Software of the Month Club 1996 February/Software of the Month Club 1996 February.iso/pc/dos/games/dumb/dumbche.doc

Text File | 1996-01-08 | 9.4 KB | 216 lines

TOMMY'S DUMB AND DUMBER CHESS! <TM> (C) COPYRIGHT 1995 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #TM-160-1A

INSTRUCTIONS:

***TO EXIT, HIT FUNCTION KEY F1, THEN THE Y KEY.
***TO DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE PROGRAM, HIT FUNCTION KEY F5.

TRADITIONAL 8 X 8 CHESS IS TOO HARD, IT'S FOR NERDS?  THEN TRY DUMB CHESS! <TM>
INSTEAD!  PLAYED ON A 5 X 5 OR 6 X 5 BOARD (YOUR CHOICE), IT'S EASIER TO LEARN,
AND GAMES DON'T TAKE SO LONG.

DUMBER CHESS MODE:
AND WHEN YOU'RE READY, TRY TOMMY'S DUMBER CHESS <TM>, DUMB CHESS WHERE THE
RULES CHANGE FROM GAME TO GAME!  THERE ARE SEVERAL NEW TYPES OF PIECES
WITH THEIR OWN RULES OF MOVEMENT AND CAPTURE, AND WHY NOT?  YOU CAN ONLY
HAVE AT MOST ONE OF EACH TYPE OF PIECE EACH GAME!  DUMB AND DUMBER (HA HA)!

DIFFICULTY LEVELS:
YOU CAN SET THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL AS ANY NUMBER FROM 1 (EASIEST) TO 9 (HARDEST);
WHILE THE PC IS THINKING, YOU CAN FORCE IT TO QUIT THINKING AND TAKE THE CURRENT
BEST MOVE (NOT OFTEN THE BEST MOVE POSSIBLE!) BY HITTING THE ESC KEY.  (IN THE
UNREGISTERED SHAREWARE VERSION YOU CAN ONLY GO TO LEVEL 2).

HOW THE GAME WORKS:
PLAYERS AGREE ON A 5 X 5 OR 6 X 5 (ROWS X COLS) BOARD.

EACH PLAYER STARTS OUT WITH AN ARMY OF 10 PIECES: 5 PAWNS, 1 KING, AND 4 OTHERS.

IN REGULAR DUMB CHESS, THE 4 PIECES ARE ALWAYS KNIGHT, BISHOP, ROOK, AND QUEEN.

IN DUMBER CHESS THE COMPUTER RANDOMLY SELECTS 4 PIECES FROM THE LIST BELOW, AND
EACH PLAYER GETS THE SAME.  THERE WILL NEVER BE MORE THAN 1 PIECE OF A GIVEN
TYPE SELECTED.  THE BACK ROW PIECES ON EACH SIDE ARE THEN SHUFFLED RANDOMLY
TO MAKE IT EVEN DUMBER!

THE GAME ENDS WHEN THE PLAYERS AGREE TO A DRAW, ONE PLAYER FORFEITS THE GAME,
OR WHEN ONE PLAYER LOSES HIS KING (LOSING THE GAME).

HOME ROW:
EACH PLAYER'S HOME ROW IS THE ROW CLOSEST TO HIM, WHERE THE KING AND HIS 4
COMPUTER-SELECTED PIECES START OUT.  THE 5 PAWNS ARE ALWAYS STARTED OUT IN
THE NEXT ROW.  MOVING TOWARDS THE ENEMY'S HOME ROW IS CALLED MOVING FORWARD.

RULES:
WHITE HAS THE FIRST MOVE.  PROGRAM DEFAULT IS FOR KEYBOARD TO PLAY WHITE,
COMPUTER BLACK -- USE FUNCTION KEYS F3 AND F4 TO CHANGE.

ON EACH PLAYER'S TURN HE MUST MOVE, RESIGN, OR OFFER A DRAW TO THE OPPONENT.

CAPTURES:
ONLY ONE GAME PIECE IS PERMITTED ON A BOARD SQUARE AT A TIME.  A PLAYER MAY
THEREFORE NOT LAND ON A SQUARE OCCUPIED BY HIS OWN PIECE, BUT HE MAY LAND ON
A PIECE OCCUPIED BY THE OPPONENT'S PIECE, THEREBY CAPTURING IT AND TAKING IT
OFF THE BOARD AND OUT OF PLAY.

CHECK AND CHECKMATE:
WHEN A PLAYER'S KING IS THREATENED WITH CAPTURE, HE IS SAID TO BE IN CHECK.
HE MUST GET THE KING OUT OF DANGER IMMEDIATELY OR HE IS CHECKMATED.  UNLIKE
IN TRADITIONAL 8 X 8 CHESS, IF A PLAYER CAN'T MOVE WITHOUT GOING INTO CHECK,
HE HAS TO MOVE ANYWAY AND GET CHECKMATED.

