Untitled - TRS-80 Color Computer Archive

WariDonDonatiZBm-"Wari," based on an ancient strategygame, lets you match your wits againstthe computer. The original version ofthis program is written for the Commodore 64. We've included translations for the Apple II series, Atari520ST and 1040ST, IBM PC/PCjr,Amiga, and Atari 400, 800, XL, andXE. The IBM PC/PCjr game requires acolor/graphics card for the PC."Wari" is a strategy game whichhas been played for centuries inAfrica and the Middle East. Theobject of the game is to capture asmany of your opponent's pieces asyou can, while trying to prevent thecapture of your own pieces. Type inthe version of Wari for your computer and read the specific instructions for your machine before yourun the program.Electronic BeansWari is played on a board which has12 compartments arranged in tworows of 6 (the arrangement is similarto that of an egg carton). In theoriginal versions of this game, thecompartments were actual depressions in a board or simply holesscooped into the ground, and thegame was played by movingcounters (beans, pebbles, or othersmall objects) among the variouscompartments. In the computerizedversion of Wari, the compartmentsare rectangles drawn on the screen,and the counters are represented bynumbers. If the number 4 appears ina compartment, that compartmentholds four counters, and so on.Six of the compartments areyours and the other six belong toyour opponent, which is always thecomputer. When the game begins,four counters are placed in each ofthe 12 compartments, for a total of48 counters. Each player, then,starts the game with 24 counters.Once play begins, however,counters are considered yourswhen they rest in one of the sixcompartments on your side of theboard. The program then askswhether you or the computershould make the first move.CounterclockwiseMovementA move consists of taking all thecounters from one compartment onyour side of the board and sowing,or distributing, one counter intoeach of the adjacent compartmentsin a counterclockwise direction. Inthe original game, this was done bypicking up the counters and sowingthem by hand. In this version ofWari, you simply indicate whichcompartment you wish to sow bypressing the letter key printed bythat compartment. The computerautomatically sows that compartment's counters for you.The figures illustrate the effectof making a move at the beginning ofa game in which you have chosen tomove first. Figure 1 shows the board62 COMPUTEI February 1987