xref: /dragonfly/games/bs/bs.6 (revision b7367ef6)
1.\" $FreeBSD: src/games/bs/bs.6,v 1.1.1.1.12.1 2001/07/22 11:32:10 dd Exp $
2.\" $DragonFly: src/games/bs/bs.6,v 1.3 2007/03/11 19:05:31 swildner Exp $
3.Dd August 23, 1989
4.Dt BS 6
5.Os
6.Sh NAME
7.Nm bs
8.Nd battleships game
9.Sh SYNOPSIS
10.Nm
11.Op Fl bsc
12.Sh DESCRIPTION
13This program allows you to play the familiar Battleships game against the
14computer on a 10x10 board.
15The interface is visual and largely self-explanatory;
16you place your ships and pick your shots by moving the
17cursor around the
18.Sq sea
19with the
20.Xr rogue 6 /
21.Xr hack 6
22motion keys
23.Dq hjklyubn .
24.Pp
25Note that when selecting a ship to place, you must type the capital letter
26(these are, after all, capital ships).
27During ship placement, the `r' command may be used to ignore the current
28position and randomly place your currently selected ship.
29The `R' command will place all remaining ships randomly.
30The \&^L command (form feed, ASCII 12) will force a screen redraw).
31.Pp
32The command-line arguments control game modes.
33.Pp
34.Bl -tag -width ".Fl b"
35.It Fl b
36selects a
37.Dq blitz
38variant
39.It Fl s
40selects a
41.Dq salvo
42variant
43.It Fl c
44permits ships to be placed adjacently
45.El
46.Pp
47The
48.Dq blitz
49variant allows a side to shoot for as long as it continues to score hits.
50.Pp
51The
52.Dq salvo
53game allows a player one shot per turn for each of his/her ships still afloat.
54This puts a premium scoring hits early and knocking out some
55ships and also makes much harder the situation where you face a superior force
56with only your PT-boat.
57.Pp
58Normally, ships must be separated by at least one square of open water.
59The
60.Fl c
61option disables this check and allows them to close-pack.
62.Pp
63The algorithm the computer uses once it has found a ship to sink is provably
64optimal.
65The dispersion criterion for the random-fire algorithm may not be.
66.Sh AUTHORS
67.An -nosplit
68Originally written by one
69.An Bruce Holloway
70in 1986.
71Salvo mode added by
72.An Chuck A. DeGaul Aq cbosgd!cad .
73Visual user interface,
74.Sq closepack
75option, code rewrite and manual page by
76.An Eric S. Raymond Aq esr@snark.thyrsus.com
77August 1989.
78