                           The Simpsons
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^

Alpha Sites:
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Back Woods BBS -- (313) 286-6875    Sysop: Cap'n James Herriot 
Hunter's Chase -- (313) 468-3851    Sysop: Duke (The Game Master)


                        OBJECT OF THE GAME
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

     The idea is to get as many popularity points as possible  in
as short a time period as possible.  It also helps if  you  fight
with, prank, or steal from your opponents.  There are  a  lot  of
ways to get popularity, some easier than others.  The  object  is
to find these ways and build yourself up fast.

                              HINTS
                              ^^^^^

1)  It always helps to have items, but they shouldn't be the main 
concern.  If you can, buy one of each and forget about it  for  a
while.  They aren't as important in this  game  as  they  are  in
some.

2)  School is the place where you'll have the most chances to get 
popularity.  Fighting other Barts not only gives  you  plenty  of
it, it also takes out your opponents.  Stealing from and pranking 
other Barts are also good ways to get popularity.

3)  When at a location, try to finish  all  your  business  there
before you move on.  If possible, try to cycle  around  the  loca
tions once or twice a turn.  That way, you'll be able to do  most
of the orders and will pick up more popularity.

                             VICTORY
                             ^^^^^^^

     Although there are no victory conditions  yet  (seeing  that
this is a test version), the next version of the game will have a 
set amount of popularity  points  required  to  win.   This  will
probably be 2,000.  For now, just build up as fast as you can and 
keep the opponents from wiping you out.

                            CHARACTER
                            ^^^^^^^^^

     Your character has several traits that you will need to take 
note of.  The following is a description of each:

Popularity -- The most important factor in the game.  This  tells
how well you've been doing and gives a way to  compare  you  with
your opponents.

Money and Money in Bank -- These are self-explanatory.

Strength -- This is a general indicator  of  your  strength  (not
always as straightforward as it may seem).   It  only  affects  a
couple of orders.

Stamina -- This number is the maximum amount of  hit  points  you
can have before you die.  Build this up quickly in the  beginning
of the game and you will be nearly invincible.

Hits Taken -- This is the amount of damage you have taken due  to
fighting and other accidents.  Once this value  is  greater  than
your stamina, you die.

Location -- Which menu you are in (home, school, or on the town). 
This affects which orders you can use and keeps things organized. 
The school menu is the best place to pick up popularity, and  the
home and school menus are the best places to build up stamina.

Items -- These are carried with you at all times and  help  deter
mine whether you can do certain  orders  or  not.   They  can  be
bought and sold in town.  The following is a list:

     Skateboard -- For certain pranks and skateboarding.
     Smokebomb -- For pranks.
     Whoopie Cushion -- Again, for pranks.
     Can of Mace -- Weapon.
     Bat -- Weapon, also used for certain pranks.
     Homework -- For strength and popularity.
     TV Dinner -- For stamina and losing hit points.
     Saw -- For certain pranks.

                         SAMPLE STRATEGY
                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
     At the beginning of the game, build up your money so you can 
buy items.  A good way to start is to mooch  from  Homer  several
times.  Once you have about 300 dollars, go  into  town  and  buy
yourself a whoopie cushion, a can of mace, a  bat,  and  a  smoke
bomb.  Once you have these items, go to school and prank  several
people.  From that point, you should have built up your  populari
ty to a good point.  After that, start with the big orders,  such
as fighting.

                            CONCLUSION
                            ^^^^^^^^^^
     Well, that's it for this version  of  the  game.   Hope  you
enjoy it, and if you have any comments, suggestions, or  problems
with the game, call me at Back Woods BBS and drop me a note.

     Until then...
