- 1 - S O L E A U S O F T W A R E D*O*T*S*O v1.0 ______________________ Program by William Soleau Requires: EGA/VGA Requires Files: Dotso.exe Dotso.ov1 Dotso.ov2 Dotso.ov3 Dotso1.jft Dotso2.jft Dotso3.jft * DOTSO DIRECTIONS * The objective of Dotso is to create boxes by drawing four sides of a box. Each player takes turns drawing a line either horizontal or vertical on the game board. The player with the most boxes created at the end of the game is the winner. Dotso is played like the classic game Connect the Dots. At the start of the game, the computer will generate a random board with some lines already drawn on it. Each player will take turns placing down one line (between dots). If a player can make a box by adding its fourth side, then it will be colored in with their tile marker. If you make a box, your turn continues until the line you draw will not form a new box. The computer will automatically fill any other boxes which can be created once you have captured your first box for that turn. * Color Tiles * This Shareware version of Dotso pits you against the computer. Your color will be yellow and the computer will play the red. At the start of the game there may occasionally be gray tiles on the game board. These tiles cannot be captured and will remain on the board for the duration of the game. - 2 - * Drawing Lines * When play begins the computer will randomly select who will take the first turn. The color of the border around the game grid will turn to the color of the player who is about to play. In the upper left hand corner of the game board there will be the yellow line icon. Using your arrow keys move the line to the place you want to draw a line. You can change toggle the line icon between horizontal and vertical by pressing the . A line cannot be drawn on top of a line already on the game board. When you have found the place where you want to draw a line, press the key. If a box was not created by that line, then the play will pass to the opponent. * Options * At the bottom of the screen there are several keys which you can use to change the features of the game. irections ptions ew Game uit irections : Game Instructions ew Game : Begins a new game. Can be pressed at any time during a game. uit : Quits Dotso By pressing the ption Key, a special Option Menu will appear. The Options are: 1 = Toggle Sound (On/Off) 2 = Change Opponent Level (Beg/Adv/Exp) 3 = Soleau Software (Information) 4 = Change Opponent (Computer/Human Reg.Ver.) * Opponent Level * There are three different levels of play for the computer opponent. They are Beginner, Average and Expert. The default for the game is set to Average strength. The Level Icon is located on the right side of the game board. This will tell you at which strength the computer is playing. - 3 - * Strategy * The game is easy to play but requires a lot of strategy and observation to win. After the first few moves by each player, the game board will soon have no more places to safely draw a line without the opponent being able to create a box on their turn. The trick is to limit the number of boxes your opponent will create by choosing the right location on the game board to draw your line. The game is over when all boxes have been colored in. The computer will tabulate the scores and determine the winner. All score totals are visible on the screen during the game. * Keys * Arrow Keys : Moves Line Icon Spacebar : Toggles between Horizontal & Vertical Enter Key : Draws the line * NOTE WINDOWS USERS * Running Dotso under Windows may cause unexpected results. The game should be played by loading it directly from the Dos prompt. * SOLEAU SOFTWARE / REGISTRATION * This game is distributed as Shareware and may be passed along to your friends or local BBS. A registration fee of $12.00 is requested if you find this game is a worthy addition to your game collection. The registration will greatly speed up the loading and exiting of the game, and provide you with an option for two human players to compete against each other. By registering D*O*T*S*O, you will instantly become a Soleau Software Member. All Soleau Software Members receive discounts on our other Shareware Games through Special Bonus Offers sent with their disk. They are also eligible for our Member Game Pack of EIGHT of our most popular EGA/VGA games on a High Density floppy for an additional $6.00! Please take the time to read the DOTS_REG.DOC file which describes how you can get information on our many other games, the Member Game Pack Offer, and how to become a Soleau Software Member. You can also get this information by pressing the egistration key at the end of the game. We at Soleau Software thank you for your support and hope you will continue to enjoy this as well as our many other Shareware products. Sincerely, William Soleau President Soleau Software 163 Amsterdam Ave Suite 213 New York, NY 10023