1.0 About Chiral Chiral is a gem of a game based on the formation of molecules. It is fast paced and can be quite nerve-wracking. The goal of the game is to take atoms that can bond with 1, 2, 3, or 4 other atoms and place them in such a way that they form a molecule where all bonds are satisfied. Chiral ©1997 Scrawl Software. All Rights Reserved. 2.0 How do I play? The Goal of Chiral The point of Chiral is to place atoms on the screen by tapping a location with the pen. An atom will appear on the screen at that point and bond with any other atoms right next to it if both have at least one free bond. You want to place the atoms in such a way that all of their bonds are satisfied. When an atom's bonds are satisfied, the dots in the center of the atom disappear. The Atom Bin The atom bin in the top right of the screen tells you what atoms are next to be placed. New atoms come down the ramp as time passes. Don't let the atom bin fill up or you will lose a schzapp. (A schzapp is a free atom bin fill up.) If you fill the atom bin too many times, you run out of schzapps and lose the game. The Schzapp Box at the top of the screen tells you how many schzapps you currently have. Every third level you get the chance to earn another. Placing and Swapping Atoms You can place an atom on any empty space by simply tapping on that space. If you tap where there is already an atom, the new atom will replace the one you tap, and the old one will be shoved back into the atom bin. But if the old atom is "Heavy" (see "Types of Atoms"), it cannot be swapped, and nothing will happen when you tap it. Completing a Level To finish a level, you need to form complete molecules with at least a certain number of atoms in them. You will be required to form either 2 molecules of at least 6 atoms each, or 3 molecules of at least 10 atoms each. Read the instructions at the beginning of each level to find out what you need. The "To Go" box at the top of the screen tells you how many molecules you still need to finish the level. 3.0 Types of Atoms Normal Atom Normal atoms are, well, normal. They really don't do anything interesting except help you form molecules. If they have completed all their bonds, the atoms are "saturated" and the dots in the center disappear. Radiation Atom Radiation atoms look like scary little radioactive symbols. These atoms will destroy any atoms or molecules they touch. Speed Atoms Speed atoms have a lightning zig-zag on the top. Any speed atoms on the board will increase the speed of the game. As soon as they are removed the speed will decrease again. The more speed atoms you have, the faster the atoms fall into the atom bin. If you get too many, just hope for a radiation to blow them all away. Heavy Atoms Heavy atoms have a grey filled in border. Heavy atoms cannot be exchanged. When you try to tap on them to swap with the next atom in the bin, it just won't work. Multiplier Atoms Multiplier atoms have a X2, X3 or X4 on them, depending on their multiplier factor. Multiplier atoms will multiply the score for that molecule by the multiplier factor. Note: It will multiply the stray atom penalty for that level as well! 4.0 What are these blinking things? When an atom is placed next to more atoms than it can currently bond with, the possible bonds start blinking to let you know you need to choose. You can either tap on the atom(s) you want the new atom to bond with, or you can ignore the whole thing and the game will choose which bonds to use for you. 5.0 How do I get Points? Earning Points There are three ways to earn points: When you complete a molecule, you earn points based on your skill level, number of atoms, level number, and number of bonds. Also, multiplier atoms will multiply your score for that molecule by the multiplier factor. You also receive however many bonus points are left on the timer when you finish a level. Finally, when you finish a level you get a set number of points based on the level number and your skill level. Losing Points You can lose points by having too many stray atoms lying around at the end of a level. Having a few extra atoms is okay, but the penalty increases quickly as the total number of bonds increase and at higher levels. Multiplier atoms will multiply your stray atom penalty, so be careful not to leave any lying around. You will not lose points for a level even if your stray atom penalty is greater than your bonuses. 6.0 What are these lines on my screen? As you get better and get to higher levels, walls start appearing on your screen. Atoms cannot bond through these walls. If you think it's bad now, wait 'til you get to the really high levels! It takes some fancy footwork to form 10 atom molecules on level 23. 7.0 How do I save my game? You can pause Chiral by pushing the pause button at the bottom of the screen. If you want to quit the application, but save your current game, you simply need to pause before you push the close box. The next time you open Chiral, you will have the option to start a new game or resume your old one. However if you push New Game even when you are paused, you will lose your saved game info. 8.0 Why is this so slow? Well, the calculations to figure out if a molecule is satisfied are pretty heinous. It works pretty well on the eMate and 2000, but the older models are still a bit creaky when you get to faster speeds. I am currently working on making some of the calculations native, but we're not there yet. And hey, this is still a beta! I've got to leave stuff for the 1.0! 9.0 About Chiral's Cripple Chiral is (barely) crippled shareware. Unregistered versions of Chiral will insert a new highest score every few games with helpful reminders. If you have suggestions for better reminders, send them to help@scrawlsoft.com. If you intend to use an unregistered version of Chiral in a critical situation, (like trying to impress your significant other in front of all your friends) be warned that you might be usurped. Register so you don't lose face. 10.0 How Do I Register Chiral? To register Chiral by mail, send $10 to: Sarah Buta c/o Scrawl 86 Norfolk St., Apt. 4 Cambridge, MA 02139-2652 Be sure to include the spelling of your name as it appears on your Newton. You will receive a registration string by email. If you do not have email, send a SASE. Alternately, you can use Kagi with Flash Sheridan's Register. 11.0 Register Chiral via WWW Kagi You can Register Chiral directly over the WWW by using Kagi. For more information about Kagi, visit: You can register Chiral directly over the Web at: 12.0 Contact Scrawl You can visit Scrawl at: or send email to: 13.0 Credits So I was playing this really cool game called Chiral on my Mac, when I thought, "Hey! This would be awesome on the Newt." So I contacted Ambrosia, and they said, "Sure, why not?" and this game was born. This is the first published anything written by Sally Buta. She had lots of help from George Madrid and Sanjay Vakil. We (the 3 of us) are Scrawl. Check us out on the Web: 14.0 Ambrosia Thanks a billion to the guys at Ambrosia. They thought of the game in the first place and were extremely helpful. (And besides, Chiral is really awesome in full color and with really cool sounds.) Ambrosia has written many excellent shareware applications for the Macintosh. Ambrosia Software, Inc.