THE SPECTRUM MIND GAMES COMPENDIUM BY OASIS SOFTWARE Welcome to the Spectrum Mind Games Compendium and thankyou for your purchase - you won't be disappointed. Why the Mind Games Compendium? Well, we have carefully selected four programs that will tease your mind. If you want some serious gaming, or, if you just want to have pure fun, its here in this Compendium. The programs have been written to take full advantage of the graphics abilities of the Spectrum. The three board games have been written to cope with the novice, right through to the expert. The novice should certainly improve his skills, the expert may even learn a thing or two! The Invader Cube contains a feast of graphics and sound and although intended to give you a bit of fun, we suspect that those 'Invaders' will grip you for hours in their three dimensional battleground. Well, there you have it. We are sure that you will have many, many hours of fun. The variety is such, that we don't think that you will be able to put this Compendium aside - except to load one of our many other Software titles! SPECTRECHESS INTRODUCTION Spectrechess is a sophisticated Chess playing system for use with the 48K Spectrum, utilising high resolution graphics to display the board and text. In addition, many options are provided to enhance the game: retracting moves, replaying moves, saving partly played games onto tape etc. These instructions are divided into two parts: the first part details how to play a game against Spectrechess, without using any of the other options, the second part describes in detail, the function and use of the different options provided by Spectrechess. PART 1 - PLAYING SPECTRECHESS It is assumed that you are familiar with the basic operations of the Spectrum and that you know how to connect the cassette recorder to the machine - also, that you know how to play chess. To LOAD Spectrechess, rewind the tape and type LOAD "" followed by the ENTER key, then press PLAY on the tape recorder. After LOADing, execution is automatic and Spectrechess will respond with an invitation to 'press any key'.......well go ahead, press a key! Spectrechess will now display the board, a menu and an invitation for you to enter a move - as white. A little explanation is now required: Spectrechess loads in on Level 1, Strategic Play, the human opponent on White and White to start the game. For now, forget about the menu which will be explained later - but to whet your appetite, enter a move in Algebriac Notation. The letters and numbers around the side of the board will help you - for instance, to open with the King's pawn, you should type: e2-e4 followed by the ENTER key. The Spectrum will soon respond with its reply and an invitation for you to enter another move. If you make a typing error, then simply edit your entry with the DELETE key as normal. Now, just play a game or two to get some idea of how Spectrechess plays and reacts. NOTE: Castleing is done by entering the Kings move, i.e. e1-g1. En-passant Pawn capture is done by making the capturing pawn's move. Promotion to a Queen is automatic - should you require a different piece, use the menu ALTER option. Sooner or later, either you or Spectrechess will resign. (if Spectrechess resigns, it means that you have checkmated him and he's being polite!). Simply press any key - Spectrechess will now invite you to use the menu. Part 2 - Using the Menu As stated in part 1, at the end of the game Spectrechess takes you automatically into the menu. Should you wish to enter the menu at any time during the game, all you have to do is type 'm' followed by ENTER instead of your move - you do NOT lose the game or your move by doing this. You will be invited to use the menu. As the invitation states, to select an option, move the cursor '>' up or down using the Spectrum cursor keys. When the cursor is alongside the option required, release the cursor keys and press the 's' key to select that option. FLIP This is self explanatory - it simply flips the display of the board so that Black plays the bottom instead of White (or vice-versa). ALTER * * WARNING * * Selecting this option has a similar effect to 'NEW' in that the move list is re-set, so that on RESUMING the game, it will be the first move of a new game. This may be used to set up a board position to play from, or to move pieces from their current position. When this option is selected, Spectrechess prompts with the question: (c)lear or (u)pdate : ? 'CLEAR' is selected by pressing c followed by ENTER and clears the board completely for setting up positions. 