FIXED PIECES:
THE 5 PAWNS AND KING ARE THERE IN EVERY GAME.  HERE ARE THEIR RULES:

PAWN          CAN ONLY MOVE FORWARDS (TOWARDS ENEMY SIDE OF BOARD), AND ONLY
              ONE SQUARE AT A TIME, UP/DOWN (NEVER LEFT/RIGHT).  HOWEVER, IF
              THERE IS AN ENEMY PIECE KATTY-KORNER AND IN FRONT OF IT, ON THE
              NEXT SQUARE, IT CAN MOVE TO THAT SQUARE AND CAPTURE THAT PIECE.
              PROMOTION: IF A PAWN EVER REACHES THE ENEMY'S HOME ROW, IT IS
              IMMEDIATELY PROMOTED TO ANY PIECE YOU LIKE OUT OF THE 4 THAT
              THE GAME STARTED WITH (NOT A PAWN OR KING).

KING          CAN MOVE ONE SQUARE AT A TIME IN ANY DIRECTION, AND CAPTURES
              WHATEVER PIECE IT LANDS ON.  WHEN IT IS ITSELF TAKEN, THE GAME
              ENDS AND THE PLAYER LOSING THE KING LOSES THE GAME.

VARIABLE PIECES:
THE POSSIBLE PIECES THE COMPUTER CAN CHOOSE AND THEIR RULES ARE:

KNIGHT        CAN HOP 2 SQUARES UP/DOWN OR LEFT/RIGHT, THEN 1 MORE SQUARE AT
              RIGHT ANGLES TO THAT.  IT CAPTURES WHATEVER IT LANDS ON AT THE
              END.

BISHOP        CAN MOVE UP TO 5 SQUARES DIAGONALLY IN A STRAIGHT LINE, BUT ONLY
              AS LONG AS THE ROAD IS CLEAR.  IF IT ENCOUNTERS ANOTHER PIECE
              ON THE ROAD IT CAPTURES IT AND COMES TO A REST.

ROOK          SAME AS A BISHOP ONLY IT MOVES ONLY UP/DOWN OR LEFT/RIGHT, NEVER
              DIAGONALLY.

QUEEN         SAME AS A BISHOP AND A ROOK PUT TOGETHER: CAN MOVE IN ANY STRAIGHT
              LINE, UP/DOWN, LEFT/RIGHT, OR DIAGONALLY.

EARL          HOPS 2 SQUARES IN ANY STRAIGHT DIRECTION (UP/DOWN, LEFT/RIGHT,
              DIAGONALLY).  CAPTURES WHAT IT LANDS ON.

WIZARD        CAN MOVE LIKE A KING, BUT CAN'T CAPTURE ANYTHING!  SO IT CAN ONLY
              MOVE TO AN EMPTY SQUARE.  BUT, IT HAS THE POWER OF FREEZING ALL
              ENEMY PIECES IT TOUCHES SO THAT THEY CAN'T MOVE!

JOKER         CAN HOP TO ANY EMPTY SQUARE ON THE BOARD, BUT CAN'T CAPTURE
              ANYTHING AND HAS NO POWERS OF FREEZING LIKE A WIZARD.  IT WILL
              BLOCK A PAWN OR PLAY INTERFERENCE FOR THE KING FOR INSTANCE.

ARCHER        CAN MOVE 1 SQUARE FORWARD WHEN THE SQUARE IS EMPTY, LIKE A PAWN.
              CAN HOP 2 SQUARES FORWARD IF THERE IS AN ENEMY PIECE IT CAN
              CAPTURE ON THAT SQUARE.  IF IT REACHES THE ENEMY'S HOME ROW IT IS
              PROMOTED LIKE A PAWN.

DUKE          MOVES AND CAPTURES LIKE A KNIGHT COMBINED WITH A QUEEN.

MOTHER        AND ONE MEAN ONE TOO!  SHE CAN HOP TO ANY EMPTY SQUARE OF THE
              BOARD (CAN'T CAPTURE ON THAT TURN), OR MOVE AND CAPTURE LIKE A
              QUEEN (APOLOGIES TO THE QUEENS OF MARS).

