Memory Challenge Help

Quick Links:

• How to start a new game.
• How to play the game.
• How to change window colors.
• Change card type.
• Change number of cards.
• How to design your own cards.
• Problems/Troubleshooting.

How to start a new game.

Upon starting Memory Challenge, a new game will be automatically started.  A new game will also automatically be started when you change options, such as card type or amount.  To start a new game manually, or after finishing a game, simply push the F2 button on your keyboard.  You can also start a new game at any time by clicking File on the menu, then selecting New.

How to play the game.

To play Memory Challenge, you first select a card, then select another card trying to find a match.  If the cards match, they will disappear, if they don't match, they will be turned back over and you will try again.  The object is to try to remember where you seen cards so you can match as many as possible in the fewest amount of turns.  You will see how many tries it took you to finish the game at the bottom of the game play area.

How to change window colors.

If you don't like the way Memory Challenge looks (or your kids just want to have fun and customize it), you can change the color of the window.  To do this you need to click File on the menu, then select colors.  You will then see a list of colors you can change the window to.  You can change this setting at any time, even in the middle of a game, and it won't affect the current game.

Change card type.

The best feature about Memory Challenge is that you have the ability to change and or add new card types.  This prevents the child from getting bored with the same old cards, and increases their fun.  To add new cards to the list, refer to the section titled "How to design your own cards."  To change the current card type, click File on the menu, then select Options...  This will bring up the Options dialog for Memory Challenge.  It is in the right side of this dialog box that you will see a list of card types on your system.  Just select the one you want to use, and click OK.  A new game will automatically be started with these new cards.

Change number of cards.

Changing the number of cards allows you to customize the level of difficulty for your child.  To do this, click File on the menu, then select Options.  This brings up the Options dialog for Memory Challenge.  The left side of this dialog box allows you to select how many cards to be played with in the game.  You can select from 6, 8, 12, and 16 cards.  After selecting the amount to be played with, click OK to return to Memory Challenge and start playing with the new options.

How to design your own cards.

Designing your own cards is what makes Memory Challenge such a good memory game for kids.  This feature lets the parents create new cards that can be played within Memory Challenge.  Parents can create custom cards based on their own child's interests.  The process is rather easy but there are some very strict guidelines you must follow.

• First, you will need to obtain a graphic program that will allow you to create/draw graphics.  Most users already have Microsoft Paint on there computers already, so I will be using that as an example.  (You usually click Start->Programs->Accessories->Paint to bring up the Paint program.
• Next, you will need to create a new folder to hold your new cards in.  Create this folder in Memory Challenge subfolder called Cards (Usually C:\ProgramFiles\MemoryChallenge\Cards\, but may differ from computer to computer).  The name you give this folder will be the name that is shown in the Memory Challenge Options dialog box so it is recommended to give it a descriptive name.
• Now, in your graphic program, you will need to set up the picture area.  The cards used in Memory Challenge are exactly 75 pixels by 75 pixels.  To do this in Microsoft Paint, you select Image on the menu and select Attributes.  A dialog box will appear with width and height boxes.  Type 75 in to each one of these and ensure the Units measurement is set to pixels.  Then press OK.  The picture area will look small, and is not ideal to work with at that size, so you can select View on the menu and select Zoom->Large Size.  This will zoom in to the area to help you work with it.
• Now that the picture area is set up, you need to use your artistic skills, or copy pictures to the picture area to create a picture.  Once you have a card created you like, you need to save it.  When you save it, save the picture as a bitmap file (.bmp) into the folder you created earlier.  The file name needs to be a number from 1 to 8 or the name 'back'.  This is important.  Every folder (set of cards) in the Card folder must have 9 pictures in it.  The pictures are 1.bmp, 2.bmp, 3.bmp, 4.bmp, 5.bmp, 6.bmp, 7.bmp, 8.bmp, back.bmp.  If you create a card set that is missing any one of these files, it will not be valid and Memory Challenge will not recognize it as a valid card set, and therefore not displayed in the Options dialog box.  So, with the picture you just created, save it as 1.bmp into the folder you created earlier.  Now, you need to create 7 more pictures that will be used as cards and save them in the same folder with the numbers 2 through 8.  The back.bmp file that I mentioned as the ninth picture in the folder is the back of the card that the child sees when the cards are dealt.  You can create a plain card back like a solid color, or you can create an elaborate picture, it is up to you.  Just ensure you save it to your folder with the name back.bmp.
• Once you have created all nine pictures and named them properly, you need to check to make sure it worked without any problems.  Open the Memory Challenge game and click File on the menu, then select Options.  If you see your new card type in the list, select it, and click OK.  Play a game and check to make sure the cards display like they should.  If they are bigger and show up all funny, it is because the size of the pictures you created were not 75 X 75 pixels.  Just go back and correct this in the paint program for each picture.  If it is all working properly you have correctly created a new card set.  If you do not see your new card type in the list, there was a mistake in the card creation process, and you need to double check your work (refer to the card types that come preinstalled with Memory Challenge to see the way the set was put together).

Problems/Troubleshooting.

• Cards look funny - This can happen if you are using a set of cards that are not exactly 75 X 75 pixels.  You can correct these cards manually by using a graphics program to resize the pictures to 75 X 75 pixels.  Ensure you do the whole set.  For more detailed instructions, see the section titled "How do design your own cards."
• Message saying there are no card types available - This error occurs when you start up Memory Challenge and the program looks for valid card types.  If there are no valid card sets in the Cards subfolder, the error is displayed.  This is because Memory Challenge can not run if it doesn't have any cards to be matched.  If this happens it means that all the card sets have been deleted from the Cards folder, or that the card sets that are in the folder are not valid.  To correct the non valid card types / no cards available, you can refer to the section titled "How to design your own cards", or you can choose to reinstall the Memory Challenge program.  By  re-installing the program over top the old one, it should restore the Card folder to the default state.
• For errors not mentioned here, refer to the website for the most up to date problem resolutions. www.russellsplace.com/variantx/programs.htm  If you continue to have problems that are not solved, feel free to email me at brian@russellsplace.com.  Fully describe the problem, along with the version number of the program you are using, and I will do my best to find a solution.

Thank you for using Memory Challenge.