Boggle Windows/PC v. 1.1 (8 Jul 2002) Written by: Aicalo7 (jlaisseire@yahoo.com) Copyright 2002 by Jess Laisseire [Version History] v. 0.1 ----- (1 May 2002) First draft version: basics v. 0.5 ----- (3 May 2002) Mode explanations v. 0.6 ----- (4 May 2002) Charts: Scoring, game screen v. 0.7 ----- (5 May 2002) Notes v. 1.0 ----- (7 May 2002) First finalized version: strategy, mode checks v. 1.1 ----- (8 Jul 2002) Minor updates: networking, outline [Outline] I. The Basics II. To Begin III. Modes 1. Classic Boggle a. Game screen 2. BreakAway 3. Battle Boggle 4. Space Boggle 5. In Your Face Boggle IV. Notes and Strategy 1. About the game 2. Menu features 3. Classic 4. BreakAway 5. Battle 6. Space 7. In your face V. Network VI. Contact [The Basics] Boggle is the fun yet educational game where players shake a box with a 4-by- 4 grid on the bottom and 16 letter cubes. When the cubes fall into the grid, players try to form words by staring at the cubes, which should form some words by means of cubes that are adjacent to each other. At the end of the time limit, scores are recorded and we've spent another few minutes of our lives educating ourselves in the world of words. Yay. Hasbro Interactive brings an electronic version of Boggle to you on your home computer. [To Begin] After installing Boggle, you're presented with the lovely Boggle main menu. Beneath the title there are five main modes: Classic, BreakAway, Battle, Space, and In Your Face. The modes will be explained in detail later. Under the options you are given the choice to connect to a network, or quit out of the game. [Modes] The five modes of Boggle offer variety for the solitary players out there or network-going fans. Classic and BreakAway modes can be played by up to four players on the same computer (just take turns), Battle is for two players only, while the Space and In Your Face modes are for the individual gamers. (See the Notes and Strategy section for... notes and strategy.) -Classic Boggle: "Just like the Boggle home game."- When you choose this mode you are given the choice of difficulty: Original or Master. Original comes with a 4-by-4 grid (original, as the name denotes) and the words must be three letters or longer. Master gives you a larger, 5-by-5 grid of letter blocks, and words must be four letters or longer. After choosing that, you can enter your name and any opponents', or just choose computer opponents from the Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Mr. Boggle AI levels. Click on OK, and your game begins. The Boggle box loads, with a nice little animation. A message box telling whose turn it is appears, and once the player presses OK the three-minute timer begins. The game screen is divided up like the following: |F|E|___|X|H|___ | | |P1 | |T | Boggle | | | | Grid |L | | | | | |__|________|___| |P1|P2|P3|P4|_S_| [Key] [Functions] -Menu- F= File End game, New game, Restart game, Pause game, Main menu, High scores, exit E= Edit Game options, sound options, Graphics options, Dictionary options X= Exit Exits Boggle H= Help General, Game variations, Interface, About Boggle -Game Screen- T= Timer Counts down remaining time P#= Player Displays player names L= List of words found S= Score When it is your turn, click OK to begin and start clicking. You may either type in the appropriate letters and hit return, click on the letters separately and hit return, or click, drag, and release to have the word appear on your list, to the right. See the scoring chart below for the amount of points you will receive for each word. # letters |3|4|5|6|7|8| ----- |14|(max) Pts. Given: Classic |1|1|2|3|5|11| Master |X|1|2|3|5|11|(max pts. given for any word) After the time expires, the computer will check for "unknown words," or those not found in the game's dictionary. You will be given the choice to add, add all, ignore, or ignore all words. If you add the words to the dictionary, your score will be tallied according to the word value (shown in the chart above), but if they are ignored the word and its score will not be added on. A message box will be shown giving the final score. Next, a few more lists are given: the words you found, the words the other player(s) found, and the list of all possible words. -BreakAway: "Now in 3D!"- In Classic BreakAway, a 4x4x4 cube is given to one through four players. Master offers a 5x5x5 cube. Players still must create words from the given letters, but once a word is formed the letters of the word break away, giving you access to the inner letters, hence the name BreakAway. Scoring and rules from Classic Boggle apply here as well. A special feature is to "Align Cubes," or to change the perspective for easier spelling. Since this mode offers three-dimensional gameplay, a new rule is added: only cubes within one level of each other can be used together to form a word. -Battle Boggle: "A battle of words."