How to Play Backgammon Backgammon is played by two players on a special board with 15 pieces to a side. The pieces making up each side are called stones. Though they may be of any color, the darker-colored pieces are called Black while the lighter ones are called White. The board is divided into two halves, or tables, by a partition running down the center. This is called the bar. The outer table is on your left, the inner table is on your right. In each table there are six points (long, thin triangles). The pieces move according to your throw of the two dice. The players roll the dice to see who goes first, with the higher roll winning. (If the numbers are the same, you just roll again.) The player with the higher number uses that for his first turn, if the rules are set that way (in Backgammon game settings). From then on turns alternate, and you always throw the dice to begin your turn. (The exception to this is when you are shut out, which can occur when your blot is on the bar. If your enemy's stones have crowded all available space so no possible points are open, you don't get to throw the dice and your turn is over. For details see, Sending Blots to the Bar.) The object of the game seems odd at first: You win by being the first player to transport all of your stones off the board! To do that you must first get all of your stones into your inner, or home, table. Once they're all safely home, you can proceed to move them off the board. Pieces move from point to point.
Like a Rolling Stone After you've thrown the dice to begin your turn, you can apply both numbers to one stone or each number separately to two stones. If, for example, you throw a 5 and a 4, you can move one piece a distance of nine points, or you can move one piece five and a second piece four. Note When you use both die numbers for one stone, the points must be open for each die value, just as they need to be open for moving two stones separately. If you throw a doublet (two identical dice), say a 3 and a 3, you play that number four times rather than twice: you can move one piece 12 points, or one piece nine points and one piece three, or two pieces six points each, or four pieces three points each. A stone cannot land on a point occupied by two or more of the opponent's stones. You are not allowed to make that move, even if you have only one piece left and there is no other move you can make. A point occupied by two more stones is an indestructible fortress; that point is said to be closed or made. However, though you can't share a point with enemy pieces, you can jump over them. Any number of pieces of the same color can rest on one point. If necessary they are piled on top of each other. This keeps one side's pieces from encroaching on the other side's. Moves are always compulsory, even when it's in your best interests to stand still. If you can only use one of the two numbers you rolled, then you must do so. You must always try to use the higher number.
Sending Blots to the Bar A single stone resting on a point is a target. It's called a blot, and when you land directly on an enemy blot it's called a hit. The blot is then retired to the bar. The blot must be entered and become a stone again before you can move any of your other pieces. Plus, the lonely blot must enter the enemy's home table on an open point. For example, if you roll a 5-2, and if points 5 and 2 in the enemy's home table are open, you can choose either one and place your blot there. If you placed it on point 5, you can now move it two points. If one of those points is occupied by a single stone of the enemy's, you can hit it and send it to the bar. If none of the points are open, if your enemy's stones have crowded all available space, you are shut out and you don't even get to throw the dice. Your blot remains on the bar and you can't move any other. Your turn is over. When you've collected all of your stones in your home table, you can bear off: that is, remove all your stones from the game, in the order determined by the dice. If the number you rolled is higher than the number of points you have yet to travel, you simply bear off the piece that's farthest away. If you're hit after you've started to bear off, your stone becomes a blot on the bar. You must enter it and bring it around to your home table before you can go back to bearing off.
Gammon and Backgammon The game ends when either player bears off his or her last stone. If the loser has borne off at least one stone, then the loser has lost just one game. But if he or she has not borne off at least one stone, the loss counts double. This is called a gammon. If the loser has a stone left in the winner's inner table, or on the bar, the loss counts triple. This is called a backgammon.
Doubling You can really ratchet up the stakes by using a tactic called doubling. Either player may make the first double of the game. You simply declare your intention to double before rolling the dice. Thereafter, the right to double alternates. When one player chooses to double, the other must decide whether to play on for a double game, or resign right there and lose the current value of the game. The doubling cube is used for this (a single die with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 on it). The double for gammon and triple for backgammon both apply to the final score; this is in addition to whatever voluntary doubles have been made. Automatic doubling applies when the roll for first play results in like numbers on the two dice. You must specify this option before play begins.
Playing Backgammon When you are ready to start play, click your cup to roll the dice. If you win the roll and you must use or have the option to use the first roll, move your pieces based on the roll of both you and your opponent's dice. If you cannot use the first roll, or choose not to, roll again, then move. At any point in the game before you roll the dice, you can choose to double the game stakes by clicking the doubling cube (once you have doubled, you can't double again unless the other player doubles first). See Doubling for more information. Move any stone in a counter-clockwise direction towards your home, which is the inner table (right side) next to you. Click and drag the stone to move it to the desired point. When a move is not ambiguous (such as when you only have one die roll left to move), you can right-click a piece to move it. The first player to bear off all of his or her stones wins the game.
Actions Roll Dice Rolls the dice for first roll and subsequent rolls for moving your pieces. You can roll the dice by clicking the dice cup, pressing the Spacebar, or clicking Roll Dice on the Actions menu. Double If you have enabled the doubling cube in your game settings, you have the option of using it at appropriate times during play. You can double by clicking the doubling cube, pressing D, or clicking Double on the Actions menu. Resign Resigns your player from the current game. This is counted as a loss. You can resign by clicking R or clicking Resign on the Actions menu. Undo Returns your most recently moved piece to its previous position. You can only undo a move on your turn if your turn has not yet ended (in other words, if you have not used the last die move available). To undo a move, click Ctrl+Z or click Undo on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Backgammon, click Backgammon Settings on the Options menu. You can set options for the doubling cube, how to use the first roll, whether to show the possible destinations for a stone, whether to have a penalty for rolling 1-2 three times, and the game difficulty. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Backgammon Strategies and Tips Backgammon Background Backgammon Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Backgammon game: If you're new to Backgammon, endeavor to play a safe game. Here are a few rules of thumb: 1. Do your best to make points (block off points with two stones) and avoid blots. 2. Try not to put more than four stones on a single point. 3. Move your backmen (your last two stones) early in the game. By making points, you will hamper your opponent's progress. For example, take a look at Figure 1. If white rolls a 1, 3, 4, 6 (or any combination) black's closed points will have white's backmen blocked out of several possible moves. White may be forced into a poor move, leaving pieces vulnerable to attack. Also, by making points you will avoid blots, thus reducing your opponent's opportunities to land on your stones and retire them to the bar.
Figure 1: Making Points
Adding a third stone to a point is very useful, and can be used to make additional points on subsequent turns. However, you should avoid placing more than four stones on a single point because it reduces your options when moving. Moving your backmen as soon as possible helps prevent them from being trapped by your opponent, who may attempt to bottle them up in their starting position by forming a prime (as discussed below).
Advanced Strategies for Backgammon Figure 2 shows how the points in backgammon are numbered. As an example, a white or black stone located on black's inner table, 5th position from the right, would be said to occupy position B-5, also called black's 5-point. This numbering will help us to describe some of the strategic positions in this section.
Figure 2: Board Notation
A key backgammon concept is the direct hit, which refers to any blot that can be reached by your opponent in six points or less. Statistically, a stone is more likely to be hit at six points distance than at any other specific distance. (All blots from one to five points distance also have a high probability of being hit. The odds decrease sharply at distances over six.) The obvious point here is that you want to avoid making your stones into direct hits and, thus, easy prey for your opponent! The high probability of stones moving six points or fewer also helps define good board position. In the beginning of the game, the golden point (B-5 is black's golden point, W-5 is white's) is a key position (Figure 3 ); so is the bar point (B-7 for black, W-7 for white). Why are the these points of strategic interest? Again, this has to do with dice probabilities: Holding the golden point and/or bar points makes it difficult for the backmen (and retired pieces) to leave the inner table.
Figure 3: The Golden Point and Bar Point
You can contain your opponent's backmen (and stones that are retired to the bar) by forming a prime. A prime consists of a row of six consecutive blocked points as shown in Figure 4. A prime is impassable. If you can block enemy stones behind it, you can advance your stones while your opponent (who is likely to be very frustrated!) gets bogged down, perhaps even immobilized.
Figure 4: A Prime
If you're unable to get six in a row, don't despair. Getting four or five blocked points in a row (informally known as a four-prime and a five-prime) may slow down your opponent's progress significantly, even though it's not impassable. A stone you bring up behind your other points is termed a builder. This piece is often instrumental in making a new point. Figure 5 shows a builder in position B11. This builder can probably be used to make a point for black. Although you need builders, consider the enemy threat before making one. Check to see if your builder is also a direct hit. Figure 5: A Builder
Another common ploy used by experienced backgammon players is to establish an anchor. An anchor is a point made in your opponent's inner table (Figure 6). Although this flies in the face of the usual strategy of moving your backmen, creating an anchor makes it harder for your opponent to expand a four-prime and five-prime. If you're able to make multiple points, it will be difficult for your opponent to bear off. If you've had a few pieces retired to the bar, consider using them to create anchors.
Figure 6: An Anchor
See Also How to Play Backgammon Backgammon Background All board games that are older than today's fad pass through certain stages of development. These stages are well known to games scholars, and they reappear in game after game. Backgammon has been through more of these stages than any other game, even Chess. Here are the Eight Stages of Board Game Evolution, as told through the history of Backgammon: 1. Claim the Egyptians as Parents: Backgammon is not the oldest game in the world—dice probably holds that distinction, though some people might nominate politics—but, given the available evidence, it has a good claim on the second spot. "An authentic, documented history of the ancient game of Backgammon should probably begin either in the Garden of Eden or in the murky caves of the Neanderthal man," Alexis Obolensky and Ted James declare in Backgammon: The Action Game, and they're only half-kidding. Though Obolensky and James grandly assume that every 6,000-year-old reference to "dice" really means "backgammon," the game has been traced to the beginnings of Egyptian and Sumerian civilization. You can't beat this kind of heritage. Backgammon boards not so different from our own have been found in the royal tombs of the Nile Valley and in the buried suburbs of Ur. If Mesopotamia, the site of Ur, was also the site of the biblical Flood, then perhaps Noah and his family filled their spare hours aboard the Ark by playing Backgammon! 2. Work In the Romans, Too (or the Greeks, or Both): Even when their empire was at its height, the Romans always took the time for a round of Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (literally, "a game with 12 lines"). The Romans usually shortened this name to Alea or Tabula (the latter meaning "table;" when Backgammon entered Europe, it was called Tables). This was Backgammon with three dice instead of two. Nero lost a fortune at the game. Caligula cheated at it. Antony played Tabula with Cleopatra; what stakes they played for is not known. 3. Inspire a Creation Myth: In the world of games, India has turned out the best creation myths. According to stories passed along by medieval Arab scholars, Backgammon was invented by an Indian philosopher who was trying to represent the concept of time physically, in a board game:
Backgammon Objects What They Mean 30 pieces Days in a month 24 points Hours in a day 12 points of one half-board Months in a year 12 points of the other half-board Zodiac signs 7 spots on opposite sides of a die Days of the week 2 dice Day and night 4. Achieve Literary Immortality: The Old and New Testaments are not noted for their analyses of board games. You won't find Backgammon in the Bible, but it did come close. H.J.R. Murray, in A History of Board Games Other Than Chess, gives as the first reference to Backgammon in world literature—the Jewish Talmud! The Talmud, produced by 6th-century Jews living in Babylon, is a compilation of written commentaries on the Oral Laws of the Jewish people. Apparently, the rabbinical authorities of that time felt the need to at least mention Backgammon. (They didn't offer strategy hints.) The Babylonian Jews used the Persian words for the game: nard and nardshir. Nard was the wood marker used in the game. Shir means "lion," referring to the two types of pieces then in use: plain wood markers and markers with carved lions' heads. A century later, Backgammon (Nard, that is) is mentioned in a Persian fictional work about the invention of Chess. Backgammon was supposed to have been invented as a riddle to pose to a king. (The Persians spun the same story about Chess as well.) So chalk up an Indian and a Persian creation myth for Backgammon. 5. Ride Along with the Arabs: Typically in the history of games, the Arabs, after their conquest of Persia in the 7th century, learned all the games the Persians learned from the Indians, who may or may not have learned them from the Chinese. The Arabs raised the level of play in these games to unimagined heights and wrote the first books about them. They then invaded Spain and Sicily, fought off the Crusaders, and traded with the Venetians, all of which led to an exchange of ideas—and games. The Arabs adopted Backgammon immediately, but the Islamic religious authorities were troubled by the game and its gambling aspect (just as Chess had troubled them with its "graven images," which are forbidden by the Koran). Chess survived in the Islamic world because the players switched from the fanciful pieces used by the Persians to abstract pieces with no resemblance to people, animals, or anything else. Backgammon couldn't do without its dice, and in the 8th century it was banned. This ban was not successful. Though the Islamic courts threatened players with various penalties, the game continued to flourish—a lesson the Catholic Church was fated to learn all over again a few centuries later. The first book about Backgammon was written by an Arab of the 9th century. 6. Conquer Europe: The Persian/Muslim Nard and the Roman Tabula met in France in the 11th century. The third dice was eliminated, but the Roman name was retained, as can be seen from the forms Tabula took as it marched across the continent: in Italy, Tavola; in Spain, Tablas; in Middle English, Tavel, then Tables; and so on. Backgammon (or Tables) began appearing in the literature of the period almost at once, by which we can track its progress even to distant Iceland (which it reached late in the 13th century). The first European book to focus on Backgammon appeared in Spain in 1283. This book was primarily about Chess, and was compiled by scholars working under the direction of King Alfonso of Castile ("Alfonso the Wise"). As with most of the games that entered Europe in this era, Backgammon was taken up by the nobility and was soon competing with Chess for the position of most-popular game (both games were eventually dethroned by playing cards). As Backgammon filtered down to the masses, the Church tried to ban or at least contain it. These efforts failed. By the 1700s, Backgammon was the favorite pastime among vicars in the English countryside! Innkeepers throughout Europe were soon providing Backgammon boards and sets to their customers, a tradition that goes back to the Roman empire. Obolensky and James report on a wall painting found in the excavation of Pompeii: "In one panel, a game is in process, and an argument has ensued over points. In the second, an innkeeper is throwing the two battling players out of his tavern." 7. Catch Edmond Hoyle's Attention: Hoyle died in 1769, long before most of the games played today were invented. He wrote books on just five games in his lifetime, so the odds are against most games making this connection. Happily for Backgammon, Hoyle was not only a devotee of the game, he also had many ideas about how it should be played. Edmond Hoyle, in fact, turned out to be the Alexander Cartwright of Backgammon. Just as Cartwright in the 1840s codified the laws of baseball, Hoyle in 1746 did the same for Backgammon in his first book of games. Most of Hoyle's rules of play are still in force (as are most of Cartwright's). The modern game began with Hoyle, who had developed considerable clout in the game world by 1746. When he put together the hodge-podge of rules governing the game and decreed, among other things, that doublets should be played twice and that the scoring should include such subdivisions as backgammon, gammon, and hits, people listened. And played. 8. Pump Up the Volume with the Americans: Americans couldn't figure out a way to improve on Chess, but in 1925 an American innovator whose name is apparently lost to us developed the concept of doubling. Doubling revived Backgammon and led to a worldwide Backgammon renaissance that continues today. The word Backgammon, incidentally, comes from the Middle English gamen, meaning "game." It's thought that the name derives from the pieces occasionally having to go and reenter the board. In Scotland, the game is called Gammon; in Spain, Tablas Reales (The Royal Tables); and in Italy, Tavole Reale (ditto). In France, the name is Trictrac and in Germany, Puff, though how these names strayed so far from the Roman Tabula is not clear. How to Play Battling Ships Battling Ships is a game for two people played on two 10x10 grids. This is the ocean on which your fleets will fight their battle. Each side has a fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier (five squares long), a battleship (four squares), a destroyer and a submarine (three squares each), and a PT boat (two squares). You place these on your grid, out of sight of your opponent. To learn about the ships, click here: Each player can fire a salvo of up to six shots per turn. You choose the squares your missiles will strike. Hits and misses are reported to you so you can plan your firing patterns. A ship is sunk when every one of the squares it occupies has been hit. Play continues then in one of two ways: You can choose to have your barrage reduced for every ship you lose (the Aircraft Carrier Nimitz supplies 2 shots; all other ships supply 1 shot each), or you can choose to play with a fixed number of shots on each turn. The first player to sink all of the enemy's ships is the winner. If both players lose their last ship in the same round, the game is tied.
Playing Battling Ships
Before you can begin a game of Battling Ships, you must first position your ships on your grid. Click and drag the ships to move them. To rotate a ship, select it, then click Rotate 90 degrees. Click a square on the screen to place your target. The lights on the right side of the playing grid indicate how many shots you have left. When you finish placing all available targets, click Fire. Click Clear to wipe away your current target selections and choose new targets. In human vs. human play, a Peek button appears on the active player's display. Click and hold Peek on your turn to view your ship placement. Make sure your opponent is looking away from the screen when you do!
Actions Fire Starts firing missiles at all targets for that turn. You can fire missiles at ships during play by clicking the Fire button, pressing the Spacebar, or clicking Fire on the Actions menu. Clear All Clears all target settings on the sea grid. You can clear all grid targets (before firing) during play by clicking the Clear button on the game board, pressing Backspace, or clicking Clear All on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Battling Ships, click Battling Ships Settings on the Options menu. You can set options for the number of missiles allowed per turn, whether you can see the other players' sunk ships, and the game difficulty. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Battling Ships Strategies and Tips Battling Ships Background Ships in Battling Ships back Click a ship in the illustration below to find out about its vital statistics. Nimitz Ship: USS Nimitz (CVN-68) Length: 1,092 feet Top Speed: 30 knots Main Armament: Eighty aircraft of various types, including bombers, fighters, reconnaissance, and helicopters. The ships of the nuclear-powered Nimitz class are the largest warships ever to sail the seas. The Nimitz, named for the American admiral who took charge of the Pacific fleet after Pearl Harbor, has served from the Mediterranean (where its planes downed two Libyan jets in 1981) to the Western Pacific (where the Nimitz provided security for the '88 Seoul Olympics). Iowa Ship: USS Iowa (BB-61) Length: 887 feet Top Speed: 33 knots Main Armament: Nine guns firing half-ton, 16-inch diameter shells up to 20 miles. Tomahawk cruise missiles added in the 1980s. The Iowa Class battleships, in their combination of speed, armor, and punching power, outshone even the Japanese Yamato and the German Bismarck. The Iowa and its three sisters have seen periodic service since the end of WWII. The Iowa's most recent mission was escorting tankers through the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. Ohio Ship: USS Ohio (SSBN-726) Length: 560 feet Top Speed: 20 knots (surface speed) Armament: Harpoon and Tomahawk surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, ballistic missiles. The Ohio was commissioned in 1981, the first of 18 Ohio-class subs. These boats, with their ability to launch long-range ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads, are the most powerful ships ever to see service in any navy. The Ohio can remain at sea for months, if necessary, and still be ready to strike at the enemy. Fletcher Ship: USS Fletcher (DD-445) Length: 376 feet Top Speed: 38 knots Main Armament: Five guns firing 5-inch diameter shells, batteries of anti-aircraft cannons and machine guns. The term "destroyer" was first used in the 1890s to describe the quick little ships that protected battleships against enemy torpedo boats. By WWI the "torpedo-boat destroyers" had become warships in their own right. The Fletcher served with distinction in the Pacific during WWII, and later supported US ground and air forces in Korea and Vietnam. Seahawk Ship: USS Seahawk (PT 813) Length: 199 feet Top Speed: 45 knots Main Armament: Computer-guided torpedoes, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles The original PT (Patrol Torpedo) boats were developed by the United States in WWII as a way of harassing the numerically superior Imperial Japanese Navy. These boats were fast, agile, and packed a surprisingly hard wallop. The last PT boat was launched in 1951. The Seahawk is a contemporary updating of the original design. Battling Ships Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Battling Ships game: The winner in Battling Ships is usually determined by well-aimed missile fire and a bit of luck. Playing good defense (which you can only do before the game starts, during the placement phase) is also a factor, although it's not as important. The main point in defense is that you should avoid placing ships on adjacent grid squares, as is shown in Figure 1. Why? When a ship is hit, your opponent will try to sink it. Under this barrage of enemy fire, any other adjacent ships are likely to be hit as well.
Figure 1: Poor Placement of Ships
When searching for ships, it is better to spread out your attack. Closely-packed missile fire will not cover the board as quickly as a wider spread. Once you have found a ship, your next best strategy depends upon what you have chosen in the game setup options. If you're playing the default setup, where the number of shots a player has in each round is based on the number of his or her remaining ships, you should try to sink the opponent's ship immediately, since it will reduce enemy salvos by one shot each turn (two for the aircraft carrier!). If you're playing with a live opponent, don't dismiss the psychological factor. Your opponent may have consciously or unconsciously formed some pattern while placing ships. If such a pattern exists, finding a few ships may help you to guess the whereabouts of others.
Advanced Strategies for Battling Ships Efficient search patterns can be devised based on the size of the ship you're aiming for. The PT boat is the hardest to find. Figure 2 shows a traditional zig-zag pattern of missile fire that is designed to efficiently locate every ship in a given area (including the PT boat).
Figure 2: Traditional Zig-Zag Attack
The idea here is to eliminate as many "hiding places" for ships as possible, without having to fire a missile into every square. (Each "A" in Figure 2 represents aimed fire.) However, this pattern is not necessarily the best. It doesn't cover the board very quickly. If you're playing the variation where you lose shots when you lose ships, you'll want to find ships as quickly as possible. In this situation, consider alternative methods of finding ships, and consider which ship(s) you want to find first. After an initial hit, how should you go about dispatching the metal hulk to Davey Jones' Locker? One way is the "fast and ugly" method. Suppose you've just scored a single hit on your opponent and you have four shots in your salvo. The quickest means of determining the exact location of the ship is to direct all four shots around the initial hit (Figure 3). This will produce a hit/miss ratio of 1:1 (two hits, two misses) or 1:3 (one hit, three misses). Considering that you've already found the ship, the prospect of wasting three shots is unappealing, if not downright ugly. (The H in Figure 3 represents a hit.)
Figure 3: Sinking a Ship
To improve your accuracy, you may want to divide up your attack over several turns; for example, instead of directing four shots around the initial hit, direct one, two, or three shots (Figure 4). On average, this will result in fewer wasted missiles. (But, pause to weigh your options; balance the need to use your shots wisely against the need to sink the ship as quickly as possible.)
Figure 4: Sinking a Ship Efficiently
See Also How to Play Battling Ships Battling Ships Background Battling Ships is also known under its trademarked name, Battleship™. (In the British Isles, it's called Battleships or Salvo.) How Battling Ships came to be is yet another mystery for games scholars. But the way the game is played, and the names involved, allow us to make a good guess as to when it came to be. First, consider the British name of Battleships. One would expect that a naval-warfare simulation would include aircraft carriers. The British launched the first one, in 1918, though the true potential of these ships wasn't realized until the Second World War. Given the emphasis in the name, we can conclude that this game was developed while battleships still ruled the waves—before 1939. Second, consider the other British name, Salvo. In Battling Ships, you fire up to six shots from your fleet's guns at targets you can't see (perhaps because they're supposed to be at extreme long range). In the days of sail, warships had to get quite close to their opponents for their short-range volleys of cannonballs to have any effect. These volleys were called broadsides, not salvos. Given the emphasis in this name, we can conclude that Battling Ships was developed after sail and wood had been replaced by steam and iron. The American Civil War saw the first use of steam-powered iron vessels, called ironclads, so the decade of the 1860s must be the earliest date this game could've been developed. The word battleship, though it was first recorded in 1794, was not applied to the big hulking monsters of the world's navies until well after the ironclad era. In fact, nobody used "battleship" much at all in the 1800s. Even when, in 1869, the British launched the first oceangoing, iron-hulled warship—the first true battleship—it was referred to as an armored frigate. But, in 1906, the British sent the HMS Dreadnought to sea. They weren't fooling around this time. The Dreadnought carried the biggest guns of its era and didn't bother with any of the small stuff. The launch of the Dreadnought touched off a race among the world powers for naval supremacy and brought the battleship into the public's imagination and everyday speech. Therefore, since no one has been able to determine an exact birthdate for Battling Ships, Hoyle Board Games takes the bold step of declaring that date to be 1906 (or, at the earliest, the decade of the 1890s). How to Play Bump 'em Bump 'em is a competitive racing board game for two to four players. Bump 'em is played by drawing tickets and moving your cars according to the instructions on the tickets. Some move tickets let you move cars onto the track; some let you move your cars forward or backward on the track a certain number of spaces. Others let you switch positions with other players' cars or bump their cars back to their pit row. To get a car onto the track, you must draw one of three tickets: 1 ticket or 12 ticket: either of these tickets lets you move a car from your pit row to your start space. If your start space is already occupied by one of your cars, you will not be able to move a car out of pit row. Bump 'em! ticket: this ticket lets you move a car from your pit row onto a space on the track occupied by another player's car, and send that car back to pit row. (You can only use this ticket if another player has a car on the track.) Once you have a car on the track, you can move it around the track as indicated on the tickets you draw. See Bump 'em Tickets for detailed information on move tickets. To win, be the first player to get all your cars into the finish area of your color.
To play Bump 'em: 1 On your turn, click the Push For Ticket button to get a move ticket. You must get a 1, 12, or Bump 'em ticket 2 If you can move one of your cars, click on the car you want to move, and then click on the space you want to move it to. When a move is not ambiguous, you can right-click a piece to move it automatically. 3 Rules for moving are described below: You cannot land on a space occupied by one of your own cars unless that car is on a turbo space (see below for information on turbo spaces). If you land on a space occupied by another player's car, that car is bumped back to the owner's pit row. (Cars of different players can pass each other without incident; only landing your car on a space occupied by another car will bump that car.) When one of your cars reaches the home stretch of your color, it moves into the home stretch instead of moving forward. Cars in the home stretch are safe from being bumped or swapped by other cars. If none of your cars can legally move as instructed on your ticket (for instance, if you get a Bump 'em ticket but have no cars in your pit row), you cannot use that ticket. If you only have one move available, you must take it, even if it means a negative result for you (like moving backward out of your home stretch). Two special spaces on the board can affect car movement: If you land on an oil slick of another player's color, you slide forward six spaces and bump any cars in your way (other players' cars, or your own!) back to their pit row. (Landing on an oil slick of your own color does nothing.) If your car is on a turbo space, and a car lands on that space (your own car, or another player's), your car is sent zooming ahead to the next turbo space, or into the finish area if the car reaches its home stretch. (You can turn off turbo spaces in the game options.) 4 To win, be the first player to move all of your cars into your finish area. Cars must land exactly in the finish area to finish.
Notes and Tips: Move cars backward past your home stretch whenever possible; this is the quickest way to get your cars home and the safest, as your cars are only on the track a short time. When using the Bump 'em ticket, if you have a choice of players to bump, try not to simply take revenge on the player who last bumped you—bump the car that's closest to its finish area, or the car of the player with the most cars in his or her finish area. Winning is always the best revenge. If you have a car within twelve spaces of your finish area and draw a 12 ticket, you may want to use the 12 to move your car into your home stretch instead of moving another car off pit row; once cars are in the home stretch, they are safe from bumping and swapping (although you may still be required to move them backward, if you draw an appropriate ticket and have no other move). Try to keep your cars on turbo spaces as much as possible, as they are less vulnerable there. You can't be bumped back to your pit row when another player's car lands on that space (in fact, you're moved ahead in the game!). (Note however that you can still be swapped with another car by someone using a 7 ticket, or bumped with a Bump 'em ticket.) Also, the longer your car remains on a turbo space, the more chance there is that someone will turbo your car. Whenever you can, move a car to your finish area; this takes it out of the game. Make this move before any other. If you don't have a move that puts a car into the finish area, the next best move is to get a car into your home stretch. Try not to leave a car in another player's oil slick area (the six spaces beyond an oil slick); you are likely to get bumped! If you have a choice of cars to back out of the home stretch, and this is your only move, move the one closest to the finish area. It will remain closer to the home stretch, and it probably had fewer moves available to it anyway.
