Copyright: Copyright 1995 ® by Arthur Wells, Jr.


You can print these instructions by choosing Print Topic from the File menu. (Alt-F, P)

SHAREWARE

This program is not free. It is Shareware. This means that you may try it out before you decide whether or not to buy it. After you have tried it out, if you intend to keep using it you must register it by sending $12.00 plus $1.75 for postage and supplies to

         Cragmont Services Ltd.

         1171 Cragmont Ave.

         Berkeley, CA  94708

When you register you will receive a version of  Illusions which has 22 pictures of impossible objects, and which will lets you make a puzzle out of any picture you create and out of any picture or photo you can convert to a bitmap format. You will also receive  another game which you have not played before, and with which you can waste time.

You may give the program to as many people as you wish. When you do so, you must transfer all the files on the disk or in the .ZIP file. Each user must send in the registration fee unless they are members of the same household.

You can pay be check or charge the fees and costs to your Visa or Mastercard. If you charge it, use the orderform (orderfrm.txt) or send me your card number, card expiration date and signature.

I receive no other income from my programming. Equipment costs, supplies, mailings and BBS upload time are all paid out of my pocket. Therefore, if you use and enjoy the program, please send the registration fee.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING ILLUSIONS

Overview

This is a sliding tile puzzle. These kinds of puzzles are about 100 years old. Almost everyone has seen or played with one.

A square is divided into a grid. Each section of the grid contains a tile which makes up part of a picture chosen by you from those available. (Three with the sampler. 22 plus whatever you create with the registered version.) After you study the picture the computer scrambles the tiles. The computer also removes one of the tiles. The scrambling and removed tile are different each time.

Your job is to move the tiles around, by clicking on them, until you have recreated the picture, when you will be rewarded by a tune. Wonderful.

Playing the game

After you have installed the program, you can start it from its icon, from File Manager or from Program Manager. When you click the Continue button, you will see the playing window. You will see a 4x4 grid. Click on the Game menu and you will see that you have a choice between three grids: 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5.

After you have chosen your grid, click the Puzzles menu. Choose a picture. The picture called Sample has little drawings of some of the figures used in the pictures in the registered version.

After you have studied the picture, open the Game menu again and choose Scramble. The computer will arbitrarily remove one tile and scramble the rest. Scrambling and the tile removed are different each time a picture is scrambled.

To solve the puzzle you must recreate  the picture, leaving the blank where the missing tile belongs. You can move any tile into the empty grid square by clicking on it. You get a musical reward for solving the puzzle.

Features

The registered version has a Cheat mode. Clicking on the Cheat option will bring up a small picture of the puzzle you are trying to solve.

The registered version also has scoreboards, one for each grid size. The fastest time for each picture puzzle is recorded for posterity. The scoreboard shows whether you cheated or not.

The Pause button stop the clock while you study the puzzle or do something else. Naturally, you can't move the tiles when you are in the Pause mode.

Help is available from a menu or by pressing the F1 key.

You can turn the music award on or off. This feature is available so that you can play at the office or on the plane when others think you are working.

Good luck.

Problems

If a picture will not load it's because you don't have enough memory.