ÍAH ÊONGG
Á TRADITIONAL ÃHINESE STRATEGY GAME
ÂY ÊOHN ÒYAN
Ã-64; JOYSTICK

     ÔHE OBJECT OF ÍAH ÊONGG IS SIMPLE: TO REMOVE 132 TILES FROM THE PLAYING FIELD IN MATCHED PAIRS. ÔHE TILES ARE STACKED IN FOUR LAYERS, LIKE A PYRAMID. ÔHE BOTTOM LAYER IS DARK GRAY, THEN LIGHTER GRAY, WHITE, AND GREEN ON TOP.
     ÂEFORE LOADING THE PROGRAM FROM ÍENU 64, PLUG A JOYSTICK INTO PORT 2. ÏNCE THE ÍAH ÊONGG SCREEN APPEARS, PRESS Æ1 TO START THE ACTION. ÍOVE THE CURSOR OVER THE TILE YOU WANT AND PRESS THE FIRE-BUTTON. ÔHEN PICK A TILE THAT MATCHES AND PRESS THE FIRE-BUTTON AGAIN. ÂOTH WILL AUTOMATICALLY DISAPPEAR FROM THE BOARD. ÉF THE MATCH IS ILLEGAL, AN ERROR MESSAGE WILL APPEAR.
     ÙOU CAN PICK A TILE FROM ANY LEVEL, AS LONG AS ITS RIGHT OR LEFT EDGE IS FREE--THAT IS, NOT ABUTTED BY A TILE OF THE SAME COLOR (ON THE SAME LEVEL). ÆOR INSTANCE, IF THERE'S A GREEN TILE BETWEEN TWO OTHER GREEN TILES, YOU CAN'T REMOVE IT. (ÔHE TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES DON'T MATTER.)
     ÙOU HAVE 60 SECONDS TO FIND A PAIR, AND THE NUMBER OF POINTS YOU RECEIVE FOR THE PAIR EQUALS THE NUMBER OF SECONDS LEFT ON THE TIMER. ÉF THE TIMER RUNS OUT, YOU GET NO POINTS.
     ×HEN YOU'RE STUMPED, PRESS È FOR HELP. ÔHE ÈELP FUNCTION FLASHES A PAIR (NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST CHOICE) VERY BRIEFLY, SO BE SURE YOU'RE WATCHING. ÔHE PENALTY FOR HELP IS 255 POINTS. ÉF THERE ARE NO PAIRS LEFT, ÈELP WILL SAY SO.