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The Project 64 etext of the ~Letter Scrambler instructions~, converted
to etext by Russell Reed <rreed@cei.net>.

LETSCR10.TXT, August 1997, etext #266#

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LETTER SCRAMBLER

SELECTING A LEVEL OF PLAY

Letter Scrambler has four levels of play which vary in difficulty
according to the following chart:

+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                 Letters        Cube         Arrow       Music    |
|                Per Game       Speed         Speed     Duration   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  YOUNGSTERS       120          slow         slow        long     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  AVERAGE          240         medium       medium      medium    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  ADVANCED         360          fast         fast        short    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  EXPERT           360          fast        speedy     very quick |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you are playing with joysticks, press the F7 key until the right
level is shown.  For paddles, press the F1 key.  The game will
immediately begin.


PLAYING THE GAME

Taking A Letter From The Cube

The letters on the rotating cube are always changing.  Three letters
are up for grabs at all times.  In order to take a letter, press your
paddle or joystick button twice; once to stop the cube and once to grab
your letter.

The first time you press your button the cube will stop and the word
GRABS will light up in your color.  This lets everyone know who is
grabbing a letter.

A colored arrow will begin to move around the cube, pointing at each
of the three letters that are available.  When the arrow is pointing at
the letter you want, press the button for the second time.  If two or
more players try to take a letter at the same time, the player that
presses his or her button first gets the letter.  A bell rings when a
player is too late, in pressing the button for the second time.


Positioning The Letter On Your Playing Area

After you have taken a letter, your playing area pointers will light
up.  To position the letter, use the pointers to select the row and
column where you want the letter to go.  Turn your paddle or joystick
until the ROW pointers point to the desired row.  Then press your
button.  Then turn your paddle or joystick until the COLUMN pointers
point to the desired column.  Then press your button again.  The letter
will appear on your playing area.  Letters placed in gray squares score
double the letter value.

You have as much time as you want to decide where you want to put
your letters, but remember all the other players are busy grabbing
letters and scoring points.

Once a letter is in place it cannot be moved.  However, you have four
opportunities during the game to remove unwanted letters.


Removing Letters

At the end of each quarter the screen will turn white and the LETTER
SCRAMBLER theme song will play.  You have until the end of the theme to
remove any letters that you no longer want.  Any letter that you were
positioning when the quarter ended will be lost.

To remove a letter, use your ROW and COLUMN pointers as you do when
positioning a letter on the playing area:

First move the ROW pointer until it points to the desired row, then
press the button on your paddle or joystick.  Now move the COLUMN
pointer until it points to the desired column and press the button
again.  The letter will be removed.

After four quarters a bell will ring, signalling the end of the game.


SCORING

The score that appears on the game board while playing is the total
value of the letters you have on the playing area.  It is not the final
score.  The final score is tallied at the end of the game by adding up
the value of the words formed, and subtracting the value of the letters
not used in words.


Scoring Your Words

When the game is over, score your words using the ROW and COLUMN
pointers.  Point to one end of a word and press the button on the
joystick or paddle, then point to the other end and press the button again.

When you have pointed to a letter it will change color.  Once you
have identified the beginning and the end, the word will turn white and
be scored.

All of the players can be scoring their words at the same time.  Or
you may choose to have one player score while the other players look on.


Final Tally

When all players have finished scoring their words, the final tally
can be calculated.  Player number 1 or 2 (yellow or blue) should press
and HOLD their button until the words, "Up For Grabs" turn white on the
screen, then release the button.  The computer will subtract points for
the unused letters that are on each player's area.  The final scores
are now displayed.

Players may challenge their opponents' words at this point.  If a
player is challenged, the word is looked up in a standard dictionary.
If the word is valid, the points stand; and the challenger loses 15
points.  If the word is not found, the player is penalized five points
for each single score letter, and ten points for each double score
letter in the word.  To play again, player 1 or 2 should press his or
her button down and hold it.


LETTER VALUES

The less common a letter is, the more points it is worth.  The chart
gives the maximum point value of the letter when it first appears.  The
letter values apply to all levels of play.

When a letter is used in a word, it scores the value it was worth
when you grabbed it.  As the letter revolves on the cube, the point
value decreases.

When the letter is in the center of the cube, it is worth half its
maximum value.  When the letter is on the left side of the cube, it is
worth one third of its maximum value.

For example, a D is worth 7 points when it first appears.  Once it
rotates to the center it is worth 3 points (the scoreboard rounds off
the letter value to the lowest whole number).  As the D rotates to the
left, it is worth 2 points until it disappears.

If you place a letter in a gray square on the playing area, it
doubles in value.  If you use a letter a second time by making a
crossword pattern on your playing area, the letter scores double in the
second word.  Although you do not have to play LETTER SCRAMBLER by
making crosswords, you gain extra points by doing so.

For example, if you took an uncommon letter like Q as soon as it
appears on the cube (for 9 points), and placed it on a gray square, its
value becomes 18.  If you were to use Q in a crossword, it would score
36 in the second word, making one letter worth 54 points.

   +-------------------------------------+
   |          Maximum |          Maximum |
   | Letter    Value  | Letter    Value  |
   |-------------------------------------|
   |   A ....... 3    |   N ....... 4    |
   |   B ....... 6    |   O ....... 3    |
   |   C ....... 5    |   P ....... 6    |
   |   D ....... 7    |   Q ....... 9    |
   |   E ....... 3    |   R ....... 3    |
   |   F ....... 8    |   S ....... 4    |
   |   G ....... 6    |   T ....... 4    |
   |   H ....... 6    |   U ....... 6    |
   |   I ....... 3    |   V ....... 8    |
   |   J ....... 9    |   W ....... 8    |
   |   K ....... 8    |   X ....... 9    |
   |   L ....... 5    |   Y ....... 7    |
   |   M ....... 6    |   Z ....... 9    |
   +-------------------------------------+

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End of Project 64 etext Letter Scrambler instructions.

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