Copyright: On No! Copyright 1994, FSA Inc.


Oh No!
Oh No!	A  Game of  Chance

How to play the game

Menus

Wagering

Sample Game

Configuration

Technical Information

Product Registration

Version 2.0

Copyright 1994

 Financial Systems Associates, Inc.

148 N. Washington St.

Delaware, Ohio  43015

Written by Stephen R. Woods


Menus

    Game

New Game...	Quits the current game and starts a new one.

Exit................	Ends the game and returns you to Microsoft Windows

   Options

Players.....	Choose to play the game with either one person against the computer or two people against each other.  Click the desired menu item and a dialog box appears which verifies your request and warns you that a new game will be started.  Click OK or CANCEL as appropriate.

Scores.......	Displays the "Top Ten" scores.  When the scoreboard appears, you may click the CLEAR SCORES button to permanently remove the current list of scores.

Configure..	Invokes the "Oh No! Configuration" dialog box.  You may change the following game settings:

The minimum number of points required to initially "get on the board".

The number of points required to win the game.

The number of seconds that the computer will pause after making a play before it is your turn again.

Enable/disable the  caption displayed at the top of the screen that tells you how many points are needed to get on the board and how many are needed to win the game.

The length of time (in seconds) that the dice will roll before you can play a die.

The animation speed of the spinning dice as they are rolled.  This setting depends upon the speed of your computer. This speed is measured in milliseconds (thousandths of a second).

Enable/disable sound effects.  (Requires SoundBlaster or compatible sound card.)

Enable/disable Andrew Dice Cray's random point wagering.

Enable/disable the UNDO feature.

    Help

How to Play..	Invoke Windows Help for Oh No!.

About...........	Displays an ABOUT box which contains important information.


How to Play the Game

The object of the game is to beat the computer by rolling six dice and accumulating the most points up to a predetermined winning score value (default of 10,000 points).

To begin the game, click the ROLL button.  Six random dice will be displayed in the playing area.  Only certain dice values and combinations may be played.  To select a die to play, move the mouse cursor to the desired die and click the left mouse button.  The played die will be removed from the green playing surface and moved to the gray rectangular area in the lower portion of the screen. Play combinations and their point values are shown in the graphic to the right.

If none of the above combinations are present, you BUST (lose your turn), and the computer will start playing. Initially, you must accumulate at least 750 points to get your score on the board.  After that, you can take any number of points for your turn.  All combinations of the above may be played in any single roll, and at least one combination must be played before you can roll again or end your turn unless you BUST.  You end your turn by clicking the DONE button.  If you click the DONE button, but there are still some remaining plays, the computer will tell you to play out your remaining dice before ending your turn.  If all six dice are played in a single roll, you must roll again.

You accumulate points by continuously rolling the dice and playing them.  It is not necessary to play all of your valid dice combinations in a roll.  You may choose to play only those which contain the highest point values, and then roll the remaining dice in hopes of achieving better plays.  You continue rolling the remaining dice until you think you might bust, at which time you end your turn.  Your total accumulated points is shown in the small red box underneath the gray  area on the playing surface.

For example, if you roll 1-2-3-1-5-6, click the first 1, click the second 1, and you will probably then want to roll again because the odds of rolling four dice and coming up with three-of-a-kind or more ones are better than if you roll only three dice because you took the 1, 1, and 5.  You then roll the remaining four dice in order to accumulate more points.

If you roll three-of-a-kind, you only need to click on one of the three; the computer assumes that you want to play all three, and will automatically move three of the same dice value to the blue area.

If you roll 1-2-3-4-5-6, the computer will automatically play the dice for you, and  you can then roll again.

You continue rolling until you are satisfied with the number of points gained so far during your current turn, or you BUST.  If you BUST, you lose all the points gained during your turn.

When either you or the computer reach the winning score (default of 10,000 points), the opposing player gets one final chance to roll and beat the opponent.  If you win, the scoreboard appears, and you can enter your initials in the "Top Ten" if your score qualifies.

If you change your mind about playing a certain die, click  the UNDO button and your last play will be reversed.  You can't UNDO a play after the sixth die has been played or the DONE button has been clicked.  Real men don't  UNDO.


Wagering

Depending on your configuration options, wagering may randomly appear during the game.  When this happens, play is temporarily suspended, and Andrew Dice Cray appears on the screen asking if you care to wager some points on the outcome of your next roll.  Red oval YES and NO  buttons will appear underneath Andrew Dice Cray's balloon caption.  If you choose YES, Andrew Dice Cray will then present his proposition. If you choose NO, Andrew Dice Cray will go away for a while.

If you responded YES to Andrew Dice Cray's first question, you will be given the opportunity to bet a randomly generated number of points (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, or 300) on a randomly generated outcome of your next roll.  The outcomes available are BUST and DON'T BUST.  If you don't like the bet offered, click NO, and Andrew Dice Cray will go away.

For example, you may be asked to wager 100 points that you BUST on your next roll.  In this case, if you BUST, you will receive 100 points, but you will lose that roll's accumulated dice value because you busted. (You lose the dice value anyway on a bust.)   If you don't bust, but you wagered that you would, you lose the bet and 100 points are subtracted from your current score.

You should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the wager based on the status of your current situation.  If, for example, you've played five dice, and you only have one die left to roll, the odds say that you will probably bust when you roll that single die.  So if you're offered a bet on a bust, and your current accumulated points for the roll is low, you may be better off betting that you will bust if the number of points to be gained by the wager is worthwhile.

If you have accepted the wager, a blue reminder describing the wager will appear at the top of the box containing the dice already played until your next roll is complete.  After you roll, a caption stating the wager's outcome will appear in the reminder area.  The reminder will then disappear the next time you click the ROLL button.  Clicking the DONE button and not rolling cancels the current wager.

