NingPo MahJong(TM) Deluxe Readme

NINGPO MAHJONG™ DELUXE Version 1.04 July 25, 2002 Published by PopCap Games, Inc. www.popcap.com Thanks for downloading NingPo MahJong Deluxe. We hope you enjoy the game!

TABLE OF CONTENTS System Requirements Troubleshooting / Compatibility Technical Support Registration Benefits of Registering How to Register Buy a Registration Code Online Enter Your Registration Code Problems? Getting Started Goal Customizing Your Game Game Controls Options Music and Sound Effects Fullscreen Automatic Hints Best Times Scoring Version History Credits License Agreement With Warranty Legal Information
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS [back to top] *OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista Processor: 350MHz (minimum); 700+GHz (recommended) Memory (RAM): 128MB (minimum); 256+MB (recommended) Free Hard Drive Space: 50+MB DirectX Version: 7 (minimum); 9.0c+ (recommended) Sound: DirectX-compatible Video: DirectX-compatible; 16MB (minimum), 32+MB (recommended) Color Quality: 16-bit or 32-bit color mode (256 colors may not work) Controls: Keyboard and mouse Internet:** Internet connection is required to register/unlock game trials — including those delivered via CD-ROM *You must be an administrator to install this game. If you are using Windows Vista, please ensure that User Account Control (UAC) is activated.

TROUBLESHOOTING / COMPATIBILITY [back to top] For updates to this list go to www.popcap.com/help. Bug Reporting Though we've tried our best to squash all the bugs, every once in a while something we didn't expect pops up... If you should come across a bug in NingPo MahJong Deluxe, please report it. If for some reason the program crashes, it will try to capture any pertinent data and give you instructions on how to send that data to PopCap. This is very helpful for tracking down problems!

TECHNICAL SUPPORT [back to top] If you are experiencing problems with NingPo MahJong Deluxe, you can contact us at: www.popcap.com/help. If you can, including the following information along with a description of your problem will help us to help you! Title of game Computer manufacturer Operating System (Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.) CPU type and speed in MHz Amount of RAM Sound card Video card
REGISTRATION [back to top] If you enjoy playing the Trial version of NingPo MahJong Deluxe, sooner or later you'll need to register! Benefits of Registering When you register, it removes all the annoying nag screens and loading delays from the program, and enables various other features: All the layouts are enabled All the tile sets is enabled How to Register To unlock the game, you need to buy a registration code online, and then enter it into NingPo MahJong Deluxe. Buy a Registration Code Online If you're playing NingPo MahJong Deluxe, click on the OPTIONS button on the sidebar and then click REGISTER. A dialog will come up onscreen. Click the REGISTER ONLINE link to launch your web browser. You'll need to have an active internet connection! You can also register via the web. Go to: http://www.popcap.com/register.php?theGame=ningpo. Once you're there, follow the directions on the web site to purchase your registration code. When complete, you will be given a registration code (a 20-character sequence of letters and numbers) keyed to your name. Don't give this to anyone else! You will also receive a copy sent to your email address. You should write down your registration code in case you ever have a computer crash or need to reinstall NingPo MahJong for some other reason. Enter Your Registration Code You must launch NingPo MahJong Deluxe to enter your registration code. Once the game comes up, click on the REGISTER link on the loading screen, or from the OPTIONS menu. A dialog will come up with space for you to enter your name and registration code. Type these in carefully! If you make a mistake, your code may not be recognized. The easiest way to do this is to cut and paste the code from the email you were sent, by highlighting the 20-digit number with your mouse, pressing ctrl-c to copy the text, and then pressing ctrl-v to paste it into the registration dialog in NingPo MahJong Deluxe. Be sure to use the same name you gave when you bought your registration code online, or your registration may not be recognized. Once you've entered your name and registration code, click OK and your copy of NingPo MahJong Deluxe should now be registered. You will have full access to all the game's features, with no delay at the loading screen! Problems? If the program doesn't seem to recognize your registration code, check carefully that you've typed it in correctly. Using the cut-and-paste method described above can help prevent mistakes. Also make sure you're using the same name you used to register with. If you can't get to the online registration site to buy your registration code, make sure your internet connection is working properly. You must be connected to the internet. If it still doesn't work, check back in a little while to see if there was a temporary problem with our servers. Hopefully this will answer all your questions, but if you're still having difficulties, feel free to contact us at www.popcap.com/help. Include as much information as you can about the problem you're having, and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can!

