Game: Subway II Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, August 2001 Object: Create one continuous subway loop with the stations in sequential order. (6 randomized variants) You are the civil engineer in a big city. Your task is to build one continuous subway loop, thereby incorporating several existing tunnel sections and (!) several given places for subway stations. First click anywhere on the board. Several sections of a subway system will appear, coloured red. Build one big loop by adding bends, double bends, straights and crossings. Incorporate the stations in sequential order. To place a section, click a position several times. The system will cycle you through all available shapes of track sections. One of the choices offered will be an empty position. This way you can delete a section again. The given red sections and the stations cannot be deleted. But you can click a red straight section to turn it into a cross intersection, for example. Click anywhere at the border to check your design. You win if all sections are part of one big loop and if all stations, are situated in sequential order along the track, otherwise you lose. The variants have a different number of given sections and/or a different number of given stations and/or a smaller playing field. Not all random setups may be solvable. Background design: Fractal Mo99121j by Morgan Owens and Karl Scherer. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Subway II Now!
Game: Subway III Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, August 2001 Object: Create continuous loops, each containing exactly one station and each containing at least one given (red) segment. Use all red segments. (Verion 1.1; six randomized variants) First click anywhere on the center board. Several sections and a few stations of a subway system will appear. Build one big loop by adding bends, double bends, straights and crossings. To place a section, click a position several times. The system will cycle you through all available shapes of track sections. One of the choices offered will be an empty position. This way you can delete a section. The given red sections and the stations cannot be deleted or moved. But you can click a red straight section to turn it into a cross intersection, for example. Click anywhere at the border to check your design. You win if - each station is in a different loop and - each loop contains at least one given section and - all given (red) sections are used. The variants have a different number of given sections and/or a different number of given stations and/or a smaller playing field. Not all random setups may be solvable. If you find the game too easy, try to incorporate two given sections into each loop. Background design: Fractal Mo99121j by Morgan Owens and Karl Scherer. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 09/27/03 corrected win condition Download Subway III Now!
Game: Subway 4 Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, February 2001 Object: Create one or several continuous subway loops. (12 variants) You are the civil engineer in a big city. Your task is to build one or several continuous subway loops, thereby incorporating several existing tunnel sections. First click anywhere on the center board. Depending on the variant, a certain number of sections of a subway system will appear, coloured red. Also a grey section will appear at the right border. Click the board to insert the new grey section to the board. You can click the given tile at the border to skip it. You are allowed to skip eight times. Red dots will appear as counters. Try to create one or several loops by adding bends and straights. The loops are allowed to intersect. You can add a straight horizontal section to an existing vertical section and thus turn it into a cross intersection. You can add a bend on top of an existing bend to make a double bend. Click on the 'CHECK' button to check whether you have created a set of closed loops. You win when all sections are part of some loop, otherwise you lose. The other variants have a bigger board and/or more given sections. Background design: Fractal Mo99121j by Morgan Owens and Karl Scherer. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 02/23/02 corrected game text Download Subway 4 Now!
Game: Tangram Implemented by Karl Scherer, November 2000. Object: Fill the given shapes with the 7 Tangram tiles. (16 variants) The classic tiling puzzle has come to Zillions! First select one of the Tangram tiles from the border, then click a place in the yellow area where you want to put it. Clicking a sample tile cycles it through all possible rotations and flips. You can also select a tile without rotating it by clicking below it. The 'sweet spot' of the tiles is always at their bottom row, at the leftmost square still covered or half covered by the tile. You can also remove any tile again from the tesselation: Click the empty area where the sample is displayed at the start of the game. A copy of the tile will reappear, and the selection bar will turn red. Keep clicking the copy until its rotation is exactly as in the tesselation. Now click the tile in the tesselation and it will be removed. One of the game variants allows you to play freely with the Tangram tiles. Here you have an unlimited number of each tile available. The removal procedure is slightly different in that you have to click the green selection bar first, which will turn red. Then you proceed as described above. Note that you can also redesign the fill-in area to create your own tiling problems. Simply add or delete some parts of the yellow playing area by using the right mouse button (select sq, dbl, dbr, dtl, dtr, or empty). The Tangram program will automatically restrict its activities to this area. Please note that you can store your own Tangram problems (and also the solutions) as .zsg game files. Tangram comes from China where it is known as ' ch'i ch'ae pan ' or 'Seven-Board of Cunning'. Many books contain Tangram puzzle problems. Eleven of those have been selected here for your amusement. Background design: Fractal R001100k by Karl Scherer. For more freeware as well as real puzzles and games see my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 12/09/00 improved implementation; 4 variants added. Download Tangram Now!
