Game: Hearts Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, March 2001. Object: Get all Hearts to show maximum size. (1 randomized variant). Click anywhere on the board to allow Zillions to create a random setup. Each Heart will go from small to medium to large when you click it. However, each Heart will also change certain other Hearts. It may affect every second or every third or every fourth Heart or..., counting clockwise and starting at the clicked Heart. You have to find this out for yourself. How a certain Hearts affects the other Hearts changes from game to game. This game is a simplified version of the game 'Traffic Lights'. 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 Hearts Now!
Game: Hexed Marbles Invented and implemented by L. Lynn Smith, August 2001. The object of Hexed Marbles is to align the various colored marbles upon their appropriate colored spaces. The marbles must slide until they encounter another marble or the edge of the board. This can be done in less than 100 moves. Try to beat each of your previous scores. Download Hexed Marbles Now!
Game: Hippodrome Invented by Andy Lewicki, June 2003. Implemented by Doug Chatham, July 2003. Hit F5 or click on the green light in the toolbar to have the computer randomly place on the board 11 of the 12 non-pawn, non-knight pieces of a standard chess set. Your goal is to move the knights from the bottom row to the top row. You may move any piece on the board according to the rules of standard chess, except there is no capturing, no castling, and no check. The game is on the Chess Variants Pages at http://www.chessvariants.com/solitaire.dir/hippodrome.html. Download Hippodrome Now!
Game: Hiroimono Traditional Japanese puzzle, implemented by Karl Scherer, October 2001 Object: The goal is to pick up all of the Stones on the grid, one at a time. (3 randomized variants, 8 fixed setups). You can start with any Stone, but the next one you pick up must be to the north, east, south or west of the first, and only being separated by empty squares from the first. Finally, no U-turns are allowed. Hence you either go on forward, left or right. You win if you have picked up all the Stones. Variant 1 : Click the board for a random setup of (up to) 20 Stones. Variant 2 : Click the board for a random setup of (up to) 15 Stones. Variant 3 : Click the board for a random setup of (up to) 10 Stones. Variants 4,...,11 : Fixed setups of increasing difficulty. Please note that ALL given setups are solvable, even the randomized ones! Hiroimono is a kind of Japanese puzzle that has been around for more than 500 years. The name means 'things picked up'. Letter-setups for variants 4 to 11 by Scott Kim. Background design: 'Click-Art' by Broderbund. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Hiroimono Now!
Game: Hop Solo Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, September 2000 Object: Visit every square once. First you click a place to drop your piece. Each colour of the tiles represents a certain distance you can hop. The colour code may change from variant to variant. You cannot move to a place that has been stepped on before. A bubble will pop up to indicate this fact. You win if you have stepped onto each square once. In the default variant you play with a Queen (diagonal hops allowed). In some variants you play with a Rook (only orthogonal hops). All variants are solvable! More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my home page: karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Hop Solo Now!
Game: Hop Solo Random Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, September 2000 Object: Visit every square once. Click anywhere on the board to start the game. This will automatically create a randomized starting position. Now click a square to drop your piece. Each tile carries a color and a number which represent a certain distance you can hop. You cannot move to a place that has been stepped on before. A bubble will pop up to indicate this fact. You win if you have stepped onto each square once. This game contains 18 randomized variants. In the default variant you play with a Queen (diagonal hops allowed). In some variants you play with a Rook (only orthogonal hops). More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my home page: karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Hop Solo Random Now!
Game: Hop Solo II Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, January 2002 Object: Visit every square once. (18 randomized variants). Click anywhere on the board to start the game. This will automatically create a randomized starting position. Now click a square to drop your Queen (or Rook in some variants). Each tile carries a color and a number which represent a certain distance you can hop. You cannot move to a place that has been stepped on before. A bubble will pop up to indicate this fact. You win if you have stepped onto each square once. The game is made more complicated than the games 'Hop Solo' and 'Hop Solo Random' by the fact that the numbers on the board cycle with every step you take. So on a board which starts off with squares numbered 1 and 2, on each step a '1' will turn into a '2' and vice versa. In the default variant you play with a Queen (diagonal hops allowed). In some variants you play with a Rook (only orthogonal hops). More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Hop Solo II Now!
Game: In_Chess Implemented by Ken Franklin, May 2002 based upon Zillions Development's own Chess.zrf v1.2 In_Chess is a collection of Endgame Chess Problems (includes a template file for future additions). The Chess Problems included in these 3 files come from two sources. In each file, 25 problems exist as variants; the first 20 are from 'The Chess Problem', the final 5 are from 'Canadian Chess Problems'. Further information is presented in a separate *txt file, 'Sources.txt'. Two distinct schemes are provided: the standard Zillions set and the Black & White layout commonly used in publications. A template is provided for personal use. If anyone would like to also submit their own volume of chess problems, separate *.zrf file(s) can be inserted into the In_Chess collection. To be included, please document your chess problems and their sources as already shown with the original volume one (_v1) files. Unusual challenges featuring special chess pieces, rules, or board layouts will require extra care. Please send any completed *.zrf files, etc. directly to my personal e-mail address. My intention is to reasonably co-ordinate the public updates of the In_Chess submission (ie; quarterly or semi-annually). Due to active copyright issues, etc., some of the .zrf files might be turned down - the final acceptance will rest with the Zillions team. Download In_Chess Now!
