Match!!  -  The best ever version of Pelmanism!

by Mike Whiteman

Version 1.10

for RISC OS 3.10 or later

Match!! is a game of Pelmanism (Pairs) for one or two players/teams, requiring skill and a good memory. Pairs of tiles are turned over, and when the pictures they reveal match, the tiles are removed. The object is to remove all the tiles in as few moves as possible. Jokers and skulls can be included in the game; turning over a joker matches the second tile for you, and turning over a skull loses you a turn.

	Find the Joker but beware of the Skull;
	You won't find anything in this game dull!

Features
 Solo and Competition modes
 Team play for four people
 Easier levels for young children
 Best players' performances stored on disc
 Versatile game play
 Customisable options
Customisable gallery of nearly 350 pictures
 Suitable for 1Mb machines
 Fully multi-tasking
 Interactive help fully supported
 Pinboard iconizing fully supported
 2D and 3D desktops supported
 Desktop boot saving supported

Getting started
Run the game in the usual manner by double-clicking on the Match!! icon in the directory viewer. Clicking Select on the icon bar icon opens the main game window, and clicking Menu will display a menu with the usual Info and Quit options, together with Choices... and Memory quotient. The latter two options allow you respectively to configure virtually all aspects of the gameplay and to see the best 'scores'.

Game window
Once opened you will see either 20, 40, 60 or 80 pictures face down (depending on the skill level), each displaying the Match!! logo. When a game is in play you click on two of these in turn; each one is turned over to reveal a picture (see Playing a game below). Attached to this window is the scoreboard, which displays the names of the current player(s), their scores, number of matches made and the current screen number being played. The large area at the bottom of this window displays messages during the course of play. In Solo mode the display for the second player's name, score and number of matches made are greyed out.

The title bar is used to reflect the state of play. Initially the words "Game not in play" are shown. When play starts the title bar changes to "Game in play [Playing for 2 screens]" or whatever the Tactical option (see below) is set to.

Clicking Menu over the game window displays a menu containing Info (as per the icon bar) and Play game options.

Playing Match!!
Starting a new game
A game is started by clicking Menu over the main window and choosing Play game.

In two-player mode (Competition) the current player is highlighted in cream. In one-player mode (Solo) the player is continuously highlighted in cream.

When Teamed play is in operation, the current player is indicated by being the first name displayed within the player field. The partner is displayed in {} brackets: e.g. 'Mike {Lyn}' indicates that it is Mike's turn to play. Next time it's Mike & Lyn's turn, the display will be 'Lyn {Mike}'.

Taking a turn
The highlighted player clicks on a picture card to reveal a picture, then clicks on a second to try for a match. If no match is made then the pictures are turned back over after the configured time. When Competition is set, play continues with the opponent.

Making a match
A match can be made in one of four ways:

 Both pictures are exactly the same
 One picture is a Joker
 One picture is a Skull
 Both pictures are Skulls

When a match is made, the following points are scored or lost:

Both pictures the same	2 points scored
Picture & a Joker		3 points scored
Picture & a Skull		3 points lost
Both Skulls			5 points scored (3 points if all pictures
					were seen before play started)
Joker & Red herring	4 points scored
Skull & Red herring	4 points lost

Bonus points
5 bonus points are scored if a player makes five matches (all gaining points) in a row.

When in two-player mode (Competition), the current player continues his/her turn after making a match.

New screen
When all possible matches have been made for the current screen, any remaining pictures that cannot be matched will be turned over, the button labelled New screen in the scoreboard window becomes active, and play is paused. Click on this button and a new set of pictures will be displayed, and play will resume with the same player.

Timed play
If Timed play is selected under Tactical, then two additional icons may be displayed at the top of the window. The icon on the left displays the amount of time left to play the current game. The icon on the right is a pause button (see below).

Pausing a game
The game can be paused by clicking on the pause icon (in Timed play mode), closing or iconising the window.

End of a game
A game ends when either the required score is reached, the number of screens have been played or the time has elapsed depending on the setting of Tactical.

The Analysis window is opened (see the section Analysis window above).

Stopping a game
A game can be terminated at any time by clicking Menu over the game window and choosing Stop game. If the Shift key is pressed at the same time, then the Analyse window is displayed as above. The only difference is that the memory quotient figure is not calculated and cannot be added to the top ten table. If the option Confirm 'Stop game' is on, then the player(s) will be asked whether they really wish to stop playing the current game.

