304665 iPhone App - Bones Game

Game: Bones! Setup: The game is played using five 6-sided standard dice. Each player rolls all five dice to start. They then “hold” their “counting” dice and are allowed to roll the other dice again to try for more counting dice. As long as they keep getting counting dice, they can continue to roll the other non-counting dice. If all five dice are counting dice, they can roll them all again to try for more counting dice. However, if on ANY roll, they do not roll any counting dice, they forfeit all score for that turn. The player must decide when to roll and when to “stand” (stop rolling). To continue to roll is the gamble of the game. However, once on the board, the player can roll as few times as they desire. If no counting dice are rolled on the first roll, their turn is over. If they get counting dice, the score for the turn is added to their total score when they “stand.” Anytime they roll and do not get any counting dice, their turn is over. (Instructions from HyperCard Version of Bones!) Starting a Game: To start a new game, just press the NEW GAME button near the bottom of the window. This will clear the scores, reset the dice and ask you to select a strategy for the computer for this game. (See Computer Strategies below) You begin your turn by clicking the Roll Dice button. If you are able to roll again, the Roll Again button will appear. If you are able to "stand", the Stand button will appear. From there, just follow the rules below. Rules: Each player rolls five dice to start his/her turn. Any "counting" dice are kept and the player then has the option of rolling the other dice to get a higher score. "Counting" dice are marked with a checkmark below the die. As long as "counting" dice are rolled (even if only one out of all dice rolled is a counting die), the player may continue to roll or may "stand" and take the score they have achieved. If all five dice are "counters" you may then roll all five dice, keeping your score and adding it to the total for the next roll. Whenever you roll a ZERO roll, you lose all points for that turn and it is then the computers turn. Counting dice are as follows: 1's count 100 points 5's count 50 points Triples rolled at the same time, on the same roll count as follows: Three 1's count 1000 points. Three 2's count 200 points. Three 3's count 300 points. Three 4's count 400 points. Three 5's count 500 points. Three 6's count 600 points. Each player must get a minimum score on a single turn to get on the scoreboard. The amount required as a minimum is selectable by you by clicking on the field that is next to the scoreboard. Choose "50" for beginners. That will allow ANY score to be eligible for "standing." In the "table" game, "600" is considered the standard for the regular game and for competition. Rolling all five dice of a single number on one roll is a called a "BONES" and awards 10,000 points (enough to win the game). If the computer does not then roll a "BONES", you will win the game. A game continues until one player reaches ore exceeds 10,000 points. The other player is then given one turn to try to exceed their score. If not, the game is over. Additional Help for BONES! When you play BONES!, you'll eventually develop your own strategy. The object of course, is to reach 10,000 points first, so you'll need to get all the points you can along the way. Computer Strategies: The computer plays three different strategies: 1) "Chicken" - The computer will take any combination that scores 100 or more. This is really harder to beat than you would think. Slow and steady is often a good strategy, but sometimes "the roll of the dice" can beat it. 2) "Aggressive" - The computer takes any combination of 200 or more. It will keep rolling until it achieves a 200 or busts (rolls no counting dice). As you can imagine, this is a little more risky, but often works well. 3) "The Gambler" - On this level, the computer goes for 300 points or bust! Anything less and the computer rolls again. This is often the easiest to beat because the computer often ends up with zero scores trying to get 300 points. However, it can also be hard to beat because, if lucky, a lot of 300+ scores can add up very quickly. In this version, the computer assumes that the chance to roll all five dice is a good gamble so he will always roll if he has the opportunity to roll all five, (except to get the minimum required to get on the board). Your Strategy: Since you have 2 chances out of 6 on each die to get a counting die, your chances are much greater with three, four or five dice to roll. One or two is a real gamble. You may use the strategies that the computer uses, or, over a period of time, develop your own. Either way, you'll find it challenging and interesting to compete against the computer. Notes: If you Shift-Click on the high score field or the You / Computer wins field you will be offered a chance to reset them. Clicking on the computer's strategy will allow you to change it mid-game. Key Equivalents: You can use a period or decimal point to "Roll Dice" or "Roll Again" and "0" (zero) for "Stand" as shortcut keys. If you have a keyboard with a numeric keypad, this gives you access to both keys next to each other. You can play the whole game by using these two keys. Plus, there are other command keys that will produce the same features as buttons on the card or items in the Bones! menu. There are card buttons for each of these menu items. Pressing the sound button or selecting the Sound Toggle menu item will turn the sound on or off. You can control the volume with your sound control panel. There are sounds for each dice sound: Five dice rolling, four dice rolling, etc. There is also a longer sound on a "hidden" button. See if you can find it! Notes for iPhone Version The settings for the program should be accessible by clicking on an i in the upper or lower right corner. These would include: • Minimum Required Score to get “on the board” with choices from 50 to 700 in increments of 50. • Clear High Score • Clear Highest Single Turn Score • Clear Computer vs. User scores • Sound On/Off • Computer Strategy (Chicken, Aggressive, Gambler) AI for iPhone's turn will include analyzing the dice to determine counting dice status. Looking for 3-of-a-kind as well as 1's and 5's, then totaling the score and deciding based on the “computer strategy” whether to continue play or to stand. iPhone “play” may have to be slowed down to allow the user to see the action. Once the computer's turn is over, an indicator will have to be shown to indicate that it is the player's turn again. It would be best if we could show dice being rolled, but a first version may be possible just showing the five dice in a row like the HyperCard Version. But it would be better to roll them and either auto-select and move the counters, or allow the user to select and move them to the “keep” area.