
Version 1.0

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Short-cut Key List
II. Overview
III. Game Play
IV. Spinning Main Menu Icon
V. Un-Installing TriBond
VI. Tech Support
VII. Contact the Publisher

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I. SHORT-CUT KEY LIST

 Enter             =Activates the Done, Ok, and Vote buttons
 Esc                =Activates the Cancel button and ends joining procedure
 Space Bar       =Rolls Dice, stop Dice Roll and skips movies 
 ` or Tilde        =Activates or deactivates Chat
 Arrow Left     =Rotate paths clockwise
 Arrow Right    =Rotate paths counter-clockwise
 A                   =Accepted (voting phase) or Choice A (multiple choice)
 B                   =Choice B (multiple choice)
 C                   =Choice C (multiple choice)
 D                   =Denied (voting phase)
 M                   =More Specific (voting phase)
 N                   =Activates No button                       
 Y                   =Activates Yes button
 0                   =Challenger Buzz In
 1                    =Defender Buzz In, Move Game Piece Path One
 2                   =Move Game Piece Path Two
 3                   =Move Game Piece Path Three
 Ctrl + E          =End Current Game
 Ctrl + Q          =Quit Game and return to Desktop when no game is in progress

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II. OVERVIEW

Each player has one colored game piece for each of the three paths making up the TriBond game board. The paths are marked 1, 2 and 3. By rolling the dice, the player will receive a number determining the number of spaces they may move one of their game pieces if they answer the question correctly, and an icon that represents the category from which they will receive their Threesome question. The Threesome questions are presented as three text-based clues, three picture clues or in a multiple choice format. If the player answers the question correctly, they can move one of their game pieces the number of spaces equal to the number they rolled. If they get it wrong, they do not move any game pieces that turn. If a piece you are moving lands on a space occupied by another piece, then those two game pieces change positions. The first player to move three game pieces along their separate paths, and into their respective numbered space, is the winner. 

Here are some sample TriBond Threesome questions:  

What do these three things have in common?(tm)
		Q: Ransom - Lethal Weapon - Braveheart 
		A: Movies featuring Mel Gibson

		Q: A Dog - A Kite - A Story Teller 
		A: They have tails (tales)

Note: Some answers given may not be entirely correct. If Ransom - Lethal Weapon - Braveheart is answered "movies," the player answering will be given the opportunity to be "more specific." It is left to the better judgment of those playing the game to determine the correctness of an answer by casting their vote on all answers. In the second sample Threesome question the answer involved a word that has two different meanings and spellings, but sounds the same (tail and tale). Be aware that this kind of trickery is allowed, however players do not need to type in both spellings. Words within parentheses are given simply for clarification and are not part of the required answer.

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III. GAME PLAY


1. Control
TriBond is played with the mouse and the keyboard. The mouse is used to select game pieces, choose a space on which to move and interact with menus. There are keyboard commands for most actions. (see short cut chart above). All answers (except those in the multiple choice category) need to be typed.

2. The Playing Screen
Each environment has its own sounds and animations that help create a sense of atmosphere but have no effect on game play. The Playing Screen consists of the spinning main menu icon, the board and the dice box.  

3. Spinning Main Menu Icon
Located in the lower left corner of the Playing Screen, this icon will display menu options such as starting a new game, configuring your multi-player protocols or choosing your background screen. This icon can be accessed at any time and is always present on the screen.

4. The Board
Located directly in the center of the Playing Screen is the board on which all game play takes place. The board can be configured for play on one, two or three paths. Each path contains one game piece for each player. The first player to move their game pieces around each path is the winner. Once a player answers a question correctly, the number of spaces they may move is highlighted on each path. Only one path can be played on each turn. Clicking on one of the highlighted paths will jump the game piece on that path to the furthest highlighted space. In the center of each path is a final numbered space. To rotate the board and see the location of other pieces, click on the number and the board will switch positions. The number one path is defaulted to be at the bottom of the screen and closest to the player.

5. Dice Box
Located in the lower right side of the screen is the Dice Box. It contains two dice: number and category. Click on the Roll button when it is your turn and the dice will begin to spin. You can either wait a few seconds for the dice to stop or press the stop button to try your own luck. Once the dice have stopped rolling then the question phase of the game begins. The different categories of Threesome questions for TriBond are: Entertainment, Sports, Riddles & Wordplay, Academics, Multiple Choice and Picture.  