GETTING STARTED [back to top] Goal The goal of NingPo MahJong is to remove all the tiles from the board by finding matching pairs of 'free tiles'. A tile is considered free when there is no tile on top of it and if either the left or right edge is unobstructed. Two tiles match if they are of the same suit and value. The honor tiles do not have a value, but can be matched with any other tile of the same type. The game is over when all tiles are removed or there are no more matching free tiles. NOTE: A free tile is outlined by a green box when the cursor is over it. A blocked tile is outlined by a red box. Customizing Your Game After the game loads, you will see a screen that allows you to pick your layout, tile set and background. You can browse through the available selections by clicking on the yellow arrow buttons. Click 'START' to begin the game. NOTE: Many tile sets and layouts are only available in the registered version of NingPo MahJong. Game Controls The following controls are available on the left-hand side during game play. NEW GAME This allows you to begin a new game at any time. Beginning a new game will end the game you are currently playing. REGISTER This button is only displayed in the Trial Version. When you have registered your game, this button will no longer appear. See Section 6.0 REGISTRATION for more details. OPTIONS Clicking this button brings up the Options Dialog. Your game will be paused while the Options Dialog is on screen and your score will not be affected. RULES This displays brief information on how to play the NingPo MahJong. HINT/FIND MATCH This button will help you find a match when you are stuck. If no tiles are selected, the Hint button will appear. If a tile is selected, then the Find Match button will appear. Clicking Hint will briefly highlight one available pair of matching tiles. Clicking Find Match will highlight all tiles that can be matched with the currently selected tile, whether they are free or not. You can also press the H key on your keyboard to use this feature. NOTE: there is a 30 second time penalty added to your score each time you use the Hint or Find Match features, so use them carefully! SHOW MOVES Clicking Show Moves will highlight all the available free tiles, and can help you identify a match when you are stuck. They will remain highlighted for as long as you keep the Show Moves button depressed. You can also press the Space bar on your keyboard to use this feature. NOTE: there is no time penalty for using this feature. PAUSE This pauses your current game. UNDO This will undo your last move. You may undo as many matches as you like, but there is a 60 second penalty for using this feature. You can also press the U key on your keyboard to use this feature. SHUFFLE This feature will shuffle all the remaining tiles. This is handy if you have few or no more matches available. You may also press the S key on your keyboard to use this feature. NOTE: there is a 120 second time penalty for using this feature, so only use it as a last resort! EXIT This will end your current game and close NingPo MahJong. SCORE This displays the time taken to play, plus any penalties added for using the Hint, Undo or Shuffle features. AVAILABLE This shows how many matches are currently available. TILES LEFT This shows how many tiles are remaining in the current game.
Options [back to top] You can change game settings by clicking the OPTIONS button on the sidebar. Music and Sound Effects The two sliders at the top of the Options dialog control the volume of the sound effects and music. You can adjust them separately. If you want to turn the music or sound off completely, just drag the slider all the way to the left. Fullscreen The Fullscreen option is enabled by checking the box next to it. This will cause NingPo MahJong to take up the whole screen. Some players may prefer this, while others may like it better in a window, where they can easily switch to other applications. To change back to windowed mode, just uncheck the Fullscreen box. Automatic Hints When enabled, this feature will automatically highlight one pair of matching tiles if a match has not been found for the last 45 seconds. This feature is enabled by default, to turn it off just uncheck the Automatic Hints box. Best Times Clicking this button will show you the top 8 times for each of the different layouts. The Score column represents the time taken to finish playing the layout plus any time penalties accrued due to the use of hints, shuffle, etc. The Time column shows the actual time taken to play the level.
Scoring [back to top] The scoring for NingPo MahJong is based on the time taken to play each layout, plus extra time penalties accrued by using the Hint, Find Match, Shuffle, and Undo features. The time penalties for using these features are as follows: HINT: 30 seconds FIND MATCH: 30 seconds UNDO: 60 seconds SHUFFLE: 120 seconds There are no penalties for using the Show Moves feature. Pausing the game will also pause the timer and does not adversely affect your score.
VERSION HISTORY [back to top]

1.0	Initial release!
1.04	Minor bugs fixed in this version

CREDITS [back to top] NingPo MahJong Deluxe was created by PopCap Games, Inc.

Game Design:		Brian Hook and Rosie Cosgrove

Programming:		Brian Hook

Art:		Rosie Cosgrove

Music:		Ian Livingstone

Java version programming:		Tom Hubina

LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH WARRANTY [back to top] Please see the End User License Agreement applicable to this game.

LEGAL INFORMATION [back to top]
©2002 Pyrogon, Inc. Published by PopCap Games, Inc. All rights reserved. The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used for the benefit of those owners.