home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
On Disk Monthly 60
/
odm60.zip
/
LADDER.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-08-26
|
7KB
|
213 lines
|E╔═══════════╦════════════════════════════════════════════╦═══════════╗
|E║ |5Brainware|E ║ ^1 Word Ladders II |E ║ |5Brainware|E ║
|E╚═══════════╩════════════════════════════════════════════╩═══════════╝
^C^1by John Allen, Jr. and William Wind^0
^C^1Edited by Nolan Martin, ODM Staff^0
^C^1INTRODUCTION^0
In the Brainware category this month, On Disk Monthly presents WORD
LADDERS II, a variation of the ever popular WORD LADDERS game
published on issue #54. WORD LADDERS II has been upgraded from
4-letter words to 5-letter words, but the commands and style of play
remain the same. Instructions to the game are included below for
those who are unfamiliar with WORD LADDERS.
^C^1INSTRUCTIONS^0
Word Ladders is a word game in which you build a list of words that
differ by only one letter. Each puzzle consists of a ladder
containing two 5-letter words separated by several empty rungs, as
shown below.
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c r u s t │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ s l a s h │
^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 "crust" was changed to "crush" in the ladder below.
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c r u s t │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c r u s ^1h^0 │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ s l a s h │
^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 "crash" then "clash" complete the puzzle.
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c r u s t │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c r u s ^1h^0 │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c r ^1a^0 s h │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ c ^1l^0 a s h │
^C├───────────┤
^C│ ^1s^0 l a s h │
^C├───────────┤
^C^1PAR^0
Word ladders may range from four to eight 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 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^0
Word Ladders will only allow you to fill empty rungs of a ladder with
VALID five-letter words. These include most common words, as well as
some slang, archaic, or obsolete words. Abbreviations, vulgar words,
and proper nouns are invalid. Note that there is a very large number
of five-letter words in the English language. The dictionary for
Word Ladders may not contain every one of them.
^C^1GAME PLAY^0
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 8.
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.
^F├───────────┤
^F│ c r u s t │
^F├───────────┤
^F│ c r u s h │
^F├───────────┤ ┌───────────┐
^F│ │<───┤ c r ^1a^0 s h │
^F├───────────┤ └───────────┘
^F│ │
^F├───────────┤
^F│ s l a s h │
^F├───────────┤
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 result in loss of a life!
^C^1ADVANCED PLAY^0
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.
^C^1SCORING^0
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
^C^1MAIN MENU^0
Start Game - The Options Menu will appear before game begins
Instructions - The Help information will be displayed
Exit - Return to On Disk Monthly or to DOS
^C^1OPTIONS MENU^0
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
^C^1ACTIVE KEYS^0
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.
At high par levels on slow computers, it may take your
computer a few seconds to find a list of words but hang in
there while your computer cranks out a word ladder.
Good luck and have fun!
^1OUTSIDE ON DISK MONTHLY^0
To run this program outside the ^1On Disk Monthly^0 menu, type:
^1LADDER2^0.
DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FLADDER2.EXE
^FLADDER2.HLP
^FDICT2A.DAT
^FDICT2B.DAT
^FBONUS2.DAT