Poker. The final frontier...
BBBBBB SSSSSS X X BSX International
B B S X X 806 Park Ridge Rd.
BBBBBB SSSS X Apartment A8
B B S X X Durham, NC 27713 USA
BBBBBB SSSSSS X X
(Make checks payable to
ROBERT ROBERDS!!!)
I n t e r n a t i o n a l
presents...
GGG RRR II DDD L Y Y
G R R II D D L Y Y
G GGG RRR II D D L Y
G G R R II D D L Y
GGG R R II DDD LLLL Y
Gridly 1.0 (C) 1991 BSX International
A Shareware Card Game of Appropriate, Measured Response
1.0 - Welcome.
Poker. The final frontier...
"Not ANOTHER poker game!" you cry out. No, not another poker game. We swear.
Well, OK: it's got SOME poker in it, but at least you don't play against a
make-believe character for make-believe money. Here you play by yerself in a
gripping struggle against the awesome forces of chance. You don't stand to
gain anything other than the grim satisfaction of a job well done and the
escapism of a few hours locked in mortal combat with a computer-generated
deck of cards. Pretty heady stuff for someone like you. We take as our
inspiration the words of a (till recently) powerful dictator:
This is THE MOTHER OF ALL CARD GAMES.
Gridly is a game wherein you attempt to impose yer will on a deck of cards
and a grid-like object. You place the cards into the grid as they are dealt
in an effort to score points in a pokerish manner. Failure to do so will
result in the annexation of hours of yer time in shocking frustration.
Success may lead to a new world order.
(Ed. note - We apologize to anyone who may be offended by occasional
references to the recent war. Gridly is a game of peace. The authors are
a little miffed at the peacenik throwbacks who protested with this "No
blood for oil" nonsense. Sub-conciously, we are attempting to lash out at
them by reminding them of the war and their lame "We're against the war but
support the troops" self-gratification effort. Personally, we think it's a
sad time in America when people take advantage of all this country has to
offer and then retreat to their moral highground at the first sign of
trouble. And now: Kinder, gentler documentation.)
Gridly is a game where you attempt to acheive peace and harmony between a
deck of cards and a grid-like object. You place the cards into the grid as
they are dealt in an effort to score points in a pokerish manner. Failure to
do so will result in mild disappointment that, without proper counseling,
will cause a loss of self-confidence that may eventually prove fatal. Success
will bring with it improved self-esteem, but also the realization that you
are not all-powerful and in fact somewhat deficient in yer dealings with
other people, particularly of the opposite sex. Yer momentary triumph over
these computerized objects will rapidly wither and fade, leaving you a
crushed and broken shell of yer former self; friendless, impotent, and with
a funny tingling in yer left thigh.
2.0 - Legal Stuff. PLEASE READ!!!
GRIDLY 1.0 (C) 1991 BSX International
GRIDLY 1.0 was developed and compiled using Borland's Turbo Pascal 5.5.
Graphics were drawn using BSX's own TEGAS utility.
This software is provided "as is" with no guarantees of any kind. The
developers assume no responsibilities other than those indicated below.
You may use and distribute this product as you wish, but only under the
following conditions:
1) You may sell this program without the permission of BSX
International but you MUST NOT alter the program or its
documentation. You MUST NOT charge any fees other than fees for
copying and MUST clearly state that this fee is NOT a substitute for
registration with BSX.
2) Do not distribute this product if it has been reduced in any way.
You may add files, but you may not remove any of the originals.
3) Under no circumstances may you remove the copyright notices from the code
or documentation.
2.1 - Shareware.
This product is SHAREWARE and is distributed in good faith for yer
enjoyment. You may play it for a short period to become familiar with
it. If you decide you like it and want to keep playing it, you should
send a $5 registration fee to BSX (PAYABLE TO ROBERT ROBERDS), otherwise
you should stop using it. If only all software folks let you use their
product before you paid for it the world would be a much better place.
We've bought so much BAD software that we don't use, and we're sure you
have too, that we feel GOOD programs should be rewarded. If you don't
like GRIDLY we're not hurt; if you do like our stuff, thank us, and
we'll keep making it.
This program is not "protected" in any way and is not altered so
that non-registrants will suffer. The authors don't believe in denying
anyone a chance to use our stuff. We are programmers, not businessmen.
