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NAME

       xskewb - Skewb X widgets

SYNOPSIS

       /usr/games/xskewb                                            [-geometry
       [{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]]                 [-display
       [{host}]:[{vs}]]   [-[no]mono]   [-[no]{reverse|rv}]  [-{foreground|fg}
       {color}]  [-{background|bg}   {color}]   [-face{0|1|2|3|4|5}   {color}]
       [-{border|bd}   {color}]   [-delay   msecs]   [-[no]sound]  [-moveSound
       {filename}]  [-{font|fn}  {fontname}]   [-view   {int}]   [-[no]orient]
       [-[no]practice]  [-userName {string}] [-scoreFile {filename}] [-scores]
       [-version]

DESCRIPTION

       The original puzzle has each face cut by a diamond, so that there are 5
       pieces,  4 corner pieces and one diamond piece in the center.  This was
       designed  by  Uwe  Meffert  and  called  the  Pyraminx  Cube.   Douglas
       Hofstadter later coined it a Skewb and it stuck.  The puzzle has period
       3 turning (i.e. each half turns with 120 degree intervals).  The  Skewb
       has  2^5*3^8*6!/2^6  or  3,149,280 different combinations (with centers
       oriented 2^5*3^8*6!/2 or 100,766,960 different combinations).

       More recently, Disney released  Mickey’s  Challenge,  its  a  spherical
       skewb  with  a  pretty good internal mechanism.  Mickey’s challenge has
       2^5*3^8*6!/36 5,598,720  visually  different  combinations).   It  also
       comes  with  a  pretty neat book.  Also released is the Creative Puzzle
       Ball or Meffert’s Challenge which has 4 rings in different colors.

       Mach Balls of the Hungarian Gyula Mach are similar but they do not have
       a  ratchet  mechanism  and do not turn as easily or smoothly.  One must
       match the 12 different symbols of 4 each at the 12 intersection points.

FEATURES

       Press "mouse-left" button to move a piece.  Release "mouse-left" button
       on a piece on the same face.  (Clicks on diamonds  are  ignored).   The
       pieces will then turn towards where the mouse button was released.

       Click  "mouse-center",  or press "P" or "p" keys to toggle the practice
       mode (in practice mode the record should say "practice").  This is good
       for learning moves and experimenting.

       Click  "mouse-right", or press "Z" or "z" keys, to randomize the puzzle
       (this must be done first to set a new record).

       Press "G" or "g" keys to get a saved puzzle.

       Press "W" or "w" keys to save (write) a puzzle.

       Press "U" or "u" keys to undo a move.

       Press "R" or "r" keys to redo a move.

       Press "C" or "c" keys to clear the puzzle.

       "S" or "s" keys reserved for the auto-solver (not implemented).

       Press "O" or "o" keys to toggle the orient mode.  One has to orient the
       faces  in  orient  mode,  besides  getting all the faces to be the same
       color.  To do this one has to get the lines to be oriented in the  same
       direction,  this only matters with center diamond piece.  This does add
       complexity so there are 2 sets of records.

       Press "V" or "v" keys to change the view of the cube.

       Press ">" or  "."  keys  to  speed  up  the  movement  of  pieces  (not
       implemented).

       Press  "<"  or  ","  keys  to  slow  down  the  movement of pieces (not
       implemented).

       Press "@" key to toggle the sound.

       Press "Esc" key to hide program.

       Press "Q", "q", or "CTRL-C" keys to kill program.

       Use the key pad or arrow keys to move without the mouse.
       Key pad is defined for the Skewb2d as:
         /     Counterclockwise

       7 8 9   Upper Left, Up, Upper Right
         ^
       4<5>6   Left, Clockwise, Right
         v
       1 2 3   Lower Left, Down, Lower Right
       Note: Top, Left, Right, and Down only work  when  the  control  key  is
       pressed and there is no analog for Skewb3d.

       If the mouse is on a diamond, the above keys will not move cube because
       the move is ambiguous.  Also if the mouse is on a triangle, not all the
       keys  will  function  because  the puzzle will only rotate on the cuts,
       i.e. a triangle with a Upper Left - Lower Right cut  will  rotate  only
       Upper  Left  &  Lower Right, a triangle with a Upper Right - Lower Left
       cut will rotate only Upper Right & Lower Left.  Therefore,  a  triangle
       can  only  move  tangential to the center of the face. No doubt this is
       confusing, but the physical skewb is the same way.  In  fact,  that  is
       part of its appeal.

       Key  pad for Skewb3d, use must use your intuition (is this a cop out or
       what?).  The key pad is defined differently depending on which side  of
       the  cube  your mouse is pointing at.  One thing that stays the same is
       "5" is Clockwise and "/" is Counterclockwise.

       Use the control key and the left mouse button, keypad, or arrow keys to
       move the whole cube.  This is not recorded as a turn.

       The title is in the following format (non-motif version):
              xskewb{2|3}d<dimension>:  (<Number  of moves>/{<Record number of
              moves> <user name>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) - <Comment>
       If there is no  record  of  the  current  puzzle,  it  displays  "NEVER
       noaccess".

