home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The PC-SIG Library 9
/
The PC-SIG Library on CD ROM - Ninth Edition.iso
/
301_400
/
DISK0390
/
DISK0390.ZIP
/
QUIMBEE.MAN
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1987-05-25
|
30KB
|
781 lines
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ Q U I M B E E ║
║ ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
A game for 1 to 6 players, inspired by Triple Yahtzee.
Version 3.0 Copyright 1987
Another Quality Software Product From CurtWare
Author's Note
A lot of time, thought and effort have gone into the design
of this program. I've tried to create a quality product that
is totally bug free and user friendly.
My hope is that you will get many hours of entertainment and
satisfaction from this product. I welcome any suggestions to
improve the program, but I will not release the source code,
in order to protect the public from altered copies that may
not function properly.
Although this is a Copyrighted software product (to protect
my interests), I hereby release it to the public domain, and
urge you to give copies to friends, or post it on electronic
bulliten boards for free distribution. Please distribute it
only as a complete, unaltered package (the complete package
consists of QUIMBEE.EXE and QUIMBEE.MAN).
The commercial sale of this program is expressly prohibited,
although public domain software groups and user groups may
include unaltered copies of this complete package in their
library, providing that the library's diskettes do not sell
for more than $7 each, and that they contain other software
in addition to this package.
If you find QUIMBEE to be a quality product, then a donation
for my efforts ($10 suggested) would be greatly appreciated.
Your donations will encourage me to continue writing public
domain software. Thank you for your support!
Curtis Garcia
800 East California Avenue
Sunnyvale, Ca., USA 94086
Phone (408) 736-7451
******************************** QUIMBEE.EXE *************
Now that you've got QUIMBEE, what should you do? First, make
at least one backup copy for your personal use, and put the
origional diskette in a safe place.
If you use Microsoft Quickbasic Version 2.0 or 3.0 and would
like a copy of QUIMBEE.EXE compiled to utilize the Microsoft
runtime module (BRUN20.EXE OR BRUN30.EXE), send me a stamped
self-addressed diskette mailer and a formatted 5 1/4" floppy
disk, and specify the Quickbasic version. This will save you
45K of disk space for QUIMBEE.EXE alone.
Since QUIMBEE is a compiled Basic program, COMMAND.COM must
be reloaded by your system upon exiting the program. You may
want to format one of your blank diskettes, by using the DOS
FORMAT/S command. This command will copy the required system
files onto the diskette after formatting it, then you can
COPY the QUIMBEE.EXE file to that diskette for everyday use.
Refer to your DOS manual for instructions on the FORMAT and
COPY commands if you are unfamiliar with them.
Next, read the balance of this manual, so you'll understand
all of the game features available to you, to maximize your
enjoyment.
QUIMBEE AND YOUR HARDWARE
To insure compatibility with as many computers as possible,
QUIMBEE does not use any Poke or Peek commands. As a result,
you must toggle your NumLock key off manually, so that the
arrow keys on the numeric keypad will function properly.
Whenever QUIMBEE expects a numeric input, use the number
keys across the top of your keyboard. QUIMBEE does not care
whether you enter upper or lower case alphabet characters.
QUIMBEE was designed for a color (RGB) monitor, and should
function fine with EGA monitors. I have no experience with
monochrome systems, and do not know if it will work.
WHAT IS QUIMBEE?
I first wrote QUIMBEE to emulate Triple Yahtzee on a TI-99/4
computer in 1982. Since that time, many changes have been
made to make it more user-friendly, largely in response to
user's suggestions. Your suggestions to further improve the
program are welcomed, and actively solicited.
While it is mostly luck, a certain amount of skill is useful
in deciding which dice to keep, and which to roll, and which
scoring location to enter your score in. This is especially
true when playing the higher game levels.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 1
QUIMBEE AND DISK DRIVES
QUIMBEE.EXE can reside on drive A, B or C. When the program
starts, it will ask you for the drive letter where QUIMBEE
and it's related files are stored. The program assumes that
these files will be located in the current default directory
of the drive you indicate. The disk containing QUIMBEE must
not be write protected.
If QUIMBEE.EXE and it's related files are stored in a sub-
directory, you must make that directory the current default
directory BEFORE running QUIMBEE. This can best be done by a
BATch File. Please consult your DOS manual for instructions
on writing Batch files and using the CHDIR command.
QUIMBEE keeps track of the record score set for each of the
four available game levels, and stores this data in a small
file ( <200 bytes) named QUIMBEE.REC, in the current default
directory of the drive you indicated above. For each of the
four game levels, the name of the player who set the record,
the score and the current date are recorded in this file,
for display on your monitor each time you play QUIMBEE.