We trust that anyone who likes GRIDLY and wants more of it will register.
We're not naive, just a little idealistic.
If you do not register you may still distribute this game provided
you follow the rules above. Also, even if you have paid a distributor
for the disk this game was on, YOU ARE STILL NOT REGISTERED. We do not
receive payments from distributors and they do not represent us in any
way. You still gotta send us five bucks.
2.2 - Registration.
Read the inclosed files BSXCAT.DOC and ORDER.DOC for the details on how to
register, and the benefits of doing so.
To register GRIDLY 1.0 with BSX send a check, money order, or cash for
$5.00 (US) or $6.00 (Canadian), PAYABLE TO ROBERT ROBERDS, to:
ROBERT ROBERDS
BSX International
806 Park Ridge Road Apt. A8
Durham, NC 27713
*** PLEASE MAKE THE CHECK PAYABLE TO: ROBERT ROBERDS !!!! ***
*** DO NOT MAKE IT PAYABLE TO BSX INTERNATIONAL! IF WE GET ANY ***
*** CHECKS PAYABLE TO BSX INTERNATIONAL, ALL WE CAN DO IS THROW ***
*** THEM AWAY! DON'T DO IT! DON'T EVEN THINK IT! THANKS !!!!!! ***
For registering, not only will you encourage us to keep writing
shareware, you will also receive:
1) Our Gratitude, and the BSX quarterly catalog.
2) 1/2 Price discounts on upgrades on this product.
3) For only $5 more, a Bullwinkle PEZ dispenser. (Just kidding, but don't
you agree that that would be really cool?)
Yer support and comments are appreciated! Really, they are! Hello?
3.0 - Setup.
A complete copy of GRIDLY 1.0 has the following files:
GRIDLY.DOC - This file here.
GRIDLY.EXE - The actual game program executable.
GRIDLY.DAT - Data for GRIDLY.EXE (essential).
GRIDLY.STA - A data/high-score file (NOT-essential, but nice).
BSXCAT.DOC - A catalog of other amazing BSX software values.
ORDER.DOC - EZ 2 use BSX International order form.
To run GRIDLY just put the .EXE and .DAT and .STA files into a directory. If
that directory is in yer path, you may now run GRIDLY from anywhere;
otherwise, you will have to cd to that directory to play. Now, just
type "GRIDLY". If you have any problems we higly recommend that you edit
or create the file CONFIG.SYS in yer boot directory, and add these
lines:
FILES=20
BUFFERS=40
and then reboot yer computer.
For other problems, check the requirements below:
1) IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatible.
2) 256K RAM minimum.
3) EGA or VGA video adapter with at least 256K of memory on it.
4) DOS 2.1 or higher.
5) MS compatible mouse is supported, but NOT required.
GRIDLY WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT AN EGA OR VGA CARD!
4.0 - Rules.
Cards are dealt one at a time and each must be placed somewhere on the
5 X 5 grid. Cards will overlap, but no card may be placed so that it over-
laps the top half of a card directly below it. Otherwise, a new card may
be placed over the bottom half of a card already on the grid or on a spot
where no card already exists. (Thought of in physical terms, you are not
allowed to "tuck in" a new card beneath a card already on the grid.)
The game continues until no more cards can be legally played. (You may
have filled all grid locations or blocked yerself out of some of them
and filled all the rest.) You are then awarded points based on the
poker hands you have formed across the rows and on both diagonals. Columns
don't count for diddly squat. Yer score for each row is multiplied by 1 or 2
depending on which row each hand is in. Hands in the diagnals have their
scores multiplied by 3.
5 X 5 Explained:
If you still don't understand how the grid works after reading the rules and
trying a few games, here's an example (you pinhead):
/3X
+------+------+------+------+------+
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |-1X
| | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9*** | 10 |-2X
| | | | **** | |
+------+------+------+------+------+
| 11 | 12 | 13 | **** | 15 |-1X
| | | | 14 | |
+------+------+------+------+------+
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |-2X
| | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |-1X
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+
\3X
The grid has 25 legal places for you to place cards at the beginning of the
game. Once a card ( represented by "*" 's above ) is placed, it fills up the
block that it's in and part of the block below. I've labeled the blocks above
1 through 25. A card placed in block 9 fills up 9 and half of 14 below it.
