Phraze Craze Plus was written almost entirely during the Spring and Summer of 1986. It was originally intended to be a commercial game, which means that a publisher gets to keep most of the money in return for assuming most of the risk. So why, then, are you now reading this message in the instructions for a shareware game? I knew you'd ask!
During the writing of the game, it was shown to the president of a small company which dealt mainly with Mac hardware. This company was just entering the software business and wanted to look at this game. After seeing it, playing it and loving it, this company offered to publish it. Profits were discussed, predictions were made, lawyers were consulted, and contracts were signed.
Well, time passed, the company changed hands (and names), and nothing happened. Since no advance against royalties was paid, this game kind of slipped through the cracks. Needless to say, as more time slipped away Mac games became more advanced and more sophisticated, and we all know that marketing people like to promote only those products that are (as we say) State-Of-The-Art. The game was announced amidst NO promotion, and nothing happened. Surprise. So the cracks got deeper.
Eventually it became obvious to this novice author that nothing WOULD happen, so phone calls were made, letters were sent, and contracts — signed with what we all hope were the best of intentions — were terminated.
So, here we are... Phraze Craze Plus is a fun game. Everyone that's played it has loved it. Kids, Moms, Dads, Cats, Dogs...even mothers-in-law. It's unpretentious, easy to play, educational and expandable. It's also SHAREWARE, which means that if you, your kids, your mom, your dad, your cat, your dog, or your mother-in-law like it, then you owe it to yourself (and to me) to register your copy. The price is $10.00, which is small considering the price at which it was commercially offered. You have 30 days to decide - you'll know by then whether you had some fun with it. If you enjoy it at all, please send your check or money order for $10 to:
Brad Pettit
E. 4212 10th St.
Spokane, WA 99202
Then you can sleep well at night, and that'll make me feel real good. By the way, if you get anything out of the above story, I hope it's an understanding of just how much can go wrong with getting a program published. If you have something good then go for it, but keep your eyes open and watch out for the cracks. On to the game...
Introduction:
In order to play PhrazeCrazePlus, you must have a Macintosh computer with at least 512k of memory. It can run on a 128k without sound, but it hasn't been tested very much on one. The file called Phrasefile is a file of standard puzzles which are included with the game. It is possible to create your own files for use with PhrazeCrazePlus, the process of which will be explained shortly.
To play PhrazeCrazePlus, either select the PhrazeCrazePlus icon and "Open" it from the file menu, or double-click it. A shareware bulletin will be displayed while the game is loading. Clicking in this window will make it go away. You will then be greeted with a window which will allow you to select the number of players from one to four. The first task is to click the button for the number of players. You may then enter the name of each player (unless you like being called "Player one"). When entering the names of players, the "TAB" key or the mouse may be used to move between names. A button named "Use Puzzles..." at the upper left of the dialog box gives you the option of changing the file from which PhrazeCrazePlus will take its puzzles. Choosing this button will bring up another dialog box that will show all files which the game can use. Selecting "Play" or typing <Return> or <Enter> will start the game. Selecting "Quit" will quit to the Macintosh desktop. If the disk or folder containing the PhrazeCrazePlus program does not contain the standard puzzle file, and you have not selected a different file for the game, then you will be asked to do so after selecting Play.
The Game:
After a short introduction by your trio of hostesses, the game will begin. The first player is picked at random before round one. In subsequent rounds, the player following the one who started the last round will get the first turn (e.g. If there are 3 players and Player Two started the first round, then Player Three will start Round 2, Player 1 will start Round 3, and Player Two will start Round 4).
The hint for the current puzzle (e.g. Fictional Character, Person, Event, etc.) is displayed below an array of tiles. One tile is drawn for each character in the puzzle, while no tile is drawn for a space character. During the tiling process, any characters in the puzzle other than letters are displayed in their respective tiles. You are now ready to start Round #1. Each game consists of four rounds, after which you may choose to quit or play again.
The "Message" box in the lower right-hand corner of the screen displays messages to the player(s). Options available to the current player include: "Spin Wheel," to spin the wheel and select a letter; "Solve Puzzle," to solve the puzzle; and "Buy Vowel," to buy a vowel. The "Spin" option is available as long as characters other than vowels remain in the puzzle. The "Solve" option is available until all letters are revealed. The "Buy Vowel" option is available as long as the current player has a score of $250 or more during the current round. The button for each option will be active only if that option is available for the current player.
To spin, you may click the mouse on either the "Spin" button or the wheel itself. The cursor will change to an open hand when it's near the wheel. The wheel will spin and stop automatically. You will then be asked to type a letter or select one from the Letter Well in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. After entering the letter, PhrazeCrazePlus will turn over any tiles containing that letter. The wheel's score will then be multiplied by the number of characters present, and that will be added to your score for the current round. If the selected letter is present, you take another turn. If not, a prompt for the next player will be given. If you spin and the wheel stops on "BANKRUPT," you lose all money acquired during the current round, and play progresses to the next player.
