COMPUTER S C R A B B L E ® DE LUXE SOFTWARE BY Leisure Genius LGD 500 For the Amstrad CPC 6128 ® Registered Trade Mark ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | | | | SCRABBLE® trade mark and copyright licensed by | | J. W. Spear & Sons PLC. | | | | © Copyright 1984,85,86,87 LEISURE GENIUS®. | | | | All rights reserved. No part of this program, packaging or documentation | | may be reproduced in any form. | | Unauthorised copying, renting, lending or sale and repurchase prohibited. | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Software by LEISURE GENIUS® LEISURE GENIUS® is a registered trademark of Virgin Games, a subsidiary of Virgin Publishing Limited. Produced by Virgin Games. ® Registered Trademarks Page 2 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE AMSTRAD CPC 6128 Section Page A Introduction 4 B Rules for playing SCRABBLE® 5 C Loading Computer SCRABBLE® 9 D Starting Computer SCRABBLE® 10 E Playing Computer SCRABBLE® 12 F End of the game 15 Page 3 A Introduction Computer SCRABBLE® is a highly sophisticated computer program which allows you and others to play SCRABBLE® on or against your computer. The program can provide you with up to 3 opponents in any one game - each computer opponent can be assigned one of 8 skill levels. All you need is the Computer SCRABBLE® program and your computer system. The program provides an "on-screen" board and all the facilities of the board game. The Computer SCRABBLE® program includes a playing vocabulary of over 20,000 words. These have been carefully selected from Chambers WORDS and Chambers 20th Century Dictionary (which is the reference used in the official SCRABBLE® tournaments) to ensure a consistent and competitive level of play from the Computer SCRABBLE® program. In addition, the program will check words that you play against its vocabulary and challenge any words it does not "know" - as its vocabulary is finite you are able to either accept or reject its challenge. The program has play levels 1 to 8 with level 1 being the least skilled opponent and the highest level being the most skilled. As an indication, the Computer SCRABBLE® program is tuned to achieve average scores (in a 2-player game) of 150 points at level 1 and over 350 points at level 8. Skill levels 1-4 access a selected subsection of the dictionary while levels 5-8 access all acceptable 2, 3, and 4 letter words and extensions - some of these words are obscure and unusual! To add to the excitement and realism of the game, a clock facility is included - you can choose a maximum allowable time per turn, ranging from "lightning" at 10 seconds to a leisurely 59 minutes 59 seconds. Finally, the Computer SCRABBLE® program includes a facility for interrupting and resuming a game at a later date. Page 4 B Rules for playing SCRABBLE® SCRABBLE® is a word game for two to four players. The play consists of forming interlocking words, crossword fashion, on the SCRABBLE® playing board using letter tiles with various score values. Each player competes for a high score by using their letters in combinations and locations that take best advantage of letter values and premium squares on the board. The combined total score for a game may range from about 500 points to 700 or more, depending on the skill of the players. THE PLAY Each player has seven letters in their rack at the start of the game, and after each play they draw enough new letters to maintain their seven. 1. The first player combines two or more letters to form a word and places them on the board to read either across or down with one letter on the centre square. Diagonal words are not permitted. 2. A player completes their turn by counting and announcing their score for the turn. They then draw as many new letters as they have played, thus always keeping seven letters in their rack. 3. The second player, and then each in turn, adds one or more letters to those already played so as to form new words. All letters played in anyone turn must be placed in one row across or down the board. They must form one complete word and if, at the same time, they touch other letters in adjacent rows they form complete words, crossword fashion, with all such letters. The player gets full credit for all words formed or modified by their play. Page 5 4. New words may be formed by: a. Adding one or more letters to a word or words already on the board. b. Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new word must use one of the letters of a word already on the board or must add a letter to it. c. Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played on the board so that adjoining letters also form complete words. 5. No letter may be moved after it has been played. 6. The two blank tiles may be used to represent any letter desired. When playing a blank the player must indicate what letter it represents, after which it cannot be changed during the course of the game. 7. Any player may use their turn to replace any or all of the letters on their rack. After discarding the letters the player draws the same number of tiles and their discarded ones are then mixed with those remaining in the pool. The player then awaits their next turn to play. 8. Any words found in the standard dictionary are permitted except proper names etc. (usually commencing with a capital letter), those designated as foreign words, abbreviations and words requiring apostrophes or hyphens. Consult a dictionary only to check the spelling or usage. Any word may be challenged before the next player starts his turn. If the word challenged is unacceptable, the player takes back all tiles used and they lose their turn. 9. Play continues until all tiles have been drawn and one of the players has used all of the letters in their rack or until all possible plays have been made. Page 6 SCORING 10. The score value of each letter and the letter distribution is indicated in the tables in sections E4 and E5 on page 13. Note that the value of the blank is zero. 11. The score for each turn is the sum of the score values of all the letters in each word formed or modified in the play plus the premium values resulting from placing letters on premium squares. 