This is the information page for my implementation of a puzzle game
that goes by many names (I call it PaintByNumbers) and is very popular
in Japan. I am implementing this game for the PocketPC platform
(eg: iPAQ3650, HP548, E125).
In this puzzle, you are shown a grid along with numbers for each row
and column. From this, you can logically determine which grid cells
need to be colored and which need to be blank. In the end, you get
a picture. There is a
great
explanation of the game here.
You can see a small example as it would be seen within my program
worked through almost completely. This is
the puzzle that loads by default when you install this program.
Four other puzzles are also installed (see belowe for details).
Note: This page has images and can take a little while to load.
In the current version of the program, all grids are 15x15 and will
solve to a black and white image. Each cell in the grid has three
possible states:
unknown(gray), colored(black), blank(white).
The puzzle will start with all cells grayed out indicating they are all
unknown. Single-tapping on a cell will advance the state of that cell
(gray --> black --> white --> gray).
Under the Game menu you can select to Check to see if
you have the correct solution, have the program Solve the puzzle
for you or Reset the puzzle to its all-unknown state.
The game state will be saved if you leave it at any time.
There are currently no directions available within the program.
The current version can be
downloaded here. Extract the contents to a new directory
and run the setup.exe file. The program will be installed on your
PocketPC the next time you sync it. Shortcuts to the application
will be added to the Start Menu and Programs directory.
Five puzzles are included with the program. To access
them, simply go to the File menu and select Open and
then choose one from the list. The ones I create will be in the
form Cxx_Pyy where xx is the
collection number and yy is the puzzle number within
that collection. The puzzle that is loaded when you first install
the program is C01_P01.
I have several additional parts to this program on which I am currently
working, so this is not a final release. These include:
More PuzzlePacks
A desktop program with which you can create puzzles
Advanced user features that will allow you to paint ranges
with a single color quickly
Beginner user features that will allow you to measure your
progress towards the final solution.
This program is currently postcard-ware which means that if you
download and use my program, I'd appreciate it if you sent me a
postcard from where you live.
My mailing address is:
Evan Golub
Department of Computer Science
A.V. Williams Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
United States of America
Please do not distribute copies of the software yourself. If you
would like to share it with others, direct them to this site so
that they can read this information and download their own copy.