El'barqs v1.0
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copyright 1995 Stand Alone & Ben Gottlieb


* What's it do?
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	El'barqs is a crossword letter game for the newton. It allows you
to place various letter tiles on the board to create words. You can 
play against up to three other human or Newton players.

* What's in this archive?
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	There are two Newton software packages and three text files in
this archive. They are:
	* Elbarqs.txt	document you're now reading. 'Nuff said.
	* Elbarqs.pkg	software package you'll install on your Newton.
	* Register.txt	read me file describing the Register software.
	* Register.pkg	software package you can install on your Newton
					to use Register, which will allow you to pay for 
					El'barqs via email.
	* SAStuff.txt	A list of all the software currently published by
					Stand Alone.

* Installing El'barqs
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	First off, you must get the El'barqs software package onto your
Newton. You can do this using the Newton Connection Kit (for Mac or
Windows), the Newton Package Downloader, or the Newton Package
Installer. See the documentaion with each of these for more
information on installing packages with them. You'll need 
approximately 71k of free storage space wherever you install 
El'barqs.

* Playing El'barqs
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	The basic goal in El'barqs is to use the letters given you to 
create words on the board. These words must have at least one letter 
in common with currently existing words. Any word is allowed except 
for proper names. The Newton will check to make sure a word is in 
it's dictionary, but because it has a limited capacity, it cannot 
know every possible word. If you place a word that it does not know, 
it will ask you if the word is a legal word. 

	When you first open El'barqs, you will be presented with a dialog
in which you can enter the names of up to four players. By default, 
these will all be human players, but you can make up to three of them
Newton players by tapping the pickers next to the names and selecting
the level for them. After choosing names for all involved players, 
you can tap the "Play" button to start playing.

	Once the game has begun, each player will take turns placing
tiles. At the beginning of the turn the Newton will randomly assign
a hand of seven letter tiles. If the player has tiles left over from
the last hand, the Newton will only assign enough to bring their
total up to 7. When it's you turn, the Newton will put up a window
on screen telling you this. Simply tap anywhere inside of it to begin
your turn.

	When your turn starts, you'll see your seven letter tiles at the
bottom of the screen, and a countdown timer at the top. When this
timer hits zero, your turn will end, whether you want it to or not.
(Note: this particular feature can be turned off via the preferences,
see below.) Your task is to place the tiles given you on the board so
that they form words. If you are the first to go, you must place one
tile so that it's on the exact center of the board. Otherwise, at
least one tile must intersect with a word already on the board:

             A                    B                H
             L                    E                E
             O         or         E       not      L
          STAND                   T                L  ANGRY
             E                    SLED             O

	There are two methods you can use to place tiles on the board.
The first is dragging. Simply drag the appropriate tile so that it's
upper left corner is in the square you want it to end up in, and
let go. The other method is tapping. In order to use this method, 
make sure the "Tap Tiles" checkbox is checked (to the left of your
letter tiles.) Now to move simply tap on a tile and then on the 
square you want it to end up in. To remove a tile from the board, 
tap in the tile box.

	Once you have placed your letters (you only need to place 2,
though you can place all seven if you wish,) tap the "Done" button to
end your turn. If you have placed a legal word that's in the Newton's 
vocabulary, play will proceed to the next player. If you have placed 
a word correctly, but the Newton doesn't know the word, it will ask 
you if it's a legal word, and should it add it to the dictionary. 
Responding with "OK" will add the word to El'barqs dictionary (NOT 
the user dictionary) and play will proceed. Responding with "Cancel"
 will let you place another word.
	
	When a legal word has been placed, the Newton will score the word
based on both the letters used and the tiles they rest on. Each 
letter has a fixed point value (below) and certain tiles on the board
provide multipliers, either to the entire word or just the letter
resting on it. The multipliers only affect the letter or word the
first time they are used...words placed later using the same letter 
do NOT receive the bonus. You can tap and hold on any square on the
board to find out it's multiplier value.

