Instructions for WWIV Backgammon -------------------------------- WWIV Backgammon is a multi-user version of the game Backgammon. These instructions assume that you already know how to play Backgammon, so I won't go into the rules of the game here. The Game Screen --------------- When you V)iew or M)ake a Move in a game, you will be presented with the game screen. The board itself is on the right-hand side of the screen. To the left of the board, and below it, are data concerning the game being viewed or played. The different colors and attributes of the data on the screen have meaning: The player's name who's turn it is to move is printed in Reverse Video. Otherwise, Player One's name and data are colored yellow, while player 2's data are colored magenta. Same for the game pieces. If the game has been won, the winner's name will be flashing. The data to the left of the board consists of the number of pieces on the bar (ON BAR), which is the number of pieces that have been "bumped" by your opponent. The pieces OFF BOARD are those that you have removed from the board. Of course, when all 15 of a player's pieces are OFF BOARD, he wins the game. Below the board is the status line: it shows how many moves have been made in the game & what the last roll in the game was (for example, "32" means the last person to move rolled a 3 and a 2). The last moves are the moves that the last player took with his roll. There can be up to 4 moves, since sometimes you will roll doubles. A last move of "A-C" means that the last person to move moved a piece from point A to point C. Other examples of moves are: BAR-C : this means you had been bumped and you moved from the bar to point C C-OFF : this means you took one of your pieces (pips) off from point C NO-MOVE : there are times when you won't be able to move with the roll you have - this will signify that situation. Also, if a piece was bumped off the board, the move will look like: A-C(BUMP) NOTE: If you have a Black & White monitor, don't worry - the only really important things are the reverse video and flashing attributes. If you have your colors set to something other than the default colors, you may want to change them back so that the game looks correct. Also, note that if you have more than 8 pips on one point, only 8 will be printed out. The program knows how many are really there though. Main Menu Commands ------------------ C - Change set number There are 2 "sets" of 9 games in the program. You are notified of what set is currently loaded at the main menu and at the select-game menu. To change to a different set, use this command. E - Enter a game This will allow you to sign up for a game. If you sign up as player 2 the game will start. If you sign up as player 1, the game will start when another player signs up as your partner. I - Instructions This help file. M - Make moves After choosing "M" from the main menu, you will be presented with the "select-game" menu for the current game set. If you are playing in one of the games in that set, and your name is in Reverse video, then it is your turn to move. Select the game number and the program will roll the dice for you. To move your pieces, enter a letter when you are prompted for the point to move FROM (if you have pips on the bar, you won't get this prompt though). Then, enter the point you wish to move that piece TO. If you are ready to start taking pieces OFF the board, use Z as the TO point. The program checks to make sure your moves are valid. Once you have moved all that you can with the roll you have, you will be asked "Is this ok?". If so, the moves will be stored and it will be your opponent's turn (unless of course you won the game). If you answer NO here, you get to try again, with the same roll of the dice of course (otherwise you could just keep going until you got the roll you wanted!). NOTE: if you aren't playing in a game, or it's not your move, or the game has already been won, you will be notified when you try to Move in that game. Also, if you experience line noise and need to re-display the screen, enter an illegal move (such as From: A To: A), and you will be asked whether or not you want the screen re-displayed. V - View a game This will let you view any game in the current game set. Q - Quit to BBS Quits to the main menu as usual. Notes about playing ------------------- - Make sure that your screen size is set to 80 columns by 25 lines. If you have less than 25 lines, the game screen will scroll off the top of your screen every time you enter a move or command. Also, if your terminal program has a "status line" or whatever on line 25 (such as Procomm Plus or Smartcom can have), configure your terminal program to get rid of that status line, for the same reason. - To re-display the screen while making moves, enter an illegal move. Every time an illegal move is made you will have the option to re-display the game screen. This is provided so that the screen will be re-drawn in case you experience line noise and the screen gets messed up. < END OF INSTRUCTIONS >