Index

• Running the Software
• Objective and rules of the game
• How to start and play a new game
• Viewing highscores

The command shell usage of the client is as follows:

   java -jar Boggle.jar [Server]

The Server argument can be used to explicity specify the address of the game server to use. The Server argument may either be a fully qualified host name (e.g. Some.computer.somewhere), or an IP address in dot notation (e.g.127.0.0.1). If the Server argument is omitted, "localhost" will be used, and you will also need to run the BoggleServer on your machine (Which is included in the download package).

Normally to start the software, you would change to the directory that contains the BoggleClient jar file using a command shell, and then type the following and press enter:

   java -jar Boggle.jar

You will then need to run a BoggleServer on your machine, and this can be done by changing to the directory that contains the BoggleServer jar file, and then typing:

   java -jar BoggleServer.jar

This will run the server, at which point you are ready to start playing a game!

NOTE: If you are using windows and have the Java plug-in control pannel installed, you can run jar files by simply double clicking on them in Explorer.

OBJECT:To list, within 3 minutes, as many words of the highest point value as you can find among the random assortment of letters in the cube tray.

PLAYING:When the timer starts, you must search the assortment of letters in the cube tray for words of three letters or more. When you find a word, you should select it an submit it in an attempt to increase your score (See the section about How To Play for a description as to how this is done).

Words are formed from adjoining letters. Letters must join in the proper sequence to spell a word. They may join horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, to the left, right, or up-and-down. No letter cube, however, may be used more than once within a single word.

SILO
Figures 1 through 3 show how words can be formed using the adjoining letters S, 0, L, I.

Figures 4 and 5 show two incorrect spelling techniques: 1) In "SOILS" (Fig. 4) the one adjoining "s" is used twice; 2) to form "SOAR" (Fig. 5) requires skipping over the letter "r." No skipping is allowed; letters must adjoin in sequence.

Try your skill at finding the hidden words in the letter arrangement above. There are more than 70 words, including "molar," "prose," and "turmoil." Can you find more?

TYPES OF WORDS ALLOWED: Any word (noun, adjective, adverb, etc.) is acceptable as long as it can be found in a standard English dictionary. Plural nouns are allowed, as are all verb tenses. Words within words are also permissible; e.g.,spare: spa, par, are, spar, pare.

SCORING: When the timer runs out, the grid will become disabled and no further word submissions will be acceptable.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

• Not acceptable are: proper names, abbreviations, contractions, hyphenated words and foreign words that are not in an English dictionary.
• Multiple meanings of the same word do not earn multiple credit. The word "tear," for example, can mean both "rip" and "cry"; yet it may count as only one word.
• The same word found by a player in different areas of the grid may not be counted for multiple credit.
• The "Qu" cube counts as two letters.
• The letter "M" has straight sides; the letter "W" has slanted sides.
• The letter "Z" has a line under it and should not be seen as the word "IN."
• Full credit is awarded for both the singular and plural forms of a noun - provided that the player has submitted them as separate words.
• Common words tend to be found by more than one player. Therefore, if your words are unique and unusual, they are more likely to earn you points.

To start a new game do the following:

• Goto the Game menu and select New
• A dialog will appear asking you to enter your name. Enter your name in the space provided and then click the Ok button.
• The game grid will now appear, and you have three minutes to select as many words as possible
  • To select a letter, click with the left mouse button. When you select a letter it will become illuminated. Non-adjacent letters to your last selection will be dulled to show that you cannot select them.
  • To deselect a letter, click on it again with the left mouse button. Note that you can only deselect the last letter that you selected, and inorder to deselect a word, you must click on each letter in the reverse sequence to which they were selected.
  • To submit a word, right click anywhere within the game grid. If the word is valid and has not been used before, your score will be incremented. If the word is invalid or has already been used, a dialog will appear to tell you this.
  • After each attempt to submit a word, all letters will become selectable, and any previously selected letters will be cleared.
• After 3 minutes has expired, a dialog box will inform you that you have run out of time. When this happens the whole grid will become disabled.
• The highscore table will then be displayed.

The game keeps two types of highscore table. There is a highscore table that is specific to the grid that you are playing, and there is also an overall highscore table.

The overall highscore table can be viewed at any time by doing the following:

• Goto the Game menu and select View Highscores
• The highscore table will then be shown in a new window.
• When you have finished viewing the highscores, click the Ok button to close the window.

The highscores for each grid will only be displayed when you complete the play of a single grid. Once the time for a game has expired, a dialog will appear to tell you that your time has expired. When you dismiss this dialog by clicking the 'Ok' button, the highscore table for that grid will be displayed.