MATCH-ABC (A GAME OF MEMORY)
         Copyright  1988
          by Ron Nabity


INTRODUCTION:

MATCH-ABC is a 2-player memory game 
designed for pre-school-age children.
It is a fun way for children to learn
the letters of the alphabet, as well
as to sharpen their memory skills.
Another talent soon developed is their
ability to manipulate the mouse. You
will probably discover that this game
offers a special challenge for grown-
ups too. (This is the type of game
where a 5-year-old can effectively
compete with an adult. See the CAUTION
at the end of this text file.)

OBJECT OF THE GAME:

The object of the game is to collect
more pairs of cards than your opponent.
A pair of cards is two cards showing
the same letter of the alphabet.
MATCH-ABC will play either CAPITAL
letters only (where the matching
letters are both CAPITAL <A/A>) or
Mixed (where the capital letter is
matched to its lower-case counterpart
<A/a>). Since all the letters of the
alphabet are used, there are a total
of 26 pairs.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME:

This program works in low-resolution
only. You will find that the colors of
the letter cards assist with the
memory process.

Double-click on MATCHABC.PRG. You will
see a shareware notice pleading for
money. When you press any key, the
title screens will appear, play the ABC
theme song (everybody knows this one),
and then you will be asked to select
the game-type you would like to play:
(CAPITALS ONLY or Mixed Case).
Select your preference. You will see
the entire set of alphabet cards face
up for an instant, and then you will
be prompted for both player's names.
MATCH-ABC allows no more than 18 spaces
for each name. (If you do not enter a
name, the program will assign a Player
name.) If you want to play alone, just
enter your name as both players or 
leave blank.

When you have finished entering the
names, you will have a choice between
showing or hiding the scores during
the game. Some kids (& adults) will
concentrate on the scores more than the
game, so I prefer to hide 'em.

Finally, you will see the playing area
with all 52 cards face down. These
cards have been dealt at random. With
the mouse, select a card by pointing at
the card and pressing the left mouse
button once. The card will turn over.
Select the second card in the same
manner. If the two cards match, you
will hear a MATCH tune and receive a
point. The matched cards will disappear
and you receive another turn. If the
two cards do not match, they will flip
back over after a couple of seconds and
it will be the other player's turn.

The game will keep track of each
player's turn and score. When all
cards have been matched, the players'
total scores will be displayed. If
the game did not end in a tie, then
the winner receives a blue ribbon.

You can STOP at any time during a game
by selecting the STOP box in the lower
corner of the playing surface.

When you have finished a game (or
STOPPED a game), a selection panel will
appear. With this panel, you can start
another game with some options (such as
new game type, new player names, or no
change to either). You can also end the
program by selecting QUIT.

FILES NEEDED:

In order for MATCH-ABC to work, you
will need to have these files in the
same drive path:
       MATCHABC.PRG
       UPPERABC.DAT
       LOWERABC.DAT
       TTL1ABC.DAT
       TTL2ABC.DAT
       FINLABC.DAT
       MATCHABC.TXT (This one)

Please feel free to distribute this
program among your friends. Be sure to
include the above files when you do.

CAUTION: Young children are deadly at
memory-type games. If you intend to
play this game against your youngster,
I suggest you play a few times alone
first. Believe it or not, you will see
an improvement in your own memory
skills. There was a time when my
memory was terrible, but I don't seem
to recall when that was.

WARRANTY: There is none. I have
attempted to release this as bug-free
as possible. It has been severely
tested by real users (3 & 5 year olds)
but who knows what could happen. If
you detect any problems, write to me
at the address below, I will try to
resolve them as I hear about them.

SHAREWARE: Like all shareware, this is
yours to keep. If you find that you or
your kids are playing this game once in
awhile, I ask that you send a donation
to me at the address below. Good
response will encourage further
development of this type of software.

Thanks for your support and ENJOY!
(Isn't that why we bought these
machines in the first place?)


Ron Nabity
2334 Irvin Way
Sacramento, CA 95822