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INSTRUCTIONS FOR VIDEOCART-8 CARTRIDGE GAMES Exclusively for use with the Fairchild Video Entertainment System. ========= FAIRCHILD ========= VIDEOCART is a trademark of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation. On Your Mark Get set and go with these two thought provoking one-player games. Take your Videocart cartridge and, with the front label facing out, and the top label facing up, insert it gently in the chute makred 'insert cartridge.' To remove the cartridge, press the 'press to eject' bar, then slide the cartridge out. 1. Mind Reader Can you read the computer's mind? Use logic to guess the random number the computer is thinking of and you become a Mind Reader. The computer will give you clues, but if you don't use logic, some of the clues might throw you off the track! Mind Reader is a one-player game, you against the computer. The object is to guess the number the computer is thinking of. The number can be 2 to 5 digits long (see options). You have 20 guesses or a time limit (see options). SETTING UP THE GAME. Press RESET, then button 1. An S? will appear asking you if you are ready to start. Press START for a 3-digit, 20 guess game (see options). OPTIONS. Number of Digits. You can play Mind Reader with two to five digit numbers, the larger the number, the harder the game. Press RESET, then button 1 to get Mind Reader on the screen. When the S? appears, press button 2 (MODE), then button: 1 for 2-digit numbers. 2 for 3-digit numbers. 3 for 4-digit numbers. 4 for 5-digit numbers. When S? appears again, press START to start the game. Time. You have a choice of figuring out the computer's number in 20 guesses or a specific time limit. Playing with 20 guesses is automatic. If you want to play a game using a time limit instead, when the S? appears, press button 1 (TIME), then button: 1 for 2 minutes. 2 for 5 minutes. 3 for 10 minutes. 4 for 20 minutes. When the S? appears again, press START to start the game. The number will come up and the clock will start counting down. You cannot stop the clock during a game of Mind Reader. To do so would give you an advantage over the computer. You can think while the clock is stopped, the computer can not! Note: The MODE and TIME options can be set in either order. PLAYING THE GAME. Let's assume that a 3-digit, 20 guess game is on the screen. (Press RESET, then buttons 1 and 4). How the Hand Controllers Work. The number (000) at the left side of the screen just above the dark score line is the QUESTION LINE (see Screen Layout). This is the number you are working with. Pushing Left or Right will move the CURSOR (little line) under the digits to the right or left from digit to digit. This tells you which digit you are working with. Twisting Left -- Cycles the digit that the cursor is under DOWN from 0 to 1 (0, 9, 8, ...2, 1). Twisting Right -- Cycles the digit that the cursor is under UP from 0 to 9 (0, 1, 2, ...8, 9). Pushing Down -- Enters a guess. The computer will respond with clues to that guess. After a round is over, pushing down clears the screen and sets up a new round with the same variables. Screen Layout. After a game gets going, you will see that there are three rows of numbers on the screen. The bottom line is the ANSWER LINE. This is the line where the computer gives back its clues to the number on the question line. When you push down and enter a guess, the number on the question line jumps up to the answer line and appears there along with the computer's clues for that number. The top line is the PREVIOUS ANSWER line. Each time a guess is entered and the question line number jumps to the answer line, the number that was on the answer line jumps to the previous answer line to give you a comparison between the guess and the previous guess. 323 TT <------- Previous Answer 233 HT <------- Answer 233 <------- Question ----------------- Computer's Score ----> 15 12 23 <------- Your Score ^ | Number of Guesses Left -------- (or Time) Each time a guess is entered by pushing down on the hand controller, the numbers on the screen 'roll up,' that is, move up from one line to another. Any information contained in the previous answer line is lost the next time a guess is entered. Clues. The computer gives one clue for each digit on the answer line. The clues are: H -- "HIT" means that one digit in your guess (the question line) is the same as one digit in the computer's mystery numbver and it IS in the correct position. T -- "TRANSPOSE" means that one digit in your guess (the question line) is the same as one digit in the computer's mystery number but it is NOT in the correct position. _ -- Blank (no symbol) means