Actions Take Ticket Takes a move ticket showing your possible move for the turn. Click the Push for Ticket button on the screen, press the Spacebar, or click Take Ticket on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Bump 'em, click Bump 'em Settings on the Options menu. You can set options for the number of players, game difficulty, and whether to include turbo spaces on the board. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See also Bump 'em Strategies and Tips Bump 'em Background Bump 'em Tickets The tickets in Bump 'em are described below. You can only move your own cars, unless specifically indicated below. 1 Move a car from your pit row to your start space, or move a car on the track one space forward. 2 Move a car on the track two spaces forward. 3 Move a car on the track three spaces forward and then take another move ticket.* 4 Move a car on the track four spaces forward. 5 Move a car on the track five spaces forward. 6 Move a car on the track six spaces forward or nine spaces backward. 7 Move a car on the track seven spaces forward, or switch one of your cars with another player's car (if possible**). 8 Move a car on the track eight spaces forward or split the move between two cars. 9 Move a car on the track nine spaces forward or six spaces backward. 10 Move a car on the track ten spaces forward. 11 Move a car on the track eleven spaces forward, or one space backward. 12 Move a car from your pit row to your start space, or move a car on the track twelve spaces forward. Bump Move a car from your pit row onto a space with another player's car, and send that car 'em! back to pit row!
* You get an extra ticket even if you can't move. ** Both cars must be on the main track (not pit row or the home stretch). finish area
home stretch
pit row
start space Bump 'em Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Bump 'Em game: Move cars backward past your home stretch whenever possible; this is the quickest way to get your cars home and the safest, as your cars are only on the track a short time. When using the Bump 'em ticket, if you have a choice of players to bump, try not to simply take revenge on the player who last bumped you—bump the car that's closest to its finish area, or the car of the player with the most cars in his or her finish area. Winning is always the best revenge. If you have a car within twelve spaces of your finish area and draw a 12 ticket, you may want to use the 12 to move your car into your home stretch instead of moving another car off pit row; once cars are in the home stretch, they are safe from bumping and swapping (although you may still be required to move them backward, if you draw an appropriate ticket and have no other move). Try to keep your cars on turbo spaces as much as possible, as they are less vulnerable there. You can't be bumped back to your pit row when another player's car lands on that space (in fact, you're moved ahead in the game!). (Note however that you can still be swapped with another car by someone using a 7 ticket, or bumped with a Bump 'em ticket.or bumped with a Bump 'em ticket.) Also, the longer your car remains on a turbo space, the more chance there is that someone will turbo your car. Whenever you can, move a car to your finish area; this takes it out of the game. Make this move before any other. If you don't have a move that puts a car into the finish area, the next best move is to get a car into your home stretch. Try not to leave a car in another player's oil slick area (the six spaces beyond an oil slick); you are likely to get bumped! If you have a choice of cars to back out of the home stretch, and this is your only move, move the one closest to the finish area. It will remain closer to the home stretch, and it probably had fewer moves available to it anyway.
See also How to Play Bump 'em Bump 'Em Background Bump ’em is a competitive racing board game created by the Hoyle team at Sierra Entertainment. Two to four players can play. Bump ’em is played by drawing tickets and moving your cars on the track according to the instructions on the tickets. Some move tickets let you move cars onto the track; some let you move your cars forward or backward on the track a certain number of spaces. Others let you switch positions with other players’ cars or bump their cars back to their pit row. How to Play Checkers Checkers is played by two people on the same checkered board that is used for Chess, but there all similarities end. The pieces that make up your army are also called checkers (or simply men), and each army has 12 of them. The checkers of each army are the same color. Whichever colors are used, the side with the darker pieces is called Black and the side with the lighter pieces is called White. The board is placed so that each player has a light-colored square in the corner on the right. The pieces move only on the dark-colored squares. To begin a game, set your pieces up on the 12 dark squares of the first 3 rows of the board. Your opponent does the same. By tradition, Black moves first. Moves alternate after that. You lose the game if your turn comes and you can't make any moves. This usually occurs because all of your pieces have been captured, but sometimes because the ones you have left have been immobilized by your opponent. If neither you nor your opponent has enough of an advantage to win, you can agree to a draw. The pieces move one square at a time, always forward and always diagonally to an adjacent dark square. The exception to the one-square-at-a-time rule is when you are capturing, or jumping, an enemy piece. You can jump if your piece occupies a square adjacent to the enemy, and if there is an empty square on the other side of the enemy. That empty square is the one your piece will jump to. The enemy piece is then removed from the board. If, after capturing an enemy piece, you find yourself next to another enemy and the square beyond that one is empty, you can capture that second piece, too. And so on. You can change direction in these multiple captures, so long as you keep moving forward. Normally in Hoyle Checkers, capturing is compulsory: if the opportunity to capture comes up, you must take it. If you have the option of capturing a piece in either of two directions, you can choose which one to grab. You can change the game settings so that you do not have to jump when a jump opportunity is available; to do this, uncheck the Must Jump If Possible box in the Checkers game settings (click Checkers Settings on the Options menu). This lets you ignore a jump move, if you want, and make a different move. Note that if you do make a jump and have an opportunity to make a second jump on your turn, a Pass button appears on your screen, allowing you to choose not to make the second jump.
King Me The row of squares farthest from each player is that player's King row. On reaching the King row, your piece is crowned and becomes a King. Now it can move backward as well as forward. (If by jumping over one or more of your enemies you land on the King row, your new King can't continue jumping in the same turn even if the opportunity is right there. The act of being crowned requires that the new King end its turn on the King row.)
Playing Checkers If you are playing Black (or Blue for frogs), you must move first. Click a piece and drag it to the square you want to move it to (forward and diagonally to an adjacent dark square). Alternately, you can click a piece to select it, then click the destination square you want to move it to. When you have a King, you can move it forward or backward diagonally. To make a jump, move the piece to its destination. In a double-jump, make each jump separately.
Actions Resign Resigns your player from the current game. This is counted as a loss. You can resign during play by pressing R or clicking Resign on the Actions menu. Request Draw Requests a draw from your opponent. You can request a draw during play by pressing D or clicking Request Draw on the Actions menu. Pass Passes the turn to the next player when you choose not to make a play. You can pass in the middle of a multi-jump situation. For example, if you make one jump and have another jump available that you don't want to take, you can choose to pass instead. Pass is only available when the Must Jump option is turned off in the Checkers game settings. If Must Jump is on, there is no Pass option; you must always make a jump when it is available. You can pass during play by clicking the Pass button (if available), pressing Enter on the keyboard, or clicking Pass on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Checkers, click Checkers Settings on the Options menu. You can set the board type (standard, frogs, or perspective), whether players must jump opponents when a jump is possible, the game difficulty, and more. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. To change your piece color, click the Players tab of the Settings dialog.
See Also Checkers Strategies and Tips Checkers Background Checkers Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Checkers game: Don't start out with the sole idea of trading pieces as quickly as possible. Trade only when you can win a positional advantage (for example, trade pieces if it helps you open a path toward the King Row). The weakest sector in your half of the board is the one with the "Double Corner" (the corner with two playing squares instead of one). This is also your opponent's weakest point. The first Kings are usually crowned here. You'll command the board if you can place your pieces on the center squares (the two immediately in front of your lines and the two immediately in front of them). Once you've occupied the center squares with your pieces, try to exchange in the direction of your opponent's Double Corner. Consolidate your pieces as you advance. A wedge-shaped formation gives you the most security and the most punching power. As you advance each checker, follow it up with a checker from the line behind. Attack as hard as you can when you see large gaps and straggling men in your opponent's position. The best defense is almost always to try to force an exchange of men. This lessens the attacker's power. Never keep all four men on your back row -- you'll find yourself outgunned everywhere else! Keep two men there, preferably one in the Double Corner and one two squares away. Always ask yourself: "Where will I land if I jump?" and "Will that leave my opponent with an opening?" Look closely. Sometimes by offering one man, you can capture two! Don't move to the sides! A piece on the "rim" has had its reach cut in half. This is a typical beginner's error. In the endgame, you must keep your checkers out of the reach of any enemy Kings, and you must push them through to the King Row. Endgames are often won or lost by who has "the move"—in other words, by who moves LAST. Generally, the player moving last will win. If your opponent has "the move," you can take that advantage away from him or her by forcing a one-for-one exchange. In the endgame, one King against one King is a draw (if one can take shelter in a Double Corner). Two Kings against one King is usually a win for the majority side, but three Kings against two Kings is often a draw -- provided the minority side can place one King in each Double Corner. If you have two Kings against three Kings, avoid a one-for-one exchange—you have a good chance to draw with two against three, but not much chance at all with one against two!
Additional Checkers Strategies In Checkers, the overall goal is to keep the balance of power in your favor, which means having more pieces than your opponent. Of course, having six badly positioned men while your opponent has four well-placed kings is not an advantageous situation. But on the whole if you can keep your piece count up, you will tend to win. To get ahead in piece count, you will need to balance offense with defense. If you have a chance to get a king early in the game while keeping your opponent from doing the same, you will be in a good position to mop up several of his or her pieces. But charging out to try to obtain a king early is likely to result in failure, since a piece out front all by itself is likely to be captured. A more reliable strategy for the beginner is to concentrate on defense, trying to avoid positions where you are forced to lose pieces. For the most part, this means keeping your pieces backed up. Backing up your pieces means guarding their rear flanks. Look at Figure 1 to see how the front line of white pieces is protected by the pieces behind them. At the moment, the front pieces are invulnerable to the enemy.
Figure 1: Backing Up Your Pieces
To keep your pieces backed up you often have to move the back-up piece into place first, and then move the front line piece into position in front of it (since if you did it the other way around the front-line piece would be vulnerable for one turn). Figure 1 also shows that white has moved only one piece from the back wall (the very back row of checkers). Keeping pieces on the back wall until you have a good reason to move them is a good defensive strategy since those pieces cannot be jumped where they stand. By keeping your pieces safe, you can try to force your opponent into making a bad move; a move that results in you making a capture with your opponent unable to reciprocate. If you can wear your opponent down in this way, you will be the first to get a king, and then you can go on an offensive attack.
Advanced Strategies Compulsory capture is of the utmost importance in Checkers. It can be used to improve position, obtain double jumps, and sack kings. The computer will use it to your detriment whenever possible (especially to capture a king by sacrificing a regular piece). It can be very difficult to predict when you're being set up for a disastrous forced jump, because it requires you to look ahead a couple of moves. Figure 2 depicts a situation in which black may be feeling pretty comfortable.
Figure 2: A Forced Jump
However, if black isn't careful, red will advance his piece on the right (shown by the arrow) and force a jump ( Figure 3). Red will then execute a double-jump.
Figure 3: Result of the Forced Jump
Experiment with compulsory capture to see how you can make it work to your advantage. Another important tactic in Checkers is trading pieces. This is when one compulsory capture leads to another compulsory capture in return. Some reasons to consider trading pieces are: 1 To prevent a piece from being kinged. 2 To simplify the game. This is especially effective if your opponent is more experienced at Checkers. simpler board setup will be easier for you to read. 3 To strengthen your advantage (if you're ahead). A one piece advantage is more significant if there are only a few pieces left on the board. A fourth reason to trade pieces may come up after a stall. Sometimes in Checkers both players end up stalling (taking inconsequential moves to avoid losing a piece). If this happens, count the turns that are left before one of you is forced into making a bad move. If you find that the count favors your opponent, try to change up the board position by trading pieces instead. Take a look at the board in Figure 4. Often near the end of the game, one or several chases will occur. Here, white is chasing black. Because play occurs only on the dark squares of the board, two of the four corner squares cannot be entered. These corners make better refuge than the others, because it's harder for a piece to get pinned down. Black is heading in the safest direction.
Figure 4: Flight to Corners
See Also How to Play Checkers Checkers Background Checkers has always suffered from a bit of an image problem. It's a medieval offspring of Chess, and it had to grow up in the shadow of its parent, which was at the time wildly popular. And it took several centuries to find the right balance in the rules. Many people look upon Checkers as that game you play until you're ready to learn Chess, but this attitude is mistaken. Checkers is a game with its own depths and complexities. A supercomputer brought down the human champion in Chess (IBM's Deep Blue, 1997); it took a supercomputer just to earn a tie with the human champion in Checkers (the University of Alberta's Chinook, 1994).
The French Mix and Match Checkers is almost certainly a French invention of about the 12th century. It's a mixture of an old Moorish game, Alquerque (pronounced like the city of Albuquerque, minus the third and fourth letters), and Chess. Alquerque is the Spanish corruption of the Arabic el-quirkat. The game was first mentioned in print in a Moorish book published in the 10th century, but its history goes much farther back. One of the ancient temples of Egypt has an Alquerque board engraved in its roof. (Since we know the ancient Egyptians didn't float in midair, we can assume that this board was meant as a decoration. The Egyptians must have loved their games to have used them in this fashion.) Alquerque gave Checkers the 12-man army and the capture-by-jumping concept. Alquerque is played on a latticed board, but the pieces occupy the intersections of the lines rather than the insides of the squares formed by the lines. Chess provided the concept of the checkered board (a European innovation). When the French combined Chess and Alquerque, the Alquerque men moved off the intersections and occupied the Chess squares. Now all the new game needed was a name. Surprisingly, that too came from Chess. When Chess came to Europe, it had no queen; instead, a piece called the fers (a Persian word meaning "counselor") stood beside the King. Because the pieces in Checkers moved like the Fers in Chess, the game was called Ferses, and the pieces, rather than the 12 flat disks we're familiar with, were 12 Ferses pilfered from Chess sets. By the year 1500, the Europeans had replaced the Fers in Chess with the queen—in French, the dame. The queen also knocked the Fers off the checkerboard. (So now the French were using 12 queens per army—and when a queen reached the last rank, it underwent a sex change and became a King. Interesting.) For the next 200 years the French referred to Checkers as Dames, a name that followed the game as it spread across the continent, from Turkey (Dama) to Scotland (where it is still referred to as Dams). In England, however, the game was called Draughts (pronounced Drafts), a Middle English word referring to a move made by the queen in Chess. Draughts is the name the English have continued to use; the pieces are the draughtsmen and the board is the draughtsboard.
The Word Checkers Enters the Language The name Draughts never caught on in several rural, out-of-the-way pockets of England. People there referred to the game as Checkers, after the checkered board on which the game was played. Many of the Pilgrims who set up shop in Massachusetts in the 1600s came from those areas where Draughts was known as Checkers. They not only brought the game with them when they came over on the Mayflower, they brought the name, too. Checkers spread outward from Massachusetts (many New England Indian tribes adopted the game), and wherever English was spoken, Checkers was the name.
Checkers Catches On (Slowly) The indefatigable H.J.R. Murray dug deep into medieval European literature to document the spread of Checkers. In his History of Board Games Other Than Chess, he reports finding only five mentions of the game in the years 1200 to 1500. Four are French; one is English. (The English reference is from a poem by Chaucer, who cleverly plays up the confusion that might result in conversation if one person is talking about Chess and the other Checkers and neither knows it.) In this period too the Church was busy banning every new game that popped up in Christendom, including Chess and almost all card and dice games. But Murray could find no such injunction leveled against Checkers. "It is difficult to resist the conclusion that the game cannot have been very widely known before 1500," he writes— certainly not outside of France, England, and perhaps Spain. Something happened to Checkers in those years leading up to the 16th century, something that made the game much more attractive. Up until then, there were two ways to play Checkers: a) you could choose not to capture an enemy piece when the opportunity came, or b) you were compelled to capture. Compulsory captures is what makes Checkers so interesting, and by the opening of the 16th century this form of play was dominant. (Odd rules from various corners of Europe, such as checkermen not being allowed to capture Kings, had also been ditched.) Checkers then spread eastward, first into Italy (where we have a report dated 1527) and elsewhere in Europe after 1550. The Scots Take Center-Stage The first work in English to focus on Checkers in a serious manner appeared in 1756 (William Payne's Introduction to the Game of Draughts). From here the Scots took over the game, and, in the following hundred years, greatly expanded our knowledge of its possibilities. The Scottish influence is still seen in the names of some of the more popular opening systems, which bear the names of Scottish towns (Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow) and more fanciful notions (the Will-o-the-Wisp, the Laird & Lady, and the Ayrshire Lassie). Given the stormy relations between England and Scotland in the years leading up to their unification, it's believed that the Scots learned the game of Checkers not from the hated English but from the Dutch (in whose armies many Scots fought in the 17th century). The Scottish Dam is certainly closer to the Dutch Damen and the French Dames than the English Draughts.
Checkers in the Modern Era Those of us who don't play in Checkers tournaments usually begin a game by just beginning. Whatever we like to play, we play. This style is called Go-As-You-Please, and on the professional level it results in numerous draws, due to the great knowledge these players bring to the game. The first world championship, held in 1847 (between two Scotsmen, of course), was a Go-As-You-Please affair. In the 1890s, the Two-Move Restriction was introduced, in which the first two moves of a game were chosen by lot from certain pre-approved combinations. The Two-Move Restriction eliminated many draws, though not enough. The Three-Move Restriction was introduced at the 1934 world championship (between two Americans). The participants chose moves by lot from a list of officially sanctioned "three-move openings." This system is still used today (though there's also a separate tournament track for Go-As-You-Please games). A third system, in which one man from each army is removed by lot before the first move, is less popular. (Hoyle's Checkers is solely Go-As-You-Please.)
An Odd Sociological Footnote We all know the stereotype of Chess masters: they eventually go insane. Checkers masters keep their marbles, so to speak, but they seem to die tragically. Some examples: The first American world champion, Robert Yates, took the crown from the Scots in 1874. He died not long after in an accident at sea. He was 24. The 1902 world champion, Scotland's Richard Jordan, was killed in a train accident. In 1927, the United States walloped Great Britain in the Second International Checkers Match (Great Britain had done the same to the US in the first match, played in 1905). Sam Gonotsky, top scorer for the US team, died a few years later. He was in his twenties. In 1949, Willie Ryan tied defending champ Walter Hellman (both Americans). Ryan wasn't particularly young at the time, but he died not long after, just weeks before he was scheduled to play Hellman in a rematch. In 1951, Hellman defeated Maurice Chamblee (American) in a title match. Chamblee soon died, of course. He was in his twenties. How to Play Chess When you set up the board to play Chess, there should always be a dark square in the left corner nearest you and a light square in the right corner. Remember: "Light on the right." The armies are always referred to as White and Black, though Chess pieces are available in many colors. The person commanding the White, or lighter, pieces always moves first. (A player can never refuse to move, no matter how disastrous his options may be!) Each army has 16 pieces: one King, one Queen, two Bishops, two Knights, two Rooks, and eight pawns. Rules of Chess The King The Queen The Rook The Bishop The Knight The Paw n Relative Values of the Chess Pieces Check and Checkmate Draw n Games Castling Chess Notation
Playing the Game
The King If the King is trapped with no escape possible, the game is lost. Therefore the King is by far the most valuable piece on the board. However, as a fighting unit His Highness is simple and slow. The monarch can move in any direction (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), but only one square at a time. (There is one exception to the King's one-square-per-move plodding. See the castling section for an explanation of castling.) The King can capture an enemy soldier only if that soldier is occupying a square adjacent to the King. (Capture describes the removal of a piece during a game. Captures are always optional in Chess, except where the survival of the King is concerned -- see the section on check and checkmate.) The soldier is removed from the board and the King steps onto the square the soldier had guarded. All of the pieces (except, in one special case, the pawn) capture by removing the enemy piece from the board and then occupying the enemy's square. Once a piece is gone, by the way, it's gone: if you lose your Queen, you won't have the use of a Queen for the remainder of the game. (Unless you are able to promote a pawn! See the section on pawns below.) Unlike Checkers, it's illegal in Chess to capture more than one piece at a time.
The Queen The White Queen, at the beginning of the game, stands on a light square in the center of the back rank; the Black Queen stands on a dark one. Two handy mnemonics for remembering where to start the Queen are "Queen on her own color" and "The Queen's dress matches her shoes." The King takes his station on the center square closest to the Queen. The Queen, as a soldier in your army, is as swift as the King is slow. The Queen can move in any direction, and can charge from one end of the board to the other in the same turn. There are two things the Queen cannot do. First, the Queen can't jump over another piece, whether friend or foe. (This is true of all the pieces, except the Knight.) The sovereign must either stop before running into the obstruction or, in the case of an enemy soldier, capture it. Second, the Queen cannot change directions while moving. If the Queen sets out on a diagonal course, for example, that diagonal must be kept to. (Again, this is true of all the pieces, except the Knight.)
The Rook Each army has a pair of Rooks. Each Rook occupies a corner of the board when beginning a game. The Rook has half the firepower of a Queen, as it moves vertically and horizontally but not diagonally.
The Bishop You have two Bishops in your arsenal. Centuries ago, the Bishop was called the "Counselor," and you can understand why when you look at the Bishops' initial positions: one on the Queen's left and one on the King's right, as if one of the royals might ask them for advice. The Bishops move diagonally only. A Bishop can never leave its assigned color.
The Knight Two Knights make up your cavalry. They are stabled one on each flank, between the Rook and the Bishop. The Knight is the oddest soldier in your army, and the one that gives new field marshals the most trouble. That's because the Knight can do two things that no other Chess piece can: The Knight leaps over any piece that lies in its path, friend or foe. The Knight changes direction as it leaps. When the Knight is positioned in or near the center of the board, it can leap to any of eight possible squares.
Though the Knight jumps as if it were a piece in Checkers, it can't capture that way. The Knight can only capture an enemy piece if that piece occupies one of the Knight's landing zones.
The Pawn The stubborn, one-step-at-a-time pawn has a poor reputation. We call people pawns when they appear to be powerless. And yet the pawn is the heart of Chess. Never take your infantry for granted! The pawn has three distinguishing characteristics: It's the only piece that moves in only one direction: forward. It's the only piece that captures in a different manner than the way in which it moves. The King, Queen, Rook, and Bishop capture whatever lies in their path; the Knight captures whatever occupies the square it lands on; the pawn moves in a straight line, but captures diagonally. (The enemy must be on an adjacent square. The pawn occupies the square that held the target piece.) It's the only piece that can transform itself into a unit of vastly greater power. On its first move the pawn has the option of moving one square or two. After that, the pawn may only move one square at a time. When a pawn fights its way through to the last rank on the opposite side of the board, it may be exchanged for any other piece (except a King or another pawn). The new piece begins its career on the square the pawn had occupied. Every time one of your pawns reaches that last rank, you may trade it in for something else. The pawn has one other trick to play, and this may be the most confusing move of all. Say that a White pawn has penetrated Black's camp.
Black could advance his pawn one square, stopping to attack the invader. If instead Black sends his pawn ahead two squares, he bypasses the White pawn, and seems to give White no say in the matter.
In fact, the bypassed pawn has the right to capture the pawn that had rushed by as if it had stopped after just one square.
This is called capturing en passant, a French term for "in passing." The en passant capture works for Black as well as for White, of course. It's also entirely optional.
Relative Values of the Chess Pieces It is vital that you have a clear and reliable notion of the value of each unit under your command. Just as the Pentagon must know what it costs to field an army, you must know, too. If not, you may never get your money's worth when you and your opponent begin capturing each other's pieces. The following table is based on five centuries of practical play. It takes the pawn as the basic unit and calculates each piece's value in those units. What does this table tell us? Suppose you can capture a Bishop while letting your opponent capture your Knight. No harm done: Bishops and Knights are the same value. (An even capture is called an exchange.) However, if you capture a pawn and your opponent captures one of your Bishops, you've made a poor bargain. Chess players say you have "lost the exchange" (your opponent has "won the exchange"). By knowing the relative values of the pieces we can tell which captures would be profitable, which would be costly, and which would be even. Weigh captures and exchanges carefully. When a player obtains an edge in material, he is much more likely to win the game. Superior force usually wins!
Check and Checkmate Your objective on this battlefield is to attack the enemy King in such a way that it cannot escape. An attack on the King is called a check. If the King cannot escape the check, then the check is actually checkmate, and the attacking force has won the game. When your King is checked, you must drop everything and rush to his defense. There are three ways to fend off a check: Move out of the path of the attacking piece. Block the path of the attacking piece with one of your own pieces. Capture the attacker. If your King is in check and you can't move, block, or capture, then you've been checkmated. (Note that in Chess the King is never actually captured. If the monarch is in check and unable to do anything about it, the game is over.)
Minimum Requirements for Checkmate In certain situations, with certain combinations of pieces, it's impossible to checkmate even a lone King. Bishop, Knight, and King are the minimum requirements (even the professionals have trouble with this one!). A King and one Bishop can't enforce checkmate against a lone King. (Since the Bishop travels on only one color, the hostile King is safe whenever he occupies a square of the other color.) Nor can a King and a single Knight enforce checkmate. In any given position there are just too many squares not controlled by the Knight. In fact, a King and two Knights can't pull this off either.
Drawn Games So far it may seem as if all Chess games end in victory for White or Black, just as all baseball games end in a win or a loss. Actually, a game of Chess may end in a draw (a tie). There are several ways in which a game may be drawn: Draw by Agreement. The players can agree to a draw. This may happen for various reasons: because neither player thinks the game can be won, because there isn't enough time to finish the game, or even because the position in the game is a crashing bore! Draw by Perpetual Check. This refers to a position in which one player can keep checking the other player's King, move after move after move, with no possibility of the defending player being able to stop the checks. The assumption here is that the player doing the checking is at a disadvantage in some way, and is deliberately forcing a draw rather than suffering a loss. Draw by Insufficient Material. See Minimum requirements for checkmate above. Draw by Stalemate. This is a situation in which the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. Draw by Repetition of Moves. For this one you'll need to keep a record of the moves in the game using Chess notation (see below) if playing another human; against a computer opponent, the computer will do it for you. If the same position occurs three consecutive times, the game is drawn. Draw by 50-Move Rule. You'll need to record the moves for this one, too (unless you're playing a computer). If a player can demonstrate that the last 50 moves have been made without the capture of a piece or a move by a pawn, that player may claim a draw. (This rule is most often used when one side has only a King.) Defending the King: Castling If you want to ensure a long life for your King, you'd better castle. Castling is the only maneuver in Chess that involves the simultaneous movement of two pieces: the King and one of the Rooks. Castling is carried out with the goal of transferring the King to a safer refuge at the side of the board. There are two types of castling: Kingside, which involves the King and the King Rook (the one in the corner closest to the King), and Queenside, which involves the King and the Queen Rook (the one in the corner farthest from the King). This is the board with the Kings and Rooks prior to castling.
In Kingside castling, White moves his King two squares to the right. The King Rook hops over the King to the square on the King's immediate left. For Black, Kingside castling means just the reverse: the King moves two squares to the left, and the King Rook hops over to the square on the King's immediate right.
In Queenside castling, White moves his King two squares to the left. The Queen Rook hops over the King to the square on the King's immediate right. For Black, the King moves two squares to the right, and the Queen Rook hops over to the square on the King's immediate left. Note that in Queenside castling, there are three squares between the King and the Rook at the start of the maneuver. The King doesn't end up as deep in a corner as in Kingside castling, but the Rook is brought a step closer to the action in the center.
Which kind of castling is better depends on the particular circumstances of a given game. With time and experience will come an understanding of when to castle and on which side of the board. When Castling Isn't Possible There are seven restrictions on castling. Four are temporary (castling might be possible later in the game) and three are permanent (castling will not be possible, period). Here's the list of temporary restrictions: If your King is in check, you can't escape by castling out of it. You can't castle out of check. If a King must travel across a square controlled by an enemy piece, you can't castle. (You can't castle out of check, and you can't castle through it, either.) There's no problem if the Rook rather than the King must pass across a contested square. If the King would end up on a square controlled by an enemy piece, you can't castle. (You can't castle out of check, you can't castle through it, and you can't castle into it.) If a square between your King and the Rook you want to castle with is occupied, whether by one of your own pieces or one of your opponent's, you can't castle.
