@DATABASE amigaguide.guide
@REM document for mines .
@WORDWRAP
@NODE MAIN "MINES"


@{b}@{u}
Introduction
@{ub}@{uu}

Mines is a challenging game of strategy and luck.


          @{" What Is Mines? " LINK WHATIS}

           How to...
                    @{"Keep Score        " LINK KEEPSC}
                    @{"Mark a Square     " LINK MARkSQ}
                    @{"Play the Game     " LINK PLATTG}
                    @{"Rules of the Game " LINK UTROTG}
                    @{"Strategies & Hints" LINK STANDh}

          @{"Copyright notice" link "Copyright" 0}
          @{"Authors         " link "Authors" 0}
          @{"Problems !      " LINK PROBS }
@ENDNODE

@NODE WHATIS "What is Mines?"

           @{b)@{u}"What is Mines?"@{ub}@{uu}

           When playing Mines you are presented with a mine field,
           and your objective is to locate all the mines as quickly as 
           possible. To do this, you uncover the squares on the game
           board that do not contain mines, and you mark the squares 
           that do contain mines. The trick is determining which squares
           are which. 
           If you uncover all the squares without mines, you win; if you 
           uncover a mine instead of marking it, you lose the game. The
           faster you play, the lower your score. You can use the
           counters at the top of the playing area to keep track of your 
           progress.
           The counter in the upper-right corner of the playing area is
           a timer, which displays your playing time in seconds. The 
           timer does not begin counting until you select a square.
           The counter in the upper-left corner of the playing area 
           initially indicates the number of mines hidden in the mine
           field. Every time you mark a square as a mine, this number
           decreases by one, even if you incorrectly mark a square.
@ENDNODE

@NODE KEEPSC " keeping Score"


           @{b}@{u}"Keeping Score"@{ub}@{uu}

           Mines scoring is simple. The counter in the upper-right
           corner of the playing area indicates your playing time. The 
           faster you find all the mines, the better your score.
           To see a list of your fastest playing times.
           Press the 'Sun' with the right mouse button.
@ENDNODE

@NODE MARKSQ " Marking a Square "


           @{b}@{u}"Marking a Square"@{ub}@{uu}

           Knowing when to mark a square as a mine is the key to winning
           the game.

           @{b}To uncover a square@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the left mouse button.
           
           @{b}To mark a square as a mine@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button once.

           @{b}To mark a square as a question mark@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button
           twice.

           @{b}To change a square marked as a mine into a question mark@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button once.

           @{b}To clear a square marked as a mine@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button
           twice.

           Once you have marked at least one square as a mine, you may
           be able to safely uncover more squares by "clearing around" 
           them.
@ENDNODE

@NODE PLATTG "Playing the Game"


           @{b}Playing the Game@{ub}

           The object of Mines is to correctly mark all mines as
           quickly as possible without uncovering one. The following
           section explains how to play the game.

           @{b}To choose a skill level@{ub}

           Goto the Sun stroke menu, by clicking on the Sun icon with
           the right mouse button then click on either Beginner,
           Intermediate, or Expert.
           The higher the skill level, the larger the mine
           field.

           @{b}To start a new game@{ub}

           Click the yellow Sun icon at the top of the game board.

           @{b}To locate the mines@{ub}

           1 To uncover a square, select it using the left mouse button.
             If the square is a mine, you lose.
           2 If the square isn't a mine, a number appears. This number
             represents the number of mines in the surrounding eight 
             squares.
           3 To mark a square as a mine, select it with the right mouse 
             button.
             To mark a square you are uncertain about, point to it and
             click twice with the right mouse button. This marks the 
             square with a question mark (?). Later, you can either mark
             the square as a mine, or uncover it.
@ENDNODE

@NODE UTROTG "Understanding the rules of the game"


           @{b}@{u}Understanding the Rules of the Game@{ub}@{uu}

           @{b}Follow these rules when playing Mines@{ub}

           The playing area is a mine field, simulated by a grid of
           squares. Initially, all the squares are covered.
           To uncover a square, point to it and click the left mouse 
           button. You continue to uncover squares until only the
           squares containing mines are covered. 
           If you uncover a square that does not contain a mine, it
           either contains a number or is blank. 
           If the square contains a number, N, then there are N mines
           in the surrounding eight squares. If the square is blank, 
           there are no mines in the surrounding eight squares.
           If you uncover a blank square, the surrounding eight 
           squares are uncovered automatically because there cannot be
           any mines under them. 
           If you know that a square is a mine, you can mark the
           square. 
           If you uncover a square that contains a mine, the game is
           over and all the mines are displayed. 
           
           
@ENDNODE

@NODE STANDh "Using Strategies and Hints"


           @{b}@{u}Using Strategies and Hints@{ub}@{uu}

           @{b}Helpful hints for playing Mines@{ub}

           If an uncovered square is labeled 1, and there is only one
           covered square touching it, that covered square must be a 
           mine.
           If an uncovered square already has the correct number of 
           adjacent mines marked, clear around it.
           Don't guess. If you can't figure out how to move, try 
           approaching the area from a different direction or marking
           squares with question marks.
@ENDNODE

@NODE PROBS "Problems .... "


            It is possible for Mines to have a STACK OVERFLOW
            this happens on a Custom setting with a large Width and
            Height and very few mines... To prevent this from happening
            increase the stack size. i.e. Click on the ICON and then
            choose from the pull down menu "INFORMATION" and enter s
            larger value in the 'STACK' box.

            This version of Mines likes a high resolution
            workbench with a minimum of 8 colours. The program remaps
            some of the workbench colours while playing....
            (This is going to be fixed eventually)

            Thats all I know for now.
            Simon.
@ENDNODE

@node "Copyright" "Copyright"

 @{b}@{u}Copyright@{ub}@{uu}

This software is subject to the "Standart Amiga FD-Software  Copyright  Note".
It is MAILWARE as defined in paragraph 4g ;-)

For more information please read @{"AFD-COPYRIGHT" link "AFD-COPYRIGHT/Main" 0}.
@endnode

@node "Authors" "Authors"

 @{b}@{u}The Authors@{ub}@{uu}

Mines was written by Mike Gooder and Simon Warner.

If you have any questions, remarks, suggestions or bug reports please let us
know. You can contact us at the following addresses:

internet:
        mike@entire.demon.co.uk
        simon@entire.demon.co.uk

@endnode