Game: Telephone Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, January 2001. Object: Pick up the correct Telephone. (2 variants) First click anywhere on the center board. A random pattern of cabling will appear connecting the left set of eight Telephones with the right set of eight Telephones. (Top and bottom of the cable board are connected!). One of the Telephones on the left border will turn red and ring. Click the one Telephone on the right border which is connected to it. If picked correctly, another phone on the left border will light up and ring. If you picked all eight Telephone connections correctly, you win. In variant 2 there are ten Telephones on each side. Background design: Fractal R981201k by Karl Scherer. For more freeware as well as real puzzles and games see my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Telephone Now!
Game: Tetrasticks Implemented by Karl Scherer, December 2002. Polystick problems were described in some unpublished work by H.D. Benjamin already in the year 1948. T.R.Dawson, Bernard Wiezorke, Jaques Haubrich and Donald Knuth are other authors on this subject in more recent years, see Journal of Recreational Mathematics, Vol 30(3), 1999-2000, p 187-190. Object: Cover the given pattern with 15 of the 16 given Tetrasticks. (4 variants) You have 16 tiles ('Tetrasticks') available with are made from 4 straight segments each. Click one of the small images of the tiles at the top left to select a tile. Click again to rotate and flip (mirror) it until it is presented the way you want to place it. Now click one of the black grid points on the playing board on the right to place a tile. You have to use each tile exactly once. Tiles are allowed to cross each other. The 'sweet spot' of a tile is always on the left side of the lowest part. It is indicated by a red dot. Variant 1: Fill the given green square with 15 of the 16 given Tetrasticks without gaps or overlaps. (There are five tiles that can be omitted from the solution; which are they?) Variant 2: Fill the given green figure with 15 of the 16 given Tetrasticks without gaps or overlaps. (There are two tiles that can be omitted from the solution; which are they?) Once you have succeeded in doing this, try to find solutions which do not have any tiles that cross each other (for both variant 1 and 2). Variant 3: Free Play; uses the whole big board. Variant 4: Free Play; you may use each tile more than once. Please note that there are two piece sets available. The Tetrasticks have official names which are letters from the alphabet. They are called I, C, F, H, J, L, N, O, P, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. (reading from left to right and from top to bottom of the playing board). For more freeware as well as real puzzles and games see my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Please note: Tetrasticks requires Zillions of Games version 2.0 (or higher)! Updated 03/08/03 improved graphics and code Download Tetrasticks Now!
Game: Three Rings Invented by Joe Chang Implemented by Karl Scherer, June 2000 Object: Scramble the balls, then get them back to originial positions. Or: Get the balls into one of the starting positions of the other variants. Click a ball in the top half of a ring to rotate the ring clockwise. Clicking a ball in the lower half of a ring turns the ring anticlockwise. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games under http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Three Rings Now!
Game: Tile Flips Designed (in 1970) and implemented by Robert A. Kraus, March 2001. The board consists of 35 square 4 by 4 grids of red and blue tiles. Clicking on a grid tile causes a change in the grid's pattern. The goal is to eliminate all of the red tiles so that only blue tiles remain. Each grid is played separately. When you have turned all 35 grids blue, you win the game. There are 8 variants. The rules for how the pattern changes when clicking a tile are different for each variant, but are the same for each grid in the same variant. Part of the puzzle is learning these rules. (See strategy.) The grid in the lower right corner has an 'R' and 'C' tile adjacent to it. Click the 'R' tile to produce a new random pattern for that grid (in case you can't get enough of the puzzles!). Click the 'C' tile to clear the grid to all-blue. You can then create your own patterns by using the standard Zillions editing feature (right-click a tile). Updated 12/28/02 corrected for Zillions v2 (still works with v1 too) Download Tile Flips Now!
Game: Towers of Toronto Implemented by K. Franklin, November 2002. Based on the Towers of Hanoi puzzle. The disks' hues are based on this city's traditional sporting colours. Object: Realign the alternating disks into solid colour towers - Dark Blue on the far Left, Light Blue on the far Right. Updated 11/09/02 very minor solution code update Download Towers of Toronto Now!