12. Premium Letter Squares: This square doubles the score of the letter placed on it. This square triples the score of the letter placed on it. i.e. The letter 'B' will score nine(3 × 3)if placed on a triple letter square. 13. Premium Word Squares: The score for the entire word is doubled when one of its letters is placed on this square. The score for the word is tripled if a letter is placed on this square. Include premiums for double or triple letter values, if any, before doubling or tripling the word score. If a word is formed that covers two premium squares the score is doubled and then re-doubled (4 times letter count), or tripled and re-tripled (9 times letter count) as the case may be. Note that the center square is a double word square and therefore doubles the score for the first word played. 14. The above letter and word premiums apply only in the turn in which they are first played. In subsequent turns letters count at face value. 15. When a blank letter tile falls upon a premium word square the sum of the letters in the word is doubled or tripled even though the blank itself has no score value. 16. When two or more words are formed in the same play, each is scored. The common letter is counted (with full premium value, if any) in the score for each word. 17. Any player who plays all seven of their tiles in a single turn scores a premium of 50 points in addition to their regular score for the play. Page 7 18. At the end of the game, each player's score is reduced by the sum of all their unplayed letters, and if one player has used all of their letters, their score is increased by the sum of the unplayed letters of all the other players. EXAMPLES OF WORD FORMATION AND SCORING In the following, each word added in successive turns is shown in a box. The scores shown are the correct scores if the letter R is placed on the centre square. In turn 1 count HORN; in turn 2, FARM; in turn 3, PASTE and FARMS; in turn 4, MOB, NOT and BE. TURN 1: Score 14 TURN 2: Score 9 +---+---+---+---+ +---+ | H | O | R | N | | F | | 4| 1| 1| 1| | 4| +---+---+---+---+ +---+ | A | | 1| +---+---+---+---+ | H | O | R | N | | 4| 1| 1| 1| +---+---+---+---+ | M | | 3| +---+ TURN 3: Score 25 TURN 4: Score 16 +---+ +---+ | F | | F | | 4| | 4| +---+ +---+ | A | | A | | 1| | 1| +---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+ | H | O | R | N | | H | O | R | N | | 4| 1| 1| 1| | 4| 1| 1| 1| +---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+ | M | | M | O | B | | 3| | 3| 1| 3| +---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+ | P | A | S | T | E | | P | A | S | T | E | | 3| 1| 1| 1| 1| | 3| 1| 1| 1| 1| +---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+ Page 8 C LOADing Computer SCRABBLE® LOADing from disk:- Put disc into drive and type RUN "DISC", and press return. Once the Computer SCRABBLE® program is loaded, the program titles display and the game starts. When the first prompt (RESUME GAME?) appears, remove the disc and keep it safe for next time. Page 9 D Starting Computer SCRABBLE® 1. RESUME A GAME? If you have not previously saved a game simply type N or press the RETURN key. If you wish to resume a previously saved game, type Y and insert the disc holding the saved game. The program responds with ENTER FILE NAME: and you must enter the name of your saved game and press RETURN. After loading the previously saved game the program will resume at the point at which the game was saved. It is useful to have a blank formatted disc to save your games to. 2. Now you may enter the player's names. Simply type up to 8 letters of the player's name and press the RETURN key. 3. The entry of the player's name is followed by a request for a play level. If this player is a human player, then press RETURN. If this player is a computer opponent then press one of the keys 1 - 8 at the top of the keyboard for the appropriate skill level of this computer player. 4. The program repeats the prompt asking for the next player's name. Up to 4 players can be entered and any or all of them may be computer players. 5. After two players have been entered, you may press RETURN instead of typing a third or fourth name. This tells the program that all players have been entered and that you are now ready to start playing. Page 10 7. The Computer SCRABBLE® program follows with a series of YES/NO questions which can be answered with one keystroke (Y for yes and N for no). Each question has a default value which may be entered by pressing RETURN. The default values are shown below in parenthesis. a. SEE ME THINK? (Y) While the computer player chooses its word, it is possible to see its "thoughts" as it tries and scores different words. b. VIEW RACKS? (Y) While others (or the computer) are playing, you may want to see your current rack and the program can display it continually on the screen. However this may mean that another player can see your letters and alter strategy - in practice we have found that most players find little assistance from being able to see the other players' racks. If you reply N to this question, the program will pause each time a player starts and ends a turn. A note can then be made of the new rack. Players can take turns using the screen and keyboard - effectively hiding their racks. 8. The next prompt; PLACEMENT SPEED (0-9) deals with the speed at which the program places words on the board - not the time it takes thinking. The delay between letters can be varied from 0 (minimum delay) to 9 (maximum delay) - if you are watching the program "thinking" then 3 or 4 are good values to try. 9. The next prompt is USE CLOCK? and if you press RETURN or N then the clock is disabled. If you press Y, the program follows with ENTER MINUTES (0-59); type a value between 0 and 59 followed by RETURN. The next prompt is ENTER SECONDS (0-59): and you must type in a value between 0 and 59 followed by RETURN. A computer player will PASS or CHANGE tiles if it runs out of time without finding any reasonable word to place on the board. Page 11 E Playing Computer SCRABBLE® 1. The current player's rack and name are displayed at the bottom left of the screen. The player must then enter a word, or one of the options displayed in the right-hand side of the screen. 