6. Hosts
TriBond has four distinct audio hosts that read the Threesome questions aloud to the players. 
		
The hosts are:
		Sarah - a college student from Wisconsin
		Emma Lynne - a socialite from the Georgia
		Chuck - a drummer from California
		Stanley - a cab driver from New York

7. Threesome Question Box
Threesome questions are presented as text or as pictures, while also being provided audibly by one of the four hosts. The category is listed at the top of the box along with a clock denoting the amount of time left to answer. The REPEAT button allows players to hear and see the three clues again, but does not effect the game clock. The CLEAR button will clear the answer box and allow the player to start over if they decide to change their answer or if they mistype an answer. The DONE button sends a player's answer to voting and must be selected before the 30 second time limit expires.             

In multiple choice threesomes a player has 10 seconds to select answer A, B or C then select DONE. 

8. Voting
If the player has answered the question by typing in the answer and clicking the "DONE" button before the 30 seconds have elapsed, the Voting phase begins. All the participants will view the correct answer and the answer given by the player whose turn it is. In a single-player game, you must vote on your own answers. Once all participants have voted, the votes are tallied. If the majority of the participants vote for accepting the answer, the player may move one of their game pieces the number of spaces indicated by the number die. If the player's answer is denied, their turn is over and the next player will be given a turn. Sometimes a voter might ask for the player to give a more specific answer. When this happens, the player must retype their answer and the remaining players revote. If a tie occurs during voting then the vote of the player who previously went will be the tie-breaker. 
 
9. New Game
To start a new game, click on the spinning main menu icon. Choose the Start pop out menu and select the New Game menu item. Here a player can set up their game to play. Once all options and settings have been set, clicking on the OK button will begin the game. The Cancel button will ignore all changes made and return the player back to the Game Play screen. 

10. Game Configure
a) Confirm Selections or Instant Selections. This setting allows the player to set up the amount of confirmation required when voting or answering multiple choice questions. The "Confirm Selections" option forces the player to make an extra step to validate their selection. "Instant Selections" automatically accepts the first selection made and closes certain dialog boxes after five seconds.
b) Challenge or Change.  When a player lands a game piece in a space occupied by an opponents game piece then a challenge can be initiated (for more information see Challenge).  If the players do not want to challenge each other then the Change option will automatically switch the positions of the two pieces involved.  The Challenger takes the space position of the Defender sending the Defender back to the Challenger's previous location.
c) One, Two, or Three Paths. This option allows you to play a quicker game by eliminating one or two paths.

11. Player Configure  
There are five Player Configure rows. Each one has the same information and options. The top row is for the host machine, designated as: Human, Computer or None. This option determines who will control the game piece for that row. To have no one play in that row select the "None" option. If "Human" is selected then the player can select from the location of the human player: Here, Network, or Internet. "Here" is simply that this player will be playing on this machine, the host machine. Up to five players can play on one machine by playing the hot seat option. When "Here" is selected a name edit box appears to the right of the screen for that player to type in their name. If "Network" is selected then the player will be joining the game over a local area network. "Internet" options for games taking place over the Internet. The Computer" option sets up that player to be controlled by the Computer A.I.  The host can select from the list of computer opponents.  Each computer opponent has different strengths and weaknesses. Clicking on the question mark box will display that computer player's stats (For more information see Player Bios). The Color Select will determine what color your game piece will be.  No two players can have the same color. The Game Piece option allows you to select from three game piece styles: classic, castle or sphere.

NOTE: Every game must contain at least two human or computer players. 

12. Challenge
A challenge is when two players compete against each other for control of a space on the board.  The player that initiated the challenge is known as the Challenger, the player being challenged is the  Defender.  You can only challenge another player on the same path as your game piece that initiated the challenge, unless the challenged is initiated by a threesome. A challenge occurs in one of three ways:  

1. Landing a game piece on a space occupied with an opponent's game piece. 

2. Landing a game piece on a green space, then any player ahead of the Challenger can be challenged on that path only.  If there is no one else on the path then that player's turn is over.  

3. Getting a challenge randomly instead of a threesome question. Each category has a 1 out of 12 questions replaced with a challenge.  When this happens a player can challenge anyone on the board that is in front of one of their game pieces on any path.  If there is no one in front of any of their game pieces, a player loses a turn.  

NOTE:  If a player lands on a Green Square that is occupied, they may challenge the player that occupies that square or they may use the Green Square to challenge an opponent ahead of them on that specific path.  When using an occupied Green Square to challenge someone ahead on the path the loser of the challenge will return to the previous square of the Challenger when the turn began.  

When a challenge has begun, the players involved will both receive the same Challenge Threesome question. These questions are easier, but they are often misleading. There is a 15 second time limit for buzzing in and for attempting the threesome once you have buzzed in. The first player to "buzz in" and answer the question correctly wins the Challenge. If a player buzzes in and answers incorrectly, they lose the Challenge. If no one buzzes in, the Challenger automatically loses the Challenge. To buzz in press the "1" button on your keyboard in the row of number keys. Once the Challenger or the Defender answers the Threesome then the remaining players will vote on their answer.  The participants get one chance to get the answer right.  There is no option for the player answering to be more specific. 