OPTIONS

       -geometry {+|-}X{+|-}Y
               This  option  sets  the  initial  position  of the skewb window
               (resource name "geometry").

       -display host:dpy
               This option specifies the X server to contact.

       -[no]mono
               This option allows you to display the skewb window on  a  color
               screen as if it were monochrome (resource name "mono").

       -[no]{reverse|rv}
               This option allows you to see the skewb window in reverse video
               (resource name "reverseVideo").

       -{foreground|fg} color
               This option  specifies  the  foreground  of  the  skewb  window
               (resource name "foreground").

       -{background|bg} color
               This  option  specifies  the  background  of  the  skewb window
               (resource name "background").

       -face{0|1|2|3|4|5} <color>
               This option allows you to change the color of a face  (resource
               name  "faceColorN").  In mono-mode, color is represented as the
               first letter of the color name. On the 2-D version,  the  faces
               are  ordered  top  to  bottom  and  left  to  right  on the "t"
               configuration. The "+-" configuration is physically  consistent
               with  the  former, so it is ordered "0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 4".  If you
               has two colors that begin with the same letter you should  have
               one  in  uppercase  and one in lowercase to distinguish them in
               mono-mode. You can change the colors of the  faces  to  make  a
               stupid   cube  (i.e.  all  White  or  in  mono-mode  all  "W").
               Unfortunately, it will not normally say  its  solved  when  its
               randomized. This would be cheating.

       -{border|bd} color
               This  option  specifies  the  border color of the pieces in the
               skewb window (resource name "borderColor").

       -delay msecs
               This option specifies the number of milliseconds  it  takes  to
               move pieces (1-50) (resource name "delay").

       -[no]sound
               This  option specifies if sliding pieces should make a sound or
               not (resource name "sound").

       -moveSound filename
               This option specifies the file  for  the  move  sound  for  the
               twisting of the puzzle (resource name "moveSound").

       -{font|fn} ontname
               This option specifies the font that will be used (resource name
               "font").

       -view <int>
               This option allows you to change  the  view  of  the  cube  for
               OpenGL with choice of 4 views (resource name "int").

       -[no]orient
               This option allows you to access the orient mode (resource name
               "orient").

       -[no]practice
               This option allows you to access the  practice  mode  (resource
               name "practice").

       -userName string
               This  option  specifies  the  user name for any records made or
               else it will get your login name (resource name "userName").

       -scoreFile filename
               Specify an alternative score file (resource name  "scoreFile").

       -scores This option lists all the recorded scores and then exits.

       -version
               This option tells you what version of xskewb you have.

RECORDS

       You  must  randomize  the  puzzle  before a record is set, otherwise an
       assumption of cheating is made if it is solved after a get.

SAVE FORMAT

       Here is the format for the xskewb configuration, starting position, and
       the movement of its pieces.

       Skewb2d with default colors, not randomized:
         0       R     Red
       1 2 3   B W G   Blue, White, Green
         4       P     Pink
         5       Y     Yellow

              orient:  0-1  <0  false, 1 true; if 1 then lines on pieces to be
              oriented>
              practice: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true>
              moves: 0-MAXINT <total number of moves>

              startingPosition:  <2  dimensional  array  of  face  and  corner
              position  and  center  diamond  position, each face has 4 corner
              pieces and one center piece, if  orient  mode  then  orientation
              number follows face number: 0 up, 1 right, 2 down, and 3 left>

       This is then followed by the moves, starting from 1.
              move #: <face> <corner> <direction> <control>
       Each turn is with respect to a corner on a face.
       The corners start at the upper right and work clockwise.
       Direction is represented as 0 upper right, 1 lower right, 2 lower left,
       3 upper left, 5 clockwise, 7 counterclockwise, 8 up, 9 right, 10  down,
       and 11 left.
       Control  is represented as 0 or 1, 1 if the whole cube is moved at once
       (here the corner does not matter), 0 if not.  The xskewb record  keeper
       does not count a control move as a move, but here we do.

REFERENCES

       Beyond  Rubik’s  Cube:  spheres,  pyramids, dodecahedrons and God knows
       what else by Douglas R. Hofstadter, Scientific American, July 1982,  pp
       16-31.

       Mickey’s Challenge by Christoph Bandelow.

       Magic Cubes 1996 Catalog of Dr. Christoph Bandelow.

SEE ALSO

       X(1),  xcubes(6),  xtriangles(6),  xhexagons(6), xmlink(6), xbarrel(6),
       xpanex(6),  xmball(6),  xpyraminx(6),  xoct(6),  xrubik(6),   xdino(6),
       xabacus(6)

COPYRIGHTS

       ® Copyright 1994-2008, David A. Bagley

BUG REPORTS AND PROGRAM UPDATES

       Send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author:
              David A. Bagley, <bagleyd@tux.org>

       The latest version is currently at:
              http://www.tux.org/~bagleyd/puzzles.html
              ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/games/strategy