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Stars of Shareware: Windows Spiele
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SOS-WIN_SPIELE.ISO
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pentet
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pentet.hlp
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1991-09-12
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Pentet is a two player game (you against the computer). The game is played
by placing colored circles (pieces) on the intersections of the lines that
make up the game board.
The first piece to be played MUST be played on the center intersection.
(The software handles this detail automatically. That is, if the computer
goes first, it knows to play at the center. If you go first, the computer
places your piece at the center and proceeds to take its turn.)
Each player makes his or her move by placing one piece on any empty
intersection. The other player then takes his turn.
You move a piece to an intersection by positioning the mouse pointer at
the intersection and clicking the left button. If the pointer is not close
enough to an intersection the machine will beep, and you need to try again.
Object of the Game:
The object of the game is to win by one of two ways:
1) By placing your pieces on the board in such a way that you
have a line of five pieces in any direction (up/down, left/
right, or either diagonal direction).
2) By making five captures.
How to Capture:
A capture is made whenever player A surrounds two of player B's
pieces with two of his own. For example, if we let A and B stand
for the pieces of each player, then the following sequence of moves
gives A a capture.
A B ---> A B B ---> A B B A
A has surrounded two of player B's pieces with two of his own.
When this happens, the two surrounded pieces are "captured", and are
removed from the board:
A X X A (the Xs stand for empty spaces).
A capture can be made in any direction (up/down, left/right, or
either diagonal direction).
* A capture only happens when player A makes a move to surround
the pieces of player B. For example, the following sequence of
moves does NOT give A a capture.
A B X A ---> A B B A
When either player makes a capture, the captured pair appears in the Captures
Window to the right of the game board.
Tips on game play:
The "Open Four"
---------------------------
If a player gets an "open four" piece configuration:
X A A A A X
then that player will win unless his or her opponent can win on
the next move, because only one side can be blocked. Even if a
capture is made "across" the line of pieces, the win will only be
delayed by one move.
The "Open Three"
---------------------------
An "open three" configuration leads directly to an "open four",
and is therefore a configuration to watch out for (or to try to
play up to).
X A A A X X
Watch out for Captures
------------------------------------
It is a good idea to avoid placing your pieces in pairs so that
your opponent will not have the opportunity to capture.
Game Variations:
The Options menu gives you the option to turn "Tournament Rules"
on or off. Tournament Rules compensate for the slight advantage
that the first player has by forcing the first player, on his
second move, to move at least three positions away from the center.
For the naive version of the game, which makes no offensive moves
until several moves into the game, Tournament Rules affect only
the user. (The computer will not move within three positions of
the center on its second move regardless of whether Tournament
Rules are active). The default setting is ON, and you can turn it
off if you want to circumvent this restriction.
About Pentet and its Origin:
Pentet is based on the game Pente. It comes in two flavors, both
of which are addictive by design. The naive version is akin to
shareware (i.e., it is copyrighted but the author grants his per-
mission for you to copy and distribute it without modification,
at no charge). The naive version plays primarily by defense,
although it ``knows`` a winning opportunity when it sees it, and
will take such an opportunity if one arises.
The heuristics that direct the program's choices are intentionally
incomplete. The idea is that after you play it enough, you will
learn how to consistently beat the program (but watch out--it can
spot some surprising opportunities). Once you have reached this
level of expertise you can upgrade to the ``smart`` version of the
program for a registration fee of $25.
Neither version uses any sort of recursive lookahead algorithm to
make decisions. The program was originally written to use such an
algorithm but the game tree is MASSIVE, and performance becomes
unacceptable when such a method is employed. For example, with a
21 x 21 grid after N moves, there are 441-N positions that must be
searched. Even with a "lookahead horizon" of 1, this amounts to
analyzing (441-N) ^ (441-N-1) possible moves. Even after several
moves this number would fill half of the screen, and would take a
fast 486 machine an unbearably long time to process.
The upshot of all this is that the ``smart`` version is still
beatable. You need not worry about spending $25 for a game that
is no fun to play because the computer always wins (becuase it
won't). But the smart version does provide a much greater chal-
lenge than the naive version.
License Agreement: Pentet (Naive Version) v1.0, September 1991.
This software is the naive version of Pentet, and includes the
program itself (the file pentet.exe), and any documentation or
supplementary files. You have the author's permission to use,
copy, and distribute it as long as you abide by the following
provisions. By using and / or distributing the software you
are agreeing to abide by the terms of this agreement.
(i) The software may not be modified in any way, and must be
copied in its entirety.
(ii) The software must not be distributed in conjunction with any
other product.
(iii) You may only distribute the software to persons who agree to
abide by the terms of this agreement.
(iv) If you distribute the software, the distribution must be
non-commercial, non-profit, and not for any charge.
The author (Christopher Guzik) retains all rights of title, ownership, and
copyright of the software, and of any copies of it that you make, regardless
of the form or media in or on which they may exist. You are granted only a
license to use the software.
This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind. The author
disclaims all representations, guaranties, and warranties, expressed or
implied, as to the licensed software and its quality, performance, merchan-
tibility, or fitness for any particular purpose. Under no circumstances will
the author be liable for any indirect, consequential, incidental, special,
or exemplary damages arising from the use of or inability to use the licensed
software even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such
damages. Some states do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability
for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation may not
apply to you.