The file QUIMBEE.REC is not provided with the program, it is
created after your first game is finished. If you ever want
to start a new record score file from scratch, simply erase
or rename the one that is on your QUIMBEE disk at that time,
and play QUIMBEE again to create a new record score file.
QUIMBEE also allows you to save a game and restore it at a
later time to continue playing it. You provide the filename,
and the extension .QSV is added by the program. These game
files are also written to and read from the current default
directory on the drive you specified when the program began.
You must follow the DOS file naming conventions.
Game files vary in size, depending on the number of players
and the game level selected. If your 360K diskette contains
only the DOS system files and the QUIMBEE files, you should
be able to store about 100 game files on the same diskette.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 2
PLAYING QUIMBEE
First insure that the current default directory on the drive
containing QUIMBEE is set to the directory name which
contains quimbee and it's related files. The default drive
does not have to be the drive that contains quimbee.
At the DOS prompt, type QUIMBEE and press the ENTER key if
QUIMBEE is on the current default drive, or type X:QUIMBEE
and press the ENTER key, where X is the drive letter that
contains quimbee and it's related files.
The Main Menu screen will appear, and ask you which drive
contains QUIMBEE and it's related files. Press A, B or C in
response to this prompt.
Next the Main Menu will appear, as shown below:
Main Menu Function (1-3)
1. Start new game
2. Restore game
3. Exit to DOS
If you've already begun a game this session, and returned to
this menu, a fourth option will be offered:
4. Replay
MAIN MENU FUNCTIONS
1. Start new game - This function allows you to set up a new
game, specifying the number of players, their names and the
game level you wish to play. See Page 4 for this function.
2. Restore game - This function lets you continue playing a
game that you previously stored to disk. See Page 5 for this
function.
3. Exit to DOS - This function exits the QUIMBEE program and
returns your system to the DOS command level. Your system
will have to reload COMMAND.COM at this time.
4. Replay - This option restarts the game, using the same
player's names and the same game level that you selected for
the previous game. See Page 6 if you chose this function.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 3
STARTING A NEW GAME
If you pressed the number "1" in response to the Main Menu
prompt, the following will appear:
Number of players? (1-6)
Press the number key corresponding to the number of players.
Game level to play? (1-4)
Press the number key corresponding to the game level you
want to play. The game level specifies how many columns of
the fourteen basic scoring catagories you will play.
Higher game levels take longer to play, but the scores that
you earn are multiplied by the column number (1-4) in which
they are entered, adding a degree of skill in entering your
scores for maximum value.
Finally, you'll be asked to enter the names of the players.
Enter the name of each player (up to 16 characters), in the
desired order of play, pressing the ENTER key after each.
Now go to page 6 of this manual.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 4
RESTORE GAME
If you chose this function from the Main Menu, the screen
will clear and you'll be prompted to put the QUIMBEE game
disk in the drive you specified when the program began, then
press any key to see a listing of the available game files.
Ensure that the proper disk is in the specified drive, and
that the drive door is closed, then press any key.
If no QUIMBEE game files exist on the drive you specified,
you'll get an error message, and you'll be returned to the
Main Menu screen.
The quimbee game file names will now appear on your monitor,
along with the following prompt:
Filename?(blank to abort)
If the game file you wished to restore is not listed, or you
changed your mind, just press the ENTER key without typing a
filename, and you'll be returned to the Main Menu screen.
Otherwise, type the game file name that you wish to restore
and press the ENTER key. It is not necessary to include the
.QSV extension when entering the game file name.
If the filename you entered does not exist, or the file is
damaged, an error message will appear and you'll be returned
to the Main Menu screen.
After the file is loaded without error, go to Page 6 of this
manual.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 5
AUTOMATIC HIGH SCORE RETENTION
If the file QUIMBEE.REC exists in the default directory of
the drive you specified, the record score screen will now be
displayed, simular to that shown below:
Current Record Scores
Game
Level Set by Score Date set
1 player's name xxxxx date
2 player's name xxxxx date
3 player's name xxxxx date
4 player's name xxxxx date
Your score to beat is: xxxxx
Press any key to continue
If the file is not found, this message appears instead:
QUIMBEE.REC file not found on Drive X
It will be created at the end of this game
Press any key to continue
When ready, press any key to begin the game.
