Loadstar 222/222.d81/t.letter drop

Text File | 2002-01-01 | 3.4 KB | 126 lines

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        L E T T E R    D R O P

          by Robert Markland


    LETTER DROP is the computerized
version of a familiar matrix type
puzzle regularly found in most paper
and pencil puzzle magazines. From top
to bottom, the screen consists of:
the letter storage area, puzzle
matrix, and command/dialogue area.

    Begin by selecting LOAD, choose a
drive, and decide which puzzle you
would like to solve. The puzzles are
quotations that are more or less
memorable. Most of them came from Jon
Winokur's THE PORTABLE CURMUDGEON,
New American Library, 1987.

    With a puzzle in place, you will
notice columns of letters in the
storage area. The letters in each
column fit a box directly below to
form words. The order of the stored
letters may or may not correspond to
the correct boxes. Blank squares
indicate the end of words.

    Using either the cursor keys or
the joystick, move the cursor over any
letter in the storage area. Press
<RETURN> or <Fire> to pick up the
letter, then move down to an empty box
and press <RETURN> or <Fire> again to
drop the letter.  You will find that
the empty cursor will move freely in
all four directions, but will not
leave the column when it carries a
letter.

    It is easiest to begin with the
columns that contain the fewest
letters. Logic will dictate some of
your choices and the rest can be made
with an educated guess. Look for
single boxes in the matrix, which
almost always indicate an A or an I.
Letters in two consecutive columns
are also clues -- a Q followed by a
U, or a C followed by a K are likely
possibilities. Locating occurrences
of THE and AND is helpful too. And
finally, the puzzle relates to the
name of the file you loaded.

    Don't be afraid to try different
combinations. If you find that a
letter does not fit, pick it up with
the cursor and drop it in another box
or return it to any row of the
storage area.

    If you really get stuck, move the
empty cursor over any empty box and
press <H> for a letter hint. Provided
the correct letter is in storage, it
is placed in the box under the
cursor. If nothing happens, one or
more of the letters placed in that
column is incorrect. Move a letter
back to the storage area and request
the hint again.

    Should the situation become
hopeless you can request the complete
solution by pressing <S>. In the
unlikely event that you have all the
letters placed, but are not credited
with solving the puzzle, examine the
matrix for any misplaced word or
letters, or simply request the
solution.

    The "hot" keys are printed in
white in the command area so you can
always tell what keys to press.

 RM

 [FENDER'S POSTMUMBLE:]  Bob is right
when he says this puzzle appears in
most pencil puzzle magazines. Like
many other puzzles of this sort, it
can be improved when ported over to
the computer. With your computer
there's no erasing or scribbling over
a wrong guess. Plus, how could a
paper magazine offer a letter hint?

    I've said that I'm not going to
rest until every appropriate puzzle
ever designed by humankind is
computerized, and Bob Markland has
reduced that number by one.  Good
job!

 FT


[DAVE'S TURN:]

    If you'd like to use a saying of
your own as a LETTER DROP puzzle, wait
for LOADSTAR 223. We will publish
LETTER DROP WRITER -- which is a cinch
to use. In fact, anyone who sends me
24 quotes before August 31, keyed in
and ready for LETTER DROP, will get a
free year's subscription.

 DMM