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        Shut The Box has been around since the 18th century and was thought
to have been invented by fishermen in the Channel Islands.  It has remained
a popular game in the British Isles and has also been glorified in the TV
game show High Rollers.  Its simplicity coupled with a beat-the-odds type
of play, make Shut The Box, a fun, fast-paced game.

THE OBJECTIVE:

        Players try to get the highest monthly score possible, by shutting
numbered doors or "tiles" which match rolled dice.  At the beginning of play,
tiles numbered 1 thru 12 are displayed on the screen in an "up" position
(see Figure 1).

              ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
              │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10│ 11│ 12│
              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
              │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
              └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
                                  Figure 1

        Tiles 1 through 9 constitute the regular "9-tile box" while tiles
        10 through 12 make up the "Deluxe Box" (see figure 2).

               ┌───────Regular, 9-Tile Box───────┐ ┌─Deluxe──┐
              ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
              │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10│ 11│ 12│
              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
              │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │
              └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
                                  Figure 2

        The player begins by rolling two die and then closes a combination
tiles whose numbers total that of the dice.  The player's turn ends when a
number is rolled which cannot be matched by any total of the remaining tiles
left up (open) or, when all tiles have been closed.

        For example: A player's first roll is a six and a two, totalling
eight.  The player may shut either the tile numbered eight, or the six
and two, or the five and three, or any other combination that totals the
rolled value of eight.

        In our example, the player chooses to shut (pull down) the two and
the six, leaving the board as you see in Figure 3.

              ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
              │ 1 │   │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │   │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10│ 11│ 12│
              ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
              │   │ 2 │   │   │   │ 6 │   │   │   │   │   │   │
              └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
                                  Figure 3

        When the player is finished selecting tiles (and the Tile Total is
equal to the total of the dice), the player presses <ENTER>.  The tiles
that were pulled down will then change color and be considered out of play
or "closed".

        Upon game completion, all tiles are reopened and the player may
select to play another game providing that he has not reached the maximum
number of daily turns allowed by the System Operator.

        At the end of each month, the player with the highest score is
declared the winner.  The top-three scoring players are recorded and displayed
to players throughout the following month.

SCORING:

        Whenever tiles are shut, or pulled-down, and "entered", the player's
score is incremented by the total of the tiles which were closed.  At the end
of each game, players receive a bonus of 10 multiplied by the number of tiles
that were closed.  If a player closes all tiles in the regular 9-tile box,
a bonus of 500 points is added to the player's score and the player is
awarded a free turn.  If all tiles are closed, the player is awarded for
shutting both the 9-tile and deluxe boxes and is awarded the same PLUS an
addtional 1,000 points for shutting the deluxe box.

GAME CONTROLS:

        Primary Command Set:

        The primary command keys used to control Shut The Box, are the number
keys 4, 6, 8, 2, and <ENTER>.  Move the block cursor using the numeric key pad
with the NUM LOCK key turned on.  The block cursor can be moved right and left.
To close a tile (pull it down), use the 2 key.  To open a tile (deselect it),
use the 8 key.

                                  (u)
                                   8
                             (l) 4   6 (r)
                                   2
                                  (d)

        Alternate Command Set:

        The alternate command keys used to control Shut The Box, are the
keys A, D, W, X and <ENTER>.  Move the block cursor using the keys A and D.
The block cursor can be moved right and left. To close a tile (pull it down),
use the X key.  To open a tile (deselect it), use the W key.

                                  (u)
                                   W
                             (l) A   D (r)
                                   X
                                  (d)

        When you are satisfied with the tiles you have pulled down, press
<ENTER> to "enter" the tiles and remove them from play.

        Players dialed in using a RIPscrip terminal program may find
that clicking the number boxes and text commands is much faster and simpler
than using the keyboard at all.

