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Player's instructions
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    <p><center><h3>RiscOS Solitaire and Colotaire<br>
    <b>Player's  Instructions</b><br>
    </h3><h4>Version 7.18,  dated 21st November, 2002<br>
 by R.I.D.Macfarlane</h4><br></center>
    <b>Index</b><br>
    <ul>
    <li><a href="#play">Playing the game</a>
    <li><a href="#menu">Iconbar menu items</a>
    <li><a href="#selections">Selections from the control window</a>
    <ul>
    <li><a href="#solitaire">Solitaire OR Colotaire</a>
    <li><a href="#type">Normal, Blind, Ghost, Daft</a>
    <li><a href="#colotaire">Colotaire types</a>
    <li><a href="#playback">Playback</a>
    <li><a href="#solution">Solution</a>
    <li><a href="#sound">Sound</a>
    <li><a href="#pilot">Pilot</a>
    <li><a href="#help">Help</a>
    <li><a href="#quit">Quit game</a>
    </ul>
    <li><a href="#messages">Application Messages</a>
    </ul>
    <p>
    <a name="play"><b>Playing the game</b></a><br>
As is usual the application sets its icon on the icon bar
when loading is complete. Depending on the setting in the
relevant Choices file, when you click SELECT or ADJUST over
this icon, the game's window will be displayed and the
control window may also be displayed. Therefore the pointer
may be over the control strip window, but don't bother about
that for the moment and move the pointer into the playing window.
Suddenly the control strip will disappear and you will be
left with just the game.
    <p>
The SELECT button is used to click on the selected ball to
be moved.  The pointer will then be changed to a ball, which
can be dragged to the chosen hollow by retaining finger
pressure on the button and then releasing it. Provided that
the destination hollow chosen meets the requirements of the
rules of the game, then the ball in the middle will
disappear leaving a hollow.
    <p>
If you drop the ball in the wrong place, don't worry; a
message will be displayed on the screen and you can get rid
of this by clicking 'Continue'; the ball will be returned to
the starting point.  If you don't like the move you have
just made, click the right hand ADJUST mouse button to go
back a move.
    <p>
If you want to remove the game from the screen, just click as normal over
the window's Close icon. If you click SELECT or ADJUST over the iconbar
icon, the game will be displayed as it was left, if the control window is
not displayed. The choice of button depends on the Choices file setting as
described above.  If the control window is displayed as well, just select
the Playback option and work through your game until you get to where you
broke off.
    <p>
    <a name="menu"><b>Iconbar menu items</b></a><br>
The Info item leads to a second menu, which shows the
information which is available about the application.  This
includes program status and the veneer loaded.
    <p>
The Help item brings up the !Help file either as a browser
window or as a text file.
This also happens if the function key F1 is pressed.
    <p>
The Quit item removes the application from the desktop.
    <p>
    <a name="selections"><b>Selections from the control window</b></a><br>
This section describes all the functions that are available
from the control window.  Note that some functions are not
available for the control windows of some veneers; the
veneer's Choices file will dictate which options are
selected in this case.
    <p>
The pointer should be kept in this window whilst making
choices, since as soon as the pointer moves into the play
window, play is started and the control window is removed
from view.  Bring the window back by pressing the <b>Escape</b>
key.  Note if another window has the input focus, the <b>Escape</b>
key will not work.  Click SELECT over the playing window to
restore the input focus (the Title bar background will
become yellow) and use the <b>Escape</b> key again.
    <p>
The selectable functions are:-
    <ul>
    <li><a name="solitaire"><b>Solitaire</b> OR
<b>Colotaire</b></a> : Solitaire is the well known game but
Colotaire is easier to work out as it restricts the choice
of possible moves. Since it is important to know what colour
is to be removed next in the Colotaire game, an extra
coloured ball is displayed in the top left hand corner of
the main window. This can be switched on or off by clicking
the SELECT button when the pointer is over the ball.
    <li><a name="type"><b>Type: Normal, Blind, Ghost,
Daft</b></a> : Use the <b>Normal</b> selection; the others
are much harder. The experienced Solitaire buff may like to
try to achieve the solution by having a reduced amount of
information displayed or in the case of the 'daft' option, a
confusing number of false balls.  The small <a
href="#pilot">Pilot</a> window will always display the
correct state of play. 
    <li><a name="colotaire"><b>Colotaire types</b></a> :
There are six different solutions for the Colotaire game,
and you can select which you want to use or let the computer
choose by selecting <b>Random</b>. When this section is
missing from the window, the value from the Choices file of
the selected veneer will be used.  If this is set to 'R'
then a different pattern will be selected each time the
Colotaire button is selected.
    <li><a name="playback"><b>Playback</b></a> : enables you
to retrace your moves in a previous game, so long as you
haven't changed the Solitaire/Colotaire selections. The
pointer changes to a special pointer and moves over the
first and each successive ball that had been moved, so that
clicking the SELECT button will recreate the play . When you
get as far as you did in the previous game, play will revert
to normal. However by pressing the <b>Escape</b> key, the
play will revert to the normal mode at any stage.
    <li><a name="solution"><b>Solution</b></a> : This mode
acts like <b>Playback</b> but has loaded the correct
sequence of moves to arrive at the solution. Again the
pointer changes to a special shape during this mode and
points at the next move. Click SELECT to cause this to
happen. Use the <b>Escape</b> key to break out of the
solution sequence and finish the play in the normal play
mode.
    <li><a name="sound"><b>Sound</b></a> : attempts to
produce a realistic game noise. Messages are also heralded
by a noise.
    <li><a name="pilot"><b>Pilot</b></a> : This button
is greyed out for Normal play but for Blind, Ghost and Daft
the button is selectable and when selected will show a small
pilot window on the main play window.  This pilot window
will show the actual state of play.
    <li><a name="help"><b>Help</b></a> : There are two
buttons associated with the help function.
    <ul>
    <li>The first is a filetype icon, which will toggle
between the HTML and Text icons.  However if a browser is
not currently running then this button is greyed out and the
help text will be displayed by a text processor, which
defaults to Acorn's Edit application.
    <li>The second menu button should be clicked on with the SELECT
button and brings up a menu of four files:-
    <blockquote>Help<br>Game Play<br>Solitaire<br>Colotaire</blockquote>

The <a href="!Help"><b>'Help'</b></a> file gives general
details about the application.<br>

The <b>'Game play'</b> file is the one you are reading.<br>

The <a href="Soli_Help"><b>'Solitaire'</b></a> and <a
href="Colo_Help"><b>'Colotaire'</b></a> files give very brief
instructions on the rules of each game and how to play.<br>
    </ul>
    <li><a name="quit"><b>Quit game</b></a> : This button
may be present to provide a quick removal of the application
from the desktop. Note that using the playing window's close
icon in the normal way will hide the window from view, but
doesn't remove the application from the desktop.
    </ul>
    <p><br>
    <a name="messages"><b>Application Messages</b></a><br>
The program keeps a check on the play and will display a message if you
attempt to move a ball into an incorrect position.  If the wrong colour is
attempted to be removed in Colotaire the display of the indicating ball in
the top left hand corner is switched on.
    <p>
Messages which are more descriptive are available to
ACORN's Interactive Help application; this is available from
the Resources:$.Apps folder.  This Help application has a
window which displays messages from the part of the screen
that is pointed to by the mouse pointer.  All the !Solitaire
error messages will be displayed in this window rather than
in a central error window, if this Help application is
active.
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