer as designed. Many of our products have built in readme files or help files that accompany them. There is often helpful information and tips in these files. Beyond that, the Internet is a great resource for information.
Customer Service Our customer service representatives can be reached at (310) 719-2894 Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm PST. Customer service has the ability to handle refunds, exchanges, and replacements. You may also use our web form and send your request via the Internet by visiting http://support.encoreusa.com, typing the product name in the search field, and clicking to submit an Online Customer Service Request. Please be advised that the phone support is not a toll free call and we do not provide product functionality or technical support.
Limited Warranty Excluding the internet website link(s), Encore Software, Inc. (“Encore”) warrants, for your benefit alone, for a period of 90 days from the date of commencement of this License Agreement (referred to as "Warranty Period") that the Software CD-ROM in which the Software is contained is free from defects in material and workmanship. If during the Warranty Period, a defect in the Software appears, you may return the physical CD-ROM containing the Software to Encore or notify the Electronic Software Delivery ("ESD") provider from which you purchased the electronic download of the Software of such defect for either replacement, or, if so elected by Encore or the ESD Provider, as applicable, refund of amounts paid by you under this License Agreement or the license agreement accepted by you in connection with the ESD (“ ESD Agreement”), respectively. You agree that the foregoing constitutes your sole and exclusive remedy for breach by Encore of any warranties made under this Agreement. EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH ABOVE, THE SOFTWARE, AND THE SOFTWARE CONTAINED THEREIN, ARE LICENSED "AS IS," AND ENCORE DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. This product may contain hyperlinks to web sites on the World Wide Web (the "Linked Sites"). You acknowledge and agree that (i) the Linked Sites are not under the control of Encore; (ii) Encore is not responsible or liable for the content, advertising, expiration, availability, changes or updates related to any Linked Sites or hyperlink contained in
a Linked Site, or any goods or services made available on such Linked Sites; and (iii) Encore is not responsible for webcasting, software, download or any other form of transmission or media received from any Linked Site. Linked Sites are provided to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any Linked Sites does not imply endorsement by Encore of any such Linked Sites. You acknowledge and agree that Encore shall not be responsible or liable, either directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance upon any content, goods or services available on or through any such Linked Site. YOU ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL USE OF OR ACCESS TO LINKED SITES, AND ACCESS THE SAME AT YOUR OWN RISK. ENCORE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR LINKED SITES. LINKED SITES ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY ENCORE, ITS AFFILIATES OR ITS CONTRACTORS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.
Remedies
Your exclusive remedy shall be, at Encore’s sole option, (i) the refund of the amount you paid for the Software; or (ii) repair or replacement of the Software, provided that, if a physical CD-ROM containing the Software was purchased, such defective CD-ROM is returned to Encore (at Encore Software, Inc., Attn: Customer Service, 999 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Suite 700, El Segundo, CA 90245.), and regardless of the format of the originally purchased Software, proof of the date of purchase is submitted to Encore (for physical CD-ROMs) or the ESD provider (for electronic downloads) within ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. This Limited Warranty is void if failure of the Software has resulted from accident, abuse, neglect or misapplication. Any replacement Software will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. Except as set forth above, the Software is sold "as-is", without any express or implied warranties of any kind.
References Books The Book of Games, Richard Sharp and John Piggott, 1977 Botticelli and Beyond: Over 100 of the World’s Best Word Games, David Parlett, 1981 The Encyclopedia of Games, Brian Burns, 1998 Encyclopedia of Puzzles and Pastimes, Clark Kinnaird, 1946 Games of the World, Frederic Grunfeld (editor) (1975) The New Games Treasury, Merilyn Simonds Mohr (1993) The Oxford Guide to Word Games, Tony Augarde, 1984 The Past of Pastimes, Vernon Bartlett (1969) Polyominoes: Puzzles, Patterns, Prob lems, and Packings, Solomon W. Golomb (1996) The World’s Best Indoor Games, Gyles Brandreth, 1981
Internet Resources Internet Anagram Server: www.wordsmith.org/anagram/ The About.com Crosswords/Puzzles page: crosswords.about.com Newsgroups: rec.puzzles, rec.puzzles.crosswords, and alt.anagrams (access via groups.google.com) The World Puzzle Championship: www.puzzles-usa.org The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: www.crosswordtournament.com Adrian Fisher’s Maze Website: www.mazemaker.com/research_info.htm The Official Rube Goldberg Page: www.rubegoldberg.com
How to Play Anagrams Six letters are shown at the top of the screen. Make words using those letters until your time runs out. Blanks on the screen show you the length of the words to find; only these words give you points.
If you find enough words to reach the goal, the monkey gets the bananas! To play Anagrams: 1 2 3
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Type a word that uses some or all of the letters at the top of the screen, and press Enter. If the word is found in the puzzle, the word is shown in the appropriate area. Keep entering words until your time runs out. The goal, shown at the top of the screen, shows how many points you need. The number of points in the goal varies depending on the number of words in the puzzle and your Anagrams difficulty level (set in the Anagrams Game Settings). The difficulty level controls how many words you need to get to finish the puzzle.
You get points for words as follows: three-letter words give you 2 points, four-letter words give you 3 points, five-letter words give you 4 points, and six-letter words give you 5 points. As your score gets closer to the goal, the monkey drops coconuts on the natives. If you find enough words to reach the goal, the monkey knocks out all the natives and gets the bananas! If you have time left on the timer, you can continue to play and try to find all the words to get an even higher score. If you don't get enough words in time, the monkey falls out of the tree.
Notes and Tips: Press Backspace while typing to remove the previous letter you typed. Longer words are worth more points towards the goal. There is always at least one six-letter word in the puzzle. If there's an S available, don't forget to make plurals of all the words you find. For other tips on solving Anagrams, click here: You can change how many words are needed to reach the goal by changing the difficulty level in the game settings. In addition, you can set the game to let you continue to solve the puzzle even after the time runs out.
Actions Solve
Solves the current game, revealing all the hidden words. Click the Solve button on the screen, or click Solve on the Actions menu.
Pause/Resume Timer
Click Pause on the screen (or click Pause Timer on the Actions menu) to pause the timer and hides the game. This is useful if you need to stop playing the game to do something else. Click Resume on the screen (or click Resume Timer on the Actions menu) to start the timer again and reveal the game.
Game Options To change game options for Anagrams, click Anagrams Settings on the Options menu. You can set the puzzle difficulty, whether to solve puzzles automatically when the timer runs out, whether to allow obscure words in your puzzles, and whether or not the skulls on the screen talk during the game. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Anagrams Strategy Anagrams Background
Anagrams Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Anagrams game: If you have an S, be sure to use plurals! Many words are listed in both singular and plural forms. Look for the six-letter word first; it's worth the most points. If you find it, try to make shorter words from it. From HEDGED, you could make HEDGE, EDGE, and EDGED. If you can't find the six-letter word, focus on finding three-letter words; you often can make longer words from them. Look out for words that start with vowels, such as OLD, AID, and EVE. These words can easily be missed. You can often extend short words if you have E or ED. ROB could make ROBE and ROBED, FIR could make FIRE and FIRED, and CAR could make CARE and CARED. Try extending short words with other available letters. BAR could make BARN, BARK, BARD, and BARS. See if you can insert letters into words you have found: TIE could make TIDE, TILE or TIME; BRIDE could make BRIDGE or BRIDLE. If you have two of any letter, check for words that use double letters, such as ALL, TOO, and KISS. These words are easy to overlook. Watch for pronouns and other non-obvious words such as SHE, HIS, and THE. Se e Als o How to Play Anagrams
Anagrams Background An anagram is a word or phrase that can be rearranged into another word or phrase. For example, SUPER is an anagram of PURSE, and GABLE is an anagram of BAGEL. And HORRIBLE is an anagram of BROIL HER. An anagram of a word or phrase must include each letter of the original word or phrase exactly once. Some of the fun and challenge of anagramming is to make a meaningful anagram that somehow relates to the original source. A couple of examples: STATUE OF LIBERTY becomes BUILT TO STAY FREE, ELVIS becomes LIVES. The pastime of anagramming is ancient. The name anagrams comes from the Greek ana, meaning backward and gramma, meaning writing. It is likely that anagrams originated in Greece in the 3rd or 4th century B.C. Lycophron, a Greek poet, is often attributed with popularizing anagrams. The philosopher Plato believed that anagrams of peoples' names had significance, and it is rumored Pythagorus, the great mathematician, experimented with anagrams. In the 17th century, anagrams were so popular that Louis XIII of France appointed a Royal Anagrammatist to make anagrams of the names of visitors to court. Anagramming is popular today, especially as social and political commentary. Some popular topics for anagrams are names of famous people, books, movies, and political issues. Although many anagram creators use pencil and paper to make anagrams, the technological age has brought its changes: anagram software packages can generate lists of anagrams for any word or phrase. There are even web pages devoted to anagramming; see the References section at the end of this manual.
Some Classic and Contemporary Anagrams Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, came up with the following anagrams: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE=FLIT ON, CHEERING ANGEL DISRAELI=I LEAD SIR Some other popular (unattributed) anagrams include: ASTRONOMERS=MOON STARERS CONVERSATION=VOICES RANT ON A DECIMAL POINT=I'M A DOT IN PLACE SOFTWARE=SWEAR OFT THE EYES=THEY SEE And a favorite of anagram fans everywhere: ELEVEN PLUS TWO=TWELVE PLUS ONE
Anagrams Trivia A pangram is a sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet, preferably exactly once. One famous pangram that uses each letter once is "Mr. Jock, TV quiz PhD, bags few lynx."
How to Play Crosswords You can play one of 1200 different puzzles in Crosswords. Crossword puzzles in Hoyle Puzzle Games are copyright © 2002 Penny Press, Inc. and Dell Magazines. You can play by yourself, or play against another person on your computer.
Selecting a Puzzle A random puzzle is selected for you when you start Crosswords. You can choose another random puzzle, or choose from a list of puzzles. To select a puzzle: To select a particular puzzle, click the Choose Puzzle button on the screen. Select the difficulty level, size, and set of the puzzle you wish to play. Then choose a puzzle from the list on the right and click OK. To select a new random puzzle, click the New button on the screen.
Playing Crosswords Try to solve all the clues in the puzzle. Answers fit across and down in the puzzle grid. You can move around in the grid using the mouse, arrow keys, and tab keys. To solve a clue: 1
Click the clue in the Across or Down clue list, or click the first square for the clue you want to solve. The clue word is selected in either the Across or Down direction. To change from Across to Down, or from Down to Across, press the spacebar on your keyboard, or right-click (Ctrl+click on the Macintosh) the first square for the clue word.
2 Begin typing the answer to the clue. You can press the tab key to move to the next Across or Down clue in the puzzle, or click another clue in the clue list or in the puzzle. Example: To solve the clue for 13 Across, you could either click the clue (Type of hoop) in the clue list on the right, or you could click the box containing the 13.
If the last clue selected on the grid was a Down clue, then 4 Down would be selected, not 13 Across. You would need to press the spacebar on your keyboard to change directions, or right-click (Ctrl+Click on the Macintosh) the box containing the 13.
Playing Two-Player Crosswords You can play Crosswords competitively with another friend or family member on the same computer. To play the two-player game: 1 2 3
You and the other player will take turns solving clues. You each have a certain amount of time for your turn. On your turn, type letters in the puzzle just as you would in the single player game. When your time runs out, the puzzle is hidden, and you get one point for every correct letter you found. Incorrect letters are also removed from the puzzle. The turn is then passed to the other player. The game ends when the puzzle is completed or when neither player finds any correct letters in his or her turn. The player who finds the most correct letters wins.
Notes and Tips: To specify which type of puzzles are selected when you choose a random puzzle, change the difficulty level in the game settings. Puzzles you complete are shown in the Choose Puzzle dialog in gray. To clear the completed puzzles, click the Clear button. To select a word in the same direction as the current word, left-click it. Right-clicking a square always selects the word in a different direction than the current word. Using the spacebar to switch directions takes you to the first empty square in the newly selected word. You can only change game settings during a head to head game after a game has started (while the clock is running). You can use the Print feature to print a puzzle; the puzzle is printed in its current state, so any words you have already solved are printed on the puzzle. To print a puzzles' solutions, solve the puzzle (by clicking the Solve Puzzle button) and then print it. You can save puzzles for later by clicking Save on the File menu; to restore a saved puzzle, click Restore on the File menu. For strategy tips on Crosswords, click here:
Actions New
Selects a new random puzzle. Click the New Puzzle button on the screen or click New on the Actions menu.
Choose Puzzle
Lets you choose a specific puzzle to play. Click the Choose Puzzle button on the screen or click Choose Puzzle on the File menu.
Print
Prints the current puzzle to your printer, so you can take it with you. The puzzle is printed in its current state, so any clues you have already solved are printed on the puzzle. Click Print on the File menu.
Solve Letter
Reveals the correct letter for the highlighted square. Click the Solve Letter button on the screen or click Solve Letter on the Actions menu.
Solve Word
Reveals all the correct letters for the highlighted word. Click the Solve Word button on the screen or click Solve Word on the Actions menu.
Solve Puzzle
Reveals all the words in the puzzle. You are asked to confirm that you really want to solve the puzzle. Click the Solve Puzzle button on the screen or click Solve Puzzle on the Actions menu.
Clear Word
Clears the currently selected word. (This might be useful if you think the word you typed is incorrect and you want to try to solve it again.) Click the Clear Word button on the screen or click Clear Word on the Actions menu.
Clear Puzzle
Clears the entire puzzle. You are asked to confirm that you really want to clear the puzzle. Click the Clear Puzzle button on the screen or click Clear Puzzle on the Actions menu.
Pause/Resume Timer
Pause Timer pauses the timer and hides the puzzle. This is useful if you are tracking your time and want to stop working on the puzzle to do something else. Click the Pause button on the screen or click Pause Timer on the Actions menu. Resume Timer starts the timer again and reveals the puzzle. Click the Resume button on the screen or click Resume Timer on the Actions menu.
Shortcut keys Letters A-Z
Used to type letters in the puzzle.
Arrow keys
Moves from square to square in the puzzle. If you are at the end of a word, you are moved to the next word in the puzzle.
Tab
Moves to the next word in the puzzle.
Shift+Tab
Moves to the previous word in the puzzle.
Backspace
Erases the current letter and moves back one square in the puzzle.
Delete
Erases the current letter.
Spacebar
Switches the direction (from across to down or down to across) and moves to the first available square.
Game Options
To change game options for Crosswords, click Crosswords Settings on the Options menu. You can set whether to show incorrect letters you type, whether to allow typing over correct letters, whether to show help you've gotten in the puzzle, and whether to mark clues in the list when you've filled them out in the puzzle. You can also set whether to use a timer, what background to use, and which difficulty to use for new puzzles. In a two-player game, you can set how much time each player has on his or her turn. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Crossw ords Strategy Crossw ords Background
Crosswords Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Crosswords skill: Clues including blank words (such as chicken _____ mein) are usually easiest to find. Try solving those clues first, especially if you are playing a timed game or a game against another person. Short words are sometimes harder to find, as they are "fit into" a crossword puzzle to make other longer clues work. First try words of medium length. Since you are not playing on paper, feel free to experiment. Try putting down a word you are not sure is correct to see if words in the other direction work. Erasing is easy! Remember that all squares have both an Across and Down clue. Try looking at the complementing clue for help. If you don't know an entire clue, but think you know the ending for the clue (such as S, ED, or ING), try filling out the ending. This will often help you find the word that goes in the other direction. Turn on the Show Correct Letters setting in the game settings to see your mistakes right away. Se e Als o How to Play Crossw ords
Crosswords Background The world's first crossword is recognized generally to be the one appearing in the 1913 Christmas issue of the New York World newspaper. Arthur Wynne was the paper's puzzle designer. For this particular issue he designed a puzzle with a diamond-shaped grid and a list of clues to fit in the grid. He named this puzzle Word-Cross, which was changed later to Cross-word and then Crossword. The puzzle became quite popular, and soon readers began submitting their own crosswords. An enduring hobby was born! In 1924, Dick Simon and Lincoln Schuster set up a publishing house, and the first book they published was a book of New York World puzzles. This book became wildly popular and they put out a series of crossword puzzle books that popularized crosswords across the nation. By the 1930s, crossword puzzles could be found in most American newspapers and, soon after that, became popular worldwide.
Types of Crossword Puzzles Although there are many different types of crossword puzzles, there are two main variations: Traditional Crosswords. These are the most popular crosswords, worldwide. In these crosswords, the clues are generally straightforward and direct. A sample clue in a traditional crossword: Ready to eat. [Answer: RIPE] Cryptic Crosswords. These are puzzles in which the clue itself is cryptic and contains a mini-puzzle that needs to be solved. Two (of many) types of cryptic clues are Anagrams (where part of the clue is scrambled), and Homophones (where one word in the clue sounds like the solution). A sample cryptic clue: If I rememb er correctly, it's in the cellar. [Answer: RECALL, made b y anagramming the word CELLAR.]
Crossword Terms Crossword creators have their own vocabulary for what they do. Black Square Count: The number of black squares in a puzzle. An item of pride in the crossword community, a low black square count is desirable. British Style: Another name for a cryptic crossword. Cheater: A black square used to "pad out" a puzzle. Though some black squares are necessary, cheaters refer to squares thought to be added out of desperation. Commuter: A crossword so sufficiently small and easy it could be finished during someone's commute. Constructor: Someone who creates crosswords. Also called a compiler or setter. Crosswordese: Clues rarely seen outside crossword puzzles. Relying on crosswordese in puzzle construction is discouraged by purists. Typical crosswordese: Before, in olden times [Answer: ERE] Linked: A clue connected to another clue that you must solve in order to solve the linked clue. An example: 12. Mom of 15 Down. New Wave: A movement in crossword creation to use pop culture terms in clues and avoid obscure terms and crosswordese. Obscure: A clue that usually requires the solver to haul out an atlas or encyclopedia. An example of an obscure clue: An Asian Pheasant [Answer: TRAGOPAN] Partial: A clue that includes missing words. Examples of partials: chicken __ mein and "If I Were a __ Man." [Answers: CHOW and RICH] Themed: A puzzle which contains several clues that relate to the same theme. The puzzle theme often is described in the title. Unch: An "unchecked" letter. This is a letter in a puzzle which is included in an answer in only one direction, and can't be verified by checking the answer in another direction. Generally, unches are frowned upon in puzzle construction.
