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Essential Bibles (1998).iso
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SCRYPTO1.EXE
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SCMANUAL.DOC
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1995-04-29
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User's Manual - "Scrypt-o-grams" 1.01
"Scrypt-o-grams" is a cryptogram game with puzzles based on passages
of Scripture. Cryptograms are word puzzles in which a different
letter of the alphabet is substituted for the original letter. The
puzzle is solved by discovering the original letters and the message
they convey. In "Scrypt-o-grams" the messages are passages from the
King James version of the Bible. The many features of "Scrypt-o-grams"
take most of the drudgery out of solving cryptograms, while still
maintaining the fun. It can be played by anyone from about age ten
on up, and is a great way to expose kids (and adults) to the Bible
in an enjoyable way.
Beginning Play:
To begin a puzzle by using a mouse, move the mouse cursor over
the word "Puzzle" on the menu bar and depress and release (click)
the left button. When the menu opens, click with the cursor over
the word "New". This will display a puzzle on the screen for you
to solve. To do the same thing by using only the keyboard, hold down
the <Alt> key while you type the letter 'p'. With the menu open,
type the letter 'n'.
Solving the Puzzle:
You can guess a letter in the solution at any time. Just type a
letter on your keyboard and that letter will appear at the location
of the blinking cursor and everywhere else the same letter appears
in the code. So, if you think you know a solution to a letter, move
the blinking cursor to that location and type in your solution. You
can erase a letter at the cursor by pressing the <delete> key or
the space bar. The <backspace> key will erase the letter before the
cursor. All of these operations will erase every occurance of that
particular letter.
To move the cursor around the screen, you may use the arrow keys.
The <End> key and the <Page Down> key will take the cursor to the
end of the coded message. The <Home> key and the <Page Up> key will
send the cursor to the beginning. With a mouse you can move to any
location by clicking with the mouse cursor over that spot. Later
you will read how to enter letters using only the mouse.
Menu Bar:
Near the top of your screen you will see a horizontal bar with the
words "Puzzle", "Options", "Shareware", and "Help" on it. This is
the menu bar and you can open any of these menus by moving the mouse
cursor over that word and clicking the left mouse button. To open the
menu by using the keyboard, you would hold down the <Alt> key while
typing the hilighted letter of the menu you selected. For example,
press <Alt> and 'p' at the same time to open the "Puzzle" menu.
Once a menu is open, you can select the item you wish in one of
several ways. You can move the mouse cursor over that item and click
the left mouse button; you can use the arrow keys to move the hilighted
bar over your choice and then press the <Enter> key to select it; or
you can type the highlighted letter on any of the menu choices. If
you wish to close the menu without making a selection, simply press
the <Esc> key or click with the mouse cursor outside the menu.
Puzzle Menu:
**New
If you select "New" on the Puzzle menu, you will be presented with
a new puzzle to solve, based on the current format settings. You may
select "New" at any time before or during the solving of a puzzle and
a new code, chosen at random from the unused ones, will be displayed
on the screen.
**Print
Select "Print" to send the currently selected puzzle to a printer
connected to LPT1. This may be done to reproduce these puzzles for a
church newsletter or other publication. If you intend to publish any
puzzles produced by "Scrypt-o-grams", you must register the program.
**Restart
If you wish to start your current puzzle over from the beginning,
click on "Restart". This will reset everything to the way it first
appeared except for the clock.
**Exit
Click on "Exit" to quit the program and return to DOS. The screen
will give you a choice of printing the registration form or exiting.
Press any key to toggle between the two selections and press <Enter>
to select the hilighted choice. With a mouse you may click on your
choice of actions.
Options Menu:
The choices on this menu will allow you to choose how the puzzle
appears on your screen.
**Length
Choosing the "Length" option will allow you to choose between a short
puzzle (less than four hundred characters), and a long one. Some of
the long puzzles may not fit on the screen at one time in certain
formats. Generally there are more clues for solving in the longer
puzzles. The default length is "short".
**Format
If you choose "Format", you may select among three spacing formats.
The default is triple-spaced, but you may choose to have the puzzle
double-spaced or even single-spaced in order to fit more on the screen.
If you choose the single-space option, the letters of your solution
will replace the letters of the puzzle, but in a different color.
**Caps
Choosing "Caps" will allow you to have the puzzle displayed in all
capital letters, which is the default, or in capitals and lower case.