These are the permanent restrictions: If a player has moved his King before he's had a chance to castle, he can't castle. If a player has moved his King Rook before he's had a chance to castle Kingside, he no longer has the option of castling Kingside. If a player has moved his Queen Rook before he's had a chance to castle Queenside, he no longer has the option of castling Queenside. Even when castling is possible, you can only do it once per game. There's much to remember about castling. It may seem like too much to remember. But it's the single most important action you can take to protect your King. Castling defends and attacks at the same time: simultaneously entrenching the King behind a stockade of pawns on the flank and bringing the long-range firepower of the Rook to bear on the center.
Chess Notation To help us describe the action in a game, we call a horizontal line of squares a rank and a vertical line a file. Each rank has a number and each file has a letter.
Chess notation uses abbreviations for the pieces: King = K Queen = Q Bishop = B Knight = N Rook = R (There is no abbreviation for the pawn.) A move is described by listing the piece, the departure square, and the arrival square. For example, a Rook moving from a1 to a8 is recorded as Ra1-a8 (or, if you want to save space, as Ra8). A pawn moving from e7 to e5 is recorded as e7-e5 (or simply as e5). A capture is described in the same way; you simply list the move the capturing piece made. Castling is recorded by the King's move from its starting point to its ending point (Ke1-g1 or Kg1). Check is noted by adding a plus sign at the end of a move. Checkmate is two plusses. Capturing en passant is noted by adding the abbreviation "e.p." at the end of a move. Pawn promotion is indicated by parentheses: e7-e8(Q) or a7-a8(R), for example. The letter inside the parentheses shows what piece the pawn was promoted to.
Playing Chess If you are playing White, you must move first. Click a piece near its base and drag it to the square you want to move it to. (You can also select a piece by clicking anywhere on its square.) Alternately, you can click a piece to select it, then click the destination square you want to move it to.
Actions Show Captures Shows which pieces each player has captured. Click Show Captures on the Actions menu. Board Style Chooses the style of chess board to play on: there's a choice of two styles of two-dimensional boards or a three-dimensional chess board. You can switch between two-dimensional and three-dimensional boards during the game by clicking the board style you want on the Actions menu or pressing the Spacebar. Undo Takes back your most recent move. Undo is not available when playing the Hard game. You can take back a move by pressing Ctrl+Z or clicking Undo on the Actions menu. Resign Resigns your player from the current game. This is counted as a loss. You can resign by pressing R or clicking Resign on the Actions menu. Request Draw Requests a draw from your opponent. You can request a draw by pressing D or clicking Request Draw on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Chess, click Chess Settings on the Options menu. You can set the style of the game board, the initial board layout (for creating special game scenarios), your starting color, the game difficulty, and whether you alternate colors each game. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Chess Strategies and Tips Chess Background Chess Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Chess game: Three of the main elements of chess theory sound like something out of Star Wars: space, time, and force. Space describes the chessboard as a battlefield, so to speak, with the high ground (key positions) located in middle of the board. Time refers to the important task of moving pieces quickly into attack positions (kill or be killed!). Finally, force is about power—the power of your pieces. Control of space in the opening game is best established by pawns, knights, and (sometimes) bishops. The four central squares (e4, d4, e5, d5) are of highest importance, and control of the center allows you to attack your opponent effectively from either your queen or king side of the board. Figure 1 shows a typical effort to control these squares, after four moves.
Figure 1: Control of Space
It is not necessary to occupy a space in order to control it. Figure 2 shows how the white knight is exerting control over two central squares (marked by black squares) without occupying them. The knight threatens to capture any black piece that tries to advance into the middle. At least as important, any white pawns moving into the center will be protected from capture.
Figure 2: Control of Space (2)
Another important chess concept is time. Time refers to rapid deployment of pieces. Experienced chess players typically do not move any piece twice until they have developed a strong board position. Tactically, this is important because a player who gains the offensive advantage early will often win the game. It is generally agreed that the development of knights and bishops as attack pieces takes precedence in the opening game. Initially, the queen is better off sheltered behind the front lines; if she moves out, she will be attacked by opposing pieces and forced to retreat. Figure 3 shows an example of a strong board position that can be achieved quickly. Here, white's knights and bishops have great flexibility in movement.
Figure 3: Rapid Development of Pieces
To complete the development of your pieces, castle your king (Figure 4). If you neglect to do this, it will be easier for your opponent to pressure your king.
Figure 4: After Castling
After the game has developed, the third basic chess concept, force, becomes relevant. The force a piece has is based on its mobility. The power of a chess pieces determines its point value (e.g., rook = 5 points). Generally, you do not want to make exchanges (trade pieces) if you are going to lose a more valuable piece than your opponent. Note, however, that these values are not absolute, but are approximations. For example, if the queen is blocked up behind a lot of her own pieces, she is ineffective. In terms of real value, she may not be worth her usual 9 points (but wait until she moves!). What this means is that sometimes a player may sacrifice a valuable piece in order to achieve a more important goal, such as a checkmate. Checkmating your opponent, even when you have a big advantage, is not always easy for a novice chess player. Pieces that can move horizontally (queens and rooks) have the easiest time bagging the king. A queen or rook can form an impassable wall across the board, which a king cannot cross (Figure 5). You can use these pieces to isolate the king, forcing him into a side or corner. Moving the rook as shown (Rd2-a2++) will result in checkmate. Figure 5: Mate in One Turn
Advanced Strategies for Chess Learning a few important strategies can help tremendously in improving your game. This section describes the fork (or double-attack), pin, and skewer. The opportunity to employ one of these methods doesn't usually appear unplanned (although you can get lucky). It often requires foresight. You may need to look ahead a couple of turns so you can set something up. A fork describes a situation in which a piece is threatening to capture two enemy pieces at the same time. Figure 6 shows a simple fork maneuver that can be developed in just a few moves. (To attempt a fork this quickly, you must take a risk by violating the previously mentioned principles of time and space. But, hey, life is short. If your opponent is relatively inexperienced, you can make up for lost ground later.)
Figure 6: Setting Up a Fork
The white knight's next move is Nb5xc7+ (shown in Figure 7). This puts the king in check, while threatening the black rook. Notice the key role played by white's bishop. The bishop is protecting the knight from black's queen, preventing her from dissolving the fork by capturing the knight. The result is that black is forced to move the king out of check, allowing white to capture the rook. Figure 7: Executing a Fork
Conversely, if you're playing an experienced chess player, be on guard and try to foresee where your opponent may be attempting to ambush you with a fork. Figure 8 shows an example of a devastating attack using a pin. A pinned piece is one that cannot move without exposing a comrade behind it to attack. In this case, the black queen is being pinned by the white bishop. The queen can't move because the king would be in check. Her best option will cut her life tragically short; she can capture the bishop before going down at the hands of the white rook.
Figure 8: Pin
A skewer is like a pin in reverse. With a skewer, the more valuable piece is out front and forced to move, allowing easy capture of the less valuable piece behind it. In this slightly revised board setup (Figure 9), the bishop forces the queen to move aside. The bishop will capture the rook before being captured himself, winning the exchange (5 points versus 3). Figure 9: Skewer
See Also How to Play Chess Chess Background The game of Chess is a lake, in which a mosquito can bathe and an elephant can drown. —Indian proverb Archaeologists have more than once dug up game pieces that could be chessmen. Some of these items have been judged to be thousands of years old. Did Roman senators, Greek philosophers, or even Egyptian pharaohs play some primitive form of Chess? Was Chess played by the waters of Babylon and in the courtyards of Ur? Given the available evidence (or rather, the lack of almost any evidence), it seems doubtful. Nathan Divinsky, writing in his admirable The Batsford Chess Encyclopedia, sums up the prevailing view: "It seems unlikely that Chess existed long before the year 600 without any references in articulate Greece or in businesslike Rome." The oldest Chess pieces that everyone agrees are Chess pieces date from about the year 600. That's also the approximate date of the earliest reference to Chess in world literature. The writer is Persian, and in his text he mentions a game similar to ours that has been obtained through trade with India: Chaturanga. If you allow a few decades for a new pastime to soak so far into a culture that people begin to write about it, and for that pastime to travel to Persia, we can guess that Chess was invented in India in the 6th century AD.
War By Other Means Chaturanga is a Sanskrit word meaning quadripartite, or divided into four parts. The Indian army of that time was also called Chaturanga, and had four divisions: elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry. This suggests two theories to explain how Chess came to be: 1. Chess was a substitute for war, or a bloodless training ground for war. 2. Chess was a way to recreate real life in miniature, as we do today when we play board games that let us buy and sell fake property with fake money, for example. The moves in Chaturanga were determined by rolling dice. This suggests one more creation theory: that this ancient form of Chess was a way of foretelling the future, or of obtaining messages from gods. David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld, in their Oxford Companion to Chess, offer this scenario: "By controlling the fall of objects on to a divination board the gods could communicate with men. At a later stage dice were added to determine the moves of the pieces and further reveal the celestial mind. Then someone was sacrilegious enough to convert this process to a game, perhaps eliminating the dice. The person who secularized the religious process has, perhaps, the best claim to be the 'inventor' of Chess."
Chess, the Slow-Motion Game Chaturanga was a four-player game. Each player had eight pieces: four pawns, a boat or chariot (our rook), a horse (our knight), an elephant (our bishop), and a king. The moves were determined by rolling red, green, yellow, and black dice. (We don't really know how a set of dice determined moves on a chessboard, as no how-to guides survive from that era.) The elephant could move only two squares on a diagonal, though it could jump over any piece in its path. The pawn didn't have the option of moving two squares on its initial move and, on reaching the eighth rank, couldn't be promoted to anything of importance. Castling didn't exist. There were no queens, with their explosive power to change the course of a game in a single move. The rook, knight, and king moved as they do today. Try conducting a game with these rules. Be sure to set aside lots of time! You'll have to make your own chessboard, too. The ancients used a 64-square board, but none of the squares were colored. (That was a European invention.)
Chess Hits the Road The four-player version disappeared almost as soon as Chess left India. The Persians played only the two-person variety. Each player now had a 16-man army, as we do today, but the pieces were just as limited as described above, even the new "counselor" piece, which stood beside the king. (It's possible that the kings from the two discarded armies of the Indian game became counselors in the Persian.) The counselor could only move one square diagonally, making it hardly more powerful than a pawn. Two-player Chess was every bit as slow as four-player. The Persian game could be played with or without dice. The use of dice didn't stop for at least another half a dozen centuries. The last mention of dice appears in a European literary work of the 13th century, in which a gentleman asks the object of his affections, "Lady, which game will you play? Will you have it with moves or with dice?" The westward dispersal of Chess accelerated in the 7th century when the rapidly expanding Arab empire overran Persia. In the next four centuries, the Arabs produced the best players in the world. The names of some of these champions, and even much of their writings and many of the endgame problems they composed, are still known to us today. Chess also ventured eastward, and as it traveled through Asia it evolved in far different directions from the game Westerners know. In Chinese Chess, for example, pieces are placed not within squares but on the intersections of the lines. A river divides the 9-square by 10-square board; each player has a fortress to shelter in; some pieces can't leave the fortress, some can't cross the river; some of the pieces resemble ours, but there are no queens. Checkmate is still the aim. Japanese Chess, commonly called Shogi in English-speaking countries, came to Japan from China by way of Korea. Shogi is played on a 9x9 board. The pieces are set up on three rows instead of our two. As in Chinese Chess, there are no queens. The more recognizable units (to Westerners) are the kings—but each player has three of them. Even with three kings, the object of the game is still checkmate. Most notable divergence from the Western game: captured pieces change sides!
'The Royal Game' Earns Its Nickname Chess took several paths into Europe. The Arabs invaded the Iberian Peninsula (where the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal would one day rise) and the island of Sicily in the 8th century and naturally brought Chess along with them. The rising Italian city-states, the nucleus for what would one day become Italy, were building economic empires in the Mediterranean; traders from Venice and Genoa soon discovered Chess. No doubt at least a few Crusaders learned Chess while hacking their way through the Holy Land. Chess entered Central Europe through the Balkans and invaded Russia through Central Asian trade routes. Even the Vikings learned Chess and helped to spread it through the more northern lands. By the year 1000, Chess was well-known throughout Europe (though there was no common set of rules). In the Islamic countries, people of all social classes played Chess. In the European countries, at least in the Middle Ages, Chess was a game of the nobility (hence "The Royal Game"). Aspiring knights were instructed in Chess as well as in how to joust, slay dragons, and court ladies. In Europe as in Arabia, women were encouraged to play, and in fact Chess was often referred to as a "game for lovers." In the Camelot stories, Lancelot and Guinevere played Chess. Though the Church occasionally tried to ban Chess (the dice aspect was particularly troubling), the game attracted many followers within religious orders, where it was often seen as a parable of good and evil. "The man who surrenders to sinful thoughts will always be held in check by the Devil and will lose his soul to mate if he does not know how to protect himself," wrote one theologian in 1300.
The European Makeover The period 1400-1600, the ebbing of the medieval era and the flowering of the Renaissance, was the incubator of modern Chess. The Europeans gave the king a queen, complete with all the powers she enjoys today. They also gave the bishop its diagonal strength and the pawn the choice of opening with a one- or two-move step. The Europeans invented castling and the concept of "promoting" a pawn to a queen to "reward" it for successfully completing its journey across the battlefield. Suddenly Chess was considerably faster, and the pieces packed more of a punch! We would be right at home on a chessboard in this time period. For one thing, we could play on a checkered board. Dice and Chess had at last parted company, so we could be sure that any game we played would be a true contest of skill. We could expect everyone to be playing by the same rules. We could even consult a Chess book for advice. The earliest known typeset Chess book appeared within 50 years of the invention of the printing press (late 1500s). The author devoted a number of pages to the old style of play, with its less-powerful and decidedly slower pieces, but this was the last work to do so. The history of the game we call Chess now centers around developments in Europe and the Americas.
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Chess In the Western world, the 1700s were the years of the common people, in Chess as well as in politics. Among the upper classes, gambling replaced Chess as the amusement of choice, but Chess had already filtered down to the everyday man (though women still played, Chess was beginning to be considered a "man's" game). The 18th century gave us revolutions, the first stirrings of the Industrial Revolution, and the concept of the Chess club: a gathering, whether in a coffeehouse, a tavern, or a room, with no other purpose but Chess. In the great cities of Europe, entrepreneurs established Chess places (often called resorts or divans) whose reputations still endure. The first Chess professionals appeared. Rather than relying on one wealthy patron for their daily bread, these hardy souls played Chess for money at the new coffeehouses, gave lessons, and wrote books. (It was in this century that the flood of Chess books began, which today form the largest body of writings on any game ever invented.) Benjamin Franklin, who seems to be responsible for so many firsts in American history, can also be credited with the first American writing on Chess: the essay "The Morals of Chess" (1786). Chess, Franklin wrote, teaches "foresight, by having to plan ahead; vigilance, by having to keep watch over the whole chessboard; caution, by having to restrain ourselves from making hasty moves; and finally, we learn from Chess the greatest maxim in life, that even when everything seems to be going badly for us we should not lose heart but, always hoping for a change for the better, steadfastly continue searching for the solutions to our problems."
Going Global In the 1800s, the clubs of the previous century reached out to each other through the new postal services. One of the earliest and most famous correspondence matches was the four-year battle between the Edinburgh and London clubs (1824-28). The distance the letters traveled was about 400 miles, and each letter took three days to arrive. Edinburgh won the match but Chess won a much larger victory, as the newspapers covered the games and exposed a wide readership to some very exciting play. In the 1830s, clubs in different countries began to correspond. The greatest players of each era had traveled to other countries and tested themselves against the competition there, and fledgling organizations had put together an occasional tournament of champions. But in the 19th century these activities became systematized and commonplace. In 1834, the Frenchman Louis Bourdonnais burnished the honor of France by defeating the British champion, Alexander McDonnell; the British exacted revenge in 1843 when Howard Staunton trounced the French champion, Pierre Saint-Amant. The first international tournament soon followed (London, 1851). In 1872, the German master Wilhelm Steinitz, having defeated everyone in sight, declared himself the world champion; the process of selecting a world champion has continued to this day. By the end of the 1800s, the laws of Chess had been standardized, as had the shapes of the pieces used in tournament and match play (the Staunton design, named for the design's principal booster). There were Chess organizations on the city, state, and national levels, and a system for awarding the coveted title of master to the best players. Chess clocks were being used for all serious games, which prevented players from trying to win by "outsitting" their opponents!
The Information Revolution The 20th century has seen four far-reaching developments in Chess. These are going to make the 21st century an interesting one for Chess players! In no particular order, these are: 1. The Computer: The first "Chess-playing machine" appeared in 1769 (there was a little man hidden inside). Two centuries later, computers can play as well as the human champion of the world (as we saw in February 1996, when Garry Kasparov had to overcome a first-round defeat to take his match with Deep Blue, and in the April 1997 return match, when Deeper Blue psyched out the exasperated Russian). Computers now act as study aids, research tools, and sparring partners for professional players, as instant and always available opponents for the rest of us, and have contributed enormously to our knowledge of the endgame. 2. Female Players Entering the Top Levels of Play: Until fairly recently, Chess was an all-boys club, and it was felt that women just couldn't cut it at the top level of competition. The Polgar sisters of Hungary (among others) have smashed that perception—all three compete at the highest levels of competition, and one (Judit) ranks among the top 20 players, period. 3. Chess in Schools: The former Soviet Union began the practice of teaching Chess as part of its standard curriculum—a practice that has contributed enormously to the iron grip the Russians have held on world Chess since the end of World War II. Now many Western nations are at last following suit. 4. A Global Chess Organization: The Federation Internationale Des Echecs, or FIDE (pronounced FEE-day), has had its troubles, but since 1924 has been a force for unification and world standards. FIDE maintains a numerical rating system for master players, awards titles, organizes the world championship, and runs a biennial "olympiad" that brings together teams from dozens of countries. How to Play Chinese Checkers The goal in Chinese Checkers is to be the first to move all of your marbles into the point (triangular area) opposite your home base. Two, three, four, or six people can play, but never five (because one player wouldn't have an opponent opposite him or her). Two people set up exactly opposite each other. Three people alternate every other point. Four people set up opposite again. Each player starts with a set of 10 marbles set up in the 10 holes or indentations of his home base. Play passes clockwise around the board. You can move one marble on your turn. You can move to any adjacent hole, forward, backward, diagonally, or sideways. If the square next to your marble is occupied by your enemy or by one of your own pieces, but the square on the other side is vacant, you can jump to that vacant square. A marble can make multiple jumps in the same turn.
Playing Chinese Checkers Click a marble and drag it to an adjacent hole. You can also jump over one of your own marbles to get started. To jump multiple marbles, click the marble, then drag it to its final destination.
Game Options To change game options for Chinese Checkers, click Chinese Checkers Settings on the Options menu. You can set the game difficulty. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. To change your piece color, click the Players tab of the Settings dialog.
See also Chinese Checkers Strategies and Tips Chinese Checkers Background Chinese Checkers Strategies and Tips Where can you seek the best methodology for playing Chinese Checkers? The Code of Hammurabi? The Bhagavad-Gita? Your best bet is the nearest playground; leapfrog has much to teach the would-be victor of this racing game. While bounding over several of your opponents' pieces looks impressive, it can leave a marble out in no-man's land, with nowhere to go next. It is better to construct your own marble chains, taking turns leapfrogging over your own pieces. One way to do this is by using zig-zag patterns as you cross the board. For an example of this, see Figure 1. The player with the darker marbles is moving with a zig-zag up through the middle. The piece at the back of the zig-zag can advance two jumps in this example. The only drawback of the zig-zag is that it is easily halted by your opponent.
Figure 1: Zig-Zag Chain
Other patterns work equally well or even better. Figure 2 shows the player on the bottom using a diamond-shaped pattern. Figure 2 also shows the player on the top moving down in a triangular pattern.
Figure 2: Diamond and Triangular Chains
Defense in Chinese Checkers is optional. One defensive strategy is to place your marble in another player's home base. You can maintain this block longer if you place your marble in a home base adjacent to your destination base. If you're behind, this may help you to catch up. Conversely, if others have played this nasty trick on you, make sure their marbles can leave by giving them a way to jump out. (They can't resist a double jump!) Another way to stop your opponent from advancing is to create a diamond-shaped block composed of four marbles. When the block ends, use the diamond to advance your marbles. The construction of marble chains is key in games with two to three players. Different circumstances may call for different types of chains. If your opponent is leaving you alone, construct chains that will allow you to make longer leaps. In the six-player game, the board gets jammed up, and soon you will be forced to abandon subtlety in favor of a more obvious strategy: look for opportunities to jump your opponents. Remember to look backwards. Sometimes, a long forward jump can be achieved in a roundabout way.
See Also How to Play Chinese Checkers Chinese Checkers Background Chinese Checkers owns the oddest name in the Hoyle Board Games package: It wasn't invented in China, and it has nothing to do with Checkers! Everyone agrees that this game first appeared in the late 1800s and that it first became popular in Sweden. This inventor simply took the Greek game of Halma (meaning jump or leap) and changed its look. Halma is played on a square board, Chinese Checkers is played on a board shaped like a six-pointed star. Halma uses flat pieces moving from square to square, Chinese Checkers uses marbles moving from hole to hole. In both games, the object is to be the first to occupy an enemy camp with your own pieces. Although the marbles in Chinese Checkers move by jumping or leaping another marble, as in Checkers, this doesn't mean the two games are related. In Checkers, the jump is part of the business of capturing; Checkers is a war game, and the piece jumped is removed from play. In Chinese Checkers, the jump is just one way of getting around the board; Chinese Checkers is a racing game, and the piece jumped stays where it is. By the way: Chinese Checkers is indeed played in China. (Perhaps the Chinese learned the game from a Swede.) In China, they use 10 marbles per player, as opposed to the 15 sometimes used in Europe. Hoyle Board Games uses the Chinese variation, which is the form also used in the United States. How to Play Dominoes Hoyle Board Games includes four versions of Dominoes; the standard game is Block. The Block and Draw games can be played with two, three or four players, but Sebastopol requires four players, and Fives requires two players. To select Sebastopol or Fives in the game settings, you will first need to have the correct number of players. See Changing Player Settings for help on adding and removing players. Click below for rules for the specific variation you want to play, or click Playing Dominoes for instructions on game controls and options. Block Draw Sebastopol Fives
General Rules Dominoes are rectangular tiles marked with every combination of numbers (21 of them) that can be rolled with two dice. The tiles are called bones. In addition, six bones are blank on one half and one bone is blank on both halves, making 28 bones in a set or deck. The "heaviest" bone is marked with six dots or pips on each end: 6-6. (When comparing bones, one is heavier than the other if it has more dots; the other is lighter.) Bones whose ends are alike (as with 6-6) are called doublets. Each doublet belongs to a single suit. To begin a game (no matter which version), the bones are placed face-down on the board and shuffled (moved around at random). Each player draws a certain number of bones at random to form his or her hand. For the first play, a bone is laid face-up on the board. The next bone laid down must match the first in some way. For example, if the first bone played is the 6-5, the next one down must have a 6 or a 5. You set the new bone down with matching ends touching. One object of a Dominoes game is to get rid of all the bones in your hand. There may also be scoring involved in the course of play. Dominoes variations fall into two categories, according to what you must do when you have no playable move. In the block category, a player with no playable move loses a turn. In the draw category, the player draws more bones from the common pile (the boneyard) until finding one that can be played. If no such bone turns up, the player loses a turn.
Rules for Block This is the simplest variation. If two people are playing, they each draw seven bones for a hand. If three or four are playing, they each draw five. (This distribution of bones is the same for Block and Draw; Sebastopol has its own distribution, as explained below.) The player holding the highest doublet sets it -- that is, lays it down as the first play. The turn to play then rotates to the left. Each play is made by adding a bone to an open, or exposed, end of the layout, with equivalent numbers touching. The layout in Block always has two open ends. Two branches are built off the sides of the set (the doublet that began the game). All doublets are customarily placed crosswise, but this doesn't affect the number of open ends. If a player has no legal move, he or she passes. The game ends when a player gets rid of his or her hand or when no player is able to add to the layout. The player with the lightest remaining hand wins the total number of pips on all the bones remaining in the other hands. Multiple games are usually played until one player reaches the agreed-upon amount of points to win.
Rules for Sebastopol Sebastopol is played similarly to Block. Four people play, each drawing seven bones. The 6-6 is set, after which play rotates to the left of the first player. The 6-6 is open four ways, and the first four plays after the set must fill each opening -- no branch may be extended before these four bones are laid down (unless the Use Sprout Rule option is turned off in the game settings). All other Block rules apply. The Sprout Rule means that branches may not be extended before the first four plays after the set. If this option is turned on in the game settings, the first four branches must be set before any branches can be extended.
Rules for Draw If you've mastered Block, then you have only one thing to remember about Draw: a player having no playable bone must draw from the boneyard until a playable bone turns up. Once the boneyard is empty, a player with an unplayable hand must pass.
Rules for Fives Fives is a scoring variation of Dominoes that belongs to the draw category of Dominoes games. Fives is typically played with two players, with each player drawing seven bones for a hand. In Fives, unlike in most other Dominoes games, you can make certain plays during the game that give you points. As in Draw Dominoes, if a player can't play a bone, he or she must draw from the boneyard until a playable bone turns up. Once the boneyard is empty, a player with an unplayable hand must pass. The first play in Fives depends on the game rules you decide on. In the standard rules, any bone can be played first, not necessarily a doublet. You can change the rules such that the first play must be the highest doublet in the game.
The first doublet played in the game is called the spinner. Bones can be played extending from the spinner in all four directions. Other doublets played in the game after the spinner is played do not extend the play in other directions, only the spinner does. In Fives, as bones are played on the layout, a line is formed called the line of play. Open ends of non-doublet bones at the ends of any lines of play, and doublets touching only one other bone are counted after each play. Scoring occurs if this count (the table count) totals a multiple of five; one point is awarded for every multiple of five in the table count. Thus a table count of 5 is worth one point, 10 is worth two points, 15 is worth three points, and so on. The current table count is shown at the top of the screen. Until a spinner is played in the game, there is only one line of play. When a spinner is added to the layout, bones can be played extending from all four directions of the spinner, so there are potentially two lines of play. Click here for some examples of play: The game ends if a player gets rid of all of his or her hand or when no player is able to add to the layout. Each player scores the number of points he or she earned during the game. The player who went out first (or the player with the lighter hand) wins the hand and scores points for the bones remaining in the other player's hand: the total number of pips on the other players' remaining bones is rounded up or down to the nearest five, and that number is then divided by five. Thus, if the losing player has 23 pips still in hand, the winning player gets five points (25/5); if the losing player has 12 pips in hand, the winning player gets two points (10/5), and so on. Note that 1 or 2 pips remaining in hand would be rounded down to 0 and thus would be worth no points. The winner gets these points even if he or she scored less points in the hand (or the game). Multiple games are usually played until one player reaches the agreed-upon amount of points to win.
Playing Dominoes General instructions for playing all games of dominoes are found here. For specific game rules, see the sections above.
To play Dominoes: 1 Click bones in the center of the board to select them for your hand. The bones you select are moved to your hand. 2 Play a bone to the board by clicking it and dragging it to the position you want to play it. (Bones are positioned automatically.) When there is only one possible play, you can right-click a bone to move it. 3 In a draw game (Draw or Fives), if you don't have any possible moves, go back to the boneyard (right side of the screen) and click bones to add them to your hand until you get one you can play. If you don't have any moves and all the bones are out of the boneyard (or you are playing a non-Draw game), you'll need to pass. The game ends when one player reaches the game score set in the game options.