NOTE: If you have challenged a player in a hot seat game (two players at same computer) then the Challenger uses the "1" key to buzz in and the Defender will use the "0" key to buzz in.


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IV. SPINNING MAIN MENU ICON 

This is the miniature TriBond board located in the lower left-hand side of the screen.  It is broken down into four sections: Start, Option, Help, and Quit. The Start, Options, and Help sections are broken down into smaller sub-sections, each with their own menu items.  When a game is in progress you can only access the Spinning Menu when it is your turn, during another player's turn it is disabled.  To end a game when it is not your turn use this short-cut key: Ctrl + E.  

1. Start Menu Pop Up
 
a. New Game. This displays the New Game menu and allows the player to configure the game to their liking (for more information, see "New Game" above).

b. Join Game. This displays the Join Game menu for connecting to a multi-player game over a Network, Modem or the Internet. For an Internet game the players joining need to enter in the Host machine's IP Address.  To connect via a Modem the joining player will need to type in the phone number of the Host machine.  The player can enter in their name and pressing the Ok button will close this menu and begin the connection process.  

c. Intermission.  This minimizes the game and returns you to your desktop.  

d. End.  This will end the current game that is in progress.  The player will be prompted to confirm this decision.  

2. Options Menu Pop Up

a. Sound. This displays the Sound Effects menu. At this menu all audio settings can be enabled or disabled. Pressing the OK button will initiate all changes.

b. Graphics.  This displays the Graphics menu.  Here the backgrounds can be changed and animations can be enabled and disabled. Pressing the OK button will initiate all changes.  The graphic options are:

Fire Side  
Changes the game play background to a quite evening at home, playing TriBond in front of a cozy fireplace.

Fall Picnic
Changes the game play background to a sunny picnic on a cool fall afternoon.  Even the ants have come to play. 

Coral Reef
Changes the game play background to an underwater quest for the TriBond sunken treasure.

Galaxy  
Changes the game play background to a sci-fi space adventure.  Watch out for the asteroids!

Windowed
Selecting this option allows you to play TriBond from a desktop window. If this option is disabled, TriBond will play on the full screen.

Background Animations
Disables or enables all animations for the game play's screen background.  For slower machines this will drastically speed up the performance of the game.

c. Modem. Displays the Modem Configure menu. The Ok button will initiate all changes made and the default button will return the settings to how they were when the game was installed. In order to play modem-to-modem, you will need to download a patch, which is available at Patch Products' website (www.patchproducts.com).

d. Network. Displays the Network Configure menu. The Ok button will initiate all changes made and the default button will return the settings to how they were when the game was installed.

e. Internet. Displays the Internet Configure menu. The Ok button will initiate all changes made and the default button will return the settings to how they were when the game was installed. In order to play at the MSN Gaming Zone, you will need to download a patch, which is available at Patch Products' website (www.patchproducts.com).


3. Help Menu Pop Up

a. Manual.  This displays the TriBond Online Manual, which is what you are currently reading. Any game play updates that could not be included in the printed manual will be listed here.  

b. Ratings. This option displays the Ratings menu for the human participants. After you have completed a game, you can view you stats from the previous game at this menu. The player's ratings are broken down by these following categories: Overall, Entertainment, Sports, Riddles & Wordplay, Acedemics, Multiple Choice, Challenge and Picture Threesomes.

c. Credits.  This displays the credits for the production team of TriBond.

d. About.  Displays the about box for TriBond and the development team. There are web links for the Publisher and the Developer.  An active Internet connection is required to use them.  

4. Quit Menu
This options Quits the game and returns the player to their desktop.  The player is asked to confirm this action.  

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V. UN-INSTALLING TRIBOND(tm)
To remove TriBond from your Windows system:
	1.  Start Windows 95/Windows 98.
	2.  Click on the start button and select "programs".
	3.  Within the folder containing TriBond is an icon marked uninstall.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the removal.

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VI. TECH SUPPORT

For Technical Support contact: 

P.M.E. Inc.
202 New Edition Court
Cary, NC  27511
(919) 462-0001 ext. 111
(919) 462-0051 Fax
techsupport@pmenterprises.com
Hours: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST

Or visit these web-sites and click on the Technical Support links: 

www.pmenterprises.com

www.patchproducts.com 

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VII. CONTACTING THE PUBLISHER

Patch Products, Inc.
PO Box 268
Beloit, WI 53512-0268
(800) 524-4263
(608) 362-8178 Fax
patch@patchproducts.com
Hours Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST
