x * S O L E A U S O F T W A R E * x NUMLO __________ x v1.0 x EGA/VGA STRATEGY GRID GAME (Three Way Othello with Tile Values) Program by William Soleau December 1993 Req. EGA/VGA & Mouse x NUMLO GAME RULES The object of the game is capture squares on the board, so that the square values and the number of captured squares will give you the highest point total at the end of the game. The rules are quite simple, it takes a minute to learn and with practice you'll see yourself improving steadily. Numlo is played like Othello, yet has several new twists on this classic game. In Othello you play against a single opponent and all your strategies are straight forward. However, in Numlo, not only is the game board much bigger, but you now have two opponents! Also on the game board, certain squares now have point values from 1-6. These point values plus the number of squares you control on the board, will give you your total score. These new elements make all the old Othello strategies useless. Now even if you happen to control most of the board with your tiles, it makes no difference if your opponent controls the squares with number values giving him a higher score at the end of the game. x GAME PLAY There are three colors; you are Blue and the computer plays your two opponents, Red and Green. When you first begin, you will be asked to select the level of play. The three levels are HARD, MEDIUM, and EASY. Click the level you want the computer opponents to play at. Once the level is selected the computer will ask you to click your mouse once again to decide who will take the first turn. On your move, the mouse cursor will appear on the game board. Move the mouse to an empty square (white) on the board, then click the left button to place your piece. A move consists of outflanking your opponents squares by putting it so that your color is on either side; or diagonally , of your opponents squares (Red or Green). You must be able to flip over one of the opponents to your color, or the move is not valid. The computer checks all valid moves. Now here is where Othello players will have to re-learn the game. You can only turn over your opponents if they are of all the same color, whether it is up,left,down,diagonal...etc. b represents your move B=blue R=red G=green x Example: BRRRRRb you would capture all the Red squares between your two Blue ones. Therefore it would flip them to look like this: BBBBBBb. A square may outflank any number of squares in one or more rows, in any number of directions at the same time, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. (A row is defined as one or more squares in a continuous straight line) However, using the same example, let's say a green was also in the line of red tiles... x Example: BRGRRRRb This is not valid. This would be an illegal move because the colors between your two blue colors are not all the same color. x Another Example: (A block of colors) Your Move-> bGBRRB Flips to-> bBBRRB RRGRRG BBGRRG BRBGRR BRBGRR If on your turn, you cannot flip at least one of your opponents tiles, then your turn is forfeited and play passes to the next player. The computer will tell you if this is the case. However, if a move is available to you, you may not forfeit your turn. Sometimes it's hard to find out just where it is that you have a valid move. At anytime during your turn, you can click the button, and it will show you all the possible places you can place your tile. By clicking the button, the computer will show you where you can turn over the most tiles or get the most points. However, sometimes this is not to your advantage, so use your own judgement. Some might consider this cheating... you be the judge. You many not skip over your own color square to outflank an opposing square. Square(s) may only be outflanked as a direct result of a move and must fall in the direct line of the square placed down. x Example: bRRRBRRB flips to bBBBBRRB x END OF GAME The game is over when either all empty squares have been filled or when it is no longer possible for any player to flip any opponents squares. The computer will give you the scores for each player at the end of each turn. When the game ends, the one with the most points will be declared the winner. x NUMLO BUTTONS = Toggles sound on/off = Shows the square where you can get the most points. (not always the best place!) = Shows all your valid moves = Numlo Directions = Starts a new game = Quits Numlo program x * NOTE WINDOWS USERS * Running Numlo from Windows may cause unexpected results. The game should be played by loading it directly from the Dos prompt. x * S O L E A U S O F T W A R E * Numlo is distributed as Shareware. You are welcome to give this game to your friends or local BBS. If you like Numlo and continue to use it, we ask you to register the game with us. Soleau Software depends on your registrations in order to continue providing an alternative to expensive commercial software. The registered version of Numlo greatly speeds up the loading and exiting of the program, plus allows you to play against other human opponents! Your $12.00 registration of Numlo will instantly make you a Soleau Software Member. All members receive special discounts on our other games through special bonus package offers sent with your disk. Members also have the option to include an extra $6.00 dollars for our Member Game Pack which has EIGHT of our most popular Shareware EGA/VGA games on a High Density Floppy Disk. This offer is for Members Only, so please take the time to read the Numl_reg.doc file for details and register Numlo today ! We at Soleau Software thank you for your support and hope you will continue to enjoy this as well as our other Shareware products. x Sincerely, x William Soleau President x Soleau Software 163 Amsterdam Avenue Suite 213 New York, NY 10023