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MILL.DOC
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1992-05-24
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108 lines
TOMMY'S MILL (C) COPYRIGHT 1987 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #87-064-1A
INSTRUCTIONS:
MILL, OR MERRILLS, IS AN ANCIENT EARTH GAME, DATING BACK 25488 THOUSAND YEARS.
THE BASIC BOARD DESIGN, 3 CONCENTRIC SQUARES, HAS BEEN FOUND ON ETRUSCAN
POETRY, ROMAN TILES, AND THE STEPS OF THE ATHENIAN ACROPOLIS. IT WAS
DESCRIBED BY THE ROMAN WRITER OVID. MERRILLS BOARDS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN
VIKING REMAINS. SHAKESPEARE REFERS TO IT (MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM) AS NINE
MEN'S MORRIS, OR SIMPLY MORRIS, FROM ITS ARGUABLE RESEMBLANCE TO A MOORISH
DANCE. IN GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIA THEY CALL IT MUHLE, THE MILL.
THE BOARD:
THERE ARE 24 BOARD POINTS, ARRANGED IN 16 SEGMENTS OF 3 POINTS EACH (E.G.,
1-2-3 AND 1-10-22 ARE SEGMENTS).
THE PIECES:
EACH PLAYER GETS 9 IDENTICAL PIECES.
THE PLAY:
IN THE FIRST 9 ROUNDS, EACH PLAYER LAYS A PIECE DOWN ON AN EMPTY POINT.
AFTER THE 9TH ROUND, EACH PLAYER MUST MOVE A PIECE ALONG A SEGMENT TO
AN ADJACENT VACANT POINT.
THE RULES:
1. WHEN A PLAYER HAS ARRANGED 3 OF HIS PIECES ONTO A SINGLE SEGMENT,
FORMING WHAT IS CALLED A MILL, HE GETS TO CAPTURE ONE OF THE OPPONENT'S
PIECES, PERMANENTLY REMOVING IT FROM THE BOARD.
2. HOWEVER, A PIECE THAT IS A PART OF A MILL IS PROTECTED FROM CAPTURE.
3. THE FIRST PLAYER WHO IS REDUCED TO 2 PIECES LOSES THE GAME.
4. IF A MILL IS OPENED BY MOVING ONE PIECE OUT OF ALIGNMENT, AND THEN
CLOSED BY REVERSING THE MOVE, IT COUNTS AS A NEW MILL.
5. A PLAYER WHO CANNOT MOVE IN HIS TURN LOSES THE GAME.
GAME MODES:
THE COMPUTER CAN PLAY EITHER, NEITHER, OR BOTH SIDES, THE KEYBOARD (YOU)
PLAYING THE REST. YOU CHANGE THE MODE BY PRESSING FUNCTION KEY F2: THE MODE
IS DISPLAYED IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE SCREEN.
TO ENTER A MOVE FROM THE KEYBOARD:
JUST TYPE IT IN, USING SPACES TO DEMARCATE, E.G.,
1<SPACE>2 MOVE FROM 1 TO 2
23<SPACE> LAY PIECE DOWN AT 23
1<SPACE>2<SPACE>11 MOVE FROM 1 TO 2, CAPTURING PIECE AT 11
TO ABORT A MOVE BEING ENTERED AND START A NEW ONE, HIT SOMETHING ILLEGAL,
SUCH AS THE "A" KEY.
OTHER COMMANDS:
INSTEAD OF A MOVE, YOU CAN ENTER THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS INSTEAD:
R RESTORE A PREVIOUSLY-SAVED GAME FROM A FILE
S SAVE THE GAME ON A FILE
X OR ESC RESIGN
. BACKSTEP **
/ UNDO BACKSTEP **
**NOTE: WITH EITHER OF THESE COMMANDS, THE COMPUTER CONTINUES TO BACKSTEP
OR UNDO BACKSTEPS UNTIL IT REACHES A KEYBOARD PLAYER; THUS, IF BOTH SIDES
ARE PLAYED BY THE COMPUTER, THE GAME IS STEPPED UNTIL IT REACHES THE END
OF THE LINE. TO ABORT THIS, CHANGE THE MODE!
STRATEGY:
IF BOTH PLAYERS PLAY PERFECTLY, THE GAME IS ALWAYS A DRAW (HA HA).
HINTS:
OPENING ROUNDS:
1. THE BEST POINTS TO SEIZE ARE THE SECOND SQUARE MIDPOINTS 5, 11, 14, 20.
2. WATCH OUT FOR FORKS (SUCH AS PIECES ON 16, 17, AND 20, WITH 18, 23 OPEN).
MIDGAME:
3. TWO MILLS ARE SURE TO WIN AGAINST ONE: ONE MILL IS LEFT OPEN AS A RESERVE
AGAINST OPENING OF THE OPPONENT'S MILL, WHILE THE SECOND IS REPEATEDLY
OPENED AND CLOSED.
4. BEWARE THE DEADLY DOUBLE-MILL, SUCH AS PIECES ON 22,23,24,19,21: MOVING
BETWEEN 20 AND 23 CLOSES A MILL ON EVERY TURN, FORCING THE OTHER PLAYER TO
RESIGN.
OTHER FUNCTION KEY COMMANDS:
SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F1 TOGGLES THE SOUND EFFECTS ON AND OFF.
TO QUIT: HIT FUNCTION KEY F7.
TO DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS: HIT FUNCTION KEY F5.
TO CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR (COLOR MONITORS ONLY): HIT FUNCTION KEY F10.
GAME SPEED CONTROL: THE UP ARROW DECREASES, AND THE DOWN ARROW DECREASES
THE TIME PAD BETWEEN THE COMPUTER'S MOVES. THE VALUE OF THE TIME PAD,
FROM 0.1 TO 10.0 SECONDS, IS DISPLAYED IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF
THE SCREEN.
NOTES IN GAME FILE: WHEN THE PROGRAM READS IN A PREVIOUSLY-SAVED GAME FROM
A FILE, ALL LINES CONTAINING A "." IN COLUMN 1 WILL BE IGNORED. YOU CAN
USE THIS FEATURE TO INSERT NOTES TO YOURSELF IN THE FILE.
MOVE BUFFER: THE VALUE OF THE MOVE BUFFER POINTER, AND THE SIZE OF THE
MOVE BUFFER, ARE SHOWN BENEATH THE MOVE REPORT AREA. IF YOUR GAME TAKES
TOO MANY MOVES, THE COMPUTER CANNOT REMEMBER THEM.
----------------------
DID YOU LIKE THIS TOY?
DON'T FORGET TO TRY OUR GOBS OF OTHER NEAT LOW-PRICED TOYS AND GAMES FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES. OUR 5.25 INCH (360KB) OR 3.5 INCH (720KB) DEMO DISK,
CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC CATALOG PLUS OTHER GOODIES, IS ONLY $2 TO ANY U.S.
ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE U.S.
TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.
HAVE FUN!