The following instructions may seem complicated but thegame is really very simple and intuitive once you start playing. It is a matching game that could be described asdominoes on acid.
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The tiles in this game have different sizes and structures. |
Each domino tile consists of one or more blocks. The function of a block is determined by the color of its sides, which can be gray, blue, green or red. We will call these "gray blocks", "blue blocks", "green blocks" and "red blocks" respectively. This terminology obviously ignores the color patterns found on the top of most blocks. However, aside from the usual dominoes rule that adjacent blocks of different tiles must show the same pattern, there is not much to say about these patterns.
The game starts with a single domino tile on the board and the goal of the game is to connect a red block or a blue block to every green block on the board. For this purpose there is a set of tiles freely available to the player. All of these tiles have one red block for connecting to a green block. Unfortunately, all of these tiles have at least one green block, too. So for every green block you finish by attaching a red block to it, you get at least one new green block that wants to be connected. The only way to finish the game is by using blue blocks. A blue block connects to a green block without adding a new green block. But unlike the tiles with red blocks that are freely available to the player for use everywhere, the blue blocks are bonus blocks that have to be earned and can be used only with restrictions.
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Connecting this red block finishes one green block but adds two. | Connecting this blue block finishes the green block for good. |
To get you started right away, here are the basic controls of the game. The complete list of controls will be presented later.
There are two control modes. The first mode has just the normal mouse pointer. The second mode has a domino tile "hanging" at the mouse pointer and following its movements. This tile is referred to as theactive tile. Some controls are dependent on the current mode.
In the following list,left-click means to press the left mouse button and to release it again immediately, without moving the mouse between pressing and releasing.left-drag on the other hand means to press the left mouse button and to move the mouse while holding it pressed. The drag ends when the mouse button is released. The same terminology is used for the right mouse button and the middle mouse button (Note that most mice have a scroll wheel that functions as a middle mouse button when pressed).Ctrl-left-click means to press and hold the Ctrl key while performing a left-click. The same applies to other Ctrl- actions and Shift- actions. In every case the Ctrl key or Shift key must be pressed before initiating the action.
Note, that on systems with only one mouse button, this button is regarded as the left button. The right button can be simulated by holding the Alt key while pressing the (left) mouse button.
The following paragraphs describe the tiles you will encounter during the game.
At the beginning of each level, the start tile is the only tile on the
board and unlike other tiles the start tile can not be removed. The start
tile is also the only tile that has a gray block with a pattern. The gray
block can not be connected to other tiles. Depending on the level there
may be one or more blue bonus blocks
on the start tile for use anywhere on the board.
The freely available tiles may be used at any time anywhere on the board. All freely available tiles have one red block for connecting to a green block and one or more green blocks. Some freely available tiles also have bonus blocks that are discussed further below. The main characteristic of the freely availables is that most of their blocks have patterns with rectangles colored in shades of gray. Every gray rectangle is a joker. When connecting the red block of one of the freely availables to a green block, each gray rectangle on the red block will assume color and pattern of the corresponding rectangle on the green block, with the following limitations: bullet-list { <item> A gray rectangle can match a group of smaller rectangles but not part of a larger rectangle. </item> <item> Rectangles with the same shade of gray can only match the same pattern. </item> }
Redness inducer tiles are special, because they are the only freely
available tiles that have a non-joker color, the color red, in their
patterns. Another specialty of the redness inducer is that the pattern of
its green block is independent of the pattern of its red block.
Simplifiers are useful for breaking complex patterns into simpler ones.
At the same time a simplifier gives you a blue block. Use the simplifier
whenever you can.
The branching complexifier is in a way the opposite of the longish
simplifier. You attach it it to a green block and what you get is a new
green block whose bottom half corresponds to the pattern of the green
block the complexifier is attached to. The complexifier adds another green
block whose pattern matches the top half of the other new green block.
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Complexifiers are useful if you have a bonus block available that has in its bottom right corner the same pattern as an unconnected green block. |
This is a very unremarkable tile that is not used very often. Its only
purpose is to provide a way out when space around a green block gets
too narrow for placing larger tiles.
The bonus blocks are the blue blocks that lie on top of some tiles. Bonus
blocks are single-block tiles that can be connected to green blocks.
There is an important restriction that applies to all bonus blocks: A
bonus block may only be attached to a green block of the tile that
provides the bonus block, or a tile attached to a green block of the tile
that provides the bonus block, or a tile attached to a tile attached to
a green block of the tile that provides the bonus block, and so on.
In other words: If you were to walk on the domino tiles from the bonus block
to the green block you want to attach it to, then you must not cross the
red block of the tile that provides the bonus block.
Custom tiles are created by connecting some freely available tiles and
compressing the result into a single tile. The compressed tile has the same
red and green blocks and provides the same bonus blocks, but has a more
compact shape. See the game controls
for information on how to create custom tiles.
There are two control modes. The first mode has just the normal mouse pointer. The second mode has a domino tile "hanging" at the mouse pointer and following its movements. This tile is referred to as theactive tile. Some controls are dependent on the current mode.
In the following list,left-click means to press the left mouse button and to release it again immediately, without moving the mouse between pressing and releasing.left-drag on the other hand means to press the left mouse button and to move the mouse while holding it pressed. The drag ends when the mouse button is released. The same terminology is used for the right mouse button and the middle mouse button (Note that most mice have a scroll wheel that functions as a middle mouse button when pressed).Ctrl-left-click means to press and hold the Ctrl key while performing a left-click. The same applies to other Ctrl- actions and Shift- actions. In every case the Ctrl key or Shift key must be pressed before initiating the action.
Note, that on systems with only one mouse button, this button is regarded as the left button. The right button can be simulated by holding the Alt key while pressing the (left) mouse button.
The tile menu contains checkboxes to enable and disable the freely available tiles (except for the Boring Elongator).
menu-description { <item><name> Add Custom Tile </name> Adds the current custom tile (if any) to the list of freely available tiles. </item> <item><name> Load Tiles </name> Loads a set of tiles from a file. </item> <item><name> Save Tiles </name> Saves the current set of tiles to a file. </item> <item><name> Remove Unselected </name> Removes all tiles from the list whose checkboxes are not checked. </item> <item><name> Restore Default </name> Restores the default list of freely available tiles. </item> }