'UPDATE' is selected by pressing u followed by ENTER and leave the board set up as it is, so that you can remove, add and move pieces as required. After a few moments, a cursor will appear at the bottom left square of the board, and an invitation to move the cursor - this is done by using the Spectrum cursor keys. To enter a piece, remove a piece or return to the menu, move the cursor to the required square and press e . A message will now follow: enter piece (p n b r q k c x): To exit press x followed by ENTER. To clear a square, press c followed by ENTER. To enter a Black piece, use upper case P,N,B,R,Q,K, followed by ENTER. (Pawn,kNight,Bishop,Rook,Queen,King) LEVEL This selects the playing strength (in conjunction with the Strategic/Tactical Option), level 1 being the weakest and level 3 being the strongest. HINT This will suggest a move that Spectrechess thinks that you should make (no, not to his advantage!). After Spectrechess has given you a hint, press any key to return to the menu - you don't have to take his advice! LIST This will give you a list of moves with the option of printing to the (s)creen or to a (p)rinter. RESUME This is used to exit the menu and continue with your game from the current point i.e. if any moves have been taken back etc then they will no longer be a part of that game. BACK This allows you to take moves back. This is fully recursive and moves can be taken right back to the beginning of the game. PLAY This is a mode switch. On selecting this option, Spectrechess is the opponent. The Spectrum may be switched by selecting this option - when you do, PLAY on the menu will change to 'manual' whereupon Spectrechess will simply monitor a game between humans. Using this option in conjunction with LIST, TAPE, BACK and RERUN provides a powerful facility for, say, storing games between Grand Masters for later replay and/or examination. Don't forget, by using HINT, you can see how Spectrechess would have responded in certain situations. SWAP This is used simply to change sides with Spectrechess. NEW This sets up a new game - Level 1, human as white. EXIT ** WARNING ** This option clears the memory of Spectrechess and returns the Spectrum to BASIC. RERUN This is the opposite of BACK in that it allows you to step through the game, until the current position is reached. STRATEGIC This is another mode switch, selecting the style of play of Spectrechess, which can be Strategic or Tactical. Tactical will give you faster response times overall. This concludes the description of the menu. We would recommend that you 'experiment' to get a feel of what you can do with Spectrechess. You can make the different options interact to provide a very powerful chess support system for the serious (and not so serious) player. BACKGAMMON PLAYING INSTRUCTIONS To load Backgammon, rewind the tape and type LOAD "" followed by ENTER, then press PLAY on the cassette recorder. After loading, execution is automatic and the Spectrum will respond with a welcome screen indicating the colours of the players, how they are stacked and the direction of play. When, as indicated, you press any key, you will be shown the control keys and their functions: (T) THROW DICE (5) MOVE CURSOR LEFT (8) MOVE CURSOR RIGHT (U) LIFT UP POSITION (D) SET DOWN POSITION (B) BAR TO POSITION (O) BEAR-OFF POSITION (P) PASS SHOT TO COMPUTER (Q) UNABLE TO MOVE After studying these functions, press any key and you will be given three options: PRESS S TO START OR PRESS C FOR COMPUTER TO START OR PRESS D FOR DEMO GAME What you do, is of course up to you - although it may not be a bad idea to elect for a demo game, just to get you used to the display and how the game plays. Whatever you decide to do - you will notice the flashing alternate squares at the top right hand of the board. These indicate, by their colour, who is to move; red and black your move, white and black the computers move. If you elect to start the game, then press T to throw the dice. You will see the dice leave the cup at the lower right of the screen and come to rest at the top. The values of the dice are shown under the cup. If you are starting a new game, you will see next to the flashing squares, a flashing alternate single/double line red cursor. Use the 5 and 8 keys to move the cursor around the outside of the board, until it is positioned over the point that you wish to LIFT UP from, then press U to LIFT UP. NOTE: Whenever you press one of the Control keys, a bleep should be heard, if there is no bleep then keypress has not been registered - just press the key again. When you have completed the LIFT UP, move the cursor to a position equal in number, to one of the dice, in an anti-clockwise direction. Now press D to SET DOWN the counter. NOTE: The counter will be SET DOWN from the last LIFT UP position, so if you change your mind about the LIFT UP position, just move the cursor to another LIFT UP position and press U. Move the cursor now to the required position to SET DOWN and press D. Now continue the process using the number of moves allowed by the fall of the dice - remember, doubles count twice. Once your move is complete, the flashing alternate red/black squares will change to white/black indicating that it is the computers move. During the game, any stacked counters are represented by a 2 in the counter for a stack of two, 3 for a stack of three. If one or more of your pieces is captured by the computer, they will be removed from the board and placed in the central bar. You will not be able to move any of your pieces until you have been able to BAR OFF. BAR OFF This is achieved by throwing the dice as before, and being able to position your cursor in a vacant or friendly point - a dice number of points from the right-hand bar. Press B to BAR OFF. Only when the bar is clear, can you carry on with normal moves. UNABLE TO MOVE If, at any time, you are unable to move, then press Q to quit your move. You may however, get the computer to make your move for you by pressing P (this may be done at any time). BEARING OFF When all of your pieces are in their Home Position, (T)hrow the dice, move the cursor over the point to be born off and press the O key. ILLEGAL MOVES Any illegal moves will cause the border to flash red and white, with a simultaneous bleep. The game is very simple to play, but your skill and tactics are an important part - these can only be developed by practice. If you are unfamiliar with part of the game, then study the rules of play - good luck, and may the best man win! THE RULES OF BACKGAMMON The rules of Backgammon are intricate, but we will give them here in detail as they are not always easy to come by. In general, each player's object is to gather his men into his own Home Table, and to 'bear off' the pieces one by one, until he has cleared his colour from the board. In doing this, he may block or take his opponents pieces in accordance with particular rules. The direction of movement is always the same - from the enemy's Home Table into his Outer Table, then across to the friendly Outer, and Home. Doublets (3-3),(4-4) etc count twice their face value and wherever possible, a throw must be played in full. The constant aim of the player, is to 'make points' by bringing two or more pieces to rest on the same point. This blocks an opponent from moving to that point, securing the pieces themselves from attack. The opposite of a Made Point, is a 'blot', that is, a point containing a single piece. A blot is vunerable, and if an opponent is able to throw the correct number to hit it with his men, the exposed piece is 'taken up' and placed on the bar between the tables. Here it rests - its owner can make no further moves until the piece has been successfully re-started on its journey, from his opponents Home Table. Once all fifteen Pieces are within his Home Table, a player may 'Bear Off'; for this purpose, the points in the Home Table are numbered from the edge from 1 to 6, and one or both of the numbers on the dice, may be used to remove a piece from the corresponding point on the board. For example, if a 4 - 3 is thrown, the 4 would permit one piece to be borne off from the fourth point and 3 would do the same from the third point. Either or both of the throws, may be taken as a normal move if tactics demand it. If no points higher than the third were filled, however, the 4 might be used to bear OFF from the highest occupied point. Doubles again count twice and they may be taken as one, two or four separate moves, according to convenience. The first player to clear his men from the board wins - but in Backgammon, there are three grades of winning: the 'Hit', the 'Gammon' and the 'Backgammon'. The Hit indicates a close game, in which the loser himself had reached the stage of Bearing Off. If a Gammon Bearing Off has not been reached while in a Backgammon, the loser still has men within his opponents Home Table when the game ends. THE HISTORY OF BACKGAMMON Backgammon is the English version of an ancient European game known in several forms, from Iceland to the Mediterranean. 'Tables' as it was once called has been tracked back to the tenth century, and by the time of the crusades, it was a well established tavern pastime in many Countries. Excesses followed, and for hundreds of years, the Church and the State turned their backs against the immorality of gaming at Backgammon, with laws which, in England, were enforced until late in Queen Elizabeth 1's reign. It was not until early forms of playing cards had finally supplanted Backgammon as the principal means of heay betting, that the older game was allowed to re-establish itself. The two centuries following the death of Queen Elizabeth 1, saw the heyday of Backgammon. No less than six versions of the game were popular by the end of the sixteenth century; Cotton's. The Complete Gamester, published in 1675 extended the list, and in early Hanoverian times, the game was a great favourite with the Clergy. Its ultimate decline was caused by the rapidly growing popularity if brisker games - though Backgammon, however, has never completely died, and for skill and relaxation it remains second only to chess. DRAUGHTS INTRODUCTION There are ten levels of play with Spectrum Draughts, enough to suit beginners and experts alike. The look ahead of the game, corresponds to the depth of search, plus one i.e. Level 1 has a depth of 2 - the computer examines its moves, and examines your response. The simplest and quickest game can be obtained on level 0, the computer only examining its own moves and responding immediately. As the other extreme, the hardest and slowest game can be obtained on level 9, where response times vary from about 1 second to about 20 minutes! If you want to make the game even more difficult to beat, then use the Capture Search option. What this does is very simple - if