RANDO(C) Version 2.0
Copyright 1990-1999 Bill Buckels
All Rights Reserved.

Program Description
-------------------

Very Large Random Letters for the Very Young.
Very Bright and Very Noisy.

Rando is a "Typing Game" and a Random Letters Recognition Game (hence
the name "Rando" which stands for "Random". I just thought that a silly
word like "Rando" would mean more to a 3 year old than a real word like
"Random".)

Rando is a very simple and very colorful game for children of around 3 -
6 years old. Music and Lots of Really Bright Colors and Large Letters
make Rando interesting even if your child can't read. (The reading will
come soon enough.)

This Version of Rando is more advanced than previous versions. Several
activities are organized around a main menu.

Rando is very tiny, takes hardly any space on your computer, and takes
no time at all to copy or to download. The best part is that even though
it is shareware and must be registered for commercial use, it is free
for Family Use at Home and you are encouraged to give Rando away to
anyone you please.

The more kids that enjoy Rando, the merrier!

Rando has no time limits, and is just a noisy and colorful and fun way
for your child to learn the alphabet.

I am distributing Rando with complete source code for this release. Read
the licencing section in each of the sources if you are inclined to use
such things.

History
-------

I wrote Rando for my little boy Bill, (who is now a teenager and no
longer so little). Frankly, he hated it, and also didn't much care for
computers at all when he was that young. However, regardless of my son's
preference at that age, I still think Rando is a fun activity for a
young person who likes to "bang" on the keyboard.

It was for this reason that I decided to write this new version of Rando
for the current generation of little people to enjoy, (or to hate,
depending on their preferences).

Running Rando In Windows 98
------------------------------

This is really a superior package compared to the other Rando versions
that I wrote, but Rando remains a DOS-Based package, although I
programmed under Windows 98, and tested Rando extensively in Windows 98,
where it works wonderfully well. I also added a mouse to the program,
and created menus that are easy to navigate and to use, no experience
required.

I strongly suggest that you run Rando in "Full Screen" mode under
Windows 98 rather than in a Window. One reason for this is that Windows
may "steal" the mouse if running in a Window (although you will still
have the keyboard which is all you really need in Rando).

Perhaps a better reason is that your child will probably have more fun
if they can fill-up the entire Monitor with Rando, rather than sharing
the screen with other applications.

Program Details
---------------

Rando runs in Text Mode.

The Interface of Rando 2.0 is modeled after my more recent design for
children's programs, and centers around a Main Menu. Earlier versions of
Rando were not as well organized and I have expanded Rando's activities.

It is not necessary for your child to read in order to use Rando. The
Main Menu is very straight forward and uncluttered. Your child can
"Click-On" the command of their choice. After using Rando once or twice,
remembering commands won't be a problem.

Getting Started
---------------

Commands and Navigation
-----------------------

The mouse, the arrow keys and the functions keys [F1]-[F6] are used to
navigate through Rando. Other keys used are the [ENTER] and [ESC] keys.

LEFT_MOUSE_CLICK and RIGHT_MOUSE_CLICK, [ENTER] and [ESC] all mean
basically the same thing in Rando.

Clicking the Mouse Button means "Go Further". It is the equivalent of
pressing the [ENTER] or [ESC] Key.

The [ENTER] key or [ESC] keys are always used to "INITIALIZE" an
"Action" at the Main Menu. Only the [ESC] key or clicking the mouse
buttons will take you back to the Main Menu from the Games or
Activities.

[UPARROW] - Go Up One.
[DOWNARROW] - Go Down One.
[LEFTARROW] - Go Left One.
[RIGHTARROW] - Go Right One.

Of course, the keyboard is used at "game" level to type in the letter.
This is the basis for game-play in Rando.

The child needs to type ALPHANUMERIC keys only. Punctuation is not part
of the game so there is no struggling with the keyboard. Caps Lock can
be on or off. It doesn't matter. Rando is not case sensitive.

The Main Menu
-------------

The Main Menu is ALWAYS available during the game by pressing the [ESC]
Key or clicking a Mouse Button.

The Main Menu has 6-Commands. These commands can be "Clicked-On",
"Arrowed-To", or "F-Keyed" using keys [F1]-[F6], or even "Hot Keyed" by
pressing the Letter shown on the Menu Screen.

[F1] - ? - Mixed Letter Match (GAME)
[F2] - A - Big Letter Review (ACTIVITY)
[F3] - z - Small Letter Review (ACTIVITY)
[F4] - 9 - Number Review (ACTIVITY)
[F5] - ??- Paired Letter Match (GAME)
[F6] - X - Exit To DOS/Windows

[ENTER] or [ESC] - Initializes the Selected Command.
[ESC] - Switches between the Main Menu and the Current Game.