Crossword Trivia Diagramless Crosswords, which can be found in many puzzle books, are crossword puzzles without numbers or black squares. Usually, you are given the location of the first clue. Then, you have to solve the puzzle and figure out where the clues need to go!
How to Play Gravity Tiles In Gravity Tiles, you try to remove as many tiles as you can from the board by removing groups of two or more matching tiles (you can set the game settings to require groups of three or four). Removing large groups gives you more points. The Moveable Tiles option allows you to slide a tile on the top of any column either left or right by clicking and dragging the tile. You cannot drag tiles through another tile, and if it is dragged over an edge, it drops. When a tile stops or drops, if it touches other tiles such that it makes a match, the tiles in the matching group are removed. If the tile is stopped or dropped and does not make a match, it is returned to its original position. You can also turn on the Royale Tiles variation in the game settings. In Royale Tiles, one type of tile in each set is worth more than the others (the Holy Orb in the Medieval set, and the Eagle tile in Southwest). Because of their increased value, the goal of this variation is to remove as large a group of Royale tiles as possible. If you can remove fifteen or more Royale tiles at once, your points will skyrocket! To play Gravity Tiles: 1 Click on a group of tiles of the same color. The group of tiles is removed, and any tiles above those tiles fall down. If you remove an entire column of tiles, any columns on the right are moved to the left. If you're playing with the Moveable Tiles option (see above), you can move certain tiles by dragging them left or right. 2 Keep removing groups of tiles. See if you can remove them all! Points are awarded for clearing tiles from the board, for removing entire columns of tiles, for removing large groups of tiles, and for removing all tiles of one color. 3 The game ends when no more groups of tiles can be removed, or when you've removed all the tiles. Note that if you're playing with the Moveable Tiles option, even if you have no more groups of tiles available, the game will not end if you have a drag move available that could continue the game. At the end of a game, click Play New Game for a new game, or click Replay Same Game to play the same game again (you might do this to try to get a better score).
Actions Undo
Undoes your most recent action. Any tiles that were removed are returned to the board, and any fallen tiles returned to their original positions. You can only undo the action you most recently performed. To undo an action, press Ctrl+Z, or click Undo on the Actions menu.
Tips: It is often safe to remove groups of tiles at the top of the board first, as these will have minimal effect on other tiles and it is easier to tell what is going to happen when they are removed. A good strategy is to clear tiles on the left side of the board first, since columns that are removed collapse the board from right to left. When using the Moveable Tiles option, there may be more than one place you can move a particular tile; make sure you are moving it to the most strategic place before moving it or letting go of the mouse. Note that if columns have been removed from the right edge of the board, you can drag tiles to the rightmost empty column (it must make a match as a result of the drop).
Game Options To change game options for Gravity Tiles, click Gravity Tiles Settings on the Options menu. You can set the number of tile colors used in the game, whether tiles can be moved, and the minimum number of tiles you can remove. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Gravity Tiles Strategy Gravity Tiles Background
Gravity Tiles Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Gravity Tiles game: It is often safe to remove groups of tiles at the top of the board first, as these will have minimal effect on other tiles and it is easier to tell what is going to happen when they are removed. A good strategy is to clear tiles on the left side of the board first, since columns that are removed collapse the board from right to left. When using the Moveable Tiles option, there may be more than one place you can move a particular tile; make sure you are moving it to the most strategic place before moving it or letting go of the mouse. Note that if columns have been removed from the right edge of the board, you can drag tiles to the rightmost empty column (it must make a match as a result of the drop). When playing the Royale tiles variation, find columns that do not have a Royale tile, and eliminate them. A column without a Royale tile will create a gap in your chain, lowering the potential number of Royale tiles you could remove in one click. Se e Als o How to Play Gravity Tiles
Gravity Tiles Background Gravity Tiles is one of five puzzle games in Hoyle Puzzle Games that you play with mahjong tiles; the other four are Edge Tiles, Mahjong Tiles, Memory Tiles, and Slide Tiles. For background on the classic game of Mahjong, see Mahjong Tiles Background. Gravity Tiles is a fun and addictive solitaire puzzle game. In Gravity Tiles, you select groups of similar tiles to remove them from the board, and tiles above those tiles fall down, rearranging the playfield. Your objective is twofold: to clear the board as much as possible, and to clear large groups of tiles to make more points. (Sometimes you might want to choose just one goal, as these objectives can be mutually exclusive!) There are countless ways to play a single puzzle, as each decision you make changes the game entirely.
How to Play Hangman You can play Hangman on the computer just as you would play it on paper. A mystery word or phrase is shown as blanks on the screen. Commas, apostrophes, and other punctuation are shown if they are used in the puzzle.
You try to solve the puzzle by guessing one letter at a time. If you don't solve the puzzle before you run out of misses, you are hung. There are three different versions of Hangman. In all three versions, the basic game is played similarly, but the game rules and how you win differ. Click the options below to find out how to play the different variations of Hangman: Classic Hangman – the basic game Hangman Challenge – a harder game, based on categories Head to Head Hangman – a two player game; requires two people at your computer In addition to the different versions of the game, you can choose a different hangman environment to play in. The environment affects how the mystery word or phrase and other elements on your screen (such as the number of misses) appear. You can change your hangman environment in the game settings. Se e Als o Hangman Strategy Hangman Background
Classic Hangman In this game, the computer supplies a word or phrase, and you try to find out what it is before the hangman is hanged. You can select the puzzle type and difficulty in the game settings. You can specify which type of puzzles you want: puzzles based on categories, words, or proverbs. Choosing Categories gives you puzzles on a certain subject, such as SPIDERS. The category name is shown above the puzzle. Choosing Words gives you random words. Choosing Proverbs gives you proverbs, such as "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." To play Classic Hangman: 1 Guess a letter by clicking one of the letters on the screen or typing it on your keyboard. 2 If the letter is in the puzzle, it is revealed in all the places it is found in the puzzle. If the letter is not in the puzzle, you get a piece of a hangman or an animation plays (depending on your hangman environment). 3
If you solve the puzzle, you win. If you miss too many letters, you are hung, and the game ends.
Actions Letters A-Z
Can be used to type letters in the game (instead of selecting them with the mouse).
New
Starts a new game of Hangman. Press Enter, click the New Game button on the screen or click New on the File menu.
Solve
Solves the current hidden word. Use this if you are stumped.
Options To change game options for Classic Hangman, click Hangman Settings on the Options menu. You can set the type of puzzle you play, the number of misses you have, whether letters are crossed off as they are guessed, and the game environment you play in. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Hangman Hangman Strategy
Hangman Challenge This game is played like Classic Hangman, only you always guess puzzles from a specific category, such as SPIDERS, and you have to solve as many puzzles as you can with only one Hangman! (In other words, you have no more misses.) Your hangman has 13 misses before it is hung. A random category is chosen for you, and only words from that category are shown. The category is shown above the puzzle. To play Hangman Challenge: 1 Guess a letter by clicking one of the letters on the screen or typing it on your keyboard. 2 If the letter is in the puzzle, it is revealed in all the places it is found in the puzzle. If the letter is not in the puzzle, you get a piece of a hangman or an animation plays (depending on your hangman environment). 3
If you solve the puzzle, you get one point, and you get a new puzzle from the same category. If you miss 13 times, you are hung, and the game ends.
Actions Letters A-Z
Can be used to type letters in the game (instead of selecting them with the mouse).
New
Starts a new game of Hangman. Press Enter, click the New Game button on the screen or click New on the File menu.
Options To change game options for Hangman Challenge, click Hangman Settings on the Options menu. You can set whether letters are crossed off as they are guessed and the game environment you play in. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Hangman Hangman Strategy
Head to Head Hangman In this game, you and another player at your computer take turns entering words for each other to solve. You get points for stumping the other player or for guessing another player's puzzle. Whoever gets the most points (after playing a certain number of puzzles) wins. To play Head to Head Hangman: 1 One player is asked to type a word or phrase for the other player to guess. That player makes a puzzle, and clicks OK. The puzzle appears on the screen. 2 The guessing player guesses a letter in the puzzle by clicking one of the letters on the screen or typing it on the keyboard. 3 If the letter is in the puzzle, it is revealed in all the places it is found in the puzzle. If the letter is not in the puzzle, a piece is added to the hangman or an animation plays (depending on your hangman environment). 4
5 6
The player continues to guess until the puzzle is solved or the player is hung. If the puzzle is solved, the guessing player gets 1 point. If the puzzle is not solved, the other player gets 1 point. The player who just played now makes a puzzle for the other player. The game continues until all the puzzles are played. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Actions Letters A-Z
Can be used to type letters in the game (instead of selecting them with the mouse).
New
Starts a new game of Hangman. Press Enter, click the New Game button on the screen or click New on the File menu.
Options To change game options for Head to Head Hangman, click Hangman Settings on the Options menu. You can set the number of games you play before the game ends, the number of misses you have, and whether letters are crossed off as they are guessed, and the game environment you play in. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Hangman Hangman Strategy
Hangman Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your play in Hangman. The most frequent letters in English language sentences, in order, are E, T, A, O, N, I, R, and S. The least frequent letters are B, G, V, K, X, J, Q, and Z. Always try more frequent letters first. Always try to identify the vowels in a puzzle first; they go a long way towards guessing the puzzle, and they are in almost all words! When guessing a proverb, look for the words THE and AND. Some common two letter words are OF, ON, TO, IN, IT, IS, BE, and NO. Some words common to proverbs: IF, ALL, IS, ARE, NOT, YOU, AND, BUT, and ONE. Se e Als o How to Play Hangman
Hangman Background Hangman, originally called Gallows and Hanging the Man, has been around since at least Victorian times. Although it is a very simple game, Hangman is quite popular, probably because it can be played anywhere with just pencil and paper, it doesn't take very long to play, and its rules are easy to understand. In Hangman, one player thinks up a mystery word or phrase (most commonly a word) and writes down blanks for each letter in it (indicating any spaces or punctuation). Sometimes the puzzle maker will tell the guesser the subject of the puzzle, such as "a famous person" or "a verb." The other player tries to guess the word by guessing one letter at a time. These letters are written down, so the guesser can keep track of which letters have already been guessed. If a guessed letter is in the puzzle, the puzzle maker fills in the blanks with that letter in every place it is found. If a letter is not found, a piece is added to the hangman. If the last piece is added to the hangman before the word or phrase is guessed, the game ends. If the word is guessed, the hangman is saved! What often varies about the game of Hangman is how the hangman is drawn and, consequently, the number of misses the guesser gets before he or she loses. Variations (and pictures) abound. Many players include the gallows (allowing eleven misses):
Others only include the hangman (allowing six misses):
Other players may include hands and feet, or eyes, nose, and mouth! Because there are no strict rules for hangman, the exact hanging method is often negotiated before play: "Do you use hands and feet?"
How to Play Mahjong Tiles Mahjong Tiles can be played with one or two players. In Mahjong Tiles, you try to find and remove matching tiles. You can only match tiles that are "free" and can be removed without moving other tiles. You can play with one or two players. To play Mahjong Tiles: 1 Select a layout (pattern) to play. Tiles are arranged randomly into that layout. 2 Try to find pairs of matching tiles. Click a tile, then click another tile to try to find a match. If you find a match, the tiles are removed from the layout. For more on how tiles are matched, see Matching Tiles in Mahjong Tiles. Only tiles with no other tiles on top of them, and at least one side exposed (left or right side not touching another tile) are considered free and can be removed. Both tiles must be free. Click here to see an example: If you're not sure whether or not a tile is free, try clicking it. Only free tiles can be selected. Keep matching pairs until there are no more pairs in the layout, trying to end with the fewest tiles remaining. The game ends if there are no more matches, and you can then stop and begin a new game, or reshuffle the remaining tiles and continue to try to solve the puzzle. At the end of a game, click Shuffle Tiles for a new game with the same layout, click Don't Shuffle Tiles to play the same game again (you might do this to try to get a better score), or click New Layout to play a game with a different layout. If you didn't win the game, you also get a chance to undo your last move or to shuffle the remaining tiles. Both of these options give you another possible chance of winning the game. 3
To play two-player Mahjong Tiles: 1 On the Main Screen, or in the Go To menu, click Mahjong Tiles, then click Two Players. If you don't have two players signed in, the Players dialog appears. Select a second player to play with. 2 Select a layout (pattern) to play. Tiles are arranged randomly into that layout. 3 Click OK when you're ready to start the game. The clock starts for the first player, counting down the timer (normally 30 seconds). 4 On your turn, click a tile, then click another tile to try to find a match. For more on how tiles are matched, see Matching Tiles in Mahjong Tiles. If you find a match, the tiles are removed from the layout and the turn passes to the other player. If you run out of time, the turn is passed to the other player. 5 The game continues until both players fail to find a match on their turn. The player with the most matches wins. If players have the same number of matches, the player who spent the least time finding the matches wins.
Actions Find Match
Automatically picks out two matching tiles for you when you get stumped. You cannot use Find Match in a two-player game. To find a match, press M or click Find Match on the Actions menu.
Remove Pair
After finding a matching pair of tiles using Find Match, use this to remove that pair from the table. You can automatically remove the two matching tiles by pressing Enter or clicking Remove Pair on the Actions menu.
Undo
Returns the two matching tiles that were most recently removed back to their original positions on the table. You can undo as many times as you like. You cannot use Undo in a timed game. To undo a match removal, press Ctrl+Z or click Undo on the Actions menu.
Game Options To change game options for Mahjong Tiles, click Mahjong Tiles Settings on the Options menu. You can set the tile set to use, whether to play with all tiles face down, and whether or not to use the timer. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Matching Tiles in Mahjong Tiles Creating Layouts for Mahjong Tiles Mahjong Tiles Strategy Mahjong Tiles Background
Both of these tiles are free and can be selected
This tile cannot be selected
Matching Tiles in Mahjong Tiles There are seven categories, or suits, of tiles. Mahjong Tiles uses two different tile sets: Chinese and Egyptian. You can change the tile set you play with in the Mahjong Tiles settings (click Mahjong Tiles Settings on the Options menu). To see pictures of the different tile sets, click here: In five of the seven suits, you can only match tiles that are exactly identical by number and picture. You can't match tiles that have the same number only. Two tiles with 9 of Circles match, but a 9 of Circles and a 9 of Bamboo don't match. In two special suits, Seasons and Flowers, you can match any tiles in that suit. In Seasons, you can match any of the seasons together (Spring and Winter or Summer and Fall, for example). In Flowers, you can match any of the flowers together. Seasons and Flowers look different in the Chinese and Egyptian tile sets:
Se as ons (Chine s e )
Flow e rs (Chine s e )
Se as ons (Egyptian)
Flow e rs (Egyptian)
Note that the tiles you get in a game will depend on the number of tiles in the layout, so not all layouts will include Seasons and Flowers. Notes and tips: For an easier game, look for a layout with a lot of free tiles. For a harder game, look for a layout with large blocks or rows of tiles. Sometimes a tile will have more than one free match. In this case, try to remove tiles that free up other tiles in preference to stand-alone tiles. You can create your own layouts to play with. Click here for information: Se e Als o How to Play Mahjong Tiles
Chinese Tile Set
Egyptian Tile Set
Creating Layouts for Mahjong Tiles You can use the Layout Maker tool to make your own custom layouts for Mahjong Tiles. You can start from scratch, or load in an existing layout (either one you created or one that was provided with the game) to start a new layout based on that layout. To create a new layout with the Layout Maker: 1 Click Mahjong Tiles on the Go To menu, then click Layout Maker. To start with an existing layout, click Load Layout on the File menu. Select the name of an existing layout, and click OK. 2 To add a new tile, click the screen in the spot where you want to add it. To move a tile, click it and drag it to its desired location. To remove a tile, right-click it. To move a new tile on top of another tile, first click an empty space on the layout to add the new tile, and then drag it on top of the existing tile. 3 You can add up to 144 tiles to your layout. The total number of tiles you place must be a multiple of four and cannot be greater than 144. 4 Save your layout by clicking Save Layout on the File menu and typing a name for the new layout. (This must be a unique name, you cannot save a layout over an old layout.) Your layout's name will now appear in the list of layouts that appear when you start a game. To create a new layout, click New Layout on the File menu. Notes and tips: A larger number of tiles usually makes a better game. Try to place at least 100 tiles. Avoid placing tiles in long rows, as this makes a lot of tiles inaccessible. To delete an existing layout, click Load Layout, select the layout you want to delete, and click the Delete button. Se e Als o How to Play Mahjong Tiles
Mahjong Tiles Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Mahjong Tiles game: Mahjong Tiles is like an overstuffed version of Solitaire; the board needs trimming down fast, and it's your job to do it. In comparing Mahjong Tiles and Solitaire, you'll find that the rules are very different (matching pairs versus combining suits and ranks), but the strategy is quite similar. The playing field in Mahjong Tiles is a puzzle that must be unlocked. Look to see what tiles will unlock other tiles. As in Solitaire, you have no guarantees that the puzzle is solvable at all (a needed "key" may be out of reach behind or beneath a tile). You can, however, postpone or completely avoid the typical dead end (where you have no plays left) by making the best play when you have several choices available. The crucial element that makes Mahjong Tiles more skillful than Solitaire is that you can see most of the tiles. In standard card Solitaire, most of the cards are hidden beneath stacks one to seven cards deep. If you need a specific card, you have to get lucky to pick the right stack. With Mahjong Tiles, on the other hand, you can spend as much time as you want looking for the very best move. So the big question is, do you have the time? Se e Als o How to Play Mahjong Tiles
Mahjong Tiles Background Mahjong Tiles (sometimes known as Taipei) is a simplification of Mah Jongg, which itself is an American simplification of a Chinese game of the 19th century. (The Chinese original was played by different rules and known by different names throughout that country; one name that's come down to us translates roughly as "Game of the Four Winds.") An American businessman named Joseph Babcock, who was living in Shanghai at the close of World War I, played the Chinese game and fell in love with it. He thought it would appeal to Americans, so he set about codifying (and streamlining) the rules. Babcock coined the name Mah Jongg for the new version; supposedly, he took this name from the bird that appears on one of the game's tiles. The bird represents a mythical figure called by the Chinese (this is an approximation) Mah Jongg, "Bird of a Thousand Intelligences." Babcock might not have been as smart as that bird, but his hunch about the gaming marketplace was sound. Mah Jongg became a thunderous hit in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia in the 1920s. The game is still played today, though it no longer commands an army of fanatics as it did 70 years ago. Mah Jongg is superficially similar to Dominoes in that both games use tiles, or bones, and because the arrangement of the tiles forms the "board." Mahjong Tiles shares that similarity with Dominoes; it also resembles certain card games, such as Solitaire, where uncovering hidden cards is the order of the day.