Game: IQ Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, March 2003 Object: Find three objects that belong together. Click the board or the START button to allow Zillions to drop nine objects which are framed letters. The objects differ by the letter used, by colour, by orientation and/or by frame colour. There are three instances of each of these four properties (three letters, three frames,..). Click three frames which have at least three of the four characterisics in common or have all of them different, e.g. all the same colour, same frame, but all different letters. Every time you select a correct triple of objects, your score goes up by one point. If you get all four characteristics right, you earn 10 points; e.g. if the objects have the same letter, same colour, same frame, but all different orientations. The number of your moves is also counted, shown on the top right of the board. If you cannot find any matching objects, you may click the 'NEXT' button for a new random set of nine letters. You lose if you select an incorrect triple. Several goals can be set for this game: - achieve the maximum points before you choose a wrong triple and lose. - achieve the highest amount of points during, say, 100 rounds (if you don't lose earlier). - try to make, say, 100 points in as few rounds as possible. The game 'IQ' is similar to some intelligence tests, hence the name. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Please note: IQ requires Zillions of Games version 2.0 (or higher)! Updated 04/05/03 Now requires Zillions v2; minor code correction Download IQ Now!
Game: IQ Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, March 2003 Object: Find three objects that belong together. Click the board or the START button to allow Zillions to drop nine objects which are framed letters. The objects differ by the letter used, by colour, by orientation and/or by frame colour. There are three instances of each of these four properties (three letters, three frames,..). Click three frames which have at least three of the four characterisics in common or have all of them different, e.g. all the same colour, same frame, but all different letters. Every time you select a correct triple of objects, your score goes up by one point. If you get all four characteristics right, you earn 10 points; e.g. if the objects have the same letter, same colour, same frame, but all different orientations. The number of your moves is also counted, shown on the top right of the board. If you cannot find any matching objects, you may click the 'NEXT' button for a new random set of nine letters. You lose if you select an incorrect triple. Several goals can be set for this game: - achieve the maximum points before you choose a wrong triple and lose. - achieve the highest amount of points during, say, 100 rounds (if you don't lose earlier). - try to make, say, 100 points in as few rounds as possible. The game 'IQ' is similar to some intelligence tests, hence the name. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Please note: IQ requires Zillions of Games version 2.0 (or higher)! Updated 04/05/03 Now requires Zillions v2; minor code correction Download IQ Now!
Game: Itchi Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, July 2002 Object: Recreate the original position. (4 variants) The board setup shows squares of three colours on a 5x5 board. Around the center square there are two coloured rings. All squares in these rings move one step at a time. To achieve this, you can either move one square in these rings or click one of the round arrows at the bottom. Also, the middle row and column of squares can be shifted. To start playing, click the board to randomize the position. You win if you can recreate the original position. Variants : more complicated setups (and more difficult to solve). Please note that there is one alternative piece set. The word 'Itchi' is the Japanese word for 'one'. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Itchi Now!
Game: Itchi II Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, July 2002 Object: Recreate the original position. (3 variants) To start playing, click the board to randomize the position. Around the center there are two coloured rings. All positions in these rings move one step at a time. To achieve this, you click one of the round arrows at the bottom. Also, the middle row and column of squares can be shifted. You win if you can recreate the original position. Variants : more complicated setups (and more difficult to solve). More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Itchi II Now!
Game: Jenazon Schedules Created by Ingo Althofer, July 2003. The Jenazon Cup is a worldwide annual tournament for the game Amazons. The Cup is played via Internet. Arbitrary mixed teams with humans and computers are allowed to participate. In 2002 the Jenazon Cup 2002 was a round-robbin tournament with six teams and one round per week. Altogether we had nine weeks available. To make the schedule most comfortable for the participants a flexible approach was tested: Before the start each team was allowed to nominate three weeks in which the team was not willing to play. The hope was that nevertheless a complete time table would be realizable. Indeed, things went well. The 2002 schedule was made by hand, and only recently the idea rose to design a Zillions scheduler for the task. In this Zillions realisation there are three actors: (i) The ''User'' enters all the time-out wishes. (ii) The ''Scheduler'' makes the schedule. (iii) The ''Controller'' controls if the schedule is ok. The standard setting is that the Zillions engine has the role of Scheduler and Controller. However, Zillions is not a perfect Scheduler. So it makes sense to try interactive approaches. For instance, the human may create a partial starting schedule and let Zillions complete it. There have been Jenazon Cups in 2001 and 2002. The event for 2003 will start in September. A Call for Participation may be found via the website http://www.minet.uni-jena.de/jenazon. Any teams from all over the world are welcome. Deadline for applications is August 31, 2003. Download Jenazon Schedules Now!
