| ★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ WORDSEARCH (AN EDUCATIONAL DATABASE FOR THE AMSTRAD) (c) DUCKWORTH ★ |
Computer Challenges for the Amstrad |
Many newsagents stock puzzle magazines, and of the problems in such publications the favourite of many is the wordsearch. Here we present a computer version of this puzzle which, in conjunction with EDBASE, will provide you with an infinite number of wordsearches to instruct you in the correct spelling of many words. Instructions The user is required to locate eighteen words hidden in a 16 x 16 matrix of letters. To increase the difficulty of this task, the words can appear backwards or diagonally as well as in their normal orientation. To place the user under some pressure there is a timer shown on the screen and all the words must be located before it reaches zero. When the program is executed the screen will show the matrix of characters with each position being occupied by an asterisk. Next a message will appear requesting you to place the database cassette into the Datacorder so that the words may be transferred into the computer's memory. The length of time this takes depends on the size of the database. When the internal buffering is complete the message 'DESIGNING PUZZLE' is shown while the computer selects eighteen words at random and distributes them about the matrix. After these have been chosen, random letters are placed in all the other locations and the board is displayed. The words you are to find are then shown in blue on the right-hand side of the screen and the timer displayed above them is started. If you think you have correctly located a word in the matrix then you must tell the computer the starting point and the finishing point. This is achieved by positioning a pair of arrows to indicate the row and column in which the key letters occur. For example, to specify the start of the word ASH in the following, the arrows must be positioned as shown:
To indicate the end of the word they should be repositioned to point to the letter H. The horizontal arrow is blue, the vertical arrow red, and the message prompting you to position them uses the same colour code. To move the arrows the cursor keys are used and to make the selection the COPY key should be pressed. If your choice of starting point and finishing point are legal then the characters in between are highlighted in blue and the computer checks to see if the word is one of those which you are seeking. If it is, then the word in the list is converted to red and if not a message of condolence is shown before the letters in the matrix return to black. The game ends when you locate all the words or the timer reaches zero, when you are given the choice of having another game or finishing the program. |
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