0. What's new since the last version of Conundrum Red
1. Instructions for playing the game
2. Installing Conundrum Red
3. Features of Conundrum Red (listed by menu item)
4. Registering
5. Removing Conundrum Red
6. Notes
0. WHAT'S NEW SINCE THE LAST VERSION OF CONUNDRUM RED
* Both the Install and Uninstall programs were removed from the shareware package. They seemed to more trouble than they were worth.
* There is now a Sealesware Web page where other Sealesware products are displayed as well as where I can be reached if you have any questions, comments or problems with any Sealesware product.
1. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING CONUNDRUM RED
Conundrum Red is a simple yet addictive game of logic. Each puzzle piece is represented by a large square the is divided into quarters. Each quarter is either red or yellow. The object of the game is to place pieces next to each other so the color of their sides match. A red quarter next to a red quarter and a yellow quarter next to a yellow quarter. Colors on the outside of the puzzle do not matter.
Example:
Scrambled Puzzle: Solved Puzzle:
+-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+
|R|Y| |Y|Y| |R|R| |R|Y|
+-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+
|R|R| |R|Y| |R|Y| |Y|R|
+-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+
(1) (2) (1) (3)
+-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+
|Y|R| |Y|R| |R|Y| |Y|R|
+-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+
|R|Y| |Y|Y| |Y|Y| |Y|Y|
+-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+ +-+-+
(3) (4) (2) (4)
*R denotes that quarter of the puzzle piece is red.
*Y denotes that quarter of the puzzle piece is yellow.
There are more than one way to solve this puzzle but this is how I chose to solve it:
First: I rotated piece 1 to the right once.
Second: I swapped pieces 2 and 3.
Third: I rotated piece 3 to the right once.
Fourth: I rotated piece 2 to the right once.
Look at the solved puzzle above, this puzzle is solved because: The right side of piece 1 matches the left side of piece 3. The bottom size of piece 3 matches the top side of piece 4. The left side of piece 4 matches the right side of piece 2. Finally, the top of piece 2 matches the bottom of piece 1.
Pressing the left mouse button on a puzzle piece will rotate the piece clockwise in ninety degree increments (counter-clockwise if the control key is held down).
A piece can be selected by pressing the right mouse button on it. A rectangle will appear around the piece selected indicating that piece has been selected. Then selecting another puzzle piece, using either mouse button, will swap (exchange) the two pieces.
There is an information box in the upper right side of the window that displays the current level, number of moves remaining, difficulty level and the time in seconds since the game was started.
By rotating and swapping puzzle pieces, every puzzle can be solved. The trick is to solve the puzzle as quickly as possible without exceeding the given number of moves. There are only a certain amount of moves allowed for each puzzle (a move is defined as swapping puzzle pieces). In other words, puzzle pieces can only be swapped the given number of times. There is no penalty for rotating pieces however.
Each puzzle has a difficulty rating. This is based on the number of pieces in the puzzle, the amount of moves allowed and the types of pieces in the puzzle. (Certain pieces are considered more difficult to work with than others.)
There are twenty-one levels in the game. In levels one through seven, the number of moves allowed are the number of pieces in the puzzle multiplied by two. In levels eight through fourteen, the number of moves allowed are the number of pieces in the puzzle. In levels fifteen through twenty-one, the number of moves allowed are the number of pieces in the puzzle divided by two. (These can be extremely difficult.)
There is also a timer that displays the number of seconds that have elapsed since starting the puzzle. The quicker the time the better. Each puzzle is limited to ten thousand seconds (almost three hours). Three hours is plenty of time for any level.
After solving a puzzle, a dialog box displays your statistics for the puzzle you just solved as well as the current champion for that level. This includes the level number, the number of moves remaining, the level of difficulty and the time it took to solve the puzzle. There is also a password for the next level. Write each password down. When you want to play a certain level, choose "Select Level" from the "Game" menu and enter the password for the level you wish to play.
Determining the champion for each level is based on several factors. Basically it is desirable to have the greatest amount of moves remaining. This is how the score is calculated:
(1) The champion's difficulty level is compared to the player's difficulty level. The two difficulty levels are subtracted and divided by two. The person (champion or player) with the higher difficulty level has the points added to their moves remaining total. In other words, for every two difficulty points a player has over the other, that person has one move remaining added to their total number of moves remaining.
(2) The champion's and the player's time to solve the puzzles are compared. The two time are subtracted and divided by four. The person (champion or player) with the lower time has the points added to their moves remaining total. In other words, for every four seconds quicker a player is than the other, that person has one move remaining added to their total number of moves remaining.
(3) The champion's total moves remaining are compared to the player's total moves remaining. The higher moves remaining total wins. If the player has a higher total than the champion, the player becomes the new champion.
Scoring example:
The player solves a level one puzzle and has the following statistics:
Player #1 | Level #1 Champion
--------------------+--------------------
Moves Remaining: 6 | 8 :Moves Remaining
Difficulty Level: 3 | 6 :Difficulty Level
Time: 3 | 19:Time
--------------------+--------------------
Difficulty Level Points = 6 - 3 = 3 / 2 = 1 point
Time Points = 19 - 3 = 16 / 4 = 4 points
The champion had the more difficulty puzzle and is awarded the 1 difficulty point.
The player had the quicker time and was awarded the 4 time points.
Player moves remaining = 6 + 4 time points = 10 moves remaining.
The winner and new level champion is ... player #1.
A game can be paused at any time by simply minimizing the window. This does not allow the user to study the puzzle while the clock is stopped. (Note: The clock does not start until the first puzzle piece is selected or rotated so the puzzle can be studied before started.)
2. INSTALLING CONUNDRUM RED
Installing Conundrum Red is very simple. Simply unzip the ConRed.zip where you would like the game to reside. That's it.
Conundrum Red will save and information it needs in the system registry. You do not have to worry about this. If you would like more information about Conundrum Red in your system registry see section 4 (Removing Conundrum Red).
3. FEATURES OF CONUNDRUM RED (listed by menu item)
Game Menu - "Replay Current Level": Starts a new game on the current level. Resets the time and returns a new puzzle.
Game Menu - "Select Level": Presents a dialog box calling for a level password to be entered. Enter the password for the desired level and a new game will start on that level (i.e. the password 'Iguana' starts a new game on level one).