How to Play Memory Tiles In Memory Tiles, tiles are dealt face down in a grid. Try to find and remove all matching pairs of tiles in the least possible moves by remembering where tiles are located. You can play by yourself, or compete with another player, taking turns trying to match tiles. To play Memory Tiles: 1 Click a tile to turn it over, and then click a second tile to turn that tile over. If the tiles match, they are removed. If not, they are turned face down again. Important! See below for information on how tiles are matched; not all tiles that can be matched are identical. 2 Keep trying to match pairs of tiles until there are no more tiles left. Your score is shown at the end of the game: you get points for each match you find, (and lose points for each miss), and you get bonus points for getting triplets (three matches in a row). Triplets are shown as golden globes under your player plaque. To play two-player Memory Tiles: 1 On your turn, click a tile to turn it over, and then click another tile to turn that tile over. If the tiles match, they are removed. If not, they are turned face down again. If you found a set of matching tiles, you can try again. Otherwise, the turn passes to the other player. 2 When the grid is cleared, new tiles appear. The game continues until one player gets the number of matches needed to win. This number is set in the game settings (normally, 20 matches are required to win).
Matching Tiles There are seven categories, or suits, of tiles. Memory Tiles uses two different tile sets: Chinese and Egyptian. You can change the tile set you play with in the Memory Tiles settings. To see pictures of the different tile sets, click here: In five of the seven suits, you can only match tiles that are exactly identical by number and picture. You can’t match tiles that have the same number only. Two tiles with 9 of Circles match, but a 9 of Circles and a 9 of Bamboo don’ t match. In two special suits, Seasons and Flowers, you can match any tiles in that suit. In Seasons, you can match any of the seasons together (Spring and Winter or Summer and Fall, for example). In Flowers, you can match any of the flowers together. Seasons and Flowers look different in the Chinese and Egyptian tile sets:
Se as ons (Chine s e )
Flow e rs (Chine s e )
Se as ons (Egyptian)
Flow e rs (Egyptian)
Note that the tiles you get in a game will depend on the number of tiles used in the grid, so not all games will include Seasons and Flowers.
Game Options To change game options for Mahjong Tiles, click Mahjong Tiles Settings on the Options menu. You can set the tile set to use, the grid size (4 x 4 for an easy game, 6 x 4 for a medium game, or 6 x 6 for a hard game), whether to reveal tiles at the beginning of rounds (two-player game only), and how many pairs need to be found by a player for that player to win the game. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Memory Tiles Strategy Memory Tiles Background
Memory Tiles Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Memory Tiles game: You can turn over tiles by following a pattern (such as top to bottom). This may help you to remember tile positions. On the other hand, if you’re playing head to head, you might want to avoid patterns, lest you inadvertently help your opponent more than yourself. Another tip is to give names to the pictures, and say the picture names aloud as you turn the tiles over. If you think you might know the location of a pair, ALWAYS turn over the tile you’re least sure about first. This method is definitely less embarrassing if you’re wrong. Se e Als o How to Play Memory Tiles
Memory Tiles Background Memory Tiles is one of five puzzle games in Hoyle Puzzle Games that you play with mahjong tiles; the other four are Edge Tiles, Gravity Tiles, Mahjong Tiles, and Slide Tiles. For background on the classic game of Mahjong, see the Mahjong Tiles chapter. Memory Tiles is a game played with Mahjong tiles that resembles matching card games called concentration or memory. These games can be played with standard playing cards, but are also frequently played by children with illustrated picture cards to teach memory skills. In these games, a number of cards are placed face down, usually in a square or rectangular grid, and cards are flipped over in pairs. If the cards match, they are removed; otherwise, they are turned back over. Memorizing the locations of cards you’ve already seen is the key to removing cards in the least possible number of turns.
How to Play Placer Racer The goal of the game is to clear each level by shooting balls into the playing field. The ball bounces off the walls and sticks to the ceiling, or to the first ball in its path. When three or more balls of the same color touch, they disappear, along with any linked balls below them. Try to get rid of all of the balls between the shooter and the ceiling. Be careful because the ceiling periodically drops and pushes all of the balls down. If any ball drops below the level of the shooter, the game is over. When you clear level 7, you earn an extra life. You ear another extra life for clearing every third level after that (10, 13, 16, and so on). You can play Placer Racer against a friend or family member on the same computer. In head-to-head play, the more balls you free from your side, the more extra balls appear on your opponent's side.
To play Placer Racer: 1 2
Press Enter or your "fire" key/button to start each round. If you are using your keyboard to play, use the arrow keys to aim your shooter, and press Spacebar to shoot the ball. (You can change your game settings to use the alternate keyboard settings: this uses the A and D keys to aim, and the S key to fire.) If you are using your mouse to play, move the mouse to aim the shooter and click the left mouse button to shoot the ball.
To play two-player Placer Racer: 1 2
Press Enter or your "fire" key/button to start each round. Each player uses different controls. Each player can play using a different keyboard layout (as described above), or one player can use the keyboard while the other player uses the mouse.
Notes To view a quick reference on the items in the game, select Legend from the Help menu.
Actions Pause/Resume
Pauses the game, or resumes the game if it is paused. You can pause/resume by pressing Esc or clicking Pause or Resume on the Actions menu.
Game Options To change game options for Placer Racer, click Placer Racer Settings on the Options menu. You can set the ball and board type, and for two player games, when the game ends. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. To change which controls players use for the game (Keyboard 1, Keyboard 2, or Mouse), click Placer Racer Players on the Options menu. Se e Als o Placer Racer Strategy Placer Racer Background
Placer Racer Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Placer Racer game: To escape being crushed by the descending balls in Placer Racer, you must have good aim, and you'll find that your aim improves with practice. Unmatched balls are those of a color where there is no immediate prospect for forming a group of three. You should try to place these balls strategically to prevent them from blocking upcoming matches in other colors. To help in deciding where to aim these "wasted" shots, look at the balls you'll be firing next; their color may help determine what parts of the field you need to avoid. When aiming unmatched balls, remember that every connection to the ceiling helps to stabilize a group of balls (a bad thing). You'll want to avoid such connections whenever possible. It is worth practicing your bank shot in order to master it. Firing a bank shot often allows you to sever a group of balls hanging from the ceiling by one or two balls. In the two-player game, if you destroy any group with x number of balls, x - 3 balls will be transported to your opponent's playing field. (For example, if you destroy a group of four balls, one will be sent to your opponent.) Try to dislodge large groups at once by working at the ceiling connections. Se e Als o How to Play Placer Racer
Placer Racer Background Placer Racer, though it resembles a type of electronic billiards game, plays more like the arcade games that attained popularity in the 1980s. Many of these games consisted of a series of screens with stationary targets. Advancement to the next level required dissolving all of the targets. Breakout™ by Atari is one early example of this type of game. Later, Tetris™ added puzzle-solving features and a time limit (you had to clear the screen before it filled up, ending the game). While Placer Racer includes features popularized by these other games, it ups the adrenaline ante by incorporating a shooter for zapping targets.
How to Play Solitaire Arcade Solitaire Arcade games are solitaire games with scoring and time limits added. Try to beat your previous score or qualify for a bonus round in one of five exciting games. To learn the specific rules for a game, click the game name in the list below. Click Solitaire Arcade Settings on the Options menu within the game to set game rules and options. 3 Towers Best 21 Fast 21 Pick 2 Sum11 Notes and Tips: You can turn on rollover help that identifies each area of the Solitaire screen (such as the stock pile) and tells you how many cards are found in piles of cards. The help is shown automatically when you point to an area with your mouse. To use this option, check the Show Rollover Help option in the game settings. The Show Playable Cards option in the game settings can be used to highlight which cards can be played. This option only affects the game 3 Towers. Se e Als o Solitaire Arcade Background
3 Towers Goal: Get the highest score possible by removing cards from the towers before time runs out. Get points for removing cards, for clearing an entire tower, and for making runs. 3 Towers has two rounds of play; each round lasts 60 seconds. Finishing the second round with more than 50,000 points earns a bonus round. Finishing the bonus round with 75,000 wins the game. How to Play One card is flipped from the stock pile; this is the upcard. Click a card in the tableau that is one higher or one lower than the upcard to move that card to the deck, then click another card one higher or lower than that upcard, and so on. For example, if a 5 is the upcard, you could click these cards on the tableau, in order: 6, 7, 8, 9, 8, 7, 8, 9. You can wrap from king to ace and from ace to king. When you cannot find a card higher or lower than the upcard, click the stock pile to get a new card, and try again. When you've played as much as you can, click the Take Score button. The game proceeds to the next round (or ends, if you're on the last round).
Scoring You get 100 points for each card you clear from the tableau. Clearing additional cards after the first card, without having to flip up a card, is a run. The number of current runs is shown on the screen. Each time you add a card to a run, you get 100 more points for that card. For example, if you have cleared 4 cards in a row, you get 100 for the first card, 200 for the second card, 300 for the third card, and 400 for the fourth card. As soon as your run ends (and you have to click the stock pile to get a new card), your number of runs is reset; the first card you clear is again worth 100, and additional cards in a run increase the score. Each time you have to click the stock pile to get a new card, your score is decreased by 100 points. Clearing a tower is worth 5,000 points. Clearing a second tower gives you 10,000 points, and clearing the third tower gives you 15,000 points. Finishing a round quickly gives you a time bonus. You get 100 points for each second remaining on the clock when you click the Take Score button.
Strategy If possible, choose cards in the Tableau that form long sequences, because you get more points that way. Otherwise, choose cards that maximize the number of other cards in the tableau that will become exposed.
Game Options To change game options for Solitaire Arcade, click Solitaire Arcade Settings on the Options menu. For this game, you can set whether rollover help appears when you place your cursor over items in the game screen, and whether to highlight playable cards on the screen. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Solitaire
Best 21 Goal: Get the highest score possible by making five high scoring blackjack hands before time runs out. Best 21 has three rounds of play; each round lasts 45 seconds. Finishing the third round with more than 120,000 points earns a bonus round. Finishing the bonus round with 160,000 or more points wins the game. How to Play One card at a time is flipped from the stock pile; this is the upcard. Move the upcard to one of the five blackjack hands, or to the waste pile. The waste pile can only hold one card each round. Play cards to try to make hands that score 21 or close to 21, without going over 21. Click here for an example: Current hand totals are shown next to the hand. Jacks, queens, and kings are worth 10, aces are worth 1 or 11, and all other cards are worth their face value. Note that although aces are worth 1 or 11, only their "hard" value is shown. In other words, an ace and an 8 are shown as 19, not 9, although they can be worth either 9 or 19. You can hit these "hard" hands, if desired. Busting any hand (going over 21) ends the round immediately. When you've played as much as you can, click the Take Score button. The game proceeds to the next round (or ends, if you're on the last round).
Scoring You score 100 times the total of all your final blackjack hands. Getting 21 in any hand gives you a bonus of 10,000. Finishing a round quickly gives you a time bonus; you score 100 times the amount of seconds remaining on the clock when you finish the round. For example, if you made hands of 21, 20, 20, 18, and 15, with 32 seconds left on the clock, you'd get this score: 9,400 points for your five hands (21 + 20 + 20 + 18 + 15 = 94 x 100=9400) + 10,000 points for the hand of 21 + 3,200 point time bonus (32 seconds left x 100) = 22,600 points total
Strategy Try to form piles of 11, since cards with the value 10 are the most common. Of course, you'll want to use your aces on piles of 10 or 20.
Game Options To change game options for Solitaire Arcade, click Solitaire Arcade Settings on the Options menu. For this game, you can set whether rollover help appears when you place your cursor over items in the game screen. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Solitaire
Fast 21 Goal: Get the highest score possible before time runs out. You get points for making high blackjack hands, and for making 21s and 5-card Charlies (5 cards under 21). You also get points for each card you're able to use in a hand. Fast 21 has three rounds of play; each round lasts 90 seconds. Finishing the third round with more than 30,000 points earns a bonus round. Finishing the bonus round with 40,000 or more points wins the game. How to Play One card at a time is flipped from the stock pile; this is the upcard. Move the upcard to one of the four blackjack hands or to the waste pile. The waste pile can hold three cards each round. Play cards to try to make hands that score 21 or close to 21, without going over 21. Click here for an example: Making a hand of 21 or a 5-card Charlie (5 cards under 21) in a hand clears that hand so you can play on it again (and gives you bonus points). Current hand totals are shown next to the hand. Jacks, queens, and kings are worth 10, aces are worth 1 or 11, and all other cards are worth their face value. Note that although aces are worth 1 or 11, only their "hard" value is shown. In other words, an ace and an 8 are shown as 19, not 9, although they can be worth either 9 or 19. You can hit these "hard" hands, if desired. If you play a card that busts a hand (makes it go over 21), that card is returned to the stock pile and your score is reduced by 100 points. You can then play that card to another pile or to the reserve pile (or end the round if you can't play it). When you've played as much as you can, click the Take Score button. The game proceeds to the next round (or ends, if you're on the last round).
Scoring You earn the following points during a round of Fast 21: 1,000 point for each 21 made 750 points for each 5-card Charlie made 100 points for each card played -100 points for busting a hand 10,000 points for playing all 52 cards without passing any When the round ends, you score points equal to the current value of all four hands. The score displayed as you play represents what your score would be if the round ended with no additional plays. Scoring example: if you finished the round with three 21s, one 5-card Charlie, 22 cards played, and final hands of 20, 20, 18, and 17, you'd get this score: 3,750 points for the three 21s and one Charlie + 2,200 points for playing 22 cards + 75 points for your four hands (20+20+18+17=75) = 6,025 points total
Strategy As in Best 21, try to form piles of 11, since cards with the value 10 are the most common. Of course, you'll want to use your aces on piles of 10 or 20. If you don't have a good place to put low cards, keep them in a separate hand to try to form 5-card Charlies.
Game Options To change game options for Solitaire Arcade, click Solitaire Arcade Settings on the Options menu. For this game, you can set whether rollover help appears when you place your cursor over items in the game screen. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Solitaire
Pick 2 Goal: Get the highest score possible by removing cards in pairs and sequences before time runs out. Pick 2 has two rounds of play; each round lasts 60 seconds. Finishing the second round with 80,000 or more points earns a bonus round. Finishing the bonus round with 120,000 or more points wins the game. How to Play One card is flipped from the stock pile. You can use this upcard, as well as the cards on the tableau, to make pairs (2-2, Q-Q, and so on) and sequences (4-5, 9-10, Q-K). Both A-2 and K-A can be used as sequences. Pairs and sequences do not have to include the upcard. Click on two cards to select them; if the cards are a pair or sequence, they are removed. To unselect a card, click it again. When you can't make any more combinations, click the stock pile to get a new card, and try again. The previous card is moved to the tableau (if there's space available). Otherwise, it is moved to the bottom of the stock pile. When you've played as much as you can, click the Take Score button. The game proceeds to the next round (or ends, if you're on the last round).
Scoring You get 3,000 points for each pair you remove, and 500 points for each sequence you remove. If you clear all of the cards on the tableau, you get a bonus 10,000 points. Finishing a round quickly gives you a time bonus. You get 100 points for each second remaining on the clock when you click the Take Score button.
Strategy When possible, remove pairs instead of sequences, since you get more points for pairs. Choose pairs and sequences in such a way that favorable cards will become exposed.
Game Options To change game options for Solitaire Arcade, click Solitaire Arcade Settings on the Options menu. For this game, you can set whether rollover help appears when you place your cursor over items in the game screen. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Solitaire
Sum 11 Goal: Get the highest score possible by removing combinations of cards which total 11 before time runs out. Sum 11 has two rounds of play; each round lasts 90 seconds. Finishing the second round with 80,000 or more points earns a bonus round. Finishing the bonus round with 120,000 points wins the game. Sum 11 uses a special card deck with 2-10 of each suit, 16 aces, and no face cards. Aces are always worth 1 (never 11). How to Play One card is flipped from the stock pile. You can use this upcard, as well as the cards on the tableau, to make combinations of cards (using any number of cards) that add up to eleven. Combinations do not have to include the upcard. For example, if the upcard was a 6, and there was an ace and a 4 on the tableau, you could select the 6, ace, and 4 to make eleven. Or you could select an 8 and 3 on the tableau to make eleven. Click on cards to select them; when you've selected cards that add up to eleven, they are removed. To unselect a card, click it again. When you can't make any more combinations, click the stock pile to get a new card, and try again. The previous card is moved to the tableau (if there's space available). Otherwise, it is moved to the bottom of the stock pile. When you've played as much as you can, click the Take Score button. The game proceeds to the next round (or ends, if you're on the last round).
Scoring You get 1,500 points for each combination of elevens you remove. If you clear all of the cards on the tableau, you get a bonus 10,000 points. You also get points for each card you remove from the tableau based on which row that card is in, with higher rows worth more points. The bottom row is worth 100, the next up is worth 200, and so on. Each time you have to click the stock pile to get a new card, your score is decreased by 200 points. Finishing a round quickly gives you a time bonus. You get 100 points for each second remaining on the clock when you click the Take Score button.