that one digit in your guess is not at all like any digit in the computer's mystery number. Remember: The computer compares its number against yours DIGIT FOR DIGIT, and gives you clues that way. If two digits in your guess are the same, and only one of those digits is in the computer's mystery number, it will give you clues for BOTH of your digits, even though it is only using one of them. Beware! Some of the clues you get may lead you astray! SCORING: 20 Guess Games. You have 20 guesses in which to find the mystery number. The computer gets one point for each guess you use. You get one point for each guess you have left, plus 5 bonus points, if you guess the mystery number before your 20 guesses are used up. Time Limit Games. The score svary depending on the number of digits you have in the mystery number. 2-digit mystery number scores 2 points per digit. 3-digit mystery number scores 3 points per digit. 4-digit mystery number scores 4 points per digit. 5-digit mystery number scores 5 points per digit. If you won a 4-digit game, you would get 16 points, etc. The first one (you or the computer) to get to 100 wins the game. When either player gets to 100, the screen will clear and a G? will appear asking if you want to play another game. A Few Practice Rounds. Let's play a few practice games to get used to what the computer is telling us with its clues. The following games are one person's method of playing Mind Reader and are meant only to be informative. There are many strategies to playing Mind Reader and no doubt you will find one that is best for you. Assume that we have set up a 3-digit, 20 guess game. 990 990 ------------------ 01 19 00 Our first guess on the question line is 990. The computer's response on the answer line 'blank,' 'blank,' 'blank,' meaning that there are NO 9's or 0's in its mystery number. 990 778 HT 778 ------------------ 02 28 00 Our second guess on the question line is 778. The computer's response is HT_. (HIT, TRANSPOSE, BLANK). That means that one of our numbers is right and in the correct position, and one more is right but not in the correct position. Since the computer gives us one clue for each digit and we have two symbols and a blank, we can associate the blank with the 8 and the two symbols with the 7's. Now we know that there are no 8's and at least one 7. Why AT LEAST ONE 7 and not FOR SURE TWO 7's? Remember that the computer looks DIGIT BY DIGIT at our guess when comparing it to its mystery number. One of the 7's could be giving us the HIT because we have a 7 in the same position as the computer, and the other 7 could be giving us a TRANSPOSE because the computer has a 7 in its number and so do we, even though it is the same 7! 778 HT 765 HH 765 ------------------ 03 17 00 Assuming that there is only one 7 in the computer's number, our third guess is 765. (We are assuming the first 7 is correct). The computer's response is HH. This tells us that not only was our assumption about the first 7 correct, but that there is a 6 or a 5 in the mystery number too, but not both. 765 HH 764 H 764 ------------------ 04 26 00 Our next guess is 764. (We are assuming that the 6 is correct). The computer's response is H. We lost a HIT. Our assumption that the 6 was correct is wrong. Looking at the previous answer line and the answer line, the only difference is that the 5 changed to a 4 and we lost a HIT. This can only mean that the 5 was correct and that there are no 4's or 6's. Let's try 3's. 764 H 735 HH 735 ------------------ 05 15 00 Our next guess is 735. The computer's response is HH. This means that the 7 and the 5 are correct and there are no 3's. Let's try 2's. 764 H 735 HH 725WIN725 ------------------ 05 15 20 We've guessed the mystery number! Let's try one more game. Push down the hand controller for a new game. 990 990 ------------------ 06 19 20 Our first guess is for 9's and 0's. The computer's response is blank. There are no 9's or 0's. 990 887 T 887 ------------------ 07 18 20 Our second guess is for 8's and 7's. The computer's response is T. Since there is only one symbol, it must be associated with the 7. This means that there is a 7 in the mystery number, but not in the last position. 887 576 H 575 ------------------ 08 17 20 Our next guess is 576. This trys the 7 in the middle position and also asks about 5's and 6's. The computer's response is H. We have hit the 7 and there are no 5's or 6's. 576 H 473 HTT 473 ------------------ 09 16 20 Let's try 4's and 3's. The computer's response is HTT. We know the HIT is for the 7, so there must be a 4 and a 3 in the mystery number, only transposed! Let's turn ours around. 