- In this Speed Chess-like mode, you and another player are given five minutes each and enough letter cubes to fit half of the grid. (8 for Classic, 10 for Master) The grid starts completely empty. When it is your turn, you _must_ place a cube anywhere on the grid and then create as many words as possible for points. After your turn, hit the "End Turn" button in order to stop your timer and give the turn to your opponent. Each of your five minutes will elapse with no relation to the other player, so you can essentially run out your time on your first turn and have your opponent play for his or her remaining five minutes. (Not that you'd want to, but it can be done.) After the last block is placed by your opponent (providing that you are the first player) you get your remaining time to create words. The game is ended when both players' timers run out. -Space Boggle: "Words in space!!!"- This one-player game is similar to BreakAway: letter cubes come towards you and you must form 3- or 4-letter words, depending on level. Master mode gives you faster cube advancement, while Classic is at an easier pace. After forming a certain amount of words, the screen freezes for a moment and goes into the next stage. -In Your Face Boggle: "It's fast. It's furious. It's in your face."- Again, a 4x4 or 5x5 grid is offered, depending on difficulty. An initial 30 seconds is given to form as many words as possible. You will probably notice that after you form a word, the letters disappear. You can raise the level, revealing more letters. After the 30 seconds elapse, the level will raise itself. The game ends when the letters reach the top. [Notes and Strategy] -About the game- *If you are playing with another human player, note that in most modes, after one player forms a word it becomes the other player's turn. -Menu features- *In Classic Boggle, when you pause the game, the lid will close. *New Game gives you a new game of the same mode (a re-shuffle, if you will) but Restart Game gives you the exact same game with the same letter cube arrangements. -Classic Boggle- *The computer opponent plays the game at the same time you do, even though the player verification message box still appears. *On the list, words that are not in the built-in dictionary appear in red, while words that are in the dictionary appear in black. This has a major role during scoring after each round. *The maximum amount of letters allowed for a word is 14. *On the result lists, crossed off words indicate a word that two or more players found, which would be omitted from the final score. -BreakAway- *Block levels and placement may be difficult to judge after using "Align Cubes," so use the button at your own risk. -Battle- *Make sure you push the End Turn button! After your first turn you will want to press it as soon as possible, as there is no need to look for any words. *Try to strategize during your opponent's move; as their time elapses you will be able to look at their grid and their move, so plan accordingly. *It might be necessary for you to place a block and end the turn without creating a word. Avoid doing this. *The cross-a-word-out-because-someone-else-created-it rule does not apply here. The game will prompt you to make a different word. -Space- *Once you click on a letter, you may still use it in the word you were going to form it with even if that letter goes off-screen. As soon as it is clicked on, you can use it in any word with that letter. *You get a slight time bonus every time you advance a stage. *Any visible block on the screen may be used. This is the only mode where letter cubes _do_not_ need to be adjacent. *The speed increases in every stage. -In Your Face- *Note that when a level is raised by whichever method, 1 second is deducted from your total possible time. Using the "Raise Level" button really has no real advantage except for those who are less patient. *Time does not accumulate! If you had 7 seconds left when you raised the level, you do not get 37 seconds for the next level. *The rule from BreakAway in which the blocks must be within one level of each other does not apply. *Blocks can be raised 9 times before they reach the top. [Network] Clicking on the Network button on the main menu lets you create or join a game with your friends where you can play any of the multiplayer modes (Classic, BreakAway, Battle). You must have an internet connection. Choose your server, type in a (nick)name and room name, and connect. Boggle is affiliated with the MSN gaming Zone, but you may get an error message when you try to connect onto the network. Instead of accessing the Zone from the game itself, go the Zone website (zone.msn.com) and look for the Boggle room. From there, you can sign up for free and start playing with others, providing that you have Boggle installed on the computer that you are using with internet access. (Thanks to Jeff701 for the notice) [Contact] Please email all suggestions, comments, questions, and/or concerns to jlaisseire@yahoo.com, but do put FAQ or something that has to do with the game in the subject line so I don't delete it. You will be credited with your name and email address if you provide information, so if you would not like that information posted just let me know. Enjoy...