Bangfire For Letters Help Contents

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The Contents lists all of the Help topics for Bangfire For Letters.

To learn how to use Help, choose How to Use Help from the Help menu, or press F1.

How To Play

Playing the Game

Parent's Guide

Commands

Game Menu Commands

Options Menu Commands

Help Menu Commands


Game Menu Commands

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This section contains information about Game menu commands in Bangfire For Letters.

New

Starts a new game. You can also press F2 to start a new game.

Pause

Pauses the game and blacks out the screen. To resume play, choose Pause again, or press F3.

Exit

Quits Bangfire For Letters. You can quit at any time, even in the middle of a game. You can also press ALT+F4 to quit a game.

See Also

Options Menu Commands

Help Menu Commands


Options Menu Commands

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This section contains information about the Options menu commands in Bangfire For Letters.

Skip Quick Help

Turns Quick Help on and off. If you do not want to see the Quick Help screen each time you start a game, choose Skip Quick Help. A check mark is displayed next to the command name when Skip Quick Help is turned on.

Levels 1 - 5

Turns on various levels of the game. Level 1 is the easiest and Level 5 is the hardest. A check appears next to a Level if it is selected. If you want to find out the settings for a particular Level, then see the Customize Game Dialog Box.

Customize Game

Displays the Customize Game Dialog Box so you can change game settings and create your own personalized version of Bangfire For Letters. For example, you can slow the speed of the letters, while increasing the speed of the missiles. You can also press F9 to customize a game.

See Also

Game Menu Commands

Help Menu Commands

How To Play


Help Menu Commands

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The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Contents

Use this command to display the opening screen of Help. From the opening screen, you can jump to step-by-step instructions for using Bangfire For Letters and various types of reference information.

Once you open Help, you can Click on the Contents button whenever you want to return to the opening screen.

How To Play

Provides detailed instructions for playing Bangfire For Letters.

Commands

Provides information about the various types of commands.

Parents Guide

This command helps parents set up and explain how to use Bangfire For Letters so that their child has the best opportunity for learning.

How To Use Help

Use this command for instructions about using Help. Alternatively, you can also click F1 while you are viewing this help file.

Quick Help

This command displays the Quick Help Dialog Box, which provides a very brief description of how to play.

Why Register

This command displays the Why Register Dialog Box, which explains the advantages of registering.

Register Now

This command displays a document that explains how to register.

Contacting Us

Use this command to find phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. for registration and technical support.

About Bangfire For Letters

Use this command to display the copyright notice and version number of your copy of Bangfire For Letters.


Playing the Game

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Bangfire for Letters is simple to understand and play. The object of the game is to shoot the falling letter with the missiles from the gun. Here are the steps that describe how the game is played:

1) A letter is spoken by the computer.

2) After a delay, the letter begins to fall down the screen.

3) After another delay, a hint is given by highlighting a group of adjacent letters at the bottom of the screen. For instance, if the letter A is falling down the screen and the hint group size is three, then the letters A, B, and C would eventually be highlighted.

4) During steps one or two, if the child clicks on the correct letter, the gun becomes activated and moving the mouse will move the gun. The gun automatically fires at a fixed rate.

5) If the child hits the letter, a yellow star appears in the score area of the screen.

6) If the child never clicks on the right letter or misses the letter with the missiles, the letter falls off the screen. It will reappear again later in the game.

7) There is a delay before going back to step 1 for the next letter.

8) When all the letters are hit, then a large smiling face appears on the screen and the computer says You win!

You can easily customize the game by using the Options Menu Commands. Also the Parent's Guide provides useful information on how to get the full benefits of Bangfire For Letters.


Parent's Guide

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In order for you child to get the greatest benefit from Bangfire For Letters, it is important that you as a parent set the game to the right level of difficulty and that you reward your child when he does well.

Difficulty Level

The game should be set so that your child can win (get all the letters) in a reasonable amount of time. This means that the settings should be such that your child only misses a few letters per game. I suggest that you start off with Level 1 and work towards Level 3 or 4.

Rewards

It is important for you to reward your child for doing well. In the beginning, doing well can be defined as playing and becoming familiar with the game. As time goes on, you should reward you child for successfully completing 1 row of stars, then 2 rows, etc. Rewards can be as simple as a few words of encouragement or something more tangible. The registered version of Bangfire For Letters comes with a set of reward stickers and a certificate.

See Also

Options Menu Commands

Playing the Game


How To Play

Click on the colored, underlined words to see a definition or jump to another topic.

Playing the Game

Parent's Guide


Commands

Click on the colored, underlined words to see a definition or jump to another topic.

Game Menu Commands

Options Menu Commands

Help menu


underlined words

Find out more information or transport yourself to a topic that interests you.


Customize Game Dialog Box

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Use this dialog box to precisely control many aspects of Bangfire For Letters. The dialog box is divided into three sections: Timing, Hinting, and Load Settings.

Timing

The Timing settings control various rates and speeds of the game.

Target Drop Delay

Determines how long of a delay there is between when the letter is spoken and when the letter appears on the screen. The shortest delay is 1 and the longest delay is 200.

Target Speed

Determines how quickly the letter moves down the screen. The slowest speed is 1 and the fastest speed is 50.

Missile File Rate

Determines how often missiles automatically fire. The slowest rate is 1 and the fastest rate is 40.

Missile Speed

Determines how quickly missiles move up the screen. The slowest speed is 1 and the fastest speed is 70.

Next Round Delay

Determines the delay between finishing with the last letter and starting with the next letter. The shortest delay is 1 and the longest delay is 100.

Hinting

Hinting is used to visually highlight a group of letters to make it easier for the child to find the correct letter. For instance, suppose the letter A is falling down the screen and hints are enabled with three letters per group and a target drop percent of 50. When the letter A is halfway down the screen, the letters A, B, and C are highlighted at the bottom of the screen.

Enable Hints

Use this to turn hinting completely off or on.

Letters Per Group

Determines the number of letters that appear in each hint group. The number of letters can be anything between 1 and 25.

Target Drop Percent

Determines when a hint is given. This represents the percentage that a letter has fallen down the screen before a hint is given. The percentage can be anything between 1 and 90.

Load Settings

All of these buttons load the settings from the Levels that are found under the Options menu. This allows you to start with a Level that is close to what you want and then create custom settings based on those settings.

See Also

Options Menu Commands