WebOOG Instructions

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[How to Play] [Restart] [Next Puzzle] [By Number] [By Picture] [Options} [New Game] [Hint Please] [I Give Up] [Help] [About]

How to Play
Each puzzle found in WebOOG is accomplished by arranging the given set of colored shapes to completely overlay, or cover, the large colored outline found in the center of the main play area. The solution to a puzzle must not, and will not, contain any overlap between the colored game pieces.

In order to solve the puzzles presented by WebOOG, you must be able to manipulate the given set of shapes, or game pieces. There are only three operations necessary for doing this and all are performed using the mouse. For each of the operations described below, the cursor must be inside the shape you wish to manipulate prior to starting the selected operation. A detailed step-by-step explanation of each of these operations is given below.

Moving a Shape
Perform the following steps when you wish to move one of the game pieces:

place the mouse cursor over the shape you wish to move
press and hold down the primary mouse button
the shape will change to an outline
drag the shape outline to the desired location
release the primary mouse button
the shape will change back to being filled-in

Rotating a Shape
Perform the following steps when you wish to rotate one of the game pieces:

place the mouse cursor over the shape you wish to rotate
press and hold down the secondary mouse button
the shape will change to an outline
the point of rotation will be highlighted by a small circle on the shape
move the mouse in a circle about the point of rotation on the shape
release the secondary mouse button
the shape will change back to being filled-in

You can also perform shape rotates by holding down the Ctrl key and using the primary mouse button as described above.

Flipping a Shape
Perform the following steps when you wish to flip a game piece over onto its back:

place the mouse cursor over the shape you wish to flip
while holding down the Shift key...
press and then release the primary mouse button

If you happen to have a three button mouse, you can simply click the middle button to flip a game piece.

Upon completion of any of these operations, WebOOG makes a decision about where you were attempting to place the shape and automatically snaps the shape to its closest neighbor. Once snapping is complete, WebOOG checks to see if the puzzle has been completed. If the puzzle has been completed...well, you'll see.

The Restart Button
Selection of this button allows you to restart the current puzzle by setting all the game pieces back to their original positions.

The Next Puzzle Button
Selection of this button advances you to the next puzzle. If you are currently at the last puzzle in the sequence, you will be wrapped back to the first puzzle.

The By Number... Button
Selection of this button results in a dialog box allowing you to choose a puzzle based solely on its assigned number. Each puzzle in WebOOG is assigned a unique number. The puzzle numbering system starts with number #1 and increases up to the maximum number of puzzles. The By Number Dialog Box allows you to select a puzzle via its assigned number. The following paragraphs describe the components of the dialog box.

Puzzle # Scroll Bar
The scroll bar is used to select which puzzle number is to be loaded. Simply slide the scroll bar until the text string identifies the puzzle you wish to try.

Command Buttons
Click the OK button to have WebOOG load the puzzle data corresponding to the number indicated by the scroll bar text. Click the Cancel button if you wish to void your selection and return to the original puzzle you were trying.

The By Picture... Button
Selection of this button results in a dialog box allowing you to choose a puzzle from an array of pictures via the By Picture Dialog Box. The following sections describe the components of this dialog box.

Button Grid
The majority of the display area of this dialog box is composed of a grid of puzzle buttons. The grid contains 3 rows of 4 buttons each for a total of 12 puzzle buttons. Each button displays a picture of a different puzzle with the assigned number for that puzzle displayed in the top, left corner of the button. You select the puzzle of your choice, by clicking the appropriate button.

Command Buttons
The Next Page and Prev Page buttons are used to sequence through the pages of puzzle buttons. These buttons allow you to wrap around the sequence at either end. For example if puzzle #1 is currently being displayed as the top, left button in the grid and you select the Prev Page button, the dialog box will sequence to the last page of buttons. Click the Cancel button if you wish to exit the dialog box and return to your previous puzzle.

The Options... Button
Selection of this button results in a dialog allowing you to configure some of the operations performed by WebOOG. After selecting this item, you will be presented with the Options Dialog Box. The interface components of this dialog box are discussed below.

Animate Hints and Solution
Check this box if you would like WebOOG to animate the movement and rotation of the shapes whenever you ask for a hint or the solution to the current puzzle. If this box is unchecked, WebOOG simply places the shapes at their intended location when giving a hint or showing the solution to a puzzle.

Enable Game Over Fanfare
Check this box if you would like WebOOG to perform its game over fanfare whenever you solve a puzzle. If this box is unchecked, you do not get any of the game over fanfare. The game over fanfare is a rain shower of confetti being thrown on the applet's main window.