This file is automatically updated (or created) at the end
of a game, if the old record high score for that game level
was exceeded during the previous game.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 6
DICE COMMANDS
A player's turn begins when his or her name appears on the
screen, and the computer rolls all six dice. By using the
commands described below, the player indicates which dice to
keep (LOCK). Locked dice will have a red bar displayed under
them, and are not rolled when the other (unlocked) dice are
rolled.
Dice that display a flashing blue 'Q' are WILD dice, and may
be used to satisfy any scoring category's requirements (with
some restrictions on the Full House category). Wild dice are
automatically locked when you select any other dice value.
To LOCK dice of a given value, press that NUMBER KEY (not on
the numeric keypad). If you select only one value of dice to
be locked, any dice of that value (or Wild dice) that appear
on subsequent rolls during that turn will automatically be
locked for you.
If you select more than one value of dice to be locked, you
must manually lock dice you wish to keep after each roll.
To lock all six dice, press A (for All). This is useful when
trying to make a Straight. After locking all six dice, you
can use the next command to unlock individual dice that you
don't want to keep.
To UNLOCK a single die of a certain value, press the U key
(for Unlock). This prompt will be displayed on row 20:
Unlock a die of what value? (1-6)
then press the NUMBER KEY corresponding to the value of the
die to be unlocked. The red bar under one die of that value
will disappear, indicating that the die is now unlocked.
To UNLOCK ALL six dice, press the 0 key (not on the numeric
keypad). Any WILD dice displayed will remain locked. This is
useful when you want to lock dice of a different value than
that which you origionally selected. This also resets the
flag for automatic dice locking when a single die value is
subsequently selected.
When you've locked the die you wish to keep, press the SPACE
BAR to roll all the unlocked dice. You normally get three
rolls per turn, though you do not have to use all of them.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 7
PREVIEW FEATURE
The preview feature makes playing quimbee a little easier by
displaying the score that your current dice combination is
worth in each empty scoring location. Scoring locations that
would have a value of zero for the current dice combination,
are left blank to avoid clutter on your screen.
The preview score values are shown in blue numbers to
distinguish them from previously entered scores, which are
shown in black numbers, and from the Upper and Lower Totals,
which are shown in white numbers.
This feature is automatically invoked after the last roll of
each player's turn, to help the player decide where to enter
a score.
PREVIEW FEATURE OPTIONS
A player can cause the preview scores to be displayed after
any roll of the dice by pressing the P key. This allows you
to confirm a score that is available to you with the current
dice combination. The preview function will remain active
for the balance of that turn, with the preview scores being
updated after each roll of the dice.
The operation of the preview feature as described so far, is
it's OFF mode, which is the default when quimbee is started.
There is one final option. Any player can toggle the preview
feature's mode (for their turns only), by pressing the S key
during his or her turn. The following prompt will appear in
red on line 20:
Turn preview feature OFF? (Y/N)
Pressing the N key sets the preview feature to the ON mode,
(for the current player only) and the preview scores will be
displayed after every roll of the dice during each of this
player's turns until toggled again by the player.
The preview feature can be toggled to it's OFF mode, for the
current player, by pressing the Y key at the above prompt.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 8
ENTERING YOUR SCORE
You must enter a score for each of your turns. If your final
dice combination does not satisfy the scoring requirements
of any of the empty scoring locations, then you must enter a
score of zero in one of these empty scoring locations. Note:
when this condition exists, you won't see any preview scores
displayed in blue on your screen.
Each turn consists of three regular rolls of the dice. If
you decide to enter a score before taking your third roll,
and the preview feature is toggled off for you, I suggest
that you press the P key to verify scores that are available
before you enter your score. Once entered, scores cannot be
changed or moved.
You indicate where to enter a score by using the arrow keys
on the numeric keypad (the Numlock key must be off).
The red * and » symbols move together vertically to indicate
the scoring category to record your score in. The » symbol
also moves horizontally to select the game level column to
record the score in (from 1 to the game level selected when
you started Quimbee). These symbols WRAP in all directions.
After selecting an empty scoring location (or one with blue
preview score values displayed in it), press the ENTER key
to record your score. It is immediately displayed in black
numbers in the scoring location you selected, and your total
score is updated.
The current total score for each player is displayed in the
upper left corner of the screen, immediately to the left of
the ONES thru SIXES scoring categories. The total score for
the current player is shown in blue numbers, and the others
in black.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 9
JEOPARDY ROLLS
After the third roll of the dice, you may be eligible for a
fourth roll if the current dice combination includes either
a 4 or 5-of-a-kind (4 or 5 dice of the same value, including
any Wild dice). If you're eligible, the following message
will appear in red on line 20:
Press J key if you want a JEOPARDY roll!
