When playing Shanghai: Dynasty with your monitor set to 640x480 pixels (the recommended setting since that way the game fills the screen), you can cause the menus to be displayed by moving the cursor to the top of the screen. What menus you see depends on what game mode you are playing. Many of the menus are unavailable when playing online (connected to other players via the Internet, Local Area Network, or modem).

Wall of Fame...
The Wall of Fame keeps track of the top ten scores for games of Timed Shanghai, 2-Player, Tournament, Dynasty, Pandamonium, and Mah-Jongg. Click the applicable button to display the top ten scores for the game of your choice. Then, click the Exit Wall Of Fame button to continue your game. To print the Wall Of Fame, follow these steps:

Printing the Wall Of Fame in Windows 95

- When the Wall of Fame is displayed on screen, press Alt and press the Print Screen button on your keyboard to take a screen shot.
- Switch to MSPaint, the picture accessory that comes with Windows 95, or any paint program (you do not need to quit Shanghai: Dynasty). If your monitor is running at 640x480 resolution, you can minimize Shanghai: Dynasty by moving the cursor to the top of the screen and then clicking on the Minimize button, then you can use Start to navigate to MSPaint (usually found at Start button\Programs\Accessories).
- In MSPaint, you can Paste by using Edit\Paste, or by hitting Ctrl-V.
- Now you can print or save the picture. You can use any of a variety of widely available graphics utilities to crop the picture or convert it to a picture format that doesn't take up as much hard disk space as a .BMP file does.
- Return to Shanghai: Dynasty by going to the Start taskbar and clicking on the "Shanghai: Dynasty" button there.

Printing the Wall Of Fame on a Macintosh

- When the Wall of Fame is displayed on screen, press Command-Shift-3 (hold in the Command or Apple key and the Shift key while pressing the 3 key on your keyboard) to make a snapshot.
- Hide Shanghai: Dynasty by going to the upper right corner of the screen, where you will find an option to do this (no need to quit the game).
- Look in the root directory of your hard drive for the file "Picture1." This is the snapshot you just made. If you made multiple snapshots, each one is assigned a higher number.
- Open the picture with a graphics program (more info on graphics programs can be found elsewhere in this Help file). Once you are looking at the Wall of Fame in a graphics program, you can print it.

To clear the Wall of Fame (if the Wall of Fame got filled up by your visiting ten-year-old nephew, for instance, and his scores sit there forever out of your reach, mocking, MOCKING... er, ahem... sorry...) just look in the Shanghai Dynasty folder (on your hard drive), find the Dynasty Preferences file, and rename it or delete it. A new blank Wall of Fame will be created automatically (and all your preferences will revert to the default settings).

New Game
Select this option to start a new game of the currently selected game (re-shuffling the Shanghai tiles, or re-dealing the Mah-Jongg tiles).

Back One Move
Choose this option to replace the last pair of tiles you removed. You can keep replacing tiles all the way to the start of the game if your heart so desires. This option is grayed out until you make at least one move, of course. Back One Move is not available in all game modes (it is not available in any multi-player game, Tournament, or Mah-Jongg).

Find A Match
If you need help finding a match, select this option and the computer will highlight a match for you. This option is not available in all game modes (it is not available in any multi-player game, Tournament, or Mah-Jongg).

Shuffle Tiles
Select this option to shuffle all the tiles remaining on the screen; this will give you a second chance at clearing the screen - but not a very clear conscience. This option is not available in all game modes (it is not available in any multi-player game, Tournament, or Mah-Jongg).

Load A Game
This option lets you load a previously saved game. Just select Load Game... and locate the game you want to resume. Click OK to load the game. This option is not available when playing against other players online.

Save A Game...
You can always save a game in the middle of gameplay, and continue it later. Just name your game and file it in the folder of your choice. This option is not available when playing against other players online.

Pause Game
Select this option to pause any timed game, like Two-Player or a Tournament game. This option is not available in all game modes (it is not available in any multi-player game online, for example).

Quit Game
Select this option to quit Shanghai: Dynasty.

