ICOSI-DO Minimalist Puzzle Game Apps User Manual

ICOSI-DO Minimalist Puzzle Game Apps

MODES AND LEVELS

Introduction: icosi-do is a minimalist puzzle game including thousands of procedurally generated puzzles in various modes and 59 levels (7 levels in the demo). icosi-do is available at https://store.steampowered.com/app/2072540/icosido/. This manual hopes to answer many questions about the game, but it is not a gentle introduction to playing the game. Thus, it actually helps to play the game before you read this manual. How to solve the puzzles: Puzzles are solved by swapping pairs of rods such that 4 different rods (4 different colors or 4 different rotations) meet in all 30 corners. (See page 4 for more details about puzzle solving.)

Modes:

• When a NEW GAME is started (see page 5), one of 3 modes has to be selected: SOLO and COOP are currently equivalent and allow one player/party or multiple cooperating players/parties using a shared screen to solve puzzles of increasing levels. RACE allows two players/parties using a shared screen to compete in solving puzzles of the same level with as few swaps as possible.
• If MOVE LIMIT is turned on (see page 7) and the game is not in RACE mode, each puzzle has to be solved with at most as many swaps as the level number specifies.
• If MOVE LIMIT is turned off (see page 7), the number of swaps is unlimited.
• If COLORS are turned on (see page 7), each rod has one of 4 colors.
• If COLORS are turned off (see page 7), each rod has one of 4 rotations relative to the faces of the (icosidodecahedral) base shape.

Difficulty of modes and levels for SOLO/COOP games:

• For SOLO/COOP games, levels have to be unlocked by solving them in order.
• The easiest mode is MOVE LIMIT off and COLORS on. This mode is indicated by a “-” after the level number, e.g. “level 1-”. (Starting a game with a higher level than 1 is also indicated in this way.)
• The default mode is MOVE LIMIT on and COLORS on. This mode is indicated by level numbers without additional sign, e.g. “level 1”. (The most difficult levels are between 20 and 30; lower levels are easier because the starting position is closer to a solution; higher levels are easier because they all start from a basically random position but the higher the level, the more swaps are allowed.)
• The mode MOVE LIMIT off and COLORS off (indicated by a “+” after the level number) as well as the mode MOVE LIMIT on and COLORS off (indicated by a “*” after the level number) are very difficult for humans.

MENU NAVIGATION

On startup, the game asks players to press “->” (“cursor right” or “D-pad right”) , “D”, or right mouse button. Once a player complies, the game enters the main menu (see page 5), which may be navigated with mouse buttons, keyboard, or Xbox controller:

Menu navigation with mouse buttons:

• Press the right mouse button to navigate to the next menu item.
• Press the left mouse button to select or change the current menu item.
• Press the optional middle mouse button to leave the current submenu and return to the menu that activated the submenu; alternatively, select “BACK” with left mouse button.

Menu navigation with keyboard:

• Press the “D” or “cursor right” key to navigate to the next menu item.
• Press the “A” or “cursor left” key to navigate to the previous menu item.
• Press the “enter”, “space”, or left “ctrl” key to select or change the current menu item.
• Press the “escape,” “tab,” or “backspace” key to leave the current submenu and return to the menu that activated it. In the main menu: leave menu and activate puzzle.
• For menu items that may be changed: press the “W” or “cursor up” key to change in one direction; press the “S” or “cursor down” key to change in the other direction.

Menu navigation with Xbox controller:

• Press the “D-pad right” button, the right bumper button, or push the left thumb-stick to the right to navigate to the next menu item.
• Press the “D-pad left” button, the left bumper button, or push the left thumb-stick to the left to navigate to the previous menu item.
• Press the “A” button, pull either trigger or click in the left thumb stick to select or change the current menu item.
• Press the “View” button (two rectangles), the “Menu” button (three lines), or the “B” button to leave the current submenu and return to the menu that activated it. In the main menu: leave menu and activate a puzzle.
• For menu items that may be changed: press the “D-pad up” button, the “Y” button, or push the left thumb-stick forward to change in one direction; press the “D-pad down” button, the “X” button, or push the left thumb-stick backward to change in the other direction.

