The Games

Galaxy

The Enemy

The merciless Kryons have invaded the galaxy! The only way of eliminating them is to destroy every one of their spaceships by using all the resources of the starship Endeavour (which is under the control of you and your crew). But you only have a fixed time to rid the galaxy of this alien menace. If time runs out, the Kryons will multiple and take over everything in irresistible numbers and you'll be doomed. You are also doomed if the Endeavour is attacked viciously enough by any nearby Kryon ships or you run out of energy.

Getting Around

The Endeavour can roam around the galaxy seeking out or fleeing from the Kryons by using Warp Drive. This, too, uses up energy. It's particularly important to try to avoid colliding with a star or with the edge of the galaxy when using warp drive as this is considered bad form and wastes valuable energy resources.

The Galaxy

The galaxy itself is divided into a square of 8 by 8 sectors and each sector in its turn is divided into 8 by 8 areas.

Protecting The Endeavour

To protect yourself from attack, some of the Endeavour's limited energy supply can be diverted to its force shields. If the attack from a Kryon ship is not as strong as your shields, both the Kryon ship's energy and the energy of the Endeavour will be weakened. If it's stronger, the Endeavour is finished and so are you! So, in case there are enemy ships around, energy can be diverted to the shields at any time - thus depleting the Endeavour's reserves but protecting it from surprise attack.

Photon Torpedoes And Phasers

The Endeavour has two ways of attacking the enemy - by using one of its ten Photon Torpedoes, which must be fired accurately in the direction of the Kryon ships, or by using a diffuse energy beam called a Phaser. The phaser can be charged with any number of energy units you like; but, when it is fied, the energy spreads out in all directions and its effectiveness is diminished by both the number of targets in the sector and the distance to each target. The Kryon ships each have 200 energy units and this is depleted by hits from the Endeavour. If enough energy is used in your Phaser blast, the Kryon will be destroyed.

Refuelling

Luckily, since the Endeavour is likely to be heavily outnumbered, it can be refuelled and restocked with torpedoes by docking alongside one of a number of "bases" scattered around the galaxy. Whilst the Endeavour is docked at a base, it is protected by the base's shields and will automatically drop its own shields to a low level.

Running The Program

1. You will be asked what difficulty level you want, ranging from easy to hard.
2. The screen will display the total number of bases and Kryons and the time limit for the mission.
3. Press the space bar and the screen will show the short-range scan of the sector in which the Endeavour - marked E - starts its journey. In it there could be stars - marked *; Kryon ships - marked K; and bases for the Endeavour - marked B.

In the bottom half of the screen is the Status Report which contains the following information:

Condition. The normal condition Green changes to Red when Kryons are in the sector; Yellow means that the Endeavour has less than 300 energy units left; Docked means the Endeavour has successfully docked and refuelled at a base.

Stardate. The current stardate which increases as time goes by.

Sector. The co-ordinates of the current sector (see above).

Time Left. Amount of time from the current stardate to deadline.

Bases. Number of bases in the galaxy.

Energy. The total energy available for the warp drive, phasers and life support services. Every time you refuel, the Endeavour will get 3000 units, with 500 units of this diverted to shields. If the energy supply drops too low, you may well be left with no power to move and will drift endlessly in space.

Shields. The amount of energy diverted to the shields. This is depleted by Kryon fire, and if it falls to zero the Endeavour will be destroyed.

Torpedoes. The number remaining in the ship's stores - you get 10 on each refuelling.

Kryons. The number of enemy ships left in the galaxy.

Last on the screen is the prompt: COMMAND (0-9). Type in the number of your choice followed by RETURN, or just RETURN for the menu. If you linger too long over the menu, the Kryons may make a meal of you.

The Command Menu

1. Warp Drive
   This moves the Endeavour within a sector or between sectors. Type in 1 and RETURN and the prompt COURSE (0-360) then appears. Choose the direction key you want to go in by reference to the diagram below. After typing in the number, press RETURN. Next, the prompt WARP (0-63) asks you to decide how far you want to travel. One unit takes you from one area of the current sector to the adjacent area, 8 units takes you to the equivalent position in the next sector and 63 would take you right across the galaxy (but beware of hitting stars off the edge of the galaxy). Each warp unit uses up three of your energy units. Note that if you move back into a sector you previously occupied, the stars, Kryons and bases may have moved.
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2. Long-range Scan
   This displays information on the current sector and the eight adjoining sectors. Each has three numbers - these stand successively for the number of Kryons, bases and stars in each sector. The edge of the galaxy will be marked * * *, if it is within range.
3. Phasers
   This can be specified in units. Remember, each Kryon has an energy of 200 units, any of which it can fire at you, though in so doing it weakens its own supply of energy. Phaser energy is diffuse and its effectiveness is lessened by the number of targets in the sector and the distance they are away. A lot of Phaser energy will almost certainly destroy the Kryons but could seriously weaken the Endeavour.
4. Photon Torpedoes
   These are like missiles which must be fired in the direction of their target. The direction control uses the same 360 degree course system as the warp drive command. Estimate the number of degrees and type the value in, followed by RETURN. The path of the torpedo can be followed on the screen: you can see if there's been a hit or a miss.
5. Shields
   This enables you to divert energy to or from the Endeavour's defences, by setting the number of energy units in the shields. If you do not have enough energy to transfer, the computer will ignore your response and ask for another figure.
6. Short-range Scan
   This shows the current sector and is invoked automatically after most commands.
7. Galactic Record
   This shows a plan of the galaxy with each sector marked. If a sector has been scanned - by the use either of command 2 or 6 - the sector will contain thre numbers representing, from left to right, the number of Kryons, bases and stars. The current sector is shown flashing.
8. Freeze Game
   Stops the game.
9. Relinquish Command
   With experience, commands can be stacked up in the computer's memory. You do not have to wait for the computer to give the appropriate prompt. Remember that the game is running continuously and the TIME LEFT will be left running ou even if you do not put any commands into the computer.

