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XPYRAMINX(6)			 Games Manual			  XPYRAMINX(6)

NAME
       xpyraminx - Pyramid X widget

SYNOPSIS
       /usr/games/xpyraminx					    [-geometry
       [{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]]		     [-display
       [{host}]:[{vs}]]	  [-[no]mono]	[-[no]{reverse|rv}]  [-{foreground|fg}
       {color}]	   [-{background|bg}	{color}]    [-{border|bd}     {color}]
       [-face{0|1|2|3}	{color}]  [-{size  {int}  |  sticky}]  [-{mode {int} |
       both}] [-[no]orient] [-[no]practice] [-username {string}]

DESCRIPTION
       The original puzzle has 9 triangles per face (size = 3) and has	period
       3  turning (i.e.	the face or points turn	in 120 degree intervals).  The
       puzzle was designed by Uwe Meffert and called the Pyraminx.   This  has
       2^5*3^8*6!/2 or 75,582,720 different comibinations.

       Another	puzzle	Senior Pyraminx	3x3x3 exists only on paper, it has pe-
       riod 2 turning (i.e.  edges turn	with 180  degree  intervals)  but  the
       corners	would fall off unless it had some tricky mechanism.  (This may
       be the same as the Master Pyraminx which	has  446,965,972,992,000  dif-
       ferent combinations).

       Another	puzzle (which was not widely distributed), the Junior Pyraminx
       (and similarly the Junior Pyraminx Star,	a  octahedron  formed  by  two
       tetrahedra, this	has 7!*3^6 or 3,674,160	different combinations), has 4
       triangles  (size	= 2) per face and at the time I	designed this computer
       puzzle thought that it had only period 2	turning	 (i.e  the  edges  ro-
       tate).  It turns	out the	puzzle has a period 4 turning (edges turn with
       90  degree  intervals)  which  makes  it	analogous to the 2x2x2 Rubik's
       cube.  This puzzle makes	various	non-tetrahedral	 shapes.   The	puzzle
       contained here has no period 4 turning flexability.

       One  is	able to	simulate Halpern's Tetrahedron or Pyraminx Tetrahedron
       (period 3 turning and sticky mode).   Also one is able to simulate  one
       with variant turning (period 2 turning and sticky mode).

FEATURES
       Press "mouse-left" button to move a piece.  Release "mouse-left"	button
       on  a  piece  on	the same face and in the same row (but not an adjacent
       piece or	the move is ambiguous).	 The pieces  will  then	 turn  towards
       where the mouse button was released.

       Click  "mouse-center",  or press	"P" or "p" keys	to toggle the practice
       mode (in	practice mode the record should	 say  "practice").   One  must
       double  click on	"mouse-center" if the puzzle is	being worked on.  This
       is good for learning moves and experimenting.

       Click "mouse-right", or press "R" or "r"	keys to	randomize  (this  must
       be  done	 first to set a	new record).  One must double click on "mouse-
       right" if the puzzle is being worked on.

       Press "I" or "i"	keys to	increase the number of "tetras".

       Press "D" or "d"	keys to	decrease the number of "tetras".

       Press "O" or "o"	keys to	toggle the orient mode.	 One has to orient the
       faces in	orient mode, besides getting all the  faces  to	 be  the  same
       color.	To do this one has to get the lines to be oriented in the same
       direction, this only matters with center	 "tetras",  if	at  all	 (i.e.
       those  "tetras"	not on a corner	or edge).  This	does add complexity so
       there are 2 sets	of records.

       Press "2", "3", "B", or "b" keys	(not the keypad	2, 3) to change	 modes
       to Period 2, Period 3, or Both.

       Press  "Y"  or "y" to toggle sticky mode	(increase/decrease is disabled
       here if sticky mode is on).
       "Sticky"	and "Period 2" turning allows only the edges to	turn, and  the
       2  center  rows	turn together. It is as	if the middle cut of the three
       cuts did	not exist.
       "Sticky"	and "Period 3" turning allows only the faces to	turn, it is as
       if the middle cut of the	three cuts did not exist.
       Beware, the "Sticky" mode is a hack and much could be done  to  improve
       its look.

       "S" or "s" keys reserved	for the	auto-solver (unimplemented).