The traditional way that cryptograms are presented is in all capitals,
but using capitals and lower case can give you additional clues for
solving. Note especially the presence of capitals within a sentence,
which may indicate a proper name, a term for deity, or the word "I".
**Clock
If you choose "Clock", you can set the timer to be visible or
invisible. This clock is started when your puzzle appears on the
screen and stops when you complete the puzzle correctly. If your
time is one of the ten best, you will be given the chance to enter
your name on the list of winners.
**Alphabet
The choice of "Alphabet" is only helpful if you use a mouse, but it
can allow you to use only the mouse without the keyboard at all. When
you set the alphabet to visible, a bar appears at the bottom of your
screen showing each letter of the alphabet. Every time you choose a
solution letter, that letter is dimmed. A glance at the alphabet bar
will tell you which letters are still undiscovered. A second use of
the alphabet bar is to allow you to select letters using only the
mouse. If you click on a letter, that letter will be inserted into
your solution at the point of the blinking cursor and everywhere else
that is appropriate. If you click on "Erase", the letter at the cursor
will be erased, as well as everywhere else it appears.
When the alphabet bar is visible, if the puzzle is too long to fit
on one screen, you will see arrows to the right of the puzzle pointing
up or down. Clicking on these arrows will scroll the text to the
beginning or end of the puzzle. Making the alphabet invisible will
hide these arrows as well.
Shareware Menu:
The choices on this menu will give you information that will help
you decide whether to register your shareware copy of "Scrypt-o-grams".
**About Scryptograms
The first choice, "About Scryptograms", will give some information
about this program.
**About Shareware
The next choice, "About Shareware", will explain
the shareware concept and how it benefits you.
**Registration Benefits
Choosing "Registration Benefits" will show a list of reasons why
you should register.
**Print Registration
"Print Registration" will print a copy of the registration form on
the printer attached to your parallel port. If your printer is attached
to a serial port or is otherwise unuseable through this menu, you may
print the file "REGFORM.TXT" from DOS or from another application.
If you have no printer, you may display the form on your screen by
using the command, "type REGFORM.TXT|more", and mail the necessary
information to the address listed.
Help Menu:
This menu has many features that will give you information or help
you to solve the puzzle more quickly.
**How to Solve
Selecting "How to Solve" will display a text file that will
explain how to approach the puzzle-solving process.
**Manual
Choosing "Manual" will display the User's Manual on the screen.
**Letter Count
"Letter Count" will display a chart that shows the frequency of
various letters in the puzzle. This can be a big help in solving,
since the most common letter in the solution is likely to be "E"
or "T".
**Two Letter
"Two Letter" will show you the frequency of the most common
combinations of two letters.
**Show Letter
If you are stuck, "Show Letter" will give you the solution letter at
the location of the blinking cursor.
**Hilight Wrong
"Hilight Wrong" will show you which of your solution guesses are
incorrect by turning those letters red.
**Erase Wrong
"Erase Wrong" will remove any incorrect guesses from the display
screen.
**Solution
"Solution" solves the puzzle for you.
After you finish:
As soon as you successfully complete a puzzle, the clock will be
stopped, the Scripture reference will be displayed, and if your time
is one of the best, you will be invited to enter your name on the
winners' list. After you have finished, you will be invited to play
again. If you choose "Yes", a new puzzle will be displayed. If you
choose "No", you will be returned to the original menu screen, from
which you can exit or change the settings and try again. Once a
puzzle has been solved, it will not appear again until all the puzzles
of that length in the data file have been used.
Use in Publications:
Scrypt-o-grams is a great source for use in church newsletters and
other publications. You must register the program before you may
use it in this way, but all registered users have this permission.
Simply begin a new puzzle and use the "Print" choice on the "Puzzle"
menu to print it out.
Disclaimer of Warranty:
"Scrypt-o-grams" is supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,
the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any particular
purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or
consequential, which may result from the use of "Scrypt-o-grams".
Other Programs Available:
Also available as shareware is "Crossing the Red Sea", a graphically
enhanced Bible quiz game in which the difficulty of the questions is
automatically adjusted to the skill of the player. It is especially
useful for family or group occasions, but can be played alone as well.
You may obtain a shareware copy of this program from BBSs, disk
distributors, or by sending $2 for postage and handling to:
H. F. Buerer, P.O. Box 83752, Portland, OR 97283-0752.