576 H 473 HTT 374WIN374 ------------------ 09 16 41 Again, we have guessed the mystery number! There are literally hundreds of ways to get the most information out of one guess. The games illustrated here are only one example. Play around and you will find the method that works best for you. 2. Nim Catch the computer in a binary bind, and you win every time! Nim is the oldest two-person mathematical game known to man. Nim is believed to be Chinese in origin. The basis of the game is simple. There are several piles of objects. Each pile contains from 1 to 15 objects. Each player takes turn taking any number of objects out of any pile. You have to take at least one object, and you can take objects out of only one pile. The player who takes the last object off the table wins. In the 21st century version of Nim, you play against the computer. You have a choice of 3, 6, or 9 piles. The objects in the piles are numbers, 1 to 15. The player who takes the last number off the screen wins. Setting Up The Game. Press RESET then button 2. An S? will appear asking you if you are ready to start. Press START for a 3-pile, no time limit game. OPTIONS: Number of Piles. You have a choice of 3, 6, or 9 piles to play with. The more piles, the harder the game. Press RESET, then button 2 to get Nim on the screen. When the S? appears, press button 2 (MODE), then button: 1 or 2 for 3 piles. 3 for 6 piles. 4 for 9 piles. When the S? appears again, press START to start the game. Time. You have a choice of playing with or without time limit. Playing without a time limit is automatic. To play a game with a time limit, when the S? appears, press button 1 (TIME), then button: 1 for 2 minutes. 2 for 5 minutes. 3 for 10 minutes. 4 for 20 minutes. When the S? appears again, press START to start the game. The game will come up and the clock will start counting down. You cannot stop the clock during a game of Nim. To do so would give you an advantage over the computer. You can think while the clock is stopped, the computer can not! Note: The MODE and TIME options can be set in either order. PLAYING THE GAME. Let's assume a 3-pile, no time limit game is on the screen. (Press RESET, then buttons 2 and 4). How the Hand Controllers Work. There are three squares on the screen. These are piles. Each square contains a number. This is the number of objects in that pile. The pile with the small square under it is the pile that you are working with (this square is red on color TVs and light grey on black & white TVs). This is the pile you have chosen to take objects out of. Pushing Left or Right -- moves the small indicator dot (called a 'cursor') right or left from square to square. This lets you choose which pile you want to take objects out of. Pushing Forward or Back (for 6 or 9 pile games only) -- this moves the cursor up or down from square to square. In a 6 or 9 pile game, you can move from square to square by going right, left, up or down. Twisting Left -- decreases the number of objects in the pile. Decreasing a square from 12 to 7 means that you have taken 5 objects out of that pile. Twisting Right -- increases the number of objects in the pile. This is in the case you have taken too many. You cannot increase the number in a square past what was previously there. Pushing Down -- tells the computer that you are satisfied with the number of objects you have taken. You cannot skip a turn. At the end of a game, PUSHING DOWN clears the screen and sets up a new game with the same variables. After you have taken a number of objects out of a pile, it is the computer's turn. It will move the cursor to the square of its choice and remove some of the objects. After that, it is back to you! SCORING. Scoring depends on the number of piles in the game and whether or not there is a time limit. The number in the lower left corner of the screen is the computer's score. The number in the lower right corner is your score. No Time Limit 3 pile games score 2 points. 6 pile games score 5 points. 9 pile games score 8 points. Time Limit 2-minute games 3 piles scores 10 points. 6 piles scores 17 points. 9 piles scores 25 points. 5-minute games 3 piles scores 8 points. 6 piles scores 14 points. 9 piles scores 20 points. 10 or 20-minute games 3 piles scores 4 points. 6 piles scores 7 points. 