Timer
This option is available in Classic Shanghai only (essentially, it is another way to play Classic Shanghai). Selecting it allows you to start a timer which tells you how long it took you to clear a layout. Your ten best times are saved on the Wall Of Fame.

Music
This option lets you turn game music ON (checked) or OFF (no check mark).

Sounds
Click this option to turn game sounds ON or OFF.

Tile Animation
Turn your tile animations ON or OFF during gameplay. (You may prefer to turn tile animations off during time-limit games, but while a tile animation is running, you can continue playing, clicking on yet more tiles.)

Background Picture
A background image appears automatically with each new Shanghai game; you can choose to leave the background image on while you play, or turn it off. When Background Picture is off, you get a solid-color background (the color differs for each tile set).

Cursor Effects
Turn Cursor Effects ON and your cursor will change when it's over a tile to let you know that that tile is free to be removed or not; turn this option OFF and you're on your own! This option only applies to Shanghai (tile-matching) games, not to Mah-Jongg.

Guaranteed Winnable
This option applies only to the Shanghai games (not applicable in Mah-Jongg). When this option is checked, every time the computer builds a new arrangement of tiles, the computer makes sure that there is at least one path to success. If you prefer the challenge of a purely random arrangement of tiles (which may or may not be winnable), you can turn this option OFF.

Prompts
Turn this option OFF if you do not need any onscreen prompts telling you how to play.

Tile Count
You can completely remove the info boxes (and achieve an uncluttered look) on the screen by turning Prompts and Tile Count OFF.

Arabic Numerals
This option only applies to the Mah-Jongg tiles (no matter whether used in a Shanghai game or a Mah-Jongg game). When this option is ON (checked), small Arabic numerals (and Roman letters) are displayed on the Mah-Jongg tiles. If you cannot read Chinese numbers, you should keep this option ON when playing Mah-Jongg.

Button Labels...
This option only applies to the Mah-Jongg game. You can choose to have the Mah-Jongg game interface buttons labeled with the Chinese terms (Pong, Kong, Chow) or the English terms (Triple, Quad, Sequence).

Reset to Default
Selecting this option resets all the Preferences to the "factory" settings.

New Game
Select this option to start a new game of the currently selected game option.

Classic Shanghai
Match tiles in the classic tradition of Shanghai. Click on this option to start a new one-player Classic Shanghai game.

Kids
Click here to play Classic Shanghai with smaller layouts, a helpful voice, and other kid-friendly features.

Tournament
Click on this option to start a new Tournament game. It's kind of like settling down to a nice thick novel - a Tournament consists of a series of 40 solitaire games of Classic Shanghai. It's the ultimate Classic Shanghai challenge!

2-Player...
Select this option to play a two-player game of Classic Shanghai against a friend (no A.I. opponents available), taking turns sharing one mouse.

Dynasty...
Click here to start a game against up to four A.I. opponents in which each player races to be the first to clear his/her/its layout. Power Tiles add to the excitement.

Pandamonium...
Play against up to four A.I. opponents simultaneously on one layout. You'll see why we call it "Pandamonium."

Mah-Jongg...
Play against three A.I. opponents in the centuries-old Chinese game. Choose Western or Chinese rules.

Multi-Player Connect...
Ready to play Dynasty, Pandamonium, or Mah-Jongg against real people? Click here and get ready for some serious online gaming.

For a change in scenery, or an enhanced or reduced challenge, you can play on one of nine themed tile sets (Shanghai games only; Mah-Jongg can only be played using the Mah-Jongg tiles, of course) - just pull down the Tiles menu to choose the tile set of your choice.

Custom Tiles...
If you have created or acquired any custom tile sets, click here to open a window to find and access them. To be viewed in this window, your custom set must be on a drive connected to your computer (floppy drive, hard drive, Zip drive, etc.). See Importing Custom Tile Sets, later in this Help file.

Guide To Tile Sets...
This option will allow you to get a quick preview of the nine tile sets that come with Shanghai: Dynasty. A screen with one tile from each of the nine tile sets will be displayed. Just click on that tile to change your current tiles to that tile set. Click Cancel to exit the screen.

