@CENTER@nyhe4 Tarsweeper Help n

@CENTER@The classic game, recreated for this Synchronet BBS!
@CENTER@nyheNOW WITH MODS BROUGHT TO YOU BY TAR!!!n
@CENTER@http://www.minesweeper.info/

@CENTER@hYou're in a mine field!n

The object of the game is to uncover all the safe areas (blocks) in the mine
field without uncovering (detonating) any mines (r�n), within the allowed time!
It's a game of quick deduction, pattern-recognition, and a little bit o' luck!

hMain Controlsn:

- hcMoven the block selector h(your cursor, the highlighted tile)n around the game board using the arrow keys,
  home/end/page-up/down or the numeric keypad (i.e. for diagonal movement).

- hcEasy startn automatically digs an empty cell to begin the game with less guesswork.
  You can do this by pressing the hg[E]:n key before digging anything at the begining of a game.
  
- hcDign a block (reveal its contents) using the hg[D]n key or the hg[space-bar]n.
  If you dig-up/detonate a mine (rhi*n), sorry, game over: you lose, try again!
  
  The first block you uncover is guaranteed to be empty (safe).
  If you reveal an empty block, then all adjacent empty blocks will also be
  uncovered (a depth-first search algorithm popular in coding interviews)!
  Uncovered safe blocks with a mine in any surrounding/adjacent blocks will
  have the total number of adjacent mines displayed (a digit, from c1n to c8n).
  These digits are your clue where the next mine or empty block may be located.
  When all empty blocks are uncovered, the game is won!

- hcFlagn (r�n) a covered block as having a suspected mine with the hg[F]:n key.
  You can also remove a flag by pressing hg[F]:n again.
  If you lose, incorrectly-flagged safe blocks are indicated with a 'rh!n'.
  
- hcThe leaderboardn, a list of top-ranked previous game-winners, can be shown with the hg[L]:n key.

- hcStartn a new game with the the hg[N]:n key. A new difficulty level may be chosen.
  Larger user terminals can support larger game boards for greater challenges!

- hcQuitn the game with the hg[Q]:n key.

- hcRedrawn the game board with the hg[Ctrl-R]:n key combination.

- hcTogglen the affected-area highlight feature with the hg[Tab]:n key.

hList of All Controls:n
- hg[?]:n Show this help menu
- hg[Q]:n Universal quit key (should work in every menu)
- hg[E]:n Easy start (auto-opens an empty cell)
- hg[D]:n Dig key
- hg[Space]:n Alternate dig key
- hg[F]:n Flag key
- hg[W]:n Alternate flag key
- hg[N]:n Begin 'new game' dialogue
- hg[R]:n Retry current difficulty (can run any time)
- hg[Tab]:n Toggle affected-area highlight
- hg[L]:n Shows the leaderboard for the chosen level (sorted by speed)
- hg[B]:n Shows personal best games for each level
- hg[T]:n Shows overall top 20 games
- hg[H]:n Shows full game history (use hg[Q]:n to quit the dialogue at any point)

hChording:n  
  Once you have flagged one or more blocks as likely containing a mine, you may
  have the option of automatically uncovering all blocks surrounding a
  previously uncovered block if the number of surrounding mines matches the
  number of flagged blocks. This time-saving operation is called a cChordn and is
  invoked by simply digging on a tile with the same number of flags around it as its number. Note: if you have an incorrectly
  placed flag in the area, a Chord operation could detonate a mine!


hDifficulty Leveln:

The difficulty level may be chosen when a new game is started (level 1 being
the lowest / easiest). The density of mines is increased with each level and
the game board is increased in dimensions, if possible (depending on terminal
size, in columns and rows).
          
cLevel  Target Grid  Mines  Densityn
  h1      10 x 10      10     10%  n
  h2      15 x 15      28     12%  n
  h3      20 x 20      60     15%  n
  h4      25 x 25     109     17%  n
  h5      30 x 30     180     20%  n

If the target grid height cannot be achieved, a wider game board will be
generated / used.  If the total target grid size (in blocks) cannot be
generated, fewer mines will be deployed to maintain the indicated mine density
(percentage) and the calculated difficulty level will be discounted
accordingly.

hAdditional Movement Optionsn:

If some of the navigation keys (e.g. arrow keys, home, end) do not work for
your terminal, you can try using these alternatives:

  - Up Arrow: Ctrl-^
  - Down Arrow: Ctrl-J
  - Left Arrow: Ctrl-]
  - Right Arrow: Ctrl-F
  - Home: Ctrl-B
  - End: Ctrl-E
  - Page-Up: Ctrl-P
  - Page-Down: Ctrl-N
  
... or use the numeric keypad.

$Id: minesweeper.hlp,v 2.0 2019/09/27 03:01:45 rswindell Exp $