			Letter values
  Letter					Point value
	A                           1
	B                           3
	C                           3
	D                           3
	E                           1
	F                           4
	G                           3
	H                           4
	I                           4
	J                           8
	K                           5
	L                           1
	M                           3
	N                           1
	O                           1
	P                           3
	Q                          10
	R                           1
	S                           1
	T                           1
	U                           1
	V                           4
	W                           4
	X                           8
	Y                           5
	Z                          10
	
If the Play Until option is set in the preferences, then the game
will end when one player hits a predetermined score, otherwise the
score is merely for comparison purposes.

	At any point in the game you can review everyone's words and 
scores by viewing the game history. To do this, tap on the "i" button
near the bottom left of the screen and tap on "Game History".


* Preferences
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	There are a number of options you can control to customize
El'barqs to your liking. To access these preferences, tap on the "i"
button near the bottom left of the screen, and tap "Prefs". The
following preferences are available:

* Allow backwards words
	Normally, words must go from left to right or top to bottom. If 
this option is checked, then words may also be placed from bottom to
top and right to left.

* Enforce turn length
	If this option is checked, then when the turn timer hits zero, a
player's turn is over, regardless of whether they've placed a word.
If unchecked, than the Newton ignores the countdown timer.

* Turn Length
	This is just the amount the countdown timer starts from.
	
* Warn me about my time
	If this box is checked, you'll get two and one minute warnings
when your turn time is about to run out.

* Play Until
	If this is "No Limit", than the Newton will not stop the game. 
If you choose a point value, then the first player to hit that value
wins (each player is given a chance to complete the same number of
turns, so there may be more than one winner.) The Newton will then 
give you the option to start a new game or continue playing the
current game.

* Avoid all vowel hands
	If this is checked, the Newton will make sure that you never have
all vowels in your hand. 

* Registering El'barqs
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	You have a 30 day trial period in which to examine El'barqs, 
during which it will function fully. Should you wish to register, 
you'll need to do one of the following:

	* Send us a check for $20 to:
		Stand Alone
		1146 Morse Ave., #3C
		Chicago, IL, 60626, USA
		
	* Using CompuServe, GO SWREG, and register ID # 6829.
	
	* Using Flash Sheridan's Register program (enclosed in the El'barqs
archive) and either NewtonMail (built into the Newton) or Catamount
Software's Aloha (shareware, $50, for more info, contact Catamount at
info@catamount.com).
		Open up Register, fill in the application (El'barqs:SAS), 
the	amount ($10), and your credit card information, and email it.

	However you register, PLEASE be sure to include an email address
(it's not vital, but it will result in MUCH speedier service, no pun
intended) and your name, as entered in the Prefs -> Personal section
of your Newton. This is used to generate the password we send you to
unlock El'barqs, so it has to be exact.

	Once you register, you will receive a password from us. To use it,
Open El'barqs and tap the "i" button, then tap "Register". If
El'barqs has already expired, then as soon as you open it you will be
presented with an "Enter Password" button. Once the password entry
view is open, type in the password we sent you. If you entered it
correctly, a window will open thanking you for registering.

* Contacting us
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	If you have any questions regarding El'barqs, or any other Stand 
Alone Newton application, please don't hesitate to contact us:

	Email:
		internet: 	info@standalone.com (<-- preferred)
		AOL: 		PDC Ben
		eWorld: 	Gottlb
		CompuServe:	76342,3057
		
	Phone:
		Voice: 		(312) 262-5150
		Fax:		(312) 262-5148
		
	Regular Mail:
		Stand Alone
		1146 Morse Ave., #3C
		Chicago, IL, 60626, USA
		
* Special Thanks
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	I'd like to thank the following people for their assistance in 
testing El'barqs:
		Ashley Barnard
		Marc Field
		Jason Grazado
		Gary Greco
		Steve Holden
		Serg Koren
		Scott Leapman
		Steve Lewis
		Hardy Macia
		Dave Nanian
		Scott Silverman

* Version History
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1.0	August 4, 1995		First public release