.TH MBOGGLE SIPB "1 February 85"
.FM quote "MIT SIPB"
.SH NAME
mboggle \- play boggle with other users
.SH SYNOPSIS
mboggle
.SH DESCRIPTION
\fIMboggle\fR joins (or starts if there is no game in progress) a
super-boggle game like the Parker Bros. game of the same name.  The user
will be asked for his name, which defaults to his username.  Once
started, the game will ask him if he is ready to play when the next
round starts.  \fIy\fR causes him to be included in the round, \fIn\fR
passes, and \fIq\fR exits.
.PP
When the round begins, the player will hear a beep and a timer and a 5 x
5 board will appear.  The object is to form words, at least 4 letters
long, from the grid of letters.  Words are formed by stringing adjacent
letters together without using the same letter twice in the same word
(adjacent means the 8 surrounding letters).
.PP
During play, words are entered simply by typing them in.  Words are
delimited by spaces or newlines. Once entered, they are alphabetized and
displayed immediately below the board.  \fIMboggle\fR will tell you if
the word cannot legally be made within the tray, is too short, or has
been used already.
.PP
Typing ^R will rotate the tray 90 degrees and typing ^F will flip it 180
degrees, to give a different perspective on the board.  Typing ^L will
refresh the screen.
.PP
When time runs out, \fIMboggle\fR will allow you to complete any word
you might have started.  It then starts scoring.  \fIMboggle\fR will
check the players' words against each other's lists.  No points are
scored for a word found by two or more players.  The unique words
are checked for validity using a word table built from a version of
.IR Webster's
dictionary and all the words that
.IR ispell (1)
knows.  Any words not
found are put up to a vote by the remaining players.  If all players
agree it is a word or do not object, points are awarded.  Points are as
follows:
.br
.in +0.5in
.nf
.ne 11
Letters	Points
4		1
5		2
6		3
7		5
8		8
9		13
10		21
11		34
12		55
13		89
.fi
.in
Words that are awarded points are displayed at the bottom
of each player's screen; in addition, the words that earned point for
each particular player are highlighted on his/her screen.
.PP
Voting on a word is not completed until all players agree or abstain.  Y, y,
newline, return or space votes yes; N, n, backspace or delete votes no;
A, a or ?  abstains.  After the scoring is over, \fIMboggle\fR will ask
again if the players are ready for the next round.
.SH STATISTICS
\fIMboggle\fR keeps statistics on each player.  Following is a list of
the meaning of each:
.RS 0.5in
.TP \w'\fIrating:\fR'u+4n
\fItray\fR:
the point total for the current tray.
.TP
\fItotal\fR:
the total points accumulated during this session.
.TP
\fIgames\fR:
the number of games (trays) played.
.TP
\fIavg\fR:
the average score per tray.
.TP
\fIrating\fR:
your rating relative to the other players.  The higher
the number, the better you rank.
.TP
\fIstate\fR:
your current state.  It may be one of the following:
.RS 0.5in
.TP \w'\fIdeciding:\fR'u+4n
\fIinvited:\fR
You have been asked "Ready?" but have not replied
.TP
\fIdone:\fR
you have finished the round and are waiting for the other players to finish.
.TP
\fIplaying:\fR
You are playing.
.TP
\fIvotes yes:\fR
You have voted yes to someone else's word
.TP
\fIvotes no:\fR
You have voted no to someone else's word
.TP
\fIabstains:\fR
You have abstained from voting
.TP
\fIdeciding:\fR
You are deciding how to vote
.TP
\fIready:\fR
You are ready to play and are waiting for the others to decide
to play
.TP
\fIviewing:\fR
You have joined a game in the middle and are viewing the game
in progress
.TP
\fIpassing:\fR
You are sitting out a round
.TP
\fI--------:\fR
You are waiting for the other players to vote on one of your words
.RE
.fi
.RE
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
When things go wrong, the failing program will print a diagnostic
message of the form \fIprogram name: error condition\fR.  
.nf
.SH FILES
/usr/sipb/lib/gameserver/netgames
.fi
.SH SEE ALSO
chat(6)
.SH AUTHOR
Written by Stuart A. Malone.  Lots of fixes by Jonathan I. Kamens.
New word lookup code by Jonathan I. Kamens and Terence M. Donahue.