Strategy Be on the lookout for all the different ways cards can add up to 11: 5-6, 7-4, 8-3, 9-2, 10-A, 6-3-A-A, and so on. Remove cards in such a way that as many other cards as possible are exposed.
Game Options To change game options for Solitaire Arcade, click Solitaire Arcade Settings on the Options menu. For this game, you can set whether rollover help appears when you place your cursor over items in the game screen. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o How to Play Solitaire
Glossary
stock pile A pile of face-down cards. Cards are flipped over from this pile and are usually played to the tableau. You sometimes need to click the stock pile to reveal new cards.
tableau The area of the game on which plays are made.
upcard A face-up card that is available for play, usually to the tableau. Usually the upcard is flipped from the stock pile.
waste pile A pile of cards made up of cards from the stock pile that couldn't be used.
wrapping When the sequence of cards (building up or building down) is continued by playing an ace on a king or a king on an ace. For example, if wrapping is allowed in a game, you could build up on a jack like this: jack, queen, king, ace, 2, 3, 4… or build down on a 4 like this: 4, 3, 2, ace, king, queen, jack...
Solitaire Arcade Background Arcade versions of solitaire are becoming more and more popular with the advent of computer games. Seeking ways to make a game with a staid and relaxed reputation more exciting and heart racing, in solitaire arcade games, you race to beat the clock and beat your score, rather than simply to win (or, usually, not win) as in most classic solitaire games. What these games have in common with classic solitaire is the decision making, and, of course, the cards.
How to Play Crazy Contraptions In Crazy Contraptions, you solve contraption puzzles by moving parts to the Play Field in a way that achieves the puzzle goal. Help for Crazy Contraptions is found in the game. For help, click the Help button when playing the game. Or open the help file by clicking the link below. Open Help for Crazy Contraptions Se e Als o Crazy Contraptions Background
Couldn't find help file The help file for Crazy Contraptions couldn't be found. Please access the help by clicking the Help button in the game.
Crazy Contraptions Background Crazy Contraptions are inspired by the Rube Goldberg Machine. Rube Goldberg, a world-renowned cartoonist, created cartoons of devices that took absurd, excruciatingly complicated steps to accomplish simple tasks. His cartoons used miscellaneous pieces like balls, ramps, and bird cages. The phrase "Rube Goldberg Machine" is now commonly invoked when describing any overly complicated system of reaching a goal.
How to Play Edge Tiles In Edge Tiles, tiles are laid out in a rectangular grid, and you remove tiles from the board by matching them in pairs. See Matching Tiles in Edge Tiles for details on how tile pictures are matched. The matching rules for Edge Tiles can be changed in the game settings to give you an entirely different game experience. See Edge Tiles Game Variations for details. In the standard game, only tiles on the opposite edges of the grid are free and can be selected and matched, as described below: Only tiles at the top or bottom edges of columns (referred to as topmost and bottommost tiles) and tiles at the left and right edges of rows (referred to as leftmost and rightmost tiles) are free and can be matched. You can match a free tile on one edge with a free tile on the opposite edge. Thus, you can only match leftmost tiles with rightmost tiles, and you can only match topmost tiles with bottommost tiles. Click here for an example of how tiles are matched in the standard game: As you match tiles, they are removed from the grid, and the tiles that were "inside" them on the grid become the new edge tiles and are now free to be matched. To play Edge Tiles: 1
Try to find pairs of matching tiles. Click a tile, then click another tile to try to find a match. If you find a match, the tiles are removed. Only tiles which match the game matching rules are considered free and can be removed. Both tiles must be free. If you're not sure whether or not a tile is free, try clicking it. Only free tiles can be selected.
2
Keep matching pairs until there are no more pairs in the layout or you have no more possible moves. Try to end the game with the fewest possible tiles remaining (or clear the board if you can!). The game ends if you clear the board or there are no more matches. When the game ends, click Restart, Shuffle Tiles for a new game with new tiles, or click Restart, Don't Shuffle Tiles to play the same game again (you might do this to try to get a better score). If you didn't clear the board, you can also try reshuffling the remaining tiles, or undoing your last move; this might enable you to proceed further with the puzzle. Notes and Tips: You will often have more than one match for a tile. In this case, consider what tiles will be made free by removing the tiles, and see if there are any potential matches available if you make one match over another.
Actions Find Match
Automatically picks out two matching tiles for you when you get stumped. To find a match, press M or click Find Match on the Actions menu.
Remove Pair
Removes a selected pair of matching tiles from the board. You can use this option after finding a matching pair of tiles using Find Match. To remove the pair, press Enter or click Remove Pair on the Actions menu.
Undo
Returns the two matching tiles that were most recently removed back to their original positions on the table. You can undo as many times as you like. To undo a match removal, press Ctrl+Z or click Undo on the Actions menu.
Game Options To change game options for Edge Tiles, click Edge Tiles Settings on the Options menu. You can set the tile set to use, the matching rules for the game, and several other game options. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Edge Tiles Game Variations Matching Tiles in Edge Tiles Edge Tiles Strategy Edge Tiles Background
Example of Standard Play
In the standard game, you can match a free tile on one edge with a free tile on the opposite edge. The example below shows some tiles that can and cannot be matched.
The two A tiles can't be matched. Both tiles have the same sides free (leftmost and topmost) and can therefore only be matched with identical tiles with the opposite sides free (rightmost or bottommost). The B tile has the top free and thus can be matched with either D tile (both are bottommost), but the two D tiles can't be matched with each other, since both are free on the same side. The C and F tiles can be matched with each other (their right and left sides are free), but the identical E tile (bottommost) cannot be matched with either C or F; it can only be matched with a topmost tile.
Edge Tiles Game Variations The matching rules for Edge Tiles can be changed in the game settings to give you an entirely different game experience. To change the game variation: Click Edge Tiles Settings on the Options menu. For an easier game, choose the Same & Opposite Side Match option in the Matching Rules section. In this game, you can match a tile with a tile on the opposite edge (as in the standard game) or you can match it with a tile on the same edge. Therefore, you can match a topmost tile with a bottommost tile or with another topmost tile, and you can match a bottommost tile with a topmost tile or with another bottommost tile. Likewise, leftmost and rightmost tiles can be matched with themselves or with each other. Click here for an example: The Tiles Free Next to Empty Space option in the Matching Rules section changes the game rules so that any tile with a free top, bottom, left or right edge can be matched as if it was the topmost, bottommost, leftmost or rightmost tile. Click here for an example: Another two variations are found in the Game Options area: The Two Level Board option lets you play Edge Tiles with a different board layout. A smaller rectangular grid of tiles is placed on top of the original grid. Tiles are matched according to the game matching rules. A tile must be visible for you to remove it. The Tiles Face Down option adds a Herculean challenge to the game: you play the game with all the tiles face down. Tiles are only revealed when you hold your cursor over them, making for an extreme memory challenge. Again, tiles are matched according to the game matching rules. Se e Als o How to Play Edge Tiles
Example – Same and Opposite Sides Option In this game variation, you can match tiles with free tiles on the same edge or opposite edges. The examples below show some tiles that can and cannot be matched.
The two A tiles can be matched, since they have the same edges free (both topmost and leftmost). The B tile can be matched with either D tile, since they have opposite edges free, and the two D tiles can also be matched with each other, as they have the same edges free. The C and F tiles can be matched with each other (leftmost and rightmost edges are free), but the identically matching E tile cannot be matched with either C or F, since it is bottommost and is not on the same or opposite edge as C or F.
Example – Tiles Free Next to Empty Space Option In this game variation, any tile with a free top, bottom, left or right edge is considered free, regardless of where it is found on the board. Only tiles with opposite edges free can be matched, as in the standard game. The example below shows you some tiles that can and cannot be matched.
The three dragon tiles A1, A2, and A3, can all be matched together. A1's bottom edge can be matched with A2's top edge and A1's left edge can be matched with A3's right edge. This is similar to the behavior of the standard game. However, per these rules, A2 and A3 can also be matched: A2's left edge is free, since there is no tile next to it, and A3's right edge is free. (These tiles couldn't be matched in the standard game) B1 and B2 can also be matched. B1 has a left edge free, and B2 has a right edge free. However, none of the three C tiles (C1, C2, or C3) can be matched, since they do not have opposite edges free. C1 has a free bottom edge, C2 has a free bottom and right edge, and C3 has a free right edge.
Matching Tiles in Edge Tiles There are seven categories, or suits, of tiles. You can choose between two different tile sets: Chinese and Egyptian. You can change the tile set you play with in the Edge Tiles game settings (click Edge Tiles Settings on the Options menu). To see pictures of the different tile sets, click here: In five of the seven suits, you can only match tiles that are exactly identical by number and picture. You can't match tiles that have the same number only. Two tiles with 9 of Circles match, but a 9 of Circles and a 9 of Bamboo don't match. In two special suits, Seasons and Flowers, you can match any tiles in that suit. In Seasons, you can match any of the seasons together (Spring and Winter or Summer and Fall, for example). In Flowers, you can match any of the flowers together. Seasons and Flowers look different in the Chinese and Egyptian tile sets:
Se as ons (Chine s e )
Flow e rs (Chine s e )
Se as ons (Egyptian)
Flow e rs (Egyptian)
Se e Als o How to Play Edge Tiles
Edge Tiles Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Edge Tiles game: You will often have more than one match for a tile. In this case, consider what tiles will be made free by removing the tiles, and see if there are any potential matches available if you make one match over another. Since there are more tile columns than rows in the game layout, you'll find more matches on top and bottom edges than you will on left to right edges, so concentrate on the tops and bottoms of columns when making matches. In the Tiles Free Next to Empty Space game variation, work from the outside in, and try to remove tiles evenly around the edges, making a few little inroads into the board; this is likely to give you a good distribution of tiles with free edges on the board. Keep an eye on tiles that could match if they were free on one edge, and try to match tiles adjacent to them so that the potentially matching tiles are free. Se e Als o How to Play Edge Tiles
Edge Tiles Background Edge Tiles is one of five puzzle games in Hoyle Puzzle Games that you play with mahjong tiles; the other four are Gravity Tiles, Mahjong Tiles, Memory Tiles, and Slide Tiles. For background on the classic game of Mahjong, see Mahjong Tiles Background. In Edge Tiles, you try to remove tiles from the board by matching them in pairs. In the standard Mahjong Tiles game, only tiles on the edges of the board can be removed. Edge Tiles requires careful attention to detail. Removing some tiles causes others adjacent to them to become available, so any move you make can change the rest of the game. It may or may not be possible to clear the board, so your goal is to clear as much of the board as you can. You can replay puzzles to see if you can improve your score.
How to Play Maze Racer Maze Racer is a classic maze game for one or two players. If you play by yourself, try to get through the maze in the fastest possible time. If you play against another person, try to be the first player out of the maze. You can choose easy, intermediate, or expert-level mazes. To play Maze Racer: 1 Your piece starts on the right side of the maze. Move through the maze using the up, down, left, and right arrow keys on your keyboard. 2 Try to reach the exit on the left side of the maze before the goal time at the top of the screen elapses. If you run out of time, you can still finish the maze. To play two-player Maze Racer: 1 Each player starts at an opposite side of the maze, next to a door, and must make his or her way to the exit door at the opposite end of the maze (the door is next to the other player's start position). 2 Each player moves through the maze using a different set of keys. The player at the right side of the screen (and keyboard) uses the left, right, up, and down arrow keys on the keyboard to move. The player at the left side of the screen (and keyboard) uses the E, S, D, and X keys on the keyboard to move up, left, right, and down. 3 When one player solves the maze, the maze solution for the other player is shown. Notes and Tips: If you can't find your way out of the maze (in either the one or two-player game), click the Solve button on the screen to be shown the path out of the maze. There is only one path out of the maze. A couple of hints for getting through Maze Racer: try solving the maze backwards (from the exit to the starting point), and try moving through the maze visually before moving through the maze to save yourself time. If you choose to solve the maze, you can press the Esc key to bypass the animation and show the solution immediately.
Actions Pause/Resume
Pauses the game, or resumes the game if it is paused. You can pause or resume by pressing Esc on your keyboard, or clicking Pause or Resume on the Actions menu. You can also press Esc to show the maze solution immediately if you click the Solve button on the screen.
Solve Maze
Solves the current maze, showing the correct path out of the maze. To solve the maze, click the Solve Maze button on the screen.
Game Options To change game options for Maze Racer, click Maze Racer Settings on the Options menu. You can set the maze difficulty (Easy, Medium, or Hard). For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. You can also change your game piece color; click Maze Racer Players on the Options menu, and select your piece color under Piece Color. Se e Als o Maze Racer Strategy Maze Racer Background
Maze Racer Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Maze Racer game: Since you can see the entire maze, one method you can use is to backtrack visually, starting at the end of the maze and trying to determine the path backward to your start. This can be especially helpful when you are halfway through the maze and are trying to determine whether you're on the right track. In the two-player game, since there is only one path through the maze, checking your opponent's path is a good method of backtracking, assuming your opponent is on the right track, that is! When starting a maze, travel quickly, and always travel as far as you can through the beginning of the maze before reaching a decision point. This makes the maze shorter, in effect. Then try following the maze visually. Since your eyes are quicker than your hands, and you have a time constraint in this game, try letting your eyes do the walking. Before choosing one path or the other, visually follow one path as far as you can until you hit a decision point or a dead end. If you hit a dead end, you can safely ignore that path and move your piece down the other path. Otherwise, visually follow the second path, again noticing whether you hit a decision point or a dead end; if you hit a dead end, you can safely move along the first path. If neither path ends in a dead end, you'll have to choose one path or the other. But this method at least lets you eliminate moving your piece needlessly; you can eliminate paths much more quickly in this way than by moving through them. Se e Als o How to Play Maze Racer
Maze Racer Background Mazes have been around more than 3,000 years. Most of the oldest mazes were "unicursal": long one-path mazes with no decision points. These early mazes were often contemplative areas for walking or worshipping— they were designed more as wonders than as puzzles. (You'll often see these types of mazes in children's puzzle books; they're useful in training hand-eye coordination). Over time most mazes became "multicursal"—the mazes we think of most often today, with multiple branching paths. At one time status symbols for wealthy people with plenty of land to build them on, most of today's real-life mazes are tourist attractions in gardens and parks. Today maze puzzles can frequently be found in puzzle books, since they are quick diversions and easy to solve. Maze Racer adds a time element to make solving mazes more challenging. And solving Maze Racer puzzles doesn't require any erasing!
How to Play Maze Raider Maze Raider is a competitive maze puzzle game for one or two players. There are two different maze themes: Greek and Haunted House. The gameplay is nearly identical in both themes, but the objects you collect and the monsters you encounter will match the theme you choose. You can change the theme in the game settings. Your basic goal in Maze Raider is to collect all the goal items in each maze to open the maze exit. Some mazes contain monsters that will try to slow your progress. Collecting treasures and certain items can give you points, and special tokens can help you in the game. There are three mazes to solve in each game of Maze Raider. In the single-player game, try to beat your highest score by collecting items and getting through the mazes quickly. In the two-player game, see if you can outscore the other player. To play Maze Raider: 1 Your piece starts on the right side of the maze. Move through the maze using the up, down, left, and right arrow keys on your keyboard. 2 Collect items by moving your player piece over them. Collect all the goal items in the maze: either coins (in the Greek maze) or candelabras (in the Haunted House maze). You can also collect other items like treasures and tokens that can help you avoid being bothered by monsters. For detailed information on items and monsters in the maze, click here: 3 Once you've collected all the goal items in the current maze, an exit door opens. You can exit and get a time bonus, or continue and collect any other items that remain in the maze to try to get more points. 4 After you exit the maze, you proceed to the next maze. There are three mazes to complete in the game. When you complete the mazes, your score for all three mazes is shown and you get a final score based on your time and the items you collected. You can "win" the game by getting enough items and treasures and staying out of harm's way as much as possible. To play two-player Maze Raider: 1 Each player starts at an opposite side of the maze. 2 Each player moves through the maze using a different set of keys. The player at the right side of the screen (and keyboard) uses the left, right, up, and down arrow keys on the keyboard to move. The player at the left side of the screen (and keyboard) uses the E, S, D, and X keys on the keyboard to move up, left, right, and down. 3 Collect items by moving your player piece over them. Collect all the goal items in the maze: either coins (in the Greek maze) or candelabras (in the Haunted House maze). As in the single player game, you and the other player can collect other items like treasures and tokens, and monsters can impede your play. Certain tokens (like weapons) can be used against the other player, and certain objects, when displayed with a hammer, affect the other player if you pick them up. For detailed information on items and monsters in the maze, click here: 4 To confuse your opponent, you can put up a "false wall." A false wall looks like a real wall but is an illusion; both players can walk through it, and the Oracle will indicate that it is false. To put up a false wall, face any direction and press either 2 (player on the left) or Enter (player on the right) on your keyboard. Each player can only erect one false wall at a time; when you put up a new wall, the previous wall disappears. 5 When all of the items in each maze (coins or candelabras) are collected (regardless of which player collects them), an exit door opens at each end of the maze. Your exit door is found on the opposite end of the maze from where you started the game. 6 Race the other player to see if you can reach your exit door before he or she does. You can't go out your opponent's door. A time bonus clock starts counting down from the top bonus level down to zero. If either player can get to the exit before the clock runs down to zero, he or she receives the bonus points shown. 7 When both players exit the maze, or the time runs out, the score for the maze is shown. Click Next Round to proceed to the next maze. There are three mazes to complete. 8 When all the mazes are completed, the player with the higher score wins the game. Notes The time bonus you can get starts at 1000, but can decrease if you're slow to get goal items. If you take too long between getting goal items, you will hear a warning noise, and then your potential time bonus decreases (you'll hear a sound each time it decreases) until you pick up another goal item. However, your time bonus will never get lower than 500. When you get all the goal items, your time bonus starts counting down until you can get to an exit. To view a quick reference on the items in the game, select Legend from the Help menu.
Actions Pause/Resume
Pauses the game, or resumes the game if it is paused. You can pause or resume by pressing Esc on your keyboard, or clicking Pause or Resume on the Actions menu.
