
                            M A S T E R M I N D

                 A game from Invicta Plastics Inc. (C) 1972
                   Computer version by Kristian Halle 1989
                         Version 3.1  3 January 1992

                   If you have made a copy of this program,
                kindly send a postcard stating version number,
                  where the copy is geographically located
                      and where you copied it from, to

                              Kristian Halle
                               Stud.post 65
                           N-7034 Trondheim-NTH
                                  NORWAY




                     For those with access to e-mail:
                           krist@solan.unit.no


 Chapter 1 - How to get started
 ------------------------------

 MasterMind comprises 5 files in all:

    mmind.exe
    mmind.pix
    readme.exe
    mmind.nor
    mmind.usa

 mmind.exe is the MasterMind program proper, while mmind.pix contains
 various images and other data used by mmind.exe.

 readme.exe is a help program for MasterMind, and mmind.nor and mmind.usa
 are text files used by readme.exe in Norwegian and American, respectively.

 To play MasterMind, both mmind.exe and mmind.pix must be present in your
 current directory. To run readme.exe the relevant text file must also be
 in the current directory.



 NOTE: MasterMind should not be played on write-protected diskettes, as the
 program at termination updates various data in mmind.pix.

 When you start MasterMind an opening page will be drawn, and after a while
 a Norwegian and an American flag will apppear. By using the arrow keys you
 can choose whether to use Norwegian or American texts during the game. After
 you have chosen language, the opening screen will gradually be replaced by
 the game screen proper. You may skip this gradual sequence at any moment by
 pressing any key. This applies also to similar sequences later in the program.

 If error messages should appear during the opening sequences, see
 Chapter 6 - Error messages.











 Chapter 2 - Game rules
 ----------------------

 The main point of MasterMind is in a minimum of attempts to crack the secret
 color code hidden by the screen on top of the game board. The program sets
 the code, you are to solve it. In the menu [Setup][Duplic colors] you decide
 whether the code may comprise two or more identical colors.

 To guide you towards the hidden code, each attempt returns a message from
 the program in the form of small white and black pegs. These are placed on
 the left-hand side of the game board, and indicate how close to (or far
 away from) the solution you were.

 The significance of the colors is as follows:

 White peg: A code spot has the correct color, but is in the wrong hole.

 Black peg: A code spot has both correct color and position.

 Where no pegs are displayed, one of your colors is not represented
 in the code.


 Please note that the placement of the white and black pegs is independent
 of which color and hole they represent; you must use your brains to figure
 out the correct sequence!

 To give an example: Two white and one black pegs are returned. This
 indicates that you have guessed three of the colors correctly, but only one
 of them is in the correct position. Your next task will be to find out which
 code spot is the odd one, and which of the three is in the right hole.

 Get four black pegs, and your task is completed!













 Chapter 3 - Game functions
 --------------------------

 Arrow keys are used to place color spots in the different holes, and to
 choose from the menus. The menus are activated with <F2>, and terminated
 with <Esc> or by choosing an item in them. To choose from the menus, place
 the bar on the item you want, and press <return>. Before the action is
 carried out, you will have to confirm your choice. If you regret, choose
 "No" or press <Esc>. After a normal selection from the menus, the keypads
 return to managing the choice of colors and holes.

 The two black blocks on the game board indicate the current hole and the
 current color. To change the color in a hole, you move to the hole with the
 left/right arrow keys, and select a color with the up/down arrow keys.

 Having filled the holes with the colors you think make up the code, you
 select [Continue] on the menu bar.  The three menues [Continue], [Miscell]
 and [Setup] can all be activated by the hot keys <c>, <m> and <s>. Because
 of this, all you really have to do to continue is pressing <c>...




 If you think a solution is near, or you are sure that a color is correctly
 placed, a color can be automatically duplicated into the next row. This is
 done by pressing <Ins>. Move to the spot you want to duplicate, and press
 <Ins>. A small triangle at the bottom of the screen will then indicate that
 the spot is to be set automatically in the next attempt. To remove this
 marking, use <Del>. The triangle will then disappear.

 In [Setup] special functions apply. In the top two lines, [Num of colors]
 and [Num of rows] you increase or decrease the chosen values by pressing
 <+> or <->. When the lower limit for the value is reached, only the "+"
 remains, and at the upper limit, the "-" is left.

 In [Duplic colors] you must choose whether the code may consist of two
 or more identical colors. If you choose "No" this cannot happen; "Yes"
 allows it. To switch between "Yes" and "No", just press <return> and the
 setting will jump between yes and no.