PUZZLE-SOLVING

As mentioned on page 2, puzzles are solved by swapping pairs of rods such that rods of 4 different colors (or 4 different rotations if COLORS are off) meet in all 30 corners. Puzzles may be solved with mouse buttons, keyboard, or Xbox controller:

Puzzle-solving with mouse buttons:

• Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse to rotate the puzzle.
• Press the left mouse button to select the individual rod below the mouse cursor. Once two rods are selected at the same time, their colors or rotations are swapped.
• Press the right or middle mouse button to return to the main menu.

Puzzle-solving with the keyboard:

• Press the “W”, “A”, “S”, “D”, or cursor keys to rotate the puzzle.
• Press the “enter”, “space”, or left “ctrl” key to select the individual rod below the reticle in the center of the screen. Once two rods are selected at the same time, their colors or rotations are swapped.
• Press the “escape”, “tab”, or “backspace” key to return to the main menu.

Puzzle-solving with Xbox controller:

• Press the D-pad, “X”, “Y”, or bumper buttons, or push the left thumb-stick to rotate the puzzle.
• Press the “A” button, pull either trigger, or click in the left thumb-stick to select the individual rod below the reticle in the center of the screen. Once two rods are selected at the same time, their colors or rotations are swapped.
• Press the “B” button, “view” button (two rectangles), or the “menu” button (three lines) to return to the main menu.

MENU OVERVIEW

See page 3 for how to navigate the menus. See page 4 for how to return to the main menu from the puzzle. The items of the main menu are CONTINUE, LEVEL MENU, TUTORIAL, NEW GAME, SETTINGS, CREDITS, and QUIT APP:

CONTINUE: Leaves the main menu and activates the puzzle.

LEVEL MENU:

• UNDO MOVE: Undoes the last move. (Not available in RACE games.)
• RETRY LEVEL: Restarts the current puzzle.
• SHARE LEVEL: Shows the 6-digit level of the puzzle; select the code to copy it to the clipboard; level codes may be entered under NEW GAME.
• LEVEL HISTORY: Provides a numbered list of puzzles played previously in this session. Select an item for details: how many moves were used to solve the puzzle, how many seconds were needed to solve it (only SOLO/COOP games), which party won (only RACE games), the number of wins of both parties after the game (only RACE GAMES), an option to play it again (RETRY LEVEL), and an option to show the 6-digit level code of the puzzle (SHARE LEVEL).
• NEW GAME: Starts a new game; see below on this page for more details.

TUTORIAL:
Starts a tutorial explaining how to solve puzzles (see also page 4).

NEW GAME:

• Requires players to select a MODE (SOLO, COOP, or RACE) and a starting LEVEL.
• With SOLO and COOP, one or more cooperating players using a shared screen solve puzzles of increasing levels. With RACE, two players/parties using a shared screen compete in solving puzzles of the same level with as few swaps as possible.
• COOP games starting in a level greater than 1 are marked with a “-” after the level number; RACE games are marked with an “R” after the level number.
• CODE allows players to enter a 6-digit level code (see SHARE LEVEL above).

SETTINGS:
Allows changing player settings, which an organized in 4 submenus: MODES (page 7), VISUALS (page 8), AUDIO (page 9), and CONTROLS (page 10).

CREDITS:
Displays information about icosi-do and authors of employed assets.

QUIT APP: Immediately exits the app.

POST-LEVEL MENUS

After a puzzle has been solved or a player has swapped too many pairs of rods without solving the puzzle, one of three post-level menus is entered:

Post-level menu after solving a puzzle in a SOLO or COOP game:

• LEVEL COMPLETE or – if the puzzle has been solved with fewer swaps than the level number specifies – COMPLETE IN x (with x being the number of performed swaps): Select to proceed to the next level. Leaving the menu with the “escape”, “B” button, etc. also proceed to the next level.
• x SECONDS: Specifies how many seconds have passed since starting the level. Select to proceed to the next level.
• NEXT LEVEL: Select to proceed to the next level.
• RETRY LEVEL: Restart the same puzzle.
• SHARE LEVEL: Show the 6-digit level code for this puzzle. Select the code to copy it to the clipboard. (Level codes may be entered under NEW GAME; see page 5).

Post-level menu after failing to solve a puzzle in a SOLO or COOP game:

• OUT OF MOVES: Select to restart the same puzzle. Leaving the menu with the “escape”, “B” button, etc. also restarts the same puzzle.
• In level 1 and 2, information is provided explaining how to solve puzzles.
• RETRY LEVEL: Restart the same puzzle.
• TURN OFF LIMIT: Turn off MOVE LIMIT allowing to continue with the current puzzle.
• SHARE LEVEL: Show the 6-digit level code for this puzzle. Select the code to copy it to the clipboard. (Level codes may be entered under NEW GAME; see page 5).