Actions Pass Passes the turn to the next player when you can't make a play. You can pass during play by clicking the Pass button, pressing Enter on the keyboard, or clicking Pass on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Dominoes, click Dominoes Settings on the Options menu. You can set which game to play (Block, Sebastopol, Draw, or Fives), how many bones to start with (two-player games only), the points to win, and the game difficulty. For all games except Sebastopol, you can also set whether the first play must be a doublet and whether to require that players must play a bone if they can. For Draw and Fives, you can select whether to leave the last two bones in the boneyard (meaning that all bones are not in play). For Sebastopol, you can choose whether to play with the sprout rule. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Dominoes Strategies and Tips Dominoes Background Examples for Fives back to main topic
Simple Scoring
The first player chose the 6-6 doublet as his first play, making 6-6 the spinner. Notice that the figure shows that bones can be played in four different directions from the spinner. Both ends of the spinner were initially open, and so the table count started out at 12 (6+6), which didn't score for the first player, as 12 is not a multiple of five. The other player then played a 2-6, creating a vertical line of play starting with the 2-6 and ending with the spinner 6-6. When the spinner (or any doublet) ends one end of the line of play, both sides of the bone are scored. Therefore, the table count is now 14 (2+6+6): two points for the 2 at one end of the line of play, and six points each for the two 6s in the spinner at the other end of the line of play. This is another non-scoring play.
The figure above shows the third play of the same game. The 6-3 bone was played on the other side of the spinner, and the table count becomes 5 (2+3): two points for the 2 at one end of the line of play, and three points for the 3 at the other end. The spinner no longer counts towards the table count, since it doesn't have any open ends in the line of play. This play is a scoring play: the table score is a multiple of 5, and the player who played the 6-3 scores one point.
Scoring in More Than One Line of Play
In the figure above, the 5-2 bone was the first play of the game, for a table count of 7 (5+2). The 5-5 doublet was then played, becoming the spinner (with a table count of 12 (5+5+2)); bones were then played off the spinner in two additional directions. The table count is now 12 (4+2+6). The 4 and 2 are ends of one line of play, and the 6 is the end of the other line of play. Note that the bottom end of the 5-5 spinner, although it is available for play, is not yet considered in the line of play and is not counted towards the table count. Once a bone is played below the 5-5 spinner, the open end(s) of that bone will be included in the table count.
Playing a Doublet Other Than the Spinner
When a doublet is played on one end of a line of play, both ends of the doublet count towards the score. In the figure above, the 5-5 doublet played at the right end of the layout adds 10 (5+5) to the table count: the table count is thus 20 (5+3+2+5+5). This is a colossally good play, and worth four points. Dominoes Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Dominoes game.
General Strategies The player who spends the least time drawing bones is usually going to win Dominoes. To avoid the boneyard, you need to think about upcoming turns; try to maximize your own options and minimize your opponent's options. Ways you can do this include: playing to your strengths, interpreting your opponent's plays, and determining what bones are unplayed (counting bones). This last category is discussed in the advanced strategies section below. If your hand is loaded with one or two numbers (e.g., 3's and 5's) you can play to this strength. Try to expand your options on both sides of the board. For example, playing the 3-1 on the right in Figure 1 means you can't be blocked next turn by your opponent.
Figure 1: Playing to Your Strengths
Early in the game, you can often glean useful information by paying attention to the bones played by another player. (This is also true later in the game, but to a lesser extent.) For example, when your opponent leaves a 5 on one end of the board, realize that one or several 5's may be waiting in reserve. Be aware of it. Remember that the player with the lightest hand wins. A lighter hand is also better if you lose, as your opponent does not gain as many points. Therefore, when all other factors are equal, play your heavier bones.
Strategy for Sebastopol Because the Sebastopol version of Dominoes has four branches on the board instead of two, it is very difficult to block opponents. The player who takes the first turn often wins. Given the likelihood that you will lose a lot of rounds, it is even more critical to reduce damage by playing your heavier bones in Sebastopol.
Strategies for Fives In the Fives version of Dominoes, earning points during the game is a matter of keeping count and keeping your points on par with your opponent's points. Hold on to doublet blanks and 5s if possible, as well as the 0-5 bone; when your opponent scores, if you can play these in the right way (keeping the table count at a multiple of five), you can also score points. The key to the game is which doublet is used as the spinner. If you have a doublet in hand that you could potentially play as the spinner, look at the other bones in your hand to decide whether it'd be a good play: if you have two or more bones with the suit of the potential spinner (a "suit" in Dominoes simply means the number on one or both ends of a bone), it makes a good spinner. If you only have one bone with the suit of the potential spinner, it is not as good a play. If you have no bones with the suit of the potential spinner, don't use it as a spinner; wait for the other player to play a spinner, and then play your doublet as a doublet. Although earning points when playing bones is important, don't make the mistake of forgetting to lighten your hand as well. Get rid of your high bones as you see your opponent's hand get lighter. If you fail to go out first, or have more tiles than your opponent at the end of the game, your bones in hand can give your opponent as many or more points as the fives points in the game can.
Advanced Strategies Counting bones is the essence of "dominoes domination." You can use information garnered from the counting of bones to block your opponent. Suppose you're the player holding the bones shown in Figure 2. The initial impulse is to play the 4-1 (since you have a lot of 1's), but recall that seven bones in the deck contain 6's. Six of the seven are showing and already accounted for (only the 6-1 is missing). Knowing that only the 6-1 is left—either in your opponent's hand or the boneyard—you can try to block your opponent by placing a 6 on both ends of the board. This could easily force him to the boneyard and set him up for a quick loss. Figure 2: Counting Bones
Figure 3 shows an inverse situation in which you can count bones to your advantage. The purpose here is to prevent yourself from being blocked by your opponent. Here, your hand is weak in 3's and 6's, so you want to avoid these numbers. Playing the 2-1 on the left would be a good option because you can play the 1-1 on the following turn if necessary. However, consider playing the 5-2 on the right instead. By playing the 5-2 there is only one bone left in the game that can hurt you-the 6-2 (the 3-2 has already been played and is out of the picture). If you had played the 2-1, on the other hand, your opponent might respond with the 6-2, 5-1, or 6-1, blocking you (on that side) in each case.
Figure 3: Counting Bones Defensively
See Also How to Play Dominoes Dominoes Background The typical board game is played on a specially arranged board using pieces with specific powers. The board doesn't have to be a portable surface of wood, metal, fabric, or plastic; it can be drawn or inscribed in the ground, or, as in the case of Dominoes, the "board" can be built as the pieces are laid out. Dominoes would appear to be a typical board game—and yet, if you want to learn this game's history, you'll have to start with playing cards. Let's start with the principles behind all card games. There are really only three: the higher cards takes the lower card (Spades and Bridge, for example), similar cards make combinations (Poker and Gin Rummy), and some combination of the two (Pinochle).
The Chinese Have it Both Ways The principle of combining cards by suit or rank is probably the oldest of the three. The evidence? The Chinese version of Dominoes. "Dice is one of the oldest games of chance, and Dominoes are only a different arrangement of the dice markings," writes Catherine Perry Hargrave in The Fireside Book of Cards. In the 1920s, Hargrave researched not only the history of playing cards but also how cards fit into and reflected their societies. "Both games very probably originated in China, and the Chinese seem to have been playing the domino game, either with tablets made of ivory or bone or with slips made of parchment or early paper, at the time when paper money was also being used to play a card game." The Chinese invented printing and paper money in the years 600 to 900. People began playing with the money almost immediately (as well as spending it!). Playing cards most likely evolved from this money, and one kind of playing card became the equivalent of our Dominoes. Chinese Domino cards included a set of 21 cards with markings of red and black dots (corresponding to the pips on our Dominoes bones). There were also as many as four extra suits with fanciful decorations instead of dots. These decorations included chrysanthemum blossoms, bamboo, butterflies, bats, crabs, coins, scrolls, mythical figures—you get the idea. "There is a theory," Hargrave speculates, "that these domino cards also found their way into Europe in the 13th century, and that [the mythical figures] became the stranger persons on the 21 high cards of the Tarot series." We note this theory here only because of the sense of wonder it imparts. Dominoes were not reliably reported in Europe before the 18th century (see below), by which time the Tarot was well-established. Whatever may have become of these figures, there seems to be a clear connection between Dominoes and playing cards. Merilyn Simonds Mohr makes the case in The Games Treasury, pointing out the playing-card terms in Dominoes. We shuffle the bones before each game, draw bones to form a hand, and dig in the boneyard when we can't play (which Mohr calls the equivalent of the expression Go fish). The 28 bones make up a deck, and the deck can be broken into suits (one suit is all the bones with one blank half, a second is all the bones with one pip on one half, etc.).
Dominoes Takes Its Time Leaving China Though dice spread relatively quickly around the globe, Dominoes was a sluggard. Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon were firmly entrenched in Europe before the first mention of Dominoes appears (in Italy in the early 1700s). It was mostly likely brought to Italy by merchant traders, though that still doesn't explain the tardiness of the game's arrival. Dominoes spread to France and then to France's colony in Canada. When the British defeated the French in the Seven Years War (1756-63) and took control of Canada, French POWs brought Dominoes to England, where they found an enthusiastic following. Joseph Strutt, an Englishman who compiled one of the first serious studies of games in English (Sports and Pastimes, 1801), thought Dominoes "a very childish sport." Dominoes, Strutt huffed, "could have nothing but the novelty to recommend it to the notice of grown persons in this country." Strutt was a better researcher than a judge of public taste, and Dominoes has been one of the world's more popular pastimes ever since. How to Play DoubleCross DoubleCross can be played with two, three, or four players. You can play against human players or Hoyle characters. For help on adding and changing players, click here: To play, you make words on the grid and try to score as many points as you can to beat your opponents. Rules for placing tiles, making words, and playing on special spaces are described below.
Placing Tiles Words can be made either across or down, crossword-style. All tiles you place must extend from one or more stable letters. You cannot place a tile that extends from an unstable tile.
Each tile must be placed next to a letter on the board. Therefore, if you are adding letters to the front of a word, you must place the tiles backwards so that they extend from the word. In the example below, to make RID, you must first place the letter I and then the letter R. You can't place the letter R on the board first, because it would not be next to another letter on the board.
Making Words Each tile you place must be part of a word or partial word. A partial word is a word that can have letters added to it to make a complete word. If the tile doesn't make at least a partial word, then the tile is destroyed, your turn ends, and you lose points for the destroyed tile. If you add a V to MAI, below, the V is destroyed, because MAIV is not a partial word (it can't be made into a complete word).
A word must meet the minimum word length (usually three letters, but can be set to four letters) to be considered a legitimate complete word (otherwise its tiles will remain unstable). Words having fewer letters than the minimum are considered partial words (even if they form actual words). Tiles become stable when they make complete words. If a letter is still included in any partial words, it is unstable and can be destroyed by bombs and in other ways. In the example below, T is unstable, even though it is part of the completed word RIOT, because it is also part of the partial word TA. When TA is completed, the T will become stable (like the O, which is part of the completed words RIOT and FROGS).
Making Partial Words You can make a partial word even if it is not possible to ever complete the word (for example, if the word is built near the edge of the board or if other tiles are in the way). Two different partial words can extend in two opposite directions from the same stable letter. In the example below, both OAD and DUE are partial words (ROAD and DUET, for example), but OADUE is not a partial word.
As soon as either of the words are completed, tiles on the other side of the stable letter are destroyed if they are no longer included in any partial words. In the example below, making ROAD will destroy both unstable tiles on the other side, since they aren't used in other words. (If U or E was used in a partial word, it would not be destroyed.)
If a tile is placed next to a series of letters, all letters up to the first stable letter (and all adjacent stable letters) are required to be part of a word, but letters on the other side do not need to be included. In the example below, although the blue T is placed next to a long string of letters, only TH is required to be a word or partial word. The letters A, T, and E are ignored.
Even though not all adjacent letters are required to be a word or partial word, if a word is created, it is made stable. In the example below, only RTS is required to be a word or partial word. However, because DARTS is a complete word, it is made stable.
Rules for Playing on Special Spaces Click here to learn about special spaces in DoubleCross: For a special space you play upon to take effect, you must make a legal play on it. For example, if you don't make at least a partial word when placing a tile on a bonus point space, you won't get the bonus points. (Your tile is destroyed, you lose your turn, and the bonus point space remains on the board.) Letters aren't made stable until after any special spaces they are placed on take effect. Therefore, playing on a colored bomb might destroy a tile before it has a chance to become stable. After a bomb destroys tiles, any unstable orphaned tiles are destroyed, and points are deducted from the tiles' owner(s) score(s) for each blown up tile. Sometimes, when tiles are destroyed, other tiles can be made stable. If the destruction of a tile causes another unstable tile to no longer be part of any partial words, it will become stable. The exception is if the tile is in the "line of fire" of the bomb's explosion, in which case it will be destroyed even if the explosion of a previous tile would cause it to be made stable. Note that the player who owns the tile will get appropriate points for it being made stable. Note, too, that it is possible to form a word by blowing up a tile. In this case, the player who placed the bomb gets the points for the word.
Playing DoubleCross The gameplay for DoubleCross is described below.
To play DoubleCross: 1 The frame around your player flashes when it's your turn. Make words on the board by moving tiles to the board. There are two ways to move a tile: you can drag a tile from your rack to the board, or click the tile and then the board. 2 There are two rules for playing a tile: The tile must be part of a word or partial word. A partial word is a word that can have letters added to it to make a complete word. If the tile doesn't make at least a partial word, then the tile is destroyed, your turn ends, and you lose points for the destroyed tile.
The tile must extend from a stable tile. If you try to extend a tile from an unstable tile, it is returned to your rack.
3 You get points if you complete a word of three or more letters (or four or more letters, depending on your game settings). You also get points for making any of your tiles stable. A tile is made stable when all the words it is part of are complete words. In the example below, both O and P are made stable when MOP is created.
Click here for more information on scoring: 4 Playing on special spaces on the board can give you points or cause other events to happen. Click here to learn about special spaces in DoubleCross: 5 Click the Pass button when you are done playing tiles. To get new tiles instead of playing, click the New Tiles button at the start of your turn; your turn is passed to the next player. (You can only get new tiles if you haven't played any tiles yet this turn.) 6 When your turn ends, your rack is refilled, and the other players play their turns. If another player makes any of your tiles stable on his or her turn, you receive points for those tiles. 7 The game is over when: There are no more tiles left (an indicator at the upper left corner of the screen shows how many tiles remain) and a player has no more tiles at the start of his or her turn. OR No one plays a tile during his or her turn and the last player not to play chooses to end the game. At the end of the game, points are deducted from each player for tiles in their hands and for their unstable tiles on the board. The player with the most points wins the game.
Actions Pass Passes your turn to the next player. You can pass at any time. To pass, click the Pass button on the screen, type P, or click Pass on the Actions menu. Get New Letters Replaces all your letter tiles with brand new tiles and passes your turn to the next player. You can only get new letters if you have not played any letters yet during this turn. To get new letters, click the New Letters button on the screen, type G, or click Get New Letters on the Actions menu. Undo Undoes the last tile you played on the current turn, if placing that tile did not complete a word or stabilize any letters and the tile wasn't played on a special space. To undo, type U or click Undo on the Actions menu. Pause/Resume Pause pauses the game and hides the game board during timed games. To pause, click the Pause button on the screen or select Pause from the Actions menu. The Pause feature is disabled during untimed games. Resume starts the game again and reveals the game board. To resume, click the Resume button on the screen or click Resume on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for DoubleCross, click DoubleCross Settings on the Options menu. You can set options for the special spaces on the board (see Special Spaces for more information), minimum word length, time you have to play, and more. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
Notes and Tips: You can play a directional bomb at the start of your turn and still get new letters. Sometimes while placing tiles to make a long word you might unintentionally form a complete word. Words are completed as soon as letters are placed on the board. Therefore, placing the tiles E, N, and D next to M to make the word MEND would first form the complete word MEN, then the complete word MEND. You can still play the word, you just get points for completing two words instead of one. Some partial words played by Hoyle characters may not seem to make complete words—but the Hoyle characters always play fair! Some examples: the partial words RDH, THQ, and NDLO make the compound words BIRDHOUSE, EARTHQUAKE, and LANDLORD; the partial words AYU, GISL, and MAGO make the long words PICAYUNE, LEGISLATE, and DEMAGOGUE. Near the end of the game, you are penalized more for tiles in your hand than unstable tiles on the board; so when you see that the number of tiles remaining in the game (shown at the top of the screen) is low, consider trying to play as many tiles to the board as possible; others may use them in words and make them stable. For more strategy tips, click here:
See Also DoubleCross Scoring Special Spaces in DoubleCross DoubleCross Strategies and Tips DoubleCross Background DoubleCross Scoring DoubleCross scoring is described below. Note that plays made by other players can affect your score, and plays you make can give points to other players. Your score can never go below zero. Completing a word +1 point per letter in word For each tile made stable in a completed word +1 point times letters in word Playing on a colored bomb +8 points Playing on your own colored bomb +16 points Picking up a directional bomb* +2 points Picking up a multi-directional bomb* +4 points Having a letter blown up (by bombs or illegal plays) -4 points Having tiles left in rack at game end -4 points per tile Having unstable tiles left on board at game end -1 point per tile
* You get points for bombs even if you don't have room in your tray for more bombs.
Scoring Example:
In this example, the yellow player, Madeline, makes the word STEM by adding the tiles E and M to the red tiles S and T. Madeline gets 12 points total: 4 points for making a four letter word, and 4 points for each of her letters that was made stable (E and M). However, the red player, Matthew, also gets 4 points for this play, because his unstable tile S was made stable by Madeline's play.
See Also How to Play DoubleCross Special Spaces in DoubleCross DoubleCross Strategies and Tips Special Spaces in DoubleCross DoubleCross has five different types of special spaces that have different effects on the game. All of these spaces are optional and can be turned on and off in the game settings. You must make a legal play for a special space to be activated. (Note that you do not have to complete a word, however.) If you make an illegal play, the space is left on the board.
Bonus Point Spaces Bonus point spaces give you bonus points when you play on them. Each space will start out as +5 points. When you play a tile on one of these spaces you immediately get the number of points shown on the space, and the value of each bonus point space remaining on the board is increased.
Mystery Spaces Mystery spaces do unpredictable things. You never know what might happen when you place a tile on a mystery space. The only way to find out is to try it!
Colored Bombs Colored bombs are placed in the corners of the game board. There is at least one colored bomb with each player's color in any game. If you play on a colored bomb that's a different color from your color, all of the unstable tiles of the same color as the bomb are destroyed. Any unstable orphaned tiles are also destroyed, and the tiles' owner or owners lose points for those tiles. If you play on your own colored bomb, the bomb is considered defused and will not go off, but you will get points for defusing it.
Directional Bombs A directional bomb can be used to destroy all unstable tiles in its path (indicated by its arrows). Tiles are destroyed regardless of color. There are three types of directional bombs: north-south bombs, east-west bombs, and north-south-east-west bombs.
The north-south bomb can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same column as that square.
The east-west bomb can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same row as that square.
The north-south-east-west bomb can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same row and column as that square. Directional bombs are different from bonus point spaces and colored bombs in that they don't go off immediately. When you play on a directional bomb space, it is moved to your rack, and you get points for picking up the bomb (you get 4 points for a north-south-east-west bomb, and 2 points for the other directional bombs). If you already have two bombs, you don't get any more, but you still get points for playing a tile on a bomb.
Blocking Spaces Blocking spaces are spaces on the grid where no tile can be placed. These spaces are usually dispersed randomly on the grid. You can turn on grid mode to place blocking spaces on every other square. See the help in the Settings dialog box for more information.
See Also How to Play DoubleCross DoubleCross Scoring DoubleCross Strategies and Tips
DoubleCross Strategies and Tips Try these hints and tips to improve your DoubleCross game: Make the biggest possible words, using the fewest unstable tiles of your opponents. It's important to get to the bonus point spaces, mystery spaces, and bomb spaces before your opponents do. Bonus point spaces are a great way to get points, and you don't have to make a complete word to get the bonus points! Make as many complete words as possible when you play tiles; unstable tiles can cost you points in the future. And making tiles stable is worth as many points as completing words! When playing on another player's colored bomb, note that the bomb may orphan some of your unstable letters, destroying them. Know the consequences before playing on a colored bomb. When placing a directional bomb, maximize your opponent's destruction, but minimize your own. Holding on to directional bombs until you need to clear tiles off the board can give you an important edge. Note that playing a directional bomb will cause remaining letters to stabilize if they make a complete word. The distribution of tiles in DoubleCross (including tiles in the starting word) is as follows: A=10, B=3, C=3, D=5, E=13, F=2, G=4, H=3, I=10, J=1, K=2, L=4, M=4, N=6, O=9, P=3, Q=1, R=7, S=6, T=7, U=4, V=2, W=2, X=1, Y=3, Z=1.
See Also How to Play DoubleCross DoubleCross Scoring Special Spaces in DoubleCross Pictures colored bomb A bomb that blows up all unstable tiles of that color, unless played on by the player of the same color, in which case it is defused (does not go off). directional bomb
The north-south bomb can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same column as that square.
The east-west bomb can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same row as that square.
The north-south-east-west bomb can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same row and column as that square. multi-directional bomb
(Also called the north-south-east-west bomb). Can be placed in any square of the board to destroy unstable tiles in the same row and column as that square. Definitions orphaned tiles Tiles that are no longer connected to other letters are orphaned. If these tiles are unstable when they are orphaned, they are destroyed. Otherwise, they stay on the board, and you can place tiles extending from them. partial word A partial word is a word that can have letters added to it to make a complete a word. A partial word can be the start, end, or middle of a complete word. CAU is a partial word, because it could make CAUSE or CAUTION. OLL is a partial word, because it could make ROLL or POLL. NDS is a partial word, because it could make SANDS or SANDSTORM. Note: If you are playing a game with a four-letter minimum word size, complete three-letter words are still considered partial words. Both CAT and BIN would be considered partial words in a game with four-letter minimum word size. stable and unstable tiles A tile is unstable if any of the words it is part of are not complete words. An unstable tile has a colored background:
A tile becomes stable when it is placed on the board and all the words it is part of are complete words. Once a tile is made stable, it cannot become unstable, even if it is used as part of a partial word. A stable tile has a black background: DoubleCross Background DoubleCross is an exciting and competitive word-building game created by the Hoyle team at Sierra Entertainment. DoubleCross is unique because it allows players to place partial words as well as complete words. A partial word is a sequence of letters that can be extended to make a complete word. A partial word you play in one turn can be finished (by you or another player) in another turn. Another distinguishing feature of DoubleCross is its customizable game board; special spaces, such as bombs and blocking spaces, can be placed on the board to make gameplay more challenging. You can also opt for a timed or untimed game (depending on how fast you like to play!). The goal of DoubleCross is to score the most points at the end of the game. You earn points by completing words and playing on bonus spaces, and you can take points away from other players. How to Play Master Match You can play Master Match with one or two boards. In the standard two-board version, there are two Master Match boards, and each player makes a code for the other player to guess. Then, you and the other player simultaneously try to guess each others' codes. In the one-board version, you play with one Master Match board. If you're playing with a computer player, that player makes a code for you, and you try to guess it. If you're playing with a human player, you take turns making and guessing codes. One player makes a code by combining different colored pegs, and the other player tries to guess the code in as few tries as possible. To play, one player secretly places a number of pegs at the top of the board; those pegs are then hidden. The other player then makes a guess by placing pegs on the Master Match board. The results of the guess are then shown. The blue Correct Place & Color result tells you how many pegs are the correct color and are in the correct place, whereas the white Correct Color result tells you how many pegs are the correct color but are not in the correct place. This information helps you make an educated guess at the code in future turns. Click here for an example of how this works: Normally, each peg in the secret code is a different color; for a more challenging game, uncheck the No Duplicates option in the game options. Note that regardless of this setting, you can use two or more pegs of the same color when you guess.
Playing Master Match
To play: 1 If you are making a puzzle for the other player, create a code for the other player by moving pegs to the board. Then click the Submit Puzzle button. There are three ways to move pegs to the board: Drag each peg to the appropriate peg hole. Click a peg in a peg tray and then click a hole. Right-click on one of the peg trays to automatically move a peg of that color to the next available peg hole. You can move a peg by dragging it from one peg hold to another. To remove a peg from the board, right-click the peg, or drag it away from the current row. 2 To make a guess on a puzzle made for you by the other player, move pegs to the board (as described above). For your first guess, use the bottom row. For each subsequent guess, move up one row. You must place a peg in each hole. 3 When you've made your guess, click the Match button next to your guess to see how you did. 4 Continue guessing until you guess the code or run out of guesses (you run out when you fill every row on the Master Match board). If you're playing the two-board non-scoring version, the game also ends if the other player guesses your code. Master Match Versions You can play Master Match with one or two boards. In the standard two-board version, there are two Master Match boards, and each player makes a code for the other player to guess. Then, you and the other player simultaneously try to guess each others' codes. In the one-board version, you play with one Master Match board. If you're playing with a computer player, that player makes a code for you, and you try to guess it. If you're playing with a human player, you take turns making and guessing codes.
Scoring You can play with or without scoring (you can set this in the game options). If you're playing without scoring, you play until the code is guessed. If you play with scoring, you play multiple games. For each game, you get one point for each row it took the other person to guess your code. (If the other person didn't guess it, you get one point for each row of the board plus a bonus three points).
Actions Submit Puzzle Submits the puzzle you created for the other player to guess. You can submit a puzzle by clicking the Submit Puzzle button, pressing the Spacebar, or clicking Submit Puzzle on the Actions menu. Match Checks to see if the pegs you've placed match the hidden code, and displays information about how well they matched. You must have all four peg holes filled before you can try a match. To try to make a match, click the Match button next to your current guess, press the Spacebar, or click Match on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Master Match, click Master Match Settings on the Options menu. You can set whether to play with one or two boards, whether to use scoring (and how many points required to win if using scoring), whether to allow duplicates, the number of rows, colors, and pegs to use, and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See also Master Match Strategies and Tips Master Match Background Master Match Guess Example In the example below, your first guess (on the bottom row) gives a match result of 1 | 2. This tells you that one peg is the correct color and is in the correct place, and two pegs are the correct color, but are not in the correct place. For your second guess, the match result of 0 | 2 tells you that two of the pegs are the correct color, but none of the pegs are in the correct place.
You learn at least two things from the combination of these two results: Although you used three of the same colors of pegs in your first and second guess, in your second guess, only two pegs were the correct color (three were correct in the first guess). So you know that yellow (the only color you omitted) is definitely in the puzzle, and the new color, purple, is definitely not in the puzzle. Although you left white in the same place in each guess, the result for Correct Place & Color changed from 1 to 0 (nothing), so you know that white is definitely not in the correct place. For your next guess, you should add a yellow peg to your guess, and you might want to try guessing white in a different place. Note that although you know yellow's in the puzzle, you don't know which of the other colors in your first guess is correct or incorrect. Master Match Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Master Match game: Be sure that each guess you make is consistent with all the results you've had in the past. If your first guess tells you that three colors are right, keep three colors in the next guess. If your first guess tells you that one peg is in the right position, keep one peg (and only one) in one of those positions for future guesses. If one color is eluding you, try placing multiple pegs of that color in your guess. Placing four red pegs in a row will tell you definitively whether red is in your puzzle. This may also be a useful strategy for the beginning of the game.
See also How to Play Master Match Master Match Background Code-breaking games like Master Match have been popular for quite some time. Requiring little more than a piece of paper and a logical mind, these puzzles are favorites of mathematicians, physicists, cryptographers and other lovers of logic, but are easy enough for anyone to understand and can help teach valuable analytical skills. In Master Match, one player creates a puzzle, and the other player tries to guess it as quickly as possible, by analyzing the results given by the code creator as to accuracy and position. The original concept for Master Match comes from Jotto, a game that's been around for hundreds of years. In Jotto, a player creates a word for another player to guess. Code breaking games have been made with colors, numbers, and letters. Games using colors are popular as it can be easier to visualize patterns. How to Play Pachisi Players move their pieces out of their starting area, take one trip around the track, and head up the middle toward home. The player with the lowest roll of one die goes first (ties are broken with another roll). Players cannot move their pieces out of the starting area until they roll a five, either on a single die, or as a combination of both dice. When you roll a five, move your piece to the black square with the dot in your color (your entry space). After the piece is on this space, you can then use other rolls to move it. If you don't want to use one of the die values in a given roll, choose Pass. A piece can be bumped back to its starting area if an enemy piece lands on it. You can't bump a piece that occupies a safety space (a black space), except in the case of entering your own entry space from your starting area. Two pieces on the same space form a blockade. No pieces can move past the blockade (not even pieces of the same color). You cannot use a doubles roll to advance a blockade to a new space. No more than two pieces can occupy a space at the same time. When you roll doubles, you get another roll. In one game variation, if you roll doubles three times in a row your piece closest to home is sent back to the starting area. When you get near home, use the middle row of squares (the "home stretch") to go to the final home square. You must roll the exact number needed to get to the home square. Tip You have the option of bypassing your home stretch and making an additional circuit around the board. You might want to use this tactic to bump the piece of another player who might be in the lead or on the verge of winning. When you get a piece home, you get a 10 space bonus, which means you can move one of your pieces 10 spaces. When you bump someone, you get a 20 space bonus, which means you can move one of your pieces 20 spaces. If you cannot or choose not to use a bonus on the present turn, you lose it. The first player to bring all four pieces home is the winner. After one player wins, you have the option to have other players continue playing the game.
Playing Pachisi When you are ready to start play, click your starting area to roll one die. The player with the lowest roll goes first. Ties are broken by another roll. On a regular turn, click your starting area to roll two dice. Move your pieces by dragging them to the desired space. When a move is not ambiguous, you can right-click a piece to move it.
Actions Pass Passes the turn to the next player when you can't move or you prefer to pass after using one die value to move. You can pass by clicking the Pass button, pressing Enter, or clicking Pass on the Actions menu. Roll Dice Rolls the dice for your turn. You can roll the dice by clicking your starting base on the game board, pressing the Spacebar, or clicking Roll Dice on the Actions menu. Undo Takes back your most recent move. You can take back a move by pressing Ctrl+Z or clicking Undo on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Pachisi, click Pachisi Settings on the Options menu. You can set what happens when three doubles in a row are rolled and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Pachisi Strategies and Tips Pachisi Background Pachisi Strategies and Tips Try these strategies and tips to improve your Pachisi game: One decision you'll need to make in Pachisi is whether you want to take an aggressive or conservative approach. Invariably, the former will land you back in your starting square and hoping for 5's. We recommend the conservative approach, however, being aggressive does pay off big dividends if you can bump another piece: you get a 20-space bonus! Conservative play involves entering safety spaces and avoiding being bumped by your opponent(s). You should end your move on a safety space whenever possible. Avoid leaving a safety space unless your piece is relatively safe from enemy pieces. It is also important how far around the board your piece has traveled. Obviously, you do not want to risk a piece that has almost reached the safety of your home stretch. Figure 1 shows an example of taking a conservative approach (the arrows mark possible moves by green).
Figure 1: Playing Conservatively
Here, green might like to advance the front piece as far as possible: seven spaces. However, it is a poor risk. Blue and red, though not dangerously close, are close enough to warrant concern (doubles makes everyone a threat!). Because green's front piece has advanced almost completely around the board, green's first priority should be to keep it safe from attack. He should move this piece three spaces (onto the safety space), and move his other piece four spaces. Remember: 5's and 7's are the magic numbers. They will take you from one safety space to another.
Advanced Strategies for Pachisi Even if you play conservatively, at times you will have to endanger your pieces by advancing them forward unprotected (i.e., they're not ending on a safety space or in a blockade). The key is to move the piece that will be least threatened by your opponents. Try to stay at least eight spaces (the more the better!) ahead of your closest opponent. A piece usually moves seven spaces or fewer in a given turn. Of course, also consider the number of enemy pieces behind you; three pieces eight, nine, and 10 spaces back are far more likely to get you than one piece one space back! You have the option of using just one of your die values, passing on the other. Use this rule to avoid placing a piece in danger. Figure 2 shows a situation in which passing on a move is a wise choice. Green can take yellow by moving six. This is definitely good. However, after taking yellow, green can move zero, three, 20, or 23 additional spaces (with the 20-space bonus). Using the 20 will put him in considerable danger from blue and red. Moving three spaces is the less risky option.
Figure 2: Passing
Use blockades wisely by breaking them up carefully. If you allow enemy pieces to bump you as soon as you break up the blockade, what's the point? A good place to build a blockade is on your entry square. The best time to build it is upon entering your last piece into play. This will allow you to continue advancing pieces while slowing down your opponents.
See Also How to Play Pachisi Pachisi Background Racing games have been developed by almost every culture on Earth. When the Conquistadors landed in Central America, they were surprised to find the Indians playing a game on a cruciform (cross-shaped) track with some resemblance to Pachisi. Pachisi is a Hindu word meaning 25, a reference to the method of scoring used in the original game. It's an old game, perhaps dating from the era in which the Indians (of India) invented Chess (6th century AD). It's still popular in India. The Pachisi we're familiar with in America was patented by an Englishman in 1896. He called it Ludo, but in this country we call it by its ancient name (though we use the Ludo rules). The modern board is square, but the track on which the pieces race is still cross-shaped. Americans also know this game as Parcheesi™ (introduced in Britain in 1874), Sorry!™, which uses cards and a square track instead of dice and a cross-shaped track, and Trouble™, which uses dice in a plastic bubble in the center of the board. You push on the bubble to "throw" the dice. The track is a square. It's worth mentioning two aspects of Pachisi (besides its name) that help to identify its origins: First, the pieces move counter-clockwise; this is generally thought to be characteristic of Asian games. In most Western games, the pieces move clockwise. Second, certain squares on the Pachisi board act as "castles" in which the pieces of one player (or one team) may take refuge and not have to worry about being bumped back to the beginning of the course. In some early forms of Chess, particularly as that game spread eastward toward China, each side could send at least a few pieces to safety inside a castle or citadel. How to Play Reversi Players take turns placing pieces on the board, with black (or purple) playing first. You can only play a square that causes one or more of your opponent's pieces to become sandwiched between your pieces, and thus flipped. Only sandwiches formed by newly placed pieces count; sandwiches that result from stones being flipped do not themselves cause other stones to be flipped. The player with the most pieces showing his or her color at the end of the game is the winner.
Playing Reversi Your piece color shows as a dot above your player's nameplate. When your dot is flashing, it's your turn. A transparent piece shows when the mouse pointer is over a square that is a legal play for you. Click on the square you want to play on. If you can't play, you lose your turn. An L appears on the last piece played by you or the other player. The game continues until all squares on the board are filled.
Actions Undo Takes back your most recent move. You can take back a move during play by pressing Ctrl+Z or clicking Undo on the Actions menu. Resign Resigns your player from the current game. This is counted as a loss. You can resign by pressing R or clicking Resign on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Reversi, click Reversi Settings on the Options menu. You can set the board type, whether the piece colors alternate each game, and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box. To change your piece color, click the Players tab of the Settings dialog.
See Also Reversi Strategies and Tips Reversi Background Reversi Strategies and Tips Most players of Reversi use one of three common strategies, depending on their level of experience. These are: 1 Capture as many squares as you can each turn. 2 Concentrate on capturing stable squares. 3 Attempt to maximize your mobility (your play options) while limiting the mobility of your opponent. The first of these three strategies is simple: on each turn choose the move that flips as many of your opponent's pieces as possible. This strategy works in certain cases, but you will often find that gained territory is soon lost when your opponent flips the pieces back. It's true that you want as many pieces as possible to show your color at the end of the game. But you will find that haphazardly going for big flips in the early game won't achieve this goal. The second strategy, capturing stable squares, is more complex. The main idea here is that some squares are more stable, and hence more valuable, than others because they are harder for your opponent to recapture. Corners are the most stable, since they can never be recaptured. Squares along the edge of the board are fairly stable also, since they can only be captured by other pieces on the edge. Other squares on the board are much more unstable and vulnerable. Take a look at Figure 1. Key squares in Reversi have standardized letter designations: A, B, C, and X. All the edge squares are considered valuable (C is better than B; B is better than the A) because they are relatively stable. The corners are not marked because they are obviously valuable.
Figure 1: Types of Squares on the Reversi Board
The X squares are generally dangerous plays because they almost always allow your opponent, sooner or later, to take the adjacent corner. Late in the game, or when the corner has already been filled, you may find an X square to be your best play. But before then, you should almost always look for another move.
Advanced Strategies for Reversi An example of playing for key squares is shown in Figure 2. Here, Black has taken two edge squares along the top of the board and is in good position. Black can now also take the edge square at b1 (indicated by a question mark). However, doing so would be a costly mistake; it would jeopardize all of Black's key positions (b1, d1, and e1). If Black takes b1, white will move into c1, subsequently gain control of the corner, and wipe out all of Black's edge positions (Figure 3 shows the end result). Black must do something else instead; just about anything else would be a better move. Figure 2: Playing for Edge Squares
Figure 3: Losing the Edge
The third strategy, mobility, is more difficult to illustrate. It is also counterintuitive. Looking at Figure 4, your first inclination might be to say that Black is firmly in control. In fact, White is in control; Black is currently immobilized, while White has options for taking pieces on every side.
Figure 4: Who is Winning?
Remember that players are only allowed to make moves that cause one or more pieces to be flipped. By limiting your opponent's choice of such moves, you gain control because you get to choose how the board is developed. However, it is not easy to achieve a board position where you dominate your opponent in terms of mobility. To do so, you must sacrifice pieces and try to capture central positions instead of pieces along the frontier of play. Figure 5 illustrates this concept. White has too much frontier space, and Black is in control. Figure 5: Black Keeping White on the Frontiers
The trick to controlling mobility is to constantly look at the board from your opponent's point of view. What moves can you make that will leave your opponent with the fewest available moves?
See Also How to Play Reversi Reversi Background In an unlikely coincidence, two very similar games were marketed in the city of London in 1880. One game, invented by John W. Mollett, was called Annexation, and was played on a board shaped like a cross. The other game, invented by Lewis Waterman, was Reversi. Reversi used the same 8 x 8 square board as Checkers. Which of the two games actually hit the marketplace first is unknown, but Waterman's Reversi survived. This may have been due in part to the fact that Jacques and Sons, Waterman's firm, legitimized the game by publishing The Handbook of Reversi in 1888. Reversi is similar to, though more accessible than, the ancient Asian game of Go. Besides their visual similarity, both games share a theme of controlling territory by surrounding the opponent's pieces in order to reverse them (in Reversi), or capture them (in Go). It seems likely that Waterman and/or Mollett were inspired by Go in the invention of their games. How to Play Rummy Squares Rummy Squares can be played against one to three Hoyle characters. In Rummy Squares, you and the other players play tiles to the same board, making rummy hands (melds)— either sequences or groups. Your goal is to get rid of all of your tiles before other players do. A sequence is a set of three or more consecutively numbered tiles of the same color:
A group is a set of three or more tiles of the same value all in different colors:
There are two Jokers which you can use to represent tiles on the board; for more information, see Using Jokers, below.
Making the Initial Meld In your first play—called the initial meld—you have to play one or more sets of tiles worth at least 30 points from your hand to the board. This is the only play you can make on this turn; you can't make any other moves until the next turn. To figure out what tiles are worth, add up their face values. Jokers are worth the amount of the tile they represent.
Playing Tiles Once you have made your initial meld, you can play tiles to the board. If you can't play any tiles, you pass and receive one new tile. You can lay down sequences and groups from your hand, or you can combine tiles from your hand with tiles already on the board, in a number of different ways. You can manipulate as many tiles on the board during your turn as you like, as long as at the end of your turn all tiles are placed in valid sequences or groups of three or more tiles. Some things you can do: Extend a sequence or group by adding a new tile to the front or end of it. Example Move tiles from one sequence or group to another sequence or group. Example Split a long sequence into two, and add a tile to the beginning or end of a sequence (this is a very useful way to add a tile from your rack to the board). Example Break up an existing sequence or group entirely and use its tiles in other groups. Example Note that there are many different types of moves you can make, and you can manipulate many different tiles on your turn.
Using Jokers There are two Jokers in the game; you can use Jokers to represent any other tile in a meld:
You can manipulate melds containing Jokers like any other melds on the board. Once a Joker is on the board, you can take it to use it in a new meld by replacing it with a different tile of the same value and color from your hand. The Joker must be used immediately with two or more tiles from your hand.
If someone goes out, and you have a Joker in your rack, you get a penalty of 30 points.
Playing Rummy Squares At the start of the game, you must make an initial meld. You cannot play any other tiles or manipulate tiles on the board until you make the initial meld. On future turns, there is no limit to the number of tiles you can play.
To play the game: 1 If you can make an initial meld, drag the tiles in the meld from your rack to the board one at a time. Then, click the Submit button. If your meld is valid, your turn ends. If you can't make an initial meld, click the Pass button; you'll receive one new tile (unless there are no more tiles available). 2 Once you've made an initial meld, you can make other melds in subsequent turns. To make melds, drag tiles from your rack to the board one at a time, placing them wherever you want them to go. To move tiles from other melds, just drag them around the board. To move all of the tiles in the meld, right-click it and drag it where you want it to go. Note on placing tiles: you must leave at least one square between each meld on the board. 3 When you're done manipulating tiles, click the Submit button. If you have played legally (all melds on the board are legal), your turn ends. If you start to manipulate tiles and realize you can't do what you'd originally planned, click the Reset button to return all tiles to the positions they were in at the start of your turn. The game ends when one player runs out of tiles, or when the last tile in the tile pool is drawn as a player passes.
Scoring If a player runs out of tiles, he or she wins the game. Players who go out score 0, and players with tiles left in their racks score negative points for the total value of those tiles; for example, a player with a 6 and an 11 left in her rack scores -17. If the game ends because the last tile is drawn from the pool, the player with the least points in his or her rack (the lowest negative score) wins. The player with -17, above, would beat a player with a 3, 7, and 9 left in his rack (a total of -19).
Tips If you have a choice of how to play a joker, try to play it in such a way that you can use it in a future turn.
Actions Submit Submits changes you've made to the Rummy Squares board. You can submit by clicking the Submit button, pressing S or clicking Submit on the Actions menu. Pass Passes your turn without making any changes to the board. You can pass by clicking the Pass button, pressing P or clicking Pass on the Actions menu. Reset Resets the board to return all tiles to the positions they were in at the start of your turn. You can pass by clicking the Reset button, pressing R or clicking Reset on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Rummy Squares, click Rummy Squares Settings on the Options menu. You can set the game difficulty. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See also Rummy Squares Strategies and Tips Rummy Squares Background Initial Meld One or more sets of tiles you have to play before you can make other plays in the game. The set or sets you play must be worth at least 30 points, and you can only play tiles from your hand.
Rummy Squares Strategies and Tips Try these hints and tips to improve your Rummy Squares game: Try holding back tiles (at least some of them) until later in the game. This prevents other players from using them and forces other players to make plays to the board. If you have more than one meld in hand, consider holding back a meld to play later; this is better than passing and adding more tiles to your hand. If you have a choice of how to play a joker, try to play it in such a way that you can use it in a future turn. If you don't need it, hold on to the joker (to prevent others from using it), but be careful not to get stuck with it in your rack at the end of the game.
See also How to Play Rummy Squares Rummy Squares Background Rummy Squares is a derivative of the ancient Turkish game Okey, a rummy-like game using numbered and colored tiles that are similar to dominoes in feel and heft. A number of similar rummy game variations exist, including card games like Carousel, Shanghai, and Vatikan. All of these games involve playing cards or tiles to the board in melds (sequences and groups) and allow you to manipulate other cards or tiles in a shared play area. Somewhat similar to Rummy (you can play on others' melds) and Canasta (there's an initial meld requirement), Rummy Squares is a deceptively simple game which is easy to learn and difficult to master. Because you can manipulate all the tiles on the board in any turn, there can be near-infinite combinations of possible plays at any turn, and any player can change the geography of the entire board. Some of Rummy Squares' excitement comes from the fact that players can do a certain amount of "grandstanding." Each player's exact number of tiles is kept hidden, and in one play, a player can play all his or her tiles in an exotic combination and go out in style. How to Play Wordox Wordox can be played with two, three, or four players. You can play against human players or Hoyle computer characters. For help on adding and changing players, click here: To play, you make words on the board and capture words from your opponents in an effort to score points. Click here for information on scoring: The rules for Wordox are described below: You must play at least two tiles on your turn. At least one of the tiles in your word must touch a tile that is already on the board (unless you are the starting player, in which case your word must cover the green star on the board). All tiles you play on your turn must be placed in a single row or column. Tiles you place must make legal words in both across and down directions.
In the example above, you can place the word SCRAM, because it makes the legal words AT and ME. Note that you are still only placing tiles in a single row. All words you create must be recognized as legal words by Wordox. Proper nouns are not legal words. Several things will cause your turn to end and tiles to be returned to the rack: playing a word that’s not recognized by the computer, playing only one tile, or placing tiles in more than one row or column.
To play Wordox: 1 A random player starts each game. The plaque under your player flashes when it’s your turn. The starting player moves tiles from the tile rack to the board to make a word that covers the green star in the middle of the board. After that, players take turns playing tiles to the board. 2 On your turn, move tiles from the tile rack to the board in order to make a word of two or more letters. (Sometimes, you’ll make more than one word with your play.) There are two ways to move a tile to the board: you can drag a tile from your rack to the board, or click the tile and then the board. After you place a tile, you can move it elsewhere on the board by dragging it to where you want it. 3 You must place at least two tiles on your turn, and the tiles must be placed so that they extend from letters already on the board. You can only play tiles in one column or row. 4 When you are ready to submit a word, click the Submit button. You have a certain amount of time to submit a word, as shown on the game timer. If time runs out, any tiles you’ve placed on the board are automatically submitted as if you’d clicked the Submit button. If you don’t want to make a word on your turn, you can press the Pass button; the turn then moves to the next player. If all players consecutively pass (or make invalid plays) the rack is refilled with new tiles. 5 The word that you played is evaluated using the Wordox rules. If the word is accepted, all the tiles in that word (including any other players’ tiles that you used) change to your color. You get one point for each tile. Click here for more information on scoring: If your word is not accepted, the tiles are returned to the rack and your turn ends. 6 If you placed your word on an orange space, an orange dot appears on your player plaque. This will give you a point if you play on a pink space before the board is next cleared. If you placed your word on a pink space, you get one point for each orange dot you’ve accumulated, and the game board clears. Game play continues on an empty board, just like at the start of the game. 7 When your turn ends, the tile rack is refilled and play passes to the next player. All players play with the same tile rack. 8 The game ends when one of the players reaches the winning score (as set in the game options). The game also ends if all the tiles in the game are used, or there are not enough tiles left to fill the tile rack; if this happens, the game ends, and the player with the most points wins.
Actions Submit Submits the word you just made. Your word is then evaluated to see if it is a legal play according to the Wordox rules. To submit a word, press Enter, click the Submit button on the screen, or click Submit on the Actions menu. Pass Passes your turn to the next player. You can pass at any time. If all players pass, the rack is refilled with brand new tiles. To pass, click the Pass button on the screen, press the Spacebar, or click Pass on the Actions menu. Pause/Resume Pause pauses the timer and hides the game board. To pause, click the Pause button on the screen or click Pause on the Actions menu. Resume starts the timer again and reveals the game board. To resume, click the Resume button on the screen or click Resume on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Wordox, click Wordox Settings on the Options menu. You can set options for the winning score, the time you have for your turn, other options such as whether the board must be cleared before a player can win, and the game difficulty. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
Notes and Tips You can move tiles around in the tray by clicking and dragging them or by clicking a tile and then clicking another location in the tray.
See Also Wordox Scoring Wordox Strategies and Tips Wordox Background Wordox Scoring There are two ways you can get points in Wordox: You get one point each time you change a tile to your color. Any tiles that you place on the board to make a word become your color, as well as any tiles you capture from other players when making words. When you capture tiles from other players, those players lose the points for those tiles. Placing RIP captures the S tile in FISH, giving the blue player four points and taking one point away from the red player.
Placing SEE also makes the word STONE. The letters TONE are captured (since they are part of a new word) and change to yellow. The yellow player gets seven points (for the seven new yellow tiles) and four points are taken away from the red player.
Making the word FIRED by adding an F and D to IRE captures the letters IRE. The red player gets five points, and the blue player loses three points.
You can also get points by placing tiles on the orange and pink spaces on the board. Whenever you place a tile on an orange space, an orange dot appears on your player plaque.
If you then place a tile on one of the pink spaces (found on the edges of the board), you get one point for each orange dot you have accumulated; all other players have their orange dots taken away, and get no points for them. Note: Whenever any player plays on a pink space, the entire game board is cleared and the game continues with an empty board. Any orange dots belonging to other players are cleared.
See Also How to Play Wordox Wordox Strategies and Tips Wordox Strategies and Tips Try these hints and tips to improve your Wordox game: Capture, capture, capture. Make new words out of other players’ words whenever possible. This increases your score, and decreases the score of the captured word’s owner. If you can also make a second word in the process, this works even better. Use as many letters as you can. Since each letter equals one point, playing more letters gives you more points! Try not to play a word like RAIL if you can play GRAIL or FRAIL. After you place a word, before you submit it, take a moment to look over the letter rack to see if you can improve upon your initial play. Protect your words. When you make words, keep in mind that it is easier to capture some words than others. For example, STAGE and GATES both use the same letters, but it is better to play GATES since it is difficult to expand upon, whereas STAGE can be made into STAGES, STAGED, UPSTAGE, and so on. Add prefixes and suffixes to words. You can often add an S to an existing word, but prefixes and suffixes are other good ways to take advantage of words already on the board. Some good prefixes: IN, UN, RE. Some good suffixes: ED, ER, ING, LY, and ES. Clear the board whenever possible. Whenever you play a word on a pink square, the board is cleared, so any letters you just played are "free letters" that give you points that can’t ever be taken away by another player.
See Also How to Play Wordox Wordox Scoring Wordox Background Wordox is a quick and exciting word game for two to four players created by Sierra Entertainment. Players have a certain amount of time to place a word on the board. Use letters in other words as part of your word to capture those letters from other players (and take points away from them). Playing on orange and pink squares can give you extra points. How to Play Word Yacht Word Yacht can be played with one, two, three or four players. You can play against human players or Hoyle characters. For help on adding and changing players, click here: To play, you roll 10 lettered dice. You have two minutes to make words from those dice. At the end of your turn, you try to use some or all of your words to complete specific word categories (such as a Straight or a Slam).
Word Yacht Categories The categories you see in Word Yacht, and how many points they can give you, depend on the level of scorecard you choose to play with. Initially, all players are set to use the Beginner scorecard. To find out how to change scorecards, click here: The Word Yacht categories, and what you need to do to complete them, are described below. To find out how many points you can get for scoring a category, place your cursor over the category name on the scorecard. To learn about Word Yacht scoring, click here:
Basic Categories (Beginner scorecard) 3 Letters Find at least three or more three-letter words. 4 Letters Find two or more four-letter words. 5+ Letters Find at least one word of five or more letters. Basic Categories (Intermediate and Expert scorecards) 3 & 4 Letters Find three- and four-letter words (at least five words for Intermediate, at least ten words for Expert). 5 & 6 Letters Find five- and six-letter words (at least three words for Intermediate, at least six words for Expert). 7+ Letters Find words of seven or more letters (at least one word for Intermediate, at least two words for Expert). Other Categories Straight Find a series of words spelled with consecutive numbers of letters. You can have a three-word straight, a four-word straight, or a five-word straight. You have a three-word straight if you have a three-, four-, and five-letter word, a four-, five-, and six-letter word, or a five-, six-, and seven+ letter word. Examples of three-word straights: DIN, DINE, and ENTER; RAID, DINAR, and RANCID; RANTS, STRAND, and TRANSFER You have a four-word straight if you have a three-, four-, five-, and six-letter word, or a four-, five-, six-, and seven+ letter word. Examples of four-word straights: DIN, DINE, ENTER, and ENTERS; RAID, DINAR, RANCID, and CINDERS. You have the much more rare five-word straight if you have a three-letter word, a four-letter word, a five-letter word, a six-letter word, and a seven+ letter word. Example of a five-word straight: DIN, DINE, ENTER, ENTERS; and ENTERED Starter Find several words that start with the same letter (for example, BUY, BUG, and BAR all start with B). On the Beginner scorecard, you need to make at least three words; for Intermediate, you need five words; for Expert, you need ten words. Slam Use all of your letters at least once. When you use a letter, the die color for that letter changes from red to black to help you keep track of which letters you've used. If you have several dice with the same letter, you must use that letter at least once for each time it appears on the dice. In the example below, both E and R are found on two dice, and are each used at least two times in the Slam words. Example of a Slam using the letters DEEFINORRT: ONE, DIRE, DIET, FRIEND Scorer Score varying points for each word you make. Point values depend on your scorecard difficulty. Yacht Make a lot of words (of any length) on your turn. On the Beginner scorecard, you need to make at least 15 words; for Intermediate, you need at least 30 words; for Expert, you need at least 40 words. Bonuses In addition to the Word Yacht categories, you can get bonus points for making long words. (You do not have to get the bonuses to complete your scorecard.) On the Beginner scorecard, words with seven or more letters give you extra bonus points. On the Intermediate and Expert scorecards, words with eight or more letters give you extra bonus points. When all of the categories on each player's card are filled out, then the game is over, and the player with the highest score wins.
Playing Word Yacht The gameplay for Word Yacht is described below.
To play Word Yacht: 1 The dice cup rotates when it's your turn. Roll the dice by clicking on your dice cup or pressing the spacebar. 2 Make words from the dice by typing letters or clicking the dice to move them to the word area. While typing, you can press Backspace to remove the last letter you typed, or click on a letter to remove it. In addition, you can press Escape or click the Clear button to clear the entire word you just typed. 3 Press Enter or click the Enter button to add words to your word list. You can make words until the timer runs out or until you have found all the words you need to score a certain category. (Because some categories have several levels of words that give you points, usually you will want to find as many words as you can!) Rules for making words: Each die can be used only once in each word. Words must be at least three letters long. You can use both a singular word and its plural (CAT and CATS). Words must be recognized by the game dictionary to be added to your word list. Some proper nouns, foreign words, and objectionable words will not be recognized. 4 As you make words, the points you could get in each category are shown (as well as the levels you have achieved, shown next to the categories). You can place your cursor over a category name to see a description of the category. 5 Click the points area next to a category to score points in that category. You must pick one category each turn. If you can't score any category in a turn, you must still pick a category; you will score zero for that category, and can't score that category again in this game. 6 After you pick a category, the turn moves to the next player. (If you are playing solo, your next turn starts.)