You can ignore this prompt and enter your score as described
above, or press the J key for a JEOPARDY ROLL.
If you press the J key, the computer first checks to see if
more than one dice value qualifies. This can happen if there
are two or more wild dice. If this is the case, the computer
will prompt you to choose one of the eligible values.
Next, the computer unlocks all six dice, relocks all dice of
the selected eligible value, and rolls the remaining dice.
If, as a result of the JEOPARDY ROLL, your 4 or 5-of-a-kind
has improved to a 5-of-a-kind or a QUIMBEE (6-of-a-kind),
the following message will appear on line 20:
JEOPARDY roll successful, DOUBLE SCORES!
The preview scores will be updated to show the values of the
current dice combination. You now select a scoring location
to enter your score in, and it will score double it's normal
value, due to your successful JEOPARY ROLL. This completes
your turn.
If the JEOPARDY ROLL fails to improve your dice combination,
then the following message will appear on line 20:
JEOPARDY failed, re-rolling all six dice
The computer will then unlock and re-roll all six dice, and
update the preview scores to show the values of the current
dice combination. You now select a scoring location to enter
your score, and this completes your turn.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 10
ENDING A GAME EARLY
You can end the current game at any time by pressing the F10
key. The following prompt will then appear on line 20:
End this game?(Y/N)
Press Y to immediately end the current game and return to
the Main Menu or press N or ENTER to continue playing.
SAVING A GAME ON DISK
You can save the current game to disk, and restore it at a
later time to continue playing it, by pressing the F1 key.
The following prompt will appear on line 20:
Save game to disk?(Y/N)
Press N or ENTER to cancel this function and continue play
of the current game, or press Y to save the current game
conditions to disk.
If you press Y, you'll be asked to enter a filename. Enter
a 1 to 8 digit filename (no pathname or extensions allowed).
The game will be saved to the current default directory of
the drive you specified when starting QUIMBEE after the
current round of play has been completed.
After the game has been saved to disk, the following prompt
will appear on line 20:
Continue current game?(Y/N)
Press N or ENTER to return to the Main Menu, or press Y to
immediately continue playing the game that was just saved to
disk.
SOUND EFFECTS
QUIMBEE includes sound effects when displaying the current
player's name, displaying his or her scores in the scoring
locations and when rolling the dice. These are normally on
when you start QUIMBEE.
If you find these sounds distracting, simply press the F6
key to toggle the sound effects off. Pressing F6 again will
turn the sound effects back on. Each time you press F6, a
message will appear on line 20, informing you of the current
mode (On or Off) for the sound effects.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 11
UPPER SECTION SCORING
Scores in the upper section (ONES - SIXES) are equal to the
total of all dice of the selected value in the current dice
combination (wild dice count as the selected value also).
This value may be doubled as the result of a JEOPARDY ROLL.
When the total of the ONES thru SIXES scoring locations in a
scoring column exceeds 84 points, 5 bonus points are awarded
for each point above 84, and displayed in the row labelled
Upper bonus.
The UPPER TOTAL row shows the total of the ONES thru SIXES
scoring locations and the Upper bonus for each game level.
The UPPER TOTAL value is multiplied by the column number
(game level) once all six of the UPPER SECTION scoring
locations have had a score entered in them.
LOWER SECTION SCORING
3, 4 and 5-OF-A-KIND ..................... total of all dice
(wild dice score 7 points each in these scoring locations)
QUIMBEE (6-of-a-kind): first QUIMBEE ........... 75 points
each additional ........... 175 points
FULL HOUSE: Accepts three combinations:
3 pair ........................................ 25 points
1 pair Plus 3 or 4-of-a-kind ................ 30 points
Two 3-of-a-kinds ............................. 40 points
(Wild dice score 15 points each in this scoring location,
but they do NOT contribute to making the combinations).
STRAIGHTS: 5 or 6 dice in numerical sequence (WILD dice help)
5 Straight ..................................... 40 points
6 Straight (in 5 or 6 Straight score location) . 60 points
REPRIEVE: no requirements ................ total of all dice
(WILD dice score 7 points each in this scoring location)
LOWER TOTAL: Shows the total of the lower section scoring
categories.
Lower section scores are multiplied by the column number as
soon as they are entered. Lower scoring section scores may
be doubled by a successful JEOPARDY ROLL.
There are some exceptions to the above values. These occur
when QUIMBEE's (6-of-a-kind) are made, refer to the preview
score values displayed on your screen for these values.
********************************* QUIMBEE.EXE Page 12
