The Apple Menu contains the usual desk accessories, as well as an item called "ABOUT HANGMAN PLUS". Please select this item to see a message from the author.
The Apple Menu also contains the Help Item. (You already know what that item does since you are reading it!)
THE FILE MENU
This menu has only one item in it (other than "Quit"). This item is called "SOUND". This item is initially checked when you first start HangMan Plus. When checked, at various times during the game, sounds will be generated. If you would like to play HangMan Plus without sounds, just select this item again to uncheck it.
THE EDIT MENU
The Edit Menu is included for use with any desk accessories that may require it. HangMan Plus does not support UNDO. Sorry, no taking back incorrect guesses.
THE CATEGORY MENU
To choose a different category of words, just select the desired category from the Category Menu. If you are in the middle of a game when you select a new category, the category change will take effect at the beginning of the next game.
Most Category Menu Items are self-explanatory, but the first two categories are special ones.
To enter your own word (while your friend turns his or her back), select 'Enter Word...', the first category. This will bring up a dialog box allowing you to enter your own word. This "Enter Word..." dialog box will re-appear after each game until you select a different category. Once the dialog box appears, you should type in your own word and press RETURN (or click the OK button). If you click the CANCEL button, the program will insert a random word for you.
The second category is called "HANGWORDS". This category should be chosen when you wish to use a list of your own words. To make your own list of words, create a text-only document using MacWrite (or any other text editor that can save text-only documents) and call the file HANGWORDS. The file should be composed of a list of up to 200 words each on its own line. Save the HANGWORDS file in the same folder as HangMan Plus or in your System Folder.
When you first start the HangMan Plus application, the program will look for a HANGWORDS file. If it does not find one, this category will be dimmed. If it does find a HANGWORDS file, this category will be automatically selected at start-up.
THE COUNTDOWN MENU
The CountDown Menu lets you choose how many guesses you have to correctly guess the word. If you change the number of guesses in the middle of a game, the change will not take effect until the start of the next game. The number of guesses remaining appears in a little box (called the COUNTDOWN BOX) below the 'Hang' scene.
PLAYING THE GAME
Once a category is chosen, and the number of guesses is set using the CountDown Menu, you begin play simply by guessing at the letters in the word. Guess a letter either by clicking on the appropriate letter at the bottom of the window, or by typing the letter on the keyboard.
COLOR INFORMATION
If you are lucky enough to be using a Color Macintosh, HangMan Plus is ready for you. HangMan Plus will automatically adjust to whatever color environment it finds itself in.
To change the color of the "guessing letters" (the letters on the bottom of the window), just click the mouse inside the top rectangle, also known as the "Hang Scene". To change the foreground colors, click anywhere in the left side of the Hang Scene; to change the background colors, click anywhere in the right side of the Hang Scene.
The foreground and background colors of the random word that is chosen can also be changed by clicking in the left or right side of the "chosen word rectangle."
These colorful changes can only be made if you have at least 16-color capability. If you have a Black and White Mac (or a Color Mac set for 2-color mode), a click in these areas of the screen will just reverse Black on White, to White on Black.
HANGMAN PLUS SETTINGS FILE
To allow using HangMan Plus on a local area network, this program stores its settings in a separate file rather than within the application itself. The settings file contains the last selected colors, countdown selection, sound status, etc. This file will be stored in the system folder.
NEW CATEGORY CUSTOMIZATIONS
Using the HANGWORDS option (described above), you already have a method to add your own list of words to HangMan Plus. For those users familiar with the use of ResEdit, you can also add new categories to HangMan Plus just by adding new 'STR#' resources. If you do add your own, be sure to name the 'STR#' resource itself, as its name will be used as the title in the Category Menu.
DIGITIZED SOUND CUSTOMIZATIONS
Note: These customizations are only possible if you are using a Macintosh II or a System File version of 6.0 or greater.
As HangMan Plus is a Shareware Game, and is usually downloaded from time-sharing services, I've attempted to keep the size of the program as small as possible. Adding digitized sounds to the program would have made the size so large that many people would not even take the time to download this game. Therefore, I have included non-digitized sounds in this release, but have allowed for the user to add his or her own digitized sounds as desired.
HangMan Plus generates sounds at five different times:
1 - (gotletter) - When a correct letter is guessed
2 - (missletter) - When an incorrect letter is guessed
3 - (wingame) - When the game is won
4 - (losegame) - When the game is lost
5 - (showletter) - When showing missed letters on a lost game
Before HangMan Plus uses any of its non-digitized sounds, it will first check to see if you have added any 'snd ' resources to the program. If the program finds the correct resources, it will attempt to play your sounds rather than mine. The above five sounds should have resource names as shown in parentheses in the above list. There are many public domain and/or shareware programs available to help you in moving sounds around.
A FINAL NOTE
HangMan Plus is a Shareware Game. I hope you will enjoy it and use it often enough so that you will send a donation for it. I also hope that you will share this game. I encourage you to give this program to friends, and even upload it to any private BBS's you may know about. But, please, only give out an original copy of HangMan Plus, not one that you have customized.