Gomoku

Gomoku is a very old board game where two opponents each try to produce a row, column or diagonal with five of their counters. There is plenty of scope for strategic moves. Unlike noughts and crosses (a much simpler version of the same game) there are a very large number of possible moves.

The board consists of a square of 19 by 19 possible locations for the counters. In this version of the game, you play the red counters and the computer the yellow.

Running The Program

1. The screen will go blank and the computer will ask: SHALL I START? Press Y or N.
2. The playing board will be drawn on the screen. If you asked the computer to start, it will have placed its yellow counter somewhere on the screen.
3. A small flashing cross points to the position where your counter will be placed. To move around the board, press one of the following keys: Z - Left, X - Right, : - Up, / - Down
    
   The cross will 'wrap round' the board: that is, it will re-enter the board on the opposite side if you move it off the screen. This allows you to rapidly move around the board if you are caught off-guard.
4. When you are happy with the position for your counter press RETURN. Your counter will then appear at this position and the computer will go on for its turn.
5. Play continues until either you or the computer manages to get five counters in an uninterrupted row across the board. When this occurs, the winning line will flash for a few seconds. You can then start another game by pressing the SPACE BAR.

Masterbrain

Masterbrain is a game of logical deduction and reasoning, and is also known as Bulls and Cows. In this version of the game, you and the computer each think of a four-digit code using any of the numbers 1 to 7 (Note: *not* 0, 8 or 9). Each player then takes it in turn to try to guess the other's code, using information received from the opponent in response to previous attempts.

Clues

When a player enters a guess of the opponent's code, the opponent must respond with a clue. This is made up of two numbers, the "bulls" and the "cows". Bulls are scored when correct digits have been placed in the correct position of the code; cows are correct digits in incorrect positions. No digit in the attempt can contribute to both the number of bulls and the number of cows. For example, assume the cod to be gussed is "3627". If the opponent's first guess is "7245", the clue which will be given in response should be 0 bulls (since none of the digits in the guess are in the right position) and 2 cows (the 7 and the 2 are part of the code but are in the wrong position). Another guess of "3375" would score 1 bull (since the first 3 is in the right position) and 1 cow (again the 7 is in the wrong position - note that the second 3 scores no points). Following guesses could be:

At this point the code has been broken.

Running The Program

1. The computer will first ask whether you want to play in colour or black and white. Press C or B.
2. The playing sheet will now be shown. You should first thing of the code you want the computer to try and guess and make a note of it. You can now enter your guess of the computer's code by pressing any four of the keys 1 to 7, followed by RETURN. You can correct your guess using the DELETE key at any time before you press RETURN.
3. The computer will respond with the number of bulls (under the B column) and cows (under the C column), and makes its guess at your code.
4. You should now check the computer's guess against the code you made a note of, and enter the number of bulls and cows. Take care to enter the right numbers. If you cheat, the computer will find you out and delcare itself the winner! Again, use the DELETE key to correct any errors before pressing RETURN.
5. Play will then continue until both you and the computer correctly identify the codes. Any any point when you are entering your guess of the computer's code, you can press R for resign. The computer will then reveal its code.
6. When both codes have been identified, you should press SPACE to get the current score. This will show the number of games where the player has correctly identified the codes, the total number of guesses so far (Tries), and the average number of tries taken per code correctly guessed.

Reversi

This is a traditional game of strategy for two players. The players take turns placing pieces on the 8-by-8 playing board and capturing an opponent's pieces. The aim is to finish with the maximum number of counters on the board.

Moves

A playing piece can only be placed where there is a complete line (unbroken by spaces) passing through one or more of the opponent's pieces to a position already held by the player. The player would then capture all those pieces between his two counters. It is possible to capture pieces on more than one line if, in placing a piece, the player's pieces bracket the opponent's pieces on more than one line.

The computer takes much of the hard work out of playing this game by marking all possible legal moves and changing the colour of the captured pieces.

Running The Program

1. The computer will first ask how many players there are. If you want to see how the game is played, press 0 (zero) and the computer will play against itself (Note: the computer will play the same game very time this is done!). If you want to play against the computer, press 1; if you have a friend to play the game with, press 2.
2. The computer will show the playing board with the possible legal positions for the pieces. Choose the location you wish to play and press the appropriate letter. The computer will change the colour of all captured pieces and then either repeat the process for the next player, if two players are involved, or place its piece on the board, if you are playing against the computer.
3. Play continues until all positions on the board are taken.
4. At the end of the game, press the Space Bar for another game or ESCAPE if the number of players is to be changed.

Hint: To avoid being beaten, it is good strategy to gain the corners and sides.

Loading

Each of the four programs is stored on the cassette in the same order as the above instructions appear. To load one, type CHAIN"", winding the tape to the start of the desired program as appropriate.

The first program on the cassette is the INDEX. If you load this program, you may choose the program you wish to play and will not need to bother winding the tape to find it; however load time will be significant for the programs stored on the end of the cassette.