COLUMNS(6) UNIX Programmer's Manual COLUMNS(6)
NAME
columns - X11 strategy game
SYNOPSIS
columns
DESCRIPTION
NOTE: This client is not supported by HP in HP-UX Release
9.0. It is included in the release, but it is now installed
in the directory /usr/contrib/bin/X11. Your $PATH environ-
ment variable should contain this directory path in order to
run this client. See the release notes for more informa-
tion.
columns is a single-player game in which one attempts to
manipulate multi-colored tiles in order to form sequences of
three boxes of the same color--arranged horizontally, verti-
cally, or diagonally.
The columns game window is a 6 x 18 array of squares. The
playing tiles drop from the top of the screen, and are
comprised of 3 colored boxes arranged in a column. The
color of each box in a tile is assigned at random from a
pool of--at most--six possible colors: red, green, blue,
yellow, magenta, and cyan.
Tiles drop one at a time, and may be manipulated in one of
four different ways by 1) moving the tile to the left one
position (the left command), 2) moving the tile to the right
one position (right), 3) cycling the colors of the boxes in
the tile such that each color moves down one box, with the
top box in the tile assuming the color of the bottom box
(cycle), and 4) dropping the tile straight down into place
(drop).
The game ends when a tile is placed and--after counting all
sequences and removing the boxes involved--a box remains
touching the ceiling line near the top of the game window.
LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY
As mentioned above, the pool of colors from which the boxes
in a given tile are assigned is--at most--six. In practice,
however, there are twelve different difficulty levels for
which the actual number of colors in the pool and the con-
straints upon them are unique.
At the lowest level, only the first three colors from the
pool are used and there are no constraints on how the boxes
in a tile are assigned.
At the highest level, the pool includes all six possible
colors, and the boxes in the tile are constrained such that
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COLUMNS(6) UNIX Programmer's Manual COLUMNS(6)
none of them may be of the same color.
The complete table depicting the size of the pool and the
constraints on the boxes in a tile at each level is as fol-
lows:
# OF COLORS MAX # OF BOXES
LEVEL IN THE POOL OF ANY ONE COLOR
----- ----------- ----------------
1 3 3
2 " 2
3 " 1
4 4 3
5 " 2
6 " 1
7 5 3
8 " 2
9 " 1
10 6 3
11 " 2
12 " 1
The difficulty level begins at one and increases by one
every tenth tile.
SCORING
The primary object of the game is to arrange the tiles on
the game window such that boxes of the same color line up in
three-box sequences. A sequence may be formed horizontally,
vertically, or diagonally.
Any time a three-box sequence is produced, the three boxes
forming the sequence are removed from the game window, and
all boxes located above those removed drop to occupy the
vacated squares on the game window. This adds an interest-
ing twist to the game in that new three-box sequences may be
produced in a "chain-reaction" fashion as a result of boxes
dropping to fill in squares vacated by other boxes. For the
purposes of explanation, each phase of sequence-forming is
referred to as a "chain".
Each sequence formed scores 10 points if formed during the
first chain, 20 points if formed during the second "chain",
and so on, with the points-per-sequence increasing by 10
points with each new chain.
Points are also awarded based on the current difficulty
level, and on how quickly a tile is dropped down into place
by the player.
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COLUMNS(6) UNIX Programmer's Manual COLUMNS(6)
The points awarded for placing a tile are equivalent to the
level number. Thus, six points are awarded for each tile
successfully placed when at level six.
The points awarded for placing a tile quickly are equivalent
to the number of rows that the tile drops when the DROP key-
board command is issued. Thus, 18 points are awarded if the
tile is dropped to the bottom of the game window at the
moment it first appears at the top of the game window.
COMMANDS
4, 5, 6, 2
These are the left, cycle, right, and drop commands as
mapped onto a numeric keypad.
J, K, L, <SPACE>
These are the left, cycle, right, and drop keyboard
commands for a right-handed player.
S, D, F, <SPACE>
These are the left, cycle, right, and drop keyboard
commands for a left-handed player.
I Iconify the game window. ("Yipes! The boss!")
Q Quit the current game and exit.
R Quit the current game and start over.
All other keys cause the game to pause. Play is resumed by
pressing any key besides Q or R.
AUTHOR
Jay Geertsen, Hewlett-Packard Company
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