Snap Game Pieces to Puzzle Outline
By default, the WebOOG snapping algorithm is configured to automatically guess at the intended location of a game piece after it has been moved, rotated or flipped and then snap the game piece to the guessed at location thereby freeing the user from having to worry about perfectly aligning the game pieces along side each other and/or the puzzle outline. When this box is checked, the snapping algorithm works as just described. If you uncheck this box, snapping only occurs between game pieces. No snapping will be done to the puzzle outline. Remember, it is not necessary to perfectly align the game pieces with the puzzle outline for a solution to be detected by WebOOG.

Drag Using Right Mouse Button
This is the default operation for rotating game pieces. When this option is selected, game pieces are rotated using a simple click and drag operation. For more detailed information about rotating shapes, read the section on how to play WebOOG.

Single Click of Right Mouse Button
Selecting this option allows you to rotate the pieces using just a single click of the secondary mouse button. Simply click and release the secondary button to rotate the shape in the clockwise direction by the selected amount. For more detailed information about rotating shapes, read the section on how to play WebOOG.

Rotation Angle
The selection made in this group of options determines how much distance a shape moves during a rotate operation. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of angles and degrees and how they relate to rotation, we'll try to explain it. Picture a circle and divide it up into pieces as if you were slicing a pie. The amount of space taken up by each piece represents a certain angular chunk of the circle. The size of each angular chunk is equal to a certain number of degrees where the total number of degrees in the full circle is always 360. For example if you divide a circle into 4 equal pieces, each piece represents an angle of 90 degrees. Divide a circle into 24 equal pieces and each piece represents an angle of 15 degrees.

When you rotate a game piece using the mouse, the shape rotates around one of it's points as described in the section on how to play WebOOG. Think of this point of rotation as the center of a circle. The amount of degrees the shape moves around this circle is equal to the selection you make in this group of options. If you're interested in exploring, play around with different selections in this dialog box and then do some shape rotations to see the affect they have.

Command Buttons
Select the OK button to accept your current settings in the dialog box. If after entering this dialog box you change your mind and don't wish to make any changes or would like to restore your original settings, select the Cancel button.

The New Game... Button
Selection of this button allows you to switch to a new puzzle game. You will be presented with a dialog box showing four different puzzle games: Tangrams, Pentominoes, Hexagons and Polyominoes. Simply select the game of your choice and press the OK button. If you decide you don't want to switch to a new game, press the Cancel button.

The Hint Please... Button
Selection of this button allows you to receive a hint for the game piece of your choice. You will be presented with a message box asking you to select the game piece for which you want a hint. If you decide you no longer want a hint, click the Cancel button. Otherwise, click the OK button and then place the mouse cursor over the piece for which you want the hint and click a mouse button. (You can cancel your request for a hint, even after you select the OK button by pressing the Esc key.) WebOOG will then position the shape you selected to its solution location either directly or using animation according to the settings in the Options dialog box.

It should be noted that many of the puzzles in WebOOG have more than one solution and even though WebOOG will detect your solution regardless of which one you find, all of the hints are based on a single solution built into WebOOG. In other words, just because the hint mechanism places shape X at location Y that doesn't mean the puzzle can't be solved with shape X in a totally different location.

The I Give Up... Button
Selection of this button allows you to give up and see the solution for the current puzzle. To guard against an accidental selection of this button, you will be presented with a message box verifying that you really want to see the solution. If you don't wish to see the solution to the puzzle, click the No button. Otherwise click the Yes button. WebOOG will then proceed to position each shape in the puzzle to its solution location either directly or using animation according to the settings in the Options dialog box.

It should be noted that many of puzzles in WebOOG have more than one solution and even though WebOOG will detect your solution regardless of which one you find, it will always show the same solution for a given puzzle when using this option because only one solution has been built in.

The Help... Button
Selection of this button causes the main play area to be replaced with a short description of how to play WebOOG. A more descriptive explanation of how to play WebOOG can be found on this page. When you are done reading the text, click the Done button to return to playing WebOOG.

The About... Button
Selection of this button causes the main play area to be replaced with a short note mentioning the key players responsible for the development and deployment of WebOOG. When you are done reading the descriptive text, click the Done button to return to playing WebOOG.

Tangrams

The 7 shapes shown below are used to solve the puzzles of Tangrams.

[The Game Pieces of Tangrams]