9 piles scores 10 points. In summary, the less time and more piles, the higher the score. The first player to reach 100 (you or the computer) wins the game. When either player reaches 100, the screen will clear and a G? will appear asking if you want to play another game. STRATEGY. There is no "winning strategy" in Nim. People have been thinking up ways to beat this game for centuries and will probably continue to do so for centuries to come. The best "winning strategy" is to find one that works for you! One method you can use to beat this 21st century version of an old game is to think the way the computer does -- in BINARY. Binary numbers use only two digits to make up the number -- 0 and 1. The binary numbers from 0 to 15 (the limits to this game of Nim) are all 4 digits long -- 0000 to 1111. It helps if you think of the digits of a binary number as placeholders, that is, they stand for something else. The placeholders in the binary digits 0000 to 1111 stand for 8, 4, 2, and 1. Lets see some examples PLACEHOLDERS 8 4 2 1 Binary number: 1 0 1 0 stands for: 8+0+2+0 = 10! Let's try it again. PLACEHOLDERS 8 4 2 1 0 1 1 0 stands for 0+4+2+0 = 6, 1 1 0 0 stands for 8+4+0+0 = 12, 0 0 1 0 stands for 0+0+2+0 = 2, 1 1 1 1 stands for 8+4+2+1 = 15! Got it? Each '1' means the placeholder counts, each '0' means that it does not. Just add 'em up! Now, let's apply the Binary Strategy to a game of Nim. Let's assume that a 3-pile, no time limit game is on the screen. The three piles that come up are: ---- ---- ---- |13| |14| | 1| ---- ---- ---- * Translated to binary, that is 8 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 = 8+4+0+1 = 13 1 1 1 0 = 8+4+2+0 = 14 0 0 0 1 = 0+0+1 = 1 The trick to this strategy is to make sure you move to a 'safe' position. To do this, add up the COLUMNS -- the '8' column, the '4' column, the '2' column, and the '1' column. If the total of the column is 0 or an even number, you are in a 'safe' position. If it is an odd number, you are not in a 'safe' position, and need to change the binary number so you will be in a 'safe' position. Let's add up our columns to see if we are in a 'safe' position. 8 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 = 13 1 1 1 0 = 14 0 0 0 1 = 1 ------- column totals: 2 2 1 2 We would seem to be 'safe' everywhere except in the '2' column. What can we do to make that column 'safe'? It seems teh best way would be to get rid of the '1' in the '2' column, bringing the column total to zero -- a 'safe' position. Removing the '1' means we are taking 2 away from the second number -- 14, in other words, reducing 14 to 12. This is our move: ---- ---- ---- |13| |12| | 1| ---- ---- ---- * 8 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 = 8+4+0+1 = 13 1 1 0 0 = 8+4+0+0 = 12 0 0 0 1 = 0+0+1 = 1 ------- column totals: 2 2 0 2 - a 'safe' position. The computer will try to make our position unsafe again. Its move: ---- ---- ---- |11| |12| | 1| ---- ---- ---- * 8 4 2 1 1 0 1 1 = 11 1 1 0 0 = 12 0 0 0 1 = 1 ------- column totals: 2 1 1 2 - an unsafe position! We are unsafe in the '4' and '2' column. It doesn't look as if taking 4 or 2 away from a number will do any good. It would make one column safe, but not both. Since we can only work with one pile at a time, the only way to make both columns safe is to subtract 4 from the middle number and add 2 -- in other words, remove a '1' from the '4' column and add a '1' to the '2' column. This is the binary equivalent of subtraction. We have reduced the 12 to 10. This is our move: ---- ---- ---- |11| |10| | 1| ---- ---- ---- * 8 4 2 1 1 0 1 1 = 11 1 0 1 0 = 10 0 0 0 1 = 1 ------- column totals: 2 0 2 2 - a 'safe' position. The computer's out to make it unsafe for us. Its move: ---- ---- ---- | 0| |10| | 1| ---- ---- ---- * 8 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 0 1 0 = 10 0 0 0 1 = 1 ------- column totals: 1 0 1 1 - an unsafe position. The computer has us unsafe in every column! The only way to get back to a safe position is to change the middle number so there is a '1' in the '1' column and get rid of the others. Our move: ---- ---- ---- | 0| | 1| | 1| ---- ---- ---- * 8 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 = 1 0 0 0 1 = 1 ------- column totals: 0 0 0 2 - a 'safe' position. We have maneuvered the computer into taking the next to the last object -- we have won! The only thing it can do is take one of the '1's. Its move: ---- ---- ---- | 0| | 1| | 0| ---- ---- ---- * 8 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 = 1 0 0 0 0 = 0 ------- column totals: 0 0 0 1 To make it safe, and win, remove the '1'. Our move: ---- ---- ---- | 0| | 0| | 0| ---- ---- ---- * We have won the game. Have Fun If you have questions about this Videocart(TM)* cartridge or your Video Entertainment System, call the toll free numbers in the back of your console instruction booklet. Other exciting Videocart cartridges are available from your Fairchild dealer or, for more information, write: Fairchild Consumer Products 4001 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 *VIDEOCART is a trademark of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation Copyright (C) 1977 Printed in U.S.A.