***** ***** ** ** ***** ***** ****** ****** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ******* ***** ***** ** ** ** *** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ***** ***** ***** ** ** ** ** ****** ****** ** DELUXE! S H A R E W A R E V E R S I O N (C) 1993,1994 Adam Pedersen Published by Impulse Software The next generation of puzzle games is here with the addition of hazardous chemicals, devastator bombs, and missiles! Maneuver your pieces to form 'squarez' and stay ahead of your opponent, or race the clock to practice your skills. There are three levels of play to suit your taste: the plain basic tiles, the normal amount of special tiles, and the chaotic extreme mode with tons of exploding tiles and surprises. Please read these useful files included with Squarez: MANUAL.TXT - this file! TROUBLE!.TXT - read this if you have trouble! LICENSE.TXT - your license agreement for use of this product ORDERFRM.TXT - the printable order form CATALOG.TXT - a catalog of our other great products! Vendors and Sysops please read the information in VENDINFO.DIZ! ------------------------------- PAGE 2 ------------------------------- ************************* * HOW TO MASTER SQUAREZ * ************************* The best way to master Squarez is with practice. Once you start playing it's hard to stop, so keep an eye on the time! The basic object is to create 3 by 3 squarez out of the pieces you are given. In Basic mode, the game is in its simplest form, and it may be good for practice with figuring out how the pieces go together. The faster you place your piece, the more points you get, so speed does pay off, especially in two player games. The more pieces you go through, the better your chances of getting pieces to damage your opponent. Another way to get higher scores is to use the score multiplier. Every time you complete a square that is 4 by 4 or bigger, your score multiplier will increase. You can also increase the score multiplier by activating a tile containing a plus. It will go down to zero if you get a minus tile, so be careful. The score multiplier gradually resets to 1X with time so keep working to keep it high! The exciting part about Squarez is the pieces you'll find in the Normal and Extreme modes of play. Sporadically, bombs, spikes, acid, missiles, sticky splooge and other bizarre items will appear in one of your tiles. Form a square containing one of these special tiles to activate it. Some tiles like bombs and missiles will activate certain other special tiles. You'll have to experiment to find out what affects certain tiles. See PAGE 4 for descriptions of the special magic tiles. Squarez has some beautiful background patterns during gameplay, but some people don't agree. If you don't like the backgrounds, you can start Squarez with the command-line "Squarez /B". ------------------------------- PAGE 3 ------------------------------- **************** * GAME OPTIONS * **************** At any point in the game, you can press [J] to adjust the joysticks. ************* * MAIN MENU * ************* Use the cursor keys, joystick, or mouse to select from the main menu. You can also use these keys to select options faster. [S] Start the game! [M] Mode of play. Basic, Normal, or Extreme. [P] Players. Play head to head or try for an all time high! [1] Select control for player 1 [2] Select control for player 2 [H] High Scores [D] Demo. Watch a demo in the extreme mode of play, or watch a replay of your last game. [I] Instructions, including tile descriptions and scoring [B] Info on the Software Creations BBS [Q] Quit the game [R] Registration Info. How to order Squarez! ************ * CONTROLS * ************ [Escape] Give up [F1] Pause (and screensaver) [F10] Abort the game and quit to the Main Menu JOYSTICKS [button A] Rotate the piece [button B] Place the piece KEYBOARD RIGHT PLAYER [Arrows] Move the piece [5/./Del] Rotate the piece [0/Ins] Place the piece LEFT PLAYER [F/T/H/B] Move the piece [G/Z] Rotate the piece [Space/A] Place the piece ONE PLAYER MODE [CTRL] Rotate the piece [ALT] Place the piece ------------------------------- PAGE 4 ------------------------------- ******************* * THE MAGIC TILES * ******************* Select "Instructions" in the game to see the graphics for these tiles. Score Tile Description ----- ---- ----------- 1 NORMAL The basic tile. 1 CRACKED These tiles are activated by any nearby occurrence, like an explosion or the forming of a square. 3 SHIELD These must be 'Squared' three times to be destroyed, or they can be exploded. 0 STEEL PYRAMID This can't be used to create squarez, and it can only be destroyed by an explosion. 0/25 ARROWS Arrows move the center dividing bar to the left or right. If the bar moves away from your side, you get the points. 5 SPLOOGE Activating this will release a puddle of splooge. 10 ACID Activating this will release a pool of acid. 20 DUMB MISSILE When activated, this shoots across the screen destroying everything in its path. 50 DEVASTATOR BOMB When this is activated, it destroys everything in a nearby radius. 0 SPIKES These expand to form a large obstruction that can only be destroyed by an explosion. Try to destroy these with a bomb or missile BEFORE they are released. 200 ACTIVATOR Activates every special tile on the screen. 100 RELEASER Releases all enclosed tiles, making them touch activated. * REGISTERED VERSION ONLY * 0/50 NOSQUAREZ When this is activated, the dissolving of squarez stops for many seconds. Any squarez created in this time will remain. When time runs out they dissolve. Points are awarded only if this is activated on the other player. * REGISTERED VERSION ONLY * 50 PUNISHMENT BOX This gives a little present to the player whose color it contains. A ring of shields becomes that players next piece. Points are awarded to the other player. * REGISTERED VERSION ONLY * --- EMPTY TILE Move this tile over another tile already on the playfield, and you'll pick it up. ??? QUESTION MARK When this is activated it could turn into anything. --- (+/-) Increases or decreases the score multiplier. * OTHER STUFF * SPLOOGE Sticky gooey purple stuff. Move a piece on top of this and the tiles that are touching it will stick to it. ACID Highly corrosive green ick. Any tiles that touch this stuff are consumed instantly. ------------------------------- PAGE 5 ------------------------------- **************************** * REGISTRATION INFORMATION * **************************** Order a registered copy of Squarez for more exciting tiles, like the Releaser, NoSquarez, and the Punishment Box to shaft your opponent! The registered version of Squarez also contains more graphics, new backgrounds, and new sound effects. Support the authors and join the ranks of Squarez Addicts by ordering today! See the easy-to-use order form "ORDERFRM.TXT" for more information! *********** * CREDITS * *********** Design and Programming Graphics Sound Adam Pedersen Compression & Sound Code Jason Blochowiak