Game Options To change game options for Maze Raider, click Maze Raider Settings on the Options menu. You can set the maze theme or the game difficulty (this affects the maze difficulty, how fast objects are made active/inactive, the behavior of obstacles in the game, and how tough monsters are to beat). For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. You can also change your game piece color and gender; click Maze Racer Players on the Options menu, select Red or Blue under Piece Color, and select Girl or Boy under Piece Gender. Se e Als o Maze Raider Items and Monsters Maze Raider Strategy
Maze Raider Items and Monsters The mazes in Maze Raider contain different items depending on whether you're playing the Greek or Haunted House theme. Some items affect gameplay, others are tokens that you can collect to use in different ways. Obstacle items make it difficult for you to move through the maze. Most of the items in the game are listed here.
Goal Items Gold Coins: Collect all the gold coins to open the exit in the Greek maze. Candelabras: Collect all the candelabras to open the exit in the Haunted House maze.
Other Items Some items in the maze cause positive or negative effects. Many items animate, and only work when in their animated state, so it is possible to move over them with no effect. For example, you can pass over the Transporter item without getting transported when it is in its inactive state. Some items affect the other player, if a hammer is displayed over them. Note that even positive items will affect your opponent! Treasure: Treasure items give you extra points. Oracle: The Oracle shows a path in front of your player piece that you can follow through the maze to collect goal items. Since there may be several goal items in the maze, you may see several paths extending in front of you. Once you've obtained all the goal items, the Oracle shows you the path to the exit. Following the Oracle's path can help you avoid dead ends in the maze. The Oracle's effects eventually wear off, but you can walk over the Oracle again to get more help. Maze Shuffler: This item recreates the maze, leaving you in your current position. Some items and monsters in the maze may shift. Some obstacles may also disappear when the maze shuffles. Trap Door: Periodically, a trap door which resembles a large set of teeth will open and close when you get within a couple of spaces of it. If you run over the trap door when the door is open, you disappear and reappear in a random spot in the maze. Transporter: This item acts as a shortcut, moving you to the other transporter in the maze. In the Greek theme, this item is a winged horse; in the Haunted House theme, this item is a teleportation booth. Speed Up: This item speeds you up temporarily. In the Greek theme, this item is Mercury boots; in the Haunted House theme, this item is a green potion. Slow Down: This item slows you down temporarily. In the Greek theme, this item is a snail; in the Haunted House theme, this item is a yellow potion. Stop: This item stuns you for a few seconds. In the Greek theme, this item is Medusa's head; in the Haunted House theme, this item is a red potion. Black Cat (Haunted House theme): Running over this item costs you points, and alerts monsters to your location in the maze. The Doctor's Creature is especially protective of the cat.
Tokens Tokens are special items that give you extra abilities that lasts a certain amount of time. Weapon token: Enables you to knock out monsters (or the other player). In the Greek theme, this item is a slingshot; in the Haunted House theme, this item is a laser gun. If you get a weapon, and get into the same hallway facing a monster or opponent, the weapon automatically activates and the target is knocked out for several seconds. In a two-player game, only the player who reaches the weapon first gets to use it. Using the weapon gives you bonus points. Strength token: This item can be used to plow through walls or beat back most monsters. In the Greek theme, this item is Zeus' fist; in the Haunted House theme, this item is power-up balls. Some monsters, like the Hydra, are not affected. After you plow through a wall, you'll pause momentarily to catch your breath. Wings token: Enables you to fly over the maze for a short time. While flying, you are immune to harm from most monsters. Shield token: This item protects you from one attack. It activates automatically the next time you're attacked, and you're protected from all monsters and opponents for a few moments. Poseidon token (Greek theme): This item, which resembles a trident, lets you walk through areas flooded by water without slowing down. Aphrodite token (Greek theme): This item, a heart, makes you attractive to monsters. Use this against your opponent in a two-player game! Scythe token (Haunted House theme): This item lets you walk through areas covered in grass without slowing down. Vampire token (Haunted House theme): This item only appears in two-player games. Lets you drain points from your opponent whenever he or she stops moving in the maze. The effect wears off after a while. Ghost token (Haunted House theme): This item lets you walk through walls for a short time, and makes you
invisible to monsters and immune to harm from obstacles.
Obstacles Obstacles are areas in the maze that are difficult to get through. Darkness: Some areas of the maze may be dark; you can only see them when you move into them. Fire Corridor (Greek theme): Corridors filled with fire pits that burn periodically. If you move cautiously, you can get through them. Fire is damaging; if you step into a fire pit while it's burning, you'll lose points and be thrown out of the corridor. Water (Greek theme): Areas of the maze covered in water. You can only move through water very slowly, unless you have a Poseidon token, in which case you'll move at normal speed. Axe Corridor (Haunted House theme): A corridor filled with axes that acts like the Fire Corridor. Crushing Wall Corridor (Haunted House theme): Another obstacle corridor. Avoid getting crushed by the walls! Grass (Haunted House theme): Areas of the maze covered in grass. You can only move through grass very slowly, unless you have a Scythe token, in which case you'll move at normal speed.
Monsters in Maze Raider You'll generally want to avoid running into monsters, unless they block your path in the maze or have something you want. Monsters will either stun you or move you somewhere else in the maze, but their effects are temporary and not life-threatening.
Greek Monsters Hydra: The many-headed Hydra stays in one place in the maze, guarding the Golden Fleece. However, he can extend his heads over walls and attack you in other corridors. He can also attack players flying via the wings, and is unhurt by weapon or strength tokens. The Hydra's heads will attack you if they see you. If the Hydra catches you, he will hurl you to another part of the maze, stunning you for a few seconds (and taking points from your score). If you manage to grab the Hydra's Golden Fleece, you get extra points and become immune to harm by monsters or weapons. But all other items, obstacles and tokens will still affect you. Minotaur: The slow but strong Minotaur pursues you ceaselessly through the maze. He can even punch through walls to reach you! If he catches you, he steals some of your points and renders you immobile for a few seconds. Cyclops: The Cyclops chooses an item or treasure to guard and stays in that area. The Cyclops is faster than the Minotaur, but not as strong. He is persistent if you confront him and will chase you if you threaten him, but he can't smash through walls. If the Cyclops hits you, you lose points and become immobile for a few seconds. If you grab the Cyclops' treasure, he will try to chase you, but will probably lose you once you get out of sight. He will then look for another treasure to guard.
Haunted House Monsters The Doctor: You've intruded in the Doctor's mansion, and he's not happy about it. He knows his way around the mansion, and can get around quicker than you can. If he gets a chance, he will fire his zapper at you to knock you out, but walking or running past him won't hurt you. The Doctor is absent-minded and may drop potions. The Doctor's Creature: Strong but slow, the Doctor's frightful creation is prone to anger. Don't get on his bad side if you can avoid it. He is especially protective of the black cat. He can smash through walls to get you, but he tires easily and may not chase you for long. The Killer Plant: One of the Doctor's many experiments is Killer Plant Experiment #32. Since he always refers to her as KP32, she believes her name is Kay. The Doctor has a tendency to forget to feed her, so Kay has to take matters into her own tendrils. Kay is hard to walk through, like the grass, but she has a poisonous and thorny disposition that makes contact with her extremely unpleasant. You have to be plenty strong to hack your way through Kay's overgrowth, even with the scythe. Se e Als o How to Play Maze Raider Maze Raider Strategy Maze Raider Background
Maze Raider Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Maze Raider game: Don't hang around in one part of the maze for long if there are roving monsters; some monsters that move around the maze will eventually catch up to you. Use the Oracle to find the optimal path through the maze to goal items (and the exit). Get to know the maze monsters and learn how to avoid them. See the tips below for help with individual monsters.
Monster Tips You can get past the Hydra by waiting until he is not looking at you, then running past him. Beware the Minotaur; he's strong but slow, and can give you long lasting damage. Keep the Minotaur at bay by using the slingshot or by grabbing the strength token so you can beat him back. The Minotaur is determined, but stupid; try outwitting him. The Cyclops is fast, but not as strong as the Minotaur. He is mainly protective of the treasure he's currently guarding, so stay away from his treasure and you'll do fine. The Cyclops is vulnerable to strength and weapons. The Doctor can only get you with his zapper, so just avoid his zapper fire. If he's targeting you and you can't run away, just run past him. Try not to agitate the Doctor's Creature. He doesn't like sudden movements. You'll lose points if you're touched by Killer Plant Kay's tendrils. To make her lose interest in a hallway, remove what she came to get: her feed bag. But if she's eating while you do this, she might just sting you! Se e Als o How to Play Maze Raider Maze Raider Items and Monsters
Maze Raider Background In the most famous cultural reference to mazes, the Greek mythological hero Theseus found his way through a labyrinth to kill the dread Minotaur of Crete, with just a little help from the infatuated Ariadne and her magic ball of thread to get him in and out of the maze unscathed. Maze Raider is inspired by that classic story, and comes complete with myriads of monsters. In Maze Raider, you move through mazes, raiding them for treasure to get points and tokens to help you get through the maze faster, while avoiding or neutralizing monsters. You can play by yourself, or against another player on your computer.
How to Play Slide Tiles In Slide Tiles, tiles are arranged in a rectangular grid with a particular number of tiles removed to make spaces where you can slide tiles. The object of the game is to remove as many tiles as possible from the board. Tiles are removed in pairs; see Matching Tiles in Slide Tiles for details on how tile pictures are matched. There are two ways to remove tiles in Slide Tiles: sliding and clicking: Sliding Tiles: You can slide a tile or group of tiles if there is enough empty space in the grid in the direction you want to slide the tiles in. Any pairs of matching tiles that touch as a result of the move are removed, leaving the slid tiles in their new location. (If no tiles match, the slid tiles are moved back to their original locations.) Click here for an example of sliding tiles: Clicking Tiles: You start the game with a number of free clicks. When you remove a certain number of tiles using the sliding method, you will earn additional clicks (the number of tiles required to earn a click depends on your game difficulty). A click is a bonus turn that can be used to remove a pair of free tiles without sliding them. You can only remove tiles that are free. A tile is free if its left or right edge is not touching another tile (this method is also used in the Mahjong Tiles game). Click here for to see an example of clicking tiles: The flowers on the upper-left side of the screen represent the number of free clicks you have. Each time you remove a pair of tiles via sliding, the flower in the upper-middle of your screen grows a little, and when it reaches full bloom, it is added to your 'free click' flowers. To play Slide Tiles: 1 Remove pairs of tiles by sliding or clicking them as described below:. 2 To slide tiles, click on a tile and move the tile up, down, left or right, pushing any tiles in its path along with it, until it touches a matching tile in an adjacent row or column. After sliding tiles where you want them, let go of the mouse. Any pairs of matching tiles that touch as a result of the move are removed, leaving the slid tiles in their new location. (If no tiles match, the slid tiles are moved back to their original locations.) 3 To click tiles, just click on the first tile, then the second matching tile. You can only click tiles if you have free clicks available; see the Clicking Tiles description above for details. 4 Keep matching pairs of tiles using slides and clicks until there are no more tiles on the board, trying to end with the fewest possible tiles remaining. The game ends if you clear the board or you have no more moves remaining. At the end of a game, click Restart, Shuffle Tiles for a new game with new tiles, or click Restart, Don’t Shuffle Tiles to play the same game again (you might do this to try to get a better score). If you didn’t win the game, you also get a chance to undo your last move or to shuffle the remaining tiles. Both of these options give you another possible chance of winning the game. Notes and Tips: If there are two matching tiles in the same row or column, with empty space between them, you can slide them together to match them if only one of the two tiles moves. You can get a hint, if you like. Press M on your keyboard, or click Find Match on the Actions menu. A pair of tiles that can be removed will be highlighted, and you can then remove them (or press Enter to have them removed for you.) You can change the skill level of the game in the game options for an easier or harder game. The Practice skill level is recommended for beginners. If you can match more than one pair of tiles with a slide, additional matches are worth extra points. The slide indicator at the top of the screen will indicate whether there are any slide moves available. If you prefer not to know what moves are available, you can disable the slide indicator in the game settings. If you remove an entire row or column of tiles, the grid squeezes together to remove the empty row or column. You may want to preserve click moves until you need them; they are very useful later in the game when less slide moves exist!
Actions Find Match
Automatically picks out two matching tiles for you when you get stumped. To find a match, press M or click Find Match on the Actions menu.
Remove Pair
Removes a selected pair of matching tiles from the board. You can use this option after finding a matching pair of tiles using Find Match. To remove the pair, press Enter or click Remove Pair on the Actions menu.
Undo
Undoes the two most recently matched tiles (whether matched by sliding or clicking), returning them to the table. You can only undo your last move. To undo a move, press Ctrl+Z or click Undo on the Actions menu.
Game Options
To change game options for Slide Tiles, click Slide Tiles Settings on the Options menu. You can set the tile set to use, the difficulty for the game (this controls the initial grid, the number of clicks you start with, and how clicks are earned), and whether to use the slide indicator. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Matching Tiles in Slide Tiles Slide Tiles Strategy Slide Tiles Background
Example of a slide move You can match tiles by sliding them if there are enough empty spaces so that they can be slid.
In this example, you can slide A1 and A2 together by sliding A1 two spaces to the right (A2 can’t be slid to the left, because there are no empty spaces to its left). You can slide B1 and B2 together by sliding B2 two spaces to the left (again, B1 can’t be slid, because there are no free spaces to its right). And in C, the two tiles can be slid together in two different ways: the top tile can be slid down one space, and the bottom tile can be slid left one space.
Example of a click move In the example below, the highlighted tiles are "free" and can be removed.
Matching Tiles in Slide Tiles There are seven categories, or suits, of tiles. You can choose between two different tile sets: Chinese and Egyptian. You can change the tile set you play with in the Slide Tiles game settings (click Slide Tiles Settings on the Options menu). To see pictures of the different tile sets, click here: In five of the seven suits, you can only match tiles that are exactly identical by number and picture. You can’t match tiles that have the same number only. Two tiles with 9 of Circles match, but a 9 of Circles and a 9 of Bamboo don’ t match. In two special suits, Seasons and Flowers, you can match any tiles in that suit. In Seasons, you can match any of the seasons together (Spring and Winter or Summer and Fall, for example). In Flowers, you can match any of the flowers together. Seasons and Flowers look different in the Chinese and Egyptian tile sets:
Se as ons (Chine s e )
Flow e rs (Chine s e )
Se as ons (Egyptian)
Flow e rs (Egyptian)
Se e Als o How to Play Slide Tiles
Slide Tiles Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Slide Tiles game: Look for slide moves that remove more than one pair of tiles at a time; as well as removing more tiles, these moves are worth more points. Preserve click moves until you need them; they are very useful later in the game when less slide moves exist! If you see matching tiles that are already touching, look for ways to separate them slightly with other slides, so that you can slide them back together to remove them. When sliding tiles, if given a choice of moves, try to plan moves so that other matching tiles that are far apart get moved closer together. Even if they are not close enough to be slid together, it is possible that another move will get them close enough. If you get close to clearing a column or row, do so; collapsing the board can be very helpful. If rows or columns have collapsed, you can still use the empty space they took up for sliding tiles. You don’t have to move only the tile you want to match. You can slide a large group of tiles to push the matching tiles together. Sometimes this will position tiles for matching in future moves. If you’re stumped, use the hint features in Slide Tiles. The slide indicator at the top of the screen will indicate whether there are any slide moves available. If you prefer not to know what moves are available, you can disable the slide indicator in the game settings. The Find Match feature is also a useful hint feature, especially when you’re first learning the game. This feature highlights a pair of tiles that can be removed (either by sliding or clicking). Se e Als o How to Play Slide Tiles
Slide Tiles Background Slide Tiles is one of five puzzle games in Hoyle Puzzle Games that you play with mahjong tiles; the other four are Edge Tiles, Gravity Tiles, Mahjong Tiles, and Memory Tiles. For background on the classic game of Mahjong, see Mahjong Tiles Background. Slide Tiles resembles Mahjong Tiles in that you are trying to remove tiles from the board by matching them in pairs. However, it is a more complex and interactive game, as you can slide tiles around the board to match them, and you can remove more than two tiles in a single play. It may or may not be possible to clear the board, so your goal is to clear as much of the board as you can. You can replay puzzles to see if you can improve your score.
How to Play Star Collector Star Collector is a strategy game of space exploration. You play the game on a rectangular grid containing a number of stars. The object of the game is to collect enough stars on each level to progress to the next level. Some stars are shown on the grid, and others may be hidden within the grid. There are three different types of pieces in the game: regular pieces, multicolored pieces, and laser site pieces. You play pieces by moving pieces to the grid. Regular pieces are the basic playing pieces in Star Collector, and come in a variety of pictures and colors. Different levels will include different varieties of piece pictures and colors. Regular pieces are placed on the grid as follows: a piece can only be played onto a square next to a piece that's already on the grid, and it must match all the pieces in adjoining squares in color or picture or both. Note that you may play pieces to the grid such that some squares become unplayable. Click here for an example: Multicolored pieces have more than one color on them and can be rotated to be played next to other regular or multicolored pieces on the grid. They are played according to the same rules as regular pieces, except that since they have no picture, they only need to match adjacent pieces in color. Click here for an example: Laser site pieces can be played to the board on top of an existing piece to destroy that piece. The piece in that square is destroyed, leaving an empty square.