Remembering that you can't "tuck in" a card below one already placed, you see
that you can no longer place a card in grid square 4. You can place a card in
14, though. In both cases you are overlapping, but in the second case you are
not obscuring the top of a card already in the grid. With just one card
placed in square 9, you have used up 2 of the possible 25 legal placement
locations. It is not necessary to play 25 cards to end the game.
The following groups of squares are the poker hands you will create: (You
needn't fill all the grid squares, mind you.)
1 X Normal score : (1,2,3,4,5) , (11,12,13,14,15) , (21,22,23,24,25)
2 X Normal Score : (6,7,8,9,10) , (16,17,18,19,20)
3 X Normal Score : (1,7,13,19,25) , (5,9,13,17,21) (the diagonals)
A hand with an unused grid square in it at the end of the game (because of
the restriction on overlapping cards) is considerd a "null". Any hand
with "nulls" in it is still counted, but the "nulls" contribute nothing to
yer hand. Straights, Flushes, Full Houses, Straight Flushes and Royal Flushes
obviously require five cards in them.
Don't worry; it's all self-evident on the play screen! Just play it, you'll
catch on in about three seconds.
5.0 - Using GRIDLY
If using a mouse, clicking the left button will select any option button or
place a card onto the grid where the pointer is located. The right mouse
button will undo a card placement just made. Keyboard users select options by
selecting the first letter of the word on the option button and/or using the
arrow keys to move the pointer around. Use return to select and ESC to undo.
It is necessary to click on the deck of cards to turn over the cards you
will play, then click in the grid where you wanna place them. VERY SIMPLE.
The game ends automatically when you make yer last legal move and yer score
is then counted and displayed.
Scoring:
Points for various poker hands are displayed on the play screen. Poker hands
are explained briefly by using the "Help" option during the game. Yer score
is only tallied at the end of the game, so no score is displayed during a
game, even if you complete a row or diagnal. CHEATING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
5.1 - Features
Boss - Hide from those who might learn of yer addiction to computer games.
Type "exit" to get back to yer game or "abort" to quit for good.
A famous BSX method for confounding wives, girlfriends, parents and
all the other bosses in yer life. You know the score. (Note: in our
view it's always WOMEN who are bossy. We know- THAT'S NOT FUNNY!)
Quit - Leave the deck you are currently playing and/or leave game.
Sound - Toggle sound on or off. Gridly will "remember" this setting the next
time you start the program. And you can use the "-s" command-line
switch to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN the game starts with sound off.
Just type "gridly -s"
Top Scores - Bop back to the top score list.
Mouse Adjust - Allows mousers to adjust sensitivity. Click on the vertical
and horizontal bars to select the speed that's right for you.
Click on Mouse Adjust again to get back to yer game. (Use
anytime.) Gridly will "remember" these settings in the future.
Help - Quick way to see some rules again while learning.
One Other Thing - If you have a mouse but, for some reason, want to play with
the keyboard instead, use the "-n" cammand-line switch.
6.0 - Technical and Version Notes.
GRIDLY was developed using Borland's Turbo Pascal 5.5 on an IBM PC
with an Intel Inboard 386, 2 megs of RAM, a Logitech Bus Mouse, a Paradise
Pro VGA card, 120MB Maxtor drive, and running DOS 3.3.
Playtested on a Gateway 2000 386/33 with DOS 4.01, Kraft Trackball,
Super VGA and 200MB Hard Drive.
This game was written and tested on two different PCs. It will work on
any configuration we are aware of that meets the above criteria. If this
game does not work on yer system, please review the set-up requirements and
re-read the rules to make sure yer not misunderstanding something.
If yer still frustrated, get in touch with us and we'll try and help.
6.1 - Version Summary
1.0 - 15 Mar. 1991 - Base line release.
7.0 - About BSX International.
Originally Two Guys Who Are Programmers, we are now BSX International.
The two guys were, and indeed still are, Bob & Dave. We like to play
games. To give something back to the community, we write games as well.
When I say games, I don't mean D&D or any of the "There is food here"
adventure games. When we want that kind of escapism, we drink instead.
