PARCHEESE  Version 1.7g by Xavier Egusquiza October 1993 Copyright Notice PARCHEESE  is "mailware". This means that users of the program are under obligation to send me a mail, by post or e-mail, that they are using my program. This is because I want to know if someone is using my Public Domain software and if it makes sense to develope new software and to update the old one. SO PLEASE WRITE! (see address below). If you want to include PARCHEESE into your PD-series,please send me one copy of the disk that contains my program (more disks from your series are welcome). The Program PARCHEESE is an Amiga version of the classic board game with the same name. The program is fully multitasking so that you can play while you work. It is also completely moused with extensive use of Intuition environment. PARCHEESE  was fully written in C, compiled and tested on a 3Mb Amiga 500 with hard disk, and the software used was Lattice C, DPaint III,Cygnus Ed and some other utilities. Getting Started To run the program, double click on the PARCHEESE  icon. The game may also be started from the CLI by typing "Parcheese". Be sure the graphic file is in the same directory as the executable code so that the program can find it. After loading you must tell the computer who is going to be playing. You choose the players using the program menu. The players type can be human or one of the three levels of computer player. So you can select any combination, ranging from two to four players, and from an all humans game to an all computers one, with any colours you choose. Once you have selected the players,you have only to select Start Game from the Project menu. Using the program Using PARCHEESE  is very easy. As told before, you can always control the program with the mouse. To move a piece under human control,you must place the mouse pointer over it and double click. During the game, you can change the kind of players too. You must also pay attention on the title bar. It tells you who is going to move and indicates any special situation of the game.In PARCHEESE  the computer always rolls the dice. Once the game has started, you can leave it by selecting the End Game option from the Project menu. Then you can start a new game or quit the program. On the other side, when the game is over, a requester asks you if you wish to quit the game. Menu Options In PARCHEESE ,there are three menus,with the following options: Project menu: Start Game: Starts a new game. Quick Start: Starts a game with a man in play for each player. End Game : Ends the current game. About : Informs you on the program and the author. Load Game : Loads a previously saved game. Save Game : Saves a game in any moment of the play. Quit : Exits inmediately PARCHEESE . Players menu: There are one option for each colour. Each option has got four suboptions corresponding to the four types of players. They are these: Human Player: Set this one to control the player. The computer can play for several opponents with 3 levels: Level 1 : This is an entry level. Level 2 : Sets a computer level a bit easier than the third level but the computer plays inmediately. Level 3 : This is the challeging level. The computer plays deeper combining logic and strategy. With this level the computer takes longer to respond, depending also on the players number. A special case occurs when the player's going to move 2 or more successive times,for example, with a six. Then the computer evaluates this different situation and takes 2 or 3 times longer than usual to move. Special menu: There are four options: Continous Play: With this option activated,the game doesn't stop except when the program prompts to select a man. Game Speed : It allows to adjust the delay time to read game information and to select options from the menu. This is done by means of a potenciometer which ranges from 0 to 20 seconds. A 0,or so,delay in an all computer players game is not recommended because there isn't enough time to select menu options. Statistics: A window will appear with statistics about all the competitors in play. It will display four columns : "Advanced squares": This one indicates you who leads the game.The program counts the advanced squares of all pieces for each player. "Own taken men" : It tells you how many pieces of yours have been taken by your opponents until now. "Opponents taken men" : This one shows you how many men have been taken by you. "Dice pts. per turn": Here, PARCHEESE averages all dice points you've rolled until now. Warning: If you rolls a 6 and plays again, the program counts them as an unique roll. For example,if you,at the first move,roll a 6 and then a 5,the computer will display 11 and not 5.5 (11/2). Undo : This option allows you to change a move you've just made.This option is only available before the next go. In a computer player move, this choice is left as a repeat option and for flexibility to the user. The Rules PARCHEESE 's rules are exactly the same as in the classic board game. The aim of the game is to get all of your markers safely around the board to your home base. Besides,there are some other important subjects : Movement rules: You can't go across a square with two markers placed on it, whatever their colours may be.The only exception occurs with the initial square, explained later. If your man lands on one of your opponent pieces, then it must return back to the beginning and you move 20 points. The unique squares where markers can't be taken are the ones with a circle on it. There you must form a blocked square with your opponent. In case you can't make any movement, whatever you roll, then you must pass and the turn skips to the next player. Other rules in PARCHEESE  : Rolling a 6 : Like many board games, a 6 allows you to roll the dice again. But be careful! at the third 6 your last moved man must go back to th beginning and starts again. There are two exceptions for this : - When the most recently moved man is on one of your last coloured squares,near your base, - or when you can't make any move. If some of your pieces is blocking a square and you rolls a 6, you're forced to move it. On the other side, if you haven't got any man at the beginning, you advance seven squares instead of six. Rolling a 5: If you've got some piece at home and your initial square is unoccupied, you must place one in this square. In PARCHEESE  the program makes this for you. When your initial square is blocked (two men on it) : - If it contains one opposing piece, then you take it. - If it is occupied by two opposing men, you'll take the last arrived to this square. Bonus points : Two bonus points in PARCHEESE : - Each opposing man you've taken gives you twenty points. - You get 10 points for each own piece that arrives to the end. The End Send disks, comments, etc to Xavier Egusquiza Paseo Pujadas,29,At.4a 08018 BARCELONA (SPAIN) E-Mail address : FidoNet @ 2:343/119.14 Amiganet @ 39:190/1.14 Enjoy the game!