Notes and Tips: You can scroll through the word list to see the words you've already added. You can view other players' scoring information. To see a player's scorecard while anyone in the game is actively playing, click the little scorecard next to the player and hold down the mouse. If no one is actively playing (in other words, before you or another human player rolls the dice), you can click any player's little scorecard once to see that player's last-played scorecard, dice, and word list. You can place your cursor over any category on the scorecard to get help on that category. Be sure to select a category carefully; once you choose it, you can't change it later. If you choose zero in a category, you won't have another chance to complete that category during this game. If you are forced to choose zero in a turn, you may want to choose zero for a category that you're not likely to complete, or that is not worth as many points as others. Usually, words you type are cleared; you can set Word Yacht to leave the last word you typed in the work area by changing your game settings. In addition, you can set whether the dice return to the same positions after you finish with them. Turn off the Return Dice to Original Positions option in the game settings to effectively scramble the dice. This may make it easier for you to find words. As you add words, the area on the right of the screen counts the number of words of certain lengths you have made and identifies the best Starter word (this is the letter that starts more of your words than any other). You start with the easiest level of scorecard. For more of a challenge, change to the Intermediate or Expert scorecard. To learn how to change scorecards, click here:
Actions Letters A-Z Type letters on your keyboard to move the associated dice to the word area. (Alternately, just click the dice to move them.) Roll Dice Rolls the dice when it's your turn. To roll the dice, click the dice cup on the screen, press the Spacebar, or click Roll Dice on the Actions menu. Clear Clears the word you just typed. To clear a word, press Esc, click the Clear button on the screen, or click Clear on the Actions menu. Remove Letter Removes the previous letter. To remove a letter, press Backspace. Add Word to List Adds a word to the word list. To add a word, press Enter or click Add Word to List on the Actions menu. Pause/Resume Timer Pause Timer pauses the timer and hides the dice. To pause the timer, click the Pause button on the screen or click Pause Timer on the Actions menu. Resume Timer starts the game again and shows the dice. To resume the timer, click the Resume button on the screen or click Resume Timer on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Word Yacht, click Word Yacht Settings on the Options menu. You can set options for how you add words to the word list, how dice are moved to and from the work area, and more. For help on the options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Word Yacht Scoring Changing Your Scorecard in Word Yacht Word Yacht Strategies and Tips Word Yacht Background Word Yacht Scoring Many of the Word Yacht categories require you to achieve a certain level before you can score points. For instance, in the Beginner scorecard, a minimum of three words are required to complete the three-letter word category, but getting five or ten words gives you additional points beyond the minimum. Getting words in between the different word levels doesn't help—getting four words will still give you the points for three words, for example. As soon as you achieve one of the categories, the scorecard changes to show that it has been achieved: the point value you'll get for that category appears in the Points column for that category, and, if appropriate, the number of words you found for that category are highlighted in the Words column. The points you can achieve for the different categories are shown below. If there are three different word levels you can achieve for a category, the three different possible point values are shown. Note: The Slam, Scorer and Yacht categories do not have different word levels. Slam is worth 20 on every scorecard, the points for Scorer vary per scorecard, and a Yacht is always worth 75.
Beginner scorecard Category Words Points 3 Letters [3] [5] [10] (15) (30) (45) 4 Letters [2] [4] [6] (15) (30) (45) 5+ Letters [1] [2] [3] (30) (50) (70) Straight [3] [4] [5] (25) (50) (75) Starter [3] [5] [10] (15) (30) (45) Slam -- 20 Scorer -- varies* Yacht [15] 75 Bonus (7+ Letters) 50 per w ord
Intermediate scorecard Category Words Points 3 & 4 Letters [5] [10] [15] (15) (30) (45) 5 & 6 Letters [3] [6] [9] (15) (30) (45) 7+ Letters [1] [2] [3] (30) (50) (70) Straight [3] [4] [5] (10) (25) (50) Starter [5] [10] [15] (15) (30) (45) Slam -- 20 Scorer -- varies* Yacht [30] 75 Bonus (8+ Letters) 50 per w ord
Expert scorecard Category Words Points 3 & 4 Letters [10] [15] [20] (15) (30) (45) 5 & 6 Letters [6] [9] [12] (15) (30) (45) 7+ Letters [2] [3] [4] (30) (50) (70) Straight [3] [4] [5] (10) (25) (50) Starter [10] [15] [20] (15) (30) (45) Slam -- 20 Scorer -- varies* Yacht [40] 75 Bonus (8+ Letters) 50 per w ord
* For Scorer, you score points for all words you make. For the Beginner scorecard, three- and four-letter words are worth 1 point, five-letter words are worth 2 points, and words with six or more letters are worth 3 points. For the Intermediate and Expert scorecards, three- and four-letter words are worth 1 point, five- and six-letter words are worth 2 points, and words with seven or more letters are worth 3 points.
Note: You can get information about point levels while you are playing by using the pop-up help: place your cursor over the category on the scorecard that you want information about.
See Also How to Play Word Yacht Changing Your Scorecard in Word Yacht Strategy Changing Your Scorecard in Word Yacht You can change how easy or how difficult it is to complete categories (and score points) in Word Yacht by changing your scorecard. Changing your scorecard during a game will prompt you to restart the game. There are three different scorecards in Word Yacht. All players are initially set to use the Beginner scorecard. The Beginner scorecard is recommended for people who are learning how to play Word Yacht, word game novices, and younger players. The Intermediate scorecard is recommended for people who have some skill with word games. The Expert scorecard is recommended for true word finding pros! The Word Yacht scorecards are designed so that players of different levels can play Word Yacht together and still have a competitive game. Therefore, a player with the Beginner scorecard should be able to beat a player using the Expert scorecard. If you find you are consistently getting the highest scores possible on a Beginner scorecard, consider changing to the Intermediate or Expert scorecard.
To change the Word Yacht scorecard for yourself or others: 1 Click Word Yacht Players on the Options menu. 2 For the Score Card option for the player whose scorecard you want to set, select Beginner, Intermediate, or Expert.
Note: You can set scorecard levels for computer players as well as human players. Computer players' play will be affected by the card they choose, so a beginner computer player won't do much better on a Beginner card than a human would.
See Also How to Play Word Yacht Word Yacht Scoring Word Yacht Strategies and Tips Word Yacht Strategies and Tips Try these hints and tips to improve your Word Yacht game. Be sure to make plural versions of any words you find, and make singular versions of any plural words. If possible, pick the category you are going to attempt before you roll or as soon as you see your dice. Some rolls are best for longer words, such as those with S or ED or RE, and some are best for making a lot of short words. If you can, save the Slam category (where you have to use all of your dice) for when you have a bad roll and can't make many words. If you have letters that make a prefix or suffix such as RE or ED, try typing those letters to move them to the work area, so you can examine the letters that are left and try to make a long word using the prefix or suffix. Although the Scorer is a useful fallback category, try to use the Scorer category when it gives you a lot of points. When trying for a Yacht, concentrate on making shorter words. When trying for a Scorer, concentrate on making longer words. Bonuses can help you win at Word Yacht, and you get them even if you can't fill a category. If you have great letters, look for the longest words possible. When trying for a Starter word, check the key at the right side of the screen to see which letter is best to use. Note that S is not usually a good starter letter (unless you have two S's), because it is better used to end words starting with another letter. Word Yacht uses 10 six-sided dice, with the letters on the dice distributed as follows: XQJZAG, OOEEAA, EEEAAA, NITYOL, BOWFUP, TORMIG, NLDUSR, BCDTVS, EFHISU, KMPCHR.
See Also How to Play Word Yacht Word Yacht Background Word Yacht is a competitive word game created by the Hoyle team at Sierra Entertainment. Word Yacht was derived from the classic dice game Yacht, in which players roll dice and try to make poker-like hands to complete categories on a scorecard. Word Yacht combines the excitement and luck of Yacht with the challenge of a competitive word game. In Word Yacht, you roll ten lettered dice and make words from them to try to complete one of eight different word categories. Having a variety of categories to choose from makes for interesting gameplay. As in Yacht, selecting the appropriate category is part of the challenge. A distinctive feature of Word Yacht is that it lets players of different skill levels compete on an even playing field by offering different scorecard levels for beginners, intermediate players, and expert players. And Word Yacht's scorecards are weighted, so a beginner who completes a category will get the same points as an expert (who usually must complete a more difficult category). How to Play Yacht Yacht uses five dice. Any number of people can play (though with just one person the only goal is to beat your past high score). The object is to make the best possible hand in the following categories: Hand Score Ones Total of ones Twos Total of twos Threes Total of threes Fours Total of fours Fives Total of fives Sixes Total of sixes Four of a Kind Dice total Full House Dice total Four Straight 25 Five Straight 30 Yacht (Five of a Kind) 50 Choice Dice total There are 12 categories and you have 12 turns. On each turn you roll the dice three times. You can keep one or more die from each roll to build your hand; you can also discard the die or dice you kept from the first roll if the second roll changes your mind. You can stand pat after the first or second rolls if your hand is good enough. Your goal is to fill in each category in the chart above with the highest possible number. A 4-4-5-5-5 Full House, for example, is 23 points. Once you fill a category, you cannot use it again. If you throw a second Full House, say a 4-4-4-3-3, you may choose the Fours category. Your score for that category would be 12 (the threes wouldn't count for points). (With Four of a Kind, the number on the fifth die does count in the scoring. Example: 6-6-6-6-1 is Four of a Kind, but it counts as 25.) Three categories have fixed scores: Four Straight (25), Five Straight (30), and Yacht (50). These numbers are higher than the highest possible totals on your dice for those particular hands, so consider these scores a bonus. The Choice category is just that -- your choice. Use this category if your hand has a high point value but doesn't fit anywhere else. You'll receive the total points showing on your dice. If your hand isn't much of anything, choose the lowest possible category to minimize the damage. For example, if you're left with low, miscellaneous numbers, choose Ones even if have none. You'll receive a zero for that category, but since the category is devoted to the lowly numeral one, how many points could you get there anyway? At the end of 12 rounds all of the categories will be filled in and the game ends. High score wins.
For rules on Triple Yacht, a version of Yacht that uses a different score card, click here:
Playing Yacht When you are ready to start play, click on your cup to roll. Click each die that you want to keep, then click the cup to roll again. If you want to re-roll a die that you previously chose to keep, you can return it to the board by clicking it. When you are ready to roll again, click the cup. You have the option to roll up to three times, but you can choose to record your score on any roll. Tip To move dice from the board into your "keeper" area without clicking each die, hold down the Shift key, and then type the number representing the die value you wish to keep. For example, if you roll two 4s that you want to keep, press Shift-4 on the keyboard, then press Shift-4 again (to pick up the second 4). To move dice from the "keeper" area back to the play area, press Backspace. To record your score category, click on an appropriate category on the score card. As you move your mouse cursor over each category, you can preview the resulting score for the current roll. Be sure to select the category carefully; once you choose it, you can't change it later. After the score is recorded, the turn advances to the next player.
Actions Roll Dice Rolls the dice. To roll the dice, click the dice cup, press the Spacebar, or click Roll Dice on the Actions menu. Keep Dice Moves a rolled die to the keeper area of the Yacht board. To keep a die (moving it to your keeper area), click on the die you want to keep, press and hold Shift, and then press the number of the die (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) on the keyboard, or click Keep Dice on the Actions menu. Release Dice Moves a die from the keeper area back to the play area of the Yacht board. To return a die from the keeper area back to the play area for the next roll, click on the die you want to return, press Backspace to return the last die kept, or click Release Dice on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Yacht, click Yacht Settings on the Options menu. You can change the game to play Triple Yacht, or set the game difficulty. For help on this option, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See also How to Play Triple Yacht Yacht Strategies and Tips Yacht Background How to Play Triple Yacht Triple Yacht is a variation of Yacht that is played the same way as Yacht, but uses a different scorecard that includes three columns for scoring instead of just one. The categories are identical to Yacht's, but are scored differently. The game takes three times as long as Yacht, since both players have to fill three columns before the game ends. The first column is scored identically to the Yacht scorecard, but the second column is worth twice as many points as the first, and the third column is worth three times as many points as the first, as shown below.
Hand First Col. (1X) Second Col. (2X) Third Col. (3X) Ones Total of ones [Total of ones] x 2 [Total of ones] x 3 Twos Total of twos [Total of twos] x 2 [Total of twos] x 3 Threes Total of threes [Total of threes] x 2 [Total of threes] x 3 Fours Total of fours [Total of fours] x 2 [Total of fours] x 3 Fives Total of fives [Total of fives] x 2 [Total of fives] x 3 Sixes Total of sixes [Total of sixes] x 2 [Total of sixes] x 3 Four of a Kind Dice total [Dice total] x 2 [Dice total] x 3 Full House Dice total [Dice total] x 2 [Dice total] x 3 Four Straight 25 50 75 Five Straight 30 60 90 Yacht (Five of a Kind) 50 100 150 Choice Dice total [Dice total] x 2 [Dice total] x 3
Therefore, a roll of 3-3-3-6-8 could be scored in the Threes category as 9 (in the first column), 18 (in the second column), or 27 (in the third column). Likewise, a roll of 4-4-4-4-6 could be scored in the Fours category as 16, 32, or 48 (in the first, second, or third column, respectively). Alternately, the 4-4-4-4-6 roll could be scored in the Four of a Kind category as 22, 44, or 66 in the first, second, or third column, respectively. In Triple Yacht, you will generally want to put results of higher valued rolls in the third column, and results of less valuable rolls in the first column.
Playing Triple Yacht To play Triple Yacht, click Yacht Settings on the Options menu and check the Triple Yacht box. The setting will be remembered, so if you want to play regular Yacht, you'll need to clear this box. When you are ready to start play, click on your cup to roll. Click each die that you want to keep, then click the cup to roll again. If you want to re-roll a die that you previously chose to keep, you can return it to the board by clicking it. When you are ready to roll again, click the cup. You have the option to roll up to three times, but you can choose to record your score on any roll. Tip To move dice from the board into your "keeper" area without clicking each die, hold down the Shift key, and then type the number representing the die value you wish to keep. For example, if you roll two 4s that you want to keep, press Shift-4 on the keyboard, then press Shift-4 again (to pick up the second 4). To move dice from the "keeper" area back to the play area, press Backspace. To record your score, click on an appropriate category and column on the score card. As you move your mouse cursor over each space on the card, you can preview the resulting score for the current roll. Be sure to select the scoring space carefully; once you choose it, you can't change it later. After the score is recorded, the turn advances to the next player. The actions and options in Triple Yacht are the same as in Yacht.
See also How to Play Yacht Yacht Strategies and Tips Yacht Background Yacht Strategies and Tips If you're playing Yacht for the first time, it's easy to assume that the dice control your fate. However, your scores are liable to improve if you make your decisions carefully. The fact that you can throw the dice three times and pick which ones you want to keep gives you a lot of flexibility. Yacht is a subtle game, and effective strategies can't be reduced to a simple formula. Many factors should affect play in addition to the dice roll, including: 1. Which categories are hardest to score 2. Which categories have already been used 3. How many turns remain 4. How close the total scores are In the early game, you're better off scoring in the categories that are most difficult to fill: Four of a Kind, Full House, Five Straight, and Yacht. Filling these categories early will help you minimize damage that results later on from having to zero out categories. Remember that Four of a Kind and Full House are scored by totaling your dice. A Four of a Kind consisting of four 3's and a 1 adds up to (a rather paltry) 13 points. It is better to go for these two categories if you have high numbers on the dice. Of course, toward the end of the game, you are lucky to fill an empty Four of a Kind or Full House category, even if it's with relatively low numbers. Sometimes you use up your three rolls and simply end up with crummy dice values that don't give many points in any of your available categories. This happens to novice and expert players alike. The question is what you should do with this roll to minimize the damage. For example, take a look at Figure 1.
Figure 1: Scoring a Bad Roll
This roll doesn't give a good score in any of the available categories, but you have to choose one of them. Some of your options (marked with arrows) are: (a) Use your Sixes category; this gives you 6 points. (b) Use your Choice category; this gives you 14 points. (c) Use your Twos category; this gives you 2 points. Although Sixes or Choice would give you more points on this turn, by choosing the Twos category you avoid wasting scoring potential that you can use later in the game. The most you could ever get in the Twos category is 12 points. So by taking 2 points in Twos you "give up" 10 possible points. The Sixes category can potentially earn 30 points, so by taking 6 points you would be giving up 24 possible points. Similarly, taking 14 in Choice would be giving up 16 possible points. The Ones category is, of course, the best category for throwaway rolls. Even if you score a 0 in Ones, you only lose 5 possible points. You should allow game circumstances to dictate which dice to keep and which category to aim for. For example, say you make an initial roll as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Choosing a Target Category
Some of your options include: (a) Keeping the 6 with the plan of going for Yacht (not likely!), Sixes, or Choice. (b) Keeping the 3s, and going for Yacht or Threes. (c) Keeping the 1, 2, and one of the 3s, and going for a straight. Option (a) is not very wise. Re-rolling 4 dice is a lot like re-rolling 5 dice from scratch, but with one fewer roll available—and the difference between two and three rolls is dramatic. Option (b) is a bit better, but with only two 3s, your chances of getting a Yacht in two more rolls are pretty slim. You will probably be able to get at least one more 3, but scoring 9 (or even 12) in the Threes category isn't anything to get excited about this early in the game. Option (c) makes the most sense. It's not ideal (a 2, 3, 4, for example, would be a better starting point for a straight), but the chances are pretty decent that you will be able to roll a 4 with two rolls of two dice. As the game progresses, however, these dynamics change. It depends especially on what categories are left open. If you roll the same 1, 2, 3, 3, 6 at the end of a close game, and your Threes category is open, going for Threes is a good way to assure yourself some points. On the other hand, if you need a lot of points, going for Yacht may be your only hope for victory.
Strategies for Triple Yacht The goal in Triple Yacht is to score your best rolls in the third column, so that they score the most possible points, and use the first column as a place to dump your lesser rolls. The trick is determining what qualifies a roll as poor, average, or great to determine if it goes in the first, second, or third column. You can also look at the scores when deciding where to place a roll. If it's late in the game, and you're well ahead, you can play conservatively and put lower points than normal in the third column. But if you're far behind, save the empty categories in the third column for monster rolls that might help you get back into contention.
See also How to Play Yacht How to Play Triple Yacht Yacht Background Most Americans know this game from the popular commercial variant, Yahtzee™. Supposedly, the marketer of this game bought it from Canadians who called it Yacht because that's where they played it. (However, according to the current edition of Hoyle's Rules of Games, Yacht is usually played "in a restaurant or bar to decide who pays the check.") Yacht by any name was originally a means of playing Poker with dice instead of cards (hence another of its names, Poker Dice). Special Yacht dice are made with an ace, king, queen, jack, 10, and 9 replacing the pips of the standard dice. Today, most people play Yacht with standard dice and without much thought for its Poker origins, even though most of the game's terminology comes from Poker. Making a Face in FaceCreator You can use FaceCreator to create a unique picture to represent yourself while you're playing games. You can make just one face to represent yourself, or you can make several different faces and choose a different face each time you play! Click one of the topics below to learn more about FaceCreator: Starting FaceCreator Using FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen Using BackTalk Starting FaceCreator There are several different ways to start FaceCreator.
To start FaceCreator: In the Sign In dialog box, click the FaceCreator button. OR From the Main Screen, click the FaceCreator picture on the screen, or click FaceCreator on the Go To menu. OR In the Players dialog box, click the Face button next to your face. You will be taken to a Settings screen; click the FaceCreator button to start FaceCreator. Note: If you start FaceCreator from the Sign In screen, the face you make is automatically assigned to the currently selected player. And if you make a face when you're already signed in, it is automatically assigned to you.
To change an existing FaceCreator face: In FaceCreator, click the Load button, select the face you want to change, and then click OK to load that face into FaceCreator. Click here to learn how to use FaceCreator:
See Also Using FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen Using BackTalk Using Spacemaker Using FaceCreator You can create a unique picture for yourself using FaceCreator. You can start with a new face, or load a previously created face by clicking the Load button. For a detailed explanation of the FaceCreator screen, click here:
To make a face in FaceCreator: 1 Click a feature (head, eyes, nose, and so on) on the FaceCreator screen. The feature will be selected, and pictures you can use for the feature appear in the 12 feature boxes at the top of the screen. You can select features in any order, and you don't have to specify every feature (your face can have no nose, for example). 2 Select the picture you want to use for that feature. To see additional screens of pictures, click on the numbered buttons or on the left and right arrows under the two rows of pictures. Note: For eyes and eyebrows, you can select matching pairs, or you can select different left and right eyes and eyebrows, if you like. When you click on eyes or eyebrows, a selection box pops up with the choices left only, right only, and both. Click on which side or sides you wish to change (both is the default choice), then select the new feature. 3 You can move features around on the face by clicking the arrow buttons surrounding the sample face or by clicking the arrow keys on your keyboard. All features except the body, head, and clothes can be moved. If you move a feature and want it moved back where it was originally, click the Center button. 4 Add any other features you want. 5 Select one of the four skin tones for your face. 6 Choose a voice for your character. There are five male voices, and five female voices. Click on the Voice Selection Menu right below your character to select a voice. You can preview the selected voice by clicking on the speaker icon. 7 Click Exit to exit FaceCreator. Your face is saved automatically. If you want to make multiple faces before exiting, you can click save to save your current face before making a different one. If you loaded a different face earlier and made changes to that face, you are asked if you want to save the new face you created over the old face. Click OK to save the face over the old face, or click Cancel to save the face as a new face. Assign faces you have made to players using the Sign In screen.
To change an existing face: 1 Click the load button. 2 Make any desired changes to the face. 3 Click save. A dialog will appear: you can either save over the face you changed by then clicking Update, or save the changes as a new face without deleting the old one by clicking add. 4 If you click exit after changing a loaded face without having saved it, you are asked if you want to save the changes to the face. Click Yes to open the dialog in step 3, click No to exit FaceCreator without saving, or click Cancel to return to FaceCreator.
To remove a feature from the face: 1 Select the feature you want to remove. 2 Click the Clear button.
To clear the entire face: Click the New button to start a new face from scratch. Your current face will be cleared.
To delete a FaceCreator face: You can remove any FaceCreator faces that you no longer want in the Sign In dialog box. Select the face you want to delete using the scroll bar below the face window, then click the Delete button to the right of the face. (You can do this when you sign in to start the game, or you can open the Sign In dialog box by clicking Sign In on the File menu from the Main Screen.)
Notes and Tips: Moving eyebrows to different heights is a good subtle way to add personality to your face. Moving a nose downward can create an impression of a longer nose; moving it upward can make a shorter nose. Be creative! Many items can be moved anywhere on the face. Clothing is specific to the body you select. If you select an article of clothing and then change your body, you may need to select new clothes for your new body. To quickly create a unique new face, click the Random button. (This is good if you're not feeling creative, but still want a change.) You can still make changes to the random face, if you want. Be careful when using this button as this will erase the face currently on the screen.
See Also Starting FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen Using BackTalk Using Spacemaker Using BackTalk In previous versions of the Hoyle products, your character would sit quietly while the Hoyle characters did all the talking. Now, you can get in on the conversation! Each character plaque, including yours, has two face buttons on it.
Hoyle Character Buttons Player Character Buttons If you click on a Hoyle character's happy-faced heart button, you will say something kind to them. If you click on their horn-headed devilish button, you will do a little trash talking, or perhaps play a slapstick prank on them. The Hoyle characters will respond to your comments or actions. As for yourself, if you are feeling good or feeling bad, you can say so by clicking the appropriate icon on your plaque. The Hoyle characters may have something to say about the way you feel, too.
Notes and Tips: You can also use your keyboard to talk with your character. 1 and 2 are shortcuts for your character's buttons. 2 and 3 are shortcuts for the Hoyle character to your left, and so on going clockwise around the board. If you use a face saved from a Hoyle product without BackTalk, or if you use one of the non-talking characters to represent yourself, you will not be able to use the BackTalk feature.
See Also Starting FaceCreator The FaceCreator Screen Using FaceCreator Using Spacemaker The FaceCreator Screen Click the picture of FaceCreator below to get help with that part of FaceCreator:
To get a step-by-step description of how to use FaceCreator, click here: Facial Features Shows all of the available options for the current feature you are working with. Click the left and right arrow buttons to move through the pages of options, or click a numbered button to move to a specific page. Head Selects the shape of your head. Body Selects your body type. Both male and female body types are shown. Skin Tone Selects the skin tone for your head and body. Eyebrows Selects eyebrows. To select matching eyebrows, just click the mannequin head on the picture of eyebrows you want. To select a different left or right eyebrow, click left only or right only above the eyebrows selection area and then select the eyebrow picture you want . Eyes Selects eyes. To select matching eyes, just click the mannequin head on the picture of eyes you want. To select a different left or right eye, click left only or right only above the eyes selection area and then select the eye picture you want . Eye/Eyebrow selection area Appears when you select eyes or eyebrows. This lets you individually select eyes or eyebrows to add character to a face. To select just the left eye or eyebrow, select left only, to select just the right eye or eyebrow, select right only. To select both eyes or eyebrows (the normal selection), select both. Nose Selects a nose. Move the nose up and down to lengthen or shorten it. Mouth Selects a mouth. Face Shows the face in progress, with any features you have added to your face. Click on the arrows to move the currently selected feature around on the face. All features except the body and clothes can be moved. Click the Center button to center the current feature, or click the Clear button to clear the feature you just added to the face. Center button Centers the currently selected feature if it has been moved. Clear button Removes the currently selected feature from your face. arrow Moves the currently selected feature in the face in the direction indicated. All features except the body and clothes can be moved. Hair and Hats Selects hair and hat combinations. Clothes Selects clothing for your body. You will only see clothes that fit the body shape you chose. Eye wear Selects glasses or other accessories for your eyes. Some glasses will hide your eyes. Facial Hair Selects a variety of types of facial hair. Save button Resets the current face, and removes all of the face's features, so you can start a new face from scratch. Load button Loads an existing FaceCreator face so that you can make changes to it. Help button Brings up this help file. Exit button Exits FaceCreator, saving the current face. If you loaded a face into FaceCreator, you have the option to overwrite the old face or save the face as a completely new face.
Voice Selection Choose a voice for your FaceCreator charater. Voice Sample Click to hear a sample line from the currently selected voice. New Button Click to make a new face Random Button Click to make a face from random FaceCreator parts.
Hoyle Bucks Hoyle Bucks are frequent flier miles for gamers. When you accomplish certain feats while playing Hoyle Board Games, you automatically earn Hoyle Bucks. The more you play, the more you'll earn! Spend your bucks on new card decks, backgrounds, music tracks, and décor items. Your current Hoyle Bucks balance and any feats you've accomplished recently are shown in the Hoyle Bucks display in the lower-right corner of every game screen. Rolling over the display will show you the four most recent feats you accomplished in that game.
Accessing the Hoyle Bucks Area To spend your Hoyle Bucks, view your account ledger (for a complete list of the feats you've accomplished for this game), or learn which feats will earn Hoyle Bucks, go to the Hoyle Bucks area of Hoyle Board Games. There are three ways to get there: click on Hoyle Bucks from the Main Screen, select Hoyle Bucks from the Go To menu, or click on your current Hoyle Bucks balance on the Hoyle Bucks display in the game screen.
Navigating in the Hoyle Bucks Area When you first enter the Hoyle Bucks area, you are presented with a desktop with several items on it: the catalog, the guide, and your ledger. Click on any of these desktop items to use them, or navigate using the control bar at the bottom of the screen. Click on the picture below for information on that part of the control bar.
See Also Earning Hoyle Bucks Spending Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Disabling Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks is easy: all you have to do is play! Each game awards Hoyle Bucks for accomplishing various feats while playing. The size of the award for each feat depends on many factors, including the difficulty of the feat, the number of different ways to earn bucks in the game, and your game settings.
The Hoyle Bucks Guide To see the exact award amounts for each feat based on your current game settings, refer to the Hoyle Bucks Guide by going to the Hoyle Bucks area, and clicking on the Guide button a the bottom of the screen. Choose which game to view by clicking on the appropriate tab along the side of the guide. Then, scroll through the pages with the arrows on the bottom corner of each page, or with the arrow keys on your keyboard. Each entry will show you the name of the feat, how to accomplish it, how many times you've accomplished that feat, and the current reward value for accomplishing that feat with your current game settings. Note: some actions disable Hoyle Bucks production for the remainder of the current game: adding a second human player, receiving a game hint, using Undo from the Action menu, and restoring a saved game.
The Hoyle Bucks Ledger To see how many bucks you've earned and where you've spent them, refer to the ledger by going to the Hoyle Bucks area, and clicking on the Ledger button a the bottom of the screen. The ledger contains a record of your 2,000 most recent Hoyle Bucks transactions. This includes earning bucks, buying items from the catalog, and selling décor items in Spacemaker. You can sort the ledger by any of the columns by clicking on the column heading. You can page through the ledger using the arrow buttons at the bottom of the ledger page. Clicking a single arrow (or using the right and left arrows on your keyboard) will take your forward or back one page. Clicking a double arrow takes you forward or back ten pages.