We don't like puzzles like "Reversi" or Rubik's Cube. If we wanted that kind
of frustration we'd get real jobs. Just what is it we DO like to play? Here's
our list:
1) Red Baron - Dynamix - Best flight sim ever invented
2) F19 - Microprose - Classic
3) SimCity - Maxis - Also a classic, but somewhat limited
4) Harpoon - Three-Sixty - Chock full o' bugs, but their best yet
5) Railroad Tycoon - Microprose - Good all around sim, but still limited
6) Silent Service - Microprose - Really good sub sim (sank same?)
7) Tracon II - Wesson - Very Relaxing, in a hyper sorta way
8) Their Finest... - LucasFilms - Good graphics and response to controls
9) Indy 500 - EA - Best car sim, but can get dull
10) Gridly - BSX - Thrill will wear off soon, though
The rest, as they say, is history.
BSX maintains offices in heavily-taxed Trumbull, CT and horribly-humid
Durham, NC. We welcome comments about our games and ideas for new ones. We
can be reached by letter, by phone (at 919-493-4875), on Prodigy (at
JBVC54A), or on GEnie (at R.ROBERDS1). Please don't try to place orders
through Prodigy or GEnie. We need to see bucks before we send anything, and
those services frown on anyone they can't tax for using their system.
8.0 - Acknowledgements.
Bob would like to thank all Dave for continuing to "wrestle the alligator",
messing with BSX stuff instead of working or anything. Thanx also, a
REAL lot, to all a you BSX registrants, for keeping him from starving to
death. Kudos to local riff-raff like Rosebud & Trailblazer, Hongalooga and
the like for comments and suggestions (only a few of which involve "ramming"
things). Thanxa bundle to David Johndrow, whose work on TEGAS constitutes
yet another tentacle in the awesome expansion of BSX. Thanx to Ken Gutierrez
for the CompuDollars Connection, and for getting them on freeking Superstar
at eight-thirty in the morning. And LRG still hasn't killed him, tho she did
squeeze off a few rounds in his direction once (sez it was "an accident").
Dave would like to thank Bob for computer fun. I would also like to
thank Alexi, Will, John, Kim and Tammy for good times and stuff.
I owe public apologies to anyone I may have offended at a Xmas party in
December by being drunk and quite possibly obnoxious to those with more
conventional sensibilities. It won't happen again until next year.
Bob G. "Holy Evanderfield" Roberds - Supreme Commander - Development
David M. "Dr K" Kotomski - Gladys Knight & the Pip Commander - Dox & Testing
are...
BSX International: Where the future is tommorrow.
Coming. Soon. We Hope...
Dissed - The Adventure Begins. BSX's First Real Computerized Adventure.
You are Tim, a grad student at a small New England polytechnic. Killed at
a frat party, you are brought back to life twenty years in the future. Now
you must pick up the pieces of yer meager life and try to obtain those things
for which all right-minded people strive: Money, Booze, Sex and a Really Cool
Car.
Not just another text-based, find-the-magic-sword adventure, Dissed is a
true-to-life frustrating experience. Not a T&A chuckle like the "Leisure
Suit" saga, Dissed takes a hard look at the realities facing single guys both
now and in a post-global-warming world. Not just an excuse to use lots of
"-" 's, Dissed is a laugh-a-minute, slice-of-life scream.
Months in the making, we depart from the "solve the puzzle with the hint
book" concept and trash the "find the right word to say" barrier with a menu-
driven interface that only asks you to do what comes naturally. Where should
you go first, the bar or the library? Should you buy that Porsche or conserve
fuel with the Hyundai? What about that girl looking at you? Is she wondering
how good you are in bed, or do you just remind her of a bad dream she once
had? We know the right answers. Do you?
This game is not only meant to be fun, but funny. If it turns out to be too
much like yer real life, don't blame us. We have the same problem.
Not available in stores, Dissed can only be obtained by direct order from
BSX. Due to its large file sizes, it will not be available on BBS's and can
only be played on machines with hard drives.
Call or write for availability. Probably Summer of '91.
Probably about $10, delivered. Probably.
Hang on till you get a BSX catalog containing Dissed, then send away for it!
Get with the program!
*** SORRY. NO ADVANCE ORDERS ACCEPTED TILL THEN. ***
PS: Rinzai, blow it out yer hair because YOU work at Hardee's.
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