Contents: 4. About Fourtris 4. How to play 4. Advanced Techniques 4. Jargon 4. Cheating 4. Have you got any friends? 4. Skins 4. FAQ 4. Copyright

Fourtris is a stupid game invented by a loner who had nothing better to do with his time. It is an adaptation of the popular game ôConnect Fourö, but it is harder and goes on longer.

When the title screen appears press ESC to quit, O for options, or any other key to exit.

The aim is to make lines of four of your tokens. This can be done vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. No other directions will be allowed. When a line is made, it will disappear and you will get a point. A counter is dropped using the mouse, or by pressing number keys one to seven for the seven columns.

If a line disappears, any tokens resting on it will drop down to fill the gap. If these make more lines, these too will vanish and points will be given out accordingly. This is called a chain. This can be used as a deterrant for opponents to make lines.

Also, more than four blocks can be cleared at once. This is called a combo. A line of five blocks scores two points. A line of six scores three, and a line of seven scores four. Also, two lines can be made by dropping one piece. Combos score more points and clear fewer blocks, leaving you more to play around with later.

Combo - More than four blocks disappearring at once.
Chain - Blocks on top of a line falling and making a new line.
Havoc - Lots of blocks vanishing in one move.
Major havoc - Lots and lots of blocks vanishing in one move.
Nuclear havoc - Lots and lots and lots of blocks vanishing in one move.

Function keys æcheatÆ. See section four.

If you have, you can play in teams. This is called Team Fourtris. The other team are called Opposing Fources. If you donÆt have any friends, I have programmed in four levels of AI for you, ranging from ZX81 to Athlon. If you canÆt beat the ZX81, youÆre thick.

iv. How do I get sound?
Turn on your radio.
iv. Why is the screen all liney and ugly?
Run the program again (ESC then Y to quit) and again until it isnÆt (really).
iv. Why is there a rabbit telling me my skin is wrong?
Because it is. One of the bitmaps is missing or corrupt, or the folder name is wrong..
iv. I donÆt get this game.
ThatÆs not really a question.
iv. Why wonÆt Y quit?
Turn off Caps Lock because itÆs evil.
iv. Can I distribute this game?
As long as everything is included, I am given due credit, and no money changes hands other than the cost of a disk or whatever.
iv. Can I contact you?
Yes.
iv. How?
http://www.psy-co.co.uk, for the website, or andrew@psy-co.co.uk for email.

A skin is a set of images which change the way Fourtris runs. To make a skin, make a folder with fourtris.bmp, line.bmp, mouse.bmp, one.bmp, two.bmp and title.bmp. The best way is to copy an existing skin and change it. Then add its name to the end of skins.inf using notepad.

The Fourtris program, graphics and readme are copyright ⌐ 2000 Andrew Taylor.