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

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

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

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

       Use the key pad,	"R" keys, or arrow keys	to move	without	mouse clicks.
       Key pad is defined for Pyraminx as:
	 /     Counterclockwise

	 8 9   Up, Upper Right
	 ^
       4<5>6   Left, Clockwise,	Right
	 v
       1 2     Lower Left, Down

       Use  the	shift keys to access "Period 3"	turns from "Both" mode,	other-
       wise it assumes "Period 2" turning.  Faces and points turn  in  "Period
       3" and edges (2 points) turn in "Period 2".

       Use the control key and the left	mouse button, keypad, or arrow keys to
       move the	whole tetrahedron.  This is not	recorded as a turn.

       The title is in the following format (non-motif version):
	      xpyraminx.{2|3|both<turning  modes>}: {1|2|3|4|5|6|7|sticky<num-
	      ber of "tetras" per edge>} @ (<Number of moves>/{<Record	number
	      of moves>	<username>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) - <Comment>
       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  pyraminx	window
	       (resource name "geometry").

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

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

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

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

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

       -{border|bd} color
	       This  option  specifies	the  border color of the tetras	in the
	       pyraminx	window (resource name "borderColor").

       -face{0|1|2|3} <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 faces are  ordered  top  to
	       bottom  and  left  to  right.  If you has two colors that begin
	       with the	same letter you	should have one	in uppercase  and  one
	       in  lowercase  to distinguish them in mono-mode.	You can	change
	       the colors of the faces to make a  stupid  pyraminx  (i.e.  all
	       White  or  in  mono-mode	 all "W").  Unfortunately, it will not
	       normally	say its	solved when its	 randomized.   This  would  be
	       cheating.

       -size <int>
	       This option allows you to change	the number of tetras on	a edge
	       (resource name "size").

       -sticky This  option  allows  you to set	the sticky mode	(resource name
	       "sticky").

       -mode <int>
	       This option allows you to set the turning mode  (resource  name
	       "mode").

       -both   This option allows you to set the turning mode to both period 2
	       and period 3 (resource name "mode" set at 4).

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

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

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

SAVE FORMAT
       The format is not standard.  The	reason for this	is that	this is	simple
       to  produce and the standard notation is	no good	for variable number of
       "tetras"	and turning modes.

       Pyraminx	with default colors, not randomized:
       0     B	   Blue
	 1     R   Red
       2     Y	   Yellow
	 3     G   Green

	      size: 1-7	<number	of triangles in	the same  orientation  as  the
	      face per row>
	      mode: 2-4	<period	2 turning, period 3 turning, or	both (4)>
	      orient:  0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if	1 then lines on	"tetras" to be
	      oriented>
	      sticky: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if 1 then some "tetras"  move  to-
	      gether>
	      practice:	0-1 <0 false, 1	true>
	      moves: 0-MAXINT <total number of moves>

	      startingPosition:	<2 dimensional array of	face "tetra" position,
	      each face	has size * size	"tetras", if orient mode then orienta-
	      tion number follows face number: 0 up, 1 upper right, 2 right, 3
	      down, 4 lower left, and 5	left>

       This is then followed by	the moves, starting from 1.
	      move #: <face> <position>	<direction> <control>
       Each turn is with respect to a face and position.
       Position	 is 0 to size *	size - 1.  Position 0 is the triangle furthest
       from the	center,	increasing clockwise.
       Direction is represented	0 up, 1	upper right, 2 right, 3	down, 4	 lower
       left, 5 left, 9 clockwise, and 15 counterclockwise.
       Control	is  represented	as 0 or	1, 1 if	the whole tetrahedron is moved
       at once (here position does not	matter),  0  if	 not.	The  xpyraminx
       record keeper does not count a control move as a	move, but here we do.

       Caution:	the program may	crash on corrupted input.

REFERENCES
       Mastering  the  Magic  Pyramid  by Tom Werneck, Evans Brothers Limited,
       London, 1981. pp	109-111.

       Beyond Rubik's Cube: spheres, pyramids,	dodecahedrons  and  God	 knows
       what  else by Douglas R.	Hofstadter, Scientific American, July 1982, pp
       16-31.

       Magic Cubes 1996	Catalog	of Dr. Christoph Bandelow.

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

COPYRIGHTS
       (R) Copyright 1994-99, 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://ftp.x.org/contrib/games

V5.5				 20 June 1999			  XPYRAMINX(6)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=xpyraminx&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+Ports+15.0>

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