So don't forget, you can press [ESC] or use your mouse button
to flip between the Main Menu and your child's game.

Activity Details - Letter and Number Review [F2] [F3] [F4]
----------------

The only difference between the letter and number reviews is that during
letter review, only letters may be typed. During number review, only
numbers may be typed. This is to help the child distinguish between
letters and numbers. When a key that is neither a letter or a number is
typed, a rude noise is made. When you are young, this rude noise will
probably be fun, but later will help the child distinguish between a
letter or a number which makes a pleasant noise.

In letter review, every time your child types an Alpha or Numeric Key, a
Large Letter is displayed in a variety of colors. This large letter is
made-up of many smaller letters (copies of itself.) For example, an X
would be composed entirely of X's., etc.

Each key in letter review has a different note associated with it and is
almost like a "tiny piano" that your child can use to play "Random"
compositions while enjoying the alphabet or large numbers on the screen.

This is a feature that I included just to provide some extra interest
for your child. The letters correspond to their musical notes (A Maps to
A, B to B, C to C, etc.). Only the white keys have been included. Give
it a try when you are typing letters into Rando's Letter Review.

The idea behind letter and number review is to provide a fun activity to
get your child started. After they practice they will be ready to play
the letter match games.

Game Details - Letter Match  [F1] and [F5]
------------

Note: In Paired Letter Match, a Capital Letter and a Small Letter are
displayed in pairs. In Mixed Letter Match, a Single Letter is displayed
which can be either a Capital or a Small letter. The two games are
identical otherwise, and both games are described in this same section.

A Large Letter is displayed in a variety of colors. (Some are really
gaudy, but when you are very young, the gaudier the better!) This large
letter is made-up of many smaller letters (copies of itself.) For
example, an X would be composed entirely of X's., etc.

The child types in a letter from the keyboard. If it matches the large
letter on the screen, a new large letter is presented. Otherwise, a rude
noise is made and the child must try again to enter the same letter.

After 10 correct letters are entered, a Large Number "countdown" occurs
(actually a "countup" from 1-10). This countup is quite dramatic and
makes progressively higher musical notes as it proceeds.

When it is finally finished, a randomly selected song is played, and
then the game resumes.

The list of songs includes the following:
-----------------------------------------

Funeral March of a Marionette by Guonod
Mexican Hat Dance
Symphony #40 by Wolfgang Mozart
Yankee Doodle
The Stars and Stripes Forever by John P. Sousa
La Cucaracha (Archie and Mehitabel's lovesong)
Pop-Goes-the-Weasel

What Kind of Music Does Rando Play?
--------------------------------------

Rando plays music through the PC Speaker. I did not add soundcard
support for the Version 2.0 rewrite.

Exiting Rando [F6]
------------------

You may only exit the program (Rando) from the Main Menu, not by pressing
[ESC]. This is so your child doesn't accidentally quit.

Hardware Requirements
---------------------

Nothing Special. IBM PC or compatible.

Licence Agreement
-----------------

Rando(C) Version 2.0 is distributed as ShareWare and is free of charge
for use in the home by a single family. Commercial Users are expected to
register with the Author if using Rando beyond a 30-day evaluation
period. Send registration in the form of cheque, or money order to:

Bill Buckels
589 Oxford Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3M 3J2

Email: bbuckels@escape.ca
WebSite: http://www.escape.ca/~bbuckels

Again, I am waiving any registration fee for family users. If you use
this program in a commercial setting like a daycare I expect you to pay
a $10.00 registration fee for a site licence.

This program is distributed with source code.

Redistribution
--------------

You may distribute this software freely, providing none of the files are
missing, and preferably in their original distribution archive.

File List
---------

  RANDO\RANDO.EXE
  RANDO\README.TXT
  RANDO\BAGGAGE\BSAVEINC.EXE
  RANDO\BAGGAGE\BSVU.EXE
  RANDO\BAGGAGE\RANDMENU.BSV
  RANDO\BAGGAGE\RANDSEL.BSV
  RANDO\SRC\BSAVEINC.MAK
  RANDO\SRC\BSAVEINC.C
  RANDO\SRC\BSVU.MAK
  RANDO\SRC\BSVU.C
  RANDO\SRC\RANDO.C
  RANDO\SRC\RANDO.MAK


Bill Buckels
March 1999

End of Document
