Traffic! 1.2
A puzzle game for the Palm Computing® Platform
Instructions
Traffic! is a freeware implementation of the popular
sliding-piece solitaire game Rush Hour, by
Japanese puzzle author Nob Yoshigahara (distributed
by Binary Arts).
The object of the game is to slide the pieces within the square grid until the clear piece (or the red piece on color screens) can be moved out the opening on the right side of the grid (marked by the arrow). Move the pieces by dragging with the stylus. Horizontal pieces can be moved only left and right, while vertical pieces can be moved only up and down. Press the reset button in the lower right to restore the current level to its original piece configuration.
There are 40 levels available. You can go on to the higher levels only after solving the lower level puzzles. Levels 30-40 are very difficult and require a great deal of planning and patience. You can always go back to play previous levels by tapping the "<" button; return to the later levels by tapping the ">" button. The program records your move count at the bottom of the screen. It also keeps track of the lowest move count with which you've been able to finish a given level, and for comparison displays the minimum number of moves for that level. At any point, you can go back to a level you've completed to try to beat your low score.
Whenever you quit Traffic!, the current piece configuration, your low scores, and your progress overall are saved.
Requirements
Palm OS 1.0 or higher.
Traffic! occupies less than 12K of memory!
Download / Installation
Download the zip file for Traffic! version 1.2 here.
HotSync the "Traffic.prc" file to your Palm device using your favorite install tool. Version 1.2 can be installed directly over previous versions without losing the low scores.
Availability
Traffic! is freeware. You are welcome to distribute it to friends and colleagues in unmodified form. E-mail bug reports, comments, suggestions, etc. to the address listed at the end of this document; be sure to include "Traffic" in the subject line. Please do not send requests for source code or for puzzle solutions (yes, all the levels can be solved!).
Background
Traffic! was implemented in C using PRC-Tools, a free compiler tool chain.
Traffic! was rated 
at Tucows!
The name "Rush Hour" is a registered trademark of Binary Arts, Inc., with whom I am not affiliated, but for whom I have great admiration. Their games and puzzles are highly recommended.
Gary W. Flake and Eric B. Baum have written a technical report studying a generalized form of Rush Hour that uses an n x n grid and a variable location for the exit and target car. They show that the decision problem version of "Generalized Rush Hour" is PSPACE-complete.
Amy is my wife! (see About screen)
Related Links
I am not directly associated with any of the sites below; they are provided for the reader's interest.
Rush Hour:
- Binary Arts, distributor of Rush Hour and many other puzzle games
- PuzzleWorld description (John Rausch)
- Nob Yoshigahara, inventor
Palm versions:
- Andrew Brault (Smalltalk)
- Mapopolis
Java versions:
Sliding block puzzles:
History
|
v. 1.0 |
First public release | |
|
v. 1.1 |
Added minimum move display for each level | |
|
v. 1.11 |
"Fixed" level 13, which was missing a piece (John McMullen). The minimum number of moves for level 13 is now correct. | |
|
v. 1.12 |
Adjusted minimum score for level 24 (Keith Wolcott). | |
|
v. 1.13 |
Adjusted minimum score for level 18 (Ian Post). The minimum score is now displayed immediately upon completion of a level. | |
|
v. 1.14 |
Adjusted minimum scores for level 29 (Steve Dyson) and level 38 (Doug Samson). | |
|
v. 1.2 |
Recompiled under Palm SDK 5. |
Legalese
Traffic! is Copyright © 1999-2002 by Phillip Cheng
Permission to use, copy, and distribute this software and its documentation for any non-commercial purpose, without fee, and without a written agreement is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies. For commercial usage, please contact the author.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
THE AUTHOR SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE AUTHOR HAS NO OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.