the computer finds a sequence of captures (started by either player) during its search of the move 'tree', it will follow the sequence, either to its end, or to a depth of search of 20, making the game considerably harder to beat. Response times are naturally increased as a result, averageing 25%. PLAYING INSTRUCTIONS To load Draughts, rewind the tape and type LOAD "" followed by ENTER, then press PLAY on the cassette recorder. After loading, execution is automatic and you will be asked the following questions in turn: Select look ahead (0-9) Select: B-lack or W-hite Capture Search on (Y/N) Type in your response to each of these questions in turn, pressing ENTER after each response. White is always at the bottom of the board and always starts first. If the computer is white, it will always try to start the game with a different move. Moves are entered in Algebriac Notation in any of the following formats: A3-B4 A3 B4 A3B4 When you have typed in the move, press ENTER. If the message, 'INCORRECT Try Again' appears, you will have made one of the following mistakes: 1. Mis-typed move. 2. Trying to move opponents piece. 3. Trying to make a single move when you are in a position to capture one of the opponents pieces - capture must be taken when possible. If you can take more than one of your opponents pieces in one move, the move is entered as follows: 1. The first capture is entered normally i.e. A3-C5 2. After pressing ENTER following the first capture, the end co-ordinates of that capture are now displayed as the start co-ordinates of your next capture i.e. C5- 3. All that you have to do now, is enter your next end position. Continue with your entries until you have taken all of the required pieces. When you cannot capture any more pieces, the computer will automatically terminate entry, and flash up your full move on the board. Should you wish to terminate your move before completion, type M and press ENTER i.e. C5-M ENTER. You will now be able to re-enter your move from the start. Games can be terminated at any stage when it is your move - simply press R and ENTER. INVADER CUBE PLAYING INSTRUCTIONS To load Invader Cube, rewind the tape and type LOAD "" followed by ENTER, then press PLAY on the cassette recorder - the program will load as "3D OXO". After loading, execution is automatic and the Spectrum will respond by advising you that the program has been initialised, and welcoming you to the game. You will now be asked the following questions: ARE YOU USING A COLOUR T.V.? DO YOU WANT INSTRUCTIONS? DO YOU WISH TO START NOW? DO YOU WISH TO GO FIRST? Type in your response by entering Y or N. You do NOT need to press ENTER. After answering these questions, the game display will be put on the screen. When it is your move, the first position that you will be asked for is: ENTER PLANE These are indicated by the small boxes down the left-hand side of the screen, 1,2,3,4. The second position that you will be asked for is: ENTER ROW The ROW position is the 'up and down' position, in the PLANE that you have chosen. These are indicated down the right-hand side of the PLANE, 1,2,3,4 from the top. The third, and final position that you will be asked for is: ENTER COLUMN The column position is the 'Left to Right' position, in the PLANE that you have chosen. These are indicated across the bottom of the PLANE, 1,2,3,4 left to right. After you have entered each position, you will be asked if that entry is O.K. if it is, then press Y and the move will be accepted, then the next position will be asked for. If it isn't, then press N and you will be asked to enter that position again. NOTE: After making each position move, and confirming it, you do NOT have to press ENTER. If you move to an occupied square, the message: WHOOPS.....TRY AGAIN Will appear. Check your move, and enter again as previously explained. When a winning line is gained, that line will be flashed, with a simultaneous beep. This will continue, until you press a key, when you will be asked if you want a new game. If you accidentally 'BREAK' a game, just press the CONT key, followed by ENTER. If necessary, you can re-start the game by GOTO 10 followed by ENTER. Now, just a few words of advice to help you beat those 'Invaders'. Remember, you are playing in three dimensions: any line across, down or diagonally wins - this means, that whilst it is quite permissable to have this line on one PLANE, you can also have it across all four i.e. a line down can start on the first PLANE at the back left-hand corner, the second PLANE on the second square on the left-hand column, the third PLANE on the third square of the left-hand column, and finally, the fourth PLANE on the forth (forward) square of the left-hand column. Be warned, to try and fool you, the computer will try to get his lines across all four PLANES. Well, good luck and enjoy yourself - you are White, the computer Yellow. COPYRIGHT OASIS SOFTWARE MAY 1984 DUPLICATION OF THIS MANUAL IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PROCEEDINGS WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST ANY INDIVIDUAL OR COMPANY FOUND CONTRAVENING THIS COPYRIGHT