Game: Traffic Lights Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, March 2001. Object: Make all Traffic Lights show the green light. (1 randomized variant). Click anywhere on the board to allow Zillions to create a random setup. Each Traffic Light will go from green to orange to red when you click it. However, each Traffic Light will also advance certain other Traffic Lights. It may affect every second or every third or every fourth Traffic Light or..., counting clockwise and starting at the clicked Traffic Light. You have to find this out for yourself. How a certain Traffic Light affects the other Traffic Lights changes from game to game. A simplified version of this game is 'Hearts'. Background: Photo from click-art CD collection 'Imagine It'. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Traffic Lights Now!
Game: Train Classical train problem. Implemented by Karl Scherer, February 2002 Object: swap wagons A and B and return the locomotive to original position. (2 variants) The locomotive can push or pull one or both wagons. To push the wagon(s), move the locomotive. To simulate the pulling of the wagon(s) by the locomotive, move a wagon into the direction of the locomotive. Of course this only works when the locomotive is actually next to the wagon(s). The locomotive can push or pull two wagons at the same time, and it can also be middle between them. The wagons cannot go through the narrow part of the track at the right side of the board because they are too wide, but the locomotive can go there. In order to simplify the game, the shunts and bends in the track are not positions for the locomotive and wagons; these positions are skipped when moving the pieces around. You can click the shunts to switch them. You win if you manage to swap the positions of the two wagons and return the locomotive to its original position. In variant 2 the lower shunt is broken and cannot be switched. This makes the problem more difficult. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 01/18/03 graphics of shunts improved Download Train Now!
Game: Train II Classical train problem. Implemented by Karl Scherer, March 2002 Object: swap wagons A and B and return the locomotive to original position. The locomotive can push or pull only one wagon at a time. To push a wagon, move the locomotive. To simulate the pulling of the wagon by the locomotive, move a wagon into the direction of the locomotive. Of course this only works when the locomotive is actually next to the wagon. In order to simplify the game, the shunt is not a position for the locomotive or for a wagon; this position is skipped when moving the pieces around. You can click the shunt to switch it. You win if you manage to swap the positions of the two wagons and return the locomotive to its original position. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 01/18/03 graphics of shunts improved Download Train II Now!
Game: Triki Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, July 2002 Object: Recreate the original position. (2 variants) First click any arrow to randomize the position. Then click two arrows to swap two rows or two files. The first row (or file) of such a swapped pair will end up in reversed order. You win if you can recreate the original position. Variant 2: 4x4 board More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 09/21/02 freeplay variants removed Download Triki Now!
Game: Turing Machine Implemented by Karl Scherer, January 2002 Object: Learn about a Turing Machine. (6 customizable variants) A Turing Machine is the most basic type of a computer. Input and output data are stored on the same linear storage, called a 'tape'. Along the tape a 'read/write head' is moving which reads, the writes one signal at a time. The program consists of a matrix which for each possible data read by the read/write head and for each 'inner state' (column of the matrix) has three data stored: - a new state for the machine - an output signal to write back onto the tape - a direction into which the head has to move next. In principle, any program in the world can be processed this way. Click GO to let the game guide you through the steps of the Turing Machine cycles. Or click run to let the Turing Machine compute nonstop until it has finished the calculation. The default variant has a string of Ones on the tape, and the program matrix is designed so that the Turing Machine converts it into a binary number. The input/output string in this game alows only five different characters to be used in the input string: blank, 0, 1, =, *. However, the real meaning of these signs is up to you. The program itself gives these signs the true meaning. The star, for example, can stand for any mathematical operator. Variant 2: add two binary numbers. Variant 3: subtract two binary numbers. Variant 4: copy a binary number. Variant 5: double a binary number. Variant 6: empty program, for you to encode. All programs and tapes are fully editable by you; just click the entries. Rightclick the matrix state entries (letters) for more information. Hence just by clicking you can reprogram this Turing Machine and make it do what you want. Also vary the input for the given programs and see what happens. The Turing Machine is named after Alan Turing, who was one of the founders of modern computer and information theory and investigated into the possibilities of this machine. In principle the tape has infinite length at least at one end. More characters than 5 allowed for the input would request a larger matrix. The number of states (matrix files) also changes with the program. In 1986 I built a mechanical Turing machine from a metal construction set, plastic pipes, strings, springs, and pieces of wood. Clicking 'GO' in this Zillions game, which leads you through the process in small steps, was thus replaced by pulling 12 strings, one after the other, proving that some old Greek scientist already could have built a computer! This unique piece of craftsmanship is now displayed at the entrance of the Computer and Information Science Department of the University of Heidelberg, Germany. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 03/22/03 improved graphics Download Turing Machine Now!
