Crossword Puzzler

This software package contains a program tape for crossword puzzle generation and crossword puzzle playing. This is done by two programs:

Program 1: 'XWORD-GEN' is a program which allows you to create crossword puzzles. First you plan the puzzle on paper, following the instructions in the booklet inside this pack. Then you load ‘XWORDGEN' and enter the details of the puzzle. At the close of the session, the program creates a data file for your puzzle. The puzzle is then ready for use by you or another player.

Program 2: 'WORD-PLAY' enables you to play any crossword for which a data file has been created by the 'XWORD-GEN' program. After loading the play program, the user enters the name of the puzzle that he wants to play. Its data file is then loaded off his cassette and the puzzle appears on the screen.

The tape comes complete with three demonstration data files: FIRSTPUZZ (a modified version of the world's first ever crossword puzzle), QUICKPUZZ (an easy adult's puzzle) and JUNIORPUZZ (a puzzle for children).

Home Users
Use the generating program to make puzzles for your family, children and friends. Well chosen puzzles can provide a powerful, enjoyable, method of improving your children's spelling or their foreign language vocabulary. School Users Teachers can create sets of puzzles to help with infant and junior spelling, foreign language vocabulary, revision facts etc.

Pack contents:

1. 1 cassette tape recorded at 300 baud
2. 1 16 page instruction booklet

For use with BBC Micro Model B only.

This booklet has been specially written to accompany the NEC computer programs 'XWORD-GEN' and 'WORD-PLAY' which are available on cassette tape from NEC. The programs appear on the tape as follows:

SIDE 1

1. The 'WORD-PLAY' program
2. The data file for the crossword 'FIRSTPUZZ'
3. The data fil for the crossword 'QUICKPUZZ'
4. The data file lor the crossword 'JUNIORPUZZ'
5. The data file for the crossword 'CEN4507'

SIDE 2

1. The 'XWORD-GEN' program

Acknowledgements

The National Extension College gratefully acknowledges the kind permission of Cambridge Newspapers Ltd and Mr G Walker for the reproduction of 'QUICKPUZZ' and Crossword No 4507.

Introduction

It was in the late 19th century that the crossword puzzle was first invented in Britain as a nursery game. The credit for the first printed crossword, however, belongs to Liverpool born Arthur Wynne who migrated to the USA in 1905 and published it in the 'fun' page of the New York World in 1913. (A slightly modified version of this can be seen in 'FIRSTPUZZ'.) Since then the 'puzzle fever' has caught on with such an impact thalmost no newspaper or popular magazine now appears without a crossword in one form or other.

In addition to its fun value, the crossword is a good educational medium for schools. With this in view, we present here a program package for creating and playing crosswords on the BBC Micro. A microcomputer is ideal for such an instructional game because it enables you to try various alternative answers to the clues without disfiguring the layout. One can also demand an answer to a difficult clue when stuck!

The Crossword Puzzler cassette comes with two programs, 'XWORD-GEN' and 'WORD-PLAY'.

'XWORD-GEN' enables you to code the puzzle of your choice or design and then to create a 'text file' which you store on a cassette.

'WORD-PLAY' allows you to recall any of the text files you have made and then to play the crossword on the screen.

The cassette also contains three text files containing ready-made crosswords:

"QUICKPUZZ", "FIRSTPUZZ", "CEN4507" and "JUNIORPUZZ"

so that you can try some crosswords straightaway.

Creating Your Own Files

Before you can use the 'XWORD-GEN' program, you will need to work out your crossword puzzle on paper. i.e. you need to have planned the layout, the clues and the answers. Note that the maximum number of columns is 15 and the maximum number of rows is 13. The maximum number of clues (across and down together) is 60.

In order to help you in entering the data for your puzzle we have designed the following Puzzle Plan for a typical example. After some initial practice you may be able to do away with the plans altogether.

'XWORD-GEN' Program

This program is written in BASIC and can be run in Model B. To access the program from the cassette type the following:

LOAD "XWORD-GEN" (Press RETURN)

The computer will respond with the following statements:

Searching
Loading XWORD-GEN

When the loading has been sucessfully completed, the prompt sign > will return to your screen. You now type

RUN (RETURN)

and the program starts. After the title page the computer responds with a series of questions for which you supply the appropriate answers from the worksheets.

(Note for programmers: Depending on the number and length of the clues, the memory requirements vary for different puzzles. Though the following programs are recommended for MODEL B, with minor changes in the DIM statements, smaller puzzles with short clues may be run in MODEL A. We, however, cannot guarantee the outcome.)

Crossword Puzzle Generation Example

The following example is based on Crossword Number 4507 published in the Cambridge Evening News. It appears on the tape as data file 'CEN4507'. We are now going to show you the steps by which it was created.

Step 1. Plan the crossword on paper

Step 2. The Puzzle Plan

You will find a blank Puzzle Plan on page 13. This is designed to help you prepare the information that you are going to feed into the Micro when using the XWORD-GEN program. The 'index numbers' by which a clue is identified is the number on the puzzle at which the first letter of the clue is to appear. In the above puzzle, 'SPEED' starts at box 20 so its index number is 20. Here now is the completed Puzzle Plan for puzzle CEN4507.

