Mike's Cinco Program

How to play Penté with Mike's Cinco Program

Playing Grid and Pieces

The playing grid has 361 points in a 19 * 19 array.  Pieces are placed on the intersections of the lines.  They also may be placed on the edges and on the corners of the playing area.  Pieces may not be placed on positions already occupied.
 

Placing New Pieces

The player places pieces by dragging them from a dummy piece to the position desired on the playing grid.  The dummy pieces are positioned to the left and right of the playing grid.  The player's dummy piece is on the left just below the word Player.   The computer's piece is on the right just below the word Computer.  Placing Computer's piece may be used to set up hypothetical games or to correct mistakes.

Deleting Pieces

Pieces already on the playing grid may be deleted by simply clicking on them.

Captured Pairs

When pieces are captured, they are placed next to the playing grid on the side making the capture.
 

Deleting Captured Pairs

You may undo captures by clicking on any of the captured pieces.  Each time this is done, one pair of captures is removed.
 

Cinco Menus

Cinco contains 5 menu headings.  When the computer is processing a move only the apple menu will remain active.  All other menus are disabled.

1)  Apple menu - same usage as with all MAC applications.

2)  File menu - used to start a new game or quit the program.  The File menu contains 2 items:

New - The New menu item starts a new game.  The current board will be erased.   If the computer is to move first, it will automatically move to the center.  If the human moves first, he should place his move on the center square.
Quit - The Quit menu item will terminate the Cinco program.
 

3)  Skill menu - used to set the skill level.  The Skill menu contains 8 items:

Skill - The Skill menu items allow you to select one of eight levels of difficulty.  You may change this selection during a game, except while the computer is processing a move.  When playing higher skill levels and when running on slower machines, the move may take several minutes or more to compute.   You may abort a move by typing Command-Period.
 

4)  Controls menu - Use this menu to suspend play and to set the first player of the game.  The Controls menu contains 2 items:

Suspend/Resume - The Suspend/Resume menu item prevents or allows the computer to respond to moves.  When play is suspended the computer will NOT respond to moves or automatically take captures when a piece is placed.
Computer/Player Moves First - Use this menu item to select whether you or the computer moves first.
 

5)  Special menu - Use this menu to force the computer to make a move  or switch places with the computer.  The Special menu contains 2 items:

Force Computer Move - Use this menu item to force the computer to make a move.
Switch Sides - Use this menu item to change places with the computer.
 
 
 


 
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