Collecting Stars You collect stars by placing pieces of different colors and shapes onto the grid. There are two types of stars: stars that are visible on the grid, and hidden stars. Not all levels contain hidden stars. Collecting either type of star works towards your star quota for each level, but hidden stars are worth twice the points of visible stars, since they are harder to find. You collect a visible star by playing a piece of the same color as the star onto the star's square. For instance, to capture a green star, you would play a green piece from your rack onto the green star's square. Click here for an example of collecting a visible star: In addition, you can use a multicolored piece to capture a star, if the piece can be legally played and contains the color of that star. You collect a hidden star by playing any piece (regardless of picture or color) on a square containing the star; when you play on a square containing a hidden star, the hidden star is revealed. To play Star Collector: 1 Drag a piece from your rack at the right of the board onto a square on the grid where you can legally play that piece. You can also play a piece by clicking the piece and then clicking a legal destination square on the board. To play a laser site piece, play it to a square that contains a regular piece. That piece is destroyed. To rotate a multicolored piece before playing it, right-click it (Ctrl+click on the Macintosh) in your rack. You can rotate it as many times as you need to. 2 Play as many pieces as you can. If you empty the rack by playing all the pieces in it, it refills with more pieces. 3 If you cannot play any of the remaining pieces in your rack (or don't want to play them), you can refill your rack by clicking the Re-Rack button under your rack. You can only rerack a certain amount of times for each level (the number of reracks available in the current level is shown underneath your rack). 4 Try to collect enough stars to advance to the next level. The stars you need to collect in each level are shown as a constellation at the bottom of the board; the number of missing stars in the constellation signifies how many stars you need to collect in the current level. When you collect a star in the game, a star in the constellation will be activated. 5 If you run out of reracks, and you can't play any of your remaining pieces, the game ends. If you complete a constellation, you proceed to the next level. Later levels are more difficult to solve. See how many levels you can get through in the game! Notes and Tips: Hidden stars give off sonar clues to their location. When you play a piece approximately three squares away from a hidden star, you'll hear a single sonar ping. Playing two squares away from a hidden star emits two pings, and playing adjacent to a hidden star emits three pings. You can undo your last move by clicking Undo on the Actions menu. If you happen to fill an entire row or column of the grid with pieces, all those pieces disappear, and you get bonus points and an additional rerack. To make the game easier or harder, change the Rack Size setting in the game settings. The more pieces in your rack, the easier the game will be. To make the game harder, turn off the highlights that appear when you drag a piece to the board by turning off
the Show Playable Squares option in the game settings. Some stars may already be completed in a constellation when you start a level. Use the Legend under the Help menu for a quick reference to items in the game.
Actions Rerack
Refills your rack with all new pieces. You have a limited number of reracks during the game. You can rerack by clicking the Rerack button on your screen or clicking Rerack on the Actions menu.
Undo
Undoes your last move, returning the last piece you played to your rack. You can only undo once. To undo, click Undo on the Actions menu.
Game Options To change game options for Star Collector, click Star Collector Settings on the Options menu. You can set your initial rack size (how many pieces are in your rack), whether playable squares are shown (to help you play), and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Star Collector Strategy Star Collector Background
Example: Playing a regular piece You can play a regular piece next to a piece on the grid if it matches adjacent pieces in picture or color.
In this example, you can place either of the two space capsules in your rack on square A, regardless of color. Likewise, you could place the astronaut in your rack on square B. However, once you place a piece in one in those two squares, the other square cannot be played in unless the piece you play matches both pieces next to it in either picture or color. If you place a red space capsule in square A, then in square B you can either play a red astronaut, or a space capsule the same color as the astronaut next to square B. Likewise, if you place a red astronaut in square B, you can only play a red space capsule in square A, or an astronaut the same color as the space capsule next to square A.
Example: Playing a multicolored piece Multicolored pieces are played according to the same rules as regular pieces, except that they only need to match regular pieces in color.
In this example, the multicolored piece was played to the right of a purple piece. The multicolored piece's purple side matched the piece's color. Any yellow piece can now be played under the multicolored piece, and any red piece can be played to the multicolored piece's right. Notice that although a blue piece can be played above the multicolored piece to capture the star, the piece must also match the adjacent purple earth. Therefore, only a blue earth can be played to capture this star.
Example: Collecting a visible star You collect a star by placing a piece of the same color as the star onto the star's square.
In this example, a light blue earth can be played to capture the light blue star at the left. A green astronaut can be played to capture the green star at the bottom. And any green piece can be played to capture the green star at the right, since the astronaut piece next to it is already green.
Regular piece
Multicolored piece
Laser site piece
Star Collector Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Star Collector game: Play pieces in long lines whenever possible, rather than in blocks; this allows you flexibility in sprouting pieces off those lines when you need to. Plan ahead: when looking at your piece rack, try to see whether a sequence of pieces can be played; for example, a purple globe, a purple astronaut, a green astronaut, a green moon, and a red moon can all be played on the grid on adjacent squares. Plan your path towards a colored star by trying to play pieces of primarily that color toward the star's general vicinity. In general, placing pieces of the same color in the same areas of the grid can help prevent unplayable areas. This can also help keep colors you don't want out of your way. Save multicolored pieces until you need them. Play them to capture a star, or play them as the last piece in your rack so that your rack will be refilled without having to use a valuable rerack. Se e Als o How to Play Star Collector
Star Collector Background Star Collector is a strategy game of space exploration. You move your ship through galaxies, trying to reach as many stars as possible. To reach stars, you must plan ahead, making the best of your resources, and trying to travel as much of the galaxy as possible (since not all stars are easy to find). Star Collector shares several elements with the classic card game Crazy Eights. Pieces can be matched by either picture or color, and some pieces are in effect "wild" and can match more than one piece.
How to Play Time Breaker In Time Breaker, you pilot a time-traveling ship through four different ages: Primitive, Egyptian, Medieval, and Future. Your mission is to travel through several different levels of each age, clearing the blocks using the weapons and equipment at your disposal. Enemy ships chase you through time and try to prevent you from completing your mission. The top of the screen in each level contains blocks that you must try to destroy. Blocks match the theme of the age; Primitive blocks resemble stones, Egyptian blocks resemble pyramid blocks with hieroglyphics, and so on. Destroy blocks by launching an energy ball at them; the ball hits the blocks and bounces back down. Deflect the energy ball back up to the blocks using your ship. Some blocks take multiple hits to destroy; other blocks are indestructible, but do not have to be removed to advance in the game. Some levels may also contain bonus blocks. Destroy bonus blocks to release bonus items which remain for a limited time; destroy these items for extra points. Do not let an energy ball go past your ship and off the bottom of the screen; each time this happens, you lose a ship. Your ships are shown on the screen; the number of ships you have varies according to the game difficulty. While you're playing, power tokens may fall to the bottom of the screen; catch power tokens with your ship to get extra powers. Click here for a list of power tokens and their powers: Obstacles or enemies may appear while you're playing. Some obstacles can be destroyed by hitting them with an energy ball, others cannot. Some obstacles are destroyed when hit by an energy ball, others are not. Click here for a list of obstacles in the game: To play Time Breaker: 1 Select the age you want to attempt. In each age, you'll play six different levels. 2 To begin play, click your mouse to release an energy ball. The energy ball bounces up to hit the blocks at the top of the screen, destroying any destroyable blocks it hits, and then bounces back down to your ship. The energy ball will also bounce off walls. 3 Move your mouse left and right (if using the keyboard, press your left and right arrow keys) to move your ship in order to deflect the energy ball and bounce it back up to the blocks. 4 You can catch power tokens with your ship by moving underneath them. Power tokens give you a variety of powers and may be temporary or last throughout the entire level. Two power tokens, Catch and Laser , give you powers that cannot be used until you activate them. They are activated by clicking your mouse or pressing the Spacebar on your keyboard. 5 If you destroy all the normal blocks in a level, you'll proceed to the next level. Bonus blocks are optional and do not have to be destroyed. The current age ends if you run out of ships or if you complete all the levels in the age. If you run out of ships during the game, you have the option to continue the game from where you left off, with your score and ships reset, or you can start over from the beginning of the game. If you complete an age, you can choose a different age to play. If you complete all four ages, you win the game! Notes and Tips: Learn the power tokens and their effects to improve your game; especially learn to avoid the tokens with negative effects! Press the Esc key to pause the game, and to regain mouse control if you are playing in mouse mode. To view a quick reference on the items in the game, select Legend from the Help menu.
Actions Pause/Resume
Pauses the game, or resumes the game if it is paused. You can pause or resume by pressing Esc on your keyboard, or clicking Pause or Resume on the Actions menu. You can also pause the game to regain control of the mouse if playing in mouse mode.
Game Options To change game options for Time Breaker, click Time Breaker Settings on the Options menu. You can set whether to play with mouse or keyboard, your controller sensitivity, and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Time Breaker Pow er Tokens Time Breaker Obstacles and Enemies
Time Breaker Power Tokens Power tokens fall from the screen as you play. Catch power tokens with your ship to get bonus abilities that affect your ship or energy balls. Most abilities are positive, but some are negative. You don't have to catch all the power tokens in the game, but most of them will help you progress in the game. Two of the power tokens, Catch and Laser, give you powers that cannot be used until you activate them; your ship will change to indicate that these powers are available. To activate these powers, click your mouse or press the Spacebar on your keyboard.
Power Tokens in Time Breaker Catch
Catches the next energy ball that hits your ship, allowing you to release it whenever you like. This power lasts until you catch another power token.
Laser
Adds a laser weapon to your ship that you can shoot straight upwards, one shot at a time. This power lasts until you catch another power token.
Slow
Slows down the energy ball, making it easier to deflect.
Speed Up
Speeds up the energy ball, making it harder to deflect.
Grow
Enlarges your ship, making it easier for you to deflect balls.
Shrink
Shrinks your ship, making it harder for you to deflect balls.
Turbo
Makes your next hit of the energy ball break through all the destructible rows of blocks it hits. (The energy ball will bounce off indestructible blocks.)
Missile
Turns the energy ball into a missile ball, enabling you to help direct the ball into its target as it's moving using the mouse or keyboard.
Bomb
Makes blocks hit by the energy ball explode, destroying adjacent blocks. This power lasts until you catch another power token.
Clone Ball
Clones the next energy ball you hit, shooting additional energy balls from your ship so that you can destroy more blocks. Cloned balls remain as long as you can keep them in play. Note: you'll only lose one ship if all the cloned balls (and the original ball) go past your ship off the screen.
Drain
Drains energy from the energy ball, making it powerless for a certain number of bounces. During this time, it will not destroy anything it hits.
Free Life
Gives you an extra ship.
Se e Als o How to Play Time Breaker
Time Breaker Obstacles and Enemies Time travel is not without its perils. You'll encounter a number of obstacles as you play the game. Furthermore, your enemies want to conquer time before you do; eliminating and avoiding them will be to your advantage. Some of the obstacles and enemies you'll encounter are described below. Wormhole
A wormhole appears from nowhere, then disappears. If an energy ball hits a wormhole, it will get caught in it and flung out in a random direction.
Rift
A rift in time appears. If an energy ball enters a rift, it disappears, and another rift will appear in a different location on the board; the ball will be flung out of the new rift. A rift will eventually shrink and disappear.
Tanker
A slow ship that's easy to destroy.
Destroyer
A sleek ship that cannot be destroyed.
Cruiser
A mysterious ship that throws out mines. Mines get in your way, and if they hit your ship, they remove your current power. You can remove them by hitting them with the energy ball.
Phantom
A malfunctioning ship. If you hit this ship, you wipe it out and it explodes, possibly taking nearby blocks with it.
Se e Als o How to Play Time Breaker Time Breaker Strategy Time Breaker Background
Time Breaker Strategy Try these hints and tips to improve your Time Breaker game: Learn the power tokens and their effects to improve your game; especially learn to avoid the tokens with negative effects: Speed Up, Shrink, and Drain. Anticipate bad bounces off unusually-shaped obstacles and blocks. Be ready for the ball to come out of nowhere. When you get the Clone Ball power, try to concentrate on deflecting one or two of the cloned energy balls, rather than trying to deflect them all. Don't let the power tokens distract you from the more important task of deflecting the energy ball. Avoid catching other power tokens if you get the Catch or Laser power (or other favorite powers); these powers are very useful, since you can decide when to use them. Practice a lot! You'll get familiar with the tokens and you'll get the hang of using your ship. And be sure to relax, there are a lot of levels to get through! Se e Als o How to Play Time Breaker Time Breaker Obstacles and Enemies
Time Breaker Background Time Breaker is an update of a classic—an exciting twist on the usual "break the blocks" style arcade game. In Time Breaker, you pilot a time-traveling ship through four different ages: Primitive, Egyptian, Medieval, and Future. Your mission is to travel through several different levels of each age, clearing the blocks using the weapons and equipment at your disposal. Enemy ships chase you through time and try to prevent you from completing your mission. Each age features unique challenges and rewards. Buckle your space-belt!
How to Play Rays Rays is a unique game of hide-and-seek. You are seeking "nodes" hidden on a 10 x 10 grid, and you find them by firing rays of light into the grid from the perimeter. Based on where the rays emerge from the grid you have to discern where the nodes are located, but use your rays wisely, they are in limited supply! How to Play Rays In one player mode, the computer hides the nodes on the grid, and it is your task to find them. Start by choosing a perimeter square and clicking on it. A ray fires into the grid from that square, and then emerges somewhere on the perimeter. Each time you fire a ray, it uses up one charge on your battery, which is shown to the right of your picture. Rays change course when they strike or pass near a node. The easiest way to visualize how rays interact with nodes is to imagine a force field around each node that extends out around it. When a ray strikes the force field around a node, it either bounces back the way it came, or bounces off it at a right angle.
Figure 1: Rays Interacting with a Node There are four ways to describe the path of a ray: it can be deflected or reflected, and each reflection or deflection can be simple or complex. Let's look at how each of these ray paths could occur. Simple Deflection Simple deflections occur when a ray changes direction once, and exits the grid from a different point than where it entered. These are the most informative results you can get from firing a ray, and are therefore very desirable. Based on the entry point and exit point of a ray that is simply deflected, you can tell exactly where one node has to be. The corner made by the path of a simple deflection always "points" to the square containing the node. In the picture above, rays 2 & 3 are simple deflections. There is no other node placement that will produce a simple deflection with that entry and exit point. Another kind of "simple deflection" occurs when a node doesn't affect the ray at all, and the ray travels straight through the grid. In this case, the ray isn't really deflected by anything, but it is labeled as part of the "simple deflection" group just the same. Even when nothing happens, it tells you something important. When no nodes affect the path of a ray, you know there are three full rows without a node in them. Complex Deflection When a ray changes direction two or more times and then exits the grid from a different spot from where it entered, it is a complex deflection. The entry and exit points of a complex deflection are marked with a double-arrow icon. Ray one in Figure 2 is an example of a complex deflection. Complex deflections aren't as clearly informative as simple deflections, since multiple node combinations could produce the same entry and exit points.
Figure 2: A Complex Deflection Simple Reflections A simple reflection happens when the ray changes direction once, and comes back out where it went in. The entry and exit point of a simple reflection is marked with a circle. The simplest way for this to happen is that you fire a ray directly into a node. See ray one in Figure 3. Rays three and four show simple reflections that are, well, more complex. They change direction once and come out where they went in, though, so they are still simple reflections. Note that a simple reflection doesn't always indicate a node in that row or column.
Figure 3: Simple Reflections Complex Reflections Complex reflections occur when a ray changes direction more than once, and exits at the same point it entered. The entry and exit point of a complex reflection is marked with a double-circle. This can only happen when a ray is deflected into a node. The ray bounces off the node and retraces its path, heading out the same way it came in. Ray two of Figure 4 shows a complex reflection.
Figure 4: A Complex Reflection Guesses In "One at a Time" guess mode (the default setting), you can guess the location of a node after you fire each ray. When you are correct, you earn an additional guess. To guess, click on a square you think contains a node. This places a purple X on the square. Then click "Guess." If you are correct, the node will be revealed. If you are incorrect, the X will turn red, reminding you that there is no node there. In "All at Once" mode, you guess where all the nodes are at once. If any of your guesses are wrong, all the nodes stay hidden and you shoot another ray. The nodes are only revealed when all of your guesses are correct, or when your guess is incorrect and you are out of rays. You can change your guess after placing a purple X in "All at Once" mode by clicking on the X you want to change. This "picks up" the X, allowing you to re-place it. In "One at a Time" mode, clicking on a square will move the X to it. There is no penalty for guessing in either mode, but in "All at Once" mode, the chances are slim that you will be correct unless you have some information to work with, so you may want to skip your guess early on. In "One at a Time" mode, guessing gives you extra information about the grid even if you are incorrect, and can confirm or deny an educated guess you might have, so use each guess you have. Two-Player Mode In two-player mode, each player places nodes on their opponent's grid (no peeking), or either player can have the computer place the nodes by clicking "Computer Pick." Players take turns firing rays into their grid. The first player to accurately guess the location of all the nodes is the winner. However, if the player who went first finds all the nodes first, the other player takes one more turn, giving each player the same number of total rays fired.
Actions Guess
If Xs have been placed on the grid for a guess, press G or click the "Guess" button to submit the guess. If not, G skips the guess.
Skip Guess
If it is time to make a guess and you do not wish to make one, press G or click "Skip Guess."
Solution
To reveal the location of all nodes and end the game, press S.
Game Options To change game options for Rays, click Rays Settings on the Options menu. You can set the number of nodes used in the game, the difficulty level of the node placement, and whether you guess the location of nodes one at a time or all at once. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
Se e Als o Rays Strategy Rays Background
Rays Strategy Every shot and guess in Rays gives you information. The key to becoming a "Rays Expert" is knowing how to extract all the information from each shot, take shots that reveal the most useful information, and use your guesses wisely. Color-Coding The first tip is to use the color-coding feature in Rays to help keep track of what you know. If you right-click on a square in rays, it will turn red. If you right click again, it will turn green. A third right-click returns it to black. Right-clicking on a perimeter square will turn the entire row or column red, and right-clicking a second time will turn the entire row or column black again. Use this feature to turn squares you know cannot contain nodes red. Shoot Wisely Try to take shots that have the potential to give you the most new information about the board, or that pinpoint the location of a node you only have partial information about. Here are some tips for shot selection: Fire shots that would eliminate the most squares from "node contention" should the ray "miss." Remember that your ray is essentially three squares wide. Try to fire into areas you don't know much about, and get the most coverage you can out of each ray. Use follow-up shots to clarify complex deflections and reflections. When a ray results in partial information, try to turn it into concrete information via guesses and follow-up shots. For example, after a simple reflection, a follow-up shot one square away will frequently produce a simple deflection off of the node you found with the simple reflection, pinpointing the node's location. Informed Guessing When a ray results in a simple deflection, use your guess (in "One at a Time" mode) to reveal that node, as you will earn an extra guess. Use your guesses every turn in "One at a Time" mode; you have nothing to lose, even if you are guessing randomly. Frequently, you will be able to narrow down the location of a node to two or three potential squares. Use your guesses to figure out which of the possible squares the node is actually in. In Figure 5, it is likely that ray three reflected off of one of the two known nodes to make the complex deflection. Using your guess on the square at the intersection of 2 & 39 or 6 & 12 would be a good way to go.
