SYNOPSIS

       /usr/games/xmlink                                            [-geometry
       [{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]]                 [-display
       [{host}]:[{vs}]]   [-[no]mono]   [-[no]{reverse|rv}]  [-{foreground|fg}
       {color}]      [-{background|bg}      {color}]      [-tile      {color}]
       [-face{0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7}  {color}] [-{border|bd} {color}] [-[no]install]
       [-picture {filename}] [-delay msecs]  [-[no]sound]  [-bumpSound  {file-
       name}]  [-moveSound  {filename}] [-{font|fn} {fontname}] [-tiles {int}]
       [-faces {int}] [-[no]orient]  [-[no]middle]  [-base  {int}]  [-userName
       {string}] [-scoreFile {filename}] [-scores] [-version]


DESCRIPTION

       Ideal's  The  Missing Link, a 4x4 puzzle, riding on the wave of Rubik's
       Cube craze.  There are many variations on  this  theme,  including  the
       "6x6"  puzzle  and Babylon Tower.  What makes the Missing Link a harder
       puzzle to solve is that the 2 center positions rotate together.


FEATURES

       Press "mouse-left" button to move a tile.  Release "mouse-left"  button
       in  the same row would move the tile towards the space (unless there is
       no space in that row).  Release on a different row will move the  tiles
       up or down.

       Click  "mouse-right", or press "R" or "r" keys to randomize the puzzle.

       Press "O" or "o" keys to toggle the orient mode.  Slightly  more  chal-
       lenging on (default is off).

       Press  "M" or "m" keys to toggle the middle mode.  All the middle tiles
       rotate together.  This is considerably more challenging on (default  is
       on).

       "S"  or "s" keys to start the auto-solver.  Only works on mxn where m =
       4 and n = 4.

       Press "U" or "u" keys to undo a move.

       Press "G" or "g" keys to get a saved puzzle.

       Press "W" or "w" keys to write or save a puzzle.

       Press "C" or "c" keys to clear a puzzle.

       Press ">" or "." keys to speed up the movement of tiles.

       Press "<" or "," keys to slow down the movement of tiles.

       Press "@" key to toggle the sound.

       Press "Esc" key to hide program.

       Press "Q", "q", or "CTRL-C" keys to kill program.

       The title is in the following format (non-motif version):
              xmlink: <row>x<column> {norm|ind<control of movement  of  middle
              tiles>}  @  (<Number  of  moves>/{<Record number of moves> <user
              name>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) - <Comment>
       Movement of middle tiles are either move together or independent.
       If there is no record of the current puzzle, it displays  "NEVER  noac-
       cess".


OPTIONS

       -geometry {+|-}X{+|-}Y
               This  option sets the initial position of the missing link win-
               dow (resource name "geometry").

       -display host:dpy
               This option specifies the X server to contact.

       -[no]mono
               This option allows you to display the missing link window on  a
               color screen as if it were monochrome (resource name "mono").

       -[no]{reverse|rv}
               This  option  allows  you  to  see  the  missing link window in
               reverse video (resource name "reverse").

       -{foreground|fg} color
               This option specifies the foreground of the missing link window
               (resource name "foreground").

       -{background|bg} color
               This option specifies the background of the missing link window
               (resource name "background").

       -tile color
               This option specifies the tile color of the tiles in the  miss-
               ing link window (resource name "tileColor").

       -face{0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7} <color>
               This  option allows you to change the color of a face (resource
               name "faceColorN"). In mono-mode, color is represented  as  the
               first  letter of the color name.  The 0th face is the last face
               face on missing link because I wanted that one to remain  white
               by default when there are more or less faces.

       -{border|bd} color
               This  option  specifies  the  border  color of the tiles in the
               missing link window (resource name "orderColor").

       -[no]install
               This option specifies if the colormap should  be  installed  or
               not (resource name "install").

               This  option  specifies  the  file for the bump sound (resource
               name "bumpSound").

       -moveSound filename
               This option specifies the file for  the  move  sound  (resource
               name "moveSound").

       -{font|fn} ontname
               This option specifies the font that will be used (resource name
               "font").

       -tiles <int>
               This option allows you to change the number of links in  a  row
               (resource name "tiles").

       -faces <int>
               This  option allows you to change the number of faces in column
               (resource name "faces").

       -[no]orient
               This option allows you to access the orient mode (resource name
               "orient").

       -[no]middle
               This option allows you to access the middle mode (resource name
               "middle").

       -base int
               This option specifies  the  base  used  (default  is  base  10)
               (resource name "base").

       -userName string
               This  option  specifies  the  user name for any records made or
               else it will get your login name (resource name "userName").

       -scoreFile filename
               Specify an alternative score file (resource name  "scoreFile").

       -scores This option lists all the recorded scores and then exits.

       -version
               This option tells you what version of xmlink you have.


RECORDS

       You  must  randomize  the  puzzle  before a record is set, otherwise an
       assumption of cheating is made if it is solved after a get.


SAVE FORMAT

       The format is not standard.  The reason for this is that this is simple
       and I do not know what the standard is.

              tiles: 1-8 <number of tiles in a row>

       (here Tile does not matter), 0 if not.  The xmlink record  keeper  does
       not count a control move as a move, but here we do.


REFERENCES

       L.  E.  Horden,  Sliding  Piece  Puzzles  (Recreations  in  Mathematics
       Series), Oxford University Press 1986, Plate X.

       you are about to find the solution: The Missing Link, Ideal Toy  Corpo-
       ration, 1981.

       James  G  Nourse,  The Simple Solutions to Cubic Puzzles, Bantam Books,
       New York, November 1981, pp 16-23.


SEE ALSO

       X(1), xrubik(6), xskewb(6), xdino(6), xpyraminx(6), xoct(6), xmball(6),
       xpanex(6), xcubes(6), xtriangles(6), xhexagons(6), xabacus(6)


COPYRIGHTS

       (R) Copyright 1994-2006, David Albert Bagley


BUG REPORTS AND PROGRAM UPDATES

       Send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author:
              David Albert Bagley, <bagleyd@tux.org>

       The latest version is currently at:
              ftp://ftp.tux.org/pub/tux/bagleyd/xpuzzles
              ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/games/strategy



V7.2                              01 Apr 2006                  MISSING_LINK(6)