You can choose from 40 increasingly difficult Classic Shanghai layouts (which are also playable in Pandamonium and 2-Player), 17 layouts for Dynasty, or 11 layouts for Kids. Select the game first, and then the layout you'd like to play.

Create A Layout...
Want to try your hand at creating your own layout? Click here and you can. Discover what makes a layout easy or difficult.

Custom Layouts...
If you have created or acquired any custom layouts, click here to open a window to find and access them. To be viewed in this window, your custom layout must be on a drive connected to your computer (floppy drive, hard drive, Zip drive, etc.). Layout files have a .pat extension after the layout name.

Guide To Layouts...
This option will allow you to get a quick preview of the layouts that come with Shanghai: Dynasty. A screen will appear which shows the layouts and ranks them by difficulty. Just click on a layout to start a new game with that layout. Click the onscreen arrow buttons to view more layouts. Click Cancel to exit the screen.

Rules & Strategy...
Open Rules & Strategy by selecting it from the Help menu for a complete on-screen guide to playing the Shanghai: Dynasty games.

About...
Check this option for development, version, copyright, and credits information for Shanghai: Dynasty. Note: In the Macintosh version, About... is found under the Apple menu.

Back One Move
This option is available only in Classic Shanghai and Kids' mode. Choose this option (or press Ctrl-B or Backspace) to replace the last pair of tiles you removed. You can keep replacing tiles all the way to the start of the game if your heart so desires.

Find A Match
If you need help finding a match in Shanghai, select this option (or press Control-M) and the computer will highlight a match for you.

Suggest A Move
(Mah-Jongg game only.) If you need help deciding what to do in Mah-Jongg, select this option (or press Control-M) and the computer will suggest an action for you. There's no guarantee that the computer's suggestion will give you an easy win, however...

Shuffle Tiles
Select this option to shuffle all the tiles remaining on the screen; this will give you a second chance at clearing the screen╤but not a very clear conscience. Not applicable in the game of Mah-Jongg, naturally. This is only available in Classic Shanghai and Kids' mode.

Show All Moves...
(Shanghai game only.) Select this option and the computer will show you every possible pair you can remove at that specific point in the game.

X-Ray Mode
(Shanghai game only.) Wish you knew where that matching tile was? Select this option, then click on any tile to see through it with the help of your cursor's "x-ray" powers. Click that tile again to see through the next tile; click again and see through the next one under that and so on, until you see the background image. Select X-Ray mode again to resume gameplay.

Start Over
(Shanghai game only.) If you don't feel like you're off to a good start (but want to try the same tile arrangement again), select Start Over to restart your game using the same exact arrangement of tiles.

New Game - Ctrl-N
Rules & Strategy - Ctrl-R
Back One Move - Ctrl-B or Backspace
Shuffle Tiles - Ctrl-F
Find A Match - Ctrl-M (Shanghai game)
Suggest A Move - Ctrl-M (Mah-Jongg game)
Load Game... - Ctrl-O
Save Game... - Ctrl-S
Puase Game - Ctrl-P
Quit Game - Ctrl-Q
Change Camera View - Arrow Keys
Create a Layout - Ctrl-E
Insert Mode - + (Layout Editor)
Select Mode - - (Layout Editor)
Insert Boxes Mode - \ (Layout Editor)
Play This Layout - Ctrl-P (Layout Editor)
Cancel/Return to Game - Ctrl-C (Layout Editor)
Clear Layout - Ctrl-X (Layout Editor)

New Game - Command-N
Rules and Strategy... - Command-R
Back One Move - Command-B
Shuffle Tiles - Command-F
Find a Match - Command-M (Shanghai game)
Suggest a Move - Command-M (Mah-Jong game)
Load Game... - Command-O
Save Game... - Command-S
Pause Game - Command-P
Quit Game - Command-Q
Change Camera View - Arrow Keys
Create a Layout - Command-E
Insert Mode - + (Layout Editor)
Select Mode - - (Layout Editor)
Insert Boxes Mode - \ (Layout Editor)
Play This Layout - Command-P (Layout Editor)
Cancel/Return to Game - Command-C (Layout Editor)
Clear Layout - Command-X (Layout Editor)