Memory quotient window
The memory quotient is a number used to reflect a player's ability at memorising the position of the pictures in each game. The higher the number the better the player's memory is deemed to be. The number is a calculation based on the player's score, number of matches made, number of pairs turned, number of pictures on the board for each screen and the time the player spent playing the game. The table can be saved to a file within the Match!! directory by clicking on the Save table button at the bottom of the window.

In two-player mode, only the winning player's memory quotient is added to the table (if high enough), irrespective of whose memory quotient is the highest. If a game is stopped in mid-play, then neither player's memory quotient is added to the table, although they are calculated and displayed in the Analysis window.

Analysis window
A complete analysis of a game is displayed in the Analysis window automatically at the end of a game. Information displayed includes the number of pairs turned, Joker, Skull and Red herring matches and time each player spent at the board. The name of the winner (in two player mode) is displayed, as is their memory quotient (see above). Also, in two player mode, the number of screens won by each player is shown.

Altering the choices
The Choices dialogue window is accessible from the icon bar menu, and its various settings are described below. The window cannot be accessed whilst a game is in play. Note: pressing Return (or F3) when the caret is within this window is the same as clicking Select on the Set button. Pressing the Escape key has the same effect as clicking on the Cancel button.

Players
This section allows you to alter the number of players and their names.

Click on either Solo or Competition to set one- or two-player mode. When Solo is selected, the name of the second player is greyed out and cannot be edited.

To alter a name, click in the writable icon and edit it in the normal manner. Up to 15 characters are allowed per name (# and " are not allowed). If either or both names are left blank, then on clicking Save or Set, default names are intelligently used. If both players' names are the same, an error box warns you and you are advised to change at least one name.

Teams
This option is only available when Competition is selected. This allows two names to be entered for each team (names must be separated by the & symbol but need not include any spaces between them).

When Teams is ticked, Match!! will display the order in which each of the players take their turn. If the two teams entered are "Mike & Lyn" and "Don & Stu", then the display for the first team to play will be "Mike {Lyn}" if play starts with team one. The next time it's team one's turn, the display will be "Lyn {Mike}". This will particularly help the younger players to keep track of whose turn it is to play.

Level
This section allows you to set the level of play in respect of what pictures are used.

2 Jokers
When ticked, two Jokers are played in each game. A Joker may be matched with any other picture except another Joker or a Skull. When a Joker is matched with a picture, three points are scored instead of the usual two. If a Joker is matched with a Red herring (see below), then four points are scored.

2 Skulls
When ticked, two Skulls are played in each game. This option is unavailable (greyed out) unless the 2 Jokers option is ticked. A Skull may be matched with any other picture except a Joker. When a Skull is matched with a picture, then three points rather than the usual two are lost. If a player matches both Skulls at the same time, then a bonus three or five points are scored depending on the setting of Show all pictures (see below). If a Skull is matched with a Red herring (see below) then four points are lost.

2 Red herrings
A Red herring is a picture without a matching pair. If a Red Herring is matched with a Joker, four points are scored. If a Red herring is matched with a Skull then four points are lost. The two Red herrings cannot be matched with each other or any other picture.

Use harder pictures
This option allows the player(s) to use an extra gallery of pictures. These new pictures are very similar in many ways to the normal set except for some small differences. Some differences are easy to spot, while others are more subtle. This adds an extra dimension to game-play: just when you think you have a match, you haven't...

Very young players may find having this option on a little frustrating, while older players will find it more exciting.

Show all pics for # secs
When ticked, all the pictures for each screen are displayed for the configured number of seconds (1 to 30) entered in the writable icon. The number cannot be edited when this option is un-ticked. This option has been added mainly to give younger players the opportunity to view the position of the pictures at the start of each game. This can make the game easier to play. Just watch them dive for the Jokers!

Tactical
This section allows the players to choose how the game is played from one of the three ways described below.

Points
When selected, the game ends when the number of points (50 - 500) entered in the icon to the right has been reached.

Screens
When selected, the game ends after the number of screens (2 - 50) entered in the icon to the right has been reached.

Timed
When selected, the game ends after the time (5 - 120 minutes) entered in the icon to the right has elapsed.

Show time left
When timed play is selected, the time left to play (minutes and seconds) is displayed at the top left of the main window. This option is not available if Points or Screens is selected.

Number of pictures
This section allows you to select the number of pictures being played (20, 40, 60 or 80) in each game. The more pictures, the harder, but more fun, the game is.

