# &app; Manual

2006
Ryan Paul
2000-2002
Ximian, Inc.
GNOME Documentation Project

&legal;

Aaron
Weber
Ximian, Inc

     aaron@helixcode.com

Ryan
Paul
GNOME Documentation Project
&appname; Manual V&manrevision;
&date;

Ryan Paul ryankpaul@gmail.com

GNOME Documentation Project

&appname; Manual V2.12
September 2004

Aaron Weber aaron@helixcode.com

GNOME Documentation Project

This manual describes version &appversion; of &appname;.

## Feedback

To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the &app; application or this manual, follow the directions in the GNOME Feedback Page.

## Introduction

&app; is a two-player disc-flipping game like Iagno. &app;, however, begins at the corners, rather than at the center of the board, and has slightly different rules for adding and moving discs.

## Playing &app;

&app; is played on a board with 49 squares arranged in a grid composed of seven rows and seven columns. Players attempt to fill the board with as many of their own pieces as possible. The game ends when one player is unable to move a piece during a turn. &app; can be played against another person, or against a computer-controlled opponent. &app; can also be played by two computer-controlled players without user intervention.

### Basic usage

To play &app;:

  Choose Applications Games Ataxx or type gataxx on the command line.

To start a new game:

  Choose Game New Game.

To undo your last move:

  Choose Game Undo Move.

  If you perform this action during your own turn, your opponent's last move will also be reverted.

To quit &app;:

  Choose Game Quit.

To edit game preferences:

  Choose Settings Preferences.

### Rules

Each player controls pieces of a specific color. When an &app; game starts, one piece is set in each corner of the board. Each player starts with control of two pieces placed on opposite sides of the board. A player moves or adds one piece in each turn. The player that controls the light pieces goes first.

To add a new piece, click a piece that you control and then click any adjacent square that does not already contain a piece. To move an existing piece, click a piece and then click on any empty square that is two squares away from the original position of the piece. When you click on a piece, a transparent marker will appear in each square to which you can move or add a piece. shows the available moves of a selected piece. You cannot remove a piece from the board, or move a piece to an occupied square.

#### Available Moves

To capture your opponent's pieces, move or add your your own pieces to squares that are adjacent to squares occupied by your opponent. When you capture a piece, its color changes to that of your own pieces, and it becomes yours to control.

### Strategy

To prevent your opponent from seizing control of your pieces, limit the number of pieces that you place around any given empty space. An L-shaped formation or an eight piece ring will enable the other player to take control of many pieces with a single move.

## Customizing &app;

To change the application settings, Choose Settings Preferences. This opens the Preferences dialog.

### Player Preferences

Player settings can be customized with the options on the Players tab.

To allow a person to control the light pieces:

  Select the Human option in the Light section.

To give the computer control of the light pieces or change the difficulty level:

  Select one of the five difficulty levels in the Light section.

To allow a person to control the dark pieces:

  Select the Human option in the Dark section.

To give the computer control of the dark pieces or change the difficulty level:

  Select one of the five difficulty levels in the Dark section.

To make the computer controlled player move faster:

  Select the Quick Moves checkbox.

### Appearance Preferences

The appearance of the game can be customized with the options on the Appearance tab.

When the Animation checkbox is selected, the pieces will visually change when captured. The animation is different for each tile set.

## Authors

Ataxx was written by Chris Rogers (gandalf@darkcorner.net) and was later improved by Sjoerd Langkemper (sjoerd-gataxx@linuxonly.nl). This manual was written by Aaron Weber (aaron@helixcode.com). To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding this application or this manual, follow the directions in this document.

## License

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

A copy of the GNU General Public License is included as an appendix to the GNOME Users Guide. You may also obtain a copy of the GNU General Public License from the Free Software Foundation by visiting their Web site or by writing to

        Free Software Foundation, Inc.
        59 Temple Place - Suite 330
        Boston, MA 02111-1307
        USA