See Also Spending Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Disabling Hoyle Bucks Spending Hoyle Bucks So now that you've earned some Hoyle Bucks, what do you do with them? Spend them on items in the Hoyle Bucks catalog, of course! Click on the Catalog button at the bottom of the Hoyle Bucks screen, and spend your hard-earned Hoyle cash.
To purchase an item: 1 Choose a section to browse by clicking on one of the tabs along the side of the catalog. 2 Turn the page by clicking the arrows next to the catalog page numbers, or by using the right and left arrows on your keyboard. 3 When you find an item you would like to purchase that you can afford, click on the Buy Now button. 4 To put your item into use right away, click on the link at the bottom of the catalog page: either Backgrounds, Cards, Environment, or Spacemaker. The link will be the appropriate one for using the items sold on that page. Note: When you purchase an item for the first time, the item becomes highlighted in the catalog, so you can see at a glance what you have purchased before. Some items can only be purchased once. When you purchase a one-time item, the Buy Now button changes to Sold. Other items can be purchased multiple times. All of your recent spending is tracked in the Hoyle Bucks Ledger for your review.
Music Unlock more music with your Hoyle Bucks! Once purchased, a new music track becomes available for playing in the Environment menu. Select Environment… from the Options menu to choose your background music.
Décor Express your personality by displaying décor items around yourself. Each décor item purchased becomes available in the Spacemaker interface. Use Spacemaker to arrange your décor items. To access Spacemaker, click on Spacemaker at the bottom of catalog pages containing décor items, or select Spacemaker from the Options menu. Some décor items are interactive; click on your objects during a game to interact with them!
Clearance! Clearance items are décor items priced to move! There are clearance items from all the other categories, maybe you'll find a nice bargain…
See Also Earning Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Disabling Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker In Spacemaker, you can arrange décor items you've purchased with your Hoyle Bucks around you. You can access Spacemaker by selecting Spacemaker in the Options menu, or by clicking Spacemaker at the bottom of catalog pages containing décor items. Click the picture of Spacemaker below to get help with that part of Spacemaker:
To put an item from your closet into use: 1 Items you have purchased start out in your closet. Click an item name from your Items in closet list to select it. 2 Click Place to put the selected object into use. 3 You can adjust the position of most décor items. Click Next Position to cycle the selected décor item through several possible locations until you find one that is close to where you want it to go. 4 Use the arrows below the display to adjust the location of your item in smaller increments. 5 Adjust whether the selected item is in front of or behind any other previously placed items using the Move Forward and Move Backwards buttons.
To put an item in use back into your closet: 1 Select an item in use by clicking on it in your display, or click an item name from your Items in use list. 2 Click Remove to move the selected object to your closet.
To sell an item: You can sell off some of your items if you have run out of space in your closet, or you want to buy something new and don't have enough cash on hand. 1 Select an item from either your Items in closet list or your Items in use list. 2 Click Sell. 3 A confirmation message will appear. Click OK if you still want to sell the item for the indicated price.
See Also Spending Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks Disabling Hoyle Bucks
Disabling Hoyle Bucks If you would rather not be alerted when you earn Hoyle Bucks, simply click the Hoyle Bucks icon on the Hoyle Bucks display in the lower-right corner of your game screen. This essentially "minimizes" Hoyle Bucks. You will still earn them, but you will not be notified when you do, and you can simply ignore the feature. Click the icon again to restore the display and hear sound effects when you earn bucks.
See Also Spending Hoyle Bucks Earning Hoyle Bucks Using Spacemaker Place & Remove Place the selected item from your closet onto your plaque area, or remove a selected item in use and put it back in your closet. Description Item description. Sell Button Sell the selected item for the indicated amount of Hoyle Bucks. Placement Arrows Use these arrows to move the currently selected item in small increments, if it is a moveable object. Use the "Next Position" button (below) to move the object in large increments. Object Layers If you place many objects around you, objects may become hidden behind each other. Use these buttons to move objects in front of and behind each other. Click "Move Back" to move the currently selected object one place backwards in the object order. Click "Move Forward" to move the currently selected object one place forwards in the object order. Items in Use A list of the items currently used in your space. Select an item from the list to make it your active item. Items in Closet A list of items you own that are not currently in use. Select an item in your closet and click "Place" to move it into your display. Totals Shows your current item count and your current balance of Hoyle Bucks. Done Click to exit Spacemaker and save your display as currently shown. Click to Click the Bucks Point to the feats box with your minimize balance to go to mouse to see the feats you've the display.the Hoyle Bucks area. performed most recently. Next Position Button Cycles the currently selected item through several preset locations. Current Display This shows you what your space would look like during a game if you clicked "Done." Switch to the Hoyle Bucks Guide and learn how to earn bucks in each game. Switch to the Hoyle Bucks Catalog and spend your bucks. Switch to your Hoyle Bucks ledger and view your recent Hoyle Bucks financial history. Your current Hoyle bucks balance. Opens this help file. Exit the Hoyle Bucks area. How to Play Maximum Pool For help with Maximum Pool, click one of the topics below. Starting a Game How to Shoot Advanced Features Preferences Game Rules Quitting a Game Background
Starting a Game After choosing Maximum Pool from the main screen or the Go To menu, choose which character or characters you would like to play against, then click Play. This will bring you to the Maximum Pool Main menu. Select Play Pool, and then choose the game you want to play. To choose a game from the Game Selection menu, click on the type of game you want to play (Classic Games or Cool Games), select the game from the list that appears on the right, and click Next. Choose Quick Start from the Main menu to start a game identical to the last one played. If you've never played before, choosing Quick Start begins a game of Eight Ball. After you select a game to play, choose the number of players and set the difficulty level. The difficulty level determines how the game's unique "target" ball works. On the Easy setting, the target ball can move clear across the table to help you line up shots. On the Medium setting, the target ball stays a little closer to the cue ball. The Hard setting keeps the target ball on a very short leash.
How to Shoot Aiming There are several ways to line up a shot in Maximum Pool. First, you can use your mouse to move the cue stick around the cue ball. You point at the cue stick with the mouse, press and hold the left mouse button, and then move the stick to the desired location. Release the mouse button when you're done. For finer cue stick movements, place your mouse pointer over the cue stick controls located in the lower-left corner of the window. Clicking on the triangular buttons moves the cue stick smoothly around the cue ball. You may also use the left and right arrow keys to move the cue stick. Perhaps the most powerful way to line up a shot is to use Maximum Pool's unique target ball. As its name implies, it acts like a target, and you place it on the table at the spot you want the real cue ball to go. Move the target ball by pointing at it with the mouse, pressing the left mouse button, dragging the ball to the desired location, and releasing the mouse button. Even if you aim by moving the cue stick, the target ball automatically moves around the table to show you where the cue ball will end up. Shooting Striking the ball is easy, too. To hit the cue ball, move the mouse pointer over the cue stick that appears on the right side of the window. Press the left mouse button to grab the stick, move the mouse down to pull the stick back, and then release the mouse button to strike the ball. You can also use the cursor down key to pull the stick back and the space bar to strike the ball. The farther you pull back, the harder you hit the ball. For players who prefer a little more control, you can pull the stick back, as usual, but then continue to hold the mouse button down while you push the stick forward to hit the cue ball. This gives you direct control over the strength of the shot based on how fast you push the mouse forward.
Advanced Features Maximum Pool's game screen offers several advanced options, such as customizing your view of the table, setting the strike point on the cue ball, and passing your turn to the next player. Note that most of these options are available only when it's your turn. Changing Your Table View There are three buttons found in the lower-right corner of the game screen. Click on the top button to get an overhead view of the table. Click on the middle button to get an angled view of the table. Click on the bottom button to get a first-person shooter's view, just as if you were leaning over the cue stick. There are also several "hidden" views that you can cycle through by holding down the Alt key as you click on either of the top two buttons. Another hidden feature is that you can right click anywhere on the table that you want to focus on. You can change view only at the end of a shot, when all the balls are at rest. Using Ball English (Spin) Before you take a shot, you can apply English (spin) to the cue ball by choosing where you strike it. To set the strike point, move your mouse pointer over the large cue ball that appears in the upper right part of the window. Grab the crosshairs that appear over this ball by pressing and holding down the left mouse button, then move the crosshairs to the desired strike point and release the left mouse button. As in real-life pool, it takes practice to learn how to use ball English to your best advantage. Undo/Redo Maximum Pool lets you take back (undo) shots and try them again. This feature is especially helpful when you are practicing or learning a particular game. To undo a shot, click on the ? button and select Undo from the menu that appears. If you change your mind and want to return the balls to their post-shot positions, click on the ? menu's Redo option. Passing To willingly pass your turn to the next player, click on the ? button and select Pass from the menu that appears. You can use Pass at the beginning of a game to give the break to your opponent. You can also use Pass to enforce "call shot" rules in a game such as Eight Ball. If you sink a ball on your turn, but it is not the shot you called, select Pass to relinquish your turn. Resigning When things look hopeless and you want to raise the white flag, click on the ? button and select Resign. This is the same as always passing your turn (see previous page). Resigning ends the game in all two-player games. In three- and four-player games, the remaining players are allowed to finish the game with you as an observer. Note: If you're playing Cutthroat as a single player, resigning will resign you, but will not end the game.
Preferences Maximum Pool has a variety of settings that can be changed by clicking Preferences from the Main menu. Click the On/Off button next to each option to turn it on or off. Sound Effects Turns on or off the Maximum Pool audio other than music and character speech. Music Turns on or off the Maximum Pool music in the game. It does not affect sound effects or character speech. Character Speech Turns on or off the Maximum Pool character speech. It does not affect sound effects or music. Expert Mode When expert mode is on, there is no targeting ball or guidelines. Quick Tips Controls whether or not Quick Tips are displayed upon starting a new game. Glow Object Ball When this is turned on, object balls that must be struck first are highlighted. Nine Ball, Rotation, and 24 Cents only. Use Custom Balls When this is turned on, a special rack of balls is used for Eight Ball, Cutthroat, and Snooker. Defaults Click Reset to restore all Maximum Pool preferences to their default settings. Maximum Pool Game Rules Maximum Pool takes a casual approach to the game of pool. For example, instead of forcing players to call a pocket before every shot in Eight Ball (something you might do in a professional tournament), Maximum Pool leaves it up to you to enforce such technical rules. In this example, if you miss the pocket you call, you can pass the turn to your opponent by clicking on the ? button and selecting the Pass option. (Note that you must call the pocket before you sink the eight ball, however. Bypassing this rule is not an option!)
Classic Game Rules Basic Pocket Billiards In Basic Pocket Billiards, you get one point for each ball that you legally pocket, and the first player with eight points wins. You get one point for each ball that you pocket on the break, plus you get to shoot again. Before each shot (other than the break), you must specify a ball that you are going to pocket by clicking on it or pressing the Tab key until the ball you want to sink is highlighted. If you pocket the highlighted ball, it, and any other balls that go in on the same shot, are considered "legally pocketed" and count as one point. You also get to shoot again. You continue to shoot as long as you pocket the highlighted ball without fouling. You foul when you sink the cue ball or you knock a ball off the table. Illegally pocketed balls are always returned to the table. Carom Billiards This popular European game is played with just three balls—white, yellow, and red—on a table without pockets. The cue ball alternates between the white and yellow ball. With two players, for example, player 1 uses the white ball as a cue ball and player 2 uses the yellow ball as a cue ball. It gets a tad more complicated with three players, however, as three sequential players must use two alternating cue balls. For example, player 1 uses white on the break, then player 2 uses yellow, then player 3 uses white, and then player 1 uses yellow, then player 2 uses white, and so on. The player who breaks must hit the red ball first and drive a ball to the rail or it's considered a foul. You score a point by striking both object balls with your cue ball in a single shot. If you accomplish this without fouling, you get one point and the chance to shoot again. You lose one point (and your turn) whenever you foul. You foul when you knock a ball off the table, make the cue ball jump, or fail to knock the cue ball or an object ball against the rail. The first player to reach the agreed upon score wins the game. Cutthroat Cutthroat is an enjoyable three-person game where each player tries to knock in all of the other players' balls. The first player's balls are numbered 1 through 5. The second player has balls 6 through 10, and the third player has balls 11 through 15. The The last player with any balls remaining on the table wins. To be a legal shot, the cue ball must hit one of your opponent's balls before hitting any others. You can continue to shoot as long as you pocket a ball without fouling. You foul when you sink the cue ball, knock a ball off the table, or fail to hit one of your opponent's balls before contacting one of your own. It is also a foul if you fail to sink a ball and no balls touch the rail after a ball is hit. When you foul, both of your opponents have a ball put back on the table plus any of their balls that were pocketed on that shot. If you don't have any balls on the table when your turn comes up, your turn passes to the next player. Since you can put a ball back on the table when another player fouls, it's always possible to get back in the game. Eight Ball The goal of this classic two-player game is to sink the eight ball. Before you do that, however, you must pocket all of your other balls first. Your balls are either solid or striped. The solid balls are balls 1 through 7. The striped balls are balls 9 through 15. The type of ball sunk on the first successful shot after the break determines whether the shooter is solids or stripes. If balls of both types go in on this shot, the shooter chooses solids or stripes. You can continue to shoot as long as you manage to sink at least one of your balls without fouling. You foul when you sink the cue ball, knock a ball off the table, or fail to hit one of your balls before contacting any others. It is also a foul if you fail to sink your ball and no balls touch the rail after your ball is hit. If you lose your turn because of a foul, your opponent gets to place the cue ball wherever he or she wants. If you sink the eight ball with any of your balls still on the table, you automatically lose the game. You also lose if you knock the eight ball off the table, scratch when sinking the eight ball, or sink any other balls in the same shot that you sink the eight ball. Before attempting to sink the eight ball, you must highlight the pocket you're aiming for by clicking on it with the mouse pointer. If you sink the eight ball in a different pocket, you automatically lose the game. If you fail to pocket the eight ball, you lose your turn. If you sink the eight ball in the highlighted pocket, you win! Nine Ball This popular game, in a shocking surprise, is played with a total of nine balls (numbered one through nine) and your goal is to sink the 9 ball. That may sound easy, but there's a catch: you must always hit the lowest numbered ball on the table first. During your turn, you can continue to shoot as long as you manage to pocket a ball without fouling. You foul when the first ball you hit is not the lowest numbered ball on the table, you sink the cue ball, or you knock a ball off the table. It is also a foul if you fail to sink a ball and no balls touch the rail after you hit the lowest numbered ball. If you lose your turn because of a foul, your opponent gets to place the cue ball wherever he or she wants. Be extra careful about making too many foul shots. Commit three fouls in a row and you automatically lose the game. If you do not have a clear shot at the lowest numbered ball after a break, you can choose to Push Out (click on the ? button and select Push Out). After choosing to Push Out, you can hit the cue ball anywhere on the table without a foul. You don't get points for balls that you sink, and you automatically lose your turn after a Push Out. Also, the next player gets the option of taking the next shot or passing it back to you. Rotation When you legally sink a ball in rotation, you score its number in points. Sink the 12 ball, for example, and score 12 points. When all balls are sunk, if you have the highest score, you win. You can't just aim for the highest numbered ball on the table, though. To be a legal shot, the cue ball must hit the lowest numbered ball on the table before hitting any others. You continue to shoot as long as you pocket a ball without fouling. You foul when the first ball you hit is not the lowest numbered ball on the table, you sink the cue ball, or you knock a ball off the table. It is also a foul if you fail to sink a ball and no balls touch the rail after you hit the lowest numbered ball. If you lose your turn because of a foul, your opponent has the option of taking his or her turn, or letting you continue to shoot. Be extra careful about making too many foul shots. Commit three fouls in a row and you automatically lose the game. Snooker Snooker is a challenging two-player game with 15 red balls and six "color" balls (non-red balls). The object of the game is to outscore your opponent. Each ball is worth a certain point value when you legally pocket it. Red: 1 point Yellow: 2 points Green: 3 points Brown: 4 points Blue: 5 points Pink: 6 points Black: 7 points On the break, the starting player has ball in hand in the D-shaped portion of the table. The cue ball must strike a red ball. It is not necessary to send a ball to the rail or into a pocket. At the beginning of each turn after the break, you attempt to sink a red ball. If you sink a red ball, you try to sink a color ball. You alternate between sinking red balls and sinking color balls. Red balls remain sunk when legally pocketed. Color balls are returned to the table, unless all the red balls have been pocketed. If all the red balls are gone, even color balls remain pocketed when sunk, and you must shoot at the color balls in ascending order (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and then black). When you are shooting red, the first ball struck by the cue ball must be red, and sinking color balls is a foul. When you shoot reds, you don't have to call the ball or the pocket. When you are shooting color, you select the color ball you are going to sink (click on it or press the Tab key until it is highlighted). Sinking any other ball or striking another ball first is a foul. When you foul, the value of the foul is added to your opponent's score. Then your opponent decides whether to shoot or force you to shoot again. If there are two fouls on the same stroke, the highest point penalty foul is counted. The foul penalty is the value of the ball you are attempting to pocket when you: 1) Miss all object balls 2) Scratch 3) Make the cue ball jump The penalty is the value of the given ball involved when you: 1) Sink a ball that should not have been sunk 2) Hit the wrong ball with the cue ball 3) Knock a ball off the table Finally, the penalty is 7 points if you shoot red when you are supposed to be shooting color. When the black ball is the last ball left on the table, the first point scored or foul committed ends the game. If the game is a tie at this point, one player is chosen at random to decide who shoots next, and the black ball is placed at its home spot on the table. The first shot to break the tie ends the game
Rules to Cool Games 24 Cents 24 Cents is an addictive game with easy-to-learn rules. There are two ways to win this game of loose change: be the first to pocket 50 cents or more, or, be the first to collect exactly 24 cents. The game starts out with 7 penny balls, 4 nickel balls, 3 dime balls, and 1 quarter ball. Each ball is worth the value of the coin it represents. Legally pocket a quarter ball, for example, and your score goes up by 25 cents. But, to be a legal shot, your cue ball must hit the lowest numbered ball on the table before it hits any others. You can continue to shoot as long as you pocket a ball without fouling. You foul when the first ball you hit is not the lowest numbered ball on the table, you sink the cue ball, or you knock a ball off the table. It is also a foul if you fail to sink a ball and no balls touch the rail after you hit the lowest numbered ball. If you lose your turn because of a foul, your opponent gets to place the cue ball wherever he or she wants. And, any balls pocketed on a foul shot return to the table as nickels. Chameleon Ball In Chameleon Ball, each player is assigned a color. Your goal is to sink balls of your color. An easy task, if it weren't for the fact that the balls keep changing color. Let's say you are blue. The cue ball turns blue whenever it is your turn. All of the other balls are Chameleon balls, and they start out gray. When hit by the cue ball, a gray Chameleon ball takes on the cue ball's color. If a Chameleon ball is wearing an opponent's color, you must strike it once to knock that color off; then strike it again to make it blue. You score one point for each blue ball that is pocketed. Be careful not to knock in balls of another color, or you will score points for your opponent. You lose your turn if you scratch, knock a ball off the table, or fail to sink a ball of your color. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Mad Bomber Mad Bomber is a truly explosive game of pool. The goal is to score as many points as you can, or reach 50 points first. No points are awarded for balls pocketed on the break. After the break, each ball is worth one, two, three, or five points. Sink a ball with a 2 on it, for example and you get two points, as long as it's still a 2 by the time it drops in the pocket. You see, the balls change value when they're hit by the cue ball. All balls start out as green 3 balls. If you hit one with the cue ball, it turns yellow and "counts down," into a 2 ball. Hit a 2 ball and you make a red 1 ball. Hit a 1 ball and look out! A 1 ball will turn into a short-fused bomb. Fives seconds and – BOOM! – it explodes, scattering surrounding balls across the table. If any bombs explode before they land in a pocket, the game randomly selects a 1, 2 or 3 ball and spots it on the table. You get a whopping five points for pocketing a bomb ball before it explodes, but you also lose your turn. In fact, you lose your turn anytime you set off a bomb. You also lose your turn if you fail to sink a ball or you foul. You foul when you sink the cue ball, knock a ball off the table, or fail to hit a ball. If you lose your turn because of a foul, a ball is returned to the table and your opponent gets to place the cue ball wherever he or she wants. This can be a big advantage for your opponent when you're playing on Mad Bomber's "cool" table, since there is only one pocket to shoot for. Poker Maximum Pool's Poker brings the popular card game to the pool table, complete with a special "deck" of playing-card balls. Your goal is to pocket the best poker hand. You and your fellow players must sink two racks of balls to end the game. Both racks come from the same deck, so you will never encounter two identical balls, such as two aces of spades. The player with the best poker hand after the last ball goes in is the winner. To keep things interesting, at least one ball in each rack is "face down." Balls that are face down have a question mark on them, and you won't know which card they hide until the end of the game. As in standard Poker, you have to build your hand out of five cards. So, after you've collected five balls, you have to discard a ball for every new one you pocket. To keep the hand you've already built, simply discard your most recently pocketed ball. You only get one shot per turn. If you sink more than one ball in your shot, you get to keep the first ball that drops in. All of the other balls are put back on the table. If you foul during your shot, all balls pocketed on that shot are returned to the table. You foul when you sink the cue ball, knock a ball off the table, or fail to hit a ball. After a foul, the next player gets to place the cue ball wherever he or she wants. Before you take a shot, you can click on the Rank button found on the left side of the window to see a list of Poker hands sorted in winning order. You must have five balls for your hand to count; any player that ends the game with fewer than five cards automatically loses. When you think you have the best hand you'll get, click on the Stand Pat button to signal that you're happy with your hand. If all players decide to Stand Pat, the game ends early. Rocket Ball Rocket Ball is a fast-moving game that is easy to learn and a blast to play. It's the perfect choice if you're looking for a quick game. Your goal is simply to pocket as many balls as you can, and the table's Rocket Balls are there to keep things moving. Rocket Balls appear as glowing blue balls that blast off when hit with the cue ball. A launched Rocket Ball will continue to fly around the table until it either knocks in a ball or lands itself inside a pocket. You get one point for each ball that you sink, except the Rocket Balls. If you sink a Rocket Ball, you lose your turn, and it turns on Double Mode. In Double Mode, pocketed balls are worth two points instead of one. You also lose your turn if you scratch, knock a ball off the table, or fail to pocket a ball. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Maximum Pool Strategies and Tips To be a real Maximum Pool shark, try these tips and features. Don't hit the ball too hard! It's tempting to put a lot of force behind each shot, but you can scratch easily this way. As you play, try to get a good feel for the relationship between how far you pull back the cue and the strength of the resulting shot. Consider your leave. Where is the cue ball going to stop, assuming you make your shot? Shooting with the next shot in mind is the mark of a good player. Shooting with the next several shots in mind is the mark of an excellent one. Practice proper English. You can apply spin, known as "English," to the cue ball by adjusting where you hit it. Before your shot, roll your mouse over the cue ball in the upper-right corner of the screen. Clicking on the cue ball changes where you will strike it on your next shot. By hitting the cue ball off-center, you will apply English to it, giving you finer control over where it will come to rest after the shot. It takes some practice, but mastering the application of English will improve your game dramatically. Use auto-aiming. To quickly aim for a ball, place the mouse cursor over the desired ball and double click the left mouse button. The cue stick jumps into position, aiming straight for the selected ball. Fine tune with your keyboard. Instead of honing in on a shot using the cue-stick controls located in the lower-left corner of the window, it's often more convenient to double-click on a ball to aim at it, and then use the left and right cursor keys to fine tune your shot.
See also How to Play Maximum Pool Quitting Maximum Pool Resigning When things look hopeless and you want to raise the white flag, click on the ? button and select Resign. This is the same as always passing your turn (see previous page). Resigning ends the game in all two-player games. In three- and four-player games, the remaining players are allowed to finish the game with you as an observer. Exiting Maximum Pool If you want to do more than simply resign, click on the Main menu button to exit the current game completely, taking you back to the Maximum Pool main screen. To go back to the Hoyle Board Games main screen, choose Exit from the Maximum Pool main screen, and then choose Leave from the character selection screen.
Maximum Pool Background The modern-day game of Pool, or Billiards, has at least some of its roots in 15th century Europe, where a popular Croquet-style game known as Ground Billiards made its way indoors to become Billiards. The indoor version was played on an elevated table with a green felt covering (a nod to the grass of the outdoor game), and a rim to keep the balls from falling off the edge. The game played like miniature Croquet, though, and not like the Billiards we play today. The game evolved as its popularity grew, although details regarding the advent of pockets over the original Croquet-style game are sketchy. Over the years, innovators made steady improvements to the balls, cues, and tables to create a more consistent playing field, and to give the player more control over the ball. Slate tabletops, ivory (and ultimately composite) balls, rubber rims, leather cue tips, and chalk all changed the game forever. Pool now stands as one of the most popular pastimes in the world. How to Play Zilch Zilch is a dice game for two, three, or four players. In Zilch, you roll six dice to score points and try to reach the winning score before your opponents. You score points by getting the valid dice combinations, shown below. Note that the only dice that can be scored singly are 1 and 5; all other dice can only score when rolled in the combinations below.
Dice Combination Score 1 100 5 50 3 of a kind: 1-1-1 1,000 2-2-2 200 3-3-3 300 4-4-4 400 5-5-5 500 6-6-6 600 4 of a kind [3 of a kind score] x 2 Example: 5-5-5-5 = 1,000 (500 x 2) 5 of a kind [3 of a kind score] x 4 Example: 2-2-2-2-2 = 800 (200 x 4) 6 of a kind [3 of a kind score] x 8 Example: 3-3-3-3-3-3 = 2,400 (300 x 8) Any three pairs 1,000 Example: 1-1-4-4-6-6 Straight (1-2-3-4-5-6) 1,500
Playing the Game You begin your turn by rolling all six dice. If you get any valid dice combinations on a roll, you can score them, removing the dice that make up those combinations from the board. Each die can only be used in one scoring combination. You do not have to score all the combinations you get, but you must score at least one combination on each roll to continue. If you don't get any combinations on a roll, your roll is a zilch: you score zero (even if you have scored points in previous rolls on this turn), and your turn ends. When you finish scoring combinations, you can decide either to roll the remaining dice to try and score additional points, or to end your turn and keep the points you have earned. If you use all six dice in combinations on a turn, you can choose to reroll all six dice, or keep your current score. Therefore, a typical turn (once you have qualified to start scoring; see Initial Scoring Requirement) works like this: 1 Roll all six dice. 2 If no scoring combinations come up, the roll is a zilch, and your turn ends automatically. Otherwise, score any combinations you rolled. You don't have to score all combinations, but must score at least one combination to continue. 3 Choose whether to end your turn and score the points rolled that turn, or to reroll any remaining dice in an attempt to score more points. If you reroll and fail to roll any points, you forfeit all points accrued so far that turn. 4 If you choose to stop, your turn ends. If you choose to roll again, you roll any remaining dice (or all six dice if you used all six dice in scoring), repeating steps 2 through 4 until your turn ends. In the example below, you roll the dice and get one dice combination on your first roll: a 5, worth 50 points. You set it aside and decide to reroll. For your second roll, you get a three of a kind (3-3-3) and a 1, for a total of 400 points. You set these dice aside, and can either reroll your remaining die (the 4) or keep the points. You decide to keep the points and end your turn.
If you decided to reroll the 4 instead of ending your turn, you would need to roll a 1 or a 5, since those are the only scoring combinations you can get with a single die. If you successfully roll a 1 or 5 (so that all six dice score), you could either keep the points, ending your turn, or reroll all six dice to try to get additional points. (If you get zilch on the reroll, however, you would lose all the points you had earned.) Important: Dice in rerolls cannot combine with any dice set aside on a previous roll. For example, if you roll a 5-5 on a roll, and then another 5 on the next roll, you cannot combine them to make 5-5-5. Using the example above, if you threw the remaining die instead of ending your turn, and threw another 3, it would not combine with the previous 3-3-3 to make a four of a kind (3-3-3-3); instead, it would be a single, non-scoring 3 (a zilch), and you would lose all 450 points you had earned that turn. This means that you can only get the 6 of a kind, Straight and Any Three Pairs combinations by rolling all six dice at once.
