The
player sets the
number of minutes of play and the level then clicks the NEW GAME button
to start.
The robot is moved using the keyboard arrow keys and in the
above screen-shot the player has used it to form 5 words for a score
of 33 in the current play as shown in the yellow and pink panels.
The green panel shows that 1 min 19 secs seconds of the game has
been used so far. The player will
then
click the NEXT PLAY button to get a new set of letters to use
to form more words and can do this as many times as desired
within the chosen time limit of 2 minutes. The green panel also
shows the current score (34 from 4 words) up to the previous play and
the player will hear the time ticking past during the last 10 seconds.
In the screen-shot, the player has reached a score of 67
(34 + 33) from 9 words so far with 41 secs of the 2 mins left to
make more plays to try an get that score up and maybe over 100!
The words can be formed anywhere in the play area as separate words or linked together in 'cross-word' style to use letters twice. The aim is to get as high a score as possible from the set of letters. Each letter has its score shown in the top top-right and the highest scores are usually obtained when the highest score letters are used twice to make words (as the letter X is used in the above screen-shot). Only two and three letter words in common usage (and on the program's internal word list) count. The yellow panel shows each valid word in the current play with its score.
The robot can only push the letters, it cannot pull them so if a letter is pushed against the wall it can then only move along the wall. If it is accidently pushed onto the wall it can usually be moved back by clicking the UNDO button which will undo the last move only. If it was not the last move of the robot then the letter has to stay in a position along the wall.
When the time is up a panel will appear showing the score for the game. The player can then click the NEW GAME button to try and beat the score with another different series of letters. Otherwise the player can try a different level or time-set for a new game. The highest scores obtained so far for each level and time-set can be seen by clicking the BEST SCORES button.
The words can be formed anywhere in the play area as separate words or linked together in 'cross-word' style to use letters twice. The aim is to get as high a score as possible from the set of letters. Each letter has its score shown in the top top-right and the highest scores are usually obtained when the highest score letters are used twice to make words (as the letter X is used in the above screen-shot). Only two and three letter words in common usage (and on the program's internal word list) count. The yellow panel shows each valid word in the current play with its score.
The robot can only push the letters, it cannot pull them so if a letter is pushed against the wall it can then only move along the wall. If it is accidently pushed onto the wall it can usually be moved back by clicking the UNDO button which will undo the last move only. If it was not the last move of the robot then the letter has to stay in a position along the wall.
When the time is up a panel will appear showing the score for the game. The player can then click the NEW GAME button to try and beat the score with another different series of letters. Otherwise the player can try a different level or time-set for a new game. The highest scores obtained so far for each level and time-set can be seen by clicking the BEST SCORES button.
There are two LEVELS of play with two different time spans, 2minutes and 5 minutes, to play in each level. There are more letters to deal with in the higher level. 100 points is a good target to try and reach in 2 minutes in both levels!