Game: Turing Machine II Implemented by Karl Scherer, February 2002 Object: Learn about a Turing Machine. (5 fully customizable variants) In the following we assume that you have used the game 'Turing Machine' and are familiar with the terms used. In Turing Machine II you edit each state separately. There are 26 states available, named A, B, C,... Z. State Y is reserved for 'Error', state Z is reserved for 'Finish'. A few recorder-buttons (<<,<,>,>>) help you to edit the states. The 'columns' of the states have been turned sideways for practical reasons. Sixteen input/output characters are available, including the digits 0 to 9. This allows for more complicated programs to be coded and executed. Variant 1: convert to binary. Variant 2: convert binary to base-10. Variant 3: add two binary numbers. Variant 4: divide by three. Variant 5: empty program, for you to encode. For more information on the variants see the game text of the variants. The Turing Machine is named after Alan Turing, who was one of the founders of modern computer and information theory and investigated into the possibilities of this machine. In 1986 I built a mechanical Turing machine from a metal construction set, plastic pipes, strings, springs, and pieces of wood. For more information on this construction see history text of the game 'Turing Machine'. Besides, this game is an example of how to program the editing of a large 3-dimensional matrix in a Zillions game while only displaying one 2-dimensional slice of it at any time. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 03/22/03 improved graphics Download Turing Machine II Now!
Game: Twin Maze Invented (in 1986) and implemented by Karl Scherer, February 2001. Object: Collect all white tokens. (2 randomized variants) Click the board to drop a random set of 40 walls. Then drop the two Twins (orange and black ball). The Orange Twin is the guide and the Black Twin follows. You move the Orange Ball one step into any direction. The Black Ball then follows the Orange Ball like a Siamese twin, always keeping the same distance (the sum of horizontal and vertical distance is always four units). Only the Black Twin can capture the white Tokens, however. You win if you have collected all the white tokens. In the default variant the Black Twin chooses randomly from the moves available. Variant 2 gives the following move-priorities to the Black Twin: North, South, East, West, NorthE, NorthW, SouthE, SouthW. The Monster Maze by Robert A. Kraus reminded me of a mechanical puzzle I invented many years ago. My puzzle had no chasing element, though. The original game consisted of three sandwiched plastic discs. One of the outer discs carried a labyrinth on the inside, the middle disc carried two pins which ran in the grooves of the labyrinth. With this game 'Twin Maze' my plastic puzzle has been finally transformed into a board game. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Twin Maze Now!
Game: Twist Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, June 2001 Object: Re-create the starting position (which shows nine monochrome squares). At first click anywhere on the board to randomize the setup. You can then either click the centre of a square or a circle to rotate the colours in it. The rotation is always clockwise. Variant 2 is played on a torus (imagine the top edge is connected with the bottom edge and the left border with the right one). The buttons at the border and at the corners are now also active. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Twist Now!
Game: Twist II Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, July 2001 Object: Re-create the starting position. (4 variants) At first click at the centre of a circle to randomize the setup. Then click a circle center to rotate the four coloured petals around it. The rotation is always clockwise. Background design: Fractal R000108f by Karl Scherer. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Twist II Now!
Game: UFO-Logic Implemented by László Nagy, July 2003. A UFO can move horizontally or vertically any number of empty squares provided it bumps into another UFO. Goal: all Yellow UFO capture, move all Yellow UFOs into the center position. Download UFO-Logic Now!
Game: Uncover Invented August 1999 and implemented June 2000 by Karl Scherer. Object: Uncover the hidden picture, using as few moves as possible. Select a piece from the border by clicking on it. From the second move onwards, click on the destination square. The pieces can be placed freely, no rules apply. The piece will not be visible as not to obstruct the view. The difference is in the way each piece flips the covers. The flipping power is similar to their attacking power in chess. However, the direction of flipping power changes with each move, rotating 90 degrees clockwise at each turn. For details read the help text for each piece (right mouse click). There are 4 types of wall tiles (the default variant only uses orange tiles): orange tile: alternates between the two states orange/clear when attacked repeatedly. brown tile: alternates between brown/yellow/clear. yellow tile: disappears after being attacked, never comes back. red tile: disappears after being attacked, but only if no tile is left to the North, South, East, and West of it. To speed up the game, you may want to switch the piece animation off (menu VIEW/OPTIONS).") More freeware as well as real puzzles and games under http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. There you also can find out more about the stunning graphics. Download Uncover Now!
