Train Game puts you in the driver's seat of a train which drives around your screen past several train stations and thru several track crossings. The object of the game is to travel thru the loops to each station in sequence and make the highest score you can. The faster you drive and the smaller the total distance you travel the higher will be your score. You have the opportunity of varying the number of loops in the game and the speed you wish to travel.
A train layout is called a "pike" and the first button at the top of your screen will allow you to create random intersecting rectangles which form the pattern of the pike. When you press the NEW PIKE button the new pattern will appear with train stations located around the pike - one to each rectangle. Since the creation on the pike design is random you may find that a station has been drawn too close to another part of the display. We've give you the opportunity to move the stations along the line on which they are drawn. Simply click and hold the mouse on the white dot next to the station and reposition it along the line. Make as many changes of this type as you like.
The next button is labeled SIZE and refers to the number of loops in your pike. You may have from three to five loops in your pike. This is a rocker switch. If you press on one side the number goes up. If you press on the other side the number goes down. The next time you use the NEW PIKE button your pike will be drawn with the number of loops you've chosen. The SPEED button is also a rocker switch. Pressing on one side increases speed: pressing on the other slows down the train.
When you start your train you'll find your next destination displayed in the NEXT STATION window. You must head your train to that station and get there as fast as you can. When you arrive and flash by (this is the express - not the local) you'll notice that the NEXT STATION window now has the name of your next station...and you're off and running again. When you reach your last station this same window will give you your score for your journey..
The START RUN button gets you moving at the speed you've selected. You can change the speed at any time using the SPEED button to increase or decrease your rate of travel. The START RUN button changes to STOP RUN and you can press this at any time, but you receive no score for your current effort.
The rectangles which make up the pike are joined at several points marked by four small white circles. These are the crossing points which allow the train to move between one rectangle and another. You, as the engineer, are responsible for setting the crossing switches for your train to safely move through the switch. You set the switches using the four direction circles at the bottom of the screen. The circles are labeled for North, South, East and West and clicking the mouse in one of these will throw all the switches in front of the train in that direction.
There will be times when the switch is set in the exact opposite direction in which the train is currently traveling (e.g. the train is traveling south and the switch is set north. Rather than cause a derailment (and explode the train all over your screen) the switch changes to another random direction and the train rumbles safely on through the crossing.
It's fun to set the SPEED on high and just let the train select random directions. You'll find , however, that unless you actually play with the speed and switches your scores will be low. In this game you must actively play to win a good score.
We recommed that you start with only three loops and a low rate of speed until to can move your train easily. Then increase your pike and your speed for record scores. We hope you like our program and we remind you that it is shareware. If you enjoy playing Train Game please send $5 to: Dale Blackwell, 12621 Neon Way, Granada Hills, California, 91344. We'll send our latest version of the game along with several more of our shareware products. To begin playing simply CLICK anywhere on the screen.