Figure 5: Using Guesses Wisely Tricky Node Placement In two-player mode, you are both a hider and a seeker. Hiding nodes to confound your opponent is as much of an art as searching for them is. Here are some tips for node placement: Clumped nodes are hard to find. When nodes are placed near each other, it reduces the ability for rays to reach some of the nodes. Three nodes in a row or two nodes separated by an empty space are particularly tricky, as all rays fired into the area will produce the same result whether the middle node is there or not.
Edge and corner nodes are hard to find. Nodes hidden on the outer edge of the grid produce more simple reflections than a node hidden on the interior. Know your opponent. Does your opponent frequently fire from the same square to start out with? Do they adhere strictly to the strategy tips above? If so, you can use that to your advantage. Vary your strategy. The first couple of tips are only difficult if you don't use them every time. If you always place clumped nodes in the corner because they are the most difficult to find, it will actually become easy for your opponent to guess where you have placed your nodes. Variety is key for keeping your opponents on their toes. Se e Als o How to Play Rays
Rays Background Rays is a unique game of hide-and-seek. It bears some similarity to Battling Ships, where you fire missiles at ships hidden on your opponent's grid. In Rays, you also find hidden objects on a grid, but it's not as simple as naming coordinates and finding out if it was a hit or a miss. Instead, you fire rays of light into the grid from the perimeter. Based on where the rays emerge from the grid, you have to discern where the "nodes" are located— but use your rays wisely, you only have eight!
How to Play Word Searches In Word Searches, you try to find all the words hidden in the grid. The words you need to find are listed on the right side of the screen. Words can be found across, down, diagonally, and backwards in the puzzle.
Selecting a Puzzle in Word Searches A random puzzle is selected for you when you start Word Searches. You can choose another random puzzle, or choose from a categorized list of puzzles. To select a puzzle: To select a particular puzzle, click the Choose button on the screen. Choose a category, and then choose a puzzle within that category. To select a new random puzzle, click the New button on the screen. Notes: Each time you play, a random set of words is chosen from the word list and the puzzle is scrambled. You can play your favorite puzzles again and again! You can make your own word lists for Word Searches; word lists you create appear in the Word Lists (custom) category. Click here to find out how to create word lists: .
Playing Word Searches When you find a word, you circle it using your mouse. Words you find are automatically crossed off in the list. You win when you find all the words in the list. To circle a word: Click the first letter in the word. Holding down your mouse button, drag the mouse to the last letter, and then release it.
OR Click the first and last letter of the word.
Notes and Tips: If you are stumped on the current word, click Find Word, and the word will be circled for you. To narrow down your search, turn on the Show First Letter feature in the game settings. This will highlight the first letter of the current word in the word list within the grid, in every place it is found. To quickly move to a different word in the word list, type the first letter of that word. Other game settings can make the puzzle easier or harder: To make the puzzle easier, you can turn off Use Backwards Words and Use Diagonal Words, or you can decrease the grid size and the number of words used in the puzzle. To make the puzzle harder, you can hide the word list or increase the grid size and the number of words used in the puzzle. Note that hiding the word list may make a puzzle too difficult to play unless you use a smaller grid size or reduce the number of words. After you solve a puzzle, you can play the same puzzle again by clicking the Clear button and then the
Scramble button.
Playing Word Searches with Another Person You can play Word Searches competitively with another friend or family member on the same computer. This is called playing head to head. To start a head to head game: Click the Go To menu, click Word Searches, and click Two Players. If a second player is not already signed in, you are asked to select the player you want to play with. Select a player from the Players list, and click OK. You can also add a player from within Word Searches. If you add a player after you've already started a puzzle, a new puzzle will be started. To add a player after starting Word Searches: 1 2 3 4
Click Word Searches Players on the Options menu. Click the Add button in the empty player position, and select Real Person. Select a player to add. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the Players dialog box.
To play head to head: 1 2 3 4
Start Word Searches with two players (see above). You and the other player take turns finding words in the word list. You each have a certain amount of time for your turn. On your turn, circle a word just as you would in the single player game. When you find a word, you score a point, and the turn is passed to the other player. If you can't find a word in the time limit, your turn is passed to the other player. The game ends when the puzzle is completed or when neither player can find a word in his or her turn. The player who finds the most words wins.
Notes: The standard time limit is 30 seconds but can be changed to 45 or 60 seconds in the game settings. You can only change game settings during a head to head game after a game has started. You can change the settings anytime before a word is circled. During a two-player game, most actions are unavailable.
Actions New
Selects a new random puzzle. Click the New button on the screen or click New on the File menu.
Choose Puzzle
Lets you choose a puzzle from a list arranged by category. Click the Choose button on the screen or click Choose Puzzle on the File menu.
Create Word List
Lets you create your own word lists for Word Searches. Click Create Word List on the File menu. Click here to find out more:
Delete Word List
Lets you remove word lists you created. Click Delete Word List on the File menu.
Save
Saves the current puzzle, so you can continue playing it later. The puzzle is saved in its current state. Click Save on the File menu.
Restore
Restores a saved puzzle, so you can play it. The restored puzzle will replace any puzzle you are currently working on. Click Restore on the File menu.
Print
Prints the current puzzle to your printer, so you can take it with you. The puzzle is printed in its current state, so any words you have already found are circled on the puzzle and crossed off in the list. Click Print on the File menu.
Scramble Puzzle
Rearranges all the letters in the puzzle. Any words you have found remain circled. Click the Scramble button on the screen or click Scramble Puzzle on the Actions menu.
Clear Puzzle
Clears the entire puzzle, and removes any words you've found. You are asked to confirm that you really want to clear the puzzle. Click the Clear button on the screen or click Clear Puzzle on the Actions menu.
Find Word
Circles the current word (the word selected in the word list) in the puzzle. If the current word is already found, the Find Word button isn't available. Click the Find button on the screen or click Find Word on the Actions menu.
Solve Puzzle
Circles all the words in the puzzle. You are asked to confirm that you really want to solve the puzzle. Click the Solve button on the screen or click Solve Puzzle on the Actions menu.
Pause/Resume Timer
Pause Timer pauses the timer (if active) and hides the puzzle grid. This is useful if you are tracking your time and want to stop working on the puzzle to do something else. Click the Pause button on the screen or click Pause on the Actions menu. Resume Timer starts the timer again and reveals the puzzle. Click the Resume button on the screen or click Resume on the Actions menu.
Shortcut Keys Letters A-Z
Moves to the first word in the word list that starts with that letter.
Arrow keys (up and down)
Moves up and down through the word list one word at a time.
Game Options To change game options for Word Searches, click Word Searches Settings on the Options menu. You can set whether to show the word list, whether to highlight the first letter of the current word everywhere it is found (to make puzzles easier), whether to allow backwards and diagonal words in the puzzle, how many words are fit into the grid, whether to use a square grid, and the width and height of the grid. You can also set whether to use a timer and what background to use. In a two-player game, you can set how much time each player has on his or her turn. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Creating Your Ow n Word Lists for Word Searches Printing Word Searches Word Searches Strategy Word Searches Background
Creating Your Own Word Lists for Word Searches You can create your own word lists for Word Searches so you can play puzzles using those words. Some ideas for word lists you could make: your hobbies, the names of friends or family members, your favorite foods, cities you have lived in, spelling lists for your kids, pets you have had, your favorite sports figures. In addition, you can make word lists based on word lists that are already in Word Games. Words in your word list must be from 3-21 letters. To create your own word list: 1 2 3
In Word Searches, click Create New Word List on the File menu. To add a word to your list, type it in the Add New Word box, and click the Add button. To copy a word from an existing word list, select the group, list, and word you want from the Group, List, and Word boxes at the right of the dialog box. Then, click the Add button. Or click the Add All button to copy all the words in the selected list to your new list. 4 Click Save when you are done adding words. 5 Type a name for your list, and click OK. Lists you make appear in the Word Lists (custom) category. To play a puzzle with a word list you created: 1 2 3
In Word Searches, click the Choose button, or click Choose Puzzle on the File menu. In the Select a Category box, select the Word Lists (Custom) category. In the Select a Puzzle box, select the puzzle you want.
Note: Puzzles you create also may appear in Hangman games that use categories. Se e Als o How to Play Word Searches
Printing Word Searches You can print a puzzle on your printer, so you can take it with you. The puzzle is printed in its current state, so any words you have already found are circled and crossed off in the list. To print a puzzle: Click Print on the File menu, and click OK to print. Tip: You can use the Print feature to print puzzles and puzzle solutions. Select a puzzle, print it, and then solve it (by clicking the Solve Puzzle button) and print it again. Se e Als o How to Play Word Searches
Word Searches Strategy Try the following hints and tips to improve your Word Searches skill: When you are just starting a puzzle, look for longer words. They are often easiest to find. Looking for words across and down is easier than diagonal words. Try quickly scanning each line with your eyes. Look for patterns in the grid; if you see common consonants and vowels together, they might make a word. Try to look for the rarest letter in a word. For instance, if you are looking for the word DIVINE, try looking for the letter V in all the places it is found in the grid. Some relatively rare letters are: Z, Q, X, V, F, G, Y, U, J, H, and K. Words with double letters (two consecutive letters that are the same, such as L in YELLOW or E in BEEF) may be easier to find, because you can look for clusters of the same letters. If you are really stumped on a word but don't want to have it solved for you, try scrambling the puzzle (click the Scramble button on the screen) to get a fresh look at the puzzle. Se e Als o How to Play Word Searches
Word Searches Background Word Search puzzles are entertaining puzzles that can be found in most word puzzle books and magazines. In a Word Search puzzle, words (often related to a particular subject) are hidden up, down, forwards, backwards, and diagonally within a grid of letters.
The word FOX is found in the grid The words you need to find are listed in a word list. When you find a word, you circle it in the puzzle and cross it off the list. There is probably a Word Search puzzle on every imaginable topic. Topics for Word Searches include hobbies, animals, food, science, cities, and more!
Making a Face in FaceCreator You can use FaceCreator to create a unique picture to represent yourself while you’re playing games. You can make just one face to represent yourself, or you can make several different faces and choose a different face each time you play! Click one of the topics below to learn more about FaceCreator: Starting FaceCreator Using FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen
Starting FaceCreator There are several different ways to start FaceCreator. To start FaceCreator: In the Sign In dialog box, click the FaceCreator button. OR From the Main Screen, click the FaceCreator picture on the screen, or click FaceCreator on the Go To menu. OR In the Players dialog box, click the Face button next to your face. You will be taken to a Settings screen; click the FaceCreator button to start FaceCreator. Note: If you start FaceCreator from the Sign In screen, the face you make is automatically assigned to the currently selected player. And if you make a face when you’re already signed in, it is automatically assigned to you. To change an existing FaceCreator face: In FaceCreator, click the Load button, select the face you want to change, and then click OK to load that face into FaceCreator. Click here to learn how to use FaceCreator: Se e Als o Using FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen
Using FaceCreator You can create a unique picture for yourself using FaceCreator. You can start with a new face, or load a previously created face by clicking the Load button. For a detailed explanation of the FaceCreator screen, click here: To make a face in FaceCreator: 1 Click a feature (head, eyes, nose, and so on) on the FaceCreator screen. The feature will be selected, and pictures you can use for the feature appear in the 12 feature boxes at the top of the screen. You can select features in any order, and you don’t have to specify every feature (your face can have no nose, for example). 2 Select the picture you want to use for that feature. To see additional screens of pictures, click on the numbered buttons or on the left and right arrows under the two rows of pictures. Note: For eyes and eyebrows, you can select matching pairs, or you can select different left and right eyes and eyebrows, if you like. When you click on eyes or eyebrows, a selection box pops up with the choices left only, right only, and both. Click on which side or sides you wish to change (both is the default choice), then select the new feature. You can move features around on the face by clicking the arrow buttons surrounding the sample face or by clicking the arrow keys on your keyboard. All features except the body, head, and clothes can be moved. If you move a feature and want it moved back where it was originally, click the Center button. 3 Add any other features you want. 4
Select one of the four skin tones for your face.
5 Click Exit to exit FaceCreator. Your face is saved automatically. If you want to make multiple faces before exiting, you can click save to save your current face before making a different one. 6
Assign faces you have made to players using the Sign In screen.
To change an existing face: 1 Click the load button. 2 Make any desired changes to the face. 3 Click save. A dialog will appear: you can either save over the face you changed by then clicking Update, or save the changes as a new face without deleting the old one by clicking add. 4 If you click exit after changing a loaded face without having saved it, you are asked if you want to save the changes to the face. Click Yes to open the dialog in step 3, click No to exit FaceCreator without saving, or click Cancel to return to FaceCreator. To remove a feature from the face: 1 Select the feature you want to remove. 2 Click the Clear button. To clear the entire face: Click the New button to start a new face from scratch. Your current face will be cleared. To delete a FaceCreator face:
You can remove any FaceCreator faces that you no longer want in the Sign In dialog box. Select the face you want to delete using the scroll bar below the face window, then click the Delete button to the right of the face. (You can do this when you sign in to start the game, or you can open the Sign In dialog box by clicking Sign In on the File menu from the Main Screen.) You can also delete faces while loading an existing face in FaceCreator. While browsing for a face to load, you can click the delete button to delete the face currently showing. Notes and Tips: Moving eyebrows to different heights is a good subtle way to add personality to your face. Moving a nose downward can create an impression of a longer nose; moving it upward can make a shorter nose. Be creative! Many items can be moved anywhere on the face. Clothing is specific to the body you select. If you select an article of clothing and then change your body, you
may need to select new clothes for your new body. To quickly create a unique new face, click the Random button. (This is good if you’re not feeling creative, but still want a change.) You can still make changes to the random face, if you want. Be careful when using this button as this will erase the face currently on the screen. Se e Als o Starting FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen
The FaceCreator Screen Click the picture of FaceCreator below to get help with that part of FaceCreator:
To get a step-by-step description of how to use FaceCreator, click here:
Facial Features Shows all of the available options for the current feature you are working with. Click the left and right arrow buttons to move through the pages of options, or click a numbered button to move to a specific page.
Head Selects the shape of your head.
Body Selects your body type. Both male and female body types are shown.
Skin Tone Selects the skin tone for your head and body.
Eyebrows Selects eyebrows. To select matching eyebrows, just click the mannequin head on the picture of eyebrows you want. To select a different left or right eyebrow, click left only or right only above the eyebrows selection area and then select the eyebrow picture you want .
Eyes Selects eyes. To select matching eyes, just click the mannequin head on the picture of eyes you want. To select a different left or right eye, click left only or right only above the eyes selection area and then select the eye picture you want .
Eye/Eyebrow selection area Appears when you select eyes or eyebrows. This lets you individually select eyes or eyebrows to add character to a face. To select just the left eye or eyebrow, select left only, to select just the right eye or eyebrow, select right only. To select both eyes or eyebrows (the normal selection), select both.
Nose Selects a nose. Move the nose up or down to make it appear longer or shorter.
Mouth Selects a mouth.
Face Shows the face in progress, with any features you have added to your face. Click on the arrows to move the currently selected feature around on the face. All features except the body and clothes can be moved. Click the Center button to center the current feature, or click the Clear button to clear the feature you just added to the face.
Center button Centers the currently selected feature if it has been moved.
Clear button Removes the currently selected feature from your face.
arrow Moves the currently selected feature in the face in the direction indicated. All features except the body and clothes can be moved.
Hair and Hats Selects hair and hat combinations.
Clothes Selects clothing for your body. You will only see clothes that fit the body shape you chose.
Eye wear Selects glasses or other accessories for your eyes. Some glasses will hide your eyes.
Facial Hair Selects a variety of types of facial hair.
Save button Saves the current face to your collection of faces available at the sign-in screen. Load button Loads an existing FaceCreator face so that you can make changes to it. Help button Brings up this help file. Exit button Exits FaceCreator, saving the current face. If you loaded a face into FaceCreator, you have the option to overwrite the old face or save the face as a completely new face.
New Button Click to make a new face Random Button Click to make a face from random FaceCreator parts.
Hoyle Bucks Hoyle Bucks are frequent flier miles for gamers. When you accomplish certain feats while playing Hoyle Puzzle Games, you automatically earn Hoyle Bucks. The more you play, the more you'll earn! Spend your bucks on new card decks, backgrounds, music tracks, and décor items. Your current Hoyle Bucks balance and any feats you've accomplished recently are shown in the Hoyle Bucks display in the lower-right corner of every game screen. Rolling over the display will show you the four most recent feats you accomplished in that game.
Accessing the Hoyle Bucks Area To spend your Hoyle Bucks, view your account ledger (for a complete list of the feats you've accomplished for this game), or learn which feats will earn Hoyle Bucks, go to the Hoyle Bucks area of Hoyle Puzzle Games. There are three ways to get there: click on Hoyle Bucks from the Main Screen, select Hoyle Bucks from the Go To menu, or click on your current Hoyle Bucks balance on the Hoyle Bucks display in the game screen.
Navigating in the Hoyle Bucks Area When you first enter the Hoyle Bucks area, you are presented with a desktop with several items on it: the catalog, the guide, and your ledger. Click on any of these desktop items to use them, or navigate using the control bar at the bottom of the screen. Click on the picture below for information on that part of the control bar.
Se e Als o Earning Hoyle Bucks Spending Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Disabling Hoyle Bucks
Earning Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks is easy: all you have to do is play! Each game awards Hoyle Bucks for accomplishing various feats while playing. The size of the award for each feat depends on many factors, including the difficulty of the feat, the number of different ways to earn bucks in the game, and your game settings.