Turn unmatched after ? secs
The number entered in the icon to the right is the number of seconds (1 to 8) that a non-matched pair of pictures remains in view before turning back again.

Clicking on new picture ignores above setting
Some players may find the above configured delay frustrating. With this option turned on (ticked), the next player can click on a new picture to start his/her go even if the previous pair is still being displayed. With this option set, game-play becomes much faster.

The next player can still wait the allocated time for the current pair being displayed to turn back over.

Note: matched pictures are always removed after one second.

Miscellaneous
The options in this section do not affect game play but are, nonetheless, useful.

Game sound
When ticked, the game sound is on.

Confirm'Stop game'
When ticked, the current player is offered the chance to cancel the action of stopping a game when Stop game is chosen from the main menu. This option has been put in because some young players become over-zealous with the mouse and press the wrong button causing the game to stop in the middle of play.

Interactive help
When ticked, interactive help is provided. For this option to work, Acorn's Help application (or similar) must be running.

Allow click on text
When ticked, this option allows the player(s) to click on the text as well as the relevant buttons to set/unset an option. The Acorn Style Guide states that you should be able to click on the text, but some people find this a nuisance. Match!!, therefore, leaves it up to the player(s) own preference. This option is initially set.

Action buttons in the Choices dialogue box
Default
Click Select or Adjust to use the settings previously saved to the Choices file which is found within the !Match!!.Resources.UK directory. If no file is found then a set of internal defaults is used. Holding the Shift key will force Match!! to use the internal defaults irrespective of whether the Choices file exists or not. The Choices window will remain open.

Save
Click Select to save the current settings to file and apply them. Pressing F3 when the window has the input focus (contains the caret) has the same effect as clicking with Select.

Cancel
Click Select or Adjust to cancel any changes made and close the window. Pressing Escape when the window has the input focus (contains the caret) has the same effect.

Set
Click Select to apply the current settings and close the window. Click with Adjust to keep the dialogue open. Pressing Return when the window has the input focus (contains the caret) has the same effect.

Technical
Gallery
Match!! is supplied with almost 350 pictures in its gallery, of which 111 constitute the 'harder' pictures. With all these pictures loaded, Match!! takes a WimpSlot of around 544K.

All the pictures are supplied as sprite files and are compressed using Acorn's Squash module. It is not necessary to decompress these files for Match!! to run.

The pictures may be added to, removed or the existing ones edited by loading the relevant files into Paint. This is really only for experienced users as, once edited, the pictures have to be numbered sequentially starting with the 'Easy' file (either "Pics" for low-resolution or "Pics22" for high-resolution) from 'g0, g1, g2...gn' with the 'joker', 'skull', 'title2' and 'pic' sprites added to the end of the file. The harder pictures in either of the files "HPics" or "HPics22" must be numbered in continuation from the normal pictures (e.g. gn+1, etc.) The maximum size of any picture must be 42 by 42 pixels in high resolution and 42 by 21 pixels in low resolution.

Within the Match!! directory there is a file called Limit. This file is used to restrict the number of pictures loaded to each of the two galleries. Match!! comes with almost 350 pictures: 237 in the normal (easy) gallery and 111 in the harder one. When all the pictures are loaded, Match!! requires a WimpSlot of around 520K. Restricting the number of pictures can save about 300K.

Match!! is initially set for all pictures to load. The limits can be altered by loading the file Limit into a suitable editor (such as Edit) and changing the two values after each of the hashes (#). The first value alters the number of normal (easy) pictures and the second alters the number of harder ones.

To load all the pictures enter "Max", and to restrict to the minimum set by Match!! (40 easy and 20 hard) enter "Min". Any number between "Min" and "Max" can be entered. A number greater than "Max" will load all the pictures and a number less than "Min" will load the minimum.

With almost 350 pictures supplied, any alterations should not be necessary; but if you do attempt to alter the files, please remember to make a backup of the original files first.

Thanks
To my daughters Nicola and Donna for continuously helping me to alpha- and beta-test, and for all their suggestions and comments.

To Malcolm Knight for his help in solving many programming problems and for allowing me to test Match!! on his Risc PC.

If you have any comments or suggestions, then please write to the me at the address below:

	Mr Mike Whiteman
	127 Sewell Road
	Abbey Wood
	London
	SE2 9DH

	Tel. (0181) 310 2238

Match!! is dedicated to Donna, Nicola & Michaela.

I hope you have as much fun and enjoyment playing Match!! as I have had in writing it.


Copyright  RISC User 1996