M A T H M A Z E ! version 1.00 (c) Copyright 1989 by Scott Young FILES : MATHMAZE.EXE, MATHMAZE.DOC, MATHMAZE.MAP SHAREWARE: This program is being distributed under the shareware concept. In other words, if you find this program to be enjoyable you are encouraged to send $5.00 to the address below so that my kids can eat and my wife can finish her college education. I don't see why you wouldn't like it; every time you play the game is different and a strategy that worked yesterday won't work today. You are encouraged to share a copy with a friend, upload it to your favorite bulletin board, etc. That's how we make our money. It's nice to get letters from all over the United States and Canada. Who knows, you may even get a free disk one day when my next game is finished! Thank you! Scott Young PO Box 1550 Section #1 Portsmouth, NH 03801 July 7, 1989 MATH MAZE! Math Maze is a stategy/adventure game where you search a 10x10 grid for eight cash prizes to be stored in any one of three safes found in the maze. Numbers are picked up along the way which allow you to enter doors requiring a certain value to be located in your inventory. There are five levels of play and each time you run the program the maze is completely different. THE PLAY The first thing you need to do before starting the game is to print off a copy of the map (filename=MATHMAZE.MAP) or make a 10x10 grid on a piece of paper. There are 100 rooms to explore and each on has a combination of open doors, numbered doors and walls. Recording a layout of the rooms will make it easier for you to get from one point to another. Without a map you will be hard pressed to win on any level. To being the game run the file MATHMAZE.EXE. Please notice the message about sending me $5.00 if you enjoy the game. My kids are getting a little tired of bread and water! Anyway, you are first asked whether you want a new game or a game saved previously to disk. If you are starting a new game you must select a level of play from 1=easy to 5=hard. If you are resuming an old game you will be returned to the point where the game was saved. The main game board consists of four information boxes. The upper right hand box contains a light bar menu and your current inventory. The upper left hand box displays the difficulty level, number of moves taken, and the number of cash items stored in the safes. The lower left hand box displays the current room's layout and contents. The lower right hand box displays where you are in the maze and the contents of rooms you have visited. Dots represent rooms yet to be visited. INVENTORY At any given time you will be carrying up to six numbers in your inventory. Through the process of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing these number will be used to enter numbered doors. Numbers will be added to your inventory whenever you use the TAKE command in a room which contains a number or the letter N. You are allowed to carry one cash item at a time. Whenever you are carrying cash a $ will be shown. At the beginning of a game you are given two bombs. They are used to make a wall or numbered door into an open door. They are represented by character which looks like an "o" with a tail or wick. ROOMS Each room consists of four sides. A side may contain an open door, a numbered door or a solid wall. In the center or the room the contents will be displayed. Below is a table showing what may be found: (-) Sorry! This room is empty. You may drop a number here if you wish. (4) This room contains the number 4. Take it! Other rooms will have different numbers from 1 to 9. (X) This is the maze's home square. This is where you begin the game. ($) Cash! Take it! (only one at a time, please) (S) A safe! Drop your cash here. (N) A number box! By taking it your inventory will be filled to six numbers. (?) A mystery box! Taking this will place you somewhere in the maze you've never been before. MOVEMENT The move from one room to another start with with GO command. Next you will be asked in which direction would you like to go. Select UP, DOWN, LEFT or RIGHT. Walking through open doors is no problem. In a moment the new room will be displayed in the lower left hand box. Walking into walls will give you a headache, nothing more! You can walk through a door with a number next to it if that number appears in your inventory. Once you go through the door that number is removed from play (consider it as a toll!) How do I make those numbers? This is explained in the math section. As you begin to walk around the maze one point will become very clear. Just because you can go right from one room does not insure you can immediately return by making a left! That's part of the game's charm and/or frustration. Walking "off the edge" of the maze will cause you to return to the home square. For example, If you are in room (0,0) and you decide to go up, then you will end up back at the X wherever that room may be. MATH Often you will want to enter numbered doors, but that particular number will not be in your inventory. That is where the MATH commands work for you. Scan your numbers to decide how you are to make the number you need. Then by using the ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY and DIVIDE commands perform the computations necessary to arrive at the required number. As the operations occur, the two numbers used in the formula are replaced by the result in your inventory. Example: Assume you need a 38 to pass through a numbered door. Your inventory contains the following numbers: 1 3 5 7 8. You may choose to use the following commands: MATH, MULTIPLY, 5 [Enter], 7[Enter] Your inventory would now show: 1 3 8 35. MATH, ADD, 35 [Enter], 3 [Enter] Producing: 1 8 38 You would now be able to walk through the door. BOMBS Two bombs are given to you at the beginning of each game. They are use to turn a wall or a numbered door into an open door. Bombs are best saved until they are truly needed. SAVING, RESTORING AND QUITTING After using the QUIT command you are able to SAVE the game position, RESTORE an old position, return BACK to the game or EXIT altogether. If you choose to EXIT you are given the opportunity to see the maze layout. WINNING THE GAME The game is won when a player finds and stores all eight cash items in any combination of the three safes. You really become a winner in my book if you send me $5.00 (cheap!) if you like the program.