PUZZLE PLAN Name of the Puzzle: CEN4507

Total no. of Cols.13 Rows 13 Across Clues 15 Down Clues 13

ACROSS CLUES

DOWN CLUES

Step 3. Enter the data at the keyboard

*Press ESCAPE if you need to restart the current stage that you have reached in this program.*

1. Name of the puzzle
Each of your puzzles needs a name. Since the BBC Micro distinguishes upper and lower case letters, note down the name exactly as you have typed. The name must start with a letter and should not have more than 10 characters.

2. Amending previous entries
You can enter all or part of a puzzle at one sitting. If you have saved an incomplete puzzle and wish to enter more data for it, the program prompts you to load back your partially completed puzzle at this stage. You can amend a completed puzzle in the same way.

3. Enter the size details
If you are starting a new puzzle, you are asked for:

No. of Columns (1 to 15)
No. of Rows (1 to 13)
No. of Clues ACROSS
No. of Clues DOWN

(This information is only requested when you are making a new puzzle.) Note that the maximum number of columns is 15 and of rows is 13. The computer prompts you to enter the ACROSS clues first.

4. Enter the clues and answers
You are asked for details of the serial number, the clue, the answer and the column and row numbers for letter of the answer. Supply this information from your Puzzle Plan. If you want to terminate the current session, enter 999 for the Index No.

5. Correcting your entries
You have two opportunities for making corrections. The first one appears as soon as you have entered the details of a clue.

The second occurs at the end of the session when you can specify the serial number of any clue for which you want to alter the details. This facility allows you to verify all the entries you have so far made.

6. Recording the text file
Once the corrections have been made, the updated version of your puzzle can be recorded onto your cassette. After completion of all entries you are asked to record the final version. Your puzzle is then ready to be recalled from the 'WORD-PLAY' program.

Playing A Crossword

This program is also written in BASIC and is very simple to use. As before, to access the program type 'PLAY'

LOAD"WORD-PLAY" (RETURN)

Once the program has loaded, type RUN (RETURN).

The computer first asks you for the name of the puzzle file that you wish to use and then instructs you to forwardwind (FW) or rewind (RW) the cassette to the appropriate place for retrieving the data from your text file.

Once the data has been read, the grids and the index numbers of the crossword appear on the screen and everything is now set up for you to play the game!

You complete the crossword by responding to the following questions:

(i) Give the Index No. (999 to end)
(ii) ACROSS (A) or DOWN (D).
(iii) The clue is then given and you are asked whether or not you want the answer (Y/N). If you type 'Y', the answer appears on the crossword.
(iv) Otherwise you are asked to give the answer in CAPITALS with the appropriate number of letters required.

Wrong answers appear with a characteristic sound and in lower case letters (the correct answers appear in capitals). If you wish to change your answer to the clue simply type the same index number and your previous entry will be erased. That is how simple it is!

Look out for the statistics of your achievement at the end of the game.

The Games

Your cassette comes complete with three ready made crosswords which you can play with the 'WORD-PLAY' program:
'QUICKPUZZ'
'FIRSTPUZZ'
'JUNIORPUZZ'
'CEN4507'

We hope you enjoy the games!

Puzzle Plan

Name of Puzzle

Details of the ACROSS/DOWN clues

Educational Uses Of Crossword Puzzler

The two programs on this tape can be a valuable educational tool for parents and teachers. You can design crosswords to check basic spelling, foreign language vocabulary and technical information. A particularly valuable feature of the play program is that the correct letters in a partially correct answer are accepted by the program and placed in the puzzle. So, if a clue reads

'We were here but he was -----'

and the user enters

their

the result is displayed as THEir showing that 'THE' is correct but that 'ir' is incorrect. This prompts the user and so nudges him to the correct answer.

To use this tape for teaching, proceed as follows:

1. Write and/or collect together a group of crosswords for one purpose at one level (e.g. spelling for reading age 7).
2. Plan each puzzle in a Puzzle Plan. Enter each puzzle using 'XWORD-GEN', saying each complete puzzle in turn on the cassette for this topic. (Index them later with auto-indexing - see over.)
3. When you want your children to use the tape, load WORD-PLAY and run it.
4. Your children should quickly get the idea of auto-indexing so that they can load their own puzzles from your puzzle file tape.

Auto-indexing Of Computer Tapes

Everyone has trouble finding programs and files on audio tapes. But with auto-indexing, you need never have trouble again. This single and ingenious method was devised by Mr. Cleve Hood who has generously given his permission for his ideas to be reproduced here. The method is as follows.

1. Take an ordinary cassette tape that you wish to use for your programs and/or data files.
2. Put the cassette in your recorder at the start of side 2. This side is going to be the index and must not be used for programs or data files. Plug in your recorder microphone. Get a watch ready with a second hand.
3. Switch on to 'record' and, watching the second hand, speak into the microphone the following numbers, one every two seconds: 360, 359, 358, 357,....l. (That will index a 12 minute run of tape.)
4. Now use side 1 of the tape for your programs. When you save a program, check on side 2 to find where you are. Say you start to save at 257. To find this program again, use side 2 to find 255. Load your program at 255 and it will load 4 seconds later - spot on!

Game Credits

Crossword Puzzler written by A. Ramdas
A program package for the BBC Micro Model B
National Extension College
18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 2HN
(c) 1982 National Extension College Trust Ltd. ISBN 0 86082 360 1