The Hoyle Bucks Guide To see the exact award amounts for each feat based on your current game settings, refer to the Hoyle Bucks Guide by going to the Hoyle Bucks area, and clicking on the Guide button a the bottom of the screen. Choose which game to view by clicking on the appropriate tab along the side of the guide. Then, scroll through the pages with the arrows on the bottom corner of each page, or with the arrow keys on your keyboard. Each entry will show you the name of the feat, how to accomplish it, how many times you've accomplished that feat, and the current reward value for accomplishing that feat with your current game settings. Note: some actions disable Hoyle Bucks production for the remainder of the current game: adding a second human player, receiving a game hint, using Undo from the Action menu, and restoring a saved game.
The Hoyle Bucks Ledger To see how many bucks you've earned and where you've spent them, refer to the ledger by going to the Hoyle Bucks area, and clicking on the Ledger button a the bottom of the screen. The ledger contains a record of your 2,000 most recent Hoyle Bucks transactions. This includes earning bucks, buying items from the catalog, and selling décor items in Spacemaker. You can sort the ledger by any of the columns by clicking on the column heading. You can page through the ledger using the arrow buttons at the bottom of the ledger page. Clicking a single arrow (or using the right and left arrows on your keyboard) will take your forward or back one page. Clicking a double arrow takes you forward or back ten pages. Se e Als o Spending Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Disabling Hoyle Bucks
Spending Hoyle Bucks So now that you've earned some Hoyle Bucks, what do you do with them? Spend them on items in the Hoyle Bucks catalog, of course! Click on the Catalog button at the bottom of the Hoyle Bucks screen, and spend your hard-earned Hoyle cash. To purchase an item: 1 2
Choose a section to browse by clicking on one of the tabs along the side of the catalog. Turn the page by clicking the arrows next to the catalog page numbers, or by using the right and left arrows on your keyboard. 3 When you find an item you would like to purchase that you can afford, click on the Buy Now button. 4 To put your item into use right away, click on the link at the bottom of the catalog page: either Backgrounds, Cards, Environment, or Spacemaker. The link will be the appropriate one for using the items sold on that page. Note: When you purchase an item for the first time, the item becomes highlighted in the catalog, so you can see at a glance what you have purchased before. Some items can only be purchased once. When you purchase a one-time item, the Buy Now button changes to Sold. Other items can be purchased multiple times. All of your recent spending is tracked in the Hoyle Bucks Ledger for your review.
Music Unlock more music with your Hoyle Bucks! Once purchased, a new music track becomes available for playing in the Environment menu. Select Environment… from the Options menu to choose your background music.
Décor Express your personality by displaying décor items around yourself. Each décor item purchased becomes available in the Spacemaker interface. Use Spacemaker to arrange your décor items. To access Spacemaker, click on Spacemaker at the bottom of catalog pages containing décor items, or select Spacemaker from the Options menu. Some décor items are interactive; click on your objects during a game to interact with them!
Clearance! Clearance items are décor items priced to move! There are clearance items from all the other categories, maybe you'll find a nice bargain… Se e Als o Earning Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Disabling Hoyle Bucks
Using Spacemaker In Spacemaker, you can arrange décor items you've purchased with your Hoyle Bucks around you. You can access Spacemaker by selecting Spacemaker in the Options menu, or by clicking Spacemaker at the bottom of catalog pages containing décor items. Click the picture of Spacemaker below to get help with that part of Spacemaker:
To put an item from your closet into use: 1 2 3 4 5
Items you have purchased start out in your closet. Click an item name from your Items in closet list to select it. Click Place to put the selected object into use. You can adjust the position of most décor items. Click Next Position to cycle the selected décor item through several possible locations until you find one that is close to where you want it to go. Use the arrows below the display to adjust the location of your item in smaller increments. Adjust whether the selected item is in front of or behind any other previously placed items using the Move Forward and Move Backwards buttons.
To put an item in use back into your closet: 1 2
Select an item in use by clicking on it in your display, or click an item name from your Items in use list. Click Remove to move the selected object to your closet.
To sell an item: You can sell off some of your items if you have run out of space in your closet, or you want to buy something new and don't have enough cash on hand. 1 2 3
Select an item from either your Items in closet list or your Items in use list. Click Sell. A confirmation message will appear. Click OK if you still want to sell the item for the indicated price.
Se e Als o Spending Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks
Disabling Hoyle Bucks
Disabling Hoyle Bucks If you would rather not be alerted when you earn Hoyle Bucks, simply click the Hoyle Bucks icon on the Hoyle Bucks display in the lower-right corner of your game screen. This essentially "minimizes" Hoyle Bucks. You will still earn them, but you will not be notified when you do, and you can simply ignore the feature. Click the icon again to restore the display and hear sound effects when you earn bucks. Se e Als o Spending Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker
Place & Remove Place the selected item from your closet onto your plaque area, or remove a selected item in use and put it back in your closet.
Description Item description.
Sell Button Sell the selected item for the indicated amount of Hoyle Bucks.
Placement Arrows Use these arrows to move the currently selected item in small increments, if it is a moveable object. Use the "Next Position" button (below) to move the object in large increments.
Object Layers If you place many objects around you, objects may become hidden behind each other. Use these buttons to move objects in front of and behind each other. Click "Move Back" to move the currently selected object one place backwards in the object order. Click "Move Forward" to move the currently selected object one place forwards in the object order.
Items in Use A list of the items currently used in your space. Select an item from the list to make it your active item.
Items in Closet A list of items you own that are not currently in use. Select an item in your closet and click "Place" to move it into your display.
Totals Shows your current item count and your current balance of Hoyle Bucks.
Done Click to exit Spacemaker and save your display as currently shown.
Click to Click the Bucks minimize balance to go to the display. the Hoyle Bucks area.
Point to the feats box with your mouse to see the feats you've performed most recently.
Next Position Button Cycles the currently selected item through several preset locations.
Current Display This shows you what your space would look like during a game if you clicked "Done."
Switch to the Hoyle Bucks Guide and learn how to earn bucks in each game.
Switch to the Hoyle Bucks Catalog and spend your bucks.
Switch to your Hoyle Bucks ledger and view your recent Hoyle Bucks financial history.
Your current Hoyle bucks balance.
Opens this help file.
Exit the Hoyle Bucks area.
How to Play Panic In Panic, pieces of several different shapes fall from the top of the game board, and you move and rotate them as they drop to fit them onto the board. Panic has three unique games; you can choose the game you want to play in the Panic Settings dialog box. Click on a game name below to learn how to play that game. Classic
Clear lines from the board by filling them with blocks.
Lineout
Clear specific lines by filling them with blocks.
Packer
Pack the board with pieces while keeping blocks of like color together.
All games have these common features: There are seven shapes of pieces, representing all possible configurations of four adjacent squares. In the Classic and Lineout games, each shape is a unique color (so that you can more easily identify it); in the Packer game, each shape is made up of two different colors. Pieces can be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise and moved left and right as they drop down the screen. The piece to be dropped next is shown at the top left of the screen. If a piece can't be dropped because there are blocks at the top of the game board, the game (or level, for Packer) ends. Game levels get progressively more difficult. You can start a new game at any level you reached in a previous game. To start from a level other than the first, adjust the Starting Level indicator in the Panic options. You play Panic using the keyboard, as shown below. You can specify different keys in the game options.
Key
Action
Left arrow
Move piece to the left
Right arrow
Move piece to the right
Up arrow or S
Rotate piece clockwise
A
Rotate piece counter-clockwise
Down Arrow
Move piece more rapidly towards the bottom of the board
Spacebar
Drop piece
Esc
Pause the game or resume a paused game
How to Play Classic In the Classic game, you arrange the falling pieces to create horizontal lines of blocks across the playing board. A line is removed if it is filled with blocks. You can remove more than one line at once; the more lines you remove at once, the more points you earn. When you remove a line, any blocks above the line you removed move down to fill in the void. You complete a level if you remove the number of lines shown in the Lines to Go indicator. In later levels, you'll need to remove more lines. When you complete a level, you get a bonus for every empty line on the game board. Each empty line is worth progressively more points, so keep your board as low as possible to maximize your score. The game board is then cleared, and you proceed to the next level. For details on scoring, see Scoring in the Classic Game. The game ends if a piece can't be dropped because there are blocks at the top of the game board. Game Elements in Classic Panic The Classic game includes several special game elements: bombs, siren bricks, obstacle blocks, extra lines, and onyx blocks. Some elements appear in later levels, and some may only appear when the game difficulty is set to Hard. These elements are described below. Bombs
Bombs appear from time to time in place of regular pieces, and you can move and drop them as you would regular pieces. Rotating a bomb does nothing. A bomb explodes when it lands and removes all lines that it touches (a bomb touches a line if it shares a side
with a block in that line). If you maneuver a bomb so that it touches three different lines (the top, bottom, and one side of the bomb each touch a block on a different line), it will take out all three lines. Note that lines removed by bombs do not score points or count towards the Lines to Go goal. You can play the game without bombs by changing the game options. Siren Bricks
Siren bricks appear from time to time within regular pieces. If you can remove the line containing the siren brick from the game within several turns, you score bonus points and get to remove extra lines from the bottom of the board. Note that you only have to remove the block containing the siren brick, not the entire piece. When the brick first appears, it displays a 4. If it lands such that the line the brick is in removed, you score 2500 points, and four lines are immediately removed from the bottom of the board (if you have less than four lines on the board, all lines are removed). If the line is not removed, the brick number is reduced to a 3 and play continues. When each of the three subsequent pieces drop, you have another chance to remove the siren brick. If you can remove the line containing the brick, you receive a bonus (500 points lower each time the brick number is reduced) and a number of lines equal to the number on the siren brick are removed from the bottom of the screen. If you don't remove the line, the brick number is decreased by one. When the number reaches 0, the siren brick disappears, and the block containing the siren brick returns to its original color. You can play the game without siren bricks by changing the game options. Obstacle Blocks Some levels begin with blocks already placed on the game board. You play the game normally, as if you had dropped those blocks there yourself. Extra Lines In some levels, extra lines of gray blocks are added to the bottom of the screen at regular intervals, pushing the other blocks on the board up. Extra lines contain one or more spaces, and can be removed the same way as regular lines of blocks. These lines appear more and more rapidly as you reach higher levels. Onyx Blocks
If you're playing a game on the Normal or Hard level, onyx blocks appear on the board at the beginning of some levels. Onyx blocks can only be removed if they are part of a double, triple or quadruple line removal. Bombs and siren bricks do not remove onyx blocks. When you remove a single line that contains onyx blocks, the onyx blocks are not removed. In some levels, it is possible to end up with a complete line of Onyx blocks. If you pull this off, the Onyx blocks will be removed. Scoring in the Classic Game You get points for dropping pieces, removing lines (removing several lines at once is worth substantially more points), and completing a level. You get bonus points for removing siren bricks (2500, 2000, 1500, or 1000 points, depending on the brick number). You also get bonus points for any lines remaining at the top of the board when you end a level: 50 points for the first line and 50 additional points for each subsequent line (50, 100, 150, and so on). Note that you do not get points for removing lines using a bomb.
How to Play Lineout You play Lineout as you would the Classic game, but instead of trying to remove any lines you can, you must remove specific target lines to complete the level. Target lines are highlighted on the game board. The Lines Remaining indicator will show you how many lines you have to remove to complete the level. You will need to remove more lines in later levels. Note: In Lineout, as in Classic, a line is removed if the line is filled with blocks, so you should try not to inadvertently complete lines that are lower than your target line. Initially, you only need to remove single lines. Later levels may include one or both of these elements: Multiple lines: These are adjacent lines that must be removed at the same time to be removed at all. Multiple
lines include doub le lines, triple lines, and quadruple lines. Progressive lines: In some levels, only one target line is revealed at a time. This can either be a single line or a multiple line. When you remove a target line in a progressive level, the next target line appears somewhere else on the board. New target lines are always within four lines of the line you just completed (either above or below it), and will not appear above a certain point on the game board. You complete a level by removing all the required target lines (as shown in the Lines Remaining indicator). Lineout includes a bonus meter that starts at 10,000. Each dropped piece reduces the bonus by 15 points. When you complete a level, you get any bonus points shown in the bonus meter, so completing a level more quickly gives you more points. If the bonus meter runs out, you will need to restart the level. At the end of a level, the bonus meter resets to 10,000. The game ends if a piece can't be dropped because there are blocks at the top of the game board, or if your bonus meter drops to 0. Scoring in Lineout In Lineout, you score points for removing target lines, and higher lines are worth more points. You also get any points in the bonus meter for completing the level. You'll get bonus points if you remove more than one target line in one turn (regardless of the line type; for example, removing three single lines gives you the same bonus as removing a single line and a double line). You lose points in the bonus meter for each dropped piece. You also receive a small amount of points for removing regular (non-target) lines.
How to Play Packer In Packer, all the pieces are made up of two colors, chosen from three possible colors: blue, red and green. All pieces are split evenly into these two colors (two blocks of one color, two blocks of a different color), except for the T-shaped piece, which contains three blocks of one color and one block of another. The Packer board contains a fill line; only blocks under this line (in the fill area) are counted in the game. You drop pieces into the game board in Packer just as you would in Classic, but lines are not removed when they are filled. You have two goals in Packer: To pack pieces in the fill area tightly, leaving as few gaps (spaces) as possible. To group colors together in clusters: adjacent groups of four or more same-colored blocks. To be considered adjacent, blocks must share at least one side; diagonal blocks are not considered to be touching. You drop pieces until each column contains a block at or above the fill line, or until a piece can't be dropped because there are blocks at the top of the game board. The level is then scored as follows: 1 2
All blocks above the fill line are removed. Any gaps in the fill area are filled with filler b locks (white squares). If you have no gaps, you'll receive a Perfect Packing bonus. 3 Clusters (adjacent groups of four or more blocks of the same color) score points and are then removed from the board. Larger clusters are worth significantly more points. 4 Any remaining colored blocks and rubble fall straight down to the bottom of the board. If a column was completely removed, columns on other side of it move together to fill the empty column (collapsing the blocks and rubble on the board). 5 Step 3 and 4 are repeated (any new clusters that are formed are scored and removed; any remaining colored blocks and rubble fall) until the resulting board produces no more clusters. You get a Chain Reaction bonus for any additional clusters that are formed. 6 When no more clusters can be removed, the remaining blocks (including any filler blocks) are removed one at a time and subtracted from your Block Counter, which starts at 60, 50 or 40, depending on your difficulty setting. If your Block Counter reaches zero, the game ends. If there were no blocks to remove in this step, you'll get a perfect level bonus, and your Block Counter goes up by ten. You play additional levels until the Block Counter reaches zero, at which point the game ends. Scoring in Packer You receive points for removing clusters, and larger clusters give you more points. If you pack the board perfectly (with no empty spaces), you get the Perfect Packing bonus of 2000 points and five blocks added to your Block Counter. You get the Perfect Level bonus (5000 points, and ten blocks added to the Block Counter) if you pack the board
perfectly and remove all the blocks in clusters. You get a Chain Reaction bonus (1000 points) each time additional clusters are removed after the board collapses during the board scoring.
Actions Pause/Resume
Pauses the game, or resumes a paused game. Click the Pause or Resume button on the screen, click Pause or Remove on the Actions menu, or press Esc on your keyboard.
Game Options To change game options for Panic, click Panic Settings on the Options menu. You can set the keyboard controls for the game, the starting level (this can be any level you have completed at the current difficulty level), whether to include bombs and siren bricks in the Classic game, and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. Se e Als o Panic Strategy Panic Background
Panic Strategy Classic Strategy To get a higher score, keep the overall game board low, and try to remove multiple lines at the same time. When you're close to finishing up the level, don't worry too much about filling gaps in the board; the bonus for keeping the board game low is more important. Orange pieces fit well with other orange pieces, and blue pieces with other blue pieces. Green pieces often work well at the edge of the board. Try not to perpetuate a "trench" that requires one to two purple (straight) pieces to fill. If necessary, give up on filling the trench completely and fill it as much as you can. Always leave yourself a flat surface (two blocks wide) for a red (square) piece to land on, otherwise you'll have trouble placing these pieces.
Lineout Strategy To get a higher score, get rid of target lines as fast as possible to get the maximum bonus points. When trying to reach higher target lines, rotate your pieces to be the maximum height possible, disregarding their position. This helps you get to the target line faster, increasing your possible bonus. Note that in levels using Progressive target lines, this may not be as sound a strategy, since the next line you have to remove may be underneath you, and bad piece placement might hurt you later.
Packer Strategy To get a higher score, try to make clusters as large as possible. The point value of each cluster goes up with the number of blocks in the cluster. You can help make larger clusters by picking one color early, based on the pieces that come up, and trying to create a huge area of that color. If you're close to packing the board perfectly (getting the Perfect Packing bonus), focus on that goal ahead of matching colors; if you get the bonus, it adds five points to your Block Counter, making it equivalent in scoring to five unmatched blocks. However, if you do happen to get a gap that you cannot fill, switch gears and concentrate on color matching and making large clusters. If a small number of blocks of one color become buried, with no way to make a cluster out of them, you can intentionally place a couple of non-clustered blocks of that color above them. Then, when the board collapses, they will group together to form a cluster and earn you a Chain Reaction bonus. Se e Als o How to Play Panic
Panic Background Panic is based on the classic computer game Tetris™, the top-selling computer game of 1988. Tetris was the first game many people first played on a personal computer. The original Tetris game, invented by Alexey Pazhitnov, is one of the most simple computer games to play, but one of the most complex. Pazhitnov was inspired by a Pentominoes set he had bought. Pentominoes, popularized by Solomon W. Golomb, is a set of the 12 unique pieces that can be made by combining five squares in different shapes. The object of most pentominoes problems is to combine the different pieces to fill a 60-square shape. Pentominoes enthusiasts propose different puzzles to each other and enjoy sharing puzzle solutions. Tetris uses a different set of pieces than Pentominoes: the seven unique pieces that can be made by combining four squares. In Tetris, pieces fall into a game board and you must fit them together in optimum ways to try to clear lines from the board. Panic is a reinvention of Tetris that includes several types of games, such as the unique Packer variation, in which you combine colors as well as shapes, and Lineout, in which you must remove specific lines from the board.