If the "Solve" option is selected, each empty tile in the puzzle will blink successively, and you can either type or select the letter that correctly fills that tile. If you select an incorrect letter, the puzzle will be redrawn and play will progress to the next player. But, if you fill all the tiles, WOW! You get whatever amount of money you've acquired during that round added to your score for the game. PLUS, the wheel will spin and whatever it stops on will be your BONUS, even if you were broke before you solved it! And if that isn't enough, everyone else won't get their score added to the game total. Of course, all of the money is make-believe and none of this really matters, but it is nice to get excited once in awhile. Whew. Enough of that.
If the "Buy Vowel" option is selected, $250 is deducted from your score, and you're requested to type (or select) a vowel. If the vowel you choose is present in the phrase, it is revealed. Whether or not the vowel is present in the phrase, your score is reduced by $250. If the selected vowel is not present, you lose your turn. You must have a score of at least $250 in the current round for this option to be available.
Keyboard Alternatives:
If desired, the keyboard may be used instead of the mouse for selecting options in the game. Command-"SPace bar" is the equivalent of "SPin." Command-"S" is the equivalent of "Solve," and Command-"B" is the equivalent of "Buy Vowel." There are also keyboard equivalents for almost every menu option.
The Menus:
The Apple menu contains an "About PhrazeCrazePlus " item which displays copyright and other information about the game.
The File menu gives you the option of Opening a different puzzle file, Converting a text file (We'll get to that in a minute), Ending your current game, or Quitting the game (For awhile, anyway. You'll be back).
The Edit menu contains the usual Macintosh editing options. These are available only when a desk accessory is open.
The Game menu contains the following items: "Puzzle File Info..." will bring up a window which will show the vital statistics of the current puzzle file. It also allows you to change the number of the puzzle which will be used next. The "Sound" item allows you to turn the sound on or off, should you want to play without all the "bells and whistles." A check mark will be next to this item when sound is on. The "Enter Puzzle..." item will call up a window which will allow you to enter the puzzle and hint which will be used for the next round. Sometimes, if PhrazeCrazePlus can't break the puzzle up into small enough fragments, it will just use the current file for the next puzzle. If you enter a puzzle and then decide not to use it, just select "Enter Puzzle..." again and then select Cancel.
Creating Your Own Puzzle Files:
It is possible (and a lot of fun) to create your own special files of puzzles. You may create files pertaining to special topics where the category gives only a clue to the answer, or you could have a question for the hint and the answer for the puzzle. The only requirement is that the hint is limited to 35 characters (including spaces), and the puzzle is limited to 65 characters. Selecting "Convert TEXT file..." under the file menu will bring up a window which will show you how to create this text file. Any text editor can be used to create the file, as long as it creates TEXT files which contain no formatting other than return (End-of-Line) characters. To build your own puzzle file, type a TEXT file in the following format:
Hint,Puzzle<return>
Hint,Puzzle<return>
.
.
.
Hint,Puzzle<return>
Save this file as Text-Only. Now select "Convert Text File..." and follow the instructions. You will be asked what file to convert and what you want to name the new file. Don't name the new file the same as the text-file. PhrazeCrazePlus will check each puzzle to make sure the game will accept it, and will let you know if a puzzle can't be processed for the game. Some of the reasons a puzzle won't fly are:
• It may contain a word which is more than 13 characters long.
If you have a long word which is hyphenated, you should leave a space after the hyphen.
• The hint may be longer than 35 characters.
• PhrazeCrazePlus may not be able to break it up into pieces small enough to fit on the board.
PhrazeCrazePlus will automatically convert all characters in the puzzle to uppercase. It'll also strip any extra spaces out of the puzzle.
One important point to remember: Any characters in the puzzle other than letters of the alphabet will be revealed when the puzzle is first displayed, so something like "˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚ 500" would be a real giveaway.
You can stop the conversion process early by holding the mouse button down. After PhrazeCrazePlus is finished, it will tell you how many puzzles it read and how many were successfully converted and written. After you're done, the game will pick up right where you left off. Have Fun.
Special Note:
This document MUST be included with any copy of the program that you give away. Please give your friends a copy of Phraze Craze Plus, but please let them know that it's shareware, and that they should pay for it if they like it. If "you" are a registered Mac User's Group, you may recover your small disk-duplicating fee, but you may not otherwise charge for this program. This program may not be sold and may not be distributed as incentive to purchase another product. If you want to distribute this program in a commercial manner, ask me. A lot of time went into this, so please respect my wishes. Thank you.