Game: Jugs Implemented by Karl Scherer, October 2000. Object: Create all sorts of quantities by filling and emptying jugs. (7 variants) This is an educational game which also includes a few puzzles. The large numbers represent the sizes of the jugs in liters. Click the numbers to change the size of the jugs. After the first pouring of water the sizes cannot be changed anymore. Click one if the top drops to fill a jug with water. Click one if the bottom drop to dump the content of a jug into the drainage. To pour water from one jug into another, click the top of the water level in one jug and move it across to another jug. The second jug will always get filled to the rim. This makes it a bit tricky to create certain amounts of water. Variant 2 is an example of a puzzle which has been created with this Jugs Game: Get one liter or four liters of water by using only the 3-liter jug and the 5-liter jug. The other variants contain similar puzzles. Note that this game that not notify you of a win. 'Jugs' is my 50th game that I have implemented and published in Zillions. I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge what a great product the Zillions development team has produced and to thank them for their continuing support (especially Jeff Mallet)! Without Zillions a lot of my ideas for board games and puzzles would have gone on collecting dust in my drawers and files... More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 01/13/01 Added win notifications for variant 4 to 7. Download Jugs Now!
Game: Jugs II Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, October 2000. Object: Create all sorts of quantities by filling and emptying jugs. (29 variants) This version of the Jugs game has leaking jugs. After a certain number of pourings of water (which depends on the variant), each jug will leak one liter of water. Two variants (including the default variant) allow you to freely play with the jug sizes. 27 variants contain puzzles; they have fixed jug sizes. The controls are the same as in the original Jugs game: The large numbers represent the sizes of the jugs in liters. Click the numbers to change the size of the jugs. After the first pouring of water the sizes cannot be changed anymore. Click one of the top drops to fill a jug with water. Click one of the bottom drops to dump the content of a jug into the drainage. To pour water from one jug into another, click the top of the water level in one jug and move it across to another jug. The second jug will always get filled to the rim. Note that this game does not notify you of a win. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Updated 01/13/01 Improved speed. Download Jugs II Now!
Game: Jump & Flip Designed (in 1970) and implemented by Robert A. Kraus, March 2001. A Disk can only be moved by jumping over an adjacent disk, or an in-line sequence of disks, to the first vacant square beyond them. All jumped-over disks then flip to the opposite color (black or white). Both black and white disks may be moved or jumped. Jumps may be made in any orthogonal or diagonal direction. The object is to change all disks to black. There are a number of different puzzles (variants). These are fairly easy puzzles, so the challenge is to complete them in as few moves as possible. The fewest known moves are listed in the strategy section. These were all hand-solved by the designer, not a computer, so it may be possible to beat them! Download Jump & Flip Now!
Game: Karl's Cubes Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, September 2001 Object: Recreate the original setup of the 3x3x3 cube (4x4x4 cube). (4 variants) Click anywhere on the board to allow Zillions to randomize the cube. Then click any of the nine arrows to rotate a slice of the cube. You win if you manage to recreate the original setup. Variants 2 uses a 4x4x4 cube. Variants 3 and 4 ('Freeplay') allow you to exercise your moves using the original cube setups. Notice the various similarities and differences to Rubic's 3x3x3 and 4x4x4 Cubes. More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Karl's Cubes Now!
Game: Knight's Tour Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, November 2001 Go to all squares with the knight. The disks mark the squares where you was not. The Knight's Tour puzzle very old. Solutions dating back to at least 850 A. D. Interest in Knight's Tours was revived in the 1700's by mathematicians including de Moivre and Euler, and the problem has continued to maintain the interest of puzzlers and recreational mathematicians, who have discovered many interesting properties of tours on boards of various sizes. Download Knight's Tour Now!
