WinFour: a multi-purpose win32 game.
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1. Intro.
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WinFour is a vertical board game in which the purpose is to defeat
the adversary by creating as fast as possible a row of 4 cells
of your own color. Each turn a cell is added to the game by inserting
it in a column. The cell will fall down in the column until it hits
another cell or the bottom of the board.


2. Philosophy.
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The program was created as a mean to experiment with different
strategies or game playing algorythms. This can be seen in the
game by the existence of a 'Tournament' menu. This enables YOU to
test the relative strenght of the different algorythms in my
program. As of now, there are 5 different algorythms:
* random : even my dog can beat this one.
* dumb   : starts filling columns from left to right.
* beginner:looks several moves ahead, but in a non-intelligent way
* smart  :  analyses the board carefully, but looks only 1 move ahead.
* advanced: analyses the board carefully and looks several moves ahead.

3. The Challenge.
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I invite other people to try to write a better algorythm then mine
(shouldn't be too difficult). Better, here, could mean faster, shorter,
more complex, ...
As an example, there is a short C program included which
implements the program in a text window. To implement your own
algorythm, just change the my_algo() function and compile...
If you like the result (or even if you don't), sent your code to me and I
will create a version of WinFour with your code in it.

4. Game Description.
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Do I really have to explain this ? The object is to get four cells
of your color on a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal). You can insert
cells when it's your turn and the column you're clicking on isn't full.
The your coin is inserted in the lowest empty cell (it drops down
in the column).

5.Menu
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Game->New : starts a new game.
Level-> ...: selects opponent level.
Special->Tournament: starts up a batch of automatic games,
        which will evaluate to algorythms versus each other.
        Afterwards, you will see how many wins each opponent had
        and how many games were a draw.
Special->options: selects who starts the game.

6. Bugs.
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* Cancel Buttons are not always implemented.

7. Copyright.
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Feel free to distribute this program to others.  All I
ask is that you keep all txt files bundled with the program,
when you distribute it.
This product is shareware.  If you like it or you want to
encourage the further development, send $10. 
(see register.txt)

8.Disclaimer.
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This software is distributed "as is".  Although I know of
no problems with the software, I make no warranties.

9. Replies.
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Any remarks, comments, opinions are welcome at Erik.Janssens@ping.be