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LADDER.TXT
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1991-02-19
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7KB
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177 lines
|5╔═══════════╦══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦═══════════╗
|5║ |EBrainware|5 ║ ^1 Word Ladders |5 ║ |EBrainware|5 ║
|5╚═══════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═══════════╝
^Cby
^CJohn Allen and William Wind
^C^1INTRODUCTION
Word Ladders is a word game where you build a list of words that differ by
only one letter. Each puzzle consists of a ladder containing two 4-letter
words separated by several empty rungs, as shown below.
^C├─────────┤
^C│ s a n d │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ t i m e │
^C├─────────┤
Begin by changing one letter of the first word so that a new word is
created. This new word will appear on the second rung of the ladder.
The word "sand" was changed to "sane" in the ladder below.
^C├─────────┤
^C│ s a n d │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ s a n ^1e^0 │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ t i m e │
^C├─────────┤
Continue playing in this manner until the last empty rung on the ladder is
filled with a word that differs from both the word above and the word below
by only one letter. In the ladder below, the words "same" then "tame"
complete the puzzle.
^C├─────────┤
^C│ s a n d │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ s a n ^1e^0 │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ s a ^1m^0 e │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ ^1t^0 a m e │
^C├─────────┤
^C│ t ^1i^0 m e │
^C├─────────┤
^C^1PAR
Word ladders may range from four to nine rungs in length. The length of a
ladder is the PAR for the ladder. For example, a par 6 ladder contains six
rungs, four of which you must fill in. The word ladders shown above are all
par 5.
Some puzzles with par 6 or more may be solved before all empty rungs are
filled. If you can do this, bonus points will be awarded for solving the
ladder "under par.
If you require more empty rungs to solve a puzzle than are supplied, then
the bottom word will move downward, opening up additional empty rungs. You
will be penalized, however, for each additional rung, but only if the puzzle
is solved.
^C^1VALID WORDS
Word Ladders will only allow you to fill empty rungs of a ladder with VALID
four-letter words. These include most common words, as well as some slang,
archaic, or obsolete words. However, plurals ending in "s" or "es" are not
valid words. Also, abbreviations, vulgar words, and proper nouns are invalid.
Note that there is a very large number of four-letter words in the English
language. The dictionary for Word Ladders may not contain every one of them.
^C^1GAME PLAY
The object of Word Ladders is to solve as many puzzles as possible before
you lose the three lives you are given at the beginning of the game.
Game play is divided into rounds of five puzzles. If you answer all five
correctly, you are given a "bonus" puzzle to complete before advancing to the
next round. You will be awarded an extra life each time a bonus puzzle is
solved. The game ends when you lose all of your lives.
Round 1 word ladders are par 4, and par is increased by 1 in each new
round. You receive 100 points per par for each completed puzzle. Thus, in
Round 1 word ladders are worth 400 points; in Round 2 word ladders are worth
500 points; etc. Par does not advance beyond 9.
You have only a certain amount of time in which to solve each puzzle.
If time runs out, you will lose a life. However, after a puzzle is solved,
bonus points are awarded for any time remaining, one point for each second.
The current word in the ladder is shown in a box at the right. Change
one letter in the current word and press Enter. If it is a valid word, it
will be added to the ladder.
├─────────┤
│ s a n d │
├─────────┤
│ s a n e │
├─────────┤ ┌─────────┐
│ │<───┤ s a n ^1e^0 │
├─────────┤ └─────────┘
│ │
├─────────┤
│ t i m e │
├─────────┤
Select the letter to change by pressing the right and left arrow keys.
Type the new letter and press ENTER. Only valid words are accepted.
^1WARNING:^0 In advanced play, attempts to enter invalid words results in
loss of a life!
^C^1ADVANCED PLAY
In the advanced play mode, word ladders are more challenging, and may
require relatively unknown or obscure words for completion. As stated above,
entering an invalid word during advanced play results in loss of a life.
You may select the advanced play mode (along with other options) from
the pre-game option menu.
^1SCORING
Solving a puzzle ............ 100 points per par
Each word under par ......... 250 points
Each second of time left .... 1 point
Each word over par .......... -50 points
^1MAIN MENU
Start Game - The Options Menu will appear before game begins.
Instructions - The Help information will be displayed.
Exit - Return to Big Blue Disk or to DOS.
^1OPTIONS MENU
Expert Mode - Play with more challenging word ladders.
No Sounds - Turn the scoring sounds off.
Other Colors - If the chosen colors look bad, try new ones.
Upper Case Words - You may turn UPPER CASE mode ON or OFF.
Start Game - Let the Word Ladder fun begin.
Main Menu - Return to Main Menu
^1ACTIVE KEYS
Left Arrow - Select letter
Right Arrow - Select letter
Space Bar - Select letter
INS (Insert Key) - Restore current word
Enter Key - Accept new word
? - Give up
F1 - Display Help
F2 - Display Statistics
ESC Key - End game
CTRL-S - Turn scoring sound ON or OFF
CTRL-T - Turn clock ticking sound ON or OFF
^1NOTE:^0 The timer keeps ticking even if you are displaying HELP.
You can always read the HELP information before you play the game
by selecting INSTRUCTIONS from the Main Menu.
Good luck and have fun!
^1OUTSIDE OF BBD
To run this program outside the ^1Big Blue Disk^0 menu, type: ^1LADDER^0.
^1DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FLADDER.EXE
^FLADDER.HLP
^FDICT1.DAT
^FDICT2.DAT
^FBONUS.DAT