2. If the clock is enabled, it appears on the screen. The player must enter a word in the specified time or miss a turn! If you are entering a word and the clock runs out, you are given as long as you like to place it on the board but you cannot cancel that word and start again! 3. The options are numbered 1 - 8, F1,F2 and are used as follows: 1. Quit game. This means that you wish to stop playing immediately without completing the game. You will be prompted SAVE GAME? and you may then save the game for later resumption. (see section D1). NB. If you are saving a game to disc, you must use a formatted disc - do not use the SCRABBLE® Disc. 2. Pass 1 turn / Force move. If you cannot find a place to play any of your tiles to form a word, then you can skip a turn by passing. Normally this is only used at the end of the game, when there are no tiles left which could be exchanged. If you press the pass key while a computer player is taking a turn, you will FORCE it to place the word that it is currently thinking of. This is useful if you wish a computer player to "Hurry up" with its turn. 3. Premiums. The program responds to this option by displaying the premium squares with their values. Page 12 4. Tile values. The full set of tiles is displayed in the right-hand screen area showing the tile values. +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | | 1| 3| 3| 2| 1| 4| 2| 4| 1| 8| 5| 1| 3| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | | | 1| 1| 3| 10| 1| 1| 1| 1| 4| 4| 8| 4| 10| | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 5. Distribution of tiles. The full set of tiles is displayed, showing the distribution of tiles. +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ | A | - 9 | F | - 2 | K | - 1 | P | - 2 | V | - 2 | 1| TILES | 4| TILES | 5| TILE | 3| TILES | 4| TILES +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ | B | - 2 | G | - 3 | L | - 4 | Q | - 1 | W | - 2 | 3| TILES | 2| TILES | 1| TILES | 10| TILE | 4| TILES +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ | C | - 2 | H | - 2 | M | - 2 | R | - 6 | X | - 1 | 3| TILES | 4| TILES | 3| TILES | 1| TILES | 8| TILE +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ | D | - 4 | I | - 9 | N | - 6 | S | - 4 | Y | - 2 | 2| TILES | 1| TILES | 1| TILES | 1| TILES | 4| TILES +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ | E | - 12 | J | - 1 | O | - 8 | T | - 6 | Z | - 1 | 1| TILES | 8| TILES | 1| TILES | 1| TILES | 10| TILE +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ | U | - 4 | | - 2 | 1| TILES | | TILES +---+ +---+ 6. Change tiles. This option allows you to exchange 1-7 tiles from your rack for fresh tiles. It also counts as a turn. After choosing this option, type in the letters in your rack which you wish to exchange, followed by RETURN. The program will remove those and pick new tiles for you. 7. Juggle rack. The program will ___+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+___ juggle the letters in your rack || | J | U | G | G | L | E | S | || giving a new arrangement. This is || | 8| 1| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1| || helpful as a way of looking for || +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ || playable words. ===================================== ___+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+___ || | G | L | S | E | J | G | U | || || | 2| 1| 1| 1| 8| 2| 1| || || +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ || ===================================== 8. Hint 1 word. If you are stuck, the program can give you a hint of one playable word. The program looks at your rack and the board and displays a playable word and possible position on the board. F1 is used to select desired screen colour (pastel green). F2 is used to select desired background colour (black). Page 13 4. To enter a word, simply type the word in full including any letters which may appear on the board. After you have typed the word, press RETURN. This will allow you to position the word on the board. The blank tile is entered by pressing the SPACE BAR at the bottom of the keyboard and following with the letter it represents. It will display on the board in inverse or a different color from the other tiles. 5. A cursor appears on the board at the top left-hand corner. Using the cursor keys, position the cursor where the first letter of your chosen word should go. Then press:- A for across or D for down and the program will display your word on the board. Press X to cancel your choice of word. 6. After displaying the word, the score is calculated and displayed and you may try a different word - you may do this as often as you like (time permitting). 7. If no other attempt is desired, the program will check the word played and any other words formed against its own vocabulary. The Computer SCRABBLE® program will challenge the validity of any word it fails to recognize. 8. When the program challenges, if you accept the challenge as valid (i.e. the word was indeed wrong), then you lose both your turn and the score achieved for that turn. However, if you reject the challenge (it is quite possible to play a valid word that the program does not recognize - as the program has a finite vocabulary), then the program will accept the word played and any word generated. When the program asks ARE YOU SURE? for a particular word, you can override the challenge by pressing Y - it will then accept your play. 9. After your word is played, the scores on the screen are updated and new tiles are given to replace those you have used. Page 14 F End of the Computer SCRABBLE® game. 1. As soon as there are no tiles left to draw, and one player has used all the tiles in the rack the game ends. The Computer SCRABBLE® program also recognizes the end of the game by the fact that there are no new tiles left to draw after a turn, and each player has passed once in a full round. 2. When the end has been reached, the program adjusts each player's score by the letters left in the racks and announces the winner. 3. You then have the opportunity to play again with the same, or different players and levels. Page 15 LEISURE GENIUS 2/4 VERNON YARD LONDON W11 2DX PRINTED IN ENGLAND