Tangram Game Instructions
The Tangram game has two screens: the menu and the actual game screen.
To run the game, simply run "Tangram.exe" from its directory.
If you want to start with a specific puzzle from the "puzzles" directory, provide the filename (NOT including path) as a command line parameter. For instance, to start with "puzzles/hat.xml", run "Tangram.exe hat.xml".
The game will start in full screen mode, and not in a window.
NOTE: throughout this document, "click" will always refer to left-clicking, unless specifically stated otherwise.
The menu
The game menu
In the menu you can browse all available puzzles, choose difficulty, choose one to play, or quit the game.
When Tangram loads, it scans the subdirectory "puzzles" for all available puzzles and makes a list (see Configuration Guide).
To operate the menu, simply use the mouse or the keyboard.
Choosing a puzzle
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next puzzle (left arrow on keyboard) |
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previous puzzle (right arrow on keyboard) |
To choose a puzzle click the picture of the puzzle or enter on the keyboard.
Choosing difficulty
Tangram offers three levels of difficulty:
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In the easy level, a large silhouette of the target solution is displayed on the game board, as well as a smaller one over the puzzle image in the corner of the screen. |
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In the medium level, only the small silhouette is displayed. |
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In the hard level, no solution silhouette is displayed. You will have to click the hint button to get a solution silhouette. |
To cycle between the levels of difficulty simply click on the button.
Quitting the game
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To quit the game simply click on the exit button from the menu or ESC on the keyboard. |
The Game
The game screen
After choosing a puzzle, the game starts in the startup position (defined in data/start.xml). You can now play the game, and try to solve the puzzle.
Working with game blocks
Blocks can be selected, and then moved, rotated, or flipped.
A selected block is white, while all others are green. All actions are performed on the selected block.
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To choose a block, simply move the cursor over an unselected block. The cursor will change to the red choose cursor. Then click. The block will change color to white (while the previously selected block will turn green). The cursor will change to the move cursor. | |
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To move a block, simply place the mouse cursor over a selected block. The cursor will change to the blue move cursor. Then simply click and drag the block to the desired position. You cannot move blocks outside the game board. | |
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To rotate the selected block, place the mouse cursor on the game board but not on any block. The cursor will change to the purple rotate cursor. Now click and drag, rotating the cursor around the center of the block. The block will rotate along with the cursor. | |
| To flip the selected block over - simply double click it. | ||
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The yellow null cursor appears when the mouse cursor is placed where no action can be performed with it, such as outside the game board and not on any of the sidebar buttons. | |
Snapping
To make it easier to place blocks in the correct position, Tangram features snapping of blocks to each other while moving them. However, if you want to move a block freely, simply hold the keyboard CTRL key while moving the block.
Intersecting blocks
You can place blocks so that they intersect (overlap) one another. In that case, the intersecting blocks will become transparent blue (the selected block is transparent white) so you can know which blocks to move. The puzzle cannot be solved as long as there are intersecting blocks.
Intersecting blocks
Rotating the view
The viewing angle over the game board can be rotated. Simply RIGHT click and drag to rotate the view.
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To reset the view to the overhead position, either click on the reset view button or press the spacebar on the keyboard. |
Game screen (rotated)
The sidebar
The game screen features a sidebar on the left of the game board area.
The sidebar has a small image on the top, and four buttons below it. When the mouse cursor hovers over one of the buttons it will change into the choose cursor, to let you know that you are over a button.
The image is the image of the current puzzle. In the medium and easy levels, it also features a small black silhouette of the puzzle solution.
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Click on this button to receive a hint for the current puzzle featuring a a large solution silhouette and a large puzzle image. |
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Click this button to reset the puzzle to the starting position. |
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Click this button or press the spacebar key on the keyboard to reset the viewing angle. |
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Click on this button or press ESC to return to the menu. |
The "Hint" window.
Solving the puzzle
When you have solved the puzzle, all blocks will become yellow. You can keep playing the same puzzle, or you can choose a different one. Note that Tangram also accepts rotated versions of the solution (unless configured not to do so!):
Solved puzzle (rotated)