Game: Knots Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, May 2003. Object: re-create the given knots. (17 variants) You start with a small rubber ring (string, rope) on the left side of the board. By manipulating (e.g., pushing and pulling) it like a piece of elastic, you have to turn it into the knot given on the right board. There are many ways to manipulate the rubber band. Part of the game is to find out what these are. These manipulations all simulate the natural behaviour of a closed string; e.g., you cannot break it by moving it around, only lengthen, shorten and shape it. Most manipulations are more or less straight forward. No help texts are given; explore! We will only describe the least obvious manipulation here: When a top-layer part A of the string crosses a straight piece B of string twice (twice on top or twice on the bottom), you can move one of the two intersections P and Q onto the other (where P, A, Q, B are ordered clockwise). This will cause parts A and B to swap layers at those intersections: If A was on top of B before, it will run underneath it afterwards and vice versa. Both manipulations are only admissible when all crossings that lie between P and Q are ones which run UNDERNEATH line B). Two similar manipulations are available if part A lies at the lowest level. You win when the knots on both boards have the same shape and position. This game is very well suited to just play around with strings and to explore. (The topic of knots and their classificaton is quite an interesting one, both in sailing and in mathematics). Please note that there are SEVEN alternative piece sets available, with very different graphic effects. Try them out! Variants 1-13: 'Unknotted knots' - knots that can be shaped from a simple O-ring. Variants 14-16: 'Knotted knots' - knots that cannot be shaped from a simple O-ring. Note: The knots in variants 9-11, which usually have loose ends, have their ends connected in this game. The knots in variants 12 to 15 are some examples o knots I designed for wire-and-string puzzles; see my web page. Variant 17: Freeplay on large board (sometimes creates a problem with 'too many moves generated'). This game works best with SMART MOVES turned OFF! To my knowledge, this game is the first string-manipulation program ever written. Please email me if there are similar string-manipulation programs and I will include references in a future version (note that graphic-design programs can NOT manipulate strings). More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Please note: Knots requires Zillions of Games version 2.0 (or higher)! Updated 08/30/03 minor error corrected Download Knots Now!
Game: Knots II Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, May 2003. Object: re-create the given knots with loose ends, play with knots. (26 variants) Knots II allows you to play with one rope or several ropes use ropes which have two loose ends or ropes with ends joined mix types (have one closed string and a second string with loose ends). join any two loose ends at any time. cut the rope (variant 'Freeplay 3' only, more details below!) learn about the background and usage of classic knots. (see menu item help/game description in variants with knots which have names). Unlike in game 'Knots', the game Knots II has been designed for a thick ROPE rather than a thin string. This allows the knots to look more realistic because there is no gap between adjacent parallel rope parts. On the other hand, to keep the rope bends fully visible, no 'double bends' exist in this game. Each tile shows either a straight or a bend, never two bends. There are many ways to manipulate the elastic rope. Part of the game is to find out what these are. These manipulations all simulate the natural behaviour of a real rope; e.g., you cannot break it by moving it around, only lengthen, shorten and shape it. Most manipulations are more or less straight forward. No help texts are given; explore! We will only describe the least obvious manipulations here: When a top-layer part A of the string crosses a straight piece B of string twice (twice on top or twice on the bottom), you can move one of the two intersections P and Q onto the other (where P, A, Q, B are ordered clockwise). This will cause parts A and B to swap layers at those intersections: If A was on top of B before, it will run underneath it afterwards and vice versa. Both manipulations are only admissible when all crossings that lie between P and Q are ones which run UNDERNEATH line B). Two similar manipulations are available if part A lies at the lowest level. To pass a loose rope end underneath an orthogonal line, move the end onto the line. The end will automatically be lengthened towards the next free position. If you overshot or if there are several lines crossing, and you want to pass under all of them, you can move the loose end back to the intersection which you want to pass under. You win when the knots on both boards have the same shape and position. This game is very well suited to just play around with strings and to explore. (The topic of knots and their classificaton is quite an interesting one, both in sailing and in mathematics). Please note that there are SEVEN alternative piece sets available, with very different graphic effects. Try them out! The variants are lumped into four groups: 'Open Knots' - knots containing at least one string with loose ends 'Unknotted Loops' - knots which can be shaped from a simple O-ring. 'Knotted Loops' - knots made from a closed string which cannot be turned into a simple O-ring. 'Multiple Loops' - knots made from multiple loops 'Freeplay' - Use a larger board; here you do not have to solve a puzzle, just play freely with the rope. The freeplay variants sometimes cause a 'too many moves generated' message. In these cases try to keep your string in a smaller area at first. Variant 'Freeplay 1': one piece of string given. Variant 'Freeplay 2': two pieces of string given. Variant 'Freeplay 3 (easy)': This is the most luxurious variant of Knots II. It is designed to create and manipulate knots very fast. Some features available in this variant are withheld from all other variants to make the puzzles more challenging. Extra features in Freeplay 3: You can cut the string into any number of pieces (move straight onto adjacent straight). You can turn upside a (top-layer or bottom-layer) self-intersecting string part simply by clicking the intersection. This game works best with SMART MOVES turned OFF! Associated literature: 'Knots' by Kenneth S. Burton jr. 'Knots' by Peter Owen 'Knots and Ropework' by Eric C. Fry 'Mathematics, Magic and Mystery' by Martin Gardner More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Please note: Knots II requires Zillions of Games version 2.0 (or higher)! Updated 07/26/03 more manipulations added; 1 variant added Download Knots II Now!
