BOGGLER

Gary Braun

In the tradition of popular board games like checkers, Boggler should offer hours of intriguing strategic planning as you try to capture your opponent's pieces and avoid capture yourself.

This is a simple, yet challenging, game of skill. The object of the game is to capture five pairs of your opponent's pebbles or to get five consecutive pebbles in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. In this version, the computer acts as the playing board, checking all moves for validity and keeping score for the two opposing players, who alternate turns.

At the top center of the screen is a box indicating, by turning either black or white, whose turn it is. White always goes first in the center of the board. A joystick is used to position the player's pebble in the desired location, and the fire button is used to drop the pebble.

The program then checks to see if the player has either captured a pair of his opponent's pebbles by placing, one of his on either side or has five pebbles in a row. If he has captured two pebbles, it places them on his side of the board. To begin play after the instructions are printed, touch any control on the joystick.

Two final notes on the program: If you should try to go off the board, you will be brought back to the opposite side from where you left. As you take a new turn, the program will always return you back to where you made your last play.