Post-level menu after solving a puzzle in a RACE game:

• PARTY 1/2 WINS or ROUND IS A TIE: A round is a tie if one party/player solves the puzzle and the other party/player could potentially solve the puzzle with the same number of swaps with their next swap. Select to proceed to the next round. Leaving the menu with the “escape”, “B” button, etc. also proceed to the next round.
• x TO y WINS: Specifies how often party 1 (x) and party 2 (y) have won since the current game has started. Select to proceed to the next round.
• NEXT ROUND: Select to proceed to the next round (on the same level).
• RETRY ROUND: Select to restart the current round.
• SHARE LEVEL: Show the 6-digit level code for this puzzle. Select the code to copy it to the clipboard. (Level codes may be entered under NEW GAME; see page 5).

SETTINGS: MODES

Player settings may be changed under SETTINGS in the main menu. See page 5 for an overview of the main menu; see page 3 for how to navigate menus and how to change menu items. MODES settings are related to the modes discussed on page 2. See pages 8, 9, and 10 for other settings.

MOVE LIMIT:

• ON: Each puzzle has to be solved with at most as many swaps as the level number specifies, e.g. 3 swaps in level 3. (This does not apply to RACE games.)
• OFF: The number of swaps is unlimited.

WARNING:

• 1/2/3/4/5: The warning “x MOVES LEFT” is presented when x moves are remaining.
• OFF: No warning is presented.

COLORS:

• ON: Each rod has one of 4 colors; but also see GRAYING on page 8.
• OFF: Each rod has one of 4 rotations relative to the faces of the (icosidodecahedral) base shape, but also see GRAYING on page 8.

SETTINGS: VISUALS

GRAYING:

• ON: If 4 different rods (4 different colors or 4 different rotations) meet at both ends of a (unselected) rod, the rod is shown in gray and without special rotation, i.e., aligned to an edge of the icosidodecahedral base shape. This is useful to see which parts of the puzzle have probably been solved already.
• OFF: Rods are always shown with their color (if COLORS are on) or rotation (if COLORS are off).

SOLID:

• ON: Shows semitransparent pentagons of the icosidodecahedral base shape. This is most useful when COLORS are off because it helps to identify and distinguish the 4 rotations of rods relative to the base shape.
• OFF: Hides the pentagons of the base shape.
• AUTO: Only shows the pentagons of the base shape when COLORS are off.

GLOW:

• WEAKEST, WEAK, WEAKISH, STRONG, INTENSE: Activates glow effects of various strengths.
• OFF: Deactivates glow effects.

SETTING S: AUDIO

SOUNDS:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: Sets the volume of sound effects.
• OFF: Turns off sound effects.

MUSIC:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: Sets the volume of music.
• OFF: Turns off music.

MUSIC:
SLOWEST, SLOW, SLOWISH, FASTISH, FAST, FASTEST: Sets the speed of music.

MUSIC:

• DYNAMIC: Activates variations of loudness between musical notes.
• FLAT: Plays all musical notes with the same loudness.

MUSIC:

• PIANO, SPINET (actually a harpsichord), HARP, GUITAR, MALLETS (actually a marimba), ORGAN, CELESTA, FLUTE, GLOCKEN (i.e. a glockenspiel): Sets the musical instrument.
• CYCLE: Cycles through musical instruments after each level or round (except level 1). Note: Changing from CYCLE to another instrument and back to CYCLE switches the musical instrument one step in the cycle. This provides a way to skip an instrument.

SETTINGS: CONTROLS

INVERT:

• Y AXIS: Inverts vertical movements when rotating a puzzle.
• X AXIS: Inverts horizontal movements when rotating a puzzle.
• X+Y AXIS: Inverts horizontal and vertical movements when rotating a puzzle.
• NO AXIS: Does not invert movements.

SPEED:
SLOWEST, SLOW, MEDIUM, FASTISH, FAST, FASTEST: Sets the speed of rotations of a puzzle.

RESET APP:
Resets the app. This includes all settings and for SOLO and COOP games, it locks all levels except level 1.

References

• icosi-do on Steam

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