What is THINK? -------------- THINK! is one of those games that is easy to learn, but fiendishly difficult to master. It can be played by all ages and at all levels with equal frustration and enjoyment. Like all things in life, the end result is quite simple; it's getting there that causes the sleepless nights. All you have to do is to get four of your counters in a row on a six by six board. And what's more, there are only four rules to remember. Sounds easy? The fun starts when you realise that you can only get them there by pushing the counters in from the bottom or the right edge of the board. Still confident? How about this. When you push a counter in, everything on that row or column moves along by one, spaces included. THINK! about that!! To help you on your way THINK! comes with an integral computer opponent for you to practice on and a tutorial section where the computer will analyse your moves for you. You can also partake of SPEED THINK! or BLITZ THINK! where you have a limited time to play a move or play an entire game. For good measure there is also a problem solving mode where you can sharpen your skills on some fiendish problem boards from the computer. Or how about setting up your own boards for the computer or a friend to solve. You can play against the computer or a friend. You can even use joystick or keyboard entry. All of this is contained within an easy-to-use icon structure which leaves you free to THINK! about the game. TO LOAD, Type LOAD "". Press ENTER The 4 Rules of THINK! --------------------- 1) Counters can only be pushed in from the bottom edge or the right edge of the board. 2) Winning lines of four can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. 3) If you make a line of four for your opponent, the opponent wins, even if you have made a line yourself. 4) Counters can be pushed off the edge of the board, and will be lost. How Do I Get a Game of THINK! ----------------------------- Once the program has loaded you will see the main icon menu screen. It is here that you decide what sort of game you want. If you are using the keyboard then the SPACE key will move the cursor down, and the 'M' key will move it up. The ENTER key will change the icon highlight. It is the highlighted icons when you select play game that decide what sort of game you want. For joystick users, up and down moves the cursor and fire shifts the highlight. The icons are as follows:- ROW 1 - Select 1 or 2 player game, Tutorial or Problem mode. ROW 2 - Select what sort of game you want, Normal, Speed or Blitz THINK! (N.B. Speed and Blitz THINK only available in 2 Player mode). ROW 3 - Select colour display between Default colours, Black and White, User defined counter colours. ROW 4 - Select keyboard or joystick Input for playing the game. ROW 5 - Select a New game or resume the game in play. ROW 6 - Select Sound on or off. On the right of the screen you have the following icon options:- RULES - See an explanation of the rules and example plays. SCREEN DUMP - Dump the current game screen to a ZX compatible printer. SAVE GAME - Saves the current game to tape. LOAD GAME - Loads a game from tape. PLAY GAME - Starts the game selected with the highlighted icons. Playing THINK! -------------- Once you have selected the play game icon, the computer will ask you some questions depending on what game you have chosen. Once you have answered them, the game screen will appear. To place a counter on the board in keyboard mode you just type EITHER the number or the letter of the position you wish to push in from and press enter. Your counter will now be played. With a joystick you move the joystick left or right till the cursor appears over the letter or number you wish to play. Pressing the FIRE button plays your counter. If you want to access the icons at the right of the screen then from the keyboard you press SPACE when it's your turn, or move the joystick down. To get back, move the cursor off the last icon. The game screen icons have the following functions:- UP ARROW - Returns you to the main screen so that you can alter parameters (Number of players, colours, etc). LAST MOVE - Displays the last move played. COMPUTER - Forces the computer to play the next move. LEVEL - Shows the level at which the computer is playing. This can be altered during a game. LIGHT BULB - The computer will suggest a move for you. BACK - Takes back the last 2 moves. During a game against the computer you can force the computer to take its move by pressing the ENTER key whilst it's thinking. It will then play the move that is currently displayed in the mes- sage window. At the end of the game you can REVIEW all the moves by accessing the BACK icon. 1 is the fastest replay speed, 9 will wait for you to press a key. Selecting the UP ARROW will get you back to the main screen. You will also now see a PLAY GAME icon. If you select this then you will start a new game with the same conditions, except that whoever started first will now play second. THINK! variations ----------------- SPEED THINK! You will be able to set a limited amount of time for each player to play their move in. If the time runs out then the opposition gets to play their move. BLITZ THINK! You can set a time limit in which all your moves in the game have to be played. If you run out of time your opponent wins. TUTORIAL You play against the computer. When you input a move the computer will decide whether or not it was the best move. If you get it right first time you will score three points, second time two, third time one. After that the computer will play the move for you. At the end of the game, the program will give you a percentage score. PROBLEM Using the icons you will be able to select one of the 6 preset problems that are in the computer and try and solve them. Or you can, using the keyboard or the joystick, create your own pro- blems for either the computer or another player to solve. If you are setting up a problem using the keyboard then the SPACE key will move the cursor over the board one square at a time. Pressing ENTER will put a Player 1 counter on that square. Pressing it again will put a Player 2 counter there instead. Pressing again will clear the square. When you are finished you can go back to the main screen and select how you are going to play the position you have set up. All preset problems are for Player 1 to win in 2 moves. Why is it called THINK! ----------------------- Try playing it and you'll soon find out!! ----------------------------------------- T H I N K !