Winning the Game The game continues until a player finishes his or her turn with 10,000 points. When this happens, every other player who has not had the same number of turns as the player at 10,00 gets one final turn to try and make it to 10,000. For example, if the player who went second in a four-player game reaches 10,000, the third and fourth players get one last chance to reach 10,000, but the first player does not. After everyone has had the same number of turns and at least one player has 10,000 or more points, the player with the highest total score is the winner.
Initial Scoring Requirement In the standard game, you are required to start the game by scoring at least 500 points on a single turn (you can turn off this requirement in the game options). It may take several turns before you get a good enough score to qualify. After that, you can score as many points as you like on each turn. Click here for an example of a qualifying roll:
To play Zilch: 1 The frame around your player flashes when it's your turn. Roll the dice by clicking on the dice cup. 2 If you don't have any legal dice combinations, you have a zilch, and your turn ends. Otherwise, score a dice combination by moving it to the scoring area using one of these methods: Drag each die in the combination to a row. OR Right-click a die to move it to a row automatically. See the Notes and Tips section below for more information on moving dice automatically. Note: Using either method of moving dice, you will be allowed to move dice to the board that aren't legal combinations. It is up to you to make sure that all the dice you move to the scoring area are legal combinations; illegal combinations will display a score of 0 in red. 3 When you have made a legal dice combination, the score for that combination appears on the right of the scoring row. (If the dice do not score yet, a zero appears in that space.) 4 Continue making dice combinations until you are finished. To move a die back to the board and remove it from the scoring area, click it or drag it back. 5 When you have at least one legal scoring combination, and all the dice you have moved to the scoring area are in legal scoring combinations, two buttons appear below the scoring area: Click the Keep Points button to keep any points you have scored. Your current score for this turn is added to your scorecard and your turn ends. OR Click the Roll Again button to set aside the dice you scored and roll your remaining dice (or all six dice if you used all of your dice in scoring combinations) to try to get additional combinations. The turn continues as in step 2, above.
Notes and Tips: When you right-click a die to automatically move it to the scoring area, the die moves to the best position for scoring. So, in a case where a die can fit in more than one combination, the die is put in the row that would produce the most points. When more than one page of the score pad is filled, you move ahead and back pages of the pad by clicking the arrows in the lower right and left corners of the score pad.
Actions Roll Rolls the dice at the start of your turn. To roll, click the Roll button, press Spacebar, or select Roll Dice on the Actions menu. Keep Points Keeps the current score, ending your turn. This action is only available if you have made at least one legal combination this turn and all rows contain legal combinations. To keep your points, click the Keep Points button, press K, or select Keep Points on the Actions menu. Roll Again Roll the remaining dice, risking your current score if you roll a zilch. As with Keep Score, this action is only available if you have made at least one legal combination this turn and all rows contain legal combinations. To reroll, click the Roll Again button, press Spacebar, or select Roll Dice on the Actions menu. Game Options To change game options for Zilch, click Zilch Settings on the Options menu. You can set whether a minimum opening score of 500 points or more is required, whether players must score at least 350 points to keep any score, the winning score (5,000, 10,000, or 20,000) and the game difficulty. For help on these options, see the help area in the Settings dialog box.
See Also Zilch Strategies and Tips Zilch Background
Zilch Strategies and Tips Try these hints and tips to improve your Zilch game: The main decision in Zilch is whether to keep your score or risk it by rolling again. You can play conservatively, aggressively, or somewhere in between, or vary your strategy throughout the game based on how much you are ahead or behind, the number of dice left to reroll, and the points you have earned so far in a turn. The conservative approach is to take relatively low scores every turn to avoid getting a zilch. This is the low-risk, low-gain, slow-and-steady tortoise approach, and is generally the correct approach for someone with a large lead in the game. You just creep towards the goal, and let your opponents take the risky rerolls. If they get lucky with their risky approach, you can adjust your game at that point. Don't take this approach too far, though. You generally want to reroll with 100 points or fewer, even playing extremely conservatively. The aggressive approach is to reroll almost any score under 350 points in an attempt to score all six dice, so you can get a full reroll and go for big points. This is a high-risk, high-gain, pedal-to-the-metal approach, and is a better strategy when you are significantly behind and need some luck to get back in the game. A middle-of-the-road strategy is probably the way to go in a close game. Don't risk 400 or more points with only one or two dice to reroll, but with 250 or less and at least three dice to roll, go for it. Your objective should be to roll as many dice as you can. Therefore, unless you are trying to catch up to an opponent's large lead, if you roll multiple singles (1s and 5s) on your first roll, you should keep only one die and reroll five to maximize the possibility of a 3 of a kind or 4 of a kind next roll. For example, if you roll two 5s and a 1 on your first roll, keep only the 1 and reroll the other five dice for a better chance at a big roll like three 1s or three 6s. If you intend to reroll, resist the temptation to always take all possible points if setting aside fewer points allows you to reroll three or more dice.
See Also How to Play Zilch Zilch Background Zilch is a dice-rolling game also commonly referred to as Farkle or 10,000. The game has also been sold in a number of different commercial packages; it is easy to package, since all that's needed to play is six dice and a scoresheet. Since the game is easy to teach, there are a number of different play and scoring conventions, depending on how you learned the game. The origin of the game is hard to pin down. The game Farkle is said to have been played by Sir Albert Farkle (Farkel) in Iceland in 1492; other sources are less clear, claiming only that the game was played in medieval times. Texans even claim this as their own game, named for the "farkleberry" trees from whose hard, inedible berries dice may have been carved. The game 10,000 is often called by its French name Dix Mille, which may hint to a French origin. This name is more clear: 10,000 is the number of points required to win. Hoyle Board Games Help Welcome to Hoyle Board Games Help. To find out how to play the games, click the items below.
Getting Started Signing In Making a Face in FaceCreator Starting a Game Hoyle Bucks Playing Games Backgammon Maximum Pool Battling Ships Pachisi Bump 'em Reversi Checkers Rummy Squares Chess Triple Yacht Chinese Wordox Checkers Word Yacht Dominoes Yacht DoubleCross Zilch Master Match Game Options Customizing Hoyle Board Games Changing Player Settings Hoyle Characters Playing Games in a Window Setting Game Rules and Options Special Features Managing Games Saving and Restoring Games Viewing Statistics Quitting a Game Additional Information A Brief History of Board Games Contact Information References Signing In When you start Hoyle Board Games, you must first sign in, choosing a name and a picture to represent yourself. You must create at least one player to play the games, and you can create additional players for yourself, your friends, and your family members. One reason for creating multiple players is that some games allow more than one player on the same computer. Another reason is that your high scores and other statistics are tracked based on your player name. The first time you sign in, you are asked to create a new player. After that, you can sign in as an existing player. You can create new players at any time, and you can change your character face at any time.
To create a new player: 1 Click the New button. 2 Type a name for the new player, and click OK. 3 To create your own unique face, click the FaceCreator button. Click here to learn more about using FaceCreator: OR Select FaceCreator to show FaceCreator pictures (ones you have made and a selection of premade faces), or select Non-talking to show non-talking pictures provided for you. Then, select the face you want to use by moving the horizontal scroll bar. 4 Click OK to create the new player.
To sign in a player created during a previous session: 1 Click the player's name in the list. If necessary, scroll through the list using the vertical scroll bar. To change the face for this player, see step 3, above. 2 Click OK to start playing games as this player.
Notes: You can remove a player from the list of players by selecting the player name and clicking the Delete button. The player (and all of his or her statistics) is removed permanently. You can sign in as a different player after you've started Hoyle Board Games. You might do this if someone else wants to play games and you don't want to exit. From the Main Screen (click Main Screen on the Go To menu if you're in a game), click Sign In on the File menu to sign in as a different player.
See Also Changing Player Settings Making a Face in FaceCreator Starting a Game You can start a game from the Main Screen or from the Go To menu.
To start a game: From the Main Screen, click the game you want to play, or click the name of the game on the Go To menu. From within a game, click the name of the game on the Go To menu. To get to the Main Screen from within a game, click Main Screen on the Go To menu.
To switch from one game to another: Click the Go To menu, and then click the name of the game you want to switch to. If you're in the middle of a game, you are asked if you are sure you want to exit the current game. Note: You can save a game and come back to play it later by using the Save and Restore commands on the File menu.
See Also Signing In Customizing the Game Environment Setting Game Rules and Options Customizing Hoyle Board Games In Board Games, you can change certain environment settings like speed of play, background music, animations, and character speech. All of these settings are changed using options on the Options menu. These settings can be changed from anywhere in Hoyle Board Games and affect all the games.
To change the game environment: Click Environment on the Options menu and change settings as described below.
Setting Description Character Speech Sets whether Hoyle characters talk while you play. Animations Sets whether certain game animations are on or off. This setting does not affect all games, and only affects animations that a slower computer might have trouble playing. Background Music Sets whether you hear background music while you play the games. Specify which music you want to hear by selecting it in the Background Music list. Use the volume slider to adjust the music volume. Sound Effects Sets whether you hear sound effects during games, such as dealing cards. Show Intro Movie Plays the introductory movie whenever you start Board Games. Attitude Sets how talkative and animated Hoyle characters are during the game. Move the Attitude slider to the left towards Serious for less attitude or to the right towards Talkative for more attitude. Note: The attitude is set for all Hoyle characters in the game. You cannot set each player's attitude individually. Speed Sets the overall speed of all the games. You might want to slow down the games if they don't perform well on your computer. Move the Speed slider to the left towards Slow or to the right towards Fast to adjust the speed.
See Also Setting Game Rules and Options Playing Games in a Window You can make Hoyle Board Games run in a window, so you can easily switch to other programs.
To play in a window: Click Window on the Options menu. The program fits in a window.
To play in full-screen mode: Click Full Screen on the Options menu. The program resizes to fill the screen.
Notes: Maximizing the game window will not make the screen bigger; you must go to full screen mode. This may not work on all computers. If you open the online help while in full screen mode, the full screen mode is turned off. You can press ALT+ENTER to quickly switch between viewing the program in full screen or in a window. Changing Player Settings When you sign in to Hoyle Board Games, you are the "host." Up to three other people can play games with you on your computer; this is called "head to head" play. All the games except for Dominoes and Rummy Squares allow head-to-head-play. In addition, you can play against the Hoyle characters. To learn more about the Hoyle characters, click here: When you start a game, all of the actively signed-in people are seated in the game, if possible, along with one or more Hoyle characters to fill any empty seats. You can add and remove players before a game is started; if you do this after the game starts, you'll need to start a new game. However, you can substitute one computer player for another at any time, and you can change your player picture at any time.
To change player settings: 1 Within a game, click the Players menu item on the Options menu. 2 Change player settings as described below. Some settings can only be changed before a game starts. To replace a player, click the Replace button next to that player. To replace a player with someone who will play with you on your computer, select Real Person; otherwise, select a computer player. You can't change the host of a game within a game; to change the host, you must go to the Main Screen and use the Sign In command on the File menu. Tip: You can quickly replace a player by clicking on the player's picture in the game, and then selecting a different player on the pop-up menu that appears. To remove a player, click the Clear button next to that player. In games that require a certain number of players, you won't be able to clear players if you won't have enough players to play. To add another player to a game, click the Add button in an empty position in the Players dialog box. To add someone who will play with you on your computer, select Real Person; otherwise, select a computer player. To see a description of a computer player, click the Bio button next to that player. To change the face of a human player, click the Face button next to that player. You can then choose a standard face, or click FaceCreator to create your own face. Other settings for players in a game, such as player color, are shown underneath each player.
Note: When you start a game that includes Hoyle characters, random players are chosen for you. If you want to play with a certain player, you can set that players to be "preferred" so he or she plays with you in every game. To do this, check the Preferred Player box under that player. You can set a few players as preferred, or set all but one or two players as preferred (if there are players you don't ever want to play games with).
See Also Customizing the Game Environment Hoyle Characters Making a Face in FaceCreator Hoyle Characters Hoyle Board Games offers an array of characters for you to play games with. To learn how to change the Hoyle characters playing in a particular game, click here:
To learn how to interact with the Hoyle characters using the BackTalk feature, click here:
Captain Scurvy is a parrot pirate who has spent many years conquering all available seas. His favorite activities are pillaging, ordering his crew around, and reading cryptic maps. On long sailings across the Pacific Ocean, he plays a variety of games with his crew, some involving large wagers. He is noisy, friendly, and quick to offer advice. It is rumored that Scurvy had a life before the sea, but Captain Scurvy he doesn't talk about it much.
Chloe lives in Rochester, Minnesota, where she works as a personal trainer. She knows how to motivate people, but don't let that supportive personality fool you – she has quite a competitive streak. Chloe knows that hard work pays off at the gym and at the game table, so she spends those long Minnesota winters perfecting her strategies. Chloe
Elayne is a native Manhattanite who doesn't see why she should ever leave. This fast-track advertising exec unwinds from a hectic day on Madison Avenue with some of the most popular games of all time.
Elayne
Harley is a talking bear who likes food and rolling in the grass naked. He dislikes forest fires, tourists, and hikers who think they can run away. He learned to play games by watching the park rangers play games in their cabin on breaks (when he wasn't sneaking food out of their fridge). Underneath the growly exterior, he's a pussycat (unless you are eating and don't offer to share). Harley
Hedda hails from Stuttgart, Germany, where she was the city's undisputed game champion for 15 consecutive years. After conquering countless opponents in Europe, she moved on to the United States and proceeded to learn every popular board and card game in the country. Hedda is not for the faint-hearted – she may try to rattle you with her comments. Hedda
Jack made his living as a travel writer, and recently retired to the New England coast. He's a bachelor, but is still looking for "Ms. Right;" in the meantime, he works on his sailboat, collects antiques, and vacations all over the world. Jack has some great stories to tell and a wonderful sense of humor, but don't let him distract you from your game. Jack Since Jasper left Jamaica years ago, he has traveled the world as a jazz bass player. All that time on the road has made him a world class gamer. Jasper points out, "A good game is like a song that starts slowly and builds to a strategic crescendo."
Jasper
For a fierce T-Rex, Marvin is quite likeable. Although self-conscious about his tiny arms and bitter about the Ice Age, Marvin hasn't eaten an opponent yet. Marvin spends his time bird watching, playing games, and avoiding extinction.
Marvin
Rhett is a dyed-in-the-wool Hoyle gamer from Texas – stay sharp or he'll beat you every time. His wild theories and strong opinions will have your head spinning, but he's always entertaining. As long as you stick to the rules, Rhett will be a regular at your game table.
Rhett
Roswell is the sole survivor of the famous "crash in Roswell, New Mexico, 1947. In an extensive effort to keep this UFO incident hidden from the public, the government employed Roswell for years as a janitor at Area 51. Eventually granted a reasonable retirement package, Roswell now keeps his oversized brain (and his unchecked sarcasm) exercised by playing games. Roswell
Tasha has so much energy, it hardly seems possible that she can sit still for a game – but she loves to play. She works as a hostess at a Cajun restaurant, where things are always hopping. Talkative, funny, and a bit unpredictable, Tasha will spice up any game.
Tasha
Tony is a fireman – he loves his work and is a true hero. He may seem like the strong, silent type, but invite him to your next game and he'll loosen right up. Tony honed his card and board game skills during midnight shifts at the firehouse. He's married and has twin baby girls, but even sleep deprivation won't stop him from playing to win. Tony
See Also Changing Player Settings Customizing the Game Environment
Setting Game Rules and Options You can set game settings for each game, such as rules for the game, how the game is set up, and how the game is played. You can change all the settings for a game before the game begins. Once the game has begun, changing settings may require you to restart the game.
To set game rules and options: 1 While in the game, click the
See Also Customizing the Game Environment Changing Player Settings Saving and Restoring Games You can save a game you are currently playing so you can play it later. The next time you start the game, you can open your saved game using the Restore command. You will then be back in the game at the same point you left it, with the same players and game settings.
To save a game: 1 Click Save on the File menu. 2 Type a name for the saved game. This can be a descriptive name such as "Game with Roswell." (You will see a picture of the game when you restore it, to help you identify it.)
To restore a game: 1 Click Restore on the File menu, and then select the game you want to restore. You can see a picture of each game and the date and time it was saved by selecting the name of the saved game. 2 Click OK to restore the selected game. It will replace any game you are currently playing (you are asked if you want to replace it.) Important! When you try to restore games, you only see games if you saved them with the player name you are currently signed in with. For example, if you are signed in as Madeline, you won't see any games that were saved by Emmy.
Notes: Some games can only be saved when it is a human player's turn.
See Also Setting Game Rules and Options Customizing the Game Environment Changing Player Settings Viewing Statistics You can display statistics, including information on wins, losses, and points as they apply to each game. You must finish at least one game to see statistics for that game.
To view statistics: 1 Click Statistics on the File menu. 2 Click the name of the player you want statistics for. 3 Select the name of the game you want statistics for.
Notes: To clear statistics for the current player and game, click the Clear button. Statistics are permanently cleared for that game for that player.
See Also Setting Game Rules and Options Changing Player Settings Quitting a Game You can quit a particular game or exit Hoyle Board Games altogether. If you want to resume playing a game later, save the game before quitting.
To save the current game before quitting: Click Save on the File menu.
To exit a game: Click Main Screen on the Go To menu. You will return to the Main Screen where you can choose a different game to play. Or click a game name on the Go To menu to go directly to that game.
To quit the program: Choose Exit on the File menu.
See Also Saving and Restoring Games Special Features
Hoyle Bucks The gamer's equivalent to frequent flier miles; the more you play, the more you'll earn! See the Hoyle Bucks section for full details on the Hoyle Bucks feature.
BackTalk In previous versions of the Hoyle products, your character would sit quietly while the Hoyle characters did all the talking. Now, you can get in on the conversation! Each character plaque, including yours, has two face buttons on it.
Hoyle Character Buttons Player Character Buttons If you click on a Hoyle character's happy-faced heart button, you will say something kind to them. If you click on their horn-headed devilish button, you will do a little trash talking, or perhaps play a slapstick prank on them. The Hoyle characters will respond to your comments or actions. As for yourself, if you are feeling good or feeling bad, you can say so by clicking the appropriate icon on your plaque. The Hoyle characters may have something to say about the way you feel, too.
Notes and Tips: You can also use your keyboard to talk with your character. 1 and 2 are shortcuts for your character's buttons. 3 and 4 are shortcuts for the Hoyle character to your left, and so on going clockwise around the board. If you use a face saved from a Hoyle product without BackTalk, or if you use one of the non-talking characters to represent yourself, you will not be able to use the BackTalk feature. See the FaceCreator section for help on choosing your face, and a voice to go along with it!
Tutorials Sometimes, you just don't want to learn how to play a game by reading a manual or jumping in without knowing what you're doing. Instead, let one of the Hoyle Characters walk you through it! Five of our most popular games now come with built-in tutorials: Backgammon, Checkers, Chess, Dominoes, and Rummy Squares.
To start a tutorial: 1 Select Tutorial from the Go To menu. 2 Click the game you wish to learn. 3 The tutorial will begin automatically. Alternately, choose to play the game you wish to learn by selecting it on the main screen, or by choosing it from the Go To menu. On the Getting Started dialog that appears, click Tutorial. The tutorial will start automatically.
Tutorial Controls: The tutorial controls are similar to those on a CD player or DVD player.
Back up a step. If you want to go back and hear what your tutor just said over again, or see the last play over again, click this button. Clicking it multiple times in a row will back the tutorial up several steps.
Pause the tutorial. If you want to stop the tutorial for a moment, just click this button. To start it again, click the Advance button, and the tutorial will resume from the start of the step it was on when you clicked pause.
Advance the tutorial one step. Sometimes the tutorial will pause, either because you have a move to make, information to digest, or the tutor has asked you a question to think about. Advance the tutorial by clicking this button, or by making the move you have been directed to make.
Exit the tutorial. At any time, if you wish to exit the tutorial, click the Exit button. You can also click on the name of a tutorial section to the left of the controls to skip to that section. As the tutorial progresses, the current section button will gradually turn blue to show you roughly how many steps are left in the section.
Viewing Statistics You can display statistics, including information on wins, losses, and points as they apply to each game. You must finish at least one game to see statistics for that game.
To view statistics: 1 Click Statistics on the File menu. 2 Click the name of the player you want statistics for. 3 Select the name of the game you want statistics for. To clear statistics for the current player and game, click the Clear button. Statistics are permanently cleared for that game for that player.
See Also Setting Game Rules and Options Changing Player Settings Saving and Restoring Games A Brief History of Board Games Why bother with the history of board games? Because the story of our amusements mirrors the story of civilization. In the sharing of games, we can see the spread of cultures and kingdoms over the 6,000 years of recorded human history. We can trace the birth of board games to the first cities, in the river valleys of the Nile (modern-day Egypt) and the Tigris and Euphrates (Iraq). As humans moved through the Middle East, they brought their games with them. These games ended up in Persia, India, China, Korea, and Japan to the east, Greece and North Africa to the west. The ancient Greeks handed off this legacy to Imperial Rome. Rome's legions marched, and tribal cultures (in what are now Germany, France, and England) learned new ways to play. The Norse learned these games and carried them to their colonies in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Iceland. When Rome fell, Islam arose, and the Arab states kept learning alive in the Dark Ages. They advanced old games to new levels of sophistication and brought them along when they invaded the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and Sicily. The medieval era gave way to the Renaissance, and people found newer and faster ways to communicate, trade, and exchange ideas. The Spanish led the Old World's invasion of the New World, where the Native Americans had for centuries been playing games of their own.
How Did Board Games Begin? When you think of the typical board game, you think of markers, tokens, pieces, or men maneuvering for advantage on a flat surface inscribed with lines or circles. This seems perfectly natural to us, but who introduced this concept? Where did the inspiration come from? Were board games originally an exercise in magic, an attempt to foretell the future or influence the course of events? A British scholar named H.J.R. Murray offered an enticing guess in A History of Board Games Other Than Chess (1952). Murray was a one-man research tidal wave—he taught himself Arabic, so he could read the original sources, and in this way tracked down the origins of Chess and many other games. Murray believed that games, activities with no object other than play, could only be developed by people who lived in a relatively friendly environment with dependable shelter and enough to eat and who had developed some degree of social integration (marriage, religion, cooperation in hunting and farming). Murray then paints the following picture: "In the heat of the day when work in the open air is too arduous, or when the day's work is over and the daily needs of his family are met, man's innate urge to be doing something still impels him to action, if only to the handling of objects at hand, whether natural like pebbles, or some of his household goods of his own making —at first aimlessly, but as soon as his attention is held, to explore their capabilities for new uses. I suggest that it was in this way that the habit of using objects at hand as playthings, and so as materials for games, arose." As an example, Murray points to—string! Primitive cultures depended on string, particularly those peoples who had to fish for food or use boats. String, of course, is used in games of cat's cradle, which is played all over the world. If you needed string to survive in the world, why would you waste precious survival time making knots to represent animals or tell stories? Because you had the time to waste—that is, you had the time to play. String games, Murray writes, are most likely "the result of handling and playing with string, and supports my view that other games originated in the same way." We'll never know who put the first token on the first board and threw the dice for the first move. Nor will we know how the idea came to that person. But there's much we do know about games, thanks to the efforts of researchers like Murray, and you'll find an overview of that knowledge in the Background help topics in this file. Contact Information
Technical Support
Please visit our technical support knowledgebase at http://support.encoreusa.com and have the following information available:
Product name Type of computer, amount of RAM, video card and system information A description of the problem, including any error messages A list of steps that lead to the problem
If you are unable to resolve your issue using the knowledgebase articles, you may contact us through email via our web form support section by clicking on the link to submit an Online Support Request.
If you contact us using our web-form, please remember to include the basic hardware details and we would also ask that you attach your “dxdiag” file.
To do this please:
1. Click Start 2. Click Run 3. Type dxdiag and click OK 4. The DirectX diagnosis program should now start up. (This may take a few minutes) 5. Click below on “save all information” and a file by the name of dxdiag.txt will be created.
You should save this to your desktop. While using our web form, you will be prompted to attach the file to your request. This will allow us to provide the best possible support regarding your system.
Unfortunately, we do not provide game play or “how-to” support on the products we distribute. Our tech support is limited to ensure that your software runs on your computer as designed. Many of our products have built in readme files or help files that accompany them. There is often helpful information and tips in these files. Beyond that, the Internet is a great resource for information.
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Our customer service representatives can be reached at (310) 719-2894 Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm PST. Customer service has the ability to handle refunds, exchanges, and replacements. You may also use our web form and send your request via the Internet by visiting http://support.encoreusa.com, typing the product name in the search field, and clicking to submit an Online Customer Service Request. Please be advised that the phone support is not a toll free call and we do not provide product functionality or technical support.
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Excluding the internet website link(s), Encore Software, Inc. (“Encore”) warrants, for your benefit alone, for a period of 90 days from the date of commencement of this License Agreement (referred to as "Warranty Period") that the Software CD-ROM in which the Software is contained is free from defects in material and workmanship. If during the Warranty Period, a defect in the Software appears, you may return the physical CD-ROM containing the Software to Encore or notify the Electronic Software Delivery ("ESD") provider from which you purchased the electronic download of the Software of such defect for either replacement, or, if so elected by Encore or the ESD Provider, as applicable, refund of amounts paid by you under this License Agreement or the license agreement accepted by you in connection with the ESD (“ ESD Agreement”), respectively. You agree that the foregoing constitutes your sole and exclusive remedy for breach by Encore of any warranties made under this Agreement. EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH ABOVE, THE SOFTWARE, AND THE SOFTWARE CONTAINED THEREIN, ARE LICENSED "AS IS," AND ENCORE DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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Your exclusive remedy shall be, at Encore’s sole option, (i) the refund of the amount you paid for the Software; or (ii) repair or replacement of the Software, provided that, if a physical CD-ROM containing the Software was purchased, such defective CD-ROM is returned to Encore (at Encore Software, Inc., Attn: Customer Service, 999 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Suite 700, El Segundo, CA 90245.), and regardless of the format of the originally purchased Software, proof of the date of purchase is submitted to Encore (for physical CD-ROMs) or the ESD provider (for electronic downloads) within ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. This Limited Warranty is void if failure of the Software has resulted from accident, abuse, neglect or misapplication. Any replacement Software will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. Except as set forth above, the Software is sold "as-is", without any express or implied warranties of any kind. References
Books The Batsford Chess Encyclopedia, Nathan Divinsky (editor) (1990) Backgammon: The Action Game, Prince Alexis Obolensky and Ted James (1969) The Book of Games, Richard Sharp and John Piggott, 1977 The Encyclopedia of Games, Brian Burns, 1998 Encyclopedia of Puzzles and Pastimes, Clark Kinnaird, 1946 Games of the World, Frederic Grunfeld (editor) (1975) A History of Board Games Other than Chess, H.J.R. Murray (1952) The New Games Treasury, Merilyn Simonds Mohr (1993) The New Complete Hoyle Revised, Albert Morehead, Richard L. Frey, & Geoffrey Mott-Smith (1991) The Oxford Companion to Chess, David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld (editors) (1984) The Past of Pastimes, Vernon Bartlett (1969) The World of Chess, Anthony Saidy & Norman Lessing (1974) The World's Best Indoor Games, Gyles Brandreth, 1981
Web Sites About.com's Board Games site - boardgames.about.com Boardgame Players' Association (BPA) - www.boardgamers.org The Game Cabinet - www.gamecabinet.com The Game Report Online - www.gamereport.com The rec.games.board newsgroup (access via groups.google.com)