 If you want to play with setup values that differ from the ones previously
 used, you must select the values after your wishes, and then choose
 [Setup][Use setup...] from the menu. These values will then be stored in
 mmind.pix, and will appear as defaults the next time you start MasterMind.


 If you wish to play another round without changing settings, simply choose
 [Miscell][New game]. You will then be asked if you wish to retain the old
 code or not. By choosing "Yes", two or more players can compete on equal
 terms, provided, of course, that they have not watched each others' games...

 If there is something you wonder about during the game, on line help is
 available by pressing <F1>. A little help window with compressed help
 information will then pop up, and by pressing <PgDn> and <PgUp> you can
 move between the different help pages. You can also choose "help" within
 the menus. To exit from the help facility, press <Esc>.

 During the game there will also be displayed useful information and some
 PR stuff on top of the screen...










 Chapter 4 - Screen information
 ------------------------------

 On the game screen you will find the following:

   - Game board with holes for colors, holes for black and white code pegs
     and holes for the code spots.

   - Screen that hides the code.
     This can be removed at any moment by [Miscell][Show code]

   - Color bar for color selection.

   - Clock that shows minutes and seconds elapsed.
     The outer ring and the long hand indicate seconds while the inner ring
     and the short hand show the minutes.
     NOTE: This is no ordinary clock with a 60-minute rotation. One rotation
     of the minute hand takes only 20 minutes here. The clock will not stop
     when the round is completed, but runs on until the code is found or the
     program is terminated in other ways. The minute hand only moves each
     time the second hand has completed a round.


   - A field indicating the number of attempts used to crack the code. This
     is the square on the lower left of the screen. When the number of
     attempts exceeds the number of rows on the game board, the rows scroll
     down. The maximum number of attempts is 99. In passing this point, the
     code will automatically be displayed, and the round terminated.

   - A field indicating the number of possible code combinations. This is
     the square on the lower right of the screen. The higher the number of
     possibilities, the harder the code. The number appearing in the field
     refers to the default values of number of colors etc, i.e. the values
     last stored with [Setup][Use setup...].

   - Small triangles on the lower part of the board (if they are switched on).
     These triangles indicate that the color of the color spot above the
     triangle is to be duplicated into the next row. This is done to
     facilitate coding, and the function is turned on and off with <Ins>
     and <Del>.






 Chapter 5 -  Menu description
 -----------------------------

 [Continue]
   - Use when you have set up a proposal for cracking the code.
     The program will analyze your proposal and return a message
     in the form of black and white code pegs to the left on the
     board. If the board is full, the rows will scroll down.

 [Miscell][Show code]
  - Use if your brain collapses. (For the faint-hearted ...)
    Removes the screen that hides the code.

 [Miscell][New game]
  - Use to start a new round. The number of rows and the number of colors
    remain the same as in the previous game, regardless whether the setup
    values are changed. To play with other set values, see
    [Setup][Use setup]

 [Miscell][Quit MM]
  - Terminates MasterMind.


 [Setup][Num of colors]
  - Use to determine the number of colors the code may be made up of. The
    more colors, the harder to crack the code. By setting
    [Setup][Duplic colors] to "Yes", you allow two or more identical
    colors in the code. [Num of colors] is adjusted by tapping +/- on
    the keyboard. The lower limit is four and the upper limit ten.

 [Setup][Num of rows]
  - Use to determine how many rows are to be displayed on the game board.
    This is used to adjust the degree of difficulty. With fewer rows, the
    code is harder to guess. [Num of rows] is adjusted in the same way
    as [Num of colors]. The lower limit is two and the upper limit ten.

  [Setup][Duplic colors]
  - Use to determine whether to allow two or more identical colors in the
    code. By choosing "Yes", the number of combinations increases
    significantly, and the degree of difficulty likewise.

 [Setup][Use setup...]
  - Use to start a new round with the chosen values. These values will be
    used as defaults the next time MasterMind is started.


 Chapter 6 - Error messages
 --------------------------

 Sorry, MasterMind needs EGA/VGA!
  - To run MasterMind, you need an EGA/VGA screen.
    The program will not start without.

 Sorry, MasterMind needs more memory!
  - You have too little memory for MasterMind to start up.
    Remove any resident programs, buy more memory chips, or find something
    better to do than sitting indoors playing computer games ...

 Error reading mmind.pix. Program terminated
  - This error message indicates a write/read error in mmind.pix, which can
    have several causes. If you play from a floppy disk, it may possibly be
    write protected. This is no good, since the program updates mmind.pix at
    termination. Remove the write protection and restart. Another cause can
    be that the floppy was removed from its drive after the program was
    loaded. A third possibility is structural error in mmind.pix. In that
    case you must get yourself a new copy of that file.