CASTLING:
WHAT'S THAT? (HA HA)  OK, IN DUMB (NOT DUMBER) CHESS, YOU CAN SPECIFY AT THE
START OF THE GAME WHETHER YOU WANT CASTLING TO BE PERMITTED.  IF YOU SELECT
YES, THEN YOU ARE ASKED WHETHER YOU WANT THE ROOK SET UP ON THE QUEEN'S OR
KING'S SIDE.  DURING THE GAME, WHENEVER THE KING AND ROOK ARE IN THEIR INITIAL
POSITIONS ON THE BOARD, AND ALL THE SQUARES BETWEEN THEM ARE EMPTY, THEY MAY
FLIP THEIR POSITIONS AS FOLLOWS:

      KING SIDE                       QUEEN SIDE

      1K34R -> 12RK5                  R234K -> 1KR45

YOU MAY DO THIS MORE THAN ONCE DURING A GAME TOO (AFTER
YOU MOVE THE PIECES BACK TO THEIR INTIAL POSITIONS THE HARD WAY - HA HA)!
THE CATCH: YOU CANNOT CASTLE WHEN YOUR KING IS IN CHECK (BUT YOU MAY CASTLE
THROUGH A POSITION THAT WOULD PUT IT IN CHECK).

NOTE: WHEN SPECIFYING THE MOVE TO THE COMPUTER, JUST MOVE THE KING ONTO THE
ROOK, THE COMPUTER WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE CASTLING.

TO ENTER A MOVE:
JUST TYPE THE MOVE IN, FIRST THE "FROM" PIECE -- ROW (1..5 OR 1..6) THEN COL
(1..5); THEN THE "TO" SQUARE -- ROW (1..5 OR 1..6) THEN COL (1..5).  OR USE
YOUR MOUSE AND POINT AND CLICK.  NOTE: ROW 1 IS AT THE TOP, AND COL 1 IS AT
THE LEFT.

NOTE: TO START OVER AFTER TYPING-IN PART OF A MOVE, HIT "0" OR THE ESC KEY.

TO OFFER A DRAW TO THE OPPONENT, HIT THE "D" KEY INSTEAD OF A MOVE.
TO RESIGN (FORFEIT THE GAME), HIT THE "R" KEY OR "F" KEY INSTEAD OF A MOVE.

PROMOTION:
WHEN YOUR PAWN/ARCHER REACHES THE OPPONENT'S HOME ROW, YOU ARE ASKED WHAT
PIECE YOU WISH TO PROMOTE IT TO, E.G., Q=1,2=N,3=B.  JUST TYPE 1 FOR QUEEN,
2 FOR KNIGHT, 3 FOR BISHOP, ETC.  OR, POINT YOUR MOUSE CURSOR TO THE "1",
"2", OR "3" IN THE QUESTION AND CLICK.

DRAWS:
IN THIS PROGRAM, IF PLAYER A OFFERS PLAYER B A DRAW, AND PLAYER B REFUSES, THEN
PLAYER B HAS 10 MOVES TO DEMONSTRATE AN IMPROVEMENT IN MATERIAL ADVANTAGE BY AT
LEAST 1 PIECE.  HOWEVER, IF THE BOARD POSITION EVER REPEATS, THE DRAW IS
IMMEDIATE.

QUICK DRAW:
WHILE THE PC IS THINKING, YOU CAN HIT THE "!" KEY TO CAUSE IT TO QUIT
IMMEDIATELY AND DECLARE A DRAW.

FUNCTION KEYS:
THE 10 FUNCTION KEYS F1-F10 HAVE THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS:

FUNCTION KEY    FUNCTION
------------    --------
   F1           QUIT THE PROGRAM AND SAVE THE GAME IN PROGRESS AUTOMATICALLY.

   F2           SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE.

   F3           CHANGE WHO PLAYS THE WHITE PIECES (KEYBOARD OR COMPUTER).
   F4           ""     ""  ""    ""  BLACK ""     (""       "" ""      ).

   F5           DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

   F7           DECREASE THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL.
   F8           INCREASE THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL.

   F6           (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE "WHITE" PIECES.
   F9           (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE "BLACK" PIECES.
   F10          (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR.

NOTE FOR "TOGGLES": THE LEGEND DISPLAYED ONSCREEN WILL BE THE MODE THAT WILL
BE ACTIVATED IF THE FUNCTION KEY IS PRESSED.

ARROW KEYS:
THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD CHANGE THE GAME SPEED.  THE MINIMUM
AMOUNT OF TIME, IN SECONDS, THAT THE COMPUTER WILL TAKE TO THINK UP A MOVE, OR
TO MAKE EACH HOP, IS DISPLAYED NEAR THE LOWER RIGHTHAND CORNER OF THE SCREEN.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
   S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
   M    FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
   C    FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE
   D    DISABLE MOUSE CHECK

EXAMPLE: >DUMBCHE MS

----------------------
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 NIFTY DEMO DISK, CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC TOY
CATALOG AND OTHER GOODIES, IS ONLY $2 SHIPPING/HANDLING TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS,
$3 OUTSIDE U.S. (U.S. FUNDS ONLY OR CHECK DRAWN ON U.S. BANK).  (PLEASE
SPECIFY 3.5 INCH OR 5.25 INCH DISKETTE).

IF YOUR PC BORES YOU WRITE US NOW.

TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.

GOOD LUCK!