**************************** AMUS Program Label ******************************
* Filename: MOSAIC.LIT Date: 8/28/90
* Category: GAME Hash Code: 446-265-464-377 Version: 1.0(100)
* Initials: ROBB/AM Name: Erik Petrich
* Company: Microlink Computing Systems, Inc. Telephone #: 4053218333
* Related Files:
* Min. Op. Sys.: Expertise Level: BEG
* Special: Keeps high score table in LIB:
* Description: This is a strategy game in which you try to place multi-colored
* tiles so that all of a single color is contiguous.
*
******************************************************************************
Playing Mosaic
In the game of Mosaic there are 81 tiles. Each tile is divided into four
segments. In each of the four segment of the tile there is one of three
possible colors (red, green, or cyan). Each tile is a unique combination
of the colors in the segments, thus the 81 tiles (3 to the 4th power).
Mosaic is played on a board that is 24 segments wide and 24 segments tall,
or alternatively, 12 tiles wide and 12 tiles tall. As this leaves room for
144 tiles to be placed on the board, there should be ample room for variation
in the placement of the 81 tiles.
The object of Mosaic is to place the tiles in such a way that will maximize
the contiguous area of segments that are the same color. Some examples:
(R=Red segment, G=Green segment, C=Cyan segment)
RG GC Since there are no segments that are contiguous with another
GC RG segment of the same color, only 1 point per segment is
achieved. (8 points total)
RGGC By moving the pieces together, there are now two green
GCRG segements that are contiguous. Two contiguous segements of
the same color are worth 4 points total, or 2 points each.
The other segments are non-contiguous still and thus only 1
point each. (10 points total)
RG 3 contiguous red = 9 points
RG 4 contiguous green = 16 points
RGGC 5 non-contiguous = 5 points
GCRG ---
20 points total
In short, you get the square of the area of the contiguous region worth
of points. As you can see, as soon as you start building contiguous regions
your score will climb rapidly. This is because the square of sums is greater
than the sum of squares (for numbers greater than one).
Mosaic will initially display the title screen and the current top ten high
scores. Hitting Escape or Control-C will exit the program at this point.
Any other key pressed will start the game.
In the game, a new tile will appear in the upper left hand corner every
turn. Use the arrow keys to move the tile to the position on the board you
want and then press the space bar to put the tile down onto the board there.
If your terminal does not have arrow keys, the standard VUE control keys
can also be used (Control-H left, Control-L right, Control-J down, Control-K
up).
Hitting Escape during the game will end the current game. Hitting Control-C
during the game will exit the program completely.
On the right hand side of your screen, Mosaic will display which tile you
are currently placing. Divided by segment color, it also displays the
number of segments on the board, the number of points gained last turn,
and your overall score for the game.
The game ends either as soon as you place the 81st tile or there is no more
room to place tiles on the board.
If your score is better than any score currently in the top ten, you will
be prompted to type in your name so it can be added to the high scores.
If your terminal does not support color, Mosaic will attempt to use the
shaded block characters. If your terminal doesn't support shaded block
characters, it will use various symbols instead.