The points won or lost from a wager will appear in the listbox containing your current score and will be indicated as wager points by a "W" next to the number of points.  If you lost points on the wager, a minus sign will appear to the left of the  point value.

Wagering is not active until your score is  "on the board."


Sample Game

Here are some sample rolls.  You may decide to play them differently depending on how brave or cowardly you are, but this is how I would play them.

You roll...	You Play...	Then click...	Points	Total

3 - 2 - 1 - 6 - 4 - 3 	1	Roll	100

6 - 2 - 5 - 5 - 4	5	Roll	50

1 - 1 - 5 - 2	1 - 1 - 5	Done	250

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	400	400

4 - 4 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 3	4 - 4 - 4	Roll	400

1 - 6 - 2	1	Done	100

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	500	900

1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 5	1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 5	Roll	400

1 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 2 - 1	1 - 1 - 1 - 1	Done	1100

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	1500	2400

3 - 5 - 6 - 2 - 4 - 5	5	Roll	50

5 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 1	1 - 1	Roll	200

6 - 2 - 4	Bust	Bust	0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	0	2400

2 - 3 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 6 	6 - 6 - 6	Roll	600

1 - 5 - 6	1 - 5	Done	150

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	750	3150

5 - 5 - 5 - 3 - 3 - 3	5 - 5 - 5 - 3 - 3 - 3	Roll	800

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6	1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6	Roll	1000

5 - 5 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 6	5	Roll	50

1 - 5 - 5 - 2 - 1	1 - 1 - 5 - 5	Done	300

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	2150	5300


Configuration

The game's runtime options may be changed in the Configuration dialog.  To invoke this dialog, click on Options/Configure.  For a description of each setting, just click on the checkbox or button in the graphic shown below.


Sets the minimum number of points required to initially "get on the board".  The default value is 750 points.


Sets the number of points required to win the game.  The default value is 10,000 points.


Sets the number of seconds that the computer will pause after making a play before it is your turn again.  The default value is one second.


Sets the length of time (in seconds) that the dice will roll before you can play a die.  This setting depends upon the speed of your computer.  The default value is two seconds.


Use the horizontal scroll bar to change the animation speed of the spinning dice while they are rolling.  This setting depends upon the speed of your computer. This speed is measured in milliseconds (thousandths of a second).  The lowest value is 1 millisecond, the highest value is 999 milliseconds (nearly 1 second).  The default value is 50 milliseconds.


Enables or disables game sound effects.  Adds an amusing touch to the game.  This option requires a Sound Blaster or compatible sound card installed in your computer.  To the best of our knowledge, sound effects will not work if you try to use the PC Speaker sound driver; you need a REAL sound card.


Enables or disables the caption displayed at the top of the screen that tells you how many points are needed to get on the board and how many are needed to win the game.  The default is enabled (checked).


Enables or disables the Andrew Dice Cray random wagering event which allows you to bet some of your points on the outcome of your next roll.  The default is enabled (checked).


Enables or disables the UNDO feature which allows you to remove the most recent die(s) played.  When enabled, the UNDO button is displayed on the screen.  When disabled, the UNDO button is invisible.  The default is enabled (checked).


Enables or disables the display of probabilities of success (odds) for the next roll of the dice.  The display appears in the lower right hand corner of the screen. The default is enabled (checked).


Click the OK button when you are satisfied with your changes.  All changes made will be effective immediately and whenever you play the game in the future.  Settings are recorded in the OHNO.INI file.


Click the CANCEL button if you decide not to save your changes.  All changes made will revert to their previous values.


Click the RESET button to reset all values to their defaults, then click OK to save the reset values.


Clicking the HELP button invokes this HELP window.


Technical Information

OhNo!  was wriitten in Microsoft Visual Basic using direct calls to WindowsAPI routines where appropriate for speed and less drain on system resources.  This program requires version 3.1 or higher of Microsoft Windows.  The following files were loaded to your hard drive by the Setup program:

VBRUN300.DLL 	Should be in your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory.  This run-time library file is provided by Microsoft and is distributed by publishers of Visual Basic programs.

OHNO.EXE 	The game program itself.  Make sure that your program properties point to the directory where this file is located.

OHNO.WAV 	The sound effects file for the game.  This file may be deleted if you do not want sound effects.  If used, it must be located in the same directory as the OHNO.EXE file.  (This file is over 1 mg)

OHNOPC.VBX 	This required program support file should reside in your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory.

OHNOTD.VBX 	This required program support file should reside in your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory.

OHNO.INI 	This file tells the program the configuration options selected and also contains the scores.   This INI file should be located in your WINDOWS directory.

OHNO.HLP	This is the WINDOWS HELP file you are currently reading.  The file must be located in the same directory that contains the OHNO.EXE file.

OHNO.WRI 	This is the WINDOWS WRITE  game documentation.  This file may be placed in any directory and then deleted after it is printed.

ORDERFRM.WRI 	This is a WINDOWS WRITE  file which you may print and fill out when registering or buying our products.


Product Registration

If you decide to keep this product and use it, you are required to register and pay for it.

Registration of this product entitles you to a disk containing the latest product version, printed documentation, and a means of removing the shareware reminder screens.   Registration also helps us put groceries on the table in addition to putting you on our mailing list which will keep you informed of new products and upgrades.

To register OhNo!  please send $12.00 to:

Financial Systems Associates, Inc.

148 N. Washington St.

Delaware, Ohio  43015-1725

Send cash or check